Christine Hale CCP B.S. Exercise and Sports Science A.A.S. Clinical Paramedic Science December 9, 2020
Tis the holiday season and with that comes lots of tech SALES! Where these sales are quite exciting, they can be a bit overwhelming too…especially when it comes to fitness trackers.
Just as everyone has different fitness and health goals, people have different wants and needs when it comes to fitness trackers. From Fitbit to Apple to Garmin to Samsung, there are so many options to choose from, even within a brand.
Finding the best fitness tracker to fit your needs is essential, especially depending on which tracker you purchase, because, let’s be honest, they can be expensive! Here are some tips to help break down a purchase of a fitness tracker.
Identify what you want out of a fitness tracker. Do you want your fitness tracker to also be a smartwatch?
What do you want your tracker to track? Sleep? Steps? Heart rate? Everything a tracker can possibly track with the most current technology?
Do you want your tracker to be waterproof? (Not all trackers are…at the moment.)
Does style and color matter to you?
Start with a basic internet search.
Search phrases like “best fitness trackers” or “top fitness trackers”. Typically, when you search for “best fitness trackers” or “top fitness trackers” the search results will also incorporate the current year.
Utilize the most reliable tech sites for your information. Cnet.com, pcmag.com, wired.com, techradar.com, and forbes.com are some of the top sites that do their research.
Remember each site might have different results based on what their parameters were for their scale of “best.” Meaning, is the tracker best for runners, or for swimming, or for style, or bang for your buck.
Try to read these articles from a factual point of view as it relates to the specifics of the technology, not any personal views.
Reviews
Reading personal reviews of fitness trackers and smartwatches need to be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone is biased when it comes to their favorite brands, and everyone has different experiences with the fitness tracker or smartwatch.
Personal reviews are based on individual experiences, where you can look at the specifics of the technology, be aware that personal reviews can put a spin on those aspects too.
Are you partial to a specific brand or operating system (OS)? Some people are apple people, and some people are android people.
Apple watch only works with Apple phones.
Non-apple brands that run Android OS can be compatible with Apple phones. Make sure that if you have an iPhone and want an android based OS fitness tracker, that it is compatible with your iPhone.
Model and generation of the tracker.
First generation of a new model of a fitness tracker or smartwatch can have some kinks that need to be fixed. Many times, these can be resolved with software updates. However, if there are major issues they might be recalled.
Price.
Price matters. Depending on what is important for your fitness tracker or smartwatch to track or do, the price tag that goes with it, greatly varies.
There are sales on fitness trackers and smartwatches throughout the year. Look at the product website, Amazon, Kohl’s, for some of the best deals.
This may sound elementary, but to help you decide what best fitness tracker or smartwatch is best for you, grab some paper and a pen and write down what you want out of the fitness tracker or smart watch and give yourself a price range. Then start with the list from above. Add to what you want or take away what you don’t want. Compare the fitness trackers and smartwatches, most product websites have the “compare” option.
Hopefully, this helps break down your search for a fitness tracker or smartwatch for your health and fitness needs!