Technology

I only use devices supported by gadgetbridge. This way I can track me without giving all the data to somebody else. Currently I use a Mi Band 7, but I'm thinking about getting a device with onboeard GPS.

Apple Watch.

I had a couple of Garmins before and the difference is night and day. The Apple Watch isn't perfect, but it's clear that a lot of thought went into it.

The Garmins on the other hand, were lowest of low effort.

They blatantly didn't talk to even a single cyclists while building their cycling app.

Cyclists use average speed, not pace. Even the junkiest $3 cycle computer from Ali Baba gets this right, but not Garmin. They just copy-pasted the running screen.

Garmin ftw

I'm currently using a Mi Band 6 (with a nylon strap that's real comfy), but I wish the Pebble still existed. The e-paper display, the nice UI and tactile buttons, with good battery life and the ability to make apps was great.

Once my Mi Band breaks, I'm torn between Garmin (since they check almost all of the Pebble boxes, even if I don't do fitness and they're more fitness oriented) and a Galaxy Watch with the rotating bezel, since that was really cool to play with, plus the Android integration might be nicer.

Where's the "none of the above" choice? Aside from keeping the time, all I want from a smartwatch is the ability to see its screen both in the dark and under direct sunlight, a week-long battery life, 5ATM water resistance rating, receiving notifications from my phone (with the ability to dismiss them), ability to have customizable watch faces, and finally the ability to accept standard size watch bands. The last watch I've owned that could do almost all of that (aside from standard bands or ) was Pebble Steel. I still miss it to this day.

Everything else was an overpriced disappointment. I don't need it to monitor my heart rate, or my blood oxygen level, or my blood alcohol level. I don't want it to prod me or give me pep talks, or make phone calls, or play music, since my phone can do all of that better.

I still love my Pebble smartwatches, and of them I prefer the Pebble Time Steel. It still lasts like at least a week on a single charge.

TL;DR The author determined the most accurate are the Garmin Epix Pro and the Fitbit Inspire 3

I have a PineTime which I think is pretty good for what it is. In fact, I am very happy with it and recommend wholeheartedly the device.

Still, my favourite is even more basic. I have a standalone pedometer. This one, which has a website tha belies the product's quality. I find it very accurate. It does some basic calorie calculations for you, and distance. And the battery lasts...ages.

Still use my Pebble 2 SE and my Pebble Time. Still bummed they never came out with the Time 2.

My preferred one is Withings one's. They're hybrid watches which means they largely have a regular watch face with a little screen and a heart rate sensor/gyroscope. Best of both worlds in my opinion.

a Mi Band storing everything offline with Gadgetbridge, because I don't need Xiaomi to know how many steps I've made and what's my heartbeat at a given moment.

For me it's the Apple Watch because I can write apps for it

I have a Garmin Vivosmart 4; does all the things I need it to do, and isn't big or distracting. All I wanted was a step tracker and the ability to set multiple alarms.

Garmin Forerunner 55.
It's the most basic one in the running series, but it works well enough for what I need it to do.
It's the first real "closed ecosystem" device I own, as usually I go the open source route for everything, but Garmin has a good track record and the device has helped me train for a half marathon really well. I put a "casio"-style watch face on it, and I enjoy it a lot.

Apple Watch. But I recognize there are better options now, just not for iPhone.

Galaxy Watch 4. I don't like Samsung but I wanted WearOS 3 so yeah...

Been wearing a pinetime pretty much constantly since the start of the year, it only tracks walking though afaik but luckily that's my main source of exercise (and way of getting around the city)!

My previous one was a Withings Steel HR, Fantastic smart watch, did the basics but it's main draw for me was it's analog watch face. Approx 1 month battery life. The smart stuff was shown in a small screen behind it. Ultimately I stopped using it due to age, always losing Bluetooth connection so notifications were unreliable.

My current watch is an Amazfit GTR Mini, Fully touchscreen, Again does basics and few more extras. Battery life is about 10-14days. Nothing to complain about so far.

I like the garmin venu 2 that I bought used, it's been very reliable. I pretty much forget about it since it just works with minimal fuss. Battery lasts 2 weeks too which is nice.

I remember researching fitbit and it just seemed like more hassle, and some features were locked behind subscriptions and stuff like that.

I have Withings Scanwatch Horizon. I love the look and the battery life. I average 22 days between recharging. Steps are reasonably accurate, it measures a bit on the low side but this means I do another few hundred steps occasionally to meet my goal. The app is pretty good. I use it to track walks and gym sessions mainly.

I just have some cheap fitbit. I just care about the sleep metrics and battery life.

For something with fitness tracking, I've been using the Garmin Forerunner series for years. Recently though, I've been using the Pine64 PineTime as my main smartwatch. It doesn't have much for fitness tracking, but if you're looking for a basic smartwatch it's pretty nice!

I went from using a garmin fenix to an oldschool mechanical watch and my stress levels have gone down like you wouldn't believe. The only thing I miss is garmin pay.

I used the Mi band 1S for several years, on the opposite wrist from a mechanical watch. That was a good solution.