Fitness tracker recommendations please

Quronos

Hi all,

I have an Apple Watch S6 that I bought new but I’ve never been fully happy with it and it recently it seems to experience lots of problems (calls emergency services, crashes or turns on and off randomly, goes mad when it gets wet).

This week, has really felt like the last straw. I was deadlifting on Monday (and recording a particularly challenging workout) when all of a sudden the watch randomly jumped into a booting loop and it’s taken 3 days of resetting, re-charging and threats of replacement to start working again. I’ve just lost all faith.

So I’m looking for a replacement. I’ve loved fitbits in the past but I’m not keen on the google-fication of the current offering. I don’t want to spent a fortune… what can you recommend ?


I want to track steps, heart rate, estimate calorie burn and generally record workouts

yirara

Have a look at what Garmin has to offer. There are watches of various prices. Though, have to say the recent redesign of the website (and I suppose app, have not updated) is total shite.

nicsflyingcircus

I wear a pretty basic Fitbit, the Inspire 3. I like the slim profile and all I really want is fairly accurate step counting, heart rate tracking and for it to tell me the time. It fulfills all those needs easily and the battery is good for like 6 days between charges (I don't use the O2 tracking or notifications from my phone). It also estimates calories and can track workouts.

Quronos

Thanks all.
I've bought a Fitbit Charge 6. Reviews show that the fitness and sleep tracking is basically as good as the Apple tracking but its falls short on everything else - hardly surprising given the significant difference in price!

I'm happy though!

RunBikeDog

Garmin forerunner and Fenix series watches are amazing. I personally use the FR745 and it's great at tracking pretty much every metric you can think of. Garmin's website also easily connects to other fitness apps as well, to include this one.

chris_in_cal

RunBikeDog wrote: »

I personally use the FR745

I also have the FR745.

I think it is a very rapidly evolving area of tech. Which makes some uncomfortable, but overall it's good.

A 2020 sportswatch can't hold a candle to a 2024 watch in battery life, accuracy, screen quality etc. and prices haven't risen too much. A 2015 tracker is limited.

No company is making money by improving step counting, that's pretty much a completed tech problem. They all do an adequate job, it's other things where tech is emerging.

Lastly, for me a go-to thing to consider is the software/app/webpage eco-system. Stick with the one where your friends are, or that syncs well with all the other stuff you use.

earlybirdlady

I’m a big Garmin fan, I’m on my 4th watch and I’ve had minimal issues. I can’t speak to the “smart watch” aspect because I keep all phone communications off on the watch (strictly fitness tracking). I recommend browsing the website and then look up reviews on Amazon.

Hobartlemagne

I bought a refurbished Samsung Watch4. I like it a lot- the exercise tracker can automatically turn on if you want. MFP links with the watch and Samsung Health app with no trouble.
The battery only lasts about 36hrs. You can fully charge it in about 45min.