Everything old is new again with the Fitbit Edge

Last week, I sank into my living area couch and watched a bedraggled, nihilistic Matthew McConaughey obtain a drag of a cigaret in period 1 of True Detective. “You know, person formerly told me period is a flat circle. Everything we’ve done, or volition do, we’re gonna do complete and complete and complete again.” I assume most group aren’t thinking concerning fitness trackers or gadgets during observing that scene. But in that moment, I couldn’t assistance but think concerning the Fitbit Edge on my wrist.

The $179.99 Edge is a modernized type of the 2014-to-2020 era of fitness bands — your Charges, your Altas, your Inspires. If you’ve always owned one, you already cognize the huge bulk of what the Edge is like. It’s lightweight. You rub on a small display that shows you essential health and fitness metrics. It lasts for concerning a week on a accusation — although that shrunk downward to concerning a day and a fractional alongside the always-on display enabled. It’s a equipment that isn’t trying to be much additional than what it is.

The difference is that the Edge feels additional refined on the wrist. Where the Fitbit Charge 6’s display felt boxy, the Edge is completely rounded, giving it a softer vibe. The straps are interchangeable, but alongside an easier button-release system. The metal element nexus bracelet gives it a additional jewelry-like feel, although it expenses nearly as much as the Edge itself at $150. I’m partial to the $60 magnetic strap, which mimics leather notwithstanding being made of silicone. The widgets get heavily from the Pixel Watch’s Material 3 Expressive redesign. Though to be clear, this is a proprietary Fitbit OS, not Wear OS. Some of the new watchfaces are elegant, although others emphasize the Edge’s big dreary bezels. (Some things really never change.)

Functionally, it’s additionally a stage complete the Fitbit Air. There’s built-in GPS for tracking walks and runs without your phone. You can have alarms, perspective notifications, and authority music. You can’t obtain calls on the wrist — there are no microphones or speakers. Contactless payments are additionally a no-go. Andy Abramson, caput of merchandise at Google Health, says that’s since “less than one percent [of Charge 6 owners] used the feature” and that Google alternatively prioritized a “sleek design, altimeter, and weeklong battery.” That walks rear several of the advancements that have arrive to the Charge lineup complete the years, but if you desire to put a argent lining on that, it narrows the Edge’s focus. This is a fitness tracker. There’s several glanceable information, but there’s entirely no smartwatch creep here.

The big application alter is the demise of the Fitbit app as we knew it. It’s Google Health now, alongside an AI trainer if you pony up for the annual subscription. (You get three months liberated alongside purchase; alternatively it’s $10 monthly.) I’ve written concerning the general cognition in my Fitbit Air review. The broad strokes are the same, although in the months since, Google has spent a lot of period tinkering alongside and iterating on it. Most notably, the business has beefed up automatic action tracking.

To test this, I tracked a fistful of runs on the Edge without officially starting an activity. I afterward compared that to one tracked by an Apple Watch Ultra 4 and my iPhone’s Runna app. I was surprised, but noticed limitations. For example, on a 2.4-mile run alongside a five-minute warmup stroll and cooldown, the Edge correctly identified the exact instant my warmup transitioned into a legit run and afterward rear into a walk. The estimated extend was additionally beautiful decent at 2.55 miles. It wasn’t fairly as fine at gauging my operating speed. It logged me as operating a 10’49” mile pace, whereas my genuine gait according to the Apple Watch and my phone was 11’38”. This form was fairly representative throughout my testing, so it’s additional that this is a nifty way to motionless “get credit” if you ignore to track an activity.

Otherwise, the AI trainer is motionless a Chatty Cathy and requires several weekly hand-holding to get the most out of it. I’ll say it again: The Google Health app can awareness cluttered, and I get tripped up looking for data that used to be uncomplicated to find, akin former workouts. However, if you’re new to fitness and desire direction in creating and sticking to a tradition AI-generated routine, this is motionless the finest cognition I’ve had so far. The bar is in hell, though, and beware what you initially portion alongside the coach. I regret always telling it I used to have shin splints, as it remains convinced my absolutely fine shins are in danger of disintegrating alongside all run.

I desire I could inform you concerning the Health Guardian features, which should let Fitbit Edge users see noninvasive insulin opposition and lifeblood force trends. Alas, the way my evaluation agenda worked out, I have to delay until November 1st to get my first results.

All in all, I enjoyed the Fitbit Edge as a low-key tracker. This volition petition to folks who fair desire the basics, but aren’t consenting to commit to the screenless life. I’m thinking of the Vergecast listeners who occasionally compose in, wondering what happened to uncomplicated fitness bands, tired of the smartwatch agenda that took complete the former few years. The lone gripe I really have is $179.99 feels a tad costly for what you’re getting. Especially since the Fitbit Air is lone $99, and for iPhone users, the Apple Watch SE 3 starts at $249. Brands akin Xiaomi and Amazfit additionally recommendation much cheaper trackers alongside displays, equal if they’re not fairly as sleek on the wrist.

You have to admit: It’s benevolent of comic that in 2026 we’ve gone complete circle and arrive rear to this particular form factor. For the former two weeks of testing, I felt akin I’d been ruined rear to what I idea was a bygone era in my career. My bet is motionless on smartwatches being the foremost wrist-based wearable in the years to come. However, this renewed yearning for simpler trackers feels important at a period whenever AI health and fitness coaches petition additional data in increasingly invasive ways. There’s a expanding weariness that can’t be ignored — and yet for many of us, it’s not completely applicable to really log off alongside a screenless device. So if that’s you, the Edge is current since hey — period really is a flat circle.