Best fitness trackers you can buy in 2022 - updated May
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Summer is upon us, and it's time to get in shape! We're living in the 21st century now, and technology is our best friend (sorry dog). It's true that in the end everything is up to you but a nice fitness tracked can do wonders for your motivation. It's much easier when your trusty band tracks everything for you and shows you your progress.
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There are so many fitness trackers on the market that it’s hard and confusing to choose the right one. For those of you who don’t need a full-fledged smartwatch like the Apple Watch or the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 but still want to get all the benefits of fitness tracking, health monitoring, and workout statistics, opting for a fitness band is the best choice. Here’s our list of the best fitness trackers you can buy in 2022.
The best fitness bands you can buy in 2022:
- Fitbit Charge 5 - the best fitness tracker at the moment
- Garmin Vivosport - solid option for fitness enthusiasts
- Samsung Galaxy Fit2 - the best fitness tracker for Samsung users
- Fitbit Inspire 2 - the one to get you inspired
- Garmin Vivosmart 4 - the best for outdoor training
- Amazon Halo - the understated one
- Xiaomi Mi Band 5 - the best bang for your bucks
- Oura Ring - the most discrete fitness tracker
Fitbit Charge 5
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.
Also Read:Fitbit Charge 5 review
Garmin Vivosport
Speaking about fitness trackers with built-in GPS, the Garmin Vivosport comes to mind. It doesn’t have the glamorous design of other trackers but comes packed full of features for the serious athlete.
The Garmin Vivosport features sophisticated fitness monitoring tools such as VO2 max and fitness age and wellness monitoring with all-day stress tracking. The band can automatically recognize activities like walking, running, biking, swimming, and elliptical training, while the Strength Training mode can count reps and set rest times during various exercises.
Samsung Galaxy Fit2
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.
Fitbit Inspire 2
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.
Garmin Vivosmart 4
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.
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.
Amazon Halo
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.
Xiaomi Mi Band 5
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 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.
Oura Ring
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.
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.
Conclusion
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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