Written by Robyn
Edited on
23 October 2024
·
07:34
When do you choose a sports watch, activity tracker, or smartwatch?
Can't decide between a sports watch, activity tracker, smartwatch, or hybrid watch? It can be difficult to tell what the differences between these wearables are. That's because many smartwatches also track your daily activities, and some sports watches communicate with your smartphone. Still, every watch is used for different purposes. In this article, we'll tell you what the products are mostly suitable for.
Compare a sports watch, activity tracker, smartwatch, and hybrid watch
| Sports watch | Health watch | Smartwatch | Hybrid watch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Want to know if you move enough on a day? | Suitable | Very suitable | Suitable | Suitable |
| Want a subtle and comfortable design? | Less suitable | Very suitable | Suitable | Very suitable |
| Want to accurately track workouts? | Very suitable | Suitable | Less suitable | Unsuitable |
| Want to read messages and answer calls? | Somewhat suitable | Somewhat suitable | Very suitable | Somewhat suitable |
| Want to download various apps on your watch? | Somewhat suitable | Somewhat suitable | Very suitable | Unsuitable |
Extension of your smartphone: smartwatch
Do you mainly want to use the watch to receive notifications from your calendar, incoming calls, and messages? And do you want to be able to reply to messages, download apps, and maybe even make calls? You're looking for a smartwatch. A smartwatch is an extension of your smartphone. To use all functions of the your smartwatch, choose a smartwatch that works together with your smartphone.
Track sports performance: sports watch
If you mainly want to use the watch for sports, you're looking for a sports watch. A sports watch gives you insight into your progress of your workouts. You can analyze your speed, distance, heart rate, and traveled route for each sport in clear tables and graphs. Some sports watches can track the maximum oxygen uptake of your blood with a VO2 max reading to determine your fitness. Which sports watch you need depends on the sport you do and how fanatically you do it.
Measure health and movement: health watch
If you want to know how healthy you are and whether you're moving enough during the day, we recommend a health watch. These track your steps, distance, calories, and sleep 24/7. Have you been sitting still for too long? You'll receive a reminder to move. You can set goals and check if you'll reach it on your watch. Health watches are basic smartwatches and sports watches with limited functions, but enough to track your activities and monitor your health.
Analogous and smart: hybrid watch
At first glance, some watches look like they don't have smart functions. We call these hybrid watches. They have a traditional watch face with real hands. You can connect the watch to your smartphone. When you receive a message on your smartphone, you often get notifications with a vibration or a moving hand. The watch also tracks your steps, distance, calories, and sleep. You can't see this data directly on the watch, but on the accompanying app on your smartphone.
Conclusion
There's a suitable smartwatch for everyone. Want to read your messages on your watch, answer calls, and install apps? Choose a smartwatch. If you want to track your daily activities, go for a health watch. If you work out fanatically and want to track your workouts, we recommend a sports watch. Hybrid watches are a good choice if you want to track your daily activities, but still want the traditional look of a watch.
Article by Robyn
Smartwatch Expert.
