Health Review: Fitness Health Trackers, Sports Wristbands & Wearable 2020

7 min readAug 10, 2020

Here are all the worthy of mention 2020 picks & reviews from multiple sources and editors focused on the health tech, sports wearable, and fitness trackers market.

Data and information collected were sorted & compared by price, specs, and features.

The recap — which is best?

According to verified feedback from several tech reviewers, fitness influencers, and sports enthusiasts, here are the top highlights:

1. Most Hype

Fitbit Charge 4

The newest fitness tracker from Fitbit. They say for a fitness wristband, it is as good as it gets and the best all-around.

Pro

Accurately measures steps, heart rate, and sleep
A big community of users
Blood oxygen tracking
Lightweight and comfortable
NFC
GPS built-in

Con

Music controls only work with Spotify
Lack of Color Display

2. Best for Runners

Garmin Forerunner 645

The Forerunner® 645 is a running watch that features advanced running dynamics and the first Garmin wearable with music storage.

Pro

Awesome running metrics
Good song storage capacity (up to 500 songs)
Lightweight and comfortable
NFC
GPS built-in

Con

Not touchscreen
battery dies after 5 hours on GPS + music

3. Most Value for Money

Xiaomi Mi Band 4

For being the most price-competitive fitness trackers in the market, it sure has an impressively long battery life as well as its reasonable fitness features.

Pro

Low price point
(mostly) accurate fitness, health, and sleep tracking
GPS
20-day battery life

Con

Mi Fit app is ok, won’t be everyone’s first fitness app choice
Heart rate sensor struggles with high-intensity workouts

4. Best for Sports and Workouts

Vivosport

Garmin Vivosport is a slim fitness tracker with built-in GPS.

It may be one of the oldest trackers here (product release 2017), however, it is still considered one of the best fitness trackers due to its durable, reliable, and accurate information like elevation information, running dynamics, cycling dynamics, and heart rate.

Pro

Great automated activity-tracking options
Slim design
Includes fitness monitoring tools such as VO2 max and fitness age estimates
GPS
Plenty of smart features and customization options
Color display

Con

The strap can’t be replaced. (Some people claim the band ripped after three months of use)

5. Best Mix of Health Fitness Capability and Everyday Wear

Garmin Vivomove HR

The Vivomove HR is a stylish hybrid smartwatch that has full fitness features including stress, heart rate, step count, and sleep tracking. It makes a great choice for everyday watch wearers who also wants the fitness experience.

Pro

Basic and clean design — Good daily wear option
Ambient Light Sensor
Wellness monitoring tools, such as all-day stress tracking and a relaxation timer, help you manage stress.
Plenty of smart features and customization options

Con

No NFC
No GPS

6. Best for Sleep

Fitbit Inspire HR

The Fitbit Inspire HR provides you with all the basic fitness features you need in a sleek form factor. It is super comfortable to wear in bed which will track your sleep automatically.

Sleep stages and score with Fitbit Inspire HR

Pro

combine heart-based activity tracking, workout detection, and powerful sleep monitoring
Good balance of design and comfort (weighs just 20 grams)
provides a breakdown of sleep into light, deep, and REM, plus the time you spent awake (only available with Fitbit Inspire HR)
personalized guided breathing sessions based on your heart rate (only available with Fitbit Inspire HR)

Con

No spO2 (like the Fitbit Charge 4)
good for heart rate insights and sleep tracking, but not hardcore workouts

The Oura ring

The Oura ring is a smart ring that provides accurate sleep and tracks your activity by measuring the physiological signals of your body.

Pro

Great design and comfy
Wellbeing focused (Heart rate variability, sleep score, stages, and more)
while it cannot monitor symptoms of COVID-19 specifically, it could provide clues that someone is ill, such as a raised temperature, etc (it has 2 NTC body temperature sensors)

Con

No auto fitness tracking

7. Best of almost everything — hence the hefty price

Garmin Fenix 6S Pro

The Fenix 6S Pro is the best outdoor sports and all-around hybrid smartwatch available today. It pushes the performance to a whole new level, offering runners and athletes extreme details on their training as well as many smart features like Garmin’s impressive satellite navigation systems and other tons of different sport modes.

Pro

Solar-powered (with the Pro Solar Edition)
Premium materials
Tested to U.S. military standards for thermal, shock, and water resistance
24/7 Respiration rate
Advanced sleep monitoring (sleep score & insights)
Pulse 0X Blood Oxygen Saturation
NFC and many available smart features
Many available outdoor recreation profiles

Con

expensive
not touchscreen

8. Simple tracker with notable app

Samsung Galaxy Fit

The Samsung Galaxy Fit is a great option for those looking for a simple, accurate fitness tracker.

Pro

0.95-inch AMOLED touchscreen display
Tracks steps/automatic sleep monitoring
Accelerometer-based workout tracking
Good app (Samsung Health) — interesting elements loaded with many health features

Con

No GPS
Price is more expensive than Xiaomi Mi Band 4 which has similar performance

9. Tracker with UV Sensor

Huawei Honor Band 3

Pro

it has an embedded UV sensor, which measures the radiation levels around you and recommends you a suitable sunscreen to use
GPS
good accuracy

Con

No female health tracking
app experience not so great

Other Products Worth Mentioning

For those that prefer something else than wristbands or smartwatches.

Polar OH1

The Polar OH1 optical heart rate sensor tracks heart rate from the arm rather than a chest strap. It is a very small optical armband that makes it comfortable to wear, easiest to use, and comes with a good app experience.

Pro

Convenient comfortable factor
Lightweight
Good connectivity, NFC-A tag (compatible with gym equipment like treadmill, GPS watches bike computers, etc.
Good workout app (Polar beat) more than 100 types of exercises, including running, biking, kite surfing (didn’t know what that is before this research), and judo, etc.

Con

Measures heart rate — that’s about it

Scosche Rhythm24

The Scosche Rhythm24 heart monitor armband has advanced optical sensors that will give you a precise BPM reading.

Pro

Valencell optical HR sensor (patented)
Waterproof (up to 10ft)
NFC-A tag which means it’s compatible with gym equipment like treadmill, GPS watches bike computers, etc.
Good accurate performance

Con