Fitness smartwatches are designed to track a variety of physical activities, and one of their core functions is monitoring steps and distance traveled. They use accelerometers to detect movement, which allows them to count the number of steps you take throughout the day. This data is then used to estimate the distance you have traveled by factoring in an average stride length. Additionally, many smartwatches are equipped with GPS technology, which can provide more accurate distance measurements by tracking your movement in real time during activities like running or cycling. Advanced models might also offer features like altitude tracking, which can further refine distance and effort measurements based on changes in elevation. Overall, fitness smartwatches combine these technologies to give users a comprehensive overview of their physical activity by tracking steps and accurately estimating distances traveled.
Best Fitness Smartwatches of March 2025
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Rating is 5 out of 5
Fitbit Versa 4 Fitness Smartwatch with Daily Readiness, GPS, 24/7 Heart Rate, 40+ Exercise Modes, Sleep Tracking and more, Waterfall Blue/Platinum, One Size (S & L Bands Included)
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Get inspired and stay accountable with Versa 4 + Premium - learn when to work out or recover, see real-time stats during exercise and find new ways to keep your routine fresh and fun.Operating temperature: -14° to 113°F. Radio transceiver: Bluetooth 5.0.Maximum operating altitude : 28,000 feet (8,534 m).
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Built for better fitness results: Daily Readiness Score(1), built-in GPS and workout intensity map, Active Zone Minutes, all-day activity tracking and 24/7 heart rate, 40+ exercise modes and automatic exercise tracking, water resistant to 50 meters
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Tools to measure and improve sleep quality: personalized Sleep Profile(1), daily sleep stages & Sleep Score, smart wake alarm and do not disturb mode. Compatibility-Apple iOS 15 or higher, Android OS 9 or higher
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Maintain a healthy body and mind: daily Stress Management Score, reflection logging, SpO2(2), health metrics dashboard(3), guided breathing sessions, menstrual health tracking and mindfulness content
2
Rating is 4.9 out of 5
Garmin vívoactive 5, Health and Fitness GPS Smartwatch, AMOLED Display, Up to 11 Days of Battery, Black
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Designed with a bright, colorful AMOLED display, get a more complete picture of your health, thanks to battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode
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Body Battery energy monitoring helps you understand when you’re charged up or need to rest, with even more personalized insights based on sleep, naps, stress levels, workouts and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
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Get a sleep score and personalized sleep coaching for how much sleep you need — and get tips on how to improve plus key metrics such as HRV status to better understand your health (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
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Find new ways to keep your body moving with more than 30 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps, including walking, running, cycling, HIIT, swimming, golf and more
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Automatic nap detection and nap logging tracks your nap length during the day, providing personalized insights on how it affects your Body Battery energy monitoring and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
3
Rating is 4.8 out of 5
Smart Watch(Answer/Make Call), 2025 New Smartwatch for Men Women, 1.96" HD Fitness Watch with 110+ Sport Modes, Heart Rate, Sleep Monitor, Pedometer, IP68 Waterproof Activity Tracker for Android iOS
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2025 New Smart Watch with Bluetooth Call/Intelligent Notifications: The smart watches for men adopts bluetooth 5.3 version for a faster and more stable connection. With a built-in premium microphone and hd speaker, allowing you to answer calls and interact with voice assistants directly from smartwatch. Meanwhile, you can receive message notifications and read them from your watch, such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Gmail, Whatsapp, Twitter etc. Just raise your wrist to view messages.
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1.96" HD Big Screen and Unlimited Customization Dials: smart watches for women adopt 1.96”TFT HD color display screen (320*386 resolution) which making it easy to operate and sensitive, experience crystal-clear visuals like never before. 4 level brightness adjustable allows you to read time and data clearly even under the glare. 200+ Multiple trendsetting combinations to match your mood and outfit of the day. Even create and customize your own mens smart watch faces from your phone gallery.
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24/7 Heart Rate Monitor and Sleep Tracker: Adopted high-performance optical sensors, Fitness tracker provides health monitoring features such as 24-hour continuity real-time Heart Rate, SpO2, and Sleep Monitoring(Deep/light sleep). It accurately monitors your heart rate in real time nd better understand your heart rate trends. Also, it provides a detailed analysis of your sleep quality and facilitating lifestyle adjustments by "GloryFit" continuously recording your sleep patterns.
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All Day Activity and Practical Functions: During exercise, sport smart watch automatically records daily steps, distance counter，calories burned, active minutes. This fitness watch men has other useful features offered like remote camera, music control, weather forecast, sedentary reminder, GPS tracking, stopwatch, find phone, raise to wake, alarm clock, calculator, etc. It makes things on your wrist simple and easy, and will always work as your effective daily assissant.
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Rating is 4.7 out of 5
Smart Watch, 1.85" HD Smartwatch for Men Women (Answer/Make Calls), Fitness Watch with Heart Rate/Sleep/IP68 Waterproof/120+ Sports Modes/Spo2 Monitor, Pedometer, Android Smart Watch for Android iOS
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Bluetooth Call and Voice Assistant: Smart watch built-in microphone and HD speaker, you can make and receive calls directly from this smart watches for men. You can also use the built-in voice assistant to ask questions, control music playback and more
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1.85'' HD Screen and DIY Dials: Android smart watch features a TFT HD color screen and curved 3D curved glass for superior picture quality and touch sensitivity. You can also choose from 100+ dials or personalize the dial with your favorite photos
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24 Hour Health Monitoring: The built-in sensor of the smart watches for women has been upgraded, which is faster and more powerful in monitoring heart rate, blood oxygen and sleep, and provides a comprehensive sleep quality analysis (non-medical standard)
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120+ Sports Modes: Active Fitness Tracker monitors over 120 activities including walking, running, cycling, swimming, yoga and more. Receive real-time stats directly on your wrist and record your stats in the "Da Fit" app
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Rating is 4.6 out of 5
Smart Watch Health Fitness Tracker with 24/7 Heart Rate, Blood Oxygen Blood Pressure Sleep Monitor, 115 Sports Modes, Step Calorie Counter Pedometer IP68 Waterproof for Android and iPhone Women Men
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【Health Metrics Monitoring】These fitness watches for women and men pack 24/7 heart rate, blood oxygen, blood pressure monitors and sleep tracker. You could check those real-time health metrics anytime, anywhere conveniently on your wrist and check the all-day data record in the App.The sleep tracker keeps track of time spent in different sleep stages including REM, light sleep,deep sleep,and the time when you wake up, helps you to get a better understanding of your sleep quality.
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【115 sports modes & All-Day Activity Tracking】There are more than 115 sports modes tracking available in the activity trackers and smartwatches, covering almost all daily sports activities you can imagine, gives you new ways to train and advanced metrics for more information about your workout performance.The all-day activity tracking feature monitors your steps, distance, and calories burned all the day, so you can see how much progress you've made towards your fitness goals.
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【Notifications for Calls and Messages】Getting notifications for incoming calls and texts right away from your wrist while on the go, allowing you to stay connected with family and friends with calls, texts, and email, so you never miss an important call or message. You could see the caller's name, reject the call, mute the ring-tone, and read the whole text messages directly from the smart watch for android phones and iphone.
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【A Considerate Life Assistant】The fitness trackers for women and men provide you with more features including drinking water reminder, sedentary reminder,menstrual cycle reminder, real-time weather display, remote camera shooting, music control,timer,and do-not-disturb mode, making it a considerate life assistant.With the GPS connectivity, you could get a map of your workout route in the app for outdoor activity by connecting to your phone GPS.
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Rating is 4.5 out of 5
Jacoosa Smart Watch, 1.85" HD Smartwatches for Men Women, 100 Days Standby Time, 110+ Sport Modes with Fitness Tracker Watch, IP68 Waterproof, Heart Rate/Sleep Monitor, Fitness Watch for Android/iOS
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Bluetooth Call and Smart Notifications：Smart watches for men allows you to stay in touch with your family or friends anytime, anywhere, even when you're at the gym, outdoors, or doing other activities. You can also receive social media, Facebook, WhatsApp, and text message alerts on your wrist, so you'll never miss an important message or notification
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1.85 Inch HD Screen and DIY Dials: Smart watch features a TFT HD color screen for superior picture quality and touch sensitivity. Men's watches have more than 100 unique online dials to choose from, and you can also customize your dial. It can be any photo, such as family, pets, etc
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30 Days Standby Time and Multiple Features: Smartwatch has a built-in 1000 mAh high-capacity battery that ensures up to 8-14 days of use, and about 30 days of standby time with just 2 hours of charging. The sports watch also includes weather forecast, music control, camera control, alarm, stopwatch, find phone and many other useful features. Simply download “FitCloudPro” for free from the App Store or Google Play and enjoy your smart life
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110+ Fitness Modes and IP68 Waterproof: The fitness tracker watch offers up to 110+ exercise modes covering running, cycling, fitness and other activities to meet different users' preferences. During exercise, it records real-time data such as heart rate, steps, calories burned, distance and activity time. This men's smartwatch is IP68 waterproof and can be worn during outdoor activities, rainy days and hand washing (Note: Please do not use it in shower, sauna, swimming, etc.)
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Rating is 4.4 out of 5
Smart Watch(Answer/Make Call), 1.91" Smartwatch for Men Women, NEW Fitness Watch with 110+ Sport Modes, Fitness Activity Tracke with Pedometer/Sleep Monitor/Heart Rate/IP68 Waterproof, for Android iOS
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Bluetooth Call and Message Reminder: The mens smart watch are equipped with the latest Bluetooth 5.3 chip, which increases the connection speed by 80%, and a highly stable connection with no delay. Answer and make calls right from your wrist, and easily sync multiple mobile contacts. It also supports multiple smart reminders, including incoming calls, Email, texts, SMS messages (Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Tiktok, Instagram, Gmail etc). You won't miss any important calls or notifications.
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1.91" HD Big Screen and DIY Dials: Fitness tracker features a TFT HD color screen (320 * 380 touch screen）and curved 3D curved glass for superior picture quality and touch sensitivity. Watch for men have more than 100+ unique online watch faces to choose from, you can also customize your watch face. It can be any photo, such as your family, star, pets, etc. Meanwhile, 4 levels manually adjust the brightness, so you can clearly see the displayed time and exercise data even in direct sunlight.
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24-Hour Health Activity Tracker: Smart watches for women track your Heart Rate, Blood Oxygen levels(SpO2) and Sleep patterns around the clock(deep sleep, light sleep, sleep quality analysis). And Your can track your period with menstrual cycle tracking and ovulation prediction as well. All data is presented in the "GloryFit" app, offering a comprehensive view of your health status. Watches women it is compatible with Android 5.0 and higher and iOS 9.0 and higher.
How to extend the battery life of a fitness watch?
Extending the battery life of a fitness watch can help ensure that you have it ready when you need it most. Here are some effective strategies to maximize battery lifespan:
- Adjust Screen Brightness and Timeout:
Reduce the screen brightness or set it to automatic if the feature is available.
Shorten the screen timeout duration so the display turns off more quickly when not in use.
- Limit Notifications and Alerts:
Turn off unnecessary notifications or alerts that are synced from your smartphone.
Consider silent modes or vibration-only alerts to save power.
- Manage Connectivity Features:
Disable GPS when not in use, as it is a significant battery drain.
Turn off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or cellular data if your watch has these features and they are not needed constantly.
- Periodically Update Software:
Keep your watch's firmware updated as manufacturers often release updates that improve battery efficiency.
- Use Power-Saving Modes:
Activate any available power-saving modes or features designed to extend battery life.
- Optimize App Usage:
Limit the use of resource-heavy applications and widgets.
Close apps running in the background that you don’t need.
- Customize Activity Tracking:
If your watch tracks multiple activities or metrics continuously, consider reducing this to only the most necessary ones.
- Disable Always-On Display:
If your device offers an always-on display feature, consider disabling it to save battery.
- Limit Use of Sensors:
Disable sensors such as heart rate monitoring or SpO2 (oxygen saturation) tracking unless they are specifically needed.
- Lower the Frequency of Data Sync:
Adjust the sync frequency with your smartphone or set it to manual sync.
- Avoid Extreme Temperatures:
Keep your watch away from extreme cold or heat as these can negatively affect battery performance.
- Charge Smart:
Avoid overcharging your watch. Unplug it once it's fully charged.
Use the manufacturer-recommended charger to ensure the battery is maintained correctly.
By implementing these strategies, you can significantly extend the life and performance of your fitness watch's battery.
What is the impact of step tracking on health goals?
Step tracking can have a significant positive impact on health goals for several reasons:
- Increased Awareness: Step tracking provides individuals with a tangible measure of their daily physical activity, which can help raise awareness about how much or how little they are moving. This awareness is often the first step toward making positive lifestyle changes.
- Motivation: Seeing daily step counts can motivate individuals to increase their physical activity. Many step tracking devices offer features such as goals, reminders, and encouraging notifications that can help sustain motivation over time.
- Goal Setting: With step tracking, individuals can set specific and measurable goals, such as aiming for the often-recommended 10,000 steps per day. Achieving these goals can lead to increased fitness and weight management over time.
- Accountability: Sharing step count data with friends, family, or through social media can foster a sense of accountability. Many apps provide social features that encourage friendly competition, further motivating users to stay active.
- Behavior Change: The regular feedback provided by step trackers can help instill long-term behavior change, encouraging a more active lifestyle. By gradually increasing daily steps, users can build habits that contribute to long-term health benefits.
- Health Benefits: Regular walking and increased daily steps can improve cardiovascular health, aid in weight management, enhance mood, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
- Identifying Patterns: Step tracking can help individuals identify patterns and barriers in their daily routines that impact their physical activity. Understanding these patterns allows for the development of more effective strategies to overcome barriers and increase activity levels.
- Total Well-being: Beyond just physical health, regular physical activity, such as walking, can improve mental health by reducing stress, anxiety, and depression, contributing to overall well-being.
Overall, step tracking can be a powerful tool for individuals looking to meet various health goals. However, it's important to remember that step counts are just one aspect of a healthy lifestyle, and it's crucial to incorporate a balanced diet, adequate rest, and other forms of exercise as part of a holistic approach to health.
What is the impact of terrain on step tracking accuracy?
The impact of terrain on step tracking accuracy can vary depending on the type of device being used and its underlying technology. Here's a breakdown of how terrain can affect step tracking:
- Pedometers: Traditional pedometers rely on simple mechanical or electronic motion sensors to count steps. They are influenced by the repetitive motion of walking. Uneven or unstable terrain, like trails or rocky paths, can cause erratic movements, leading to inaccuracies in step counts. For instance, a slight hitch, skip, or trip might be mistakenly counted as an extra step.
- Accelerometer-based Devices: Most modern smartphones and fitness trackers use accelerometers to track steps. These devices can handle varied terrains better, as they analyze the motion patterns in different axes. However, in very rugged or bumpy terrain, where the walking pattern deviates significantly from typical steps, accuracy might still suffer.
- Terrain Variability: Walking uphill, downhill, or on soft surfaces like sand can also impact accuracy. When walking uphill, steps may appear shorter and, depending on the algorithm, might be undercounted. Conversely, downhill walking can result in longer strides, which may be overcounted. On softer surfaces, the absorbed impact might not register distinct steps, leading to undercounting.
- Calibration and Algorithms: Some devices allow for calibration based on stride length or personal walking patterns, which could help mitigate errors caused by terrain. The algorithms used by different devices may also play a role in adjusting to different walking conditions. More advanced models use machine learning to improve accuracy across various terrains by learning a user's movement patterns over time.
- Environmental Sensors: Some advanced fitness trackers incorporate additional sensors, such as GPS or altimeters, to provide more context about the user's movement and surroundings. This data can help refine step tracking by accounting for changes in elevation or recognizing specific activity types, which aids in distinguishing between different types of terrain.
Overall, while modern step tracking technology is quite sophisticated, varying terrain can still pose challenges to step counting accuracy. Users who frequently traverse uneven or unusual surfaces might notice discrepancies, though these are often mitigated to some extent by advances in sensor technology and data processing algorithms.
How do fitness trackers motivate exercise?
Fitness trackers motivate exercise through several mechanisms:
- Goal Setting: Many fitness trackers allow users to set personalized goals, such as daily step counts, active minutes, or calories burned. Having specific targets helps individuals stay focused and motivated to achieve them.
- Progress Tracking: Fitness trackers provide real-time feedback and track progress over time. This visualization enables users to see improvements, which can be highly motivating and reinforce continued effort.
- Reminders and Alerts: Most fitness trackers have features that remind users to move if they’ve been sedentary for too long, encouraging them to incorporate more activity into their day.
- Data and Insights: Access to detailed data about exercise, such as heart rate, pace, and distance, helps users understand their performance and make informed decisions to optimize their workouts.
- Gamification: Many fitness trackers incorporate gamification elements, such as earning badges, completing challenges, or competing with friends, which make physical activity more enjoyable and engaging.
- Social Support and Competition: Fitness trackers often have community features that allow users to connect with friends or other users, fostering a sense of accountability and friendly competition.
- Personalization and Adaptability: The ability to tailor workouts and receive personalized feedback and suggestions based on performance keeps users engaged and motivated to improve.
- Reward Systems: Some trackers offer reward programs or partnerships with health insurance plans that provide incentives for reaching fitness milestones, adding an extra layer of motivation.
- Enhanced Awareness: By consistently monitoring physical activity levels, users become more aware of their daily habits and are often motivated to make healthier lifestyle choices.
These combined features work together to create an environment that encourages regular physical activity and helps maintain long-term exercise habits.
