Smartwatch or Fitness Tracker

[Hero_X]

Hey beyond,

I'm looking to get a smartwatch / fitness tracker. My biggest issue is battery life. Apple watch, samsung gear watch and all don't last too long, and have to be charged practically daily. I tried out this watch called "Amazfit Bip" and it was fairly decent battery life. Problem was, it was very shit in terms of customization, and I'm not sure how accurate the data from it really is. It's by a brand called "huami" and it's essentially an aliexpress/chinese knock off level experience.

I'm considering the new fitbit versa as an option but again battery life is only like 4 days. I don't need any fancy "quad core processor" or super amoled screen. I just need something that's functional with both accurate fitness data, and phone notifications.

What do you guys use, or recommend? Plz share your suggestions, thanks in advance!

[ExtraSlow]

Fitbit Alta is what I have. Very minimalist in features, but when I get a text, it across across the screen.
I charge it when I'm in the shower, and that ten or twelve minutes means it's always topped up. If I forget the charge lasts at least four days and it charges to full in an hour.

It's no apple watch, which is the main appeal for me.

[schocker]

Well if you want anything good, it is only going to last a few days. I have had my samsung gear sport for a year now and for the most part it is great. Lasts about 2.5 days per charge and I just throw it on when I shower and when I am stepping out the door it is charged. Notifications, spotify (Currently the android app broke this though), waterproof wifi/bluetooth, gps, samsung pay, quick reply etc. Floor counter is trash though. The fitbit versa is pretty nice but no spotify I think it just has deezer.

[colsankey]

Just got an Alta HR as well, with regular syncs to the phone, I only charge it twice a week.

[Brent.ff]

If you truly want a fitness watch, get a Garmin or Suunto. Depending on what your main activities are, they will be far and away better then the other watches mentioned. My Fenix 5x lasts a week without charging, easy.

If you just want to count steps, play music, etc, get the fitbit. No idea if they have improved their reliability, but i went through i think 5 of the Charge HRs before i finally sold my last replacement from fitbit to Extraslow and never went back

[ZeroGravity]

I have a Fitbit Surge (almost retiring but still wearing it mainly because wife also have a fitbit) and a Garmin Fenix 3 HR. The Garmin has been quite a solid performer charge once a week or so when not used actively to track activities (i.e. with GPS). The Garmin Vivoactive 3 and 3 music are good choices from functionality vs price based on lots of online reviews.

What I really wanted is the Apple Watch as far as "smart" watch goes. But I can't justify the battery performance.

[Hero_X]

So I don't actually care about Spotify or music on it. Main thing for me is just getting buzzed when I receive a call or notification.

And in terms of tracking, I just want accurate results. Ie. Correct steps counted, calories burned, sleep quality etc.

This is going to be used towards helping fitness goals so accuracy of the stats will matter.

[Brent.ff]

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So I don't actually care about Spotify or music on it. Main thing for me is just getting buzzed when I receive a call or notification.

And in terms of tracking, I just want accurate results. Ie. Correct steps counted, calories burned, sleep quality etc.

This is going to be used towards helping fitness goals so accuracy of the stats will matter.

Based on this, get a garmin.

[ExtraSlow]

The fixation on accuracy baffles me. If the steps are a few hundred low one day, and a few hundred high the next day, it all evens out in the end. Over time, if you are meeting your calorie expenditure goals, you will meet your fitness and weight goals.

If you have a fitness tracker with a heart rate monitor, it's probably reasonably accurate on calories, even if it's very inaccurate on steps or distance.

[mzdspd]

I have had a Fitbit Versa for about 6 months. I really like it. It monitors heart rate and steps and has a bunch of features for work outs. It also links to Strava which is a great feature for biking.

Battery lasts about 5-6 days. Also it is great for text notifications and phone calls.

[Brent.ff]

wrist based HR monitors are notoriously crap when compared to a chest strap. Probably doesn't matter for joe-workout, but if you actually want HR training, chest strap is needed

[jwslam]

https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/9/1...rtwatch-review

[Mitsu3000gt]

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I have had a Fitbit Versa for about 6 months. I really like it. It monitors heart rate and steps and has a bunch of features for work outs. It also links to Strava which is a great feature for biking.

Battery lasts about 5-6 days. Also it is great for text notifications and phone calls.

GF has one of these too, she loves it.

[CLiVE]

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Based on this, get a garmin.

Garmin Vivoactive 3 is a good buy. ($249 at bestbuy is the best price I've seen). It has the majority of the features that most people use (minus the Triathlon specific mode and some advanced metrics).
And agree on Brent.ff's comments. The wrist hr is not reliable for actual training. For sleep / daily tracking sure...

The battery on my Garmin Forerunner 935 lasts about 10 days, or just over 17 hours of continuous activity.

[jdmXSI]

I use the Garmin Fenix 3 and its been great! Been thinking about uprgrading to something with HR but reading about the inaccuracy has kind of deterred me from getting one for now.

[Brent.ff]

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I use the Garmin Fenix 3 and its been great! Been thinking about uprgrading to something with HR but reading about the inaccuracy has kind of deterred me from getting one for now.

Again, it depends what you want. All day HR is fine on the wrist, but really i only use my HR when im biking or running to see if im blowing myself up, and have to use a strap. So might as well get the Garmin strap and connect it to your 3.

[Thaco]

I have an amazfit bip, its made by xiaomi, i've had it for well over a year now, i love it because if you turn off heart rate and use a watch face that doesn't have a seconds display you can get 45 days out of a charge, also syncs with google fit and other fitness apps

its cheap (sub $100) and pretty nice looking too

[D'z Nutz]

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The fixation on accuracy baffles me. If the steps are a few hundred low one day, and a few hundred high the next day, it all evens out in the end. Over time, if you are meeting your calorie expenditure goals, you will meet your fitness and weight goals.

If you have a fitness tracker with a heart rate monitor, it's probably reasonably accurate on calories, even if it's very inaccurate on steps or distance.

Not just that, but I seriously question the accuracy of any step counter. All devices seem to over count as much as they do under count, regardless of how good they are. The sensors on your watch (or step counter, or phone, or whatever) just don't have the technology to measure steps accurately on its own and I don't think they ever will until people are ready to wear sensors on each of their legs or feet. Case in point: whenever I go snowboarding, my Garmin Fenix always says I've done several thousand steps by mid afternoon even though I've been strapped to a board all day. It's obvious wrong cause I sure as hell didn't walk down the mountain. And when my arm was in a sling, my watch just counted a few hundred steps all day, even though I walked more than average cause I was taking the train to work.

That said, what should be important is you're using the same measuring device at all times so whether it's over counting or under counting, at least it's doing it consistently and you have a common baseline to work with.

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I have an amazfit bip, its made by xiaomi, i've had it for well over a year now, i love it because if you turn off heart rate and use a watch face that doesn't have a seconds display you can get 45 days out of a charge, also syncs with google fit and other fitness apps

Did you even read the OP?

[Thaco]

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Not just that, but I seriously question the accuracy of any step counter. All devices seem to over count as much as they do under count, regardless of how good they are. The sensors on your watch (or step counter, or phone, or whatever) just don't have the technology to measure steps accurately on its own and I don't think they ever will until people are ready to wear sensors on each of their legs or feet. Case in point: whenever I go snowboarding, my Garmin Fenix always says I've done several thousand steps by mid afternoon even though I've been strapped to a board all day. It's obvious wrong cause I sure as hell didn't walk down the mountain. And when my arm was in a sling, my watch just counted a few hundred steps all day, even though I walked more than average cause I was taking the train to work.

That said, what should be important is you're using the same measuring device at all times so whether it's over counting or under counting, at least it's doing it consistently and you have a common baseline to work with.



Did you even read the OP?

i still think its the best option for what he wants, and its quite customizable there are even apps that let you build you own watch faces if you dont like what it comes with

[ExtraSlow]

The Fitbit has totally adequate accuracy for the average person in both steps, calories and heart rate. If you are some couch-surfing fattass like me, and you use the fitbit to motivate you towards a fitness goal, you will make progress. That's what it's about.

If you replace the word "steps" with the phrase "body movements" then your snowboarding expereince makes a lot of sense. Don't get fixated on the terminology. You made a lot of body movements, you burned a lot of calories, you got a lot of steps.

If you need heart rate monitoring to provide real-time feedback to modify the intensity of your workout, then yes, you should have the chest strap. If you need accurate distance traveled for marathon or cycling training, then yes, you need a GPS device.

These are low end, simple to use, consumer devices, and they are awesome at what they intend to do.