To select these devices, we relied on our own testing experience and previous Popular Mechanics coverage and use of fitness trackers and smartwatches. Something that you only need for tracking workouts, steps, or sleep quality can be had for cheaper.

So if you’re looking for a model to be your daily wrist-based companion and replace an analog watch, it’s worth investing. The Ionic, on the other hand, has all that but doesn’t need to connect to a phone for GPS, has a much larger screen, boasts onboard workouts, and can store songs directly-further reducing the need for a phone. Something like the Inspire below gives you a touchscreen, GPS, Bluetooth, heart rate and activity tracking, watch face options, and not a ton more. How much you want to get out of the one you buy will correlate closely to how much you’ll have to pay. Things to ConsiderĪs the fitness tracker and smartwatch market has grown, so have the capabilities of the range of Fitbits. We’ve curated some of the best current Fitbits here to aid you in your decision-making, whether you’re just looking for an everyday fitness tracker or something more advanced for training and exercise. However, that means choosing one to put on your wrist is more difficult than ever. Many of these wearables can also now even stand in for a smartphone, and do things like receive texts, play music, and make payments.

But you can also get much more full-featured smartwatches or GPS-enabled fitness trackers that can guide and monitor you through a range of sports and activities. You can still find plenty of basic fitness watches that are intended to be worn all day and mostly forgotten about until you want to check your stats and activity. While they may have started out as relatively simple activity trackers, the wearable devices have evolved considerably over the past decade or so-and with them the fitness tracker and smartwatch industry as a whole. Fitbit has become a proprietary eponym, like Kleenex or Xerox.

Motion fit bits