which watch or bracelet to choose?

January 08, 2020

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Winter is coming and so is Santa Claus. If you are high-tech and have not yet chosen gifts to put under the tree, why not turn to the activity tracker? Generally, it comes in the form of wearable (which is worn on you) such as bracelets or smart health connected watches pairing in Bluetooth and WiFi with your smartphone. Are there so many that you are confused when the time comes to choose? Let the editorial staff light up your lantern.

How to choose your activity tracker?

The market for smart health connected objects in France continues to grow and, among them, wearables continue their ascent. 1.2 million bracelets and smartwatches sold in 2020 for a turnover of 220 million euros. Many manufacturers are interested in this area such as the fitness specialist Fitbit, the smartphone giants with Samsung or Sony, the sportsman Nike or the GPS experts with Garmin. They all offer diverse and varied products in all price ranges.

So how can we avoid drowning in this ocean of bracelets and smart health connected watches? You simply choose what you need or want. If at the gym, you like to keep a freedom, you will look more for a simple bracelet than for a watch-coach that monitors you. If on Sunday, you wear the swimsuit better than the Lacoste polo shirt, the obvious thing would be to choose a waterproof tracker facing a GPS dedicated to golf. Some wearables are intended for specific sports activities while others display more or less additional data such as calories burned or heart rate.

Activity trackers are also used daily. Many smartwatches offer consultation notifications or taking phone calls. Other wearables still ride the wave of elegance with smart health connected products sporting a classic design.

As you can see, there is bound to be an activity tracker that meets your expectations. As with any purchase, the price is often an indicator of quality.. If you want many abilities and impeccable finishes, you will have to spend more. It remains for the buyer to estimate whether certain additional features are worth the price difference.

The 5 best first prize trackers

The best known: the Fitbit Flex 2

The American Fitbit launched the Fitbit Flex 2 at the end of the year. Its particularity is in the possibility of adapting its module in various interchangeable accessories. Some bracelets allow it to adapt to sports sessions or to bring more elegance in the form of a necklace or jewelry.

The Fitbit Flex 2 does not have a screen but is equipped with an LED-based display system. It offers sleep monitoring or activities such as running, cycling or walking. With its water resistance up to 50 meters, the bracelet also records lengths at the pool with calories burned. Unfortunately, the Fitbit Flex 2 does not provide the heart rate and breath tracking offered by the Charge 2. The notifications from the smartphone are supported by a vibration system.

The Fitbit Flex 2 is compatible with iOS, Android and even Windows Phones. The manufacturer announces an autonomy of 5 days and a price around 80 € on his site.

Good points

  • A good price-performance ratio

  • Pleasant and discreet design

Negative points

  • Requires a strong GPS signal

  • No heart rate sensor

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The best value for money: the Xiaomi Mi Band 2

Chinese firm Xiaomi, specialist in low-cost products, launched his Mi Band 2 at around thirty euros. Even for this price, the smart health bracelet offers an OLED screen to display the time and notifications of your smartphone as well as a button for navigation. In terms of functionality, the bracelet is not surprising. Mi Band 2 tracks sleep and heart rate, calculates distances and calories burned.

The Xiaomi bracelet also surprises with its announced and guaranteed autonomy of 20 days. Overall, it's a simple, practical and waterproof activity sensor that vibrates to remind you to exercise.

Good points

  • A good price-performance ratio

  • Has a screen

  • Excellent autonomy

Negative points

  • A little weak tie

  • Heart rate sensor on request, not continuous

The most talkative: the Moov Now

The Moov Now stands out from the other sensors with its real-time voice coaching. A slightly authoritarian female voice gives advice and motivates the wearer during training. If you are looking to improve your performance, this tracker may very well suit you.

The Moov Now records classic data such as calories burned, distance traveled and speed or even the number of steps per minute. More surprisingly, the bracelet analyzes the impact of the feet on the ground to preserve the joints and the inclination of the slopes crossed. The tracker is waterproof and works on battery with an autonomy of 6 months. The Moov Now can be paired with iOS and Android devices for around € 60.

Good points

  • Original vocal coaching

  • Waterproof and battery operated

Negative points

  • No heart rate monitoring

  • No screen

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The most elegant: the Runtastic Moment Classic

The Runtastic Moment smartwatch collection offers several models from € 129 to € 199. The Moment Classic gets around 130 € and, as its name suggests, sports a design close to that of traditional watches. Instead of a touch screen, there is a dial with hands held by a leather strap.

Runtastic Moment Classic counts steps, active minutes, calories burned and even analyzes sleep. An alarm function emits vibrations to help you get out of bed and an indicator on the dial indicates progress against the daily target.

The watch can be paired with iOS, Android and also Windows smartphones using the Runtastic Me app. It works on battery with an announced autonomy of 6 months and is waterproof up to 90 meters.

Good points

  • Elegant design

  • Fast synchronization

Negative points

  • Sleep mode which needs to be manually activated

  • Paid subscription to access older data

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The most French: Withv's Pop actvité

The Activity Pop is the most affordable watch of the French manufacturer Withings bought by Nokia in 2020. For around 110 €, you can get one of the simplest smartwatches on the market, configuring in one minute.

The Pop Activity is able to automatically follow the sleep of its wearer and wake him up with vibration alarms. For sports, the watch automatically recognizes running or even swimming with its water resistance up to 50 meters. Withings announces an autonomy of 8 months and compatibility with iOS and Android.

Good points

  • Easy to use

  • Detects swimming

Negative points

  • Pay only by application

  • Quite limited possibilities

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The 5 best high-end activity trackers

The most motivating: the Fitbit Surge

Half watch half bracelet, the Fitbit Surge ensures a fairly intuitive use despite all the features offered by the tracker. Using its integrated GPS, it displays the distance traveled, the number of steps with their rhythm, the amount of calories burned or the altitude climbed. For this, it incorporates an accelerometer and a gyroscope, both with three axes.

He offers to follow you for several exercises such as hiking, dumbbells, elliptical, Spinning, Yoga or Gym. In addition, the Fitbit Surge monitors the heart rate and records your various performances to display training summaries to be shared on Twitter, Facebook or WordPress.

The wristwatch is also suitable for daily use, it is possible to configure notifications, calls, alarms and control the music. The Fitbit Surge remains active even at night to analyze your sleep and achieves a range of 6 days. It works with iOS, Android and Windows devices for a price around 200 €.

Good points

  • Numerous and precise sensors

  • Good autonomy

Negative points

  • Some data can only be viewed on the smartphone

  • Resists splashing but not swimming

The most localized: the Vivosmart HR+ from Garmin

 

The Vivosmart HR +, unlike other Garmin bracelets, incorporates a GPS chip. It provides a more precise measurement of distance and pace while recording the route visible on the Garmin Connect app. The tracker detects breaks, alternating running / walking as well as the wearer's pace.

The GPS detects sports activities by itself and the tracker adapts its sensors according to those that will follow. For the rest, the Vivosmart HR + is a fairly complete smart health connected bracelet with the measurement of the distance traveled, the number of steps and the calories burned. It provides an accurate summary of the sports sessions and a good health check.

During the night, the tracker analyzes your sleep and wakes you up in the early hours using alarms. During the day, the Vivosmart HR + receives incoming calls, text messages and application notifications. It is also able to display calendar, weather and control music.

More interesting, the tracker is equipped with a barometric altimeter, continuously monitors the heart rate and resists up to 50 meters deep. Its autonomy is 8 hours with GPS and 5 days in tracking mode.

Good points

  • Easy to use

  • Good autonomy

Negative points

  • A small screen

  • The short range of Bluetooth

The most complete: the Samsung Gear S3

The Korean giant offers a high-end smart health connected watch with a multitude of features. On a daily basis, the watch displays the weather using geolocation, gives access to contacts, to the calendar with events and even integrates S.Voice for voice commands.. In terms of music, the smart health connected watch is capable of controlling the songs streamed and has 4GB of internal memory to carry the others.

Like the smartphone, the tracker informs its wearer of its latest messages, emails, news and offers shortcuts to applications such as Samsung Health or Uber. More surprisingly, the Samsung Gear S3 is equipped with a barometer, an altimeter and an accelerometer.

For sports, the tracker impresses with the number of sports activities it offers. Using the built-in GPS, the watch accompanies the wearer outside with classics such as running, walking, cycling or hiking. At the gym, the Samsung Gear S3 follows you for ellipticals, step machines, treadmills, abs, crunches, pilates, rowers, and more. Although the tracker is water resistant, it is not intended for swimming sessions.

In addition and using sensors located under the dial, a heart rate monitoring shows your heart rate with a summary of the last days. The Samsung Gear S3 does not run on iOS and sells for € 399.

Good points

  • Many features

  • Good autonomy

Negative points

  • A slightly imposing design

  • Not compatible with iOS

  • Not waterproof

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The Tim Cook Plus: the Apple Watch Series 2

The famous apple brand has launched a new smartwatch, the Apple Watch 2. With all its capabilities, it will suit athletes and the lazy. On land as well as underwater up to 50 meters deep, the watch records your performance and provides your data. Like most competitors, the tracker has a built-in GPS and heart rate monitoring.

The Apple Watch 2 offers 12 different workouts indoors, outdoors or by the pool. To encourage the wearer to spend more, the tracker displays three rings representing your physical activity and which can be shared on social networks.

On a daily basis, Apple’s latest smartwatch constantly measures your pulse, and the “breathing” app helps you breathe easier when stress increases. Many others are available according to your needs such as those that motivate you to hydrate or eat healthier. Of course, messages, calls and calendar appear on the screen of the Apple Watch 2 as well as the interface of your iPhone. Finally, Siri is there to assist you on a daily basis.

The smart health connected watch offers an adaptable design with bracelets, cases and dials covering all styles, from the most sober to the most visible. To get it, you will have to pay at least € 419 for a 38 mm screen and € 449 for a 42 mm screen. For branded bracelets, expect to spend even more.

Good points

  • Sealing offers other possibilities

  • A system that works perfectly

  • Sport increasingly highlighted

Negative points

  • Low autonomy

  • Thicker than the first Apple Watch

  • Only compatible with iOS of course

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The most screen and hands: the Steel HR from Withings

The recently released Witings Steel HR, which the editorial team tested in preview, is quite unique. This watch is the first that combines sporting and urban features with an analog dial with hands and a digital screen. A workout mode gives the wearer's heart rate continuously and the stopwatch measures the duration of the exercise.

The tracker provides the number of steps, the distance traveled or the number of calories burned. At the end of the sports session and with the application, it provides analyzes, graphs and advice. The interface, common with other Withings products, combines statistics from different devices. The Withings Steel HR, waterproof up to 50 meters deep, is also suitable for swimming and analyzes your sleep at night.

For daily use, the Withings Steel HR wakes you up in the morning, announces calls, texts and your next meeting using vibration and notification on the digital screen. The latter can display the information previously chosen on the application such as the remaining battery. On the autonomy side, the watch reaches 25 days without recharging.

Other analog smart health connected watches are sold on the market but offer less functionality for a much higher price. The Withings Steel HR gets around 200 €.

Good points

  • Elegant design

  • Good autonomy and an attractive price-performance ratio

Negative points

  • Less functionality with the analog dial

5 trackers to offer for a specific sport

For swimming: Garmin Swim

The Garmin Swim, as its name suggests, is intended for fans of the swimming cap. The watch sensors are able to recognize the different types of swimming such as freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly or mixed. The tracker also records the frequency of arm movements and counts the number of lengths completed once the size of the pool has been entered. The Garmin Swim gives you the total distance traveled and your pace.

A rest stopwatch is available to take into account only physical exercise time, without recovery periods. Data is transferred over an ANT + wireless link, using the supplied ANT + USB key and the ANT Agent software. The Garmin Connect interface gives you access to graphs presenting the type of swimming by length or the evolution of your performance such as time for a length and the number of movements.

The Garmin Swim runs on a replaceable one-year battery and is compatible with Mac and Windows. The tracker sells for around 130 €.

Good points

  • Efficient and precise features for swimming

  • A complete Garmin Connect interface

Negative points

  • No GPS for outdoor swimming

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For golf: the Tom Tom Golfer 2

TomTom returns to the greens with its Golfer 2. The GPS watch guides you on more than 40,000 downloadable courses around the world and includes a score card. It informs the wearer of the distance from the front, center and rear of the green, and allows the viewing of obstacles along the course. The tracker automatically detects hits and determines your potential striking distance.

Like many activity trackers, the TomTom Golfer 2 measures distance traveled, calories burned, playing time on the course and remains waterproof up to 50 meters.

After the game, the TomTom MySport application analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of its wearer with a complete history of strokes. The interface offers precise statistics and coaches you to improve your performance. The Golfer 2 achieves an autonomy of 11 hours in GPS mode and several weeks off the course. It is sold around 250 €.

Good points

  • Lots of analytical data

For tennis: the Piq tennis

Piq robot is a multisport sensor developed by French that slips into a Babolat wristband. In association, the two companies offer a system which gives the typing speed in real time with a luminous display and which records the game data. The tracker knows how to differentiate between smashes, lifts and even backhands. It reaches an autonomy of 8 hours and resists perspiration.

The Piq tennis connects via Bluetooth and also incorporates NFC technology. Once the match is over, the interface displays your data such as the number of strikes per minute, the speed of the strongest player or the number of services. The application also provides information on the different types of strikes with statistics for each of them and the total duration of the training. With a community, it is possible to challenge friends on the typing speed or on the effects given to the ball. Piq tennis sells for € 178 on the manufacturer's website.

Good points

  • Differentiates types of strikes

Negative points

  • Little real-time information

For outdoor running: the TomTom Runner 3

TomTom releases its Runner 3 (or Spark 3), specially designed for outdoor running. Using its GPS, it offers route tracking displaying the route in real time on the screen. Thus, it is thus possible to venture on unknown paths and to be able to return by following the track recorded by the tracker. For those who prefer to walk the familiar trails, up to 15 routes can be downloaded on the watch. In the worst case, the TomTom Runner 3 has a digital compass.

The tracker also offers the “ghost runner” function allowing you to challenge yourself on an already recorded route. For even more motivation, you can hire a voice coach and store up to 3 GB of music to listen to wirelessly. The tracker is equipped with a heart rate monitoring with optical reading on the wrist and provides classic data such as the number of steps, the distance traveled, the calories expended or the quality of sleep. Waterproof to 40 meters, the TomTom Runner 3 achieves up to 3 weeks of autonomy in activity tracking, 11 hours in GPS mode and 9 hours in GPS + cardio mode.

Good points

  • intuitive

  • Well-thought-out features for outdoor activities

Negative points

  • Low Bluetooth emission

  • A minimalist GPS track

For marine navigation and fishing: the Garmin Quatix 3

The Garmin Quatix 3 is designed for sailors on the water. The watch offers specific functions for fishing and navigation. It is equipped with a GLONASS compatible GPS, an altimeter, a barometer, a 3-axis electronic compass and a temperature sensor. In terms of design, the aluminum case and domed sapphire crystal ensure robustness and water resistance up to 100 meters.

During paddle, kayak or rowing trips, the tracker measures the number of oar strokes, their cadence and the distance per stroke to determine the effectiveness of the movement. For fishing, the tracker has a catch counter and a stopwatch with a countdown. For navigation, a virtual departure line indicator, a tack aid for sailing as well as a mooring alarm help you during your outings.

The watch also contributes to your safety with a very easily accessible man-overboard function. The Quatix 3 achieves a battery life of 20 hours in GPS mode, 50 hours in UltraTrac mode and six weeks in watch mode. The tracker offers many other features specific to the marine world and the classics of everyday life. ANT, WiFi and even Bluetooth are supported by the Quatix 3 which gets around 600 € on the Garmin site.

Good points

  • Remarkable possibilities

Negative points

  • Complicated for the uninitiated

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