Best fitness trackers 2021: Top activity bands to buy today
(Pocket-lint) - As crowded as it has ever been, the fitness tracker market is only getting busier with time. The advantage of the rivalry is the release of more and more devices that do a better job of monitoring your well-being and health without costing a bomb.
It can be a bit of a struggle to filter through to the right devices, however. We're here, fortunately, to help. We've weeded the weaklings out to select only the best fitness trackers for you to choose from on the market. We also have separate features for the best smartwatches and best sport watches for GPS, for those who would like a different wearable flavor.
If step counting, calorie tracking, sleep guidance and maybe even heart rate tracking and GPS connectivity are what you want, you're completely in the right place.
The best fitness trackers to buy today
Fitbit Charge 4
The Fitbit Charge 4 takes and applies GPS to all that's amazing about the Fitbit Charge 3. That means it's a better standalone fitness system that can give you a little more details without a linked phone being required. With the added extra of being able to give you an accurate route and pace for runs and trips, it's still lean, relaxed and able to monitor all your everyday stats such as steps, sleep and activities. For mobile payments, it also supports Fitbit Pay.
The drawback that feature brings is that heavy use of GPS will drain the battery easily, but if you're after a fitness tracker, this definitely ticks all the boxes. On top of that the Fitbit community is fantastic, backed by a brilliant app that presents the details in a way that is easy to understand and does not complicate numbers too much - rather it presents rational metrics, so you're still in the frame.
Fitbit Charge 3
Yeah, a better choice could be the Fitbit Charge 4, but there is still a lot of appeal to the Fitbit Charge 3. Not only does it offer all those metrics, such as sleep, steps and tasks, but it provides greater value for money because it's slightly older.
Yeah, some of the headline features like GPS are missing, but if you're not going to do a lot of running or riding or have no interest in specifics of speed and distance, then you could get anything you want from the Charge 3. The Charge 3 has plenty to offer if it is more lifestyle monitoring that you like rather than sports tracking.
Garmin Vivoactive 4
The Garmin Vivoactive 4 distils much of the goodness provided by Garmin in its advanced fitness trackers and brings them into a more affordable device that provides better value for the money. It provides excellent tracking of heart rate and GPS, as well as monitoring items such as steps, sleep and your everyday activity.
Fitbit Inspire HR
Almost all that the Charge 3 does is given by the Fitbit Inspire HR, but in a slimmer, cheaper box. In appearance, it is not as premium as the Charge 3, but it provides great cash value, interchangeable straps and many features, including heart rate monitoring, workout tracking, and advanced sleep tracking.
The Inspire HR replaces the lines of Fitbit Alta and Fitbit Flex, offering a good OLED display, great performance, good battery life, alerts from smartphones and waterproof as well. The Inspire HR is an outstanding fitness tracker because of its price tag. The Inspire 2 succeeded, however so consider that one if this sounds up your path.
Garmin Forerunner 645 Music
The Garmin Forerunner 645 Music is more than a typical activity tracker sports watch, but it offers song storage, waterproofing, changeable bands, heart rate, GPS, altitude, cadence and motion, so it's a perfect choice for all data-related users.
It has the features of most notification and functional smartwatches, while providing excellent sports and activity tracking, a lightweight design for this type of activity tracker, and it is easy to wear while also compatible with Bluetooth headphones. However, compared to the likes of the Fitbit Charge, it is very pricey, and although the battery life is better than many smartwatches, it is not better than the Charge or Inspire lines.
Garmin Fenix 6 Pro
Garmin's Fenix 6 is a smartwatch stone-cold stunner, and its fitness features are pretty much the best of its kind. However the reason we haven't put it higher up this list is that it's very unlikely to be in the budgets of many people. The Forerunner 645 has a great collection of features at a great cost, but on both counts, the Fenix 6 Pro takes it much further.
You get a fantastic two-week battery life, with some of the best tracking on any computer, and routing that can take you as far off the beaten track as you're willing to go if you're willing to spend big. If you're into cycling, PacePro, meanwhile, is a revelation, and will really help you control your speed for those elusive personal bests. You could also consider the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Solar if you want all of these characteristics and a battery boost.
Fitbit Versa 2
The Versa 3 was replaced by Fitbit's Versa 2, but if you are looking for more of a fitness smartwatch than a fitness tracker, it is still a worthy consideration. It includes a coloured monitor, Fitbit Pay NFC and other smartwatch applications, including several apps from third parties. There is a sensor for the heart rate, an altimeter and the Versa 2 is also waterproof.
It loses out on the Versa 3's built-in GPS, which instead provides wired GPS, but the Versa 2 allows you to connect to Bluetooth music listening headphones and offers all the great features of the Fitbit platform. You'll pay more for this gadget than the Charge 4, but without a complete smartwatch, if you want anything more substantial, the Versa is a decent choice and the Versa 2 is cheaper than the Versa 3.
Garmin Forerunner 45
The Garmin Forerunner 45 is a fantastic budget running watch for those looking for a fitness tracker that's good for running. It does not have complete support for Connect IQ, has minimal additional sports monitoring and lacks insights into training, but the Garmin Forerunner 45 is quick to use, works with Garmin Coach and has a battery life of a week.
This watch sticks to the basics, but the Forerunner 45 certainly suits the bill if you're looking for a quick and easy-to-use running watch, with some added smartwatch features.
Fitbit Sense
The Fitbit Sense has a powerful and premium design, a stunning, colorful monitor, is simple to use and comes packed with sensors, making it an outstanding watch for fitness.
As a smartwatch, it's not perfect, and quite a few of its genius features are hidden behind the Fitbit Premium subscription, but the Meaning is great as a health tracking system.
Withings Steel HR Sport
The Withings Steel HR Sport is the newer Withings Steel HR model. It provides a similar design, but along with VO2 Max measurement and GPS, it introduces a different harness.
This tracker of operation fills holes left by other hybrid watches and completely intelligent watches. It offers a great battery life, a sweet analogue face, and it's not too costly. The Steel HR Sport tracks more than 30 sports, is light and robust, and has enough features to ensure that fitness enthusiasts do not feel short-changed.
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
Once again the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is more sportswatch than fitness tracker, but it's a great choice for those who want to run but not spend the big bucks on a Garmin top-of-the-range. It does not have an altimeter and there is no Garmin Pay, but it has a slim and light design, training tips and easy to use music features for the Forerunner 245 Music.
The Forerunner 245 is a watch where run monitoring is the focal point and it definitely offers a fantastic experience if that's what you care about the most.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
Another option that is slightly more watch than activity tracker is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, but it is still packed full of functions including waterproofing, heart rate and built-in GPS. It also includes smartwatch features that are fully-fledged.
It's also one of the most enticing styles on the list - we're huge fans of their subdued looks. However, you will not get the battery life of devices such as the Fitbit Charge 4 and Fitbit Inspire 2, like the Garmin Forerunner 645 Audio, and sleep monitoring is not as accomplished with the variety of options provided by Fitbit.
Garmin Venu Sq
In contrast to the rest of the company's portfolio, the Garmin Venu Sq maintains the influence of Garmin's sporting heritage but in a less sporty style.
It's a lightweight and comfortable design that along with strong precision and body battery, offers lots of sports tracking and GPS.
The monitor is not the best and the user interface is a little simple, but the battery life of the Garmin Venu Sq is good and offers something a little different.
Polar Vantage M
In 2018, Polar redesigned its sports watches and began the Vantage collection. There is the V, which is the top model, and the M, which lacks some features and does not have the same premium design as the V, but provides most of the same standard. For fitness fans and cyclists, it provides excellent heart monitoring and GPS, with loads of metrics.
It is sponsored by Polar Flow, a fantastic app for viewing your data and sorting items, and the Vantage M puts in a good showing with a lot of useful metrics for those who want to monitor their training. The smart functions are where it can't quite compete - it's not as well linked as Garmin or Fitbit, there's no support for mobile payments or music. But the M has a better cash value than the Vantage V, so we assume it's a better choice.
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