Monday, September 11, 2017

Best fitness trackers (September 2017)

Fitness trackers have come an extremely long way over the years. No longer are they glorified pedometers; they're much more than that. Most standard fitness trackers nowadays can track your steps taken, distance traveled, how many calories you've burned for the day, and even your sleeping patterns. They're handy little devices if you want a better look at how active you are throughout the day, and there are plenty to choose from.

Related:
Which Fitbit is right for you?

Which Fitbit is right for you?

5 days ago

We understand it can be a little daunting trying to choose which fitness tracker best suits your needs, so we've compiled a list of the best fitness trackers on the market. We've divided our list up into separate categories to help you narrow down your options. As always, if you feel like we missed something, be sure to tell us in the comment section below.

Without any further delay, here are the best fitness trackers you can buy right now.

Editor's Note: We will update this list as more devices hit the market.

The best fitness tracker

Garmin vívosmart HR+

garmin-vivosmart-hr-aa-3

The best fitness tracker you can buy right now is the Garmin vívosmart HR+. It's one of the most feature-packed, well-rounded wearables you'll find.

For starters, it has a big touchscreen display that's easy to read outdoors. And thanks to the larger screen, that means you'll be able to view more information on the tracker itself without having to pick up your phone to open the Garmin app. It also has a waterproof rating of up to 50 meters, which is a feature many other trackers don't offer.

The vívosmart HR+ is one of the most feature-packed, well-rounded wearables you'll find

How does it differ from our previous fitness tracking champion, the vívosmart HR? For starters, it comes with a built-in GPS while remaining just about the same size as its predecessor. The addition of a GPS brings some new running features like personal records, virtual pacer, Auto Pause, Auto Lap and walk/run mode. It will also track your activity and workouts automatically with Garmin's powerful Move IQ technology, something the vívosmart HR does not offer.

The vívosmart HR+ has been around for a few months now, so it's seen quite a few price drops since its launch. You can pick up the vívosmart HR+ from Amazon or Garmin.com for a little over $150, which is an absolute steal for what you're getting here. With a built-in GPS, great water resistance rating, automatic activity recognition, and the company's wonderful Auto Goal feature, the vívosmart HR+ is by far the best fitness tracker available in this price range.

Specs

  • Display: 1.0-inch LCD touchscreen display
  • Heart rate sensor: Yes, optical
  • GPS: Yes
  • Waterproof: Yes, 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)
  • Battery life: Up to 5 days
  • Notifications: Call, text, email, alarm, idle alerts and more
  • Colors: Black/Shark Fin Gray, Imperial Purple/Kona Purple, Midnight Blue/Bolt Blue

Read more

Also read: Best GPS running watches

Runner-up

Fitbit Charge 2

Fitbit Charge 2 review AA 9

If you're buying a fitness tracker in this price range, it's hard not to consider the Charge 2.

It's clear Fitbit really focused on design when making the Charge 2. This device not only looks more like a piece of jewelry and less like a standard fitness tracker this time around, you also have the option to change out the bands if you'd like.

The Charge 2 also has a bigger display this time, meaning you get more room for smartphone notifications. Plus, Fitbit also introduced a few new features to the Charge 2 that should help users stay healthy and relaxed overtime: Cardio Fitness Level, which will give you a cardiovascular rating based on an estimate of your VO2 Max, and Relax, a new on-device guided breathing feature that will walk you through short breathing exercises to help you lower blood pressure, reduce stress and lessen anxiety.

Overall, it's an all-around great fitness tracker, especially considering its $150 price point.

Specs

  • Display: 1.5-inch multi-line OLED tap display
  • Heart rate sensor: Yes, optical
  • GPS: No
  • Waterproof: Sweat, rain, and splash proof, but not waterproof
  • Battery life: Up to 5 days
  • Notifications: Text, call, calendar, alarm and idle alerts
  • Colors: Black, Blue, Plum, Teal, Lavender/Rose Gold, Black/Gunmetal

Read more

Honorable mention

Fitbit Alta HR

2016's Fitbit Alta has been one of our favorite fitness trackers since launch, mainly due to the sleek, stylish design that many other Fitbit devices lack. But what if you're looking for a device similar to the Alta, but can't go without a heart rate sensor? You'll want to check out the Fitbit Alta HR, the company's slimmest activity tracker with a heart rate monitor.

The new Alta HR brings the company's own PurePulse heart rate technology to a slimmer form factor. Fitbit supposedly developed a new chip for the Alta HR that reduced the size and number of components needed, allowing for a 25% slimmer design than the Charge 2. With a built-in heart rate sensor, you'll be able to better track your calories burned, non-step exercises like yoga and spinning, and also see real-time heart rate zones on your wrist. Having a heart rate sensor on your activity tracker really does make a world of difference.

Alongside the Alta HR, Fitbit also introduced two new sleeping features, Sleep Stages and Sleep Insights. Sleep Stages utilizes the heart rate sensor to estimate the amount of time you spend in light, deep and REM sleep, as well as the time you spend awake each night. Sleep Insights, on the other hand, uses all the data your Fitbit collects to provide personalized guidance on how to better improve your sleep. If you're interested in learning more about Sleep Stages and Sleep Insights, more details can be found here.

If you need a slim fitness tracker that doesn't skimp on the features, the Alta HR is for you.

Specs

  • Display: OLED tap display
  • Heart rate sensor: Yes
  • GPS: No
  • Waterproof: Sweat, rain, and splash proof, but not waterproof
  • Battery life: Up to 7 days
  • Notifications: Text, call, calendar, alarm and idle alerts
  • Colors: Black, Blue Gray, Fuchsia, Coral

Read more

See also:
The best heart rate monitors and watches

The best heart rate monitors and watches

June 2, 2017

Best multisport fitness tracker

Garmin vívoactive HR

Garmin vivoactive HR 6-AA

If you need something a little more powerful than our first few options, Garmin's vívoactive HR might be for you. It's not too expensive as far as multisport trackers go, and it comes with tons of useful features.

For starters, it will accurately track your daily activity when you go running, cycling, swimming and more, all thanks to the built-in GPS. Of course it also has an optical heart rate monitor that will help you keep tabs on your resting and active heart rate. One other thing to note – this thing is bulky. I had a hard time getting used to wearing it for an extended period of time, though I must say that the bigger screen is really nice for viewing your daily stats and notifications.

This isn't the newest fitness tracker on the market. But if you need something with impressive GPS and heart rate tracking capabilities and are in the market for a multisport watch, you should definitely consider the vívoactive HR.

Specs

  • Display: Touchscreen
  • Heart rate sensor: Yes, optical
  • GPS: Yes
  • Waterproof: Yes, 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)
  • Battery life: Up to 8 days
  • Notifications: Call, text, email, alarm, idle alerts and more
  • Colors: Black (with interchangeable bands in Lava Red, Force Yellow and White)

Read more


Best stylish fitness tracker

Withings Steel HR

See more Withings Steel HR photos

If you're looking for an analog watch that doesn't skimp on the fitness features, you should definitely check out the Withings Steel HR.

Withings really hit the nail on the head with the Steel HR. It's accurate, affordable, comfortable enough to wear all day, and downright gorgeous. Not only that, it sports a digital display that, while not of the greatest quality, offers a unique take on bringing a digital screen to a traditional analog watch design.

Like most other stylish fitness trackers, it's not the most feature packed. It doesn't offer an on-board GPS, nor is the digital display great for outdoor use. But for everyone else looking for an attractive, well-built fitness tracker that doesn't actually look like a fitness tracker, the Steel HR may be just what you're looking for.

Specs

  • Display: Analog display with secondary digital display
  • Heart rate sensor: Yes
  • GPS: No
  • Waterproof: Yes, 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)
  • Battery life: Up to 25 days with normal use
  • Notifications: Call, text, calendar alerts, and alarm
  • Colors: Black, White

Read more

Runner-up

Withings Activité Steel / Activité Pop

Withings Activite Steel review AA 9

If you're looking for a wearable that focuses on form over functionality, you should check out the Withings Activité Pop or Steel. No, these devices aren't just analog watches, they're also activity trackers.

They're both comfortable to wear all day, and more importantly, they don't look anything like the other fitness trackers on the market. They also come in a variety of different color options and styles, so you're bound to find one that suits your needs. Both devices will track your steps taken, calories burned, sleep and much more. They're also waterproof and come with a CR2025 button cell battery that will last up to 8 months at a time. Not bad!

The Withings Activité Steel sports a 316L stainless steel casing, while the Activité Pop looks a bit less premium and comes in more color options. These devices are available on Amazon for just $150 and $130, respectively.

Specs

  • Display: Analog
  • Heart rate sensor: No
  • GPS: No
  • Waterproof: Yes, 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)
  • Battery life: Up to 8 months
  • Notifications: Alarm
  • Steel colors: Black, White, Raspberry, Mineral, Evergreen, Khaki, Mocha, Yellow, Black Leather, Red Leather
  • Pop colors – Azure, Shark Grey, Sand, Pink

Read more


Best smartwatch/fitness tracker hybrid

Polar M600

See more Polar M600 photos

Polar's new M600 sport watch is by far the best Android Wear-powered fitness tracker on the market.

With a built-in GPS, IPX8 water resistance rating, optical heart rate monitor and 4GB of on-board storage, the M600 is quite the feature-packed device. It also comes with support for Polar's wonderful Flow app, allowing you to track just about any activity you can think of – rowing, skiing, hiking and much more. You'll also be able to squeeze about two days of battery life out of this thing, which is impressive for an Android Wear watch.

It's a little pricey, though, starting at $299. You can certainly find Android Wear devices for less than that, but the M600 provides much more than other devices. If you're in the market for a smartwatch/fitness tracker hybrid and don't mind spending around $300, look no further.

Specs

  • 1.3-inch TFT display with 240 x 240 resolution, 260ppi
  • 1.2GHz dual-core MediaTek MT2601 processor
  • 512MB of RAM
  • 4GB of on-board storage
  • 500mAh battery
  • 45 x 36 x 13mm, 63g
  • IPX8 water resistance

Read more

See also:
Best smartwatches

Best smartwatches

June 12, 2017

Runner-up

Fitbit Blaze

Fitbit Blaze review AA 7

The Blaze might not be our favorite Fitbit device out there, but it's still darn good at a handful of things.

This is Fitbit's most smartwatch-y device on the market. It has a touchscreen display, interchangeable bands, and it arguably looks more like a smartwatch than it does a fitness tracker. It can also feed you notifications from your smartphone via Bluetooth. You can get call, text and calendar notifications, though you aren't able to get Facebook, Twitter, email or basically anything else. Not that anyone needs Twitter mentions on their wrists when they're on a run, but the option would be nice, at least.

Other than notifications, the Blaze does a lot of other things right. It'll get you 5 days of battery on a single charge, features a display that's bright and clear enough to see outdoors, and it's comfortable enough to wear all day. There are also leather and metal band options if you're looking to wear it to work or out to dinner.

Specs

  • Display: 1.25-inch LCD
  • Heart rate sensor: Yes, optical
  • GPS: No
  • Waterproof: Sweat, rain, and splash proof, but not waterproof
  • Battery life: Up to 5 days
  • Notifications: Call, text, calendar and alarm
  • Colors: Black/Gunmetal, Black/Silver, Blue/Silver, Plum/Silver

Read more


Best budget-friendly fitness tracker

Garmin vívofit 3

garmin vivofit 3

Garmin's vívofit 3 definitely won't win any awards in the design department, but it does come with a surprisingly long feature set for its price.

It sports an always-on display, a battery that will last up to 1 year at a time, and also reminds you to move if you're not on track to meet your step goal. It's also waterproof up to 50 meters.

As you can see in the photo above, there are plenty of different strap options available as well. So if you aren't a fan of the standard Black or White model, you can pick up a new strap that will make it look a little more like a bracelet and less like a fitness tracker.

Specs

  • Display: LED
  • Heart rate sensor: No
  • GPS: No
  • Waterproof: Yes, 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)
  • Battery life: Up to 1 year
  • Notifications: Idle alerts
  • Colors: Black, White, Camo

Runner-up

Xiaomi Mi Band 2

Xiaomi Mi Band 2 AA 5

If you're looking for an activity tracker for around $20, you should get the Xiaomi Mi Band 2.

Xiaomi's third attempt at a fitness tracker might not be the best on the market, but it does excel in a few key areas. It'll track your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and even your sleep. It also has an optical heart rate monitor that can help you keep track of your resting heart rate. It also comes with an IP67 waterproof rating and a battery that will last up to 20 days on a single charge.

While the Mi Fit companion app isn't the greatest and the display can be hard to read at times, the Mi Band 2 is still a great option for those looking to keep an eye on their daily activity.

Specs

  • Display: .42-inch OLED
  • Heart rate sensor: Yes, optical
  • GPS: No
  • Waterproof: Yes, IP67
  • Battery life: Up to 20 days
  • Notifications: Call, text, alarm, idle alerts and more
  • Colors:

Read more


So there you have it, the best fitness trackers on the market right now! How did you like our list? Did we leave anything out? If so, let us know in the comments!

Next: Best Android Wear watches



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