Fitness bands vs smart watches: Which is the right fit for you - Times of India (2024)

A fitness tracker is a band with sensors that relay data to your smartphone, while a smartwatch has a

screen

that is essentially an extension of your smartphone, a wrist-bound device that allows you to check texts, emails and even social media.
Over the last few years, however, the two devices have converged. Fitness trackers became more complicated, adopting screens and even the ability to show smartphone notifications, while smartwatches really leaned into the fitness side of things.

Today, the old models of fitness trackers, like Jawbone and Pebble are almost obsolete. On the other hand, the most popular device for fitness tracking today, the Apple Watch is actually a smartwatch.
But, there are a number of reasons for you to differentiate between basic fitness bands (also known as activity bands) like the

Xiaomi Mi Smart

Band 6 available at Rs 3,499 or the Fitbit Charge 4 available at Rs 9,955 instead of a smartwatch like Apple Watch which will cost you Rs 52,900 or a Fossil Gen 6 Smartwatch for Rs 23,995

Smartwatches have more features
The main difference between a fitness tracker and a smartwatch is the list of features and smart abilities.
A smartwatch generally has all of the same fitness tracking abilities as a fitness tracker like heart rate sensors and built-in GPS for more accurate health tracking, along with coaching and specific workout tracking, which only the most advanced fitness trackers have.

Smartwatches have more advanced smart features, like music control and built-in Bluetooth (to connect to wireless headphones), built-in mics for calls and voice assistants, and NFC for on-the-go payments.

They also come in cellular models, which allows them to operate fully independently from a smartphone. Again, some of the more advanced fitness trackers can have some of these smart features and capabilities, but generally, most fitness trackers are way less versatile.
One major difference between smartwatches and fitness bands is in terms of connectivity. While both offer Bluetooth as well as Wi-Fi as the connectivity options, smartwatches also come with cellular connectivity.
Some smartwatches can be connected to the network either by a physical SIM or an e-SIM. What that means is that users can leave their smartphones at home and still receive calls, notifications, messages and also stream music via supported streaming apps right on their watch.
Smartwatches are not always better
Fitness trackers are definitely smaller than smartwatches and that is arguably the biggest appeal for them.
The one feature that most fitness trackers have is battery life. Because smartwatches have large bright displays and are way more demanding in terms of power, they generally have worse battery life.

A lot of people don’t like wearing watches because they’re big and bulky, but they still want something to track their steps and tell them how many calories they burned — that’s exactly what a fitness tracker is good at. They don’t have large displays and are relatively lightweight, meaning they’re also more comfortable wearing while you sleep.
Fitness trackers are usually cheaper
The cost of smartwatches can go up depending on its size, the materials it's made of, if it’s a cellular model and what fitness-focused features you want it to have.
FItness trackers under Rs 5,000
GOQii Vital 3.0: Rs 1,999
It comes with a body temperature tracker, 3 months personal coaching and 7 days battery life.
Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6:Rs 2,974
This fitness band comes with a 1.56" AMOLED Screen and SpO2 Tracking. It has got 30 sports mode and claims to have two week battery life.
Fastrack reflex 3.0: Rs 2,245
It comes with a full touch colour display and 20 unique bandfaces. It has got 10+ sports mode and claims to have a battery life upto 10 days.
OPPO Smart Band: Rs 2,799
It has a 1.1" AMOLED Display and an extra sport strap. It claims to support up to 12 days of use and supports both Android and iOS.
Realme Smart Fitness Band: Rs 1,499
It comes with an OLED display and is compatible with Android and iOS phones.
Smartwatches under Rs 5,000
Gionee STYLFIT GSW7 Smartwatch: Rs 1,799
It has a 3.3 cm (1.3”) full touch square screen and remote camera.
Maxima Max Pro Smartwatch:Rs 2,999
It comes with 1.4" TFT IPS screen and runs on Realtek RTL8762CK chipset. It supports 10+ sport modes and has upto 15 days of battery life.
Zebronics ZEB-FIT7220CH Smart Fitness Watch: Rs 3,499
It comes with a built-in Speaker & Mic and 1.75” square display. It has a metal body and 7 day data storage.
boAt Xtend Smartwatch: Rs 3,499
It has a 1.69” HD Display with built-in Alexa. It has 14

sports modes

and 5 ATM dust, splash and sweat resistance.
Amazfit Bip U Pro Smartwatch: Rs 4,999
It also comes with built-in Alexa and GPS. It has a 1.43” HD display, 60+ Sports Modes and 9-Day battery life.
Noise ColorFit Ultra Smartwatch: Rs 4,999
It has a 1.75" HD TruView Display and 60 Sports Modes.
Fitness trackers above Rs 5,000
Wyze Band Activity Tracker: Rs 5,497
It has built in Alexa and comes with a fully customizable 0.95” AMOLED display. Its battery lasts 10-14 days with normal use.
MorePro ECG PPG Fitness Tracker: Rs 7,854
It comes with a 1.14-inch IPS color screen and can run upto 5 days when fully charged.
Fitbit Charge 4 Fitness and Activity Tracker: Rs 9,999
It has built-in GPS and connects to your phone via bluetooth
Garmin vivosmart 4: Rs 12,150
It is made of rubber and some of its features are only supported on Android devices. It can run for 7 days without charge.
Smart Watches above Rs 5,000
Realme Smart Watch S Pro: Rs 9,803
This smartwatch comes with a 1.39 inch AMOLED touchscreen and it can control your music and can click pictures on-the-go when connected to your phone.
HONOR Magic Watch 2: Rs 11,999
It claims to have 14 days battery life and an AMOLED touchscreen. It packs 100

Workout Modes

and has 4GB built-in memory for music playback.
Fitbit FB507BKBK Versa 2: Rs 13,999
It comes with built-in Alexa and you can store 300+ songs in this device. It claims to have a 5+ day battery life.
OnePlus Watch: Rs 14,999
It has a 46mm dial and 110+ work modes. With 4GB memory you can store upto 500 songs and is compatible with One Plus earbuds and One Plus TV.
Galaxy Watch4: Rs 34,999
It is only compatible with Android smartphones and it runs on Wear OS Powered by Samsung.