Fitbit Charge 5 Vs Huawei Band 7 : Which Will You Choose
To make a reasonable comparison between the two devices, it is important to consider the distinct features of each brand. After testing a variety of Fitbit and Huawei Watch models, one can gain an appreciation of the unique benefits each has to offer. Whereas Fitbit devices focus more on health monitoring, Huawei watches provide users with capabilities such as fitness tracking and social connections.
In a way it feels like a mismatch and this comparison will reflect a lopsided result. As always I have chosen 4 sectors to compare the 2 devices in. Here is a summary of the results
With Fitbit Premium
| Fitness Tracker Feature | Winner |
| Smart Features | Huawei Band 7 |
| Health Features | Fitbit Charge 5 |
| Activity Tracking | Huawei Band 7 |
| Battery Life | Huawei Band 7 |
Without Fitbit Premium
| Fitness Tracker Feature | Winner |
| Smart Features | Huawei Band 7 |
| Health Features | Huawei Band 7 |
| Activity Tracking | Huawei Band 7 |
| Battery Life | Huawei Band 7 |
All in all, the Huawei Band 7 is the winner in this comparison by a score of 7-1. It is important to note that this doesn’t mean the Huawei Band 7 is better than the Fitbit Charge 5. In fact, the Fitbit Charge 5 is a great device with many health features. I’ll explain my reasoning in more detail at the end of the article.
Smart Features : Winner Huawei Band 7
This one wasnt to hard to judge a winner here. The Fitbit Charge 5’s smart features is okay for what is, but can be problematic at times. If you look at the smart features that the Fitbit Charge 5 provides is
- NFC (can be problematic depending where you are in the world)
- Find your phone
- Quick messaging
After a lot of consideration, I chose the Huawei Band 7 as the best choice mainly because of its music feature. Having this feature is extremely helpful and something that many people desire. Additionally, the Band 7 also enables you to read messages more easily than the charge 5.
Health Features : Winner Fitbit Charge 5
This is Fitbit’s bread and butter and it does a great job. Then again if you decide not to take up the extra cost of Fitbit premium, all you are left with is a basic fitness tracker and the winner would be in the Huawei Band 7. If you are a Fitbit premium subscriber then you will have access to
- Afib notifications
- Advanced sleep tracking, thats very reliable and accurate
- ECG app to track your stress and other health indicators
- Skin temperture readings for optimal sleep
- Daily readiness score,
This is where the line is drawn with many people as they would rather pay a one off cost for a tracker. A continuous subscription will cost a lot more in the long run.
Activity Features : Winner Huawei Band 7
This one wasnt too hard to pick a winner, and in fact this is Huawei’s bread and butter. No disrespect to the Charge 5 which offers some basic fitness tracking options. To be honest, there is a need for basic fitness tracking because there are people who do prefer this option.
The Huawei Band 7 is an excellent fitness device with more than a hundred different workout modes that can track all your activities with great accuracy. Furthermore, having more workout modes doesn’t necessarily mean that the Band 7 is better than the Charge 5; it only means that the activity tracking can be much more precise and accurate, because each workout is designed with its own specialized algorithm.
Where the Band 7 really gets an edge is the new feature called workout status. I really love this new feature in the Band 7 and it can offer so many things like
- Running Ability Index : This feature will automatically give you a score on your running efficiency and can help you to improve your running.
- Training Load : This is the score that shows you how much stress your body has to deal with during excercise. This is similar to the Fitbit premiums daily readiness score.
- VO2 Max : This is a metric that shows you how well your body can utilize yesterdays training and how much you can perform better in the future.
I have some reservations about the accuracy of the running ability index as the Band 7 only has a built-in gyroscope sensor to monitor your running technique. For more accurate running tracking, I’d suggest opting for a more advanced Huawei device – like the Huawei GT 3 or the Huawei GT Runner – which make use of more than one sensor. Despite that, the Band 7 still performs quite well for a more basic device.
One thing that the Charge 5 has that the Band 7 doesn’t is that it has a built in GPS sensor. If you have read my previous articles you would know that I dont recommend using the GPS. The accuracy is way off and the battery drain is through the roof, so your better off using your own device to track your GPS run. If the GPS tracking was accurate, the Band 7 will still be the winner.
Battery Life : Winner Huawei Band 7
The battery life of the Band 7 is incredible and is probaby the best one that I have tested to date. On the label itself Huawei claims you can get at least 14 days of battery life. That would be true if you do very little activity throughout the day. I consider myself a heavy user and use my device quite a lot and my typical usage is for 6-7 days.
What’s really impressive is the Band 7 recharge rate. From 0% to 100% it took only 35 minutes, which is an impressive 21 seconds for every 1% charged. In comparison to the Charge 5, it took 150 minutes to charge from 0% to 100%, which is about 90 seconds for every 1% charged.
Those are some crazy comparisons there which makes the Band 7 recharge rate is 4 times faster than the Charge 5. From my experience using the Band 7 for 3 or so months this is such and awesome feature to have.
Final Conclusion
The Huawei Band 7 was a total triumph in this showdown. From the outset, it was evident that pitting these two devices against each other was no contest, as the two brands both bring something unique to the table. Fitbit is renowned for their health-oriented features and luxurious design, whilst Huawei devices focus on providing a range of activity tracking and social networking options. You could say it’s their own unique niche in the fitness tracker market.
The Huawei Band 7 is a great device, actually all of the Huawei devices this year have been great. I have tested the Huawei Watch Fit 2, and the Huawei GT 3 , GT runner, fantastic watch’s. Especially the battery life and fast charge which is such a awesome feature to have. I always run my battery right to the bone before recharging, At times I make sure I have more than 14% battery if Im out and about. If not I can charge the Band 7 for 5 minutes which will give me enough battery life before I get home to fully recharge.
