1 week Ago By Victoria Song
Fitness trackers have come a long way from the simple bands that tracked steps and little else. Modern trackers can monitor everything from your heart health to how well you’ve recovered from a hard bout of training. Even flagship smartwatches, which used to be lackluster trackers, have become pretty adept workout companions.
Whatever your fitness goals are, there’s probably a fitness tracker that can help you achieve them. Compared to some other gadgets, wearables are incredibly personal, which means there are you’ll have to take into account before reaching for your wallet. It makes it hard to say that any one fitness tracker is the best for everyone.
Thankfully, the best thing about fitness trackers in 2024 is that there’s enough variety to fit into every kind of lifestyle. Right now, we’re heading into the holiday shopping season. A little patience goes a long way this time of year.
Retailers and companies alike will be trying to get rid of old stock, meaning discounts galore ahead of . If you don’t need the latest and greatest, it’s a good time to snag last year’s models in nicer materials. Best fitness tracker overall The Amazfit GTR 4 punches way above its weight.
It includes a whole array of features you’d expect to see on much pricier wearables, like a bright OLED screen, blood oxygen monitoring, sleep stage tracking, stress tracking, Amazon Alexa compatibility, and an offline digital assistant. It’s also got a native camera remote and a handy Pomodoro timer built in. And for outdoor fitness enthusiasts, the GTR 4 has multiband GPS for more accurate GPS tracking in challenging environments.
You can even import GPX routes from sites like Strava and Komoot. The GTR 4 takes a more holistic approach to health, trading in steps for PAI points to gauge whether you’re getting the recommended 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. For smart features, the GTR 4 has all the basics: push notifications, quick text replies on Android, alarms, timers, and the ability to make and take calls over Bluetooth.
The only thing the GTR 4 is really missing is contactless payments, but it more than makes up for it, given the expansive feature set and battery life. It lasts about 10–14 days on a single charge with normal use and about a week with heavy usage. It may not have the brand recognition of a Fitbit, but since Google nerfed both the Versa 4 and , you might want to overlook that.
Plus, the GTR 4 doesn’t have thick bezels like either of those watches. Watchfaces on the OLED display are crisp, and animations are smooth. When you consider that Amazfit watches are often on sale, it’s a no-brainer.
Best fitness watch for casual users The $250 Garmin Venu Sq 2 is the watch I recommend for anyone looking to replace their aging , 3, or 4. It’s got a similar look and vibe, with a much nicer OLED display and longer battery life. Garmin is known for its comprehensive fitness tracking, and that’s not an exception here.
Of course, you get the basics, like steps and calories burned, but you get a whole lot more, too. There’s built-in GPS for tracking walks, runs, and bike rides, as well as plenty of other sports profiles like yoga and strength training. For smart features, you get push notifications, timers, contactless payments, and a bunch of safety features like Garmin’s Incident Detection, which is its take on fall detection.
(You will need to carry your phone with you, however, as this doesn’t have LTE.) If you want the option of onboard music, you can shell out $50 extra for the Music Edition, which comes with enough storage for about 500 songs. I wouldn’t recommend it, however, as you’ll most likely have your phone on you since this isn’t a true standalone watch.
What I like most about this watch, however, is it’s one that you can grow with. On top of recovery metrics and sleep tracking, it also has Garmin Coach — a built-in, training program for beginner and intermediate-level runners hoping to tackle a 5K, 10K, or half marathon. For health tracking, you can monitor heart rate, blood oxygen, intensity minutes (how many minutes of moderate exercise you get per week), stress, hydration, respiratory rate, and menstrual cycles.
And the best part is Garmin doesn’t lock any of this behind a paywall. One note: there is a , which adds a newer heart rate sensor and nap detection. I liked it quite a bit, and it ticks off a lot of the right boxes — except for price.
It’s $450, which puts it outside what I’d consider ideal for casual users. The other option is Garmin’s — it’s a $249 budget training watch that’s quite similar to the Venu Sq 2 feature-wise, albeit with a sportier vibe. Basically, go with what you find on sale.
I firmly believe older models are still a good choice if all you want is the fitness-tracking basics. This is especially true since newer software updates often make their way to older Garmins. Garmin users also tend to hang onto their devices for a good while.
Strava’s 2023 year-end survey found that the most popular smartwatch among its users ! Best for serious outdoor athletes Garmin’s is no joke, and the Fenix 7 Pro lineup takes it up a notch. It’s got built-in multiband GPS, solar charging on all models, the option of touchscreen or button navigation, topographical maps, and oodles upon oodles of data. Plus, every Fenix 7 Pro model has a hands-free LED flashlight, an upgraded heart rate sensor, and an improved memory-in-pixel display that’s slightly easier to read in low lighting.
Garmin wearables are also known for providing extensive in-depth metrics, and the Fenix 7 Pro lineup is no exception. You get excellent recovery metrics as well as helpful training guides and coaching programs. The best part is that Garmin doesn’t charge extra for those features.
That’s good news, as these are expensive watches. I appreciate how quickly these Fenix 7 watches can pick up a GPS signal. That’s a must if you’re training in the dead of winter.
These watches can also take a beating. All models are built to military-grade standards and feature up to 10ATM of water resistance. That means they’re more than capable of a dunk in the ocean.
Although the screen is brighter, still aren’t my absolute favorite — the OLED on the and the Epix Pro are much easier on the eyes. It’s admittedly tough to pick between the Fenix 7, Fenix 7 Pro, Epix 2, and Epix Pro lineups — especially now that the Epix Pro also has great battery life, the LED flashlight, and now comes in multiple sizes. What it boils down to is whether you prioritize a brighter display, longer battery life, or price.
Personally, I prefer the Epix Pro for better readability, but the Fenix 7 Pro is the better choice if this is your first introduction to Garmin’s platform. You’ll get better battery life, the same LED flashlight, all the same training features, and a lower starting price. (You can also check out our if you’d like even more alternatives.
) Technically, there’s a on the block. That said, I still think the standard Fenix 7 or 7 Pro lineup is the better overall value. The adds diving features and voice assistant capabilities, but it also ups the standard Fenix 7’s starting price of $650 by an additional $350.
That’s tough to swallow, especially since holiday season is upon us and retailers may offer discounts on older models to get rid of existing inventory. Best non-wrist tracker The vast majority of fitness trackers are worn on the wrist, but the $349 isn’t. The smart ring is a good option for people who are looking for something a little more discreet.
It’s also less distracting than some other wrist-based options, as it lacks a screen and doesn’t mirror push notifications from your phone. The new Oura Ring 4 isn’t functionally that much different from the previous Gen 3. It’s slimmer, features a new all-titanium design, has improved battery life, and has a new sensor algorithm that Oura says is more accurate.
None of the new software features are gatekept to the Ring 4, so Gen 3 owners shouldn’t feel the need to upgrade unless their ring no longer lasts more than two days on a single charge. That said, the fourth-gen ring has an expanded size range spanning from 4 to 15. If you felt your Gen 3 was a bit snug or couldn’t find a size that fit right, you may have a better option now.
While smaller than your average wearable, the Oura Ring still tracks a ton of metrics, including heart rate variability, body temperature, blood oxygen, all-day heart rate monitoring, and cycle tracking. Since launching, the Oura Ring has also added activity tracking, , to help visualize your circadian rhythms, a social feature called , improved stress tracking, , and even an AI chatbot (in beta). It’s also rolled out a new that it claims is more accurate than before.
The app has also been entirely revamped to better organize all these new features and metrics. The Oura Ring tracks typical metrics — such as steps and calories burned — but its main focus is sleep and recovery. Each day, you’re given three sets of scores for your readiness, sleep, and activity.
It’s a simple, holistic look at your overall wellness and an ideal pick if you want a more hands-off experience with your data. If you’ve got a Samsung Galaxy Watch, you may want to consider the $399.99 .
It’s a bit more expensive than the base Oura Ring, but it doesn’t come with a subscription, and you get much better battery life when used with the Galaxy Watch. The hardware is also excellent, especially the charging case. That said, this is only an option for Android users, and even then, you don’t unlock its full potential unless you’ve got other Samsung gear.
I also recommend the for folks who don’t like the idea of Oura’s monthly subscription. You can read my experiences with , but right now, the Oura Ring is the most polished with the best overall experience. If you don’t mind a last-gen model, my pro tip is to get the Gen 3.
Oura will be looking to get rid of inventory, so it’s likely you’ll be able to snag a good discount while supplies last. Best fitness band It’s truly hard to beat the Amazfit Band 7’s $49.99 price — doubly so since you can often find it on sale for even less.
Wearing the Band 7 feels like a throwback to 2014, which is great if all you’re looking for is a simple and casual tracker that won’t break the bank. No one is going to compliment you on the Band 7’s design, but it’s got a handful of cute watchfaces that make good use of its OLED touchscreen. And despite having an OLED display, you’ll still get roughly 14 days of battery life on a single charge.
It’s also incredibly lightweight, making it a good option for sleep tracking as well. You also get an absurd number of features for the price. That includes Amazon Alexa, continuous heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen monitoring, stress tracking, advanced sleep tracking, training metrics like VO2 max and load, abnormal heart rate alerts, menstrual tracking, push notifications, find my phone, a camera remote, and even a Pomodoro timer.
You’re sacrificing contactless payments and will have to settle for tethered GPS, but this is a fair tradeoff considering everything else you’re getting. It’s not the best option for hardcore fitness tracking, but this is a great option if all you’re looking to do is casually track activity and your steps. Amazfit’s been making surprisingly good budget trackers for a while.
That said, if you’re a little wary of a lesser-known brand, the $159.95 is a decent alternative. It’s pricier, but you get a lot of what Amazfit is missing.
That includes Google services like YouTube Music, Google Wallet, and Google Maps. Plus, it has built-in GPS and the ability to broadcast your heart rate with some Bluetooth-compatible gym equipment. Most stylish fitness watch The $249.
95 Withings ScanWatch Light is a fetching hybrid analog smartwatch. Think of it as a dressier fitness band with some Swatch-like design sensibilities. It’s got all your basics like simple push notifications, timers, and alarms.
Plus, you can track steps, sleep, menstrual cycles, and GPS activities straight from the wrist. It looks spiffy on the wrist, and if you like a pop of color, Withings offers minty green and pale blue color options. It’s also got excellent battery life, with an estimated 30 days on a single charge.
I got a little less in testing at around 25 days, but that’s still much better than the vast majority of flagship smartwatches. This also looks way more stylish than beefier multisport watches with similar battery life. As its name suggests, the Light is a pared-down version of the $349.
95 ScanWatch 2. The main things you’re missing are an EKG sensor for atrial fibrillation detection, a temperature sensor, blood oxygen tracking, and an altimeter for tracking elevation. For basic fitness tracking, you don’t really need those sensors.
That’s why I think the extra $100 in savings is worth it for the Light, especially since both are lacking in safety features, contactless payments, and some other bells and whistles you can get from other watches in the $350 price range. That said, if you want extras, the ScanWatch 2 also gets you a slightly more elegant look thanks to the second step-counter dial. Another option I like is the $179.
99 , which actually dominated this category in the past few years. It’s hard to beat the price, especially since it gets you access to Garmin’s platform. However, Garmin’s “hidden” OLED display can get washed out in bright lighting, and battery life was significantly shorter than other hybrid analog watches at around five days.
Still, if you’d rather a platform with a focus on fitness rather than wellness, the Vivomove Sport may be the better move over a Withings watch. Best fitness tracker for iPhone users If you’re looking for a smartwatch that does fitness well, then iPhone owners need to look no further than the $399 Apple Watch Series 10. (The LTE version costs $50 more.
) This is another year of iterative updates, but the Series 10 is a much more comfortable watch than in years past. It’s thinner and lighter, plus there’s a larger display. If you’ve got a Series 5 or older, now is a good time to upgrade.
With watchOS 11, there’s a new suite of training features. There’s , which gives you greater insight into how intensely you’ve been working out the past week compared to the last 28 days. There’s also a new Vitals app that flags when key metrics, like sleep duration or heart rate, may be out of whack.
Plus, you can for rest days. The software update also brings some savvy updates to the Smart Stack. For example, if you’re in a noisy cafe wondering what song’s playing, the Smart Stack can now surface the Shazaam widget.
It also now supports Live Activities, turning your wrist into a mini Dynamic Island. Health-wise, we also now have FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection. Of course, we also have to address .
As of January 18th, 2024, new Apple Watches sold in the US have the blood oxygen feature disabled due to an ongoing patent battle with medical device maker Masimo. This isn’t a huge deal for most people, as this feature isn’t that useful for most people yet, and the new sleep apnea feature exclusively uses the accelerometer rather than the blood oxygen sensor. You might want to consider a refurbished Series 7 or 8 if blood oxygen sensing is important to you, however.
If you’re a first-time buyer, you can also opt for the second-gen . It’s slightly cheaper at $249, and while you don’t get as many features, it’s a good introduction to the ecosystem. Otherwise, if you’re the type of athlete who covets a Garmin, you may also want to consider splurging on the .
It’s more expensive at $799, but it does have the brightest screen of any Apple Watch, comes with dual-frequency GPS, has diving and hiking safety features, and is made of more durable materials. There’s also . Best fitness smartwatch for Samsung phones Truthfully, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra left me a bit disappointed after reviewing it — not because it’s a bad piece of hardware, but because it copies a bit too much from Apple.
Even so, this is the most full-featured fitness smartwatch a Samsung phone owner can buy. While I prefer the myself, I can’t say it’s the best for fitness tracking. There was too much of a gap between it and the Ultra in my testing as far as accuracy, especially for GPS tracking.
But what really sealed the deal for me was the difference in battery life. It’s simply night and day, and the Galaxy Watch 7 really struggled in this arena. (The gaps are much less egregious between the base Apple Watch and Ultra 2.
) The caveat is, if all you want is casual fitness tracking, the Galaxy Watch 7 is the better choice for wearability. It’s just more comfortable for sleep tracking and lighter overall. Just keep in mind it lacks the Ultra’s emergency siren and shortcut button, and the screen doesn’t get quite as bright.
With both watches, you get a faster processor, a new 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor, some AI health features, and FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection. The newer hardware makes for a more futureproof purchase, but I found the AI health features to be hit-or-miss in practice. As always, some features, like EKGs and sleep apnea detection, are limited to Samsung owners.
That makes this hard to wholeheartedly recommend this to non-Samsung Android users. But if the Ultra doesn’t float your boat, now is a good time to find the , particularly the base models, on sale. The base Galaxy Watch 7 may have newer hardware, but as far as actual use goes, it’s not a massive update over last year.
And if you’re into a physical rotating bezel, just go ahead and snag a Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. Best fitness smartwatch for Android With the Pixel Watch 3, Google is finally done playing catch-up. There are truly too many updates to call each one out individually, but overall, they fall into two buckets: refinement and expansion.
The hardware is mostly the same as last year’s Pixel Watch 2 in terms of design. However, we now have a brighter screen, smaller bezels, and a new 45mm size. The larger size is quite nice, especially if you prefer larger screens without sacrificing wearability.
Battery life is also better. There’s a new battery-saver mode that kicks in when you hit 15 percent and the new displays are also more power efficient. Plus, bedtime mode is automatic now, so that helps the watch last longer overnight for sleep tracking.
It’s only a modest improvement over the Pixel Watch 2, but it’s dramatic compared to the original. Software is where the Pixel Watch 3 makes the most updates. There are a ton of new fitness and health features, including a new running dashboard, custom running workouts, and AI-generated workout suggestions.
There’s also a revamped Daily Readiness Score and a new Cardio Load metric, which gauges how intensely you’ve been exercising. For European users, you can also get the new Loss of Pulse feature, which calls emergency services on your behalf if it detects you no longer have a pulse. Unfortunately, this isn’t available stateside, as it hasn’t yet received FDA clearance.
The Pixel Watch 3 also better integrates with Google services and the Pixel ecosystem. You can now view your Nest Doorbell or Camera feed straight from the wrist — and it’s quite handy if you get a lot of packages or guests. If you have Google TV, you can use the watch as a remote.
Now that the watch has an ultra wideband chip, it can also now unlock your Pixel phone. You can also use the Recorder app to capture audio and send it straight to your Pixel phone. That said, some of these features now mean the Pixel Watch works best with a Pixel phone.
If you’re looking for alternatives to Google and Samsung, the $299.99 is a strong alternative. You’re giving up LTE, but it’s a handsome-looking watch with surprisingly long battery life and Google Assistant from the get-go.
Best for early adopters and elite athletes The is not for the casual enthusiast. Not only does it come with an expensive monthly subscription, but the information it provides is only useful if you’re actively training for a cardio-intensive sport. If strength training is your main form of exercise, you’re better off looking elsewhere.
Like the Oura Ring, this is a distraction-free tracker that specializes in sleep and recovery. The main difference is this has a more athletic bent. For instance, you’ll get way more insight into how much strain you’ve taken on in the past week.
Whoop also provides , including in underwear and arm/knee sleeves. This makes it an appealing option if you’re one of those unicorns who needs a tracker to supplement another form of fitness tracking. Again, this is a tracker best appreciated by people who go hard and aren’t afraid to experiment.
Plus, Whoop recently in certain tiers, so while it’s still expensive, it’s not as pricey as it used to be..
