If you’re looking to get healthier without spending a fortune, the best cheap fitness trackers prove you don’t need to splash out on the best smartwatches to stay on top of your goals. Whether you're counting steps, keeping track of heart rate monitoring or trying to improve your sleep patterns, these affordable wearables pack serious tracking capabilities into wallet-friendly packages.

The best budget fitness trackers are perfect for everyday activity tracking, whether you're going for a jog, hitting the gym or just aiming to move a bit more. Many also include extras like support for third-party apps, basic smartphone notifications and wellness insights that help you form better habits over time.

No matter your price point, there’s a tracker out there that can help you build a routine, stay motivated and maybe even make fitness fun. We’ve rounded up the top picks that strike the right balance between features, accuracy, and affordability — so you can find the best fitness tracker for your lifestyle.

Table of contents

• Best budget fitness trackers for 2025

• What to look for in a cheap fitness tracker

• Other budget fitness trackers we tested

Best budget fitness trackers for 2025

What to look for in a cheap fitness tracker

All of the best fitness trackers should have at least three features: a program for activity tracking, the option to monitor and collect data about your sleep patterns and the ability to do things like heart rate monitoring and blood oxygen level tracking (though, the readings might not be super accurate). Don’t set your sights too high and expect metrics like blood pressure monitoring; for that, you’d need to invest in a more expensive wearable like a Samsung Galaxy Watch, which falls under the best smartwatches category and will set you back over $400.

Fitness features

A cheap workout tracker can be great for someone looking to keep tabs on small, achievable goals like 10,000 steps before sundown or 30 minutes of a HIIT workout to get your heart rate peaking. An experienced long-distance runner looking to train for a triathlon might opt for a more expensive device that can measure cadence or ground contact time, and can track more customizable workouts, offer different sports modes or give deeper insights into performance data.

At the very least, a budget workout tracker should be able to offer fitness tracking features beyond walking and running — otherwise, it would just be a pedometer. The number of activities a device will recognize varies. Some will get funky with it and consider skateboarding a workout, while others won’t be able to track a jumping jack.

At this price point, you can expect a device to measure a mix of cardio, machine workouts and strength training. With each, you might get a numerical or visual breakdown of heart rate activity, overall pace, and calories burned per session. Although some cheap trackers can offer a really good overview of heart rate zone activity during a workout, a more technically advanced device might be able to go a step further and explain what your results mean and coach you on how to keep your heart rate in a specific bracket so that you can burn more fat per workout. I found that the more budget-friendly the device, the more likely it is that a tracker will fall short when it comes to smart counseling or offering predictive insights beyond a given workout. If a budget tracker does happen to offer some semblance of a coaching program, you can expect it to sit behind a paywall.

Workout tracking and planning your recovery is just as essential to any fitness journey. A sub-$100 device should be able to tell you how long you’ve slept and provide a breakdown of deep, light and REM sleep patterns. It's not a guarantee that you will get a sleep “score” or insights on how to get better rest — that data is usually found on more expensive wearables. Also, because these trackers aren’t designed for bedtime specifically — be mindful of comfort. The bands and watch face on a budget fitness tracker may not be ideal for getting some good shut-eye.

Connectivity and practicality

Not all of the best budget fitness trackers are designed to seamlessly integrate with a smartphone. The trackers tested for this roundup can’t directly make calls or send texts to contacts on a paired iPhone or Android smartphone. They can, however, display and dismiss incoming calls and notifications via a Bluetooth connection. You can forget about checking your email or paying for a coffee from your wrist using these more affordable devices.

Most cheap fitness trackers also won't include built-in GPS tracking. Instead, they usually depend on a paired smartphone to gather location data. The drawback of using a fitness tracker without GPS is that it might not provide as precise for tracking distance or pace. You also can't use a budget tracker to get turn-by-turn directions during a walk or while running errands. For the more outdoorsy consumers, having GPS could be a key safety feature if you want this kind of functionality at your fingertips.

Design

You also might find that an inexpensive fitness tracker is harder to navigate than a more advanced smartwatch. Whether it be a screen size issue or simply not having a smart enough interface, don't expect every feature to be one that you can engage with directly on your wrist. You’ll likely need to use your phone to input data or access detailed wellness metrics.

Build quality will also vary. While you won’t get premium materials or ultra-bright OLED screens, most best cheap fitness trackers include some level of sweat and water resistance — perfect for everyday wear and casual workouts.

Other budget fitness trackers we tested

Amazfit Bip 6

The Amazfit Bip 6, an $80 smartwatch from Zepp Health, didn’t quite make the cut. As a fitness tracker, it’s decent, but it’s a frustrating smartwatch substitute. For workouts, the built-in GPS tracks runs and rides without your phone and, combined with the heart rate and blood oxygen sensors, collects a good amount of data to create accurate pictures of your exertion levels, cadence and pace. It’s remarkably lightweight but doesn’t feel cheap and the AMOLED screen is bright and sharp. It’s not an always-on display, but lifting your wrist wakes it reliably.

The sleep tracking data is on par with what we measured on other smartwatches and there’s even a daily readiness score that compares your sleep quality and the previous day’s exertion to estimate how physically prepared you are for the day ahead — similar to what Pixel Watches, Fitbit devices and Garmin watches offer. And since the watch battery lasts for over a week on a charge, you may be a lot more apt to wear it to bed than a watch you have to charge daily.

We weren’t expecting an $80 device to be a serious Apple Watch challenger, but the Bip 6’s glitches and overly complicated interface (both on the app and on the watch itself) were disappointing. During a week of testing, I got multiple repeated notifications, even after they were deleted, along with suggestions to stand when I was actively doing chores around the house. The watch faces are not customizable, so it was hard to get the info I needed at a glance (the Zepp app has lots of paid watch faces that may have what I wanted, but I didn’t want to pay $3 for something that’s free elsewhere).

Marketing details state that the Bip 6 can auto-detect workouts, including walking and bike riding. During testing, I walked once or twice per day for over one mile and went on two bike rides, but no workout was ever detected. The watch integrates with Apple Health, so I was able to see how it compares to the data my Apple Watch gathers. After a week of wearing the Bip 6, with no changes to my daily routine, I averaged 400 fewer calories burned and 2.4 fewer miles tracked each day. That was possibly the biggest disappointment of all. — Amy Skorheim, Senior Reporter 

Wyze Watch 47c

I didn't have high expectations of the Wyze Watch 47c, but I was shocked at how little this tracker can do. The 47c can only track walks and runs. It has a dedicated widget, a small logo of a man running, and when you tap it, it begins measuring your pace, heart rate, calories burned and mileage. It does not auto-detect or auto-pause workouts and it doesn't differentiate between a run and walk. Most importantly, this device can’t track any other exercises. It’s basically a glorified pedometer.

The 47c was also my least favorite to sleep with, mainly because the square watch face is so large and heavy. Even if I did manage to sleep through the night with it on, it only gave me a basic sleep report. — M.S.

Garmin vivofit 4

The Garmin vivofit 4 has a tiny display that is not a touchscreen and all navigation happens through one button. The watch face is impossible to read outdoors and the exercise widget is also very finicky. To start tracking a run, you have to hold down the main button and flip through some pages until you get to a moving person icon. Once there, you have to press the bottom right corner of the bar and hold down and if you press for too long or in the wrong spot, it’ll switch to another page, like a stopwatch. It’s incredibly frustrating.

Once you start a run though, it will start tracking your steps, your distance — and that's pretty much it. It does not auto-detect or auto-pause workouts. It doesn't alert you of any mileage or calorie milestones. — M.S.

Samsung will add new AI-based health and fitness features to the Galaxy Watch later this year. The company announced on-device AI features on Wednesday, including personalized health scores, tips, sleep indicators and suggested workout routines.

One of the Galaxy Watch’s big AI upgrades is a new Energy Score, which learns from various personal metrics to provide “comprehensive health insights.” The model draws on a variety of sleep data, including when the wearer went to bed, how long and how well they slept and their heart's rate and variability during sleep. Physical activity during waking hours is also taken into account.

Along similar lines, the Galaxy Watch will also add Wellness Tips, which take that data analysis a step further with “insights, motivational tips, and guidance” relative to your personal fitness goals.

Malak Saleh for Engadget

Sleep features are also getting AI-enhanced upgrades, offering extra insight into your nightly habits. New sleep algorithms can analyze sleep movement, latency, heart rate and respiratory rate. They’ll join existing tracking features like snoring hours, blood-oxygen level and sleep cycle.

For hardcore runners, the Galaxy Watch is getting new aerobic threshold (AT) and anaerobic threshold (AnT) heart rate zone metrics to help you stay within your optimal training windows. High-intensity cyclists get some love, too, with Functional Threshold Power (FTP) metrics. Samsung says calculating the latter will only take 10 minutes of consistent cycling (at 4km/h or faster).

A new Workout Routine feature will let you string together different types of exercises for a personalized regimen, letting you transition from one to the next without stopping. Meanwhile, a new Race feature will task you with trying to beat your previous times on a set route.

Samsung teased that the Galaxy Watch may not be the only device receiving new AI-based health features. “The introduction of Galaxy AI to Galaxy Watch is just the beginning of this process and we’re excited to showcase even more integrations across our Galaxy portfolio very soon,” the company said. Samsung may officially launch its Galaxy Ring wearable (initially announced in January without details) at its next Unpacked event in July. The Oura-like device will track sleep based on heart rate, movement and breathing, offering personalized advice.

The new Galaxy Watch features will arrive in the One UI 6 Watch update later this year. Samsung says “a limited number” of Watch owners will be able to try them in a beta program starting in June.

Spring is so close now that it's almost in our grasp. Say goodbye to wearing a huge coat to go to the gym and hello to outdoor activities. With that in mind, there many great GPS running watches out there to track your time in the sun, including the on sale Garmin's Forerunner 55. The smartwatch is down to $150 from $200 — a 25 percent discount that brings the device to its record-low price.

The Garmin Forerunner 55 is a slightly upgraded version of the company's 45S (which we rave about here). It comes with features such as a heart rate monitor, respiration rate, menstrual tracking, pacing strategies, and more. It also has a GPS that helps track distance, speed, and location and creates pacing strategies for a selected course.

While it's billed as a running watch, the Garmin Forerunner 55 also works for activities such as pilates, cycling, breathwork and swimming. As a smartwatch, the battery can last 20 days, while being in GPS mode gives the watch 20 hours — way more time than it takes to go for a run, stop for a snack and run back.

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Achieving your fitness goals doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Keeping tabs on your daily movement can make you conscious of your activity level and motivate you to stay on top of your gym sessions, or at least hit your steps. That rings especially true if you spend most of your day sitting at a desk like I do. Having a device handy that can keep you accountable can be a game changer. While many smartwatches on the market are decked out with fitness tools, the average affordable tracker might offer just enough to help kickstart your health journey.

You might be surprised by how much a $100 (or less) wearable can do. They go well beyond just counting steps, providing in-depth reports on how you're sleeping at night or giving you a breakdown of your heart rate variability during a workout. But given their price, there are tradeoffs: don’t expect a plethora of features or third-party app integrations. To help you decide which cheap fitness tracker to get, I tested a few of the latest devices that are available for $100 or less to find out which are worth your money.

What to look for in a cheap fitness tracker

Even the most basic tracker should have at least three features: a program to track workouts or movement of some sort, the option to monitor and collect sleep data and the ability to measure health metrics like heart rate and blood oxygen levels (though, the readings might not be super accurate).

Fitness features

A cheap workout tracker can be great for someone looking to keep tabs on small, achievable goals like 10,000 steps before sundown or 30 minutes of a HIIT workout to get your heart rate peaking. An experienced long-distance runner looking to train for a triathlon might opt for a more expensive device that can measure cadence or ground contact time, and can track more customizable workouts or give deeper insights into performance data.

At the very least, a budget workout tracker should be able to track workouts beyond walking and running — otherwise, it would just be a pedometer. The number of activities a device will recognize varies. Some will get funky with it and consider skateboarding a workout, while others won’t be able to track a jumping jack.

At this price, you can expect a device to measure a mix of cardio, machine workouts and strength training. With each, you might get a numerical or visual breakdown of heart rate activity, overall pace, and calories burned per session. Although some cheap trackers can offer a really good overview of heart rate zone activity during a workout, a more technically advanced device might be able to go a step further and explain what your results mean and coach you on how to keep your heart rate in a specific bracket so that you can burn more fat per workout. I found that the more budget-friendly the device, the more likely it is that a tracker will fall short when it comes to smart counseling or offering predictive insights beyond a given workout. If a budget tracker does happen to offer some semblance of a coaching program, you can expect it to sit behind a paywall.

Tracking and planning your recovery is just as essential to any fitness journey. A sub-$100 device should be able to tell you how long you’ve slept and provide a breakdown of deep, light and REM sleep activity. It's not a guarantee that you will get a sleep “score” or insights on how to get better rest — that data is usually found on more expensive wearables. Also, because these trackers aren’t designed for bedtime specifically — be mindful of comfort. The bands and watch face on a budget fitness tracker may not be ideal for getting some good shut-eye.

Connectivity and practicality

Not all activity trackers, budget-friendly or not, are designed to seamlessly integrate with a smartphone. The trackers tested for this roundup can’t directly make calls or send texts to contacts on a paired smartphone. They can, however, display and dismiss incoming calls and notifications. You can forget about checking your email or paying for a coffee from your wrist using these more affordable devices.

Most cheap fitness trackers also won't include a built-in GPS. Instead, they usually depend on a paired smartphone to gather location data. The drawback of using a fitness tracker without GPS is that it might not provide as precise for tracking distance or pace. You also can't use a budget tracker to get turn-by-turn directions during a walk or while running errands. For the more outdoorsy consumers, having GPS could be a key safety feature.

Design

You also might find that an inexpensive fitness tracker is harder to navigate than a more advanced smartwatch. Whether it be a screen size issue or simply not having a smart enough interface, don't expect every feature to be one that you can engage with directly on your wrist. Oftentimes, you will need to pull out your smartphone to log information or access more in-depth health data.

The quality and build of displays and bands will also vary in this category. Don’t expect the highest resolution displays or the fanciest materials in the bands. But you can expect some level of sweat and water resistance.

Other cheap fitness trackers we tested

Wyze Watch 47c

I didn't have high expectations of the Wyze Watch 47c, but I was shocked at how little this tracker can do. The 47c can only track walks and runs. It has a dedicated widget, a small logo of a man running, and when you tap it, it begins measuring your pace, heart rate, calories burned and mileage. It does not auto-detect or auto-pause workouts and it doesn't differentiate between a run and walk. Most importantly, this device can’t track any other exercises. It’s basically a glorified pedometer.

The 47c was also my least favorite to sleep with, mainly because the square watch face is so large and heavy. Even if I did manage to sleep through the night with it on, it only gave me a basic sleep report.

Garmin vivofit 4

The Garmin vivofit 4 has a tiny display that is not a touchscreen and all navigation happens through one button. The watch face is impossible to read outdoors and the exercise widget is also very finicky. To start tracking a run, you have to hold down the main button and flip through some pages until you get to a moving person icon. Once there, you have to press the bottom right corner of the bar and hold down and if you press for too long or in the wrong spot, it’ll switch to another page, like a stopwatch. It’s incredibly frustrating.

Once you start a run though, it will start tracking your steps, your distance — and that's pretty much it. It does not auto-detect or auto-pause workouts. It doesn't alert you of any mileage or calorie milestones.

Apple Fitness+ is adding new content for the new year. The workout service’s Artist Spotlight series celebrates the Super Bowl halftime show with playlists devoted to recent performers (including this year’s artist, Usher). In addition, new meditations, programs and Time to Walk episodes will arrive soon.

The Apple Fitness+ Artist Spotlight series dedicates entire workout playlists (across various exercises) to a single artist. In this case, it will devote them to several: Rihanna (available January 8), Britney Spears (January 15), U2 (January 22) and Usher (February 5, ahead of his performance).

Three of the four artists have been (or soon will be) Super Bowl halftime headliners: Rihanna in 2023, U2 in 2002 and Usher in 2024. Spears hasn’t had top billing, but she performed in the 2001 show, co-headlined by Aerosmith and NSYNC.

Fitness+ is also adding sound meditations. Apple says they’ll only include “light guidance” from the trainer, leaving room for you to focus on the “tranquil sounds of singing bowls and the deep pitch of gongs, all arranged to create a sense of ease.” There will be seven sound-themed meditations, arriving every week. You can choose between five, 10, and 20-minute sessions.

NBC via Getty Images

Time to Walk, Apple’s series of celebrity-guided audio walking experiences, is adding Al Roker. The Today Show weather anchor and co-host will share what he learned about mentorship, including a pivotal chat with his father. Other episodes will feature rapper and actor Common (who already works with Apple on the sci-fi series Silo), Trixie Mattel (aka Brian Firkus, RuPaul’s Drag Race), actor Colman Domingo (Rustin) and author / actor Lilly Singh will host episodes.

50 of Apple’s older Time to Walk episodes will be available on Apple Podcasts. Celebrity guests on the available content will include Prince William, Al Roker (again!), Patti LaBelle, Becky G, Simu Liu, Malala Yousafzai, Camila Cabello, Dolly Parton, Jason Segel and Shawn Mendes. Although the podcast version will omit guest-chosen songs and photos, you can still access those through the Fitness+ app. In addition, anyone who isn’t subscribed to Fitness+ can listen to 10 free Time to Walk episodes on Apple Podcasts.

Golfers will get some love from the service, too. Apple is adding a new workout program designed for links enthusiasts. The workouts will blend strength, core, and yoga training, focused on the specific strength, balance, flexibility and mobility golfers need. The workouts will feature (and were designed by) pro golfer Rose Zhang. “Whether people are new to the sport or want to advance their skills, I’m excited that the workouts in this program on Fitness+ will help users feel more confident in their swing and have fun on the course,” Zhang said. Fitness+ trainer Kyle Ardill will lead the videos.

Apple has partnered with Anytime Fitness, a US gym franchise, to offer perks to use both companies’ services. First, “prospective members” who try Anytime Fitness will get “up to three months” of Apple Fitness+ for free. In addition, Fitness+ subscribers who join the gym and sign up for at least a 12-month membership will get their first 30 days for no charge. The Anytime Fitness app on iOS will also integrate with Apple Fitness+ workouts.

Apart from the Artist Spotlight rollouts, Apple hasn’t shared specific launch dates for the new content. However, it said the new features will arrive “starting Monday, January 8.”

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 received a mostly modest upgrade from its predecessor, the Galaxy Watch 5. Sure, it may have worked to improve some health tracking features. And it even managed to give the wearable a sleeker design while extending battery life. But it is clear that Samsung was not aiming to reinvent the wheel here (and they usually don’t). It's easy to understand why too, when the last generation was already pretty good.

In this year's update, Samsung focused its efforts on expanding its wellness-centric features. These include enhanced personalized sleep coaching and insights, the ability to personalize heart rate zone training during running sessions, improved GPS tracking tailored for track runners, further customization in the workout app and the inclusion of irregular heart rate rhythm notifications, just to name a few. The caveat, of course, is that the Watch 6’s predecessors will have access to all these updates, dating back to the Watch 4. So, if you have one of the previous two models, it might not be necessary to upgrade.

Still, the Galaxy Watch 6’s modest improvements allow it to keep up with frontrunners in the field. For example, it can now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Fitbit's advanced sleep analysis features. The new heart health tools also give the watch the EKG monitoring prowess of Apple and Pixel smartwatches. Meanwhile, the improved run coaching brings it closer to watches offered by Garmin.

Design and battery life

The mechanical bezel-free edition of the Watch 6 is priced at $299 for the 40mm model, which comes in graphite and gold; the 43mm version, which also comes in silver, commands a slightly higher price of $329. It may lack the rotating bezel of the Classic, but it does have a digital bezel which allows you to scroll through your most-used widgets like Sleep, Workouts, and Weather without needing to poke around a menu. 

With the Watch 6, Samsung also introduced a new design feature called One-Click, which makes it easier to swap bands with the literal click of a button for your ever-changing style needs. I personally am a huge fan of the graphite sports band and the flush circular face which gives the watch a sleeker feel.

The Watch 6 also boasts a more vibrant, higher-resolution display with peak brightness reaching 2,000 nits, up from the last model's max of 1,000 nits. The screen is also 20 percent larger, making it easier to read text. The always on display (AOD) drained battery life of the Watch 5 pretty quickly when our Deputy Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low reviewed it, but I didn't have similar issues wearing the Watch 6 all day.

Malak Saleh

The Galaxy Watch 6 comes equipped with a larger battery to support this year’s bigger and brighter display. Samsung claims the watch should run for up to 30 hours with the AOD on and up to 40 hours with it off. This is ideal for busy people who want the guarantee that the watch will work after an eight-hour workday before heading to the gym and again later, for sleep tracking. After using the watch for a day or two (mainly for workout tracking), I have been able to charge the watch to about 80 percent, or almost full, in under 30 minutes using the quick charge feature, adding at least another eight hours of battery life each time. However, battery life for any wearable tends to fluctuate depending on the extent of usage.

Health monitoring and tracking

Malak Saleh

The Watch 6 features an Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification (IHRN) feature, which is new for Samsung but has been around for years on competing devices. The FDA-backed IHRN tool detects EKG activity that is suggestive of atrial fibrillation (AFib), a condition that usually preempts stroke or heart failure. The feature, approved by the FDA, monitors a user's heart activity continuously in the background. Because I don't have AFib, there was no way to test this feature to see if it could accurately detect irregular heart activity. This, coupled with the traditional blood pressure monitoring, blood oxygen monitoring, body composition measuring tool, and EKG readings, add to Samsung's overall pool of individualized health data tracking that can easily be accessed in reports on a paired Android phone and shared with a healthcare provider or family member.

I do wish that after running a standard EKG reading, the language around heart health was less jargony. The "sinus rhythm detected" pop-up could easily be misunderstood, but in reality just means your heart activity is normal. That aside, Samsung did cover its own back. With each EKG cycle you run, a pop up disclosure repeats: “this wearable does not detect heart attacks.” The addition of the IHRN feature on the Watch 6 is in line with the company’s attempt to offer more useful cardiovascular insights to users.

Expanding its range of tracking features, Samsung built upon its existing menstrual cycle predictions tool introduced in the Watch 5. This includes the skin temperature reading and sensor technology from the last-gen model, which records measurements during sleep. This addition aids in monitoring your monthly period, ovulation cycle and fertility windows. For it to be useful, though, the tool needs consistent data input by a user so that its predictions get smarter.

Malak Saleh

Powered by Natural Cycles, a period tracking app, the new dedicated watch face makes it easy to input daily symptoms, which are not all necessarily tethered to a menstrual cycle. It can track everything from mood changes to physical conditions like cramping and bloating to logging sexual activity. All that data, in aggregate, can help Samsung’s app predict when a period will start and end, fertility windows, and when ovulation is expected to kick in. This is all great in theory, but if you're not great at logging daily, you might end up like me, with outdated predictions that your period was supposed to start but never did.

The new watch also comes with a fall detection feature that has a built-in SOS tool that shares a user's location with an emergency service line or emergency contact of your choosing when a hard fall is detected. You have to manually set up this feature and select when the watch should detect falls – it can be on all the time, during workouts, or quote, “during any activity, or movements not registered as exercise.” Once a fall is detected, Samsung says the device can take up to 30 seconds to recognize a fall, but the waiting period can be customized to as little as 10 seconds.

Medical information and conditions unique to a user’s health history can be plugged into the interface on the paired device. This might be especially useful for elderly populations or people who are medically at a fall risk (think post-surgical or highly medicated patients). However, during testing, after falling on different surfaces, and staying stationary for at least 30 seconds each time, I was never able to trigger the alert system. Samsung claims that after a fall, a watch should alert a user for 30 seconds with a popup, sound, and vibration. This delay is supposed to give a user time to get up or cancel the action of alerting emergency services. To be fair, this was also difficult to trigger on the competing Apple Watch Series 8.

Customizable fitness regimens

Malak Saleh

Making a unique workout plan with key metrics and goals in mind is nothing new for an avid fitness junkie. Since the launch of the Galaxy Watch 4, Samsung has made it a point to expand its workout trackers, with over 95 unique exercises and sports to track on the watch face, users can also create their own custom workouts. I regularly start my lift sessions with 45-pound dumbbells. I was able to name this workout in the watch as my deadlift warmup and keep track of the amount of calories burned per session. This focus on customization is not new, though, with competitors like Fitbit and Apple offering similar interfaces in their fitness tracking tools. The ability to create a program to burn a set amount of calories or reach a certain number of steps can be helpful for people like me who like to prefer to count down rather than up.

Continuing with the theme of customization, Samsung’s new personalized HR zones are meant to help runners better determine how fast to go. The tool is meant to allow users to keep tabs on heart rate zone data and gain insights into personal exertion levels. By staying within specific zones, I can tailor my workout to match my fitness goals, whether it's fat-burning, endurance improvement, or cardiovascular conditioning. Also, tracking heart rate can help a runner avoid overexertion, which can lead to burnout, or injury. Staying within an appropriate heart rate range ensures a runner is working out safely and sustainably. That all said, again, like most health and fitness features, the benefit of monitoring will come down to discipline. 

Malak Saleh

I put the feature to the test by setting up my personalized HR zone to a custom bracket that mimics a high-intensity performance, between 165 to 175. When I went on a run, it kept urging me to speed up and buzzed my wrist with the notification that I was below target. And these notifications are no joke. I struggled to reach my target and even when I did, it was mostly luck.

Running with that much effort, I barely had time to process how to adjust my run according to the alert. So I took a stab at the easiest HR zone target for low-intensity workouts instead at 95 to 105 bpm and found myself struggling with a similar issue-not being able to consistently stay in my target zone. This time, the HR zone alerts were constantly showering me with reminders that I was overexerting and above my HR zone. 

Malak Saleh

This is all to say that although it is a nice feature to have if you're a seasoned athlete and can comprehend and adjust your exertion accordingly. But it's almost not nearly as beneficial to just get a snapshot overview of where my HR zone naturally is with a given run tracker instead of feeling the constant distracting buzz alerting me to something I'm not sure quite sure what to do with

Overall, the notification feature is overstimulating. Even when I paused a workout and tried to have a conversation with Cherlynn, the watch kept pinging me to speed up my run, as it continued to monitor my heart rate zone activity and suggest changes even at rest. Despite this one-off, the watch’s sensitivity in terms of auto detection for movement is pretty accurate. It was noticeably faster at recognizing pauses and restarting based on my movement than my Apple Watch, which was often at least a few seconds behind.

Sleep tracking and analysis

Malak Saleh

Samsung has said it wants to enhance the sleep experience for users by expanding its comprehensive but individualized sleep pattern analysis tools since the last generation. Samsung’s previously announced Sleep Mode features, which automatically disables notifications, dims the watch's screen, and switches to an invisible infrared LED to minimize distractions. I had no trouble setting up sleep goals and (to my surprise) sleeping with the watch on. It doesn't suffocate my wrist at night and if anything, is easy to forget it's on after a while. You can also set up the Smart Things feature, which will detect when a user is sleeping and create the “ideal sleep environment” by turning off or adjusting home electronics like TVs and lights if you're connected to Samsung home devices. However, I was not able to see how the Watch 6 would interact with smart home gadgets because I don't personally own any Samsung home devices.

What I liked about the sleep analysis feature is that after each night of sleep with it on, I got a pretty comprehensive breakdown of how I slept, REM graphic and all, on the Watch 6's dedicated sleep watch face. I was able to get an even more detailed view of my sleep quality on the phone, which showed me how my nights compared on a day to day, telling me which parts of my REM graphic meant what and why it matters. For example, it broke down how much deep sleep I got and it told me how much more I needed. After sleeping with it for seven nights, you're supposed to trigger the sleep coach program that also pairs you with your “sleep animal,” a little 2D avatar that is representative of your nighttime habits. And while it was more comfortable than an Apple Watch, I just don't like the feeling of having something on my wrist at night.

The competition

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 has emerged as a top choice among Android users, especially at this price point. However, the Apple Watch Series 8, which starts at $399, is the obvious alternative for iPhone users. The features are similar, with both models providing GPS tracking, heart-rate sensing, fall detection, sleep tracking and automatic workout recognition.

In terms of fitness-centric offerings, the Garmin Forerunner 745, which is on sale for $299, might be better suited for athletes seeking comprehensive insights into performance metrics and running-focused training regimens. While it may not be as all-encompassing in terms of health guidance tools, it still includes fundamental features like heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, stress monitoring, and fall detection.

But if you want pretty similar offerings in terms of fitness tracking and sleep coaching, the Fitbit Versa 4, which starts at $199, is a pretty cheap alternative. However, with the Versa 4, you get a less integrated smartwatch that feels pretty barebones. For instance, you can’t make or take phone calls or control music through the watch.

Wrap-up

Samsung has a vision for the Galaxy Watch 6 to be perceived as a health buddy, with all of its dedicated wellness-centric updates in heart health, women's health, fitness and sleep domains. But the actual benefits come down to the user. Without discipline, there are no insights to be gained, no tracking worthwhile, or coaching that will be accurate.

But this doesn't take away from the device's well-deserved shine in some areas, namely design, comfort and fitness. It's nothing we have not seen before, and if you already own a wearable of recent vintage, or are an iOS user it's probably not meant for you. If you have the last-gen Galaxy Watch, then hold on to your money because the updates are already in your pocket.

Garmin is launching the Venu 3 and smaller Venu 3S smartwatches today with a greater focus on sleep-tracking and personalization. In particular, it's adding a proactive sleep coaching feature and nap detection. The latter is noteworthy, considering most modern smartwatches from companies like Apple, Samsung, and Google can track your sleep, but only at night. With the Venu 3 series, you'll be able to rest easy knowing your daytime slumber can also be tracked, if that's your kind of thing.  

The company's new sleep coach considers factors such as a user's daily activity levels, sleep history, and heart rate variability (HRV) – which is a sleep metric new to the Venu series. The coach will provide recommendations on the amount of sleep you’ll need to make it through the next day. The naps that the Venu 3 detects will also go towards replenishing energy levels as tracked by the company’s “Body Battery” tool, which quantifies energy levels on a scale of 1-100 depending on activity expenditure.

Aside from sleep-tracking upgrades, the Venu 3 has a host of other improvements over its predecessor. Notably, it introduces a wheelchair mode that will track pushes rather than steps, as well as handcycle activities and pre-loaded workouts for wheelchair users, offering more inclusivity. The new watch also offers expanded insights on how workouts can affect a user and how much time is needed to recover after every gym session. 

Additionally, Garmin is bringing a “rate of perceived exertion” feature, which enables users to report how challenging a workout felt. With this, the company is trying something new in the fitness arena. Instead of just crunching numbers, it’s dipping its toes into subjective data – the kind of information that's all about personal judgment and individual experiences. The Venu 3 also introduces “interval creation,” which gives a runner or biker the option to build interval workouts from the watch face.

Garmin

Beyond expanding health and fitness tracking features, Garmin says this watch will have a built-in speaker and microphone that will allow a wearer to make calls from the watch. The Venu 3 can also display photo messages on its AMOLED touchscreen. You'll be able to make contactless payments using Garmin Pay and stream music from Spotify and Amazon Music, as well.

The Venu 3 will start at $449.99 and offers up to 14 days of battery life in smartwatch mode. It features a light stainless steel bezel and has silicone bands in either white or black, while five strap color options are available for the smaller 3S.

It’s still unclear if older Venu models will receive software updates that will bring these new features over. But for a mainstream smartwatch from a company that mostly caters to a fitness-focused audience, the Venu 3 appears to be a step forward.

Fitness is (thankfully) no longer about attaining some aesthetic ideal. It helps us sleep better, have more energy and avoid burnout — salutary things for all humans, but particularly for college students. Engadget staffers include workout fiends, avid cyclists, a Judo blackbelt and a certified marathon coach, so we’ve reviewed and covered a wide expanse of fitness tech. For this guide, we’re calling out gear that makes the most sense for students who need help improving their overall health without gobbling up too much time, space or money.

Fitbit Charge 5

Smartwatches are basically tiny computers on your wrist, which can be overkill when all you want to do is track your runs and heart rate. Fitness trackers are cheaper, have longer lasting batteries and tend to be lighter on your wrist. Our current favorite is the Fitbit Charge 5 thanks to its thin design that still boasts a full-color OLED display. It has an EDA sensor to keep tabs on your stress levels and on-board GPS tracking for runs, hikes and bike rides without your phone present. Plus, it can last for over two days on a charge with the always-on display enabled and five days with it off, so if you forget to charge it between classes and late-night cram sessions, it’s no big deal.

Apple Watch Series 8

If you do want a tiny computer on your wrist, we think the Apple Watch Series 8 has the best blend of fitness-centered features and smartwatch utility. It’s currently our favorite smartwatch and has sensors to track your heart rate, sleep, ovulation and EKG measurements. The Workout app has countless modes and will soon include more advanced cycling workouts.

Our deputy editor Cherlynn Low tried out the Series 8 for a week when it first came out and called it a “superb watch” with “excellent health and fitness tools.” Plus, it puts all of your iPhone’s alerts on your wrist, so you’ll never miss an important email from a professor or a reminder to finish your paper that’s due tomorrow. At nearly $400, it’s an expensive investment but one that will last. My Apple Watch 4 is still going strong and will even be eligible for the upcoming WatchOS 10 update this fall, five years after it was released.

Of course, if you don’t use an iPhone, an Apple Watch doesn’t make a lot of sense. For Android users, we recommend the Galaxy Watch 5 from Samsung because it’s a reliable wearable with comprehensive fitness and smart capabilities that rival Apple’s smartwatch.

Eufy Smart Scale P2 Pro

Getting healthy is not about the number on a scale, but you can use that number as one way to monitor your progress towards your fitness goals. One of our favorite smart scales on the market, the Smart Scale P2 Pro by Eufy tracks not just pounds and kilos, but also your heart rate, BMI, and muscle and bone mass. It can even detect things like your basal metabolic rate and offers a bevy of stats and data in its companion app. Despite being one of the more feature-rich scales we tested, the P2 Pro typically comes in around $80, which should make it affordable for students on a budget.

Theragun Mini

This gadget shows up in many of our gift guides because it’s such an excellent self care item. After a hard workout, the Theragun Mini can ease some soreness. Our UK bureau chief, Mat Smith, who does five HIIT and/or weight training classes per week, finds that it works nearly as well as Theragun’s much pricier Elite flagship percussive therapy gun. The triangle shape of the Mini is small enough to control with one hand so you can easily direct the massage. While it’s not exactly quiet, Theragun’s latest motors tamp down the noise a bit so you’ll annoy your roommates slightly less when you put it to work.

TriggerPoint Foam Massage Ball

Mat is also a fan of TriggerPoint’s Foam Massage Ball and recommends it in his fitness recovery guide. The rigid balls can be used nearly anywhere you feel tight or sore. You can stick them on a yoga mat and roll over them to target places on your shoulders and glutes, or roll them between your back and the wall to ease tightness. They come in different sizes and firmness levels as well: the smaller ones are better for the muscles like your calves, and the larger versions are best used for bigger areas like your hips. Since they’re more compact than foam rollers, they should be easy to stash in cramped apartment closets or dorm room storage spaces.

Hatch Restore 2

With sleep and health being so intertwined, I’d be remiss not to mention the Hatch Restore 2 here. I tested it for many weeks and found it helped me get to sleep faster and woke me up more gently than any alarm I’ve used. It’s a sleep machine and sunrise alarm in one, relying on a vast library of original content to help you get better rest. The sleep stories are relaxing and the ambient music is perfect for nodding off to. A variety of white, pink and brown noises can play all night if you want them to, and there’s even motivational morning stretches and talks to get you going. The caveat is the price: it’s $200 for the unit and $5 each month for the membership — but if a new living situation, noisy roommates or the stress of coursework has you struggling to get a good night’s sleep, it could be worth it.

Beats Fit Pro

If you like your AirPods for studying and daily listening but want something designed to handle movement and sweat, check out the Beats Fit Pro. They’re our top recommendation for workout earbuds in our guide thanks to their balanced sound that delivers plenty of hard-hitting, butt-motivating beats. The wing helps them stay in place and they’re surprisingly comfortable, according to our audio expert and senior news editor Billy Steele. Despite being made by Apple, there’s a good amount of support for Android devices as well, but they are a little pricey at $200. For something more budget-friendly, check out the Jabra Elite 4 Active; we recommend them in our workout headphones guide and they usually sell for around $100.

Alo Moves

Being in school can make it tough to fit in a trip to the gym, even if you have one on campus. Fitness apps make it easy to squeeze in a workout wherever it makes sense — most don’t require much beyond a small square of space and maybe a mat. One app we prefer for workouts like yoga, pilates and barre is Alo Moves. It’s a little pricier than others at $20 per month, but offers a huge and ever-updating cache of workouts, with options to choose sessions based on duration, difficulty and intensity. For consistency (and to eliminate decision fatigue), you can try different "series" made up of similar workouts to do over a few days or weeks. Alo Moves also includes meditation classes, which could come in handy when class, or life in general, gets overwhelming.

Apple Fitness+

For those with an iPhone, Apple Fitness+ is a little cheaper than Alo Moves at $10 per month. It also has a wider variety of classes to choose from, with yoga, HIIT, dance, kickboxing and at least eight more categories available. I like to stick with a particular instructor for a while before moving on to someone else. There’s great interplay between the classes and the playlist, no doubt thanks to Apple’s expanding music rights. Class durations range from 5 to 45 minutes, so you can get in a quick workout in between classes or carve out time for longer sessions. You don’t have to have an Apple Watch to use Fitness+ either, but the on-screen, real-time stats like heart rate and burn zones can be pretty motivating.

Strava

Running, hiking and cycling are perfect low-cost, high-return workouts that can actually help you get to know the areas outside your campus. Strava’s app not only tracks your stats, but there’s also a robust social feature that can help keep you motivated, particularly when you challenge others. Our weekend editor, Igor Bonifacic, said using the app helped him realize he was steadily improving as a cyclist — even when it sometimes felt like he wasn’t. Recording your rides and runs is free, as is access to the social network and use of the Beacon safety feature that lets you share your location with another person during your activities. Other features, like goal setting and route planning, require a subscription that’s currently $12 per month or $80 annually.

Apple's latest Fitness+ updates are here, and it looks to be one of the biggest January releases for the service since it launched. A key new addition is kickboxing as a total-body cardio workout type, with sessions of 10, 20 and 30 minutes. It'll be led by two Fitness+ trainers, Jamie-Ray Hartshorne and Muay Thai fighter Nez Dally, the first woman to compete in Thailand wearing a hijab.

Another key addition is the addition of Beyoncé to the Artist Spotlight series, including songs from her latest album, Renaissance. Starting January 9th, seven new workouts with her music will be available across cycling, dance, HIIT, Pilates, treadmill and yoga, Apple said. Fitness+ is also rolling out Artist Spotlight offerings from Foo Fighters (January 16) and Bad Bunny (January 23rd). 

Apple

Also on tap are new episodes of Time To Walk, that helps motivate you on walks with stories from noted individuals like Dolly Parton, Shawn Mendes and others. The latest walk features actor Jamie Lee Curtis, as she "reflects on the importance of embracing life’s most unexpected moments, the transformative power of serving others in need," and more, Apple wrote. Other guests arriving soon are Amber Ruffin, Jason Segel, José Andrés, Nina Hoss, Colman Domingo, Nathan Chen and Sheryl Lee Ralph. 

Fitness+ is also unveiling a new meditation theme, Sleep, joining the existing library that includes Calm, Gratitude, Resilience, and Creativity. Those include a new program called "Introduction to Meditations for Sleep," with four 20-minute meditations that conclude with five minutes of relaxing music. 

And finally, it's adding two new collections for inspiration and goal-setting. Those are "6 Weeks to Restart Your Fitness," featuring a blend of workouts to help users onramp back into fitness after the holidays, available January 9th. The other is "Level Up Your Core Training," with 10- and 20-minute core workouts using dumbbells, coming on January 23.

Netflix announced today that Nike Training Club workout videos are heading to the streaming service. The first batch of videos will be available for all Netflix subscribers starting on December 30th.

Nike Training Club videos were previously exclusive to the iOS and Android app, which guides users through workout programs and wellness strategies. Nike says it will upload over 30 hours of videos to Netflix, released in two parts and available in 10 languages. Before arriving on Netflix, the only way to watch them on a big screen was to connect your phone to a TV, either through an HDMI cable or wirelessly with AirPlay or a Chromecast. Considering the limitations of working out while staring at a phone screen, starting a video from Netflix should give you one less excuse to avoid exercising (while helping Nike expand the app’s reach).

The first collection includes five programs spread across 46 videos. “Kickstart Fitness with the Basics” (13 episodes), “Two Weeks to a Stronger Core” (seven episodes), “Fall in Love with Vinyasa Yoga” (six episodes), “HIT & Strength with Tara” (14 episodes) and “Feel-Good Fitness” (six episodes) all arrive at the end of December. A second batch will arrive in 2023. Once the series is available, you can find them in a Nike collection on Netflix or by searching for “Nike.”

Nike Training Club was among the first high-profile mobile apps when it launched in 2009. It asks you to input your fitness goals and then uses workout videos, customized warmups, tips and motivation to help you stay on track. The service added Apple Watch support in 2018 and adaptive workouts for people with disabilities earlier this year.