The Best Fitness Trackers and Watches for Everyone

I wear an Oura Ring 4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) constantly. The latest version has new colors and a wider range of sizes, and the sensors are recessed inside the body of the ring to make it thinner and lighter. The sensors are also placed asymmetrically and, combined with a new Smart Sensing algorithm, continuously adapt to taking the best measurement at any given time, no matter what's going on with your hands. (No, don't tell me.)

While the Garmin Fenix 8 is one of the best fitness trackers on the market, the Oura Ring caught a night of insomnia and several more hikes per day. The battery life is also better than the last Oura Ring, and the app is easy to navigate. The experimental Oura Labs feature lets the company continuously test new features that end up making their way into the app permanently, like Symptom Radar, which tracks metrics like resting heart rate and temperature trends to let you know if you've started exhibiting cold- or flu-like symptoms. The company is continually updating its software, such as its integration with the Dexcom Stelo (see below). Now I can layer my glucose measurements in Oura's Timeline feature to see how my activity level and meals reduce my glucose readings.

The best features are still paywalled behind the $6/month Oura membership. Non-paying members are stuck with the basics: Sleep, Readiness, and Activity scores, as well as the Explore content, which includes meditation videos and advice clips that I have mostly found useless.

Whoop's business model is unique. If you commit to a year-long subscription fee for the price of a regular fitness tracker, the company throws in the sensor for free. (You have to buy the additional Whoop Body garments yourself.) The company recently updated the wearable to the new Whoop 5.0 and the Whoop MG (8/10, WIRED Recommends); both are smaller and more energy-efficient, and the Whoop MG has ECG capabilities and the ability to take your blood pressure via a proprietary algorithm—a feature which even the Apple Watch has yet to offer.

Whoop has taken several measures to make its biometrics more appealing to everyday users, as well as performance athletes. For example, it now counts your steps in addition to its proprietary Strain algorithm, which now takes into account muscular as well as cardiovascular effort. There are also new Healthspan and Pace of Aging features, which let you see how the decisions you make will increase your lifespan (theoretically). It's worth noting that Whoop membership now has three tiers and that to get the new Healthspan, ECG, and blood pressure capabilities, you have to pay for the highest Whoop Life tier at $359/year. However, that is what the original $30/month Whoop membership cost, and Whoop throws in the updated Whoop MG for free.

I tested the Whoop MG with the Whoop Life membership. Blood pressure readings have to be calibrated with a separate cuff, but Whoop's algorithm appears to be in line with the cuff's readings. The Whoop MG is noticeably smaller than the Whoop 4.0. It's screenless and works when slipped into my clothes. All that is to say, the new Whoop offers many more useful features for basically the same price, and besides the new Apple Watch, it is the only wrist-worn tracker to currently offer blood pressure readings (for now).

No tracker I've tested has generated as much interest as a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). It's a small, Bluetooth-enabled sensor with a tiny needle that slides under your skin. When you click it onto your arm with the included dispenser, it feels like getting flicked with a finger. It doesn't hurt while you're wearing it, but it does fall off and needs to be replaced every two weeks. These were originally approved for use by diabetics, but are now approved to be sold commercially.

I also tested the Abbott Lingo, but I like the Dexcom Stelo better. The dispenser is easier to use, the application process is friendlier and more secure, and the app is simpler—no proprietary metrics to confuse you. Dexcom also has partnerships with both Oura and Apple, so your glucose data can seamlessly integrate with your other trackers. The app sends you a glucose spike alert every time you've stressed your body out by eating too much sugar or carbs instead of protein and fiber. A 2018 Stanford study also showed that many people have prolonged blood sugar spikes and don't know it, which can lead to cardiovascular disease and other bad outcomes down the road. I find it a little difficult, mentally and emotionally, to monitor my food intake this closely. If you're prediabetic or a pro athlete who wants to optimize their fueling, you've probably been waiting for a good commercially available CGM for some time. Now it's here.

Note: We are currently testing Garmin's Fenix 8 Pro model that has satellite communications, which I think is a big enough update that you should consider purchasing it instead. We will update this roundup when we have tested.

Garmin has combined features from its previous Epix and Fenix lines back into the Fenix 8 AMOLED. You get the updated, hugely bright AMOLED screen of the Epix with the much longer battery life of the Fenix (longer than two weeks for the 47-mm model, in my testing). It also comes in the Fenix E version ($800), which is cheaper and has a less-bright MIP display. Now there's also dynamic routing, which lets you enter how far you want to go into the watch, and then it will route you home on time. This is why you buy a Garmin outdoors watch—so you can figure out where you are and find your way home.

This is the best outdoor sports watch money can buy. It's compatible with both Android phones and iPhones, and the screen is ridiculously bright—not that it gets super sunny in Oregon in the winter, but it's noticeably brighter outdoors than other Garmin displays. You get everything you need for almost every sport, most notably Garmin's proprietary off-grid maps, which include SkiView for ski resort maps and golf course maps. There are leakproof buttons for scuba and a microphone and speaker for voice commands when you're off-grid. There's a built-in flashlight! No more relying on a phone flashlight with a 17 percent battery when you're out hiking later than you expected.

Garmin Connect is included with the purchase of the watch, which means that you won't have to pay a subscription fee to use its best features, which now include suggested strength-training workouts if you've also recently become obsessed with weight lifting to prevent you from disintegrating into a bag of dust. The one thing I found in my testing is that it's less sensitive in sleep tracking and incidental activity tracking than my Oura ring. This is less useful if you want just an everyday fitness tracker. But if you love outdoor sports, there's none better.

The Garmin Forerunner 970 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the latest, high-end iteration of Garmin's storied running line. It has the biggest, brightest, shiniest AMOLED screen; two weeks of battery life; the best training algorithms and suggestions; and fun extras, like an in-device flashlight and a speaker and mic for using voice commands.

New training features include your Running Tolerance score, which uses your Acute Impact Load to measure not just how far you ran, but how hard the run felt. It also has Step Speed Loss and Running Economy to help you run more efficiently, although it also needs the new HRM 600 ($170) to measure these. It also has map and navigational features that have been cribbed from the Fenix line, like Round Trip Routing, that will help you plan routes and get you back to your starting point. Garmin also released the new midrange Forerunner 570 ($550) this year, which is cheaper but also has shorter battery life, less-premium materials (Gorilla Glass 3 vs. Sapphire, aluminum bezel vs. titanium), less memory at 8 GB vs. 32 GB, no built-in mapping, and no flashlight. It's also worth noting here that Garmin Forerunners age very well, and older models are frequently on sale.

Every year, I say you don't have to buy the latest Apple Watch if you already have one. This year's Series 11 is the first exception, because after years of struggling to upgrade the Apple Watch's battery life, it finally has a full 24 hours. That means you can wear it to sleep without waking up with a drained watch. Going from 15–18 hours of wear to the full 24 hours means you can also use it to track sleep. In accordance with that, Apple now has a brand-new (and perhaps overly generous) Sleep Score that takes into account bedtime, duration, and interruptions. It's a lot less comprehensive than many other sleep trackers, but if tracking your sleep makes you anxious, maybe that's all for the best.

The standout feature this year is hypertension notifications, which have been FDA-cleared and clinically validated; over 30 days, the Health app will ping you if it sees signs of high blood pressure. It has the same slim case and fast charging as last year's Series 10, and it's also compatible with WatchOS 26, which means you'll get the overly eager personalized advice of your very own AI-powered Workout Buddy. Also, blood oxygen sensing is back, baby! WatchOS 26 does mean, however, that you'll get a lot of these features (including hypertension and blood oxygen sensing) on last year's Series 10, but don't buy it if it's not significantly under MSRP.

The Google Pixel Watch 4 will not go on sale until October, but it was announced in August. It's hard to recommend the Pixel Watch 3 considering the upcoming model fixes one of its biggest problems: repairability. The Pixel Watch 4 will be fully repairable, which will extend the watch's lifespan. Google will even sell replacement parts on iFixit so you can fix it yourself.

It will also have a longer battery life than the Pixel Watch 3, a new charger, and the screen is 50 percent brighter. New health features include better sleep tracking with machine learning, better skin temperature sensing, dual-frequency GPS for better live activity tracking, and fresh exercise options like pickleball and basketball. While it is technically the first smartwatch with SOS satellite communications for emergencies, Apple's Watch Ultra 3 is the first one on sale, but we're looking forward to testing it when it's available.

The Amazfit Active 2 packs a ton of functionality in a tracker that is only $100. It has the usual bevy of sensors (photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometric altimeter, ambient light, and temperature sensors) that do all the usual things, like track your sleep, heart rate, and blood oxygen saturation. It also has up to 164 workout modes and long battery life, all in an attractive, stainless steel case rated for 5 ATM water resistance. I jumped into pools and hot tubs wearing it without any damage.

It also has other features that are startling at this price, like mapping on the large, bright AMOLED touchscreen. You can download maps—even ski resort maps—to get directions. Amazfit has partnerships with trendy fitness and wellness companies like Hyrox, the current CrossFit competitor, and Wild.AI, which lets women optimize their workouts according to their menstrual cycles. OK, not all of these features work exactly as promised. The watch did not auto-recognize my strength training exercises, the sleep tracking was not nearly as sensitive as my Oura ring, and the map put a river next to my house where there is a street. Still, these don't seem like problems that will be that difficult to iron out. This watch made me rethink the value proposition of fitness trackers entirely. Did I mention it costs $100?

The Fitbit Ace LTE (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is the first fitness tracker I've gotten my kids to wear consistently. (They used to wear Apple Watches, but found it difficult to keep them charged.) The Ace is a combination fitness tracker, gaming device, and location tracker that has been incredibly useful and fun for both me and my children as they've moved from camp to lesson to pool to neighbor's house this summer.

It has the full suite of Fitbit's health sensors, so it can track my kids' step count and make sure they're not spending too much time in front of the TV. The $10/monthly subscription pays for both LTE connectivity—so you don't have to add a line to your cell phone plan—as well as Fitbit Arcade, which has a plethora of fun, time-limited, movement-based games that incentivize my children to keep their watches on. They can call and text me (sometimes too often) and other approved contacts through the Fitbit Ace app, and I can also see their location via Google Find My to make sure they made it back home from a field trip. This has made our summer so much easier. Its childlike aesthetic is probably not going to appeal to kids older than 11, though.

If you own a Samsung phone and a Samsung Galaxy ring, you should also own a Samsung Galaxy Watch8. The ring and watch share health monitoring tasks when worn together, which extends the battery life considerably. The new standout features for the Watch8 include Samsung's new “squircle” design (what the company is calling a “cushion” design) and a bevy of new health features.

Vascular Load and Antioxidant Index join the AGEs index in offering different metrics to look at your health. Samsung says Vascular Load measures the load on your vascular system (your blood vessels that carry blood throughout your body), which will help you gauge whether habits like drinking alcohol or eating a lot of sodium are affecting your long-term health risk. Unfortunately, neither Julian nor I got actionable results. While in theory, Antioxidant Index seems like a good way to judge if you're eating enough vegetables, the results were so off-base that it made me laugh. The watch told me my Antioxidant Index was low, and I need to eat more canned pumpkin puree. That's despite living in Portland, Oregon, at the height of fruiting season, and snacking on fresh berries and plums on every dog walk. The watch is beautiful and easier to use than ever, but the new health features definitely need some work.

Do you want a tracker that doesn’t look like a tracker at all? Then you want the Withings ScanWatch 2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends). We loved the original ScanWatch (and the Withings Steel before that). This version includes everything we love, including comfort, good looks, long battery life, and a comprehensive suite of health features. It also includes temperature tracking, a new charger, and an unfortunate and unpalatable price hike.

My colleague Simon Hill found the health features comprehensive and generally accurate, including the new temperature tracker. (I tested it as well and found that it wasn't quite sensitive enough to predict my menstrual cycle with the accuracy of the Oura Ring.) One of the most touted new features is Withings' new Cardio Check-Up. Withings' board of certified cardiologists will review ECG data from your watch and send you a medical review of your cardiac health directly through the app. Like many of Withings' best features, Cardio Check-Up is locked behind a $10/month subscription.

If this sounds a bit too pricey for you, you may want to consider the ScanWatch Light ($250), which doesn't have the ECG, irregular heart rate warnings, blood oxygen, or temperature tracking but costs $120 less.

Most fitness trackers have a built-in heart rate monitor, but if you're engaging in long sessions of intense aerobic activity, you'll get greater accuracy if you use a separate strap on your bicep or around your chest. Of the heart rate monitors we tested, my colleague Michael Sawh likes Polar's the best. Polar replaced the typical loop-and-hook connector with a much more comfortable buckle connector, along with small silicone dots to make sure the monitor stays in place.

Comfort and security mean that the readings are much more accurate; Sawh saw (hah!) no drop-outs or underreporting or overreporting of data. It also has built-in memory and ANT+ connectivity, so you can connect to other equipment like bike trainers. You also don't have to replace the battery for up to a year.