We’ve tested a number of the best fitness trackers to help you meet your New Year’s goals.
From sleep tracking to stress management, the best fitness trackers offer a range of impressive features at different price points. If you’re not sure which smartwatch is worthy of a place on your wrist, we’ve spent countless hours testing the latest models from the likes of Fitbit, Garmin and Apple to help you find a great option. Below, you can find the results of our in-depth testing processes.
To help you find a product that ticks your boxes, we’ve highlighted the standout feature of each watch in this guide. For even more options, check out our guides to the best Fitbit and best Garmin watches. On top of that, the watch has an app library that’s bigger than all of its rivals put together. You can find second-party apps that will improve your yoga flows, help track your workouts and guide you on meditations. Compared with its predecessor, the Apple Watch Series 8 also offers more in-depth data on activities like running, including heart rate zones. You can even create custom workouts and save them to your watch.
It lets you download music and podcasts from some of the most popular music services, including Spotify and Deezer. And the MiP screen only becomes clearer in bright sunlight, so tracked outdoor sessions won’t kill the long-lasting battery. 3. Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 7 Best fitness tracker on a budgetSpecificationsScreen: 1.
4. Garmin Forerunner 955 Best fitness tracker for runnersSpecificationsScreen: 1.
5. Fitbit Sense Best fitness tracker for stress managementSpecificationsScreen: 1.58in 336 x 336 OLEDWater resistance: 5ATMGPS: YesCompatibility: iOS, AndroidBattery life: 6 daysReasons to buy+Nice, understated design+Bright display+Stress Score could be really helpful Reasons to avoid-Pricier than any other Fitbit -No offline audio unless you’re on Deezer or Pandora The Fitbit Sense is our favorite model from Fitbit, thanks to its combination of features and sleek AMOLED display.
6. Fitbit Charge 5 Best fitness tracker for sleep trackingSpecificationsScreen: 1.04in OLEDWater resistance: 5ATMGPS: YesCompatibility: iOS, AndroidBattery life: 7 daysReasons to buy+Has built-in GPS+Advanced health features like ECG and EDA+Small and lightReasons to avoid-Some core features sit behind a paywall-Lacks the Spotify controls of other FitbitsWe reckon that the Charge 5 is the best Fitbit for most people.
7. Whoop 4.0 Best screen-free fitness trackerSpecificationsScreen: N/AWater resistance: IP68/2M depth GPS: NoCompatibility: iOS, AndroidBattery life: 4-5 daysReasons to buy+A unique approach to wearables+Offers advice tailor made for committed athletes+Useful for fine-tuning exercise workloadsReasons to avoid-High monthly costs-Accuracy still is not close to best-in-class-Lacks basics like step countsThe Whoop 4.0 bucks nearly every trend going.
Also, when following the recommendations of the sleep coach on when to go to bed and how much sleep we needed, we were able to improve our recovery score and felt noticeably fresher the following day. The message is clear: the Amazfit GTR 3 does a lot, for not all that much money. It’s important not to expect stellar depth or accuracy, though. The heart rate sensor is not as good at tracking interval workouts as an Apple Watch or Garmin Instinct 2, and unlike the “Pro” version of the GTR 3, you can’t load this watch up with music for phone-free workouts.
The Withings ScanWatch is iOS and Android compatible and partners with the Health Mate app, where you have access to a dashboard of data like blood pressure, average heart rate, and more in-depth sleep analysis. You can also link up to third-party apps including Strava and Apple Health, and set up weight loss goals, macro tracking, or step count. It’s even waterproof if you fancy taking it for a swim, but it’ll set you back a cool $279.95/£249.95.
There’s an impressive amount of data gathered by the ring. It measures your heart rate at various intervals throughout the day, along with your heart rate variability at night, to help check for potential health problems. And it has a helpful ‘readiness’ feature that will let you know if you should prioritise exercise or rest.
One thing Fitbit is really good at is sleep tracking, and the Versa is no exception. You can monitor your sleep patterns through the night and the spO2 sensor will measure your blood oxygen levels so you can track the data when you wake up . Our main gripe is you can’t download playlists and listen to music offline, unless you have Deezer or Pandora.
The Huawei Band 3 Pro has a phone finder feature, and you can see incoming calls with caller ID, receive message alerts and certain notifications from apps, but to be honest we found the way you view these notifications slightly awkward. How we test fitness trackersYou can trust our recommendations when it comes to picking the best fitness trackers; each product on this list has been tried and tested by our expert fitness team. We gathered a range of top wearables and put them through their paces, wearing them for a variety of activities including running, swimming, gym sessions, HIIT workouts, and more.
The latest Garmins also have more advanced GPS, with support for multi-band reception and Galileo. Don’t know what those are? It means you’ll get reliable signals across a wider range of locations and environment types — but that probably won’t have much of an effect if you plan on going for runs around your local park.
Apple’s Heart Study from 2019 found 34% of those who were given an alert from their Apple Watch’s ECG did indeed have atrial fibrillation. It can be a genuinely useful feature from a health perspective. This makes Fitbits better for sleep tracking, and Fitbit probably still has the best sleep tracking software on the market right now . However, to get the most out of a Fitbit you’ll need a Premium subscription . This offers additional stats and proper longer-term health metrics, as well as loads of workouts and mindfulness sessions.
If the Apple Watch had Fitbit’s battery life, this would be a fairly clean sweep for Apple. But it doesn’t, and many will find a Fitbit easier to get along with longer-term. Some fitness trackers have a feature that lets you sound an alarm on your phone should you misplace it. And nowadays plenty have advanced health and fitness features.
Are fitness trackers accurateFitness trackers record a bunch of metrics, each of which introduces accuracy headaches. For step counting, how does a tracker separate steps from hand movements while you work sat at a desk? How can a yoga tracking mode really judge calories burnt when it does not know your muscle tension or perhaps even the positions you adopt?
A lot of other trackers still struggle a little with heart rate readings, though. Interval training and very high exertion in general can be problematic, although in truth this is not a huge issue for most people. Are you really going to pore over the heart rate graph in your tracker’s app? You should also make sure your tracker’s strap is snug and firmly strapped on before starting a tracked exercise session. This will get you the best results from the heart rate sensor.
However, such methods that do not demand bespoke hardware do need to be regularly recalibrated using a traditional blood pressure cuff. Samsung says results should be taken with one every four weeks, for example.
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