It's a shame; I really like my Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, but I've just had enough of charging the damn thing every day, and it's only going to get worse over time.
You see, until a few years ago, I'd stopped wearing watches full stop until picking up a very cheap refurbished Samsung Gear Sport to see if I was interested in taking the leap into smartwatches. I enjoyed it and took for granted that even that old, previously-owned smartwatch would go days without needing a charge. Fast forward to eventually getting a Galaxy Watch 3, then Watch 4, and the abundance of health tracking features clearly came at the cost of saying goodbye to a multi-day battery if you wanted to take advantage of all it had to offer.
The sleep-tracking is really, really good on the Watch 4, and one day I'm going to do something about how little I'm getting, but wearing it around the clock often leaves little time to charge it, especially if I'm coming home late. So often, I'll be just about to leave the house in the morning, and it'll buzz with a battery warning, meaning, at best, I might be able to limp through the day if I can stop to charge it wirelessly from the back of my Note 20 Ultra - a cool feature to be fair. But isn't all of this just a bit crazy? And why are Apple Watches just as bad? All so I can have a device charged that accuses me of being lazy every hour because I'm trying to sit at my desk and work and sarcastically celebrate when I get up to get a glass of water - it has a serious sass issue too.
So after two chance conversations with Fitbit owners this week, it's been pointed out to me that I can get many of the same health features on a Fitbit along with a (roughly) six-day battery. And seeing as I'm getting caught out with a low charge at least twice a week now, I think it's time for a change and the Prime Day deals event has me snared with this Fitbit deal.
Fitbit Charge 5: charge less for less
If you want to know more about this particular Fitbit, be sure to check out Jeramy's full Fitbit Charge 5 review, it's certainly helped sway me.
I have to admit, though, that I am concerned that I'll miss some of the smartwatch features of my Watch 4. The new Google Play store support was a nice upgrade and having proper Google Maps on my wrist is literally amazing whenever I'm on vacation in a different city. On-board music storage is super handy for leaving the phone at home when I go for a run too. I'm sorry, beloved Note 20 Ultra, but dragging myself up a hill is hard enough without your dead weight trying to pants me midstride.
And yes, whenever anyone asks me what the best smartwatch or best fitness tracker is, I'll enthusiastically rave about the Watch 4 automatically and rattle off all the cool features - then ruin it by giving them a grave warning about its weak-ass battery. Then they shrug and say they wouldn't don't mind charging it every day while I silently judge them.
If you're siding with them, though, then this is also your lucky day as you can save $100 on the Galaxy Watch 4 this Prime Day. It's a great chance to save a serious amount of cash on an otherwise stunning device, and from early reports, the upcoming Galaxy Watch 5 might not be getting the battery upgrade I've been hoping for. The Fitbit Sense 2 might be the best of both worlds though, if it decides to show up this year.
Diving in with Brendan today and grabbing this long-lasting fitness tracker? Then add a few extra style options with something from our guide to the best Fitbit Charge 5 bands.
