Fitbit – or Google – has been offering various wearables and providing them with software updates for quite some time now. In many cases, these are not just bug fixes, but also updates that add new functions. In December 2023, a new update was released for the Fitbit Charge 5, updating the firmware of the smartwatch to version 194.91.
The new update adds the possibility of launching all exercises from the Exercise app. New watch faces are also available, allowing users to better customize the appearance. As a further premium feature, the daily form score can now also be displayed, which utilizes various parameters to determine the user’s willingness to perform. This is calculated from activity levels, sleep quality and duration, as well as heart rate variability. In the best case scenario, athletes can make training intensity dependent on their daily form in order to prevent overtraining and injuries.
Minor bug fixes and improvements have been integrated as well as an improved character display. However, the update also appears to be accompanied by a major problem: Numerous users on the Fitbit forum have reported that the wearable’s battery has been draining much faster since the update. In some cases, the battery is said to discharge completely within just a few hours, even under not-so-intensive use. Some users even report that their Fitbit Charge 5 can no longer be charged at all after the update, rendering it unusable.
I have been active as a journalist for over 10 years, most of it in the field of technology. I worked for Tom’s Hardware and ComputerBase, among others, and have been working for Notebookcheck since 2017. My current focus is particularly on mini PCs and single-board computers such as the Raspberry Pi – so in other words, compact systems with a lot of potential. In addition, I have a soft spot for all kinds of wearables, especially smartwatches. My main profession is as a laboratory engineer, which is why neither scientific contexts nor the interpretation of complex measurements are foreign to me.
Growing up in regional Australia, I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Now I live in Germany, having moved here in 2014, where I study philosophy and anthropology. I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.
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