More on fitness trackers

[ProudGrandma]

Who here has a fitness tracker that is NOT a major name brand... like firbit or garmin.... and likes it?  

These are the features I like and I don't know if other brands do these things well or not. 

Step count (of course)

Can read in the sunshine

Not a super big face

Reminder to move...vibrate better than sound

Notifications of text and phone

$150 or less

Heart rate...bonus feature 

Does your tracker do those things??? Thanks!

 

[gardenmom5]

I'm done with fitbit.  (you can barely read it in a dark room.)

 

I ordered a samsung.  I just got it, so we'll see how it does.  (does all of those - still setting up.)  I have a samsung phone.

[ProudGrandma]

6 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

I'm done with fitbit.  (you can barely read it in a dark room.)

 

I ordered a samsung.  I just got it, so we'll see how it does.  (does all of those - still setting up.)  I have a samsung phone.

Which tracker did you get? 

[gardenmom5]

16 minutes ago, kfeusse said:

Which tracker did you get? 

watch3

[TechWife]

My dh uses an Apple Watch. It meets your criteria except that it has a large face.  I have small wrists & I can’t wear Apple for that reason. I stopped using my Fitbit the day Google bought them & don’t have one at all now. 

[Bambam]

I have a Mi Fit Band 4 (2 editions old now). It worked well for a year.  You had to tell it to take your heart rate (hit a button, hold it tightly to your wrist). It was easy to read outside, kept track of steps, not sure if you would consider it a big face or not (roughly 1.75 " by .75"), did give idle alerts (buzz), I think you could set it up for notifications from your phone (I never did because that wasn't a feature I was interested in).  $25 + an additional $13 for different colored bands (not necessary - totally because I like color!) Super bonus - I only had to recharge once a month! I watched my sister recharge her FitBit model (inspire 2maybe?) recharge like every three days (argh!)

It worked well for about a year. Then the idle alerts stopped working. The step counts aren't super accurate anymore (compared to my phone step counter, which I'm going to assume is more accurate). 

But a year for $30? Can't beat that. I had a FitBit before that - lasted about the same amount of time before I gave up the regular charging - and it was a lot more pricey.  I can buy a new one every year for 3 years and still be ahead of my sister's investment for her FitBit (which she already had to have the company send a new one since some little prong broke off and the charger wouldn't stay connected without help - less than one year old). 

So, I just bought a Mi Fit Band 5 - not the current edition, so I got it on eBay brand new for $23. I haven't received it yet, but I'm looking forward to the idle alerts working again and the step counts being accurate. 

 

[Indigo Blue]

I know Apple has a larger face, but you can get the older models now for pretty much the same or less than a Fitbit. Just a thought. 
 

@TechWife, my wrist is extremely thin. I wear my Apple watch on the second to last hole on those standard rubbery bands. I can’t wear the velcro ones because there’s a huge piece of band left over and sticking out and there isn’t a way to tuck it in like with the rubbery ones. 

[TechWife]

7 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

I know Apple has a larger face, but you can get the older models now for pretty much the same or less than a Fitbit. Just a thought. 
 

@TechWife, my wrist is extremely thin. I wear my Apple watch on the second to last hole on those standard rubbery bands. I can’t wear the velcro ones because there’s a huge piece of band left over and sticking out and there isn’t a way to tuck it in like with the rubbery ones. 

Oh, I’m not referring to the band. I mean the actual face of the watch is larger than my wrist - it sticks off my wrist at both the top and the bottom of the face. It’s an “overhang” more or less. There’s never been an Apple Watch small enough for me - and I’m not a a small person, I just have incredibly thin wrists. 

Edited September 29, 2021 by TechWife

[happi duck]

Hope this isn't hijacking...

Do fitness trackers need to match your phone?  Like do Apple watches have to pair with an iphone? Samsung with Samsung etc?

[ProudGrandma]

9 minutes ago, happi duck said:

Hope this isn't hijacking...

Do fitness trackers need to match your phone?  Like do Apple watches have to pair with an iphone? Samsung with Samsung etc?

not to my knowledge....however, not all trackers will work with all phones either.  I do not know anything Apple related.  I am an Android gal. 

[KungFuPanda]

13 hours ago, kfeusse said:

Who here has a fitness tracker that is NOT a major name brand... like firbit or garmin.... and likes it?  

These are the features I like and I don't know if other brands do these things well or not. 

Step count (of course)

Can read in the sunshine

Not a super big face

Reminder to move...vibrate better than sound

Notifications of text and phone

$150 or less

Heart rate...bonus feature 

Does your tracker do those things??? Thanks!

 

 

I have a cheap one from Amazon that I bought at the beginning of June.  It was $20.  I thought "Let's see if I use this thing."

It has

Step count (of course) - Yes

Can read in the sunshine - Not especially

Not a super big face - Yes, the width of the band and 1 5/8 inch long

Reminder to move...vibrate better than sound - Yes, it vibrates

Notifications of text and phone - phone only, but you can hang up from the watch which is handy for telemarketers

$150 or less - Definitely

Heart rate...bonus feature - Yes  

Does your tracker do those things??? Thanks! Not all, but it was $20

It lets you set your daily step goal and gives you a little trophy when you reach it.  It imports the steps to the health app on my phone.  It also lets you set Activity modes so you get step credit for activities that aren't walking.  In dance classes you can be working really hard, but isolating your arms, and not get step credit.  The watch will display three modes.  I chose Walk (sometimes I carry a water bottle in my watch hand), Hike, and Dance.  You can choose from about ten things.  It does sleep tracking.  I charge it once every 3 weeks (maybe).  My only regret is that I chose pink and I can't keep it clean.  Did I mention it was $20?  

Edited September 29, 2021 by KungFuPanda

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, happi duck said:

Hope this isn't hijacking...

Do fitness trackers need to match your phone?  Like do Apple watches have to pair with an iphone? Samsung with Samsung etc?

easy answer - no.  you can even use an apple watch with an android phone.

more complex answer - they can function better if they do.  e.g. Software updates to your phone will automatically be accepted and dealt with by your watch/tracker faster than a 3rd party watch/tracker that will have to play catch-up because they don't know about the upcoming updates to the phone's operating system.

the more simple the tracker - the easier the pairing to phones across manufacturers.

eta: always verify compatibility between a phone's operating system and a tracker.  Even phones from the same manufacturer will have different operating systems and what tracker can be paired with them.

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by gardenmom5