Garmin watch Samsung health. Garmin Google Fit: How to sync

17.08.2023 dakus Gadgets

Garmin Google Fit: How to sync?

In this post, we gonna answer the question of Garmin Google fit, How to sync? The trick here is that you need a third-party App to sync between Garmin Connect and Google Fit. So, let’s find out.

Garmin Connect is an amazing sports tracking app. But, many people also looking for other features that are more health-oriented. And, this is where sending data from Garmin Connect to an app like Google Fit or Samsung Health pops up on the surface.

The Problem with connect Garmin to Google Fit

So, if you have been looking for a solution to sync between Garmin Connect and Google Fit, you came to the right place. I did my search and found out the solution which will solve the problem, just in a few steps.

First of all, you can not sync directly between Garmin Connect and the Google Fit app. In case you have an Android phone and using a Garmin fitness tracker device.

Garmin’s policy ensures that no sharing of steps data with Google fit, so to solve this, you have to use a third-party app. (‘FitnessSyncr’ is the application you need to sync data). By using this app, you can for sure sync between Garmin connect data and Google fit app.

What are the benefits?

To be honest, the potential benefits to people who are both health geeks and data geeks, are huge. If you can manage your calories, your fitness activity, your sleeping patterns, your macronutrient balance, and your stress levels, etc., then you can manage your blood sugar effectively. adjust your bio-markers and profit, It’s all a data game.

Briefness, it does a lot of menial thinking for me, that I don’t have to do it myself. In addition, this frees my mind up for more complicated thoughts, such as whatever music I happen to be writing or how I might want to invest, Or whatever.

On the other hand, it is exhausting to try to log every piece of health data on many different health apps. Wouldn’t it be extraordinary to log something once, in one place, and have that data filter through to every other application that requires it?

How to sync Garmin to Google fit ?

Download the Garmin Connect app to your phone.
Download the FitnessSyncer app to your phone.
After opening the Garmin Connect app, you have to create a new Garmin connect account.
Then, create an account on The FitnessSyncer app after opening the app.
Then, click on ‘Source’ and add the ‘Garmin Connect’ account you created.
After that, go to ‘Destinations’ in the fitness app
Add your Google Fit account to the fitness app.
Now, open your wellness app “Google Fit App“.
To connect FitnessSyncer with Google Fit, Click on SettingsChange Fitness AccountAdd Google account.
The final step is going to the ‘Home’ and refreshes your application to sync data.
Hooray! you’re done!

Conclusion

In my view, Garmin Connect does the best job of any health app. The possible anomaly is Samsung Health, which is an amazing app that unfortunately does not play well with any other apps.

In this post, I tried to answer the question of Garmin Google Fit, How to sync? And I hope that I did well after doing my search and bringing the answer for you folks.

How to export fitness data from the Samsung wearables (and Samsung Health app)

For each of the last three years or so, I’ve started the review process of a Samsung GPS watch, all variants of either the Samsung Galaxy line or Samsung Gear lineup. And each of those years I get a few workouts into it and remember what a complete nightmare it is to get data off of the darn watch. Or more specifically, out of the Samsung app that accompanies the watch. This year with the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active, the story is no different.

See, while most companies make it relatively painless to download completed workout files – Samsung takes the opposite approach. They make it darn near impossible, depending on whether you’re on iOS or Android. And even on Android getting a file with HR data included is tricky business too. When I’m talking files, I’m specifically talking about something you can download to your computer and then load onto various fitness apps/platforms. Common file formats like.FIT.TCX, and even.GPX. While.CSV is considered a file format, it’s not a fitness one. No worries, that’s not a concern here since Samsung doesn’t use.CSV anyway for S Health.

Note that this post is definitely not a review of the Galaxy Watch Active (or S Health aka Samsung Health). It’s basically just a quick how-to guide on a single topic that seems to perplex many. My actual review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active will come late next week, after I finish collecting a bit more data.

Now, a super brief graphical overview of how the Samsung watches work from a fitness file standpoint.

Got all that? Good, we’ll probably refer to it a few times.

If Paired to Android Phone:

As one might expect, the Samsung watches generally have more features when paired to an Android phone than not. In fact, that even gets taken a step further for Galaxy phones vs a vanilla Android phone in certain features. But for the purposes of exporting data out of the watch, it’s equal.

You’ve got two and a half basic ways to go about it:

A) Use the.GPX export option from within Samsung Health: This mostly works fine for doing it one file at a time, except one catch: It doesn’t export your heart rate data. While the.GPX file format supports HR data just fine, Samsung elected not to put it in there. If you don’t care about that – then by all means, use this option.

B) Use 3rd party sync tools to export data from app to interwebs: There’s two main options here I’m aware of – FitnessSyncer and SyncMyTracks. Both do basically the same thing: They get your data off of the phone and up to 3rd party sites like Garmin Connect, Strava, Dropbox, and countless others. Once you use these apps, your data is free as a bird. And it’ll include HR data too (at least with FitnessSyncer that I’ve tried).

C) Sync to Strava (this is the half option): In this option you can enable Strava sync for your workouts, and then download that file after the fact from Strava. Be aware that this only works for data synced directly from the watch to your Android phone and then to Strava. If you’re looking at this option from the perspective of an iPhone user, it won’t work (more on that in a moment).

In addition to these methods, there’s also the nuclear option: GDPR. Samsung does allow you to submit a request for all your data that they have on their platform (synced to the Samsung Health Cloud). The challenge there is that once you stumble through their automated process, you get a ZIP file back with a crapton of mostly useless JSON files. They aren’t in a fitness format that any site would understand. So you’d have to write a parser to undo that situation. Thus, like a nuclear bomb – it technically works but is also a complete mess.

So, let’s just do a quick run-through of those first three options. Just for the fun of it.

Export as GPX: First up, using the.GPX sport feature within a given workout. To do this you’ll go to the activity you want to export and then open it up. Slide all the way to the bottom and then select ‘Export as GPX file’.

After that, it’ll ask you what you want to do with it. I’d just e-mail it to yourself and then upload it manually to wherever you want.

3rd Party Sync- FitnessSyncer: In this scenario you need to create an account (it’s free) for FitnessSyncer. This is a website that connects to basically every platform on earth. In the case of Samsung, they connect via the local Samsung Health app on your phone – rather than to Samsung’s Cloud – hence why you need to run the app on your phone. Once you’ve got an account created, go ahead and install the Android app (you can also create an account from within the app too):

Then, on the options setup a sync inbound from Samsung Health. You can do this on the smartphone app or on the site. I like the site because I like desktop web browsers. This will take the data from Samsung Health and make it available within FitnessSyncer’s platform:

Next, you’ll need to export that data somewhere. FitnessSyncer has basically two things it does in life: Pull data in, and push data out. You just tell it where to push and pull to.

Now here’s the thing: I strongly recommend you don’t get fancy here. Just export it out to one place for now. And don’t set up multiple imports. The last time I did that my house of cards fell down. Likely my fault, but just keep it simple for now. Then later on when you get cocky you can break your own house and it won’t be my fault.

In my case, I set it up to sync to Dropbox, as that’s super easy for me to manage my files there:

You can add filters and such for dates or titles or anything you want. Again – keep it simple until you’ve got it working.

And with that, press that sync button and off it goes. Then press the sync button next to Dropbox as well:

A few moments later you’ve got a folder full of workout files to upload wherever you want – inclusive of HR and GPS data:

Note that the Samsung watches don’t natively connect to sensors, so that type of data export isn’t really an issue here.

Strava Sync: Finally, if you want to sync to Strava, that’s quick and easy too. To enable that go into the ‘…’ menu in the upper right corner, select Settings, then select ‘Connected Services’, and then choose Strava. It’ll ask you to authenticate once, after which new workouts will then be synced there:

Do note that there are some oddities however between the data from Samsung Health GPS export versus that of using the Strava sync option, including distance/time/elevation, which does, in turn, impact some Strava effort metrics.

Interestingly, there used to be way more options for platforms Samsung sync’d to, but they’re all gone these days. It’s just Strava, and only Strava. Either way, at least if you’re on an Android phone you can get your data out. Sometimes one escape route is better than none.

If Paired to an iPhone:

I’m going to be the bearer of bad news here – but the simple reality is that without an Android phone you won’t be able to download any workout data files from your device. At least if you recorded that activity using the native Samsung workout apps on the Galaxy watch. That data goes into Samsung’s Samsung Health app on your iPhone and then up to Samsung Health Cloud. However, there’s no mechanism on the iOS app to download workout files (even partial ones).

In fact, unlike the Android app, you can’t even connect the Samsung Health to Strava. It’s simply not an option. Just like there is no option to export data as.GPX files like there is on Android. This has been this way for years, since the days of the Gear Sport and prior.

The only option you’ve got that doesn’t involve an Android phone is the GDPR request to request all your data. But as I outlined in more detail up above in the Android section, that just gives you a pile of mostly useless non-fitness formatted JSON files. Sure, the data is in there, but good luck doing anything with it unless you spend a bunch of time writing scripts to manually parsing that data. And if there’s anything I’ve learned in doing this more than a decade it’s that when it comes to parsing fitness files: It’s really hard.

I’ve no doubt someone on GitHub probably has a parser somewhere for these files. But it often takes companies years of work to get their files perfect and compliant according to standards. It’s the edge cases that kills them. Silly things like how to deal with data drop-outs in tunnels or weird 0,0 lat/long type bugs. Things that most DIY parsing scripts won’t likely have handled properly. Which isn’t a slam on them – it’s a slam on Samsung: Just offer your.GPX export option on iOS. Or, get all modern and offer.TCX or.FIT like everyone else.

Your only hope – using a 3rd party app to record workouts: For iOS users, this is really the best bet. This allows you to record a workout using an app like Endomondo, which supports proper data syncing as well as exporting via a desktop web browser. They sync to plenty of platforms, well beyond just Strava. The only downside here is that you won’t get the data into Samsung Health as a cohesive workout picture. But hey – it doesn’t sound like you care about that anyway.

I know that DesFit used Endomondo for the vast majority of his review he just released with really good success. I’m planning on using it for the remainder of my workouts for this review. As an iOS user, using it or another fitness app is frankly your best option for file exporting.

Got an Android friend? Now, if you do have a friend on Android, there’s some opportunity here if you want to keep using the native workout app on the Samsung watches. Oh, and I mean, like, a really good friend.

See, the iPhone app syncs up to Samsung’s Health Cloud automatically. So all your data is actually there. It’s just that you can’t do anything with it as an iOS user.

However, if your friend installs on their Android phone the Samsung Health app, and then you log in with your account – then you can sync your workouts automatically down to that phone and export from there. Same goes for FitnessSyncer on the Android phone after installing S Health.

In fact, that’s mostly what I’m doing today. My Galaxy Watch Active is paired to my iPhone, and then it syncs via the Cloud to my secondary Android phone, where I can then export the data out via FitnessSyncer. It’s hardly ideal, but it’s an option – especially if you’ve got an older Android phone lying around (Fun tidbit though: Samsung Health app won’t let you sign-in the first time without a SIM card in the phone on Android).

Lastly – you may be wondering why doesn’t Samsung just offer an API on their website and allow apps to access it that way? Well, they do in fact.

It’s just that it’s not viable cost-wise for companies to use it. First, Samsung charges 10,000 for the initial API access, and then they charge on a per read basis for each transaction. In talking to one company looking at rolling it out, the cost for that small app would likely be over 1,200,000 per year based on the load/demand they get. As you might imagine, that’s well into non-starter territory. And I suspect also the reason why we’ve seen every app but Strava disappear from S Health over the past 6 months.

Got any other ways?

Now – if you’ve got any other ways to get the data out, especially for iOS users, I’m all ears!

On one hand, some might make an argument that ‘Hey, at least Samsung allows you to connect their watches to iOS. What about Apple that doesn’t allow you to do that to Android!’. And that’s true. But it’s also whataboutism. At the end of the day, Apple isn’t selling their watches to Android users, and as such, they aren’t offering a crappy experience.

Given Samsung’s spent money developing not one, but two apps (Samsung Health and the Galaxy watch app) for iOS – they’re showing an investment in catering beyond not just Samsung phones but also beyond Android phones. And while one might also argue that ‘maybe Samsung will add the export features soon’, history illuminates that’s simply not the case. Stretching all the way back to 2017 this issue has been present. In fact, it’s gotten worse since then. Previously even on Android there were more data sync partners. Now only Strava is left.

In the meantime, I’ll keep doing the two-phone and 3rd party app tango to get my data out. Oh – and that final review? Don’t worry, still coming up next Friday as promised. After I find a friend with a Samsung Galaxy phone and fly to another country so I can install the previously always available Spotify app on my watch.

With that – thanks for reading!

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch — what to expect

The differences between the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch will be important to know if you’re considering buying a new Android smartwatch soon. Samsung’s next-gen smartwatch is on the way to challenge Google’s in-house Wear OS watch, after all.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 looks like it’s going to be the best Samsung watch, replacing the Galaxy Watch 5 with rumored performance and design upgrades. The Pixel Watch, meanwhile, might not be replaced until October. There aren’t many rumors yet about what the Pixel Watch 2 will offer, either.

Last year, the Google Pixel Watch crashed Galaxy Watch’s party in the Wear OS space, leveraging both Google apps and Fitbit fitness tracking to make for a rather capable first-generation device. Despite being a newcomer, the Pixel Watch is one of the best smartwatches you can get right now. The Galaxy Watch 6 could change that, though.

Here’s how the Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Pixel Watch might compare in terms of price, appearance, battery life and more.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Price and availability

The Pixel Watch is out now and costs 349 for a GPS Bluetooth-only configuration, while the LTE-compatible version costs 399. Since it’s been on the market for a while, you can usually check the top Pixel Watch deals for discounts.

But how will the price compare to the Galaxy Watch 6, which is expected to be announced at Samsung Unpacked on July 26? For the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, started at 279 for the 40mm Bluetooth model. The 40mm LTE model started at 329. The price goes up to 299 and 349 for the 44mm configurations for Bluetooth and LTE, respectively, though you can find this watch on sale, too.

We haven’t heard any rumors suggesting Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 will see a price difference. That said, the price of the Galaxy Watch has fluctuated every year, so we’ll just have to wait to see how it compares to the Pixel Watch.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Design

Based on what we’ve heard, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Google Pixel Watch will both be circular and rather minimalistic watches, with round faces and side buttons. But the Galaxy Watch 6 will have a flat display, while the Pixel Watch has a 3D glass dome.

The Pixel Watch comes in just one size: 41mm. The Galaxy Watch will have more options, perhaps both 40mm and 44mm configurations. Plus, rumors of a Galaxy Watch 6 Classic with a physical rotating bezel suggest that there will be larger size options available. Either way, both watches can be customized and fitted with interchangeable watch bands.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Features

The Google Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch 6 are both Wear OS watches, but the experience isn’t quite the same. Both should eventually run Wear OS 4, but Samsung curates Wear OS with One Watch UI 5 a skin that optimizes the Galaxy Watch for the Galaxy ecosystem.

Just as Samsung tailors Android OS for its smartphones, Wear OS powered by Samsung presents an exclusive user experience. It has several Samsung programs, and the primary fitness-tracking platform is Samsung Health. On the other hand, the Google Pixel Watch leverages Fitbit for all its fitness tracking,

The Galaxy Watch 6 is expected to continue sporting the Galaxy Watch 5’s array of health sensors, including a bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) system for measuring body composition and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 skin temperature sensor. The Pixel Watch only has a rate sensor and SpO2 sensor, for comparison.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Battery life

The Google Pixel Watch battery life is rated for 24 hours of battery life. But in our testing, we could hardly eke out that long, with GPS draining 20% battery life per hour. That said, on days we didn’t workout or use activity tracking, the watch did last the full 24 hours.

As long as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 lasts over a day, it will have the Pixel Watch’s battery life beat. The Galaxy Watch 5 promised up to 50 hours of battery life, so we expect the Galaxy Watch 6 to last at least as long on a full charge.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Outlook

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 could to introduce a collection of upgrades to make the best smartwatch for Android even better. We mostly anticipate it to outperform the Pixel Watch for the few months both watches are on the market. Things could change when the Pixel Watch 2 nears launch, though.

Be sure to follow along with all our coverage of Samsung Unpacked for the latest news and updates about the Galaxy Watch 6.

The 6 best fitness trackers of 2023, according to experts

Experts recommend prioritizing comfort and wearability when buying a fitness tracker.

Shop expert-recommended fitness trackers and smartwatches from Apple, Garmin and more. Bets Buy; Ftibit

Whether you are training for a marathon or working out for the first time in months, a fitness tracker can give you helpful health data. They’re incredibly advanced, with GPS tracking, heart rate monitors and workout insight tools built-in. To make finding the right fitness tracker for your lifestyle easier, we tried nearly a dozen different models and spoke with experts about what separates the best models from the rest.

Our top picks

How we picked the best fitness trackers

Along with trying dozens of different fitness trackers, we spoke with fitness experts for shopping recommendations. Here is what we kept in mind, based on their advice:

Comfort and wearability: A fitness tracker is only useful if you wear it. It can have the most advanced fitness tracking specs, but those specs are meaningless if you don’t regularly wear the tracker, says Dr. Koyya Lewis-Trammell, associate professor of kinesiology and health promotion at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Compatibility: Not every phone is compatible with every fitness tracker — the Apple Watch only works with an iPhone, for example. We included a variety of fitness trackers with different connectivity, so you can find a suitable option.
Data tracking: Fitness trackers collect different kinds of biometric data, and present that data in different ways. We chose products that collect a range of fitness insights. Some track basic activity like steps and heart rate, while others display more complex analysis including workout effectiveness and body fatigue.

How we tried fitness trackers

I tried seven fitness trackers and incorporated them into my daily routine where I run and cycle outside three to four times a week in New York City. I also paid close attention to the below factors:

GPS tracking: GPS, or Global Positioning System, is what maps your outdoor activity and enables reporting on your mileage, speed and elevation. For each watch, I noted how quickly each tracker connected to GPS and how accurate the data was.
Comfort: I wore each tracker day and night (I even slept with them) to check if they interfered with any hand-heavy activity like cooking, cleaning, weight training or rock climbing.
Features: Besides operating system compatibility, one of the biggest differentiators for fitness watches is their features. For this story, I paid particular attention to the sleep tracking, heart rate details and live workout stats.
Battery life: I tried each tracker for about a week before switching to the next. Throughout that period, I paid attention to how many times I needed to charge the device during that week.

The best fitness trackers of 2023

Our top picks are a mix of expert recommendations and products our team personally tried over the course of four weeks. We chose products that come in various sizes and styles.

Best for beginners: Fitbit Charge 5

Pros: Beginner-friendly, slim, lightweight

Cons: One size, some data locked behind subscription service

Many Select team members use or have used Fitbit fitness trackers, and love them because they are easy to use and lightweight. Take the Fitbit Charge 5: it is one of the lightest, lowest-priced trackers on our list.

Despite having never used a Fitbit product before, I felt comfortable swiping through the Charge 5’s touchscreen menu after only a few minutes. The screen and stats are bright, colorful and easy to navigate. It tracks basic fitness and health data like steps, heart rate, sleep quality, exercise distances and pace (if outside) and more.

Another strength of the Fitbit Charge 5 is its battery life: up to seven days if you don’t use the GPS tracking and up to five hours if you do, according to the brand. Unlike my smartphone, the Charge 5 lasted me three to five days on one charge.

The data tracking is a little less robust than some of our other picks, though. When running, the Charge 5 did not show me cadence, stride length, ground contact time and vertical oscillation — advanced metrics found on pricier options like the Apple Watch 8. The brand also locks some data insights like sleep score and daily readiness score behind its Fitbit Premium subscription plan, which costs 10 per month.

Fitbit Charge 5

Best for Apple: Apple Watch Series 8

Pros: Easy-to-use, syncs seamlessly with iPhone

Cons: Short battery life

The Apple Watch Series 8 won our 2023 Wellness Award for the best fitness tracker for iPhone users, and is the go-to wearable for Kristina Jennings, a certified functional strength coach (CFSC) at Monarch Athletic Club in Los Angeles. Select manager of editorial operations Shari Uyehara, who has never owned a fitness tracker, found the Apple Watch Series 8 comfortable and easy to use. I was particularly impressed with the large always-on display and narrow bezels (the frame that borders the screen) which made it easy to read and swipe on the watch even while I was running.

It is a particularly good tracker for Apple users, since it syncs easily with iPhone apps like Health and Watch to track your fitness, health and sleep data. New to this model is cycle tracking — by adding information about your menstrual cycle, Apple’s Cycle Tracking app can help predict and alert you about your upcoming period or ovulation, according to the brand.

“You can also follow your friends and get notified when they complete activities, which can help with motivation,” says Jennings

The Series 8 can also handle many smartphone tasks: It can send texts, record voice memos, open apps, receive notifications and more. In Apple’s product lineup, it sits between the Apple Watch Ultra and the more budget-friendly Apple Watch SE in price. It comes in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm, with many Band options.

Apple Watch Series 8

Best for Android: Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

Pros: Very comfortable, sleek design

Cons: Battery life could be better

Named the best Android fitness tracker in our Select Wellness Awards, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 has a sleek design, easy-to-customize screen and comfortable fit. In my experience, its circular touchscreen is lightweight, colorful and responsive. You can customize watch faces directly on the watch itself or through Samsung’s Galaxy Wearable app — I used the app to easily create multiple faces with custom stats, colors, fonts and layouts in minutes.

The watch has two buttons, which by default act as a home and a back button. (You can reprogram them to do other actions like open a specific app or show your most recently used ones.) I love physical buttons on smartwatches because touch controls are not always ideal when I’m doing outdoor activities in bad weather, like running in the rain, for example.

Like the Apple Watch Series 8, it can handle smartphone tasks including sending texts, answering calls, receiving notifications and tap-to-pay. I used it to pay for groceries and public transportation with no issues.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

Best GPS: Garmin Forerunner 255

Pros: Accurate GPS, long battery life

Cons: No touchscreen

If outdoor fitness and sports are a common part of your daily routine, consider the Garmin Forerunner 255, winner of Select’s best fitness tracker for running and GPS. It stands out from the competition with its incredibly long battery life — I wore it for a full week and didn’t need to recharge.

When getting ready for an outdoor run or bike ride, the Forerunner 255 connected to GPS within seconds while other trackers took minutes. It has multiband GPS, which means it can communicate with two GPS satellites at the same time, leading to faster, more accurate mapping.

It also has ample fitness and training features, such as adaptive workout plans, running power data, recovery time estimates and more. I didn’t take advantage of all the tools, but a few I used daily was its morning report feature and performance condition feature. The morning report told me how well I slept, my recovery scores and suggested workouts, while the performance condition feature gave me an assessment of my pace and heart rate at the start of runs. Both helped me develop a better workout routine.

Unlike our beginners pick, the FitBit Charge 5, this watch has a serious learning curve. There is no touchscreen — you control it with the five buttons along the sides of the watch. While I enjoy the precision of using physical buttons, it took a while to get used to it, since most other fitness trackers have touchscreens.

In Garmin’s Forerunner product lineup, the Forerunner 255 sits between the premium Forerunner 955 and the lower-priced Forerunner 55.

Garmin Forerunner 255

Most comfortable: Whoop 4.0

Pros: Comfortable watch Band, detailed wellness and recovery metrics

Cons: Expensive monthly subscription

For in-depth data analysis, consider Whoop 4.0, says Rhys Athayde, co-owner and director of fitness and operations of Ghost Williamsburg, a luxury gym in New York. Whoop is not a typical fitness watch. It doesn’t track step count, stairs climbed or active minutes, nor does it show the time or display notifications because it doesn’t have a screen. It is a small tracker built into a stretchy polyester and nylon Band that’s comfortable to wear while working out or sleeping, in my experience.

Whoop tracks metrics like heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen levels, skin temperature and more. Analyzing that data, it assigns scores to your body strain, recovery and sleep through its mobile app. This showed me how hard a workout session was on my body rather than how far or fast I went. Looking at these strain, recovery and sleep metrics, I found myself thinking more about the quality of my workouts rather than the quantity.

To use the product, you have to pay for the Whoop subscription service, which is 30 per month or 239 per year. For serious athletes who love data, it is a worthwhile option to consider.

Whoop 4.0

Most minimal: Oura Ring 3

Pros: Minimal, comfortable design

Cons: Requires a subscription to access most features, not enough fitness data

For minimalists who want data analysis on basics like sleep and recovery, Athayde and Jennings recommend the Oura Ring 3. Like most of our other picks, it tracks heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen levels, skin temperature and more.

The Oura Ring 3 is more for health tracking than activity tracking. The app focuses on sleep and recovery most, with accurate tracking of heart rate, body temperature, respiratory rate and more, says Athayde. But for runners, cyclists and swimmers, the Oura Ring isn’t a substitute for a true fitness watch — it cannot show you data like pace, distance or heart rate zone as you work out. For those who want informative health data without the form factor of a fitness watch, the Oura Ring is a good option.

It comes in two styles, five colors and a range of sizes. While you can use the Oura Ring without a subscription, you will only be able to access limited data solely for the current day, according to the brand. A monthly subscription costs 6 a month.

Oura Ring 3

How to shop for a fitness tracker

Beyond looking at specific features and specifications when shopping, our experts’ recommend keeping the following in mind:

Prioritize comfort

Both Lewis-Trammell and Athayde say that comfort and wearability are the most important factors of any fitness tracker.

Because trackers come in so many shapes and sizes, I recommend going in-person to try a few different models and see what feels most comfortable to you.

Athayde recommends the Oura Ring, but points out that if you don’t typically wear (or sleep in) rings, you should probably look elsewhere. Similarly, if you don’t generally wear watches, you might find a tracker like the Garmin Forerunner uncomfortable and may be better off with a smaller, lighter tracker like the Whoop. “Ultimately, you’re looking for a device you’re going to wear long term so that it can provide you with the most accurate data,” says Athayde.

Identify your goals and needs

You don’t need to be an athlete or avid gym-goer to benefit from the data fitness trackers provide, says Athayde.

Think about what metrics matter to you before looking at the price tag, and shop according to what you need. If outdoor sports are your thing, Garmin may be your best option. If you want your fitness data in addition to mobile notifications and texting, a smartwatch like the Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy is a good fit. What’s best for you depends on your daily habits and larger goals, according to our experts.

Meet our experts

At Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

Dr. Koyya Lewis-Trammell is an associate professor of kinesiology and health promotion at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Kristina Jenningsis a certified functional strength coach (CFSC) at Monarch Athletic Club in Los Angeles.
Rhys Athayde is the co-owner and director of fitness and operations of Ghost Williamsburg in New York.

Why trust Select?

Harry Rabinowitz is a reporter at Select and an avid runner and cyclist. For this piece, he interviewed fitness experts and professionals to get a better understanding of fitness trackers and the benefits of the data they can provide. He also tried seven top-rated fitness trackers and smartwatches. He spoke with other members of the Select team about their experiences with the fitness trackers they use and have used previously as well.

Catch up on Select’s in-depth coverage of personal finance, tech and tools, wellness and more, and follow us on. Instagram, and TikTok to stay up to date.

Harry Rabinowitz

Harry Rabinowitz is a reporter for Select on NBC News.

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Sources:

https://www.in3case.com/garmin-google-fit-how-to-sync/
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/03/export-data-Samsung-watch-Galaxy-health-app.html
https://www.tomsguide.com/face-off/Samsung-Galaxy-watch-6-vs-google-pixel-watch
https://www.nbcnews.com/select/amp/ncna1306828