What is the best fitness tracker for Android?

Wearable technology is on the rise. From monitoring your fitness progress to tracking your sleeping patterns, it’s now possible to use biometric data to keep an eye on your overall health. But all that data needs to get stored and tracked somewhere. Usually, you can do this via an app on your smartphone or tablet.

While the Apple watch is highly popular, plenty of Android users also want to use a fitness tracker to monitor their wellness progress. Luckily, there are tons of fitness trackers available that work with Android operating systems.

Whether you’re looking for something to track your heart rate or record your exercise, here is what you need to know about Android fitness trackers.

A fitness tracker is a piece of wearable technology that tracks your biometrics. Many of these devices track your body metrics but have plenty of other uses as well. For example, the Apple Watch also plays music and can sync to your messages app so you can use your smartphone from your wrist.

Fitness trackers have various ways of tracking your overall health as well as your fitness level. From heart rate to sleep quality, there are lots of ways to monitor your wellness.

Most fitness trackers incorporate one or all of the following features.

Your heart rate is an excellent indicator of your overall health. Advanced fitness trackers monitor your resting heart rate and track how much your heart rate changes with different types of activity. Over time, you’ll get a good indication of your current heart health and fitness level.

Many fitness experts recommend walking a certain number of steps each day to stay healthy. Fitness trackers monitor your steps and provide you with daily breakdowns and overall averages to monitor how active you are during the day.

Good sleep is essential to our overall health. According to the Mayo Clinic, poor sleep can impact our hormone levels, contributing to weight gain. Some fitness trackers monitor your sleep quantity and quality, but the accuracy of this can vary depending on the model.

When you’re undertaking outdoor activities such as biking or running, some fitness trackers come with a built-in GPS tracker so you can track your speed and distance. This is particularly useful if you train for marathons or other long-distance sports.

Willful Smart Watch: available at Amazon

Our take: This reasonably priced smartwatch has almost all the functionality of more expensive models.

What we like: Diverse functionality and fitness tracking capabilities with long battery life.

What we dislike: The heart rate monitor doesn’t seem to be as accurate as other smartwatch or fitness tracking devices.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 Smartwatch: available at Amazon

Our take: A beautiful-looking smartwatch that delivers on functionality and style in a big way.

What we like: The design is super stylish and light while still being highly durable.

What we dislike: The advanced functionality means the battery life is not as long or reliable as other fitness trackers.

Fitbit Inspire HR Activity Tracker: available at Amazon

Our take: A simple and straightforward dashboard provides metrics such as steps and calories burned while also adding advice about what activities you should try.

What we like: You can track fat burn and peak heart rate to tailor your workouts according to your fitness goals.

What we dislike: Some users reported connectivity issues between their Fitbit and other Android devices.

YAMAY Smart Watch Fitness Tracker: available at Amazon

Our take: A great all-around fitness tracker with an easy-to-use app to go with it.

What we like: Includes seven different activity trackers and a deep breathing exercise functionality.

What we dislike: You can only track fitness by the week. It does not provide day-by-day analysis.

Fitbit Sense Advanced Health & Fitness Smartwatch: available at Amazon

Our take: This simple but impactful watch provides insight into your overall heart health.

What we like: This tracker closely and accurately monitors your heart rate and can even alert you to irregularities in your heart rhythm.

What we dislike: Some users report that it’s not as comfortable on the wrist as some other fitness trackers.

Garmin fēnix 6X Pro Smartwatch: available at Amazon

Our take: Perfect for outdoor or wilderness fitness enthusiasts to track their efforts.

What we like: Provides satellite navigation so you can accurately track your running or cycling routes no matter how far off the beaten track you go.

What we dislike: It only connects to select Android devices, so check this before purchasing.

Fitbit Ace 2 Activity Tracker: available at Amazon

Our take: If you’d like to keep track of your kid’s health and fitness, this is a great option and is comfortable for kids to wear.

What we like: Water-resistant and robust to protect it from damage as kids play and explore.

What we dislike: Offers limited functionality when tracking steps and activity.

Garmin Instinct Solar Outdoor Smartwatch: available at Amazon

Our take: A highly durable fitness tracker for the great outdoors and in the water.

What we like: Garmin built this tracker according to U.S. military-grade for thermal, shock and water resistance. The watch is water-resistant to 100 meters.

What we dislike: You need three separate apps to keep track of all the different functions.

Lauren Farrell is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.

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