The spate of online-first shopping has transformed Black Friday from a single-day event to one that lasts several weeks preceding the big holiday. Some of the best Black Friday deals have been live since the last few weeks to allow shoppers to claim the best offers before stocks run out. With the world finally going back to normal, many people might want to resume their outdoor activities and make resolutions around fitness once again this New Year’s. A fitness tracker can be valuable if you want to maintain and realistically achieve your goals. And, when we think of fitness trackers, the brand that always springs to mind is Fitbit. A variety of Fitbit products have been on sale this year, and we have already covered the top Black Friday Fitbit deals for you to take a look at.
Presumably, you are already past the question “Should you buy a Fitbit?” and have figured out the answer. You might still not be sure of which model to buy, however, as there are several unique products in the Fitbit lineup. We can help you narrow the list down by exploring the features of some of the most popular Fitbit watches available this year.
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Which Fitbit should you buy on Black Friday?
Fitbit offers numerous products for all lifestyles and budgets. While our first recommendation is the Fitbit Sense, it may not be wanted by every user, especially those who need a lighter gadget weighing their wrist down all day. For those, we have covered the Fitbit Versa and the Fitbit Charge series. Each model has a unique identity — here’s what you need to know before buying a Fitbit on Black Friday.
Fitbit Sense
Fitbit Sense is the most premium smartwatch from the company. Justifying its premium tag, the Fitbit Sense features a polished stainless steel dial with an AMOLED display. You can also personalize the smartwatch using different watch faces or choose different straps for it.
The Fitbit Sense comes with an extravagant set of features including an ECG sensor on the smartwatch itself. Using this ECG sensor, you can detect irregularities in your heart’s rhythms as well as conditions such as atrial fibrillation (AFib). Meanwhile, the Sense has a continuous heart rate sensor that runs 24×7 and studies the variations in your heart rate to measure stress — or warn you about any underlying abnormalities. In addition, this watch can also measure the temperature of your skin and detect oxygen concentration in your blood (known as SpO2), and these factors, i.e. a higher than usual temperature and a lower SpO2 value, can also warn you of the chances of being infected with COVID-19.
True to its name, this Fitbit also senses your stress levels right off your skin throughout the day and lets you log your mood so you can see trends (if any). Even when you can’t feel better just by tracking your mood, the smartwatch can help you get some respite with guided breathing exercises. While you’re asleep, the Fitbit Sense notes your breathing rate and different cycles through your sleep and helps you wake up at the most suitable time with its smart alarm feature. It can even detect snoring or any other noises so you — or your partner — sleep peacefully through the night.
For fitness, the Fitbit Sense can track your activity using more than 20 different modes. You can either select a mode manually or use the SmartTrack feature to let the smartwatch detect activities automatically. When you head outside, the inbuilt GPS can track your fitness routes and show the intensity at different points in your journey using a workout intensity map in the companion app on your phone. If you’re hitting the waves, Fitbit Sense can also be taken with you up to 50 meters underwater.
Letting you stay connected, the Fitbit Sense can alert you about texts, app notifications, and incoming calls. If you would rather take a break, you can use the Do Not Disturb mode on the smartwatch. Or, you can talk to Google Assistant or Alexa to control smart devices at your home. The onboard storage will let you carry music and podcasts with you. And if you plan to leave your smartphone behind for ease, you can just pair a Bluetooth headset like AirPods to enjoy the media on the go.
Currently, you can get the Fitbit Sense for $200 instead of $300 if you buy it while the Black Friday 2021 sale lasts.
- View Fitbit Sense Black Friday deals at Amazon
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- View Fitbit Sense Black Friday deals at Walmart
Fitbit Versa
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The Fitbit Versa is the second most feature-rich series from the company after the Sense. The latest model — Fitbit Versa 3 — gets many features from its more powerful sibling, Fitbit Sense, including continuous heart rate monitoring, outdoor workout tracking, and activity mapping for over 20 modes, guided breathing exercises, voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistants, and sleep tracking.
When we compare the Fitbit Versa 3 vs. Fitbit Sense, we see the two smartwatches bring similar features onboard. The former, however, will miss out on dedicated sensors for ECG and stress level tracking available on the Sense. The Versa 3 does try to make up for the lack of these features by actively tracking your activity throughout the day and even sending your personalized reminders to exercise or sleep as per schedule.
The Fitbit Versa 3 will also send you reminders, notifications, and call alerts and even let you store music on the smartwatch. The Versa 3 also supports a variety of watch faces, allowing you to store up to five favorites on the watch itself.
If you are looking for a slightly higher discount, you can pick the older Fitbit Versa 2 versus the Versa 3. However, for the lower price, you will have trade away features like fast charging, and built-in GPS. It also gets an AMOLED display, a battery life of over six days per charge, and support for Alexa. The Fitbit Versa 2 is currently available for $179 as part of the Black Friday 2021 deals.
You can also consider the Fitbit Versa Lite in place of the Versa 2 for even less. The Lite suffix is derived from its lack of storage or GPS, which contributes to a lighter design without any compromise in terms of style. With fewer features, you also get a longer battery life on the Versa Lite.
- View Fitbit Versa Black Friday deals at Amazon
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Fitbit Charge
Yoona Wagener / Digital Trends
For a sportier and more comfortable design, you can consider the Fitbit Charge series. Instead of a smartwatch, the Fitbit Charge series fits the description of a fitness band. While that allows for a more compact form, the Fitbit Charge 5 — the latest fitness tracker in this series — offers nearly the same features as the Fitbit Sense for a much lower price. For $130, the Fitbit Charge brings features such as ECG to a smaller size. The Fitbit Charge 5 also offers continuous heart rate detection and heart rate variability, SpO2 measurement, breathing rate monitoring, and stress management. You can also use the Fitbit Charge 5 to get daily reminders that help you stay active as well as grounded or follow guided breathing exercises to calm yourself down.
True to its pedigree, the Fitbit Charge will offer you similar fitness tracking as the Sense and Versa 3, thanks to its built-in GPS. You can also expect it to show you the intensity map of your outdoor activity for more than 20 exercise modes. The Fitbit Charge 5 is also fit for swimming and can bear being kept underwater for up to a depth of 50 meters. The Daily Readiness Score on this fitness tracker will tell you if you should prioritize working out or letting your body recover on a specific day.
Thanks to its AMOLED display, the Fitbit Charge 5 also features Always-On Display. You can change the watch faces, but for a higher degree of customization, you can buy separate bands to replace the stock ones.
If you want a more affordable Fitbit, you can pick a generation older variant, i.e. the Fitbit Charge 4, for as low as $129. You will get all the features of the Fitbit Charge 5 but with a compromise in terms of the display. Instead of a vibrant color display, you get a black and white OLED display on the Charge 4. But other than an inferior display, there isn’t much that you will miss in terms of the features for indoor or outdoor fitness.
- View Fitbit Charge Black Friday deals at Amazon
- View Fitbit Black Friday deals at Best Buy
- View Fitbit Black Friday deals at Walmart