By Victoria Song , a senior reporter focusing on wearables, health tech, and more with 11 years of experience. Before coming to The Verge, she worked for Gizmodo and PC Magazine.
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Fitness trackers have come a long way from the simple bands that tracked steps and little else. Modern trackers can monitor everything from your heart health to how well you’ve recovered from a hard bout of training. They’ve got sensors galore and, in some cases, can give smartwatches a run for their money. Whatever your fitness goals are, there’s probably a fitness tracker that can help you achieve them.
Compared to some other gadgets, wearables are incredibly personal, which means there are a few extra considerations you’ll have to take into account before reaching for your wallet. It makes it hard to say that any one fitness tracker is the best for everyone. Thankfully, the best thing about fitness trackers in 2024 is that there’s enough variety to fit into every kind of lifestyle.
Now that we’re in the new year, most flagship updates are behind us. 2023 brought the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series, Fitbit Charge 6, Google Pixel Watch 2, Garmin Venu 3, and the Withings ScanWatch 2 and ScanWatch Light. We’ll see some launches from Garmin and niche smartwatch makers trickling in over the next few months, but there won’t be another glut of new smartwatches until late summer. In other words, it’s the time of year where you can buy without too much FOMO.
Who is this fitness tracker for? The ideal fitness tracker for hardcore athletes will look different than the best one for casual users looking to get a few more steps in.
A fitness tracker should be able to go at least two to three days between charges. If it’s a flagship smartwatch, it should at least offer quick charging.
Is it a band or a smartwatch? Is it comfortable to wear 24/7?
What metrics does this device track? We prioritize active minutes over steps and calorie burn, but health metrics like resting heart rate, VO2 Max, and sleep quality are plusses.
Accuracy is nice, but it’s more important for measuring progress that your device delivers consistent results for heart rate, distance tracking, and steps.
Certain trackers are limited to specific phone ecosystems — others will work regardless of what your phone is. We prioritize the latter wherever possible.
The Amazfit GTR 4 is a platform-agnostic smartwatch that delivers a lot of bang for your buck. It has dual-band GPS, is Alexa-compatible, and has 14 days of battery life.
Size: 46mm w/ 22mm straps / Weight: 34g / Battery life: Up to 14 days / Display type: OLED touchscreen / GPS: Dual-frequency and six GNSS systems / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 2.3GB
The Amazfit GTR 4 punches way above its weight. It’s affordable at $199 and includes a whole array of features you’d expect to see on much pricier wearables. That includes a bright OLED screen, blood oxygen monitoring, sleep stage tracking, stress tracking, Amazon Alexa compatibility, and an offline digital assistant. It’s also got a native camera remote and a handy Pomodoro timer built in. And for outdoor fitness enthusiasts, the GTR 4 also has multiband GPS for more accurate GPS tracking in challenging environments. You can even import GPX routes from sites like Strava and Komoot. The GTR 4 takes a more holistic approach to health, trading in steps for PAI points to gauge whether you’re getting the recommended 150 minutes of moderate activity per week.
For smart features, the GTR 4 has all the basics: push notifications, quick text replies on Android, alarms, timers, and the ability to make and take calls over Bluetooth. The only thing the GTR 4 is really missing is contactless payments, but it more than makes up for it, given the expansive feature set and battery life. It lasts about 10–14 days on a single charge with normal use and about a week with heavy usage. It may not have the brand recognition of a Fitbit, but since Google nerfed both the Versa 4 and Sense 2 last year, you might want to overlook that. Plus, the GTR 4 doesn’t have thick bezels like either of those watches. Watchfaces on the OLED display are crisp, and animations are smooth. When you consider that Amazfit watches are often on sale, it’s a no-brainer.
The Garmin Venu Sq 2 is a great replacement for a Fitbit smartwatch. Not only do they look similar, but the Venu Sq 2 has way more fitness features, long battery life, and no subscription.
Sizes: 40mm w/20mm straps / Weight: 38g / Battery life: Up to 11 days / Display type: OLED touchscreen / GPS: All-systems GNSS / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Ant Plus / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 4GB (for Music Edition)
The $250 Garmin Venu Sq 2 is the watch I recommend for anyone looking to replace their aging Fitbit Versa 2 or 3. It’s got a similar look and vibe, with a much nicer OLED display and longer battery life.
Garmin is known for its comprehensive fitness tracking, and that’s not an exception here. Of course, you get the basics, like steps and calories burned, but you get a whole lot more, too. There’s built-in GPS for tracking walks, runs, and bike rides — as well as plenty of other sports profiles like yoga and strength training. For smart features, you get push notifications, timers, contactless payments, and a bunch of safety features like Garmin’s Incident Detection, which is its take on fall detection. (You will need to carry your phone with you, however, as this doesn’t have LTE.)
If you want the option of onboard music, you can shell out $50 extra for the Music Edition, which comes with enough storage for about 500 songs. I wouldn’t recommend it, however, as you’ll most likely have your phone on you since this isn’t a true standalone watch.
What I like most about this watch, however, is it’s one that you can grow with. On top of recovery metrics and sleep tracking, it also has Garmin Coach — a built-in, free training program for beginner and intermediate-level runners hoping to tackle a 5K, 10K, or half marathon. For health tracking, you can monitor heart rate, blood oxygen, intensity minutes (how many minutes of moderate exercise you get per week), stress, hydration, respiratory rate, and menstrual cycles. And the best part is Garmin doesn’t lock any of this behind a paywall.
One note: there is a Venu 3, which adds a newer heart rate sensor and nap detection. I liked it quite a bit, and it ticks off a lot of the right boxes — except for price. It’s $450, which puts it outside what I’d consider ideal for casual users. I firmly believe older models are still a good choice if all you want is the fitness-tracking basics. This is especially true since newer software updates often make their way to older Garmins. Garmin users also tend to hang onto their device for a good while. Strava’s 2023 year-end survey found that the most popular smartwatch among its users was an eight-year-old Garmin!
Like the Garmin Epix Pro, the Fenix 7 Pro line has an updated optical heart rate sensor for improved accuracy. It also has excellent battery life, a slightly brighter MIP display, solar charging, and the option of upgrading to sapphire crystal.
Sizes: 7S Pro: 42mm w/20mm straps, 7: 47mm w/22mm straps, 7X: 51mm w/26mm straps / Weight: 7S Pro: 63g (Solar), 58g or 65g (Sapphire Solar, titanium or stainless steel) 7: 79g (Solar), 73g (Sapphire Solar) 7X: 96g (Solar), 89g (Sapphire Solar) / Battery life: 7S: up to 11 days, 14 w/ Solar, 7: up to 18 days, 22 days w/ solar, 7X: up to 28 days, 37 w/solar / Display type: MIP touchscreen / GPS: All-systems GNSS and dual-frequency GPS / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Ant Plus, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 10ATM / Music storage: Up to 32GB
Garmin’s flagship Fenix 7 series is no joke, and the Fenix 7 Pro lineup takes it up a notch. It’s got built-in multiband GPS, solar charging on all models, the option of touchscreen or button navigation, topographical maps, and oodles upon oodles of data. Plus, every Fenix 7 Pro model has a hands-free LED flashlight, an upgraded heart rate sensor, and an improved memory-in-pixel display that’s slightly easier to read in low lighting.
Garmin wearables are also known for providing extensive, in-depth metrics, and the Fenix 7 Pro lineup is no exception. You get excellent recovery metrics, as well as helpful training guides and coaching programs. The best part is Garmin doesn’t charge extra for those features. That’s good news, as these are expensive watches.
I appreciate how quickly these Fenix 7 watches are able to pick up a GPS signal. That’s a must if you’re training in the dead of winter. These watches can also take a beating. All models are built to military-grade standards and feature up to 10 ATM of water resistance. That means they’re more than capable of a dunk in the ocean.
Although the screen is brighter, MIP displays still aren’t my absolute favorite — the OLED on the Garmin Epix 2 and the Epix Pro are a lot easier on the eyes. It’s admittedly tough to pick between the Fenix 7, Fenix 7 Pro, Epix 2, and Epix Pro lineups — especially now that the Epix Pro also has great battery life, the LED flashlight, and now comes in multiple sizes. What it boils down to is whether you prioritize a brighter display, longer battery life, or price.
Personally, I prefer the Epix Pro for better readability, but the Fenix 7 Pro is the better choice if this is your first introduction to Garmin’s platform. You’ll get better battery life, the same LED flashlight, all the same training features, and a lower starting price. (You can also check out our Garmin buying guide if you’d like even more alternatives.)
That said, I still think the standard Fenix 7 lineup is a good choice — especially if solar charging isn’t all that appealing to you. Plus, many of the new features that launched with the Fenix 7 Pro and Epix Pro have trickled down to the standard line via OTA updates. You can also save a couple hundred dollars this way if budget is your main concern. In general, the holiday season is right around the corner, so I recommend keeping your eyes peeled for deals as retailers try to get rid of old inventory.
The Oura Ring Gen 3 is a discreet sleep and recovery tracker that tracks heart rate, body temperature, and activity. It comes with a six-month free trial, with a $5.99 subscription after that.
Sizes: 8 proprietary sizes, 6-13, sizing kit needed / Weight: 4–6g (depends on size) / Battery life: Up to 7 days / Display type: None / GPS: None / Connectivity: Bluetooth / Water resistance: Up to 328 feet / Music storage: None
The vast majority of fitness trackers are worn on the wrist, but the $299 Oura Ring isn’t. The smart ring is a good option for people who are looking for something a little more discreet. It’s also less distracting than some other wrist-based options, as it lacks a screen and doesn’t forward push notifications.
While smaller than your average wearable, the Oura Ring still tracks a ton of metrics, including heart rate variability and body temperature. The third iteration of the device also introduces SpO2 sensors, as well as all-day heart rate monitoring and period predictions. Since launching, the Oura Ring has also added activity tracking, blood oxygen levels, chronotypes to help visualize your circadian rhythms, and a new social feature called Circles. It’s also begun rolling out a whole new sleep stages algorithm that it claims is more accurate than before. If you’re looking for some stress relief, the Oura Ring also lets you track guided meditation sessions.
The Oura Ring tracks typical metrics — such as steps and calories burned — but its main focus is sleep and recovery. Each day, you’re given three sets of scores for your readiness, sleep, and activity. It’s a simple, holistic look at your overall wellness and an ideal pick if you want a more hands-off experience with your data.
That said, 2024 is shaping up to be the year of the smart ring. Samsung just confirmed it’s working on a Galaxy Ring that’s slated for launch later this year. We’re also expecting to see compelling options from Movano and Amazfit in the near future — and these two options won’t have a subscription. If you can be patient, you might want to wait to see what happens in the smart ring space over the next few months.
The Amazfit Band 7 is an unassuming, basic fitness tracker with a bright OLED display, long battery life, and an incredible feature set for the price.
Size: 42mm x 24mm x 12.2mm with 16mm straps / Weight: 28g / Battery life: Up to 18 days / Display type: OLED / GPS: Tethered / Connectivity: Bluetooth / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: None
It’s truly hard to beat the Amazfit Band 7’s $49.99 price — doubly so since you can often find it on sale for even less. Wearing the Band 7 feels like a throwback to 2014, which is great if all you’re looking for is a simple and casual tracker that won’t break the bank.
No one is going to compliment you on the Band 7’s design, but it’s got a handful of cute watchfaces that make good use of its OLED touchscreen. And despite having an OLED display, you’ll still get roughly 14 days of battery life on a single charge. It’s also incredibly lightweight, making it a good option for sleep tracking as well.
You also get an absurd number of features for the price. That includes Amazon Alexa, continuous heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen monitoring, stress tracking, advanced sleep tracking, training metrics like VO2 max and load, abnormal heart rate alerts, menstrual tracking, push notifications, find my phone, a camera remote, and even a Pomodoro timer. You’re sacrificing contactless payments and will have to settle for tethered GPS, but this is a fair tradeoff considering everything else you’re getting. It’s not the best option for hardcore fitness tracking, but this is a great option if all you’re looking to do is casually track activity and your steps.
Amazfit’s been making surprisingly good budget trackers for a while. That said, if you’re a little wary of a lesser-known brand, the $159.95 Fitbit Charge 6 is a decent alternative. It’s pricier, but you get a lot of what Amazfit is missing. That includes Google services like YouTube Music, Google Wallet, and Google Maps. Plus, it has built-in GPS and the ability to broadcast your heart rate with some Bluetooth-compatible gym equipment.
The Garmin Vivomove Sport is an affordable, stylish hybrid-analog tracker. It’s not as beefy as Garmin’s other trackers and is well suited for casual activity.
Sizes: 40mm w/20mm straps / Weight: 19g / Battery life: Up to 5 days / Display type: “Hidden” OLED touchscreen / GPS: Tethered GPS / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Ant Plus / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: N/A
While Garmin’s made some truly exquisite hybrid trackers in the past, the price made them hard to recommend. However, the Vivomove Sport finally gets things right. It looks like an analog Swatch, thanks to the hidden OLED display, but you don’t actually lose anything in terms of accuracy.
For $179.99, you are giving up some things like built-in GPS and NFC payments. However, you do get push notifications and access to Garmin’s entire fitness tracking platform. There are some more jewelry-like trackers — Bellabeat’s lineup or the Fitbit Luxe come to mind — but the Vivosport Move’s design is a lot sturdier for active lifestyles.
Another option I like is the Withings ScanWatch 2 and ScanWatch Light, which I’m currently testing. While I’m still formulating a final opinion, they’re both quite fetching to look at on the wrist and share the same overall design aesthetic as the Vivomove Sport. The ScanWatch 2 has more in-depth health tracking and adds a temperature sensor. It’s also got an EKG for atrial fibrillation detection and tracks blood oxygen levels. The rub is that it’s a lot more expensive at $350. The ScanWatch Light knocks off about $100 from the price, but it’s also missing the temperature sensors, EKG, blood oxygen, and elevation tracking.
The Apple Watch Series 9 features a brand-new S9 processor that enables offline Siri use, brighter displays, and the double tap gesture. It also has the second-gen ultra wideband chip for Precision Finding if you have an iPhone 15.
Sizes: 41mm, 45mm / Weight: 32g (41mm), 39g (45mm) / Battery life: Up to 18 hours / Display type: Always-on LTPO OLED / GPS: Built-in GPS, plus GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, Beidou / Connectivity: LTE (optional), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: Up to 50 meters / Music storage: 32GB
If you’re looking for a smartwatch that does fitness well, then iPhone owners need to look no further than the $399 Apple Watch Series 9. (The LTE version costs $50 more.) This year’s updates were pretty iterative, but the updated S9 processor makes this the smartest fitness tracker around for Apple users.
With watchOS 9, Apple added advanced running metrics and the ability to create custom workouts. This year’s watchOS 10 update adds greater integration with cycling accessories, as well as custom workout plans within Fitness Plus. Hikers also get better maps and directions on the wrist. Otherwise, the watch is incredibly similar to last year’s Series 8. That’s fine! Not only could you save a bit of extra dough by opting for an older model, but you’re still getting the vast majority of the features that matter. Exclusive to the Series 9 are the forthcoming double-tap gesture, brighter screens, and offline Siri capability — but these are fairly minor if your real focus is fitness. But if you want to use Siri to interact with your health and fitness stats, that’s also a Series 9 exclusive.
Of course, we also have to address the Apple Watch ban. As of January 18th, 2024, new Series 9 sold by Apple (and eventually, third-party retailers) will have the blood oxygen feature disabled due to an ongoing patent battle with medical device maker Masimo. This isn’t a huge deal for most people, as this feature isn’t that useful for most people yet. You might want to consider a refurbished Series 7 or 8 if blood oxygen sensing is important to you, however.
If you’re a first-time buyer, you can also opt for the second-gen Apple Watch SE. It’s slightly cheaper at $249, and while you don’t get as many features, it’s a good introduction to the ecosystem. Otherwise, if you’re the type of athlete who covets a Garmin, you may also want to consider splurging on the Apple Watch Ultra 2. It’s more expensive at $799, but it does have the brightest screen of any Apple Watch, comes with dual-frequency GPS, has diving and hiking safety features, and is made of more durable materials.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 adds Wear OS 4, longer battery life, 30 percent thinner bezels, and a new Exynos W930 chip. You can now also use temperature data for cycle tracking, get personalized heart rate zones, and custom workouts.
Sizes: 40mm, 44mm / Weight: 28.7g (40mm), 33.3g (44mm) / Battery life: Up to 30 hours with AOD, 40 hours without AOD / Display type: Always-on OLED / GPS: Built-in GPS / Connectivity: LTE (optional), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: Up to 50 meters, IP68 / Music storage: 16GB
If you have a Samsung phone, this is the best full-featured smartwatch for fitness tracking. It (and the Watch 6 Classic) are the first watches to get Wear OS 4 and One UI 5 Watch, which adds a bunch of health and sleep tracking improvements like temperature-based cycle tracking, personalized heart rate zones, and custom workouts. It also has the same 3-in-1 sensor, which enables body composition analysis. That’s a unique feature that no other smartwatch at the moment is capable of. You can also access workout videos from the Samsung Health app — though the production values aren’t as good as Fitness Plus or Peloton.
While I prefer the Classic overall (I mean, rotating bezel!), the base Watch 6 model is our pick for general fitness tracking due to its lighter weight and smaller size. Overall, it’s less distracting during workouts and more comfortable for sleep tracking. That said, the Classic is a very capable tracker, even if its aesthetic and larger size lend it toward being a better smartwatch. However, if you want a more rugged fitness watch with truly multiday battery life, you might be better off with the $449.99 Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. The Pro is also getting some new software updates in One UI 5 Watch, including turn-by-turn navigation for running and walking.
The big thing with the Galaxy Watch 6 series is that battery life has improved over last year. In my testing, I was able to last an entire day without worrying about battery under various scenarios. For example, on outdoor GPS runs with the always-on display enabled, I only saw a battery drain of 3–4 percent per mile. Fast charging enables you to get eight hours of battery life on a single charge, and the improved bedtime mode mitigates overnight battery drain to 10–15 percent — even if you turn on continuous SpO2 sensing, snore detection, and skin temperature tracking.
While Wear OS 4 and One UI 5 Watch look, feel, and function similar to Wear OS 3 / One UI Watch 4.5, you now get cloud backups. Google has also continued to expand third-party app offerings, so there are more choices than ever. However, some features are limited to Samsung owners, making it hard to wholeheartedly recommend this to non-Samsung Android users.
The new Google Pixel Watch 2 now achieves a reliable 24 hours on a single charge with the always-on display enabled. It sports a new processor, multipath health sensor, Wear OS 4, and new safety features, all around a substantial update.
Sizes: 41mm / Weight: 31g / Battery life: Up to 24 hours / Display type: Always-on OLED / GPS: Built-in GPS / Connectivity: LTE (optional), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 32GB
Last year, the Google Pixel Watch shifted the playing field for Android smartwatches. Now, the Pixel Watch 2 is here, and while it looks the same as its predecessor, it’s a significant improvement over last year.
Under the hood, you get a newer processor, Wear OS 4, and a new multipath sensor. What this translates to is much faster charging, zippier performance, and battery life that actually lasts 24 hours with the always-on display. On the health front, you have more accurate heart rate tracking, automatic workout tracking, and the Fitbit Sense 2’s continuous electrodermal activity sensor for stress tracking. Plus, there are new personal safety features: Safety Check and Safety Signal. The former is a proactive timer that alerts emergency contacts to your location while the latter allows you to use emergency features even if you don’t have an active LTE plan, provided you have a Fitbit Premium subscription. (Note: you still need the LTE version of the watch for Safety Signal to work.)
These are the main updates, but there are also a bunch of tiny fixes and updates here and there that address many of the quirks with the first-gen watch. That said, we still have concerns in terms of durability, repairability, and size. The Verge staff has cracked and scratched our devices, and Google doesn’t offer any repair options — just the Preferred Care extended warranty. (And even then, this is a new addition with the Pixel Watch 2 that’s limited to the US and Canada.) And while the 41mm size is fetching on petite wrists, it may appear too dainty for people with larger wrists.
This distraction-free recovery tracker helps you monitor your sleep quality and cardiovascular strain. The hardware is “free,” but it costs $30 per month.
Sizes: 43mm by 28mm by 10mm / Weight: 18g / Battery life: 4–5 days / Display type: None / GPS: None / Connectivity: Bluetooth / Water resistance: Up to 10 meters / Music storage: None
The Whoop 4.0 is not for the casual enthusiast. Not only does it come with an expensive monthly subscription, but the information it provides is only useful if you’re actively training for a cardio-intensive sport. If strength training is your main form of exercise, you’re better off looking elsewhere. Like the Oura Ring, this is a distraction-free tracker that specializes in sleep and recovery. The main difference is this has a more athletic bent. For instance, you’ll get way more insight into how much strain you’ve taken on in the past week.
Whoop also provides a lot of novel ways to wear its tracker, including in underwear and arm/knee sleeves. This makes it an appealing option if you’re one of those unicorns who needs a secondary tracker to supplement another form of fitness tracking. Again, this is a tracker best appreciated by people who go hard and aren’t afraid to experiment. Plus, Whoop recently lowered its subscription prices in certain tiers, so while it’s still expensive, it’s not quite as pricey as it used to be.
Update January 23rd, 2:34 PM ET: Added Withings ScanWatch 2 and Light as an alternative to Garmin Vivomove Sport, context about forthcoming smart rings to the Oura Ring section, and extra details about Apple Watch ban.
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