Google’s Fitbit Charge 6 will finally bring the physical button back

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9to5Google has multiple ‘sources familiar with the matter.’

By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.

Person with colorful manicure using the Fitbit Charge 3 with a clear view of the inductive button.

a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

We wouldn’t have been totally surprised if Google axed Fitbit entirely after recent woes, but it sounds like the company might be listening instead! 9to5Google is reporting that a Fitbit Charge 6, coming this year, will bring back the physical button.

We panned the Fitbit Charge 5 because of its confusing touchscreen user interface, which was itself a replacement for the confusing capacitive button that haunted the Fitbit Charge 4 and 3. (Here’s an entire Button of the Month column about the lesson Fitbit might have learned from that capacitive key.)

9to5Google doesn’t have a lot of details about the new wearable, but “sources familiar with the matter” tell the publication that it “looks exactly like the Charge 5 except for the addition of a physical button on the left edge.”

And, they add, it will let you play YouTube Music or use Google Maps to navigate to a predefined address from your wrist. Fitbit recently announced a minimalist new app that it’ll likely pair with — sans challenges — and you may need a Google account to use it.

I guess we know what that FCC filing was all about!

Google is launching its Pixel 8 phones at an event on October 4th. While Fitbit wasn’t mentioned, I suspect we may see the new Fitbit Charge 6 at or around that event.

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