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You don’t have to live in Arlington—ranked America’s fittest city— to be conscious about staying fit. A fitness tracker can help you reach your fitness goals and live a healthier life. And because gift-giving season is also upon us, a good fitness tracker makes for a thoughtful gift for your health-obsessed friend or family member. No matter your goal, these fitness tracker watches (and a ring) will help you get moving, stay motivated, and better understand the efficiency of your physical activities.
Best Overall: Fitbit Charge 5 Fitness Tracker
Fitbit is known for accurate fitness trackers, and this best-seller on Amazon has an almost perfect five-star rating. With a sleek design, wallet-friendly price tag, and a battery life of up to seven days, this is the best fitness tracker on the market. The Charge 5 documents your daily physical activity, including steps and heart rate. Set goals and choose from 20 exercise modes for more real-time statistics. This fitness tracker also has several smartwatch features, including app notifications, silent vibration alarms, and Spotify control. Another reason to click “add to cart”? It is currently 33 percent off on Amazon.
Best App-Based: Whoop Fitness Tracker
Known for its advanced high-performance metrics such as blood oxygen levels, skin temperature, and heart rate, this popular app-based fitness tracker has gained a loyal following. Besides tracking workout sessions, Whoop analyzes the data and suggests when to rest and when to push even harder at the gym. You can also monitor the quality of your sleep and sleep patterns along with nutritional stats such as caffeine intake and stress levels. Since Whoop is app-based only, the company will ship you the band for free after purchasing a membership plan.
To shop: starting from $16 a month; whoop.com
Best Non-Watch: Oura Fitness Tracker Ring
Wearing a fitness tracker watch isn’t your thing? Try Oura’s ring. It comes in four metal types, two designs, and eight ring sizes. The sensors are on the inside of the ring and measure a variety of activity factors such as step count, burned calories, periods of inactivity, training frequency and volume, and heart rate. Unlike many fitness trackers that need to be manually switched into activity mode, the Oura ring automatically detects over 30 types of activities. Other perks include sleep tracking, period prediction, and an overall wellness score based on your biometric stats.
To shop: from $300; ouraring.com
Best for Running: Garmin Fitness Tracker
We put this fitness tracker in the “best for running” category, but we could also have called it “most stylish.” The elegant analog-watch-inspired look will please those who favor classic looks over techy displays with a bunch of color-coded numbers and stats.
This Garmin fitness tracker watch is a perfect match for the running-obsessed because it accurately monitors steps, burned calories, distance, heart rate, and pace using the GPS Connect app. The watch’s sensors also analyze key running measurements (ground contact time, stride length, and cadence) to help you improve your results. Currently, Amazon is selling the watch at 40 percent off. And while we are on the topic of running, you can also add a pair of running shoes to your cart.
Best for iPhone: Apple Watch Series 8 Fitness Tracker
Surprise, surprise: The latest Apple Watch is also the perfect fitness tracker for iPhone users. This year’s model has been upgraded with a couple of useful features, such as body temperature sensors and crash and accidental fall detection. Software updates include more in-depth running metrics, better training and workout measurements, and sleep tracking.
Of course, you still get all the bells and whistles of an Apple Watch, such as ECG and blood oxygen level monitoring, and a sleek water-resistant design.
Best Budget: Amazfit Band 5 Activity Fitness Tracker
If you prefer saving your money and spending it instead on $17 cocktails, then Amazon’s fitness tracker is your best bet. For $40, you get an entry-level fitness tracker, compatible with Android and iOS devices, which measures your steps, blood oxygen levels, calories, heart rate, distance, and speed when you choose one of the 11 built-in sports modes. The sleep tracking feature will monitor your overall sleep quality. There’s also 15 days of battery life and Alexa integration.
Best Android: Samsung Fitness Tracker
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 is available in 40- and 44-mm displays and comes with Google Assistant and Google Maps navigation (perfect for runners new to the city). Samsung’s fitness tracker/smartwatch records basic activity measurements such as steps, distance, heart rate, calories, and pace, but it also goes the extra mile by registering body fat, skeletal muscle, body water, basal metabolic rate, and more. The only downside is that, similar to the Apple watch, the battery will only last about a day in GPS mode.
Best Hybrid: Withings ScanWatch Horizon
Get the Rolex look without the Rolex price. Withings has designed its hybrid fitness tracker with classic diver watches in mind, and it shows. Naturally, it is water-resistant up to 10 ATM (or the equivalent of 328 feet).
It measures your heart rate every ten minutes, tracks your sleep quality and length, and shows steps, distance, calories, pace, and altitude.
The watch’s bezel acts as an electrode and can produce an ECG on demand. But this fitness tracker’s most impressive feature is its battery life—at 30 days per charge, it is unrivaled on the market.
Best Splurge: Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon Light-up Smart Watch
‘Tis the season to splurge, so if you’ve decided to treat yourself or a loved one, this Louis Vuitton Tambour watch is the chicest and priciest step-tracker out there. Monitor your physical activity and heart rate while staying on top of your daily calendar, calls (the watch has an integrated microphone), and future travels.
To shop: $4,110; louisvuitton.com
