The technology of today is evolving at breakneck speeds. Just a few decades ago, we were watching spy movies and wishing we had access to the cool gadgets they used. Today we have watches that can take phone calls, read our heart rate, and even remind us to drink water throughout the day.
There are two main types of these watches: fitness trackers and smartwatches. They both have their strong suits and are designed with similar traits but for different purposes. We can clear that up for you.
Comparison
When thinking about buying one of these for yourself or maybe getting a gift for a friend, there are a few things you should keep in mind. One thing to think about is technical knowledge. While you don’t have to be a computer whiz to use either of these, the smartwatches will require some experience with smartphones.
Smartwatches can do a lot more than your average fitness tracker. They can take phone calls, display email, or even show you maps for navigation. Fitness trackers are simpler. If you’re not as tech-savvy, but you still want to track your steps or heart rate for health, then you should go with a fitness tracker.
Smartwatch and fitness tracker similarities
Both kinds of watches have their similarities. Almost all smartwatches and fitness trackers have the basic features. They track your steps and distance traveled throughout the day so that you can gauge your activity level and make adjustments.
Most track heart rate as well to give you a good idea if you are at that perfect level for fat burn or cardio. Lastly, all of them tell you the time and date. It wouldn’t make a very good watch if it didn’t.
Smartwatch and fitness tracker differences
While fitness trackers and smartwatches are a lot alike, there are some major differences between the two. Smartwatches usually look more like a standard watch than fitness trackers. The inside has a lot of technology built-in and is usually behind a glass touch screen watch face. Smartwatches are more sophisticated and require more tech knowledge. They can link to your phone via Bluetooth and display notifications right on your wrist, so you never have to take your phone out of your pocket.
Fitness trackers are more focused on tracking health and wellness. They usually pair to your smartphone or laptop using Bluetooth and track all the health info using an app. This gives you a timeline of information to look back at about your daily activity and your healthy choices like calories and water intake. Seeing all this information allows you to make changes and see trends in your health.
FAQs
What is the difference between Fitbit and smartwatch?
A Fitbit is a brand of fitness tracker. While the high-end models have lots of features, such as showing text messages from your phone and controlling your music, they aren’t as advanced as most smartwatches. Their primary focus is fitness and health, so most of their features are designed around that.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of smartwatches?
Smartwatches have some incredible capabilities. They can track everything that a fitness tracker would, such as heart rate, step count, miles traveled. They also have the ability to display emails and texts, display maps for navigations, and even keep track of your calendar. Higher-end smartwatches have the ability to take calls all themselves without your phone if you get the models that can acquire cell phone service themselves.
The biggest disadvantage is price difference and durability. While they are extremely durable, the glass watch faces on smartwatches can scratch or shatter in rough conditions. Smartwatches are usually more expensive than fitness trackers as well. While you can find budget options, any of the major brand smartwatches are going to average $200 or more if you are looking for a top of the line model.
Are Smartwatches unhealthy?
A lot of people have the same concern for this type of wearable technology that they do for smartphone use. Smartphone use has been rumored to emit low-level radiation that can affect your body after long term exposure. Smart Watches do emit low-level microwaves. There has been scientific research into this, and nothing has been proven so far, but the effect seems to be negligible as long as it’s not near your head.
Conclusion
For first time buyers, the difference between fitness trackers and smartwatches can be confusing since the different models of each do a lot of these same things. Hopefully, we have cleared some of that confusion up and given you the information to make the best choice for you or for the loved one you are gifting it to. Just don’t expect laser cutters and grappling hooks with your wearable tech. Ultimatly though, the choice of which device to use is yours alone.
