Fitness tracking technology is becoming really popular among exercise fanatics. Wearable fitness trackers can count your steps, measure your heart rate, read your blood oxygen levels, and many more.
There are so many of them and you might not know which one is the best for you, which is why you should continue reading this article — to find out which ones make it to the top of an endless list.
Here are the top five wearable fitness trackers
1. Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS)
The Apple Watch Series 3 has a GPS, meaning that you can navigate with it. It has an 18-hour battery life, which will last you almost the entire day. It can monitor your heart rate. You also don’t have to worry about it catching water and being damaged — it is waterproof. Battery life doesn’t last as long, compared to other devices. It is not the latest but it is affordable and still has the best specs. It is approximately R4 000 at iStore South Africa.
2. Fitbit Versa 3
Fitbit Versa 3 will help you monitor your sleep. It has a very long battery life which can last you for about 6 days. Even if you decide to leave your phone to exercise outdoors, Fitbit Vera 3 will track your location. It is swim-proof. You can do laps in the pool without having to worry about it getting damaged. The downside? It can only use one voice assistant at once. It costs about R4 000 at Makro.
3. Garmin Vivo Active4
Garmin has excellent GPS, a heart rate monitor, sleep tracking. And one of its most significant specs is that it has an NFC chip you can use for mobile payments. How amazing is that? It also has on-screen animations for workouts including yoga, Pilates, cardio and strength-training exercises. It also has respiration tracking and a pulse oximeter for tracking blood oxygen saturation levels, as well as large music storage. However, you might experience syncing issues from time to time. It is more than just R5 000 on Takealot.
4. Fitbit Inspire 2
This one is great for fitness beginners. It has a very slim and lightweight design. A very lasting battery life — you can go on 10 days without having to charge it. It monitors your sleep, as well as your heart rate. However, this one doesn’t have GPS. Another thing you might not like is that it has a really small display. You can still have it on and take a swim though. You can get it for less than R2 000 on Takealot.
5. Amazon Halo
This fitness tracker offers tone analysis — the band’s built-in mics listen to how you speak and gauge the emotions you convey based on your tone. It also tracks your sleep. Surprisingly, it doesn’t have the famous Amazon assistant, Alexa. You won’t feel like you are wearing anything at all because it’s light. Is also connected to the Amazon Halo app, which is also how you capture 3D scans of your body which, using AI, determine your body fat percent and show you with a slider what you might look like with less fat. The tone analysis will, however, drain your battery. It costs almost R3 000 on GeeWiz online.