I wore five smartwatches to Mount Diablo’s peak. These brands were best for elevation accuracy

Last weekend, I strapped on 5 health smartwatches, drove to Mount Diablo State Park in California, and hiked about 2,100 ft to the summit. Why? To resolve which smartwatch model — Apple, COROS, Garmin, Polar, or Samsung — was most correct for monitoring elevation.Most high-end smartwatches sport a barometric altimeter to evaluate your elevation acquire throughout outside exercises. Altimeters use air stress adjustments to calculate elevation adjustments in coordination with GPS information. But some are extra correct than others, and most manufacturers do not allow you to calibrate your beginning place manually. I’ve needed to check this for a while, ever since my experiment final yr once I wore six smartwatches for 6,000 steps to see which got here closest to the true quantity. Since then, I’ve additionally executed a number of multi-watch GPS accuracy checks for evaluations, however these have all been two-dimensional checks: I’ve by no means recognized how correct my watch is when it tells me I’ve climbed X ft or Y flights of stairs. (Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)For my take a look at, I selected three watches I’ve already reviewed — the COROS PACE 3, Garmin Forerunner 965, and Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic — together with two I’m presently reviewing, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Polar Vantage V3. Apologies to the hikers with favourite manufacturers I did not carry alongside; my arms, skinny as they’re, solely have a lot room. Charging and becoming on 5 watches was greater than sufficient to handle, they usually obtained me loads of aspect glances on the path because it was. Plus, a few of my favourite wearables (just like the Fitbit Charge 6) haven’t got altimeters in any respect, that means they cannot be trusted for elevation information, apart from GPS estimates. Thankfully, you possibly can simply take a look at your personal smartwatch’s accuracy if you’d like!Simply select a hike on a website like Alltrails, such because the Mount Diablo by way of Summit Trail hike, and observe the minimal and most elevation, together with whole elevation acquire. Then, hike it your self and evaluate your watch’s outcomes to the fact. The desk beneath reveals the outcomes of my smartwatch elevation accuracy take a look at:Swipe to scroll horizontallyDevice nameStarting elevationMax elevationTotal elevation gainExact GPS information (AllTrails)1,770 feet3,849 feet2,139 ftApple Watch Ultra 21,779 feet3,873 feet2,147 feetCOROS PACE 31,736 feet3,825 feet2,231 ftGarmin Forerunner 9651,761 feet3,841 feet2,231 ftSamsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic1,509 feet3,606 feet2,026 feetNote: You probably seen a lacking information row. That’s as a result of someday on the way in which down Mt. Diablo, my Polar Vantage V3 crashed, exhibiting an countless loop of the Polar emblem, then manufacturing unit reset itself after I obtained residence. The Polar subreddit reveals people have had related points previously. Luckily, I snapped a photograph close to the height exhibiting my elevation (3,729 ft) and whole acquire (2,018 ft) on the time. Add one other 100 ft or so of climbing, and the Vantage V3 was most likely fairly near what my different watches confirmed; I simply cannot give precise information, particularly with out the beginning elevation. I’m actually upset that this glitch tousled my take a look at!Determining the ‘greatest’ smartwatch altimeter(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)We have three metrics to assist decide which smartwatch is greatest for elevation accuracy. Let’s begin with minimal elevation, which is the preliminary auto-calibrated consequence the smartwatch makes once you begin a exercise. Garmin and Apple miraculously tied right here, each 9 ft off. COROS was 34 ft quick, or 25 worse than Garmin, however that is nothing in comparison with Samsung’s consequence, which fell 261 ft quick. Looking subsequent at max elevation, Garmin fell eight ft wanting the official summit quantity. Basically, regardless that Garmin was off by a number of yards every time, the hole between the minimal and most (2,080 ft) was only one foot totally different from the official information (2,079 ft).COROS’ max consequence, 3,825 ft, was 24 ft quick; once more, although, in case you take a look at the entire distinction (2,089 ft), that is simply 10 ft off the satellite tv for pc information, which most hikers will fortunately settle for. Apple’s max-elevation information had me floating about 24 ft above Mt. Diablo, and its whole distinction (2,094) is 15 ft above. Considering all of the smarts you get with an Apple Watch Ultra 2 in comparison with most health smartwatches, that is a minor discrepancy that watchOS followers most likely will not thoughts. You might additionally name the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic’s whole elevation distinction (2,097 ft) completely respectable, however the max elevation was simply as absurdly wanting the mark because the minimal elevation. Samsung had an Alti-Barometer app on the Galaxy Store that might have mounted this, nevertheless it was designed for Tizen OS and does not work correctly with Wear OS. (Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Lastly, we are able to take a look at whole elevation acquire, which (to make clear) is totally different from the subtracted sums above since you acquire additional elevation each time the path goes up and down. At first look, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 crushed this metric, solely overreporting by eight ft. The drawback is that I did go up and down the steps on the summit a few occasions, in addition to took some aspect paths with mini-hills that added pointless ups and downs. So regardless that the Garmin Forerunner 965 and COROS PACE 3 each measured an additional 92 ft of climbing, I’m wondering if my precise consequence was someplace in between these two and the Ultra 2. The proven fact that they each had the very same consequence was one other shock. The advantage of the newest Garmin Forerunner watches, the PACE 3, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is that all of them have dual-band GPS monitoring. If the mountain you are climbing is obstructing the road of sight to the closest GPS satellite tv for pc, they will use one other satellite tv for pc to calibrate your place. And since watches use GPS to reinforce altimeter outcomes, meaning you are very more likely to get one thing near an correct consequence. If you are utilizing a GPS-only watch just like the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, your elevation outcomes might find yourself extra of a crapshoot regardless of the built-in altimeter. The mistaken beginning elevation might not matter from a sensible standpoint, however the truth that it underreported my elevation acquire by not less than 100 ft is much less forgivable. I’m hoping that Samsung will repair its health points in 2024 and that the Galaxy Watch 7 Pro is extra reliable. In the meantime, although, I’m actually pleased with how Garmin, COROS, and Apple carried out in my take a look at. Garmin received for particular elevation numbers, Apple received (perhaps) for elevation acquire, and COROS got here shut on each counts. Rather than rooting for one clear winner, I need as many manufacturers as attainable to provide you correct outcomes so hikers and cyclists have a wealth of decisions. If you are presently on the hunt for a brand new smartwatch, bike pc, or handheld GPS, my suggestion is that you do not take it as a right that an altimeter within the specs sheet is a certain signal of reliability. Keep your receipt, take your new be careful on the path ASAP, and just be sure you get outcomes which can be moderately correct.