Watch that tracks steps and heart rate

Our long-term test of the newest fitness watches and trackers proves they’re now far more than just step counters - but which is the best?

From fitness trackers that monitor your sleep to smartwatches specifically geared toward runners or cyclists, today’s wearables go way beyond simply telling the time. Some measure your blood oxygen levels, prescribe recovery time and create training plans as well as helping you track activity and lose weight. Some can even detect if you’ve taken a fall and automatically notify your emergency contacts. According to research from Deloitte's Digital Consumer Trends Report, a record 19.2m health tracking devices were bought by UK consumers in the year to July 2021, which is more than double the number the previous year. But choosing the right one can be a challenge.

What is a fitness tracker?

Fitness trackers are meant to be worn all day, every day, and designed to track everything from walking up the stairs or working out at home to running a multi-stage ultra-marathon. Some also allow you to view and respond to emails, texts and social posts. Some track your sleep – including how long you spend in light, deep and REM sleep.

“There are many options on the market right now at a variety of price points,” says Nick Anderson of coaching experts Running with Us. “Many are now tailored towards different forms of exercise. There is something to suit everyone.”

How do fitness trackers work? 

Most measure motion through three-axis accelerometer sensors – measuring the acceleration, frequency, duration, intensity and patterns of your movement. Other wearables use an optical heart rate monitor: tiny LEDs illuminate your capillaries and the changing light refraction can be used to calculate your pulse.

“Fitness trackers can also measure the distance you run or cycle via GPS, which is built into the watch,” adds Anderson. “The system works by measuring the time it takes for signals to be received from satellites. It frequently pings your location, then measures the distance between each ping.” Trackers with GPS can also be used for navigation, and even work in the sea. “If a fitness watch offers the option of outdoor swimming, the GPS signal is likely to be boosted to enable the device to track accurately.”

Which fitness tracker is best for me?

Ask yourself: Do you want something with GPS, to track running and cycling? Are you fashion conscious? (Fitness watches for women now come with a huge range of colours and materials.) Do you really need all the features in the top-of-the-line model? This will help narrow down the search.

“A device with GPS will be more costly due to the technology required to provide accurate information. They offer far more data and valuable metrics. It’s worth the spend if you are serious about your results and improvement,” advises Anderson.

Some trackers will also measure your sleep (both the quality and quantity), stress levels, heart rhythm irregularity, blood oxygen levels and even your menstrual health, but it’s important to remember that these only act as a guide. “It’s the trends that become useful,” he says. “Without full ECG you won’t get 100 per cent accuracy in this area, but the trends can be useful when looking for marginal gains and improvements in your performance.”

Other features to look out for? “Some fitness trackers come with smart notifications for your phone apps and can control the music on your headphones,” he adds. Top of the range watches nearly all include tap payments, Bluetooth microphone to take calls, water resistance to 50m and extended battery life.

How I tested the best fitness trackers

Over the past year I’ve put dozens of GPS running watches, fitness trackers and smartwatches through their paces, day and night. I logged nearly 300 hours of exercise in my running shoes and on my bike, covering roughly 4,000km, to assess their accuracy, usability, and comfort. I also compared their battery life, looked at how easy they were to set up and to access the data through my phone and sought independent opinions from athletes and coaches.

At a glance: the best fitness trackers for 2022

• Best overall – Garmin Venu 2S
• Best for iPhone users – Apple Watch Series 7
• Best fitness watch – Fitbit Versa 3
• Best for runners – Coros Pace 2 Smartwatch
• Best light fitness tracker – Fitbit Charge 5
• Best for Android users – Samsung Galaxy Watch4
• Best budget fitness tracker – Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6

Read on for our full reviews

The best fitness trackers for 2022

1. Garmin Venu 2S

£239.99, Amazon

Best overall 

We liked: it has all the advanced health monitoring and fitness tracking features you’d expect from a Garmin, but the sleek look and feel of an Apple Watch

Out of all the wearables I tested, this was the one I kept coming back to time and time again. With a full AMOLED touchscreen display it’s a beautiful smartwatch with impressive sports tracking, stress tracking, sleep monitoring and battery life. At 40mm, the 2S is the smaller-sized version of the Venu 2 GPS smartwatch (£299.99), but it’s light, clear and easy to read.

There are more than 25 preloaded sports you can track, including running (on a treadmill or outdoors), cycling, swimming, golf, yoga, Pilates and paddleboarding. The 2S also has animated cardio, strength, yoga and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts preloaded – which is essentially like having a personal trainer on your wrist.

Even cheap fitness trackers have step counting, calorie burn estimates and reminders to get up and move, so it’s the more advanced features like stress tracking, menstrual cycle and pregnancy tracking and Garmin’s Body Battery energy monitoring that make the Venu 2S stand out.

Each morning, the sleep monitoring feature tells you how long you spent in each sleep phase, such as REM, and gives you a score for your sleep quality.

As a runner, I loved how quick it was to find a GPS signal and how accurate it was. Accurate GPS is important for runners as you don’t want to be logging unnecessary miles, or, worse, running short. It can automatically upload the data to third-party apps like Strava and TrainingPeaks (which I live on) which is useful if you want to share your training with a coach.

That said, if you’re specifically looking for a running tracker, then I’d actually recommend something like the cheaper Garmin Forerunner 245 (£199.99) over the Venu 2S. If, however, you’re after something that offers extensive health and wellbeing features as well as exercise tracking, choose the Venu 2S.

Standout features: 10 days of battery life, animated on-screen workouts, stress tracking, women’s health tracking, sleep and body battery monitoring, water-resistance up to 50 meters

2. Apple Watch Series 7

£312.55, Amazon

Best for iPhone users 

We liked: the large Retina display (over 50 per cent bigger than previous Apple Watches) means it’s easy to navigate

As a longtime iPhone user it’s perhaps surprising I hadn’t tried an Apple Watch before now — but they are expensive, and running friends who’ve used Apple Watches would tell me that the GPS was all over the place. But there are lots of other reasons to love the Series 7.

First up is the re-engineered display, with ​​20 per cent more screen area than the Series 6 (and 50 per cent more than Series 3). It’s brighter and now has a fancy refracted edge, which makes the UI appear to wrap around. The always-on screen means you don’t have to flick your wrist or double-tap the screen every time you want to use it. But what impressed me most was the full keyboard, allowing you to reply to emails and texts on the go.

The Series 7 can also detect if you take a sudden fall and will automatically call emergency services and your designated emergency contacts if you don’t move afterwards. It’s really rather impressive tech.

One of the biggest complaints about Apple Watches has been around their battery life. ​​The Series 7 is considerably faster charging than previous models (eight minutes will give you eight hours of sleep tracking) but in my opinion still falls short. I really don’t want to have to charge my watch every single day.

If you’re an avid runner or cyclist, there are better smartwatches on the market. But if you’re a diehard iPhone user and not too bothered about the daily charging, having everything seamlessly link up is an undoubted bonus.

Standout features: Battery life up to 18 hours, large, always-on display, crack, dust and water-resistant up to 50 meters, a full-screen keyboard to compose texts and emails on-screen, blood oxygen measurement, ECG, fall detection across all workouts, fast charging.

3. Fitbit Versa 3

Was £159, Amazon

Best for everyday wear 

We liked: it's a very decent sports tracker that’s easy to get to grips with

The Versa 3 is one of the newest Fitbit smartwatches and comes in five colours with various leather, sporty and woven bands to switch up your look. I liked how the smooth strap tucks into itself so there’s no flapping and the AMOLED display looks clear and bright, although I did find the touchscreen sometimes a little slow to react.

It took me over half an hour to download the Fitbit app, charge up the watch and connect to my phone but once I was all set up, I realised why Fitbit is so often lauded  – the app is by far the easiest to navigate and one of the most useful, offering guided breathing exercises, women's health features, daily stress management score and SpO2 – the level of oxygen in your blood – monitoring.

The Versa 3 also offers a much longer battery life than an Apple Watch – promising six days of battery life, or more depending on how you use it: using GPS uses up the charge more quickly.

Accuracy wise, it came up a little short compared to a Garmin running watch and unfortunately it proved too easy to accidentally delete tracked activities. It will only sync to third-party apps exercises that use GPS. So if you like to record your yoga classes, for example, don’t expect those to show up on TrainingPeaks.

Overall, while it’s great for keeping tabs on fitness and providing you with useful insights, the Versa 3 isn't something I’d recommend for marathon runners or triathletes.

Standout features: 6+ day battery life, Daily Readiness Score that uses insights to gauge whether you’re up for a gruelling workout, or actually need a rest day, built-in GPS, a daily sleep score, 24/7 heart-rate tracking, water-resistance up to 50 meters

4. Wahoo Elemnt Rival Multisport GPS Watch

£349.99, Wiggle

Best for triathletes 

We liked: the touchless transition feature, which no other tracker has

If you’ve signed up for a triathlon this year and you’re looking for a watch to capture all your training, Wahoo’s first entry into the multisport category is the watch you need. Size-wise, it’s similar to both Garmin Fēnix and Polar X tested here, but noticeably lighter. The screen isn’t as bright as some, and not the most intuitive to navigate, but you get the hang of it pretty quickly.

Like the other watches, you need to download the corresponding app and wait until the watch is fully charged in order to pair it up. Then scan the QR code on the watch screen, fill in some personal data and you're up and running.

It comes preloaded with programmes for race running, track running, treadmill, pool swimming, open water swimming, cycling, kickr, strength and yoga but for triathletes the killer app is its ‘​​Touchless Transition’ feature which can tell when you stop swimming and get out of the water, and will start timing your first transition. It then works out when you get on the bike, so it gives your T1 time and starts timing the bike leg.

In comparison to the Apple Watch or Fitbit Versa 3 it’s quite basic — it can’t measure blood-oxygen levels, for example — but its simplicity, clear display and neat triathlon-specific features make it definitely worth considering if you race triathlon.

Standout features: Offers 14 days battery in Smartwatch mode, and 24 hours in GPS mode, touchless transition technology, seamlessly links to Elemnt GPS cycling computers and Kickr turbo trainer, 24/7 data tracking, water-resistant up to 50 meters

5. Coros Pace 2 Smartwatch 

£179.99, Wiggle

Best for runners 

We liked: the light weight and low price, offering everything most runners will want in a GPS watch

The lightest GPS watch in the world, weighing just 29g, the Coros Pace 2 includes lots of features you’d expect in a high-end running watch at a more reasonable price. I found it super easy to set up: when paired with an iPhone, the Coros offers text, call and social media notifications.

When I tested it in the pool the velcro held together, but I can see that easily wearing away over time and the white nylon band quickly became grubby, so you’d want to buy yourself a silicone watch band (£29.99 on Wiggle) to go with it.

Like the Wahoo, the Coros Pace 2 doesn’t include any fancy smartwatch features like being able to play music or display the weather. There are only two buttons on the right side – one being a dial to scroll through the home screens and workout menu. A little fiddly, but I soon got used to it.

With accurate GPS and 16 built-in modes including indoor run, track run, strength, walk, swim and bike, what impresses most its battery life: 20 days in standby mode and 30 hours in GPS mode. In comparison to similar-priced Garmin and Polar watches, the Coros Pace 2 is miles ahead and excellent value for money.

Standout features: 20 days battery life, light as a feather, 24/7 heart rate tracking, barometric altimeter, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, thermometer, and water-resistant up to 50 meters

6. Polar X Grit Pro

£439, Polar

Best for navigation 

We liked: the turn-by-turn navigation and trackback features make this watch ideal for adventuring

I think it’s fair to say that Polar’s X Grit Pro is more watch than most runners want or need. Tested against military standards, it’s designed for heavy-duty use and built to handle temperatures from -20°C to +50°C. But if you’ve progressed into running ultra-marathons then £439 buys you a lot of very impressive features.

The Polar Grit X Pro has a huge focus on endurance and recovery, with features like FuelWise, which offers reminders on when to fuel, and Load Pro, which tells you​​ if you’re training too much or too little. It also tracks the amount and quality of your sleep. I liked that it rates your overnight recovery in one simple score, but annoyingly it’s rather large to wear in bed.

The navigation is nifty, offering turn-by-turn guidance as you walk, cycle or run. You can plan and map routes on partner site komoot.com and sync them to your watch. There’s a clever feature called ‘Track Back’ to navigate you back to your starting point if you get lost. (Extreme hikers, by the way, should check out our guide to the best waterproof jackets, some of which are almost as high tech.)

Outdoors watches need good battery life, and the Polar provides 40 hours of full GPS tracking that can be extended to 100 hours using power saving. I can’t deny it’s a very nice watch, but for me it’s a bit overkill.

Standout features: up to 7 days battery life, made from tough, sapphire glass with military-grade durability, turn-by-turn navigation, trackback and route and elevation profiles, water-resistant up to 100 meters

7. Garmin Fēnix 6 Pro Solar Edition

£549.99, Garmin

Best climber’s watch 

We liked: being solar-powered, this robust watch can stay on and be performance-ready for weeks

The Garmin’s Fēnix 6’s 47mm frame is far too large and clunky for my wrist, so I’d recommend choosing the 42mm Fēnix 6S if you prefer a smaller watch, but it is easy to wear and feels like you’ve got a personal trainer on your wrist, telling you whether a workout was productive and how many days rest you need in between efforts.

There's a lot more going on here: you can use Garmin’s TopoActive maps to plot a course and navigate it with turn-by-turn directions and use the ClimbPro ascent planner to chart and assess your climbs. In addition it can store up to 2,000 songs, make contactless payments and receive emails, texts and alerts.

On top of that, the Pro Solar Edition also has a special solar charging lens, offering a longer battery life when you spend more time outdoors – which is great for those taking on the likes of Marathon des Sables, but perhaps not necessary if you just want a fitness tracker that tracks, well, fitness.

Standout features: 14 days of battery life, ​​get a battery boost from the sunlight, 24/7 wrist-based heart rate and pulse ox monitoring, PacePro feature, TopoActive Europe maps, water-resistant up to 100 meters

8. WHOOP 4.0

From €18 per month, WHOOP

Best for serious athletes in training  

We liked: this display-less, performance-focused tracker makes a good companion to a GPS running watch

Looking more like a bracelet than a watch, this fitness tracker stands out from the rest as it doesn’t actually have a screen. In fact, it doesn’t even have GPS – but that shouldn’t put you off. It monitors recovery, “strain” (elevated heart rate), and sleep, so it’s perfect for athletes (amateur or professional) looking to fully understand how well recovered and rested they are.

You need to download (and pay a subscription for) the Whoop app, so it does feel quite expensive for what’s essentially an athletic-looking fabric strap and a heart rate monitor. It’s also one of the most fiddly fitness trackers to put on (I broke two nails trying to undo the buckle), but once it’s on, it fits like a dream thanks to the flat, flush-to-the-wrist positioning.

Since I’m currently in training, I’m pretty sold on Whoop’s deep-dive approach, but its lack of a screen and basics such as step count will probably be dealbreakers for most people.

Standout features: 4-5 days of battery life, no screen, 24/7 heart rate tracking, measures skin temperature, blood oxygen, sleep stages, disturbances and respiratory rate, water-resistant up to 10 meters

9. Fitbit Charge 5

£113, Amazon

Best light fitness tracker 

We liked: it automatically recognises and records workouts and is easy to sleep in

I thought the Charge 5’s small band screen would put me off but the vivid, clear and coloured AMOLED display immediately impressed me. When paired with the Fitbit app the Fitbit Charge 5 is small but mighty.

Featuring a simple silicone strap with a peg-and-loop closure instead of a buckle, I found it really easy to sleep in. Sleep stages (awake, REM, light, deep), which are based on heart rate and movement via the accelerometer, are displayed nightly. You can mute notifications and dim the screen at night via the Do Not Disturb mode.

It offers 21 exercise modes including Bootcamp, hiking, strength training, interval training and swimming – but it doesn’t list them all on the watch. It annoyingly stopped timing 10 minutes into my HIIT workout, but picked up that my heart rate was high and logged the remainder of my session as an ‘aerobic workout’. It also automatically logged when I walked home from the station, which I liked, and recognises floors ascended with an altimeter, so hills and climbs are recorded automatically, too.

This perhaps is not the right watch for you if you’re a diehard gym bunny or you’ve set yourself a fitness challenge like running a half marathon. It doesn’t offer guided breathing sessions, or the ability to control Spotify from your wrist. So for a small additional investment, I don’t know why you wouldn’t just upgrade to the Fitbit Versa 3, mentioned above.

Standout features: up to 7 days, on-wrist ECG app for heart health, EDA Scan app for stress management, Daily Readiness Score, sleep tracking, water-resistance up to 50 metres

10. Samsung Galaxy Watch4

£199, Amazon

Best for android users

We liked: its sleek looks and premium features

It’s important to note that the incredibly stylish Samsung Galaxy Watch4 does not work with iPhones. For Android users, however, this is the best smartwatch currently on the market. It’s also the first to use Samsung’s Wear OS which allows you to access all your favourite apps (for example, Spotify) on your wrist.

I tested the 40mm version, which comes in black, pink gold and silver aluminium cases. The screen offers a bright, sharp display, the case is rounded and the buttons sit almost flush with the surface, yet are still easy to press. It’s up there with the best looking smartwatches.

Similar to previous Galaxy watches there’s 24/7 fitness tracking, automatic sleep monitoring, continuous heart rate, stress and blood oxygen monitoring and built-in GPS to track outdoor activities. I was impressed with the body composition feature – which is new for Samsung. You place your ring and middle finger on the two buttons to receive data on body fat, skeletal muscle, fat mass, body fat, BMI, body water, and BMR.

Standout features: up to 40 hours of battery life, measures body composition, supports more than 90 exercises, measures ECG and blood pressure, 24/7 GPS, water-resistant up to 50 meters

11. Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 

£24.99, Amazon

Best budget fitness tracker

We liked: the high-resolution display is impressive for the price

With a 1.56-inch AMOLED display, this budget fitness tracker has a large screen for such a small band and boasts 30 types of workouts. There's also a SpO2 sensor for tracking blood oxygen, but it lacks GPS and doesn’t sync to third-party apps — so it’s not helpful if you’re preparing for a marathon with TrainingPeaks, for example.

Easy to sleep in and offers lots of data around sleep quality although, in comparison to some of the other trackers I’ve tested, the scores here did seem a tad on the generous side.  

I found the clasp a little fiddly and the cheap strap makes it hard to get a snug fit, while the Mi app is nowhere near as comprehensive as Fitbit, Garmin or Polar’s. What it does offer, however, is a great entry-level watch for someone who’s new to wearable tech.

Standout features: 7 days battery life, compact size, blood oxygen monitor, sleep breathing quality, 30 workout-tracking modes, water-resistant up to 50 meters

If you're looking for more ways to reach your fitness goals, read our guides to the best walking boots, wellington boots, exercise bikes, running shoes, massage guns and yoga mats.