More and extra health manufacturers are shifting their focus from health bands to health watches. From a enterprise standpoint, it is sensible: smartwatches price extra, leaving a bigger doable revenue margin. Fitness trackers typically price $100 or much less, leaving much less leeway for producers so as to add the most recent options — or to earn cash with out a subscription.That being mentioned, simply because the market is shifting to watches doesn’t suggest you need to swap, too. For some individuals, a cumbersome and costly health watch is overkill. Depending on the health tracker, you could discover one thing compact and cheap is a more sensible choice. If you evaluate smartwatches vs. health trackers, watches have the apparent edge, they usually’re sometimes what we would suggest, so you do not have to compromise in sure areas. But should you’re a pupil on a funds otherwise you’re shopping for for a child with out a smartphone, you need to critically contemplate the choice.As you weigh the very best health smartwatches in opposition to the very best health trackers, we’ll assist you to resolve which path to take. We’ll begin with all the explanations to decide on a health tracker over a smartwatch, then record out the case for choosing a smartwatch as a substitute.Reasons to choose a health tracker(Image credit score: Andrew Myrick / Android Central)AffordabilityI cannot recall a health tracker ever priced greater than $150, and most price far lower than that. When you will get a high-quality health band just like the Amazfit Band 7 — with its 1.47-inch AMOLED show, PAI well being knowledge, and 18-day battery life — for simply $50, why spend a whole bunch extra?An entry-level health tracker additionally offers you an opportunity to expertise a well-liked health model with out feeling trapped by a very costly mannequin. You want Fitbit Premium to get essentially the most out of any Fitbit tracker. If you purchase a $300 Sense 2 or $350 Pixel Watch after which add an $80 annual price on prime of that, it is an actual funding! But begin with the $99 Fitbit Inspire 3 and benefit from the 6-month free trial, and you may know by the tip of it if Premium is price it. The similar precept applies to the $150 Garmin Vivosmart 5. It’s costly for a tracker, however most Garmin watches will set you again wherever from $300 to a grand. You can see if Garmin Coach, Body Battery, and the opposite core options are all they’re hyped as much as be before you purchase a fancier mannequin. It’s a lot simpler to just accept a $100–$150 failed experiment, whereas a smartwatch could make you give into the sunk price fallacy and persist with a health app you do not like all that a lot.ComfortEach 12 months, smartwatches get higher processors, larger batteries, and newer sensors in a tech arms race to be essentially the most feature-packed possibility within the subject. While that is good for shoppers, it additionally means loads of watches weigh about 50–70g (1.8–2.5oz) with the strap and measure 13mm thick and up. If you are strolling round campus or the workplace all day, or a younger child enjoying tag or climbing on the monkey bars, the very last item you need is one thing heavy that weighs down your wrist or bumps into it once you bend it. A health tracker, for comparability, normally weighs nearer to 20–30g (about an oz), measures a lot thinner, and has no crowns or buttons that may dig into your wrist.Plus, if you need one thing for sleep monitoring, a petite health tracker is far simpler to disregard. This ensures you’ll be able to preserve your self accountable should you’re pulling one too many all-nighters in a row otherwise you wish to preserve observe of how nicely your child is sleeping. Simplicity and battery lifeIn the subsequent part, we’ll go into all of the unique perks you get with a smartwatch. But you could not want any of them. An Apple Watch or Android smartwatch is designed to be an extension of your smartphone. So, in idea, you’ll be able to verify and reply to notifications throughout class, take a look at notes apps, and ask Google Assistant or Siri a query… all together with your cellphone in your pocket. This may be helpful, however it’s additionally a temptation that you could be not need, and should you’re continuously checking your watch throughout class or work, your professor or boss will nonetheless discover, even when it is extra refined than a cellphone. Plus, even the biggest smartwatches with 1.5-inch shows can really feel like a compromised expertise, forcing you to faucet and sort on screens barely constructed to deal with that form of complexity.Also, these watches want excessive clock speeds to run correct apps, which burns by way of your battery in a flash. That means both accepting that your watch will solely final a day or much less or shopping for an enormous watch just like the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro that may make it three days.(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)A health band is even worse than a smartwatch for controls as a result of they’re sometimes touchscreen solely and have even much less display area for swipes. But you will not use it as a lot as a result of they sometimes haven’t got apps so that you can fear about. It permits you to verify notifications, begin exercises, or view well being knowledge, however you may pull out your cellphone for something extra difficult. Because health bands do much less, they last more. You’ll sometimes see battery lives someplace between 6 to 14 days, relying on the model. You can get that with some health smartwatches, however they’re sometimes large and costly, like a Garmin watch. Overall, should you’re already completely happy together with your smartphone, you do not essentially want a smaller, much less helpful model of it in smartwatch kind if you may make do with the easy, stripped-down health band kind issue.Reasons to choose a smartwatch(Image credit score: Android Central)Built-in GPS, tap-to-pay, assistants, and Bluetooth callingThe trade-off of a petite health tracker is that you simply go away much less room for inside elements and highly effective processors. You might not want a smartwatch with third-party apps or a QWERTY keyboard, however once you evaluate smartwatches vs. health trackers for different options, you could not wish to compromise.Aside from the Fitbit Charge 5, nearly all health trackers depend on related GPS, that means you need to carry a cellphone with you to finish a exercise. That’s fantastic for some individuals, however should you like understanding with out a cellphone — should you’re on a sports activities workforce and do not carry one throughout occasions, as an illustration — you may need built-in GPS help.Next, not many health trackers have NFC help, that means you do not have a easy tap-to-pay possibility like Google Wallet or Apple Pay. Again, you’ll be able to at all times use your cellphone for this, however it’s good having the choice to simply faucet your watch whereas leaving your cellphone in your pocket.Perhaps most significantly, nearly no health trackers have sufficient area for a mic and speaker, that means you’ll be able to’t take cellphone calls in your wrist or converse to a sensible assistant you probably have a fast query. You may even discover some smartwatches with LTE, that means you may make cellphone calls with no need your cellphone close by in any respect.To be honest, not all smartwatches have these, however if you need the choice, you’ll be able to safely ignore all the most well-liked health trackers. Status symbolsI’ve already talked about that smartwatches have trended in the direction of changing into thicker than ever. But that does not imply all smartwatches ignore aesthetics. And truthfully, I’ve by no means seen a health tracker that I’d name engaging; you may merely discover just a few which can be nondescript. Plenty of individuals contemplate Apple Watches to be standing symbols and can put on them even after the battery dies as a result of they just like the look. Beyond that possibility, you’ll be able to take a look at watches just like the Garmin Lily or Vivomove Trend, Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid Wellness Edition, and even the Pixel Watch and discover watches that make an actual impression. You can check out hybrid smartwatches, particularly, should you care extra a few traditional watch appear and feel than apps and smarts. But relying on what vibe you are going for, even a cumbersome, button-heavy smartwatch can look cooler than an inexpensive, tiny tracker that is all AMOLED show and sharp edges.(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)They’re simply higherAside from uncommon exceptions just like the Amazfit GTR Mini, most smartwatches price much more than your typical tracker. So it stands to purpose that they provide all-around higher specs, well being sensors, shows, and software program to match the value.First, you may hardly ever discover a health tracker that provides greater than coronary heart charge and blood oxygen monitoring. Choose a watch just like the Sense 2 or Galaxy Watch 6, and you will get an ECG, all-day stress knowledge, pores and skin temperature, and extra for a extra holistic take a look at your well being. Though, to be honest, some manufacturers like Fitbit do no less than supply AFib detection by way of their health trackers, in addition to watches. Fitness tracker shows have gotten bigger lately, however a smartwatch offers you a round or squircle form with extra room for data, whereas a skinny rectangular show has to make use of smaller textual content that is tougher on the eyes. And extra smartwatches hit a max brightness of 1,000–2,000 nits, making them simply readable outside. (Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Assuming you do care about watchOS or Wear OS apps that sync to your cellphone, together with particular instruments like messaging you can entry in your wrist, solely high-end smartwatches have the RAM and CPUs to supply that. You additionally sometimes get extra storage for music, watch faces, and extra.As a ultimate level, we have not seen many new health trackers within the final couple of years. Our favourite continues to be the 2021 Fitbit Charge 5, and a few manufacturers have not offered their trackers within the U.S. in 2023, sticking to Europe and Asia. So, if you need cutting-edge tech, you may have to purchase a watch.Smartwatches vs. health trackers: Which do you have to purchase?(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)A health tracker prices much less upfront, however it would not essentially have the longevity of a smartwatch. Watches from Apple, Samsung, Google, Garmin, or different well-respected manufacturers usually tend to obtain software program help for years, whereas a health tracker might not obtain any new tips or dev consideration after a 12 months or so.If you are particularly procuring in your little one, you may wish to take a look at the very best youngsters’ smartwatches, which blur the road between a watch and a tracker. These are restricted gadgets that primarily exist to assist mother and father preserve observe of and talk with youngsters, with some restricted bells and whistles to maintain your youngsters entertained. Of these, my colleague lately wrote that Garmin makes probably the greatest youngsters’ watches for varsity.In phrases of older college students in faculty or highschool, a health tracker would not have the smarts to allow you to textual content or cheat in school, which you might even see as optimistic or unfavourable. But it can save you some huge cash on a tracker, leaving room in your funds for a nicer pupil pill or pupil Chromebook as a substitute. Otherwise, if that is not a priority, a smartwatch offers you higher versatility, health monitoring, and magnificence factors.Ultimately, there is a purpose why health tracker gross sales are down. You can select a smartwatch for health (Garmin), fashion (hybrid watches), app help (Apple/ Galaxy Watch), or different specializations. Fitness trackers all have fairly comparable kind elements and limitations. If you need an all-around high-quality smartwatch to pair together with your Android cellphone, the Galaxy Watch 6 ought to be your first selection. Or if you wish to downgrade to a health tracker with out it feeling like a downgrade, the Fitbit Charge 5 stays our favourite possibility a few years later.
The Galaxy Watch 6 is the very best Android watch you should buy, with quick efficiency, a ton of well being sensors, first rate battery life for a life-style watch (aka twice so long as an Apple Watch), and all of the apps you might need. It’s comfy to put on and has a disproportionately massive show for its dimension.
The Fitbit Charge 5 is not your typical health tracker. It has built-in GPS, can take an ECG studying, and has NFC tap-to-pay; it would not have a mic or speaker, however that lets it keep comfortably gentle at 28g, and we just like the 1-inch AMOLED show. Add in a free Fitbit Premium trial, and the Charge 5 is a superb start line for well being and health.