10 Fitness Trackers That Promise To Help You Meet Your Goals - SlashGear

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Fitness trackers have gone from simple step counters to all-purpose health assistants packed with sensors and cool features. Many people no longer see these trackers as “nice-to-have” but a “must-have” for their fitness journeys. It’s no surprise that the business has grown so much. For example, in 2022 alone, Apple sold around 54 million units of the Apple Watch. And it’s not just smartwatches and smart rings, other wearables are also becoming popular.

These self-tracking tools promise to help you exercise, eat healthier, and sleep better. They can also help you avoid injuries and burnout during exercise since they monitor your vitals and stress levels.

Thanks to how popular they’ve become, there are several fitness tracker brands you can choose from, each with its strengths and weaknesses. To save you the trouble of finding the best one, here are 10 fitness trackers that promise to help you meet your goals.

Apple Watch Series 10

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Starting with one of the most recent releases on our list, we have the Apple Watch Series 10. Advertised as its thinnest watch yet, Apple promises a monumental display, which is its ‘biggest and most advanced yet.’ Though our review found the watch to be a little shy with upgrades over the Series 9 models, the most obvious difference is the larger, edge-to-edge display.

This is brighter and has a more responsive touch as it aims to offer a smooth user experience when navigating apps or checking notifications. Apple wants to give users an immersive experience that’s easier to use outdoors, even in bright sunlight, so the display upgrade is due to function and style.

Away from the exterior, the watch features new technology, such as a depth gauge, water temperature sensors, and enhanced built-in speakers. It retains the health monitoring capabilities of the previous Series, which includes sensors for heart rate, blood oxygen, and ECG.

The battery life lasts about 18 hours in standard mode and 36 hours in low-power mode. Fast charging is available. You can find it on the Apple Store for about $400 for the aluminum build or $700 for the titanium build.

Garmin Forerunner 265

If you’re a runner looking for a suitable tracker that will also advance your training, Garmin claims to be the perfect for you. Garmin’s Forerunner series is highly respected for detailed fitness and sports tracking, and the Forerunner 265 builds on this with a blend of advanced performance tracking as well as an intuitive design.

The watch is equipped with a 1.3-inch colorful AMOLED display that gives you data that is easy to read in various light conditions. In addition, it seeks to stand out with detailed tracking metrics and “Garmin Coach” training plans that will help you improve the quality of your training.

The watch provides real-time stamina tracking and personalized workout suggestions to help you create a unique and detailed workout plan. It also boasts a battery life of up to 20 hours in GPS mode and 13 days when used in smartwatch mode, so you can run, recover, and repeat without needing a charge.

The tracker further has sleep monitoring capabilities thanks to Garmin’s “Training Readiness” feature, which offers daily assessments based on your sleep. This feature would also monitor your heart rate variability (HRV) and recent workout load, which can help users strike a balance between training and recovery. Amazon offers this tracker at a price point of about $435.

Whoop 4.0

A large part of fitness is centered around quality sleep so it’s no surprise that there is an increased desire for fitness trackers that are equally great at sleep tracking. Falling squarely into this category is the Whoop Strap 4.0.

This tracker could be a whopping good choice if you’re focused on optimizing recovery and performance rather than daily smartwatch features. Whoop has a unique subscription-based model concentrated on fitness, recovery, and performance. It tracks heart rate variability, recovery, and sleep, offering insights to help users improve their overall health and performance.

The Whoop 4.0 isn’t your typical fitness tracker as it has no display. Instead, it delivers all insights directly to your smartphone through its app. The manufacturer claims the purpose is to create an experience focused entirely on gathering and analyzing data without the distractions of a display. Whether it succeeds at this is up to you.

Some of the features that have been made available include continuous heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, and skin temperature monitoring. The device offers a “Sleep Coach” feature that suggests bedtimes and wake times based on recovery needs and goals, further showing its commitment to sleep monitoring.

Garmin Venu 3

Garmin shines again on this list with the Garmin Venu series, more specifically, the Garmin Venu 3. Like the Forerunner 265, this smartwatch has an AMOLED display at its heart and will be attractive to those who want a smartwatch with high-end features.

The Venu 3 claims to do everything you want a typical fitness tracking device to do. It has a comprehensive health tracking suite that monitors heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep stages, and respiratory rate. It goes a step further by providing innovative features such as stress tracking with a “Body Battery” feature that gauges users’ energy levels based on activity, sleep, and stress.

In our review of the Garmin Venu 3, we found that it is geared toward active users, with support for over 30 sports modes, including walking, running, swimming, and strength training. It is also a more inclusive device with added features for wheelchair users, such as push-tracking and specific workout modes.

The Venu 3 offers personalized sleep insights when it comes to sleep analysis, offering suggestions through its “Sleep Coach” feature. A further strong point is its battery life, which, according to Garmin, lasts up to 14 days in smartwatch mode. You can find the device on Amazon, retailing at a price of about $400.

Oura Ring Gen 3

If you need a fitness tracker but are not a fan of smartwatches, this next entry might just be for you. We’re talking about a unique approach to fitness tracking that hones advanced sensors into a lightweight, minimalist ring design. This is none other than the Oura Ring.

Typically, Oura Rings feature a more distinct take on fitness tracking, and judging from its features, the Gen 3 should be no different. It is equipped with sensors to measure heart rate, heart rate variability, skin temperature, respiratory rate, and blood oxygen levels 24/7. With this, Oura promises a low-profile experience that still boasts a high level of functionality.

As you might have guessed, the Oura Ring Gen 3 doesn’t include a screen, so all data is viewed in the Oura app, just like the Whoop 4.0. Like the Whoop, it provides sleep tracking, declaring itself one of the most accurate sleep and recovery trackers on the market today. Oura claims its ring offers accurate sleep stage analysis and nightly summaries to provide a “Sleep Score.”

This combines various metrics like duration, efficiency, and restfulness to create an overall picture of sleep quality and guide energy level management. Still, it retains fitness tracking features such as GPS and stress tracking with its ‘Resilience’ feature. You can purchase the Oura Ring Gen 3 on Amazon for a price of about $300.

Ticwatch Pro 5

Back to watches, and this next entry is made for Android users who want a versatile smartwatch with solid fitness tracking features. Mobvoi designed the Ticwatch Pro 5 for both everyday use and active lifestyles, packing in rugged features while promising smooth performance and an intuitive interface.

It runs on Google’s Wear OS and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chipset meaning that the Pro 5 promises faster performance and improved efficiency compared to its predecessors.

One feature of the Ticwatch Pro 5 that caught our eye is its dual-layer display. This setup combines a high-resolution AMOLED screen with a low-power LCD, allowing users to switch between display modes to conserve battery. When using the power-efficient LCD mode, the Ticwatch claims the watch can last up to 80 hours on a single charge. On the other hand, a full smartwatch mode gives around two days of use, according to Mobvoi.

It also charges up fast, during our test, it went up to 65% within the first 30 minutes of charge. Its hardware is fairly spotless, with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. However, when it comes to software, it might not have the same level of fitness, specificity, and accuracy as a Garmin or Whoop.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7

When it comes to the best for Android users, Samsung and its Galaxy Watch series maintain that it is head and shoulders above the rest. The Galaxy Watch 7 bills itself as the ultimate fitness partner, catering to fitness tracking and everyday convenience. It is built on Samsung’s One UI Watch interface and is powered by the latest Wear OS.

Ideally, this watch is optimized for seamless connectivity with Samsung Galaxy devices but is also compatible with other Android smartphones. The watch inherits Samsung’s legacy of delivering a smooth, intuitive experience with new hardware and software updates focused on performance and personalization.

On the fitness side, the Galaxy Watch 7 supports over 90 workout modes, from running and cycling to yoga and swimming. It has a “Body Composition” tool that measures metrics like skeletal muscle mass and body fat percentage. Samsung has also incorporated its Galaxy AI to give you an AI-powered energy score.

It updated its processor with the aim of improving battery life, with the improvement now helping it last up to two days on a single charge, though this can vary depending on usage. The watch is available on Amazon for about $300.

Fitbit Charge 6

It would be borderline impossible to make a fitness tracker list without mentioning any Fitbit product. Accordingly, the next entry on our list is the Fitbit Charge 6. Fitbit remains a strong contender for entry to mid-level fitness tracking, and the Charge 6 brings improvements that make its price look like a steal.

Like many other entries, the watch is equipped with an AMOLED touchscreen and a slim, lightweight design meant to provide a comfortable, unobtrusive fit. There are also multiple tips, tricks, and hidden features peculiar to Fitbit that Charge 6 enjoys.

What the Charge 6 lacks in high-end metrics seen in more expensive trackers, it tries to make up for in battery life and compatibility. In terms of battery life, it supposedly lasts up to seven days, depending on usage. The Charge 6 supports over 40 exercise modes for fitness-focused users, including new options for activities like high-intensity interval training and yoga.

The device automatically detects exercises like walking and running to make it easy for users to track workouts without manually starting them. Another new feature is the ability to share your heart rate with fitness equipment using Bluetooth or compatible software. It has seamless compatibility with both iOS and Android devices through the Fitbit app. You can grab one of these from Amazon for about $100.

Google Pixel Watch 2

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Speaking of great entry-level affordable options, the Google Pixel Watch 2 builds on Google’s original smartwatch. This time, with upgraded fitness tracking, new sensors, and tighter integration with Fitbit’s wellness platform.

The first clear advantage of the Pixel Watch is its seamless integration with Google services, which you most certainly use. It may fall short in terms of battery life and sports-specific features compared to other trackers, but it’s still an excellent choice for users who want a stylish smartwatch with basic fitness tracking.

In a bid to live up to its tagline of “turning insights into improvements,” a key area of improvement in the Pixel Watch 2 is its health monitoring. Google has introduced sensors for cEDA tracking, which it says can help monitor stress levels throughout the day. It also features an upgraded heart rate monitor, blood oxygen (SpO2) sensor, and ECG functionality.

Google claims that these features, powered by Fitbit’s algorithms, can give users a detailed look into their heart health, sleep quality, and stress patterns. It is also worth noting that the watch has an updated Snapdragon processor.

It retains its signature circular AMOLED display with customizable watch faces that combine minimalist design with functionality. It also has a 306 mAh lithium-ion battery that can last up to 24 hours with use. Its fast charging capability bolstered this battery life, which we found can reach a full charge in 73 minutes.

Fitbit Inspire 3

Fitbit also rounds off the list with the Inspire 3, which is our third budget-friendly option in a row. It provides great basic fitness tracking with a stylish, simple, yet functional design.

The Fitbit Inspire 3 was introduced as part of the company’s 2022 fall lineup, and the first thing you need to know is that it’s a very simple device that can get the job done, depending on your desired usage. It has the usual 24/7 heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and blood oxygen sensing. Its sleep tracking offers insights into sleep stages, indicating whether it was light, deep, or REM.

One feature that may pique your interest is the guided breathing exercises that Inspire 3 offers. This can be great for stress management and allows users to take a mindful break during the day. When it comes to activity tracking, again, it is simple but effective in covering the basics.

This includes tracking steps, distance, and calories burned. It has over 20 exercise modes and automatically detects certain activities like walking and running. However, it doesn’t have a built-in GPS, so it relies on a smartphone-connected GPS for mapping outdoor workouts. Last but not least, it has a brilliant battery life, lasting up to 10 days on a single charge, depending on usage.