The first Fitbit Edge tests: battery lasts a week, but distance often reads short
Independent reviewers have now tested Google’s $179.99 tracker against watches, bike computers and phones. Its GPS beats the old Charge 6, but in every published distance comparison it came up short.
The first independent reviews of Google’s Fitbit Edge agree on its battery life and on its improvement over the Charge 6, but not on its GPS. In all three outings where reviewers published distance figures alongside another device, the Edge recorded the shortest distance.
The Edge, a slim tracker with a screen, built-in GPS and a replaceable battery, went on sale on 27 October at $179.99 in the US and £159.99 in the UK. Until reviews appeared on 26 and 27 October, every accuracy claim, including “up to 40%” better GPS tracking than earlier Fitbits, came from Google.
GPS: good tracks, short distances
Ray Maker of DC Rainmaker rode with the Edge alongside a Garmin Edge 1060 and a COROS Dura 2 bike computer, and ran a 5 km trail and pavement loop with a Garmin Fenix 9 Pro and a Suunto Run 2. On the run he found the Edge’s track “not meaningfully different” from either watch. On a slow, steep climb it wobbled more than the others, and its barometric altimeter stayed within a couple of metres most of the time.
“Overall, this is a massive upgrade over the Fitbit Charge 6 for both heart rate and GPS,” Maker wrote.
Other reviewers compared total distance, and their numbers point the other way. Joe Maring of Android Authority set a 10 km (6.22-mile) goal for a run. The Edge recorded 6.25 miles, while Strava on his phone and his Amazfit watch both recorded 6.42 miles. That is about 2.6% short. “GPS accuracy just isn’t very good,” he wrote.
Dan Bracaglia of Tom’s Guide walked two hilly routes in Seattle. On the first, the Edge logged 2.29 miles against 2.47 miles for the Strava app on an iPhone 16 Plus, about 7% less. On the second, it logged 3.15 miles, an Apple Watch 12 logged 3.22 and Strava 3.28. Its elevation figures were close to Strava’s on both walks. Bracaglia still rated the Edge’s fitness tracking 4.5 out of 5.
These are single outings, with a phone app or another watch as the comparison rather than a measured course, so none of them proves a systematic error. But the direction is consistent across two outlets.
Heart rate: OK, not great
The Edge uses a smaller optical sensor than the Pixel Watch 5, because the case is too small for Google’s watch sensor, DC Rainmaker reported. Maker called its heart rate “OK (though not great)”. It struggled at the start of an indoor interval ride and on an opening descent outdoors before settling, and was “a bit prickly” on a 90-minute mixed road and gravel ride, though it followed the right trends. On a steep 5 km trail run it was “pretty solid”.
On Tom’s Guide’s second walk, the Edge’s average heart rate was 115 beats per minute against 133 for the Apple Watch, and its maximum 163 against 168. Tom’s Guide did not publish a chest-strap reading for comparison.
Battery: the claim holds
Google rates the Edge at up to seven days, or about two with the always-on display. Reviewers broadly confirmed it:
- Tom’s Guide got eight days with a GPS workout of about 45 minutes each day.
- Android Authority finished day seven with a little over 10% left.
- Droid Life’s replacement unit ran from 16 to 24 October before needing a charge, with 14% remaining. The first unit was replaced because of a faulty band connector.
- DC Rainmaker measured about 15% an hour during GPS workouts with the always-on display, and about 8% an hour on a five-hour ride without it.
What is missing
The limits are mostly in software. Android Authority found no vibration alerts for mile splits, and workout screens cannot be customised, a point DC Rainmaker also made. The Edge can broadcast heart rate to apps such as Zwift and Peloton but not to Garmin Edge bike computers, according to DC Rainmaker. There is no NFC for payments, and the most detailed analysis needs a Google Health Premium subscription, with three months included.
The verdicts split on value. Tom’s Guide called it “just the right amount of fitness tracker for most folks”. Android Authority said it “feels stuck in the middle” and pointed to cheaper rivals. DC Rainmaker concluded: “For the vast majority of users, the Fitbit Edge will be a notable upgrade over the Fitbit Charge 6.”
For runners who care about exact splits, the early evidence suggests checking the Edge’s distances against a known course before trusting them.
