The inside tracker
WE ROUND UP FIVE OF THE BEST FITNESS MONITORS ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW
NOW is the time to take control of your fitness and kick off a new routine.
It’s always easier to get out there and do some hard yards once the weather improves.
So take advantage of the warmer temperatures and longer days and keep track of your progress with one of these fitness companions.
AMAZFIT GTR 4
They say: 150+ sports modes and strength exercise recognition, dual-band positioning and route import, ultra-long 14-day Battery life, easy 24/7 health management, Bluetooth phone calls and music storage
We say: The GTR 4 is a fully featured fitness tracker and general all-round smartwatch that offers way more refined features than you would expect at this price.
That includes dual-band GPS for more accurate location tracking, compatibility with Amazon Alexa AI assistant, and a 14-day battery life. Remarkable value for money. ■ Cost: £199 at uk.amazfit.com
GARMIN VENU 3
They say: Purpose-built with advanced health and fitness features and the ability to make calls and send texts, Venu 3S is more than just a fitness smartwatch – it’s your personal on-wrist coach there to support your every goal.
We say: The Venu 2 was already a great smartwatch, but somehow Garmin has managed to make it even better.
The big focus with the 3 is accessibility, and features have been added to accommodate wheelchair users looking to up their fitness game.
It’s a superb tracker for any user, though, with more than 30 preloaded sports already set up for tracking, a great 10-day battery life, and morning and evening reports delivered directly to your watch that try to make a little bit of sense of the data tracked.
■ Cost: £449.99 at garmin.com
APPLE WATCH ULTRA 2
They say: The most rugged and capable Apple Watch pushes the limits again. Featuring the all-new S9 SIP. A magical new way to use your watch without touching the screen. The brightest Apple display ever. And now you can choose a case and strap combination that is carbon neutral.
We say: Perhaps the best choice for iphone users (users of other phones are out of luck), the Apple Watch Ultra 2 offers the most refined smartwatch experience out there.
The tracking is extensive and everything syncs to the Apple Health app. It also features the S9 chip that powers the “double tap” gesture that allows you to control some of the watch’s functions without touching the screen.
Battery life is not the best, but the larger casing ups the longevity to 36 hours with normal use, and 72 in low-power mode.
■ Cost: £799 at apple.com/uk
OURA RING
They say: Meet the most innovative, stylish wearable on the market. Your Oura Ring tracks over 20 biometric signals, all from your finger.
We say: If you’re not interested in wearing a smartwatch, maybe a smart ring would be more to your liking.
The Oura ring offers fewer fea
tures than the other items on this list, but its focus is on discrete tracking of biometric data to offer a complete story of your physical wellbeing.
Obviously there’s sleep and activity tracking, but it also offers stress and temperature monitoring. It can sync with both the Apple Health and Google Health Connect apps, too.
Cost: £299 from ouraring.com
WITHINGS SCANWATCH LIGHT
They say: Incredible clinical power and a phenomenal 30-day battery life to analyse your health.
Superior measurements: heart rate, sleep analysis, and advanced activity tracking.
We say: Withings effort here offers perhaps the best looking option for those who don’t want to look too sporty while monitoring what’s going on.
The Scanwatch Light looks more or less like a normal watch, but sports a small grayscale OLED screen that’s just about big enough to let you know the most important info needed at that moment.
Lots of data is being tracked, though, and is all available to analyse in the excellent Withings app.
Best of all, the lack of a flashy big colour screen means you’re looking at battery life of around a month.
Cost: £229 from withings.com