Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Samsung Galaxy Watch8 for $350: The Samsung Galaxy Watch8 is beautiful and easier to use than ever, but the new health features definitely need some work. Samsung says the new Vascular Load feature measures the load on your vascular system (your blood vessels that carry blood throughout your body), helping you gauge whether habits like drinking alcohol or eating a lot of sodium are affecting your long-term health risk. Unfortunately, neither editor Julian Chokkattu nor I got actionable results. While in theory, the Antioxidant Index feature seems like a good way to judge whether you’re eating enough vegetables, the results were so off-base that they made me laugh. The watch told me my Antioxidant Index was low and that I need to eat more canned pumpkin puree. That’s despite living in Portland, Oregon, at the height of fruiting season, and snacking on fresh berries and plums on every dog walk. —Adrienne So
Withings ScanWatch 2 for $350: The Withings ScanWatch 2 could pass for a classic analog watch, and it comes with a battery life of 22 days with regular use (30 days with light use). Reviewer Simon Hill found the comprehensive suite of health features to be generally accurate, including the new temperature tracker and Cardio Check-Up. Withings updated the ScanWatch 2 with a new operating system, HealthSense 4, which features advanced algorithms that will use predictive AI to anticipate health events, like getting sick or when your period is coming. Most features are locked behind a $10/month subscription, though.
Amazfit Bip 6 for $80: Amazfit’s trackers are improving so quickly. Like the Amazfit Active 2, which I also liked, the Bip 6 is a gorgeous little watch, with a big and responsive AMOLED screen, well over a week of battery life, and 140 sport modes. I still find the tracker and the Zepp app occasionally inaccurate, but it’s cheap, comfortable, and works well. However, for only $20 more, I’d just get the Active 2 instead. —Adrienne So
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Photograph: Adrienne So
Garmin Instinct 3 for $400: Garmin’s Instinct line doesn’t have as many high-end features as the Fenix 8, but it’s popular because it’s cheaper and it has a cool, chunky retro aesthetic that I love. This year’s updates include the built-in flashlight and a new reinforced bezel, which is good considering that I still managed to bang up the Fenix and Epix watches quite a bit. For more information, check out our guide to the Best Garmin Watches. —Adrienne So
Garmin Venu X1 for $800: Garmin’s Venu line is the company’s attempt at an Apple Watch Ultra dupe that works with both iOS and Android. It has a polymer case, a nylon strap, and Garmin’s biggest display, which is an enormous 2-inch AMOLED that’s great for displaying built-in maps. Like the Ultra, it has speakers and a mic for taking calls; unlike the Ultra, it has over a week’s worth of battery life. This is what you get if you have an Android phone but are jealous of your Apple friends’ great big screen.—Adrienne So
Photograph: Adrienne So
Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro for $99: Nothing is distinguished by its quirky charm, so I was not surprised to discover that I love the retro look of the CMF Watch 3 Pro. When I compared live heart rate readings with my Oura Ring 4, they tallied exactly. (It did overestimate my time spent asleep by as much as an hour on some nights.) CMF’s proprietary metric is Active Score, which takes into account your heart rate data and metabolic equivalent of task (MET) values to determine whether you’ve been active enough that week. As a medium-active mid-forties parent, I blew this score through the roof every day and did not find it helpful. But it weighs a remarkably little 51 grams, and the battery lasts for well over a week with tracking multiple activities per day. The screen is bright and easy to read in daylight. It tracks sleep, blood oxygen, stress, and 131 different activities, with smart activity recognition. It has dual-band GPS monitoring, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope for accurate activity measurement. There’s even a custom running coach, though it’s harder to adjust than the other built-in running coaches I’ve tried. Plus, it costs well under $100 and goes on sale quite often. —Adrienne So
Coros Apex 4 for $429: Coros is the king of affordable watches for extreme sportspeople, and the Apex 4 is the company’s alpine watch that Kilian Jornet recently used in his States of Elevation project. The battery life lasts forever. It has five specialized climbing modes and vertical GPS, and it can auto-detect climbing routes. I love this watch for climbing. —Adrienne So
Coros Nomad for $349: Coros also has an angler-specific sport watch with sport modes for fishing. A new feature called Adventure Journal also lets you record voice memos and pin locations as you’re hiking and running so that you can remember where bathrooms, campsites, or really great berry-picking spots are. —Adrienne So
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
OnePlus Watch 3 for $300: The OnePlus Watch 3 can last for five days on a single charge. OnePlus now includes many by-now standard health features, like fall detection, a skin temperature sensor, irregular heart rate notifications, and an electrocardiogram. This is another great pick if you want a smartwatch that’s also a decent fitness tracker. —Adrienne So
Suunto Vertical 2 for $599: Reviewer Michael Sawh noted that the Suunto Vertical 2 is going to attract a lot of Garmin fans who may be put off by the company’s high prices. It has a bright AMOLED screen, strong tracking and mapping support, and decent battery life. However, the feature set is limited on iPhones versus Android phones, the sleep and heart rate tracking is a little unreliable, and the app presents its insights a little awkwardly.
Xiaomi Smart Band 9 for $52: 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 comparison between the user experience of the Mi Fitness app and Fitbit’s, especially at this price. (Yet.) —Adrienne So
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra for $348: Your eyes have not deceived you. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra is a direct rip-off of the Apple Watch Ultra, but for Samsung phone owners. It even has 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, a 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 rated to 10 ATM, an IP68 rating, and can withstand elevations up to 9,000 meters (almost 3,000 feet) and temperatures up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. 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. This is the 2025 model, which added more storage and a new color. —Adrienne So
Amazfit T-Rex 3 for $280, Amazfit Helio Ring for $150, and Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro for $400: I have tried everything across Amazfit’s lineup, including the smart ring. I have nothing to complain about regarding the build quality—the Balance is a dupe for the Samsung Galaxy Watch if you don’t look too hard—but both WIRED reviewer Simon Hill and I found functionality somewhat limited. Reviewer Brent Rose also found the T-Rex 3 Pro to be a bad dupe for a Garmin Fenix 8. —Adrienne So
Nowatch B for $449: This activity tracker purports to measure your stress responses every minute. Unfortunately, that uses a ton of battery power; you have to charge it for three hours and recharge it every other day. This is ridiculous, especially since a Fitbit monitors your stress relatively quickly. I am in touch with Nowatch and will retest once the company has refined its algorithm. —Adrienne So
Evie Movano Ring for $269: Evie 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. 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. —Adrienne So
Should I Get a Fitness Tracker or a Smartwatch?
The categories can overlap significantly, but fitness trackers, as I consider them here, prioritize health metrics. I’m less concerned with whether a fitness tracker can replicate every feature on my smartphone than if the suite of wellness features is robust and accurate; if it can track multiple activities; and if it is secure while doing multiple fitness activities, for example. In this particular guide, I also include activity trackers that aren’t wrist wearables, like smart rings and chest straps.
Some wristband trackers will feature the ability to read emails and control music, but the screens are often smaller and less bright. However, the battery life is often much better, which makes a difference, especially if you’re tracking your sleep over time. If, however, you’re more interested in the option to access apps without having to pull out your phone, you might want to think about getting a smartwatch. If you want no notifications at all, perhaps get a smart ring instead.
How Do I Maximize My Fitness Tracker’s Accuracy?
A study published in December 2024 found that many smartwatch wrist bands contain high levels of PFHxA, which is a “forever chemical” that can affect your immune, thyroid, kidney, and reproductive systems. How do you know if your band has PFHxA?
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