Which fitness tracking watch?

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Just that really.
I have an iPhone (if that is significant)

I’m looking for a watch that accurately counts steps, blood pressure and heart rhythm tracking. These are a must at a minimum.
There seem to be so many different ones on the market all at different price points.
I need something accurate, otherwise - what’s the point ?

I wouldn’t want to spend more than £100-£150, but will consider more expensive ones if a mumsnetter feels it’s worth the extra £££
Any suggestions?
Thank you ! ⌚️

I don't think any of them accurately count steps. Steps are always 5-15% too high ime.

Blood pressure is unusual, you can narrow down a lot by looking for that first. And the BP won't be super accurate. Heart rhythm also rules out the lower price ones.

Do you mean heart rate? Heart rate: all the decent price ones (Fitbit, Garmin, etc) use optical sensors which work well for me, but others say are useless. I dunno if skin colour or not being fat or some other factor helps me.

You don't care about GPS, active minutes, auto-detecting activity type or receiving texts on it?

Sorry yes I mean heart rate. I don’t care about text alerts. I’m not sure what the active minutes snd the other auto activity you mention?

thanks for the advice. I will use bp as a starting point when searching .

When I go for a run, my Fitbit automatically figures out I'm running. Ditto walking. It usually figures out cycling, too. A lot of trackers you can have a menu of other choices for activity, which you can time precisely.

Active minutes is what the chief medical officers want you to achieve, 150 minutes/week. Just means you're heart rate is up a little or a lot.

Yes I would like active minutes tracking, now I know what this is . Thanks

Stretch your budget if you can to £200 and get yourself an Apple Watch SE - does everything you need and more

Avoid Fitbit, it looks like the company is going down the pan. Plus after the last update loads of customers found their watch battery drained and couldn't be charged. Ive had fitbits for years and previously customer service was great but things aren t looking good at the minute.

I'm in the market for a new watch because of the Fitbit battery problem, I've been looking at Garmin as a possible replacement

Any watch allegedly reading BP is going to be inaccurate. Too many factors involved.

100% Fitbit.

It's cheaper and it's more accurate in my steps and detects when I am moving/not moving etc.

I also owned an apple watch which is expensive but I find more work.

I run and swear by my Garmin. It’s way way better than the Apple Watches. Different league.

I admit I went all out and spent more than I care to admit on my Garmin. However it was still cheaper than the Apple Watch with similar features.

If you plan to do any running the Garmin watches with the features you want is what I would pick hands down.

I'm having a problem with my Fitbit - the battery won't charge.
Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone @Singleandproud.
Looks like I too will have to buy a new fitness tracking watch.

You can also use a band (eg whoop) or a ring (eg oura or circular). I don’t have them but DH and DS do and really like them.

I really like my Apple Watch for all its functions, with the iPhone. It’s really handy plus also it is keeping me on track. I don’t take the calorie part to heart too much 😂
depends what you need it for. If you like having a mini phone on your wrist too then Apple but if you are very serious then maybe a more dedicated fitness item. What I like about Apple is probably the same as many other watches. It tells me when to stand up, it knows what exercise I am doing (although I usually set it to the specific exercise before hand). I can reply to messages, change music, count steps. It does everything I need personally. I like it for the activity rings and prompts but it’s also integrated well into my work life too as it’s so handy

Never heard of these will check these out, thank you

@Menora yes I need something to remind me to move. My lack of movement has led to alot of weight gain and general feeling of crappiness . It’s because my life / job has changed and so im hoping the watch will help in making me more mindful of it.

I got a Fitbit Versa 4 for Christmas & it's been pretty good. Measures heart rate, steps, floors, active minutes etc. sends me a reminder 10 mins before the hour to move more.

All these watches offer similar I think so probably good to try to whittle down what you really want from it. A Fitbit will tell you to move as well

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I've had 4 or 5 fitbits, and recently got a fb versa 4 after my versa 2 broke.

I hate it. Pp is right that they're going down the pan. My heart rate is all over the place doing the same exercise I've always done. Jumps from 90 to 120 to 80 to 145 and back again. The versa 2 would take a minute or two to get up to 145 and stay between there and 155 for the duration.

I "burn" far fewer calories with the V4. In all honesty this might be a more accurate calculation, but for me seeing my work pay off in calorie burn actually motivated me to exercise more (I never eat exercise calories back). So psychologically its better for my health and motivation if it looks like I'm burning more! Now I just think what's the point

I wasn't impressed with the Fitbit I had for Christmas and went back to my Apple Watch.

I remember Fitbit being better, all the challenges are gone and the app seems dated compared to the Apple one. Mine kept logging me out as well and wouldn't sync properly, the battery life wasn't as good as they advertise either.

I've got a Garmin forerunner 35 that does all you want except blood pressure. Had it 5 years and it's a bit bashed but still working. I find it under counts steps if anything so if I've done 10000 on it I've probably done more. The only downside I've found is it wasn't very accurate counting steps when I was pushing a pram.

I have a Charge 6 for everyday which I am quite happy with and it works fine (for the moment).

For running I have a Garmin 245 but they are quite old now.

Fitbit are no longer going to be supported in the country I live, so I assume this will be the case everywhere eventually. I would not even consider buying one.

Garmin is very popular here, as is Suunto.

But tbh both my DC have a watch the same brand as their phones. One has an Apple and one has a Xiaomi. Both work really well for what they need.
The Apple was bought Preloved from the iStore, it was bought on a strict budget and it's been great.

@isthismylifenow that’s a good idea - I might buy a preloved to see how I get on.

it seems as if it’s a toss up between garmin and Apple

I looked a the oura and whoop but they’re not for me

I have a garmin Venu 2s and I love it. I have a smaller wrist and most fitness watch screens are too big on it.

The battery is also fantastic, lasts about 5 days and has a quick charge thing where you can charge it for a few mins and it’ll last the rest of the day.