2019 Will Be A Great Year For Smartwatches And Fitness Trackers

Not everyone needs a smartwatch or a fitness tracker (both commonly referred to as wearables) on our wrists because not all of us needs to keep track of every step we take.

But if you do and are wondering what is the difference between a smartwatch and a fitness tracker, let me clue you in.

If you need a watch that’s connected to your smartphone on your wrist that not only keeps track of time and date, but also notifies you when you receive emails, texts, calls and social media notifications and then on top of that keeps track of your exercise and health  statistics… that’s a smartwatch with fitness tracking built into it.  And Apple’s Watch leads the pack.

Or do you need a device like a fitness tracker that will give you the time and date and then keep track of your 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 without all the other notification distractions connected to your smartphone?  Then a fitness tracker is the device for you.  However, in 2018 we saw some fitness trackers becoming more like smartwatches by increasing their capabilities by adding apps like GPS and heart monitoring. 

And because of the improvements in capabilities made to fitness tackers  the need for smartwatches is lessening. 

As far as smartwatches with fitness tracking capabilities, Apple’s Watch leads the pack with Google’s Wear OS not far behind, although it may take Wear OS some time to catch up due to the disconnect between hardware and software production being separate rather than integrated with each other as in Apple’s device.  Apple’s device also has a built-in microphone and is all-around a superior product if you want it all.

For Fitness trackers Fitbit Charger 3’s improvements now allows you to receive notifications from your smartphone, but it can also check the weather and make purchases with FitPay.  Fitbit’s Charger 3 may also include third-party apps in 2019. 

And third-party apps are proving to be an important factor in the future developments of both fitness trackers snd smartphone devices.

Here’s Best Reviews line-up for best fitness trackers:  Fitbit Versa, Lintelek, Fitbit Alta, Withthings Go and Garmin.  However, Fitbit Versa and Withthings Go have the large faces while the others have a slim-lined look.

The good news is that both smartwatches and fitness trackers are making such great improvements you will have several options to choose from if you have a serious need to focus on fitness tracking.

So, depending on what your needs are, will be the deciding factor as to which device you end up purchasing. Most serious fitness trackers do not want the incessant distractions of notifications binging constantly on their wrists while they are working out. 

In any case, smartwatches and fitness trackers are on the upswing in technology improvements to provide you the consumer with multiple choices in 2019.