As subject line – missusalz would like some fitbitty type thing for her Christmas, but of course it’s a minefield as to what is actually good or fitting…
So, what I do know is that she wants something with a heart rate monitor and that can pair (or integrate or whatever the correct word is) with her Macintosh telephone but she doesn’t want to have to answer calls on it. She doesn’t want anything the size of a dinner plate, either, as all watches seem to be these days.
I’m sure there’s the perfect thing out there, but it’s a subject I know nothing about so a little knowledge would be a massive help!

An Apple watch would be the obvious answer as she has an iPhone but they have shit battery life. I have used several Fitbit watches (paired with iPhones) over the years and currently have the Versa 2. I have always been very happy with them.

Mrs DB has a Garmin Vivomove – it doesn’t look like a fitness watch if that’s not her thing. Bought a refurbed one on Amazon which was just like new – only it came in a plain box. She gave up on Fitbits after 3 which seem to give up the ghost after a year or so.

Been through something similar with Mrs Sandwicheater.

Didn’t want all singing and dancing message/email etc on the watch.

Needed to me small & keep her motivated/track steps/heartrate.

Garmin Vivosmart 4 ticked all the boxes.

She seems very pleased with it.

The Garmin Vivo or Venu ranges is where I would be looking.
The Vivosmart 4 is more of a fitness band than a watch, it works well and I like it as it doesn’t look too silly when I wear a proper watch on the other wrist. Under £100 as well.
Is she wants more of a watch, the sky is the limit. Almost all have wrist based HR and steps, it depends what else she wants or likes the look off. Venu Sq or VivoActive 4s maybe?

Will check out the Garmin Vivo stuff, thanks! Was looking at the Polar Unite as it looked like it had the right sort of functionality – and yeah, didn’t look like a big boiled sweet – but real-world reviews seemed to suggest it was quite temperamental.

If she has an iPhone then you really should look at an Apple watch. They just work. Never any issue with pairing, good range of finctionality, you don’t have to use all of it, nice interface and well designed, Basically, a typical Apple product. The Apple health stuff is slick and an Apple watch integrates with it perfectly every time.

An Apple watch would be the obvious answer as she has an iPhone but they have shit battery life.

Not sure what you expectation is of good. I charge mine every other night. If I use it heavily for mapping nd tracking etc then it will still easily last a day. Not sure why you need anything to last longer than 24hrs.

I use a Polar Vantage, lasts over a week between charges and talks to the iPhone reliably. The sleep stats and recovery stuff is excellent; find that very interesting. Would buy another if it broke etc.

Not sure why you need anything to last longer than 24hrs.

Because it’s inconvenient, that’s all. Personally I wouldn’t have one simply because of it.

Agree as an iPhone user then an Apple Watch (the SE is actually very good value) is worth a look. I find it to be just the right mix of smart watch and fitness watch in one.

Mrs D isn’t so demanding of the smart side of things and loves her Garmin but I’d miss the hands-free capability etc

I use Garmin stuff as it all talks to each other and the same app on the phone and then Strava. The Edge for cycling, Forerunner for running, VivoSmart for “life”. If she has any other devises that’s a consideration.

Apple watch is great for many, but I sold mine as I think the individual devises do what I want better, and I look like a fool with an Apple Watch on one wrist and a mechanical watch on the other. Does depend on her usage, and indeed how much you want to spend.

Because it’s inconvenient, that’s all. Personally I wouldn’t have one simply because of it.

i was concerned about the battery life of the AW when switching from a garmin. I shouldnt have been, i’ve had it 18 months and i’ve once run it completely flat. it charges from completely flat in about 45 mins, i can do it in the car on the way to work.

but then I’m not a rufty-tufty adventurer who runs ultras etc. if I was i’d have a fenix bigger than my hand.

The answer is probably Garmin. I have a Vivoactive 4 and think it’s ace.

Unfortunately the answer for your wife will be Apple Watch. It was for mine and she loves it although the battery is truly terrible. We thought it was faulty until we read the reviews.

Agree about the Macintosh watch not even being in contention. I like Macintosh computers. Their fashion accessories I do not. Something that does sleep tracking needing charged every 24 hours is pish, frankly.

Probably should have mentioned that her mum has just been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat so she’s worried about that – if any of these things can detect that then it’s a massive plus.

I just read this about the Amazon Halo:

Amazon’s fitness band–there’s no display, it’s just a fitness tracking band packed full of sensors and microphones–tracks the usual: steps, heart rate, sleep, calories, and more. The Halo’s microphones listen to you and use machine learning to measure the tone, energy, and positivity of your voice to ” help strengthen communication.” And that’s not even the creepiest part! Amazon also asks you to take pictures of yourself in your underwear so it can measure and track your body fat. Yeah, no thanks. Giving Amazon a picture of yourself in your underwear sounds like a truly terrible idea, even if they claim it will automatically be deleted from the cloud after it is processed. It’s nice they put a little note on the product page talking about how seriously they take your privacy. With everything this device collects, we sure hope that’s true. This fitness tracker also requires a $4 a month subscription to access all features.

Source

Not for me but I guess our children will have to live with this sharing technology.

Probably should have mentioned that her mum has just been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat so she’s worried about that – if any of these things can detect that then it’s a massive plus.

The latest iWatch can do a proper ECG. A guy at work who’d had a heart attack did the ECG each time his heart started skipping beats and could email the trace direct to his Cardiologist from the watch. Have to say, that is pretty cool.