Nowadays, fitness trackers are famous to remain super active. The fitness devices are improving day by day. They offer functions that include heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and various exercises. There’ve been a few questions over the accuracy of these fitness trackers, but several offer a way in order to have an active lifestyle.
What You Need to Know Before Buying a Fitness Tracker
How to Purchase a Fitness Tracker
These fitness trackers could monitor the daily step count of the users, heart rate, sleep, and levels of activity. Selecting the right fitness tracker would solely depend on for what you are planning to use this, whether you need a usual step counting or some breakdown of a workout in detail.
Also, you might plan to use this as the timepiece. All of the fitness trackers are not just like the wristwatches. Many fitness trackers are like lightweight, small bands such as Fitbit Alta HR. They could be attached to the ankle just like Moov Now. Some other fitness trackers are just dongles which are just clipped onto the items of your clothing.
Many are not like smartwatches and they aren’t made to support various apps. But they share a few similar functions. Various smartwatches gear towards the health tracking.
Do Not Forget the Apps
Any fitness tracker just works alongside the app that is built for a smartphone as well as some other devices. To have some strong software in order to assist your fitness tracker would make keeping the tab on your recent activity much easier.
What Kind of Activities Could These Devices Track?
Several fitness trackers would just be able to tell about quite simple and easy exercises that include cycling or running. You can also calculate calorie burn from it. Some fitness trackers might include running, walking, cycling, elliptical, weights, swimming, and boxing.
There are also advanced fitness trackers that come with the GPS built-in. It could assist monitor running. A GPS might add to the weight as well as the price of the fitness tracking device.
What to Check in the Best Activity Tracker Watch?
Watch or without a watch:
A few fitness tracking devices come with some built-in watch touchscreen or face and some are just dongles or they’re built just to work with the smartphone for your fitness tracking.
Heart rate monitor:
The budget fitness tracking devices don’t usually have the heart rate monitor, though it’s now becoming a standard in the recent models.
Battery life:
As compared to the smartwatches, many fitness tracking devices have the best battery life, from many days to 6 months.
Accuracy:
You’re not about to have a perfect accuracy from the wrist-worn tracking device rather than some chest-mounted heart rate device or a GPS tracker.
Waterproofing:
There are various fitness tracking devices that do not come with a built-in waterproofing. In case you’re a dedicated swimmer then you would definitely need to look for a watch that comes with the water resistance.
How Fitness Tracker works
Heart Rate Tracking
The LED of the best activity tracker watch on the underside of FitBit reflects light on its skin in order to detect the blood flow changes.
Step Counting
The motion detectors generally interpret various kinds of the movement as you walk or run.
Sleep Tracking
The sleep mode starts if you haven’t moved for one hour. On the other hand, the motion sensors on the best activity tracker watch detect if the user is moving.
Health and Eating
There are apps in the tracker watches that also have some other features which actually contribute keeping you healthy just like asking you for checking how much you drink water or how much you are eating. Many of them would also provide a way in order to calculate a number of calories that you take through your food, though it must just be taken like a quite rough breakdown.
List of 6 Activity Tracker Watches Reviewed
Products | Model | Check Price |
---|---|---|
LETSCOM Fitness Tracker HR, Activity Tracker Watch Heart Rate Monitor | ||
Fitbit Flex 2, Black (US Version) | ||
LETSCOM Fitness Tracker with Heart Rate Monitor | ||
Letsfit Fitness Tracker HR, Activity Tracker with Heart Rate Monitor Watch | ||
Fitbit Charge 2 Heart Rate + Fitness Wristband, Black, Large (US Version) | ||
Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro Smart Fitness Band (Large) |
Below are the detailed reviews
Best Activity Tracker Watches Under $100
1. LETSCOM Fitness Tracker HR
You can view the health data on a clear as well as bright OLED 0.96-inch screen of the best activity tracker watch. This tracker also customizes the clock face which is according to your taste.
The fitness activity tracker starts vibrating and a call is displayed on its screen if there is some incoming call. You can also set the reminders for different periods of time when there is no activity. You can also set silent alarms on your best activity tracker watch so that you can wake up without disturbing your partner. In this way, you can get your tasks done without disturbing the routines of others.
You can also get notifications from the apps that include Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and Twitter on the tracker watch screen. You can enable the function for reading the incoming text messages on the fitness tracker screen. Operations on its screen can also remotely control the photography shooting. Its screen is lightened up automatically as you turn the wrist towards yourself.
This tracker is a multi-sport fitness tracker watch and also supports the connected GPS. The tracking watch charges by plugging it into the USB port directly. You can do this on your computer or even other USB charging docks.
It also supports fourteen different modes of sports. But just 3 of them could be displayed on the tracker menu at some given time. Sports include walking, yoga, running, spinning (exercise bike), outdoor bicycling, climbing, treadmill, football, hiking, tennis, fitness/usual workout, badminton, basketball, and dancing.
It uses the mobile app that is called VeryFitPro. It is a useful app for especially budget devices. This fitness tracker is compatible with the most Android as well as iOS smartphones. One more attractive feature of the tracker is that VeryFitPro app is also compatible with the Google Fit™. Hence, your workouts could be synchronized with the Google Fit and thus might be synchronized to the MyFitnessPal™ by the Google Fit. This can be a feature which is quite essential to some people.
There are various off-brand activity fitness trackers that do not synchronize with the Google Fit and also other famous 3rd-party mobile fitness activity apps. Hence, it is a quite big plus for the tracker watches which use the VeryFitPro.
Pros:
- Built-in USB plug
- Connected GPS and multi-sport modes
- Sleep monitoring
- See calls as well as messages on the wrist
- Heart rate
Cons:
- Heart rate monitor isn’t always correct.
- Does not always maintain its Bluetooth connection.
2. Fitbit Flex 2
The Fitbit Flex 2 is a slim and swim-proof best activity tracker watch that is always ready to go where your life takes you. It is ultra-thin and also removable tracker that hides in your bangles, bands, and pendants. Hence, you might wear it in a way that is all your own.
The sleep tracking and automatic all-day fitness activity show you that how the entire day adds up. Also, the SmartTrack exercise recognition typically records the fitness exercises for you. Discreet progress display of the tracker uses the color-coded LED lights that keep you connected to the calls, text messages and the reminders to move.
And, you do not need to worry about getting this wet, even if you are swimming in a pool or you are running outside in the rain. It is the next generation fitness activity tracker watch.
You might also track your calories burned, distance, active minutes, your steps, hourly fitness activity, and the stationary time.
Also, the Fitbit tracks your fitness activities automatically such as running, aerobic workouts, and sports. Then, the tracker watch shows your exercise summaries in its Fitbit app. Its wristband would also track how well and how long you actually sleep.
You can also set your sleep goal and then bedtime reminder on the best activity tracker watch in order to form the good habits and just wake up without any disturbance with the silent alarm.
As you get your text messages as well as calls, the Flex 2 tracker starts vibrating and then its discreet LED display flashes the color-coded lights. Hence, you do not miss your important text messages which matter a lot.
In order to assist you to remain active throughout your whole day, the Flex 2 fitness tracker sends the reminders for moving which actually encourage you in order to take two hundred and fifty steps each hour.
Sync stats automatically as well as wirelessly to computers and two hundred plus leading Android, iOS, and Windows gadgets. With the help of up to five-day battery life in the ultra-slim tracker, you could track day and night without charging it again. The best activity tracker watch tracks swimming automatically. Then, it shows your fitness exercise summary in Fitbit app.
Pros:
- Activity tracking as well as sleep tracking
- Ultra-thin tracker watch
- Swim-proof
- Track steps, calories burned, distance, and active minutes
- Removable tracker watch hides in pendants, bands, and bangles
- SmartTrack helps in recognizing selected workouts and thus records them to the Fitbit app
Cons:
- The tracker does not integrate with your Apple activity monitor
3. LETSCOM Fitness Tracker
Its all-day fitness activity tracking counts your heart rate, calories burned, your steps, and intensity minutes while you’re moving. The best activity tracker watch records your sleep data while you are asleep.
You can also receive notifications of calls as well as text messages. This fitness tracker watch also has features including target setting, silent vibrating alarms, reminders to move, remote camera control, and much more. Its body is slim as well as lightweight with 0.86″ OLED screen and wrist sense design.
It has the feature of cable-free charging along with the built-in USB plug. This fitness tracker has a long battery life. It also tracks all-day fitness activities even with or without the phone. The activity fitness tracker gives you detailed data and other functions with the app.
This tracker quite easily receives notifications of the calls, the calendar, SMS, and SNS that is Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter on the wrist. This tracker also records distance and fitness activities.
The tracking watch also automatically monitors the consistency along with the comprehensive analysis of the sleep quality data. The tracker has also a feature that helps in reminding you to move if you’ve been sitting since long.
You can also set the silent vibrating alarms in order to wake you up and it helps in reminding you of essential dates, interviews, meetings, and more. You can charge your tracker with any USB block as well as the computer. You can pull the bands off the fitness tracker host and then insert your built-in USB plug into the USB charger for charging. You do not need a charging cable or a dock. Its battery lasts up to seven days.
Pros:
- Very slim and not very big
- Built-in charging port
- Very easy to setup
Cons:
- Constantly loses Bluetooth connection
4. Fitness Tracker HR
This tracker has features of auto heart rate as well as sleep monitoring. It automatically monitors the real-time heart rate. It tracks sleep duration and has consistency with the comprehensive analysis of your sleep quality data, assisting you to adjust yourself for the healthier lifestyle.
It also has the feature of all-day fitness activity tracking. The best activity tracker watch accurately records the activities that include distance, calories burned, steps, and active minutes.
This tracker watch has multi-sport modes as well as connected GPS features. Its fourteen exercise modes assist you in better understanding the particular activity data. Its GPS feature could show you the run stats as distance and pace and also records a map of the workout route.
You would never miss your calls and text messages on the best activity tracker watch. You can read SMS, call, and SNS notifications on the wrist in order to keep smartphone out of your sight and the targets in focus.
The tracker has the USB charging option. It has a built-in USB plug that makes the tracker easy to charge with the USB block as well as the computer. There is no need of separate charging cable as well as a dock. Its single charge provides up to seven days of the working time.
Pros:
- USB charging Option
- Auto Heart rate
- GPS Feature
Cons:
- Clumsy setup processor
Best Activity Tracker Watches over $100
1. FitBit Charge 2
It is one major up gradation over Fitbit Charge and Fitbit Charge HR. Fitbit Charge 2 is recently one of the best activity fitness trackers from the Fitbit in the market these days. This best activity tracker watch is a bit pricey as compared to the last range of the activity fitness tracking watches.
But it definitely provides you bang for the buck in case you see various additional features. The technology of this tracking device is quite simple as compared to many other such trackers.
Also, you could focus even better on the exercises rather than understanding how to make this work around different confusing options. There is also GPS connectivity in this activity tracking device and you might easily connect your device with the Smartphone in order to view the activity data.
This best activity tracker watch also has a bigger display screen which displays data from the fitness activities as well as exercises.
Pros:
- Impressive battery life that lasts up to 4 days
- Larger display screen size as compared to many other such fitness trackers
- Fitness activity tracking for exercises. running, and sleeping
- Quite cheap as well as great value for your money
- Compatible with Windows, Android, and iOS devices
- Designing is beautiful as well as sleek on your wrist
- Its strap is much easy and comfortable on your wrist
Cons:
- Faint Display Screen
- It attracts your fingerprints.
- No GPS system
- Not water-resistant
2. Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro
This Samsung Gear Fit 2 Pro tracker has not made any hefty changes to the wearable line of the company since Gear Fit 2 tracking watch. But, there’re definitely some improvements to this already superb tracker which sits this in the second place.
This Gear Fit 2 Pro tracker has an impressive design which looks fabulous on the wrist and as it is also supporting a big and beautiful AMOLED display so you will be able to view all of the stats clearly as well as nice.
The fitness tracker also comes with the GPS built-in hence you could leave smartphone at your home when you are going for a run and it also has a heart rate sensor which provides you accurate readings that are possible from the wrist-based fitness tracker. And, it would also track the swimming.
The water-resistant is up to 50 meters. Hence, you might own the pool, recover in the shower, and run in the rain.
It has power through the intervals to beat of the favorite tracks with the music storage on Gear Fit2 Pro tracker. Its bullet point is 802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz.
It boosts every session with the activity fitness apps that are powered by the Under Armour. It also counts each mile on the Map MyRun. It stays on top of the nutrition with the MyFitnessPal.
You can also get the more accurate view of the performance as well as all-day calorie burn with the continuous heart rate tracking.
This tracker is compatible with the Android as well as iOS mobile phones (that is compatible with the select Bluetooth capable mobile phones with Android OS 4.4 and later has at least 1.5GB RAM and iPhone 5 as well as later with the iOS 9.0 & above. You can also refer a user manual for the instructions of troubleshooting. Not all of the features available are with the iOS paired mobile phones.
The Gear Fit2 Pro-activity tracker supported mobile phones might vary by the carrier as well as the device. For the best results, you can connect with the compatible Samsung Galaxy mobile phones.
Pros:
- The screen is 1.5-inch AMOLED
- It has heart rate tracker
- It is waterproof
- Has activity tracking
- GPS feature through your phone
- Battery life is up to 3 days
- Compatibility with Android/iOS
Cons:
- Expensive for a fitness activity tracker
- Clumsy setup processor
Conclusion
As now it is clear that best activity tracker watch is very beneficial for you to have a healthy lifestyle. Select the best activity tracker watch according to your priorities but you also need to consider buying this for your convenient workout. The maintenance of the tracker watch is also needed to keep the tracker reliable for a long time.
Keep the activity tracker clean. Wash your tracker band with water or you can also wipe this with rubbing alcohol. You must not use the hand soap, dish soap, body soap, cleaning wipes, hand sanitizers or household cleaners that can be trapped beneath your band and irritate the skin. You must always dry your activity tracker band well when putting this back on.