Smart Watch Questions

[dochas]

I've never had a fitness tracker or smart watch. The only thing I've had is those old, mostly useless step counters. Do smart watches track all kinds of activity, like walking, elliptical, and bicycle? I don't know if they just count steps, or also calories?

I sort of want one because it would be convenient to not carry my phone when walking and biking. But I would want one more if it would help me be more active via shame from seeing how little movement I get every day. I guess I'm wondering how much it does. My son has one and loves seeing his steps, but he's 12 and spends a lot of time running!

[ssmjlm]

I started with a fitbit that didn't have a display, so unless I looked at the app, I didn't know my step count. It did vibrate when I hit it and I set my at like 5,000 steps initially to get a baseline.

I then went to a sort of smart watch by Garmin that had an analog face, with a small digital display at the bottom that would give steps and stairs climbed. I think it did other stuff, but I was more focused on getting up from my desk at the office (pre-COVID) than any type of exercise. I had that watch for several years and really liked it.

I got an apple watch last year for my birthday and like it, but find the tracking to be ok, I don't think the step count is as accurate and you have to make sure to "start" your workout, like walking or yoga, etc. You can turn on/off the reminders. I just roll my eyes when it goes "yesterday you closed your X ring, let's do it again." And I'm like, yeah, because I was home and didn't have a line of people outside of my office door.


ETA: I think fitbits have come a long way and it might be what you're looking for. I do wish I had a watch with cellular as I take the dog on long walks and don't always want my phone with me, but oh well.

[So_Fetch]

There are lots of versions of fitbit now and I really like their app. I get a weekly report that shows activity, steps, and sleep. I have two - the Versa and the Luxe. The lux is smaller, the Versa looks like an apple watch. You can also track your food/water/mood in the app.

[InBetweenDays]

I have a Garmin Fenix6 and it tracks all sorts of activities. Walking, running, biking, skiing, hiking, paddle boarding, swimming (including pool swim or open water swim), etc. It uses GPS so is very accurate. It wasn't cheap, but I've absolutely found it worth it for our activities.

ETA: I just looked and it does have an option for elliptical and indoor bike.

ETA2: It does track calories. If you have the heart rate monitor activated it uses that. If you don't then I think it just goes off of the height and weight you put into it to calculate calories burned.

[devonpow]

I love my Apple Watch and find tracking/data for stuff like this really motivating. Others definitely don’t, so it’s kind of about what personally motivates you/keeps you interested.

It has three “rings” that track all day - one for movement, one for exercise minutes, and one for standing (it’s a certain number of minutes for standing for each hour - I dont pay attention to this one but DH, whi has a sedentary job, likes it). You don’t need to do anything to automatically track these three things but you are able to set your own goals for what you want to hit on them each day, and you decide if you want reminders/notifications for them

You can also individually track workouts - running, walking, spin, rowing, strength, whatever. You set it at the beginning of your workout - The exercise/calorie goals automatically go to your overall rings, but you also can then see more data (like average speed/splits in running etc) which can be nice. The only thing it doesn’t track/track well is sleep. I think the Oura ring is supposed to be good if that’s an important factor for you

[dochas]

Thank you! I'm looking at the Samsung Galaxy 5. We're Android I can get one free, or mostly. The upgraded one is $30 and the line would just be $10 per month.

[pinkplasticdoll]

I have a Samsung Galaxy 4, it does everything you listed. It tracks all my activity and i have it set to autodetect my exercise after 10 minutes so it will notify me as I'm walking around the neighborhood or doing chores that I have been active and start counting that as exercise .

Eta: it tracks calories, hr, ecg and o2 levels.

[BlondeSpiders]

I'm also a fandroid. I have a Samsung Active 2 and I love it.

I did want to caution about leaving your phone at home when going out for exercise. The watch needs to be near the phone to work. Once at the airport, I dropped all my stuff with my H while I trekked down the concourse to the gift shop and discovered that I could not use my watch to pay because it had disconnected from my phone.

If I started exercising again (big if) I know this watch will be great for tracking steps, heart rate, etc. I have a FitBit as well but I stopped wearing it when I got this watch. But I am thinking about wearing it again overnight to track my sleep, as the watch (my version anyway) does not track that.

[dochas]

May 8, 2023 12:50:00 GMT -5 BlondeSpiders said:

I'm also a fandroid. I have a Samsung Active 2 and I love it.

I did want to caution about leaving your phone at home when going out for exercise. The watch needs to be near the phone to work. Once at the airport, I dropped all my stuff with my H while I trekked down the concourse to the gift shop and discovered that I could not use my watch to pay because it had disconnected from my phone.

If I started exercising again (big if) I know this watch will be great for tracking steps, heart rate, etc. I have a FitBit as well but I stopped wearing it when I got this watch. But I am thinking about wearing it again overnight to track my sleep, as the watch (my version anyway) does not track that.

The Samsung 5 is LTE so it works without being near the phone. We got this one for my son so he wouldn't have to carry a phone. It has to connect sometimes or it will stop working until it synchs, but it doesn't even need to connect every day. I do make sure he turns both on at home before school so I know the watch is working, but the phone stays home and the watch goes with him. It has been a great option for him!

[bears]

I have a Garmin Venu Sq that is not LTE, but you can still use the GPS to track your runs, walks, and bike rides while you are away from your phone. You can also download music on it and listen via Bluetooth without your phone. It counts steps and calculates calories as well.

When your phone is near, it will give you app notifications on your watch (I can send basic replies on the texting app) If you want more functionality when you're away from your phone, you would need something with LTE/additional monthly fee through your phone provider.

I like it well enough and it has everything I want other than access to my preferred music app (Pandora--it has Spotify and Amazon music, neither of which I love). The music thing is a bit glitchy, but it's fine.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I also have a Galaxy Active 2 (although I do think I need to upgrade soon, my battery life is getting wonky, but I've had it for maybe 4 or 5 years now so it's probably about time, but I'm hoping they are still offering free ones when we get dd a phone in Sept so holding out till then). The only 'complaint' I have that might annoy you is that if you do something where your arm is stationary but your legs are moving, you might need to manually start a workout for it to register. A lot of times if I'm at the grocery store pushing a cart, or even walking my dogs but holding my phone in my hand doing something, it tells me 'how about a walk?' because it thinks I'm being stationary and not registering movement.

[womet]

I have an Apple Watch. In addition to tracking activities, I love that mine can also be used to monitor my heart rate and even take an EKG. I've had AFib before, and my cardiologist recommends the Apple Watch for it's EKG capabilities. I'm able to send him pdfs of my EKGs if there is anything funny happening.

[jennistarr1]

I have Garmin Vivoactive. It's tracks steps no matter what. You can also tell it what activity you're doing like all the the things you mention plus way more. It's awesome!!!

[mrsukyankee]

I have the Samsung Galaxy 5 and I love it. I'm an Android person so it works very well with my Samsung phone. I set up the watch face so I can see steps because I like it. (you can download all sorts of watch faces which is nice - I change mine around depending on mood and what I'm wearing). You can use it to track all sorts of activities and even input whether you want it tracked automatically or no (I don't do it automatically). If you are an Android person who isn't a 'fitness person', then the Samsung is great.

[lovelovelove]

Can I ask a related question - can I put a music app on a watch and then pair that to my ear buds so I don't need my phone?

[dochas]

May 9, 2023 4:43:22 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

I have the Samsung Galaxy 5 and I love it. I'm an Android person so it works very well with my Samsung phone. I set up the watch face so I can see steps because I like it. (you can download all sorts of watch faces which is nice - I change mine around depending on mood and what I'm wearing). You can use it to track all sorts of activities and even input whether you want it tracked automatically or no (I don't do it automatically). If you are an Android person who isn't a 'fitness person', then the Samsung is great.

Thank you!

[dochas]

May 9, 2023 6:18:42 GMT -5 lovelovelove said:

Can I ask a related question - can I put a music app on a watch and then pair that to my ear buds so I don't need my phone?

I only researched watches with LTE capability, which means they will work completely independently of the phone line that they are paired with. We had to get my son a phone and line (I didn't know if that was just a tmobile thing). I gave son my old phone and then got him a new galaxy 5. He can do everything with just the watch. I think if your watch is just bluetooth you need your phone with it. But with LTE you can take just the watch.

[mokes]

May 9, 2023 6:18:42 GMT -5 lovelovelove said:

Can I ask a related question - can I put a music app on a watch and then pair that to my ear buds so I don't need my phone?

Can only answer for Apple Watch but yes. You can use Apple Music or Spotify and download songs for offline use directly onto your watch. So it doesn't stream from the app, but you can download playlists. I think the max is 100 songs per playlist for Spotify.

[bears]

May 9, 2023 6:18:42 GMT -5 lovelovelove said:

Can I ask a related question - can I put a music app on a watch and then pair that to my ear buds so I don't need my phone?

It's dependent on the watch, but yes. I have the music version of the Garmin Venu Sq and can download music playlists from Spotify, Amazon, and Deezer (no idea what this is). It's been a bit disappointing for me, since I love Pandora and really don't like Spotify or Amazon Music. I think the LTE watches and more expensive watches have more options.

[penguingrrl]

I have an Apple Watch and find it super motivating, and I really love that it has cell service so I don’t have to carry my phone with me everywhere all the time. It definitely reminds me not to be a sloth.

[dochas]

Yes, with LTE you can download any app from the Play store to the watch.

[jennistarr1]

regarding music, some garmins have music, others do not