HEART ACHE

All of our trio include heart-rate monitors, but only two of them are continuous

Like the Apple Watch, the Samsung Gear Fit2 monitors HR using infrared light blasters and green LEDs to track the rate of blood flow. Oddly, though, the Samsung only takes HR readings every ten minutes (unless in a sport mode, when it’s continuous), whereas the Fitbit and Garmin both monitor your heart rate continuously. One of the Samsung’s many neat touches, however, is when you request a current HR reading. While you wait, you watch a red line zigzagging up and down across the screen – your heartbeat.

The Vivosmart HR+ uses Elevate™ wrist tech to monitor HR, and Fitbit calls its technology PurePlus.