Fitness tracker watches

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TG09

244 posts

Master Geek
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#283950 22-Mar-2021 10:56

Hi all

I have started to think about getting a fitness/sleep tracker watch to connect to my android phone.

Dont want to spend a lot on it, just want the basics for now, GPS and heardbeat.

Any brands out there that people have used and can say are ok and are accurate.

Cheers

kobiak

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#2678273 22-Mar-2021 10:59

i'm absolutely in love with my amazfit stratos 3. got it for myself as christmas present.

- 6-7 days normal life charge time
- 4 days GPS on (anything between 8-12 hrs a day) every 1 min sync during recent Nelson lakes hike

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SheriffNZ

677 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#2678291 22-Mar-2021 11:03

This is my go-to product comparison site for this sort of thing.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/11/sports-technology-buyers-recommendations-guide-2020-2021.html/#gps-smartwatches

TG09

244 posts

Master Geek
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#2678295 22-Mar-2021 11:05

kobiak:

i'm absolutely in love with my amazfit stratos 3. got it for myself as christmas present.

- 6-7 days normal life charge time
- 4 days GPS on (anything between 8-12 hrs a day) every 1 min sync during recent Nelson lakes hike

Cool where did you get that from and rough price?

MaxineN

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#2678298 22-Mar-2021 11:08

I have an original Huawei Watch GT Active 46mm. It's a few years old now but I still get around 10 days of battery life with constant heart monitoring, notifications, GPS and even sleep monitoring.

If you can find one on Trademe for under $200 it's an amazing watch and the Huawei Health app is a must.

The magnetic charger is great, charges fast when paired with a 1A 5V charger.

The only downsides is that it requires sign up to use the app and sometimes notifications don't push the latest ones(this might be a bug with Android 11 on my Oneplus 8, I never really had this issue with a Huawei P30 or my S20+). Also the rubber strap probably isn't for everyone but you can use OTHER straps with it as long as you can find something compatible.

But this is my only experience with smart watches.

Ramblings from a mysterious lady who's into tech. Warning I may often create zingers.

freitasm

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#2678319 22-Mar-2021 11:19

I have had the Huawei GT watch in the last three versions - and they are really good. I currently wear the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro. The last few updates brought even more functions, like PIN protection (automatically lock if you remove from wrist) and always-on SpO2 measurements.

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kobiak

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#2678321 22-Mar-2021 11:21

TG09:

Cool where did you get that from and rough price?

DSE for $279

helping others at evgenyk.nz

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rogercruse

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#2678327 22-Mar-2021 11:40

TG09:... getting a fitness/sleep tracker watch to connect to my android phone. ...

You may want to consider what you want your tracking device to communicate with... as not everything talks to everything else.

This is biased view:

Fitbit. An easier brand to start with. Now part of the Google empire, which should mean they stay around and can afford to invest in even cleverer devices

Garmin. Trying to remain independent have a range of water-proof devices that will communicate with most of the fitness tracking websites.

Apple. As you (and I) have an android phone then probably if little interest.

Others. There are a number of smaller and up-and coming brands. One of the these might disappear tomorrow or equally become a global standard in the future.

alasta

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#2678350 22-Mar-2021 12:09

I am a big fan of Garmin watches because they are robust utilitarian products that don't try too hard to be a computer on your wrist.

The Venu and Vivoactive ranges are probably a good place to start depending on whether you want a touchscreen or not. Personally I absolutely detest having a touchscreen on a watch, but others probably disagree.

MikeB4

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#2678416 22-Mar-2021 13:10

TG09:

Hi all

I have started to think about getting a fitness/sleep tracker watch to connect to my android phone.

Dont want to spend a lot on it, just want the basics for now, GPS and heardbeat.

Any brands out there that people have used and can say are ok and are accurate.

Cheers

You didn’t mention watch platform your phone is. If iPhone definitely go Apple Watch it is without doubt th best for iPhone users. If you have Samsung phone then the Samsung offerings are good as they have addition function/features for Samsung phone users. Other wise the Fitbit offerings are good but keep in mind you have to pay extra to unlock all the feature with to premium version of their App circa $15 per month. I also feel the Huawei offerings are good and offer good bang for buck.

Edit; just noticed you have an Android phone so forget all the Apple stuff in my post. Dam meds I missed it completely and I read it a few times

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

TG09

244 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 16

#2678422 22-Mar-2021 13:17

I have Oppo phone running Android.

Thanks for the info, i will look at Huawei watches as well.

Cheers

MikeB4:

TG09:

Hi all

I have started to think about getting a fitness/sleep tracker watch to connect to my android phone.

Dont want to spend a lot on it, just want the basics for now, GPS and heardbeat.

Any brands out there that people have used and can say are ok and are accurate.

Cheers

You didn’t mention watch platform your phone is. If iPhone definitely go Apple Watch it is without doubt th best for iPhone users. If you have Samsung phone then the Samsung offerings are good as they have addition function/features for Samsung phone users. Other wise the Fitbit offerings are good but keep in mind you have to pay extra to unlock all the feature with to premium version of their App circa $15 per month. I also feel the Huawei offerings are good and offer good bang for buck.

Edit; just noticed you have an Android phone so forget all the Apple stuff in my post. Dam meds I missed it completely and I read it a few times

GSManiac

494 posts

Ultimate Geek
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#2678465 22-Mar-2021 14:01

A friend of mine recently got the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite it was around $100.
i am an Apple Watch user so I had a bit of a play around with hers and was suitably impressed.
It does gsp, music control, notifications, sleep tracking, heart rate, waterproof, 9 day battery life and around 11 work out modes. Very capable for the price.

only annoyance from my POV was that while there were heaps of different watch faces, they weren’t overly customisable. Also the UI was a tad slow.

apart from that was really impressed. My friend used it in the weekend to track her 3 day mountain hike.

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Handle9

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#2678699 22-Mar-2021 17:37

MaxineN:

I have an original Huawei Watch GT Active 46mm. It's a few years old now but I still get around 10 days of battery life with constant heart monitoring, notifications, GPS and even sleep monitoring.

If you can find one on Trademe for under $200 it's an amazing watch and the Huawei Health app is a must.

The magnetic charger is great, charges fast when paired with a 1A 5V charger.

The only downsides is that it requires sign up to use the app and sometimes notifications don't push the latest ones(this might be a bug with Android 11 on my Oneplus 8, I never really had this issue with a Huawei P30 or my S20+). Also the rubber strap probably isn't for everyone but you can use OTHER straps with it as long as you can find something compatible.

But this is my only experience with smart watches.

+1 for the Watch GT family if you want a basic fitness tracker which is fully waterproof, great battery life and looks like a watch.

My wife and I both have them, having come from Garmin Vivoactives. The watch GT is a better device in every respect and can be dressed up and down with different straps.

If you are a hardcore runner or want some more specialist features it might not be the right device but for a general tracker it's excellent.

I also wouldn't consider the Huawei watches to be smart watches, they are fitness/sleep trackers. You can't install 3rd party apps on them, you get what comes out of the box.

TG09

244 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 16

#2678948 23-Mar-2021 08:55

Handle9:

MaxineN:

I have an original Huawei Watch GT Active 46mm. It's a few years old now but I still get around 10 days of battery life with constant heart monitoring, notifications, GPS and even sleep monitoring.

If you can find one on Trademe for under $200 it's an amazing watch and the Huawei Health app is a must.

The magnetic charger is great, charges fast when paired with a 1A 5V charger.

The only downsides is that it requires sign up to use the app and sometimes notifications don't push the latest ones(this might be a bug with Android 11 on my Oneplus 8, I never really had this issue with a Huawei P30 or my S20+). Also the rubber strap probably isn't for everyone but you can use OTHER straps with it as long as you can find something compatible.

But this is my only experience with smart watches.

+1 for the Watch GT family if you want a basic fitness tracker which is fully waterproof, great battery life and looks like a watch.

My wife and I both have them, having come from Garmin Vivoactives. The watch GT is a better device in every respect and can be dressed up and down with different straps.

If you are a hardcore runner or want some more specialist features it might not be the right device but for a general tracker it's excellent.

I also wouldn't consider the Huawei watches to be smart watches, they are fitness/sleep trackers. You can't install 3rd party apps on them, you get what comes out of the box.

The Huawei GT looks good for me, dont really need anything special on it, can not install 3rd party apps on it could be a deal breaker though.

Will look at Garmin in that case, nothing over $400 if i can. Rebel has a sale at the moment by the looks of it.

Wife likes the Garmin lily, so probably will get that for her if she like it.

TG09

244 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 16

#2686992 6-Apr-2021 08:45

Ended up getting myself the GT2, Noel Lemming had a sale on it. It doesn't everything I really need on it.

I like how Spotify and my podcast can be controlled from it, one thing I wanted on a watch.

My wife got a pink gold Samsung watch, overkill for what she needs on it but it was in the discount section and she like it, so all good on that front.

Thanks for all the info peeps