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Fitness trackers have become so capable and good-looking in the last few years that you no longer need to look for an expensive smartwatch if you want a nice wearable tech product to track your health and workouts with. Not to mention that sport bands are usually much more affordable then the other alternative, and most of us use wearable devices mainly for tracking activities anyway, so why spend more than you need to?
We have handpicked the top fitness trackers that are available right now on the market from some of the most popular brands like Fitbit, Garmin, Xiaomi, and more. There are more than few options to choose from, so keep reading on to see if any of them fit your needs.
The Fitbit Charge 5 improves on almost everything from its predecessor - the Charge 4. It's the best fitness tracked you would ever need (well, until the next best thing comes along, of course), and it's packed full of features.
The display is just great - a 1.04-inch AMOLED that's 10% larger than the screen in the previous model, and also much brighter. While the display in the Charge 4 can output 200nits, the Charge 5 can do 450nits and it counts, especially on a bright and sunny day.
There's a whole bunch of sensors to track your activities - plus a new EDA sensor that takes care or tracking your stress levels. You also have an ECG sensor, SpO2 tracking, automatic sleep and exercise tracking, 5ATM water-resistance, onboard GPS that works like a charm - the whole package.
The battery life of the Fitbit Charge 5 is amazing - you can get a week out of the tracker easily, and last but not least - the price is pretty good at around $180.
The Vivosmart 5 from Garmin's latest fitness band, and it improves greatly on its predecessors. The newly added physical button makes it much easier to interact with the interface, which is much needed with such a small monochrome screen. Despite having no color reproduction, though, the screen gets quite bright, so that helps out when you are in bright sunny conditions.
One of the best parts about the Vivosmart 5 is that Garmin does not require you to make any kind of subscription to use all of the fitness tracker's features, unlike other brands like Fitbit, for example.
The Vivosmart 5 also excels in sleep tracking, so if you are looking to keep tabs on the quality of your sleep, this is a great option to consider buying. There are also safety features like LiveTrack that can send information on your live location to your emergency contacts in case of an incident (needs to be connected to your phone).
Garmin vívosmart 5
The Garmin vívosmart 5 is one of the best fitness bands you will find on the market right now. It comes with great sleep tracking, live-location sharing, all the 7 days of battery life, and much more!
Samsung isn’t a stranger to fitness bands and sports trackers - some of you might remember the Gear Fit and Gear Fit 2 Pro bands. These were great apart from the fact that they were a bit overpriced. The Galaxy Fit2 is an attempt to make things right, and a great successor to the already affordable $100 original Fit.
The Galaxy Fit2 costs just $59.99 and it’s a steal at this price, especially considering the features you get. There are some basic smartwatch capabilities such as notifications, quick replies, music controls, weather forecasts. The AMOLED screen is gorgeous, and the battery life is quite good, although the advertised 15 days are a bit of a stretch.
The Galaxy Fit2 can automatically track exercises, you can swim with it (it’s waterproof up to 50 meters), there’s sleep tracking on board, and everything is packed into a lightweight and sleek design. There’s no GPS, so distance-related activities rely on the step counter but at this price point, it’s understandable.
The Inspire 2 is the second iteration of Fitbit’s original affordable fitness tracker. It relies heavily on its heart rate sensor to track your activities and uses clever algorithms to automatically recognize exercise and keep an eye on different heart rate zones. You get 20+ different exercises to choose from, basic notifications, sleep tracking, guided breathing exercises to calm you when you’re stressed.
The Inspire 2 comes in an elegant design with a bright OLED touchscreen that’s a joy to look at. This fitness tracker is waterproof, so you can swim with it (in freshwater), and packs up to 10 days of battery life. There’s no built-in GPS sensor, so for maximum accuracy during distance-based training, you should bring along your smartphone. The price of the Inspire 2 is just under $100.
Fitbit Inspire 2: get it now and save $30!
The Inspire 2 from Fitbit comes with a 10-day battery life, activity and sleep tracking, 24/7 accurate heart rate monitoring, and much more for $30 less than its original price!
The Garmin Vivosmart 4 is occupying the same “under $100” market space as the Fitbit Inspire 2. It’s very slim and comfortable, although the screen is tiny and sometimes difficult to read. There is a range of activities to choose from the Vivosmart 4’s menu, including walks, runs, strength training, yoga, pool swims, and more.
You also get all-day stress tracking, VO2 max readings, and the Body Battery energy monitor. Sleep tracking is detailed and accurate, with blood oxygen saturation readings from the SpO2 sensor. The Garmin Vivosmart 4 uses your heart rate data to track your stress levels, and there are breathing exercises and relax reminders to help you calm down.
This one doesn’t have a built-in GPS but can receive notifications, and all in all offers a great pack of sensors and health insights at a very attractive price.
The Amazon Halo is a very interesting device and also the company’s first attempt at fitness trackers. First of all, there is no display whatsoever. The fitness tracker itself is a capsule with some sensors on it, and you can use different bands to strap it to your hand. As you might’ve guessed, there are no notifications or any smart capabilities baked in.
Nevertheless, the Amazon Halo offers some unique features. It tracks your voice throughout the day and analyzes qualities like energy and positivity to help strengthen communication. You can also use the companion app to scan your body with the smartphone camera and get an estimate of your body fat percentage.
The sensor capsule itself can track various activities, as well as your sleep, and feed that information to the app. The pricing is also interesting. The device costs $99.99 but Amazon is selling the software service as well and after the 6-month free trial period, you’ll have to pay $3.99/mo.
Amazon Halo
Measure body composition, activity, sleep, and tone of voice
Xiaomi has a great record under its belt - every year its Mi Band fitness trackers receive a ton of "best affordable" awards. That's not only because they're, well cheap but also for the great features they offer.
The Mi Band 5 is no exception - it has a very pleasant design, bright and colorful AMOLED screen, 14 days of battery life, a good slate of smart features and an accurate heart rate monitor. All this can be yours for less than $50. It's really a great bargain.
The Mi Band 5 can track 11 sport modes, including outdoor running, treadmill, cycling, walking, pool swimming, and the catch-all freestyle, elliptical, jump rope, indoor cycling, yoga, and rowing machine exercises. Sleep tracking is also great with the addition of REM tracking, while the heart rate sensor has also been upgraded and now can track your pulse continuously.
The Mi Band 5 can display app notifications and incoming phone calls, and there is a Night Mode that dims the band’s screen automatically on a schedule.
Xiaomi Mi Band 5
Global Edition Smart Band Wrist Bracelet, with Magnetic Snap Charge, 1.1” AMOLED, 24Hr Heart Sleep REM Monitor, 11 Sports Modes
The Oura Ring is the odd one on the list. Obviously, it's a ring, not a bracelet. And for the purists, this can be the best fitness tracker out there. It's light, you practically won't notice it's there, and you can wear it all the time.
This thing is made out of titanium and weights only 4 to 6 grams. It doesn't get any more portable than this. Even though it's just a ring, it packs advanced infrared LED sensors, a NTC body temperature sensor, a 3D accelerometer, and a gyroscope.
The Oura Ring will go on for more than a week on a single charge and you can dive down to 100m with it (if you dare). It integrates seamlessly with Google Fit and Apple Health and can track your sleep and exercises (Oura's Automatic Activity Detection (AAD) feature can detect over 20 different activities).
There are two main downsides with such a design. First, there's obviously no display, so no smart features like notifications, graphs, charts, and all that jazz. And second - the price. The Oura Ring is pretty expensive at 300 euro.
So, there you have it - the best fitness trackers you can buy in 2022. There are dozens of reasons to be active and ten times more fitness trackers on the market. But we're here for you - this list will be updated on a regular basis to include the latest and the best in the bunch. Now, let's get moving!
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