Other Fitness Trackers to Consider
Garmin Venu 3 for $400: There’s nothing wrong with Garmin’s pricier premium hybrid fitness tracker-sports watch. However, its standout feature is that you can take calls from your wrist, and when I tried it with my spouse, he said it sounded like I was calling from the bottom of a barrel. There are other Garmins with similar functionality that are better-priced.
Xiaomi Smart Band 9 for $49: I was shocked by how much I liked this affordable little fitness band. The 1,200-nit display is clear and bright and the touchscreen is responsive. The aluminum case feels sturdy and it tracks your steps and heart rate with reasonable accuracy. However, there’s just no comparing the user experience of the Mi Fitness app versus Fitbit’s, especially at this price. (Yet.)
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra for $650: Your eyes have not deceived you. Samsung has made a Galaxy Watch Ultra (7/10, WIRED Review) that is a direct rip-off of the Apple Watch Ultra, but for Samsung phone owners. It even has the same safety orange band, the Quick button (which Apple calls an Action button), and the Double Pinch feature (which Apple calls Double Tap). Apple’s watch is better, with more sports, better interface, and better comprehensive algorithms like Training Load and Vitals. However, what the Galaxy Watch Ultra does, it does well and Samsung has the resources to catch up quickly. It has a sapphire glass face that’s rated to 10 ATM, an IP68 rating, and the ability to withstand elevations as high as 9,000 meters and temperatures as high as 130 degrees. It also has backcountry navigation features, dual-band GPS, a compass, and breadcrumb navigation, which Samsung calls Track Back and which Apple calls Backtrack (this is getting silly). The battery life is still just an adequate two days and change though.
Buyer Beware
-Offwhite-Background-SOURCE-Amazon.jpg)
Photograph: Amazon
Evie Movano Ring for $269: Evie recently announced an upgraded version of the Movano, with a medical-journal-trained AI chatbot and improved sleep and heart rate tracking. I tested it and unfortunately did not find enough on offer to rescind my previous opinion (4/10, WIRED Review). The smart ring market has exploded since then, and many new rings have explicitly women-centered features. It simply doesn’t offer enough features to be an attractive product right now.
Amazfit T-Rex 3 for $280, Amazfit Active for $85, Amazfit Helio for $200 and Amazfit Balance for $150: I have tried all the watches across Amazfit’s lineup and my colleague Simon Hill has tried the company’s smart ring. While I have nothing to complain about regarding the build quality—the Active is a convincing dupe for a black Apple Watch and the Balance a dupe for the Samsung Galaxy Watch if you don’t look too hard—both Hill and I found functionality to be somewhat limited and were exasperated at the subscription upselling. The Active 2 is the only Amazfit watch I like right now.
