There’s a truckload of fitness trackers and smartwatches to choose from. Here’s how to find the one that’s right for you.
If you’re shopping for a piece of wearable tech in 2017, you’re facing compromises. Smartwatches and fitness trackers aren’t really the must-have devices many companies hoped they would be. And no, you don’t really need one. But if you’re looking for a piece of tech for your wrist, here are the best choices right now, followed by a list of what you need to consider.
For most people, The Apple Watch Series 1 is all you’d need. But if you want to swim or use GPS away from your phone, the Series 2 is the one to get. (And note: If you have an original Apple Watch , there’s not a huge need to upgrade to the Series 2 unless you really need that swim-proofing or GPS tracking.) But the Apple Watch wins mainly because it’s well hooked-in to iOS, and functions as a great wrist-remote. The Apple Watch isn’t perfect by any means, but its feature set is ahead of the competition.
The best watch hardware isn’t Android Wear at all: it’s the Samsung Gear S3. Samsung ’s large smartwatch has deep features and decent fitness tracking modes, plus use-anywhere Samsung Pay (which requires Android). But it requires a separate set of Samsung Gear apps and syncs to Samsung S-Health for fitness. This requires more conduits and app plug-ins than you might have patience for. It’s not as seamless an experience, and sometimes feels too removed from core Android functions.
If you have an Android phone and you’re absolutely sold on getting a smartwatch, the Samsung Gear S3 is the best option right now, but that could change once older Android Wear watches are updated to Android Wear 2.0. We’re also waiting for Fitbit, Misfit and other companies to release their smartwatches in 2017.
A Fitbit is the right choice for most people. The whole range can track the basics like steps, distance, calories burned and sleep, and some can even measure heart rate and include guided breathing sessions.
One of the reasons we recommend Fitbit is for the app. If one of your friends owns a fitness tracker, there’s a good chance it’s a Fitbit — the company has the largest user base.
