There are plenty of choices when it comes to wearable technology. Smartwatches and fitness trackers are currently the most popular wearable technology offered on the market. The difference between smartwatches and fitness trackers really boils down to whether you want a wearable device that’s designed to help you communicate and deliver notifications, or one that keeps track of exercise and health. Here's a break down of the difference between smartwatches and fitness trackers.
Smartwatch Features
A smartwatch puts phone functions on your wrist, making it easier to view and respond to emails, texts, calls, and social media notifications. Therefore, a smartwatch is better for the on-the-go person who doesn't want to constantly look at their phone. Some smartwatches even offer basic activity tracking, while others rely on exercise apps or health tracking for an added cost. They definitely are bulkier and can be a lot more expensive compared to fitness trackers. However, despite some cons, smartwatches have more apps and can do basically everything. Below is a list of additional apps and features:
- Bigger Built
- Shorter Battery Life
- More Expensive
- Camera Remote
- Messaging
- Notifer
- Music Remote
- Sleep Monitor
- Alarms
- Bluetooth
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Call Logs
- Clock
- Dialer
- Find Phone
- Lost Alert
- Phone Book/Contacts
- Voice Assist
- Weather
- Calorie Counter
- Stopwatch
- Distance Tracker
- Heart Rate Monitor
- Pedometer
- Sedentary Reminder
Fitness Tracker Features
Fitness trackers focus on health and activity monitoring, such as how many steps you’ve taken, the distance covered, the calories you’ve burned, and what your heart rate is. Thus a fitness tracker is better for someone who is health-conscious and works out on a regular basis. Fitness trackers encourage you to be healthier and do a little more each day, which is a huge pro. They are also more basic and cheaper compared to smartwatches. Nonetheless, fitness trackers can lack some day-to-day apps. See more features below:
- Slimmer Built
- Longer Battery Life
- Less expensive
- Alarms
- Bluetooth
- Camera Remote
- Clock
- Find Band
- Lost Alert
- Sedentary Reminder
- Calorie Counter
- Distance Tracker
- Heart Rate Monitor
- Pedometer
- Sleep Monitor
- Notifier
- Water Resistant
- Fashionable Interchangeable Bands
Choosing Both
There’s actually an increasing number of fitness trackers that provide more advanced notifications, and smartwatches with built-in activity tracking capabilities. Therefore, you may not even have to choose between the two. You can see above that a lot of the features do overlap. Then what it really comes down to is your own personal style and your budget range.
Share with us your opinions on a smart watch vs fitness tracker and which you prefer by tagging us on Instagram @itouchwearables and Facebook @itouchwearables. Also, be sure to check out our new articles published daily!
-Gina
