Regular readers know I wear at least one, often two watches daily with one usually some type of smartwatch and the other a model of GPS sports watch . While I wear two watches, millions prefer a more minimalist approach to activity tracking and still prefer the classic band form factor.

High quality materials, Perfect smooth curves and comfort, Integrated GPS, ECG, EDA, and skin temperature, Fitbit ecosystem well supported, Fitbit Pay support

Readiness Score and ECG not yet available, Limited conncected notification experience

With an always-on color touch screen, a sleeker design, and new health tracking features, the Charge 5 is a significant upgrade over the previous model and Fitbit's best fitness tracker yet.

Color touch screen with always-on display option, Attractive design with metal case, Automatically tracks certain activities, Excellent companion mobile app, Robust stress management and sleep tracking features, Tracks overnight HRV, breathing rate, SpO2 and skin temperature variations, Supports...

No Spotify support, Limited exercise shortcut list, Clock faces aren't customizable

Not the cheapest fitness tracker available, but it's definitely Fitbit's best - offering a fantastic blend of features, design, battery life and price.

Lovely OLED display, Solid performance, Built-in GPS, Good battery life, Fitbit app is excellent, Comfortable to wear, Great heart-rate monitoring and sleep tracking

No music control, Exercise options could be expanded, Display could be bigger, Some features not available at launch

Last year's Fitbit Charge 4 was an excellent fitness tracker held back by a dated grayscale display and a cheap plastic build. Now in its fifth-generation, Fitbit's most popular device finally has an AMOLED color touch screen and a metal case, making the $179.95 Charge 5 a wearable you actually want to wear. Fitbit has removed Spotify support from this generation, but added several useful health monitoring features that were previously only available on its $299.95 Sense smartwatch, including an electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor that measures small electrical changes in your skin's sweat level to track your body's response to stress, and an electrocardiogram (ECG) app that checks for signs of atrial fibrillation (AFIb), an irregular heart rhythm that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure, and other serious complications. It offers a lot more functionality than the Luxe, with a similarly attractive design for only $30 more. The Charge 5 is easily Fitbit's best fitness tr...

With an always-on color touch screen, a sleeker design, and new health tracking features, the Charge 5 is a significant upgrade over the previous model and Fitbit's best fitness tracker yet.

Color touch screen with always-on display option; Attractive design with metal case; Automatically tracks certain activities; Excellent companion mobile app; Robust stress management and sleep tracking features; Tracks overnight HRV, breathing rate, SpO2 and skin temperature variations; Supports mobile payments

No Spotify support; Limited exercise shortcut list; Clock faces aren't customizable

“The new-and-improved Fitbit Charge 5 delivers everything you could want in an advanced fitness tracker.”

When the Charge 5 gets its most exciting health features turned on, it’ll be a tracker with big appeal for anyone that wants to pay closer attention to their health beyond tracking steps and runs

Finally gets a screen upgrade, Comfortable to wear 24/7, Easy to use interface, Solid heart rate monitoring

ECG sensor is not usable (yet), Daily Readiness Scores not live yet, Data insights locked behind Fitbit Premium, Iffy sports tracking accuracy

The Fitbit Charge 5 makes the fitness band every bit as desirable as the Versa, but the price will put some people off

Much more stylish, Bright, colourful OLED screen, Built-in GPS

More expensive than the Charge 4, No more Spotify controls, Daily Readiness score needs Fitbit Premium

The Fitbit Charge 5 is extremely impressive, and pulls together the best features of Fitbit's current lineup in one neat device. You get on-board GPS for tracking runs without a watch, an EDA (electrodermal activity) sensor for measuring stress responses, contactless payments, sleep tracking, excellent heart rate monitoring, and sleep monitoring – all presented in a neat interface that's intuitive and simple to use, even if you've never owned a Fitbit device before. Unfortunately the much anticipated Readiness Score feature wasn't available at launch, and Fitbit has dropped the Spotify support that allowed you to control playlists through the Charge 4. The lack of music is a shame since the Charge 5 is designed with workouts in mind, but if that's not a dealbreaker then it could be an ideal gym buddy.

On-board GPS; Excellent heart rate monitoring; Clean, simple interface; Contactless payments;

No music controls; Limited on-screen workout data; Some features missing at launch

Finally gets a screen upgrade; Comfortable to wear 24/7; Easy to use interface; Solid heart rate monitoring;

ECG sensor is not usable (yet); Daily Readiness Scores not live yet; Data insights locked behind Fitbit Premium; Iffy sports tracking accuracy ;

Within the bubble of Fitbit's ecosystem, the Charge 5 offers the best bang for your buck by fusing fitness tracker convenience with smartwatch functionality, but things get a little tougher when you compare it to the wider wearable market.

Rich hardware feature set; Elegant design; Intuitive UI; Fitbit Premium isn't essential;

Missing predecessors' features; Laggy performance; Non-Fitbit rivals offer more; Key features absent at launch;