Fitbit Charge 5 And Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige

As technology improves, we become increasingly able to quantify the things that matter in something as simple as a Fitbit Charge 5 and Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige

- Jonathan Ho

Fitbit Charge 5

As I unboxed the Fitbit Charge 5, the missus chimed in with a question, “In a world of Apple watches, does one still need a Fitbit?” In a world measured by increasing computing power in more and more compact cases, the question seems rhetorical. However, there was once a time when the Apple Watch was a rather high-end (read: expensive) smartwatch and Fitbit enjoyed a reputation for being a simple, no-frills, modestly priced activity band.

With Fitbit adding apps and touchscreens to its trackers, and Apple adding more health features to its Watch, boundaries became blurred. Furthermore, you can now get an Apple Watch (albeit older models) for less than $300, and a top-of-the-line Fitbit for more than $280. Simply put, the Fitbit has a more expansive product lineup than Apple with products in two categories: activity bands and smartwatches. Its latest Charge 5 is the latter, albeit a waterproof one disguised as an activity tracker.

Offering new ECG (Electrocardiogram) and EDA (Electrodermal Activity) scans, Fitbit Charge 5 is Fitbit’s most advanced tracker. For years, fitness trackers and smartwatches have offered us a wealth of data gathered from our wrists for years, but the reality was that unless you had medical training, these numbers and their interpretation were not particularly meaningful for most people beyond the “benchmark” numbers. The Charge 5 is the first to answer the question of these numbers in the context of good sleep, stress, heart-rate variability.