The wearables market offers a plethora of devices from smartwatches and heart rate measuring headphones to sports watches and activity trackers. There is such a breadth of choice, it's difficult to know where to start, let alone make the right decision on the one best for you even after you've read all the fitness tracker reviews you can.
This feature rounds up the best activity trackers available to buy today that we've reviewed here at Pocket-lint. It only includes products we have tried and tested fully and it focuses around the wearables that are always-on and always tracking your activity, rather than those that specialise in specific activities.
For those after a device to count steps and calories, monitor sleep and perhaps even have the added bonus of reading heart rate, you have come to the right place.
Our top recommendation...
Here's the best fitness tracker on the market at the moment balancing ease of use with price and all round features...
1. Fitbit Charge 2
Buy the Fitbit Charge 2 from around £100 at Amazon.co.uk | Buy from around $149 at Amazon.com
The Fitbit Charge 2 replaces the company's Charge HR, taking the best features such as continuous heart rate monitoring, and adding a few more including VO2 Max, Guided Breathing and Connected GPS. It also takes on Fitbit's newer design ethos, found on the Alta and Alta HR, with interchangeable straps, a solid build quality and a larger, informative OLED display.
There are things that could be improved, such as the addition of waterproofing and some data could be more easily accessible, but overall, the Charge 2 is great. If you're looking for a well-designed, accurate fitness tracker with a fantastic app platform, then the Charge 2 fully takes charge.
Read the full review: Fitbit Charge 2 review
Best of the rest...
The Fitbit Charge 2 isn't for everyone though. Luckily, there are plenty of other great fitness trackers to consider that we've reviewed if you want to get up, start moving and stay ahead of the game. Here are a few other fitness trackers that are worth considering:
2. Garmin Vivosmart HR+
Buy the Garmin Vivosmart HR+ from around £130 at Amazon.co.uk | Buy from around $180 at Amazon.com
The Garmin Vivosmart HR+ stuffs a lot of functionality into a device that's only a little larger than some other fitness tracker bands on this list. It isn't as good looking as Fitbit's latest devices, but it's the feature set that appeals, with both heart rate monitoring and GPS on board.
The Garmin Vivosmart HR+ is an ideal device for someone who wants to track daily activity as well as record runs or walks in more detail, but doesn't want to go the whole hog and start wearing a running watch all the time.
Read the full review: Garmin Vivosmart HR+ review
3. Fitbit Alta HR
Buy the Fitbit Alta HR from around £105 at Amazon.co.uk | Buy from around $149 at Amazon.com
The Fitbit Alta HR brings heart-rate tracking to its slim and stylish fitness tracker, the Alta, positioned a little further down this list. The earlier device is fabulous for basic tracking but it misses out on a couple of features, primarily heart rate monitoring.
There is still no waterproofing, GPS or elevation data and the Alta HR isn't as feature rich as the larger Charge 2, but it offers a slim, stylish everyday activity tracker with good heart rate tracking and general day-to-day activity monitoring. Sleep tracking is also great and it comes with the same interchangeable straps as the original Alta so you can switch bands out for a smarter look.
Read the full review: Fitbit Alta HR review
4. Withings Nokia Activité Steel HR
Buy the Withings Nokia Activité for around £108 at Amazon.co.uk | Buy for around $130 at Amazon.com
The Withings Nokia Activité Steel HR is a beautifully designed device that does a great job of delivering style and smarts in a one package. It offers a classic design with premium materials and it's certainly an activity tracker that steps away from the standard glorified rubber band look of many competitors.
Heart-rate tracking is good in the most, as is sleep tracking, while the battery life is excellent. The design it isn't as subtle as the likes of the Fitbit Alta HR, which offers the same features bar the waterproofing and swim tracking, and the Steel HR doesn't do sleep tracking in as much depth as the Alta HR either. That said, if you want heart-rate monitoring with some added analogue appeal, this Withings number is not just a great choice - it's the only choice.
Read the full review: Withings Nokia Activité Steel HR review
5. Fitbit Flex 2
Buy the Fitbit Flex 2 for around £50 at Amazon.co.uk | Buy for around $60 at Amazon.com
The Fitbit Flex 2 is a simple yet effective tracker with a more exciting design than its predecessor, meaning it looks less like a boring rubber band especially when paired with the interchangeable accessories. The far better two-pin clasp ensures a solid, comfortable fit and the addition of basic smartphone notifications and waterproofing is also great.
The Fitbit Flex 2 has a good thing going on: it's simple, stylish and unobtrusive. It won't be for those who want more data such as heart-rate or GPS tracking, but it's a great device for those after basic tracking.
Read the full review: Fitbit Flex 2 review
6. Fitbit Ionic
Buy the Fitbit Ionic for around £290 from Amazon.co.uk | Buy from around $299 at Amazon.com
The Fitbit Ionic not only brings a solid, lightweight design with a beautiful screen, it also adds built-in GPS and dedicated swim functionality that the earlier Blaze, positioned a little further down this list, was lacking. With a new and improved heart-rate monitor, smart notifications, future payment capability and all the features Fitbit users will have come to know and love, the Ionic is Fitbit's strongest smartwatch yet.
It's not cheap though, priced at £299, and there are a few annoyances, such as the lack of advanced smartwatch features. The Ionic successfully bridges the gap between fitness tracker and smartwatch though so if you're looking for a device that fulfils both these categories, this might be the one for you.
Read the full review: Fitbit Ionic review
7. Garmin Vivomove
Buy the Garmin Vivomove for around £91 on Amazon.co.uk
The Garmin Vivomove is a wearable for those who want tech to infiltrate their lives in a less obvious, attention-seeking manner. It's an activity tracker that carries out its job in an understated manner and, most importantly, is a looker. It shows that Garmin devices needn't be hulking lumps around the wrist. It's a wearable that will get you moving without looking like you're making an effort, and offer encouragement on the most basic of fitness goals - increased movement.
Even when compared with other simplistic analogue activity trackers, the Vivomove is in a league of its own when it comes to design. It's a stunning looking piece of kit. If there was a vibration motor for smartphone notifications, a heart rate monitor and a more robust app to back it up, this would be the ultimate offering of its type.
Read the full review: Garmin Vivomove review
8. Samsung Gear Fit 2
Buy the Samsung Gear Fit 2 from around £149 at Amazon.co.uk | Buy from around $118 at Amazon.com
The Samsung Gear Fit 2 features excellent built-in GPS and heart-rate monitoring, along with a beautiful large screen that is not only nice to look at but responsive too.
It has core tracking skills and relayed data but the accompany app isn't as good as the likes of Fitbit so it might not be quite right for the more serious fitness fans, or hardened runner. The battery life is also so-so when exercising. Overall though, it's a fab first wearable.
Read the full review: Samsung Gear Fit 2 review
9. Withings Nokia Activité
Buy the Withings Nokia Activité from around £150 at Amazon.co.uk | Buy from around $225 at Amazon.com
The Withings Activité is Swiss Made and consequently most expensive version of the Activité range, though its price has dropped significantly since it first launched. It features a beautiful design with a fantastic build quality and although it appears to be an average analogue watch on first glance, it tracks your activity, counts your burned calories and monitors your sleep patterns.
There is an 8-month battery life and a decent app that is great when it comes to linking up with other platforms such as MyFitnessPal. The Withings Activité has its flaws like others on this list, the most irritating of which is not counting steps properly if you aren't moving your arm but for those after a stylish activity tracker, this is one of the ones to beat.
Read the full review: Withings Nokia Activité review
10. Fitbit Alta
Buy the Fitbit Alta from around £80 at Amazon.co.uk | Buy for around $129 at Amazon.com
The Fitbit Alta is by far one of the most stylish of the Fitbit bunch, like its more capable brother the Alta HR and especially when paired with the additional straps. It isn't as feature rich as some of its siblings, missing out a few key functions, such as heart rate monitoring, elevation data, GPS and waterproofing but for basic activity tracking, it's a fabulous device.
Accuracy of step tracking is good, smart notifications are useful, the OLED display is lovely and the Fitbit app is one of the best out there. For some the Alta will be a little too basic, but for others, it will be a winner, especially in terms of its looks.
Read the full review: Fitbit Alta review
11. Fitbit Blaze
Buy the Fitbit Blaze from around £140 at Amazon.co.uk | Buy for around $199 at Amazon.com
The Fitbit Blaze brings all the features of the older Fitbit Charge HR, but adds text notifications, music control, a coloured touchscreen and connected GPS, along with a couple of other additions. Don't mistake it for a smartwatch - it isn't - you'll want the Ionic if you want a Fitbit smartwatch. The Blaze is more of a smart fitness watch that adds a couple of smart features, such as the ability to accept or reject incoming calls.
The Blaze's display is beautiful and the Fitbit platform is fantastic, but it's not the tracker for everyone. It has some great features, including the Multi-Sport tracking, automatic activity recognition and the FitStar workouts. The price is much higher than the newer Charge 2 though - and you don't get a whole lot extra functionality for your money.
Read the full review: Fitbit Blaze review
12. Withings Nokia Go
Buy the Withings Nokia Go for around £30 at Amazon.co.uk | Buy from around $47 at Amazon.com
The Withings Go is one of the cheapest activity trackers out there. Its E Ink display couldn't be called pretty but it is functional for showing step progress and, therefore, a good choice. The biggest problem the Go faces is that there isn't a huge price difference between the budget and higher-end of the activity tracking market so an extra £50 could get you a better looking and more capable tracker.
For those who want what's essentially a glorified pedometer with a few extra features, the Go is a great choice. For those after a proper activity tracker, there are better options out there providing you can afford to spend a little extra.
Read the full review: Withings Nokia Go review