Fitness trackers

Top 10 fitness trackers in 2016

An activity tracker or fitness tracker) is a device or application for monitoring and tracking fitness-related metrics such as distance walked or run, calorie consumption, and in some cases heartbeat and quality of sleep. The term is now primarily used for smartwatches that are synced, in many cases wirelessly, to a computer or smartphone for long-term data tracking. There are also independent mobile and Facebook apps. Some evidence has found that the use of these type of devices results in less weight loss rather than more.

A fitness tracker is the perfect way to monitor your activity easily and with unmatched accuracy. Think of it as an electronic finger on the pulse, constantly measuring your vitals, quality of sleep and step count.

Today's fitness band market is stuffed with compelling devices, most of which can do a pretty good job at the basics of tracking. But frankly, we're only concerned with the best, and you should be too.

Let’s take a look at Top 10 fitness trackers in 2016:

1. Fitbit Charge HR

Display: 0.7-inch OLED | Weight: 22g | Compatibility: Android, iOS, Windows Phone | Battery: 5 days | Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0

Excellent app Discreet and comfortable Weird cycle and run tracking Pulse monitoring not reliable

Now able to auto-detect exercise such as cycling and running - although you're still better off telling it what you're doing if you want total accuracy - and with improved pulse tracking and the ability to set more demanding weekly fitness goals, the Charge HR is now better than ever. With a screen, an altimeter to tell you how many steps you've climbed, a pulse counter for more accurate calorie counting during exercise, plus Fitbit's excellent app and social ecosystem, this remains the best fitness band you can get.

The proper watch-style strap means it stays on and is comfortable, while the design is deliberately neutral and discreet. Some of the stats it pulls out are a bit odd at time, with a definite whiff of inaccuracy about them. However, it is consistent in the ways it is inaccurate, so you can still clearly see if you're getting better or worse at hitting fitness goals.

Now the Fitbit Charge 2 is out, this model should begin dropping in price pretty rapidly - expect it to be something of a budget by for the holidays this year.

2. Samsung Gear Fit 2

Display: 0.7-inch OLED | Weight: 22g | Compatibility: Android, iOS, Windows Phone | Battery: 5 days | Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0

After a two year break, we now have the Samsung Gear Fit 2. And while it might look like not whole lot has changed, Samsung has clearly learned from the last go-around. There are improvements at nearly every turn, and it all comes together as even better value in the process.

To rattle off a few examples, it works on any Android phone, as long as you have KitKat (4.4) or above. The previous version only tethered to Samsung-branded phones.

Next, it includes built-in GPS-a must for folks who want to leave their phones at home for a jog. The original Gear Fit offered little to no functionality when your phone wasn't nearby.

All-in-all, the latest fitness tracker from Samsung is a positive step above the Gear Fit, even if the streamlined design won't appeal to everyone.

3. Microsoft Band 2

Display: 320 x 128 AMOLED | Weight: 55g | Compatibility: Windows, Android, iOS | Battery: 2 days | Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0

Powerful, versatile fitness tracking looks much better than the v1 Band It's not cheap Short battery life

With a better screen, greater comfort and a better look than the first Microsoft Band, this packs 11 sensors (one new one: a barometer to measure altitude and track stairs and hills climbed, plus an accurate optical heart rate sensor, 3-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS, ambient light sensor, skin temperature sensor, UV sensor, capacitive sensor, microphone and a galvanic skin response sensor). There's full Cortana integration on Windows Phone, while Android and iOS devices get calendar and message notifications.

It's as good for the gym, running, cycling, golf and other sports as it is for counting steps and tracking sleep. The two-day battery life (less if you hit the GPS hard) is not amazing, but it does charge fast, hitting 80% in 30 minutes and 100% in 90. Apart from the Fitbit Surge, it's more powerful than everything else here put together.

4. Jawbone UP3

Display: N/A | Weight: 29g | Compatibility: Android, iOS | Battery: 7 days | Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0

The Jawbone UP3 is an activity tracker with a turbulent past. It was scheduled to launch in 2014 until the company decided to delay its release until 2015 for undisclosed reasons. Now it's here and claiming to be Jawbone's most advanced tracker yet. On paper there's plenty to backup this claim, with the device featuring a radically new look and the addition of heart rate monitor to track even more aspects of your day.

The UP3 more expensive than the Jawbone UP2, which comes without the heart rate support but is virtually identical in every other way. We weren't exactly enamoured with the changes that Jawbone made with the UP2 in comparison to the great UP24, and disappointingly it's more of the same with the UP3.

From a distance the UP3 is everything you could want from a tracker. It's slim, weighs just 29g and looks far more elegant than Fitbit's trackers. Nowadays, only the Misfit Ray can give it competition for subtlety. If you like you’re monitoring to be discreet, then the UP3 fits the bill. Especially if you opt for the black model. It's a radical overhaul of the design we saw with the UP24, where the more rigid rubber frame is replaced with a skinnier, more flexible medical-grade rubber band that wraps around the wrist in a natural, more accommodating way.

5. UA Band

Compatibility: Android, iOS | Display: 1.36" PMOLED | Battery: 5 days | Charging method: via proprietary USB charger | Connectivity: Bluetooth LE

The Under Armour Band is the HTC Grip reborn. The US sports giant's first wearable was delayed from launch in 2015. But now it's back with a new look.

You can pick up the Band for $180, making it a more expensive purchase than the Fitbit Charge HR and our current fitness tracker fave, the Jawbone UP2. The Band will count steps, measure resting heart rate and deliver notifications from your phone. So far, it doesn't sound all that different from what you can already get your hands on.

What's special, for now, is that it also forms part of a new UA HealthBox platform, which includes a heart rate monitor chest strap, a smart scale and a pair of smart running shoes. The idea is that all the products will play nice with each other and pull all of your data into the UA Record app, delivering more detailed insights into your health.

Straight out of the box the Band has a simple, inoffensive charm about it. It's the Grip evolved but there are some clear changes here. Some good, some not so good. The clasp is now a simpler setup, as Under Armour and HTC decided to ditch the Nike Fuelband-style charging connector and clasp in one.

6. Withings Go

Display: 1-inch e-ink | Weight: 9g | Compatibility: Android, iOS | Battery: Eight months | Connectivity: Bluetooth LE

These days, tech companies appear to be hell bent on creating high-end, Swiss Army Knife devices that can do it all. This has been particularly apparent in the world of fitness trackers. Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen an influx of smartwatch-come-trackers – such as the Fitbit Blaze and Moto 360 Sport – hit the market.

This is great for those with oodles of cash who want the ability to check incoming messages while out on a run. But it's left buyers on a budget, or those after simply a tracking device for exercising, a little in the lurch. So it’s refreshing to see Withings release the Go – an affordable wearable that’s tailor-made for cash-strapped exercise newbies looking for basic fitness and sleep-tracking services.

Unlike Withings’ more expensive trackers, the Go doesn’t sport the look of a regular watch; it's unashamedly a fitness tracker first. The central spherical base fits into either a rubberised strap or clothes clip, and features an E Ink, rather than physical, watch face.

7. Fitbit Charge

Display: 0.7-inch OLED | Weight: 22g | Compatibility: Android, iOS, Windows Phone | Battery: 7-10 days | Connectivity: Bluetooth

The Fitbit Charge is the wrist-worn activity tracker successor to the Fitbit Flex and the Fitbit Force simply under a new name. That means you get the built-in OLED display and smartwatch-like features without the skin irritation issues that forced Fitbit to pull the Force from the shelves in the US.

The Charge is slightly more expensive than its predecessor and while the most of the new features are welcome ones, it’s a tracker that is beginning to lag behind more cutting-edge alternatives.

If you’ve seen or owned the Fitbit Flex, then the Charge will feel very familiar. Available in slate, black and plum shades, the first thing you’ll notice is that the materials on show are largely the same, but the band is wider and now packs a screen of course. It’s not a dramatic jump in size, although it takes away some of the discreetness in comparison to the Flex. Fitbit has scrapped the removable pod sensor, which now lives behind four screws underneath the flexible plastic rubber strap and means you now have to hook the sleeker charging cradle directly to the body.

8. Garmin Vivofit 2

Display: 25.5 mm x 10 mm | Weight: 25.5g | Compatibility: Android, iOS | Battery life: more than a year | Connectivity: Bluetooth

The Vivofit 2 is a wrist-based activity tracker that can measure steps taken throughout the day, distance traveled, calories burned and your sleep at night. This new model features a slight redesign over the original Vivofit, and adds a stopwatch function, audible alerts (the tracker will remind you when you have been inactive for an extended period of time) and a backlight.

The always-on display is a favorite feature of mine. It's easy to see in direct sunlight and removes the need to take out your smartphone to see how many steps you've taken. It's also great for quickly checking the time without needing to press a button or lift your wrist. Having a display does have its downsides, though. The Vivofit is considerably bulkier than the Jawbone Up2, an activity tracker with no display that falls into the sub-$100 category.

Navigating the device can be a bit confusing at first. Tapping on the single button located on the strap will scroll through the time, date and your activity data. You can customize the data that appears on the band through the Garmin Connect mobile app. If you press and hold the button you enable the backlight, while a long hold scrolls through other functions: stopwatch, mobile app syncing, and smartphone-pairing settings.

My biggest complaint is the lack of vibration. Most good trackers like the Jawbone Up2 and Fitbit Charge include a silent alarm feature that will gently wake you up in the morning with a light vibration. I've found this to be much more soothing than the blaring alarm of my smartphone. The first Garmin Vivofit lacked vibration, and so does this sequel.

9. Withings Activite Pop

Display: analogue watch face plus analogue step-count dial | Weight: 37g | Compatibility: iOS, Android | Connectivity: Bluetooth

Wearables are finally edging into the mainstream. With this broadening appeal comes new demands, and fashion-conscious individuals have been leading the charge for more design-led offerings. Fortunately French firm Withings has had its finger on the pulse, following up the high-end Withings Activité activity-tracking watch with this, the more affordable but equally stylish Withings Activité Pop.

More Swatch watch alternative than Rolex replica, the Pop has done away with some of its big brother’s unnecessary luxuries while maintaining the same level of tracking. The result, a watch that’s one of the most well-rounded and visually appealing wearables on the market.

Elegant refinement is the best way to describe the Activité Pop’s design. Built around classic watch styling, this is a device that merges traditional looks with modern abilities. Like its sibling, it has a small additional dial sitting within the watch face. This shows your progression on a 0 to 100% pre-set goal such as step count.

Although the Pop has dropped some of the Activité’s original visual highlights – there’s no calf-leather strap, stainless-steel body or sapphire crystal here – it still looks the part. The machine-milled metal body and rubber straps give the watch a more everyman, everyday look and feel.

10. Fitbit Blaze

Display: 1.2-inch, detachable 240 x180-pixel | Weight: 33g | Compatibility: iOS, Android | Connectivity: Bluetooth

The Fitbit Blaze is being marketed as the ultimate “smart fitness watch”. What that means in layman's terms is that this is Fitbit’s attempt to create an all-in-one wearable that can offer robust fitness tracking, as well as basic smartwatch functionality. It's a move that's been embraced by many wearable manufacturers. Samsung's Gear Fit2 is another device that walks a similar line.

At first glance, the Blaze looks like a not-so-attractive cross between the Apple Watch and Fitbit Surge. However, following a few weeks of having it wrapped around my wrist, I found plenty to like about the Blaze, and I can see that it could be a solid – albeit pricey – option for casual runners and those just getting into exercising.

The Blaze looks more like a smartwatch than a fitness tracker. It has a 1.2-inch, detachable 240 x 180-pixel colour screen, metal frame and rubber textured strap. The strap in particular will be familiar to owners of previous Fitbit devices.

As watches go, the Blaze isn’t the prettiest on the market. It doesn’t have the top-end feel of the Huawei Watch or the Moto 360 2, nor can it keep up with the likes of the round-screened Moto 360 Sport or the beautiful Withings Activité Steel.

However, it isn't the ugliest and easily looks nicer than some other sports watches – the Razer Nabu Watch, for example.

Like the Apple Watch and Pebble Time Steel, the 1.2-inch size of the Blaze means that it’s small enough to sit unassumingly on its user's wrist, while being large enough to use without having to squint at on-screen text.