When do you choose a sports watch, activity tracker, or smartwatch?
Compare a sports watch, activity tracker, smartwatch, and hybrid watch
| Sports watch | Activity tracker or 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? | Somewhat suitable | Very suitable | Suitable | Very suitable |
| Want to accurately track workouts? | Very suitable | Suitable | Somewhat suitable | Unsuitable |
| Want to read messages and answer calls? | Somewhat suitable | Unsuitable | 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 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 watch, choose a watch that works well with your phone.
Track sports performance: sports watch
If you mainly want to use the watch to track your sports performance, you're looking for a sports watch. A sports watch gives you insight into the progress of your workouts. The sports profiles are characteristic. You can analyze your speed, distance, heart rate, and 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.
Track daily activities: activity tracker
If you want to know how healthy you are and whether you're moving enough, we recommend an activity tracker or health watch. These track your steps, distance, calories, and sleep 24/7. Have you been sitting still for too long? You'll receive a notification to move. You can set goals and check your progress on your tracker. Activity trackers are rectangular and slim. 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 and the option to 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 app? Choose a smartwatch. If you want to track your daily activities, go for an activity tracker or health watch. If you work out fanatically and want to track your workouts, we recommend a sports watch. Hybrid watches are a good choice of you want to track your daily activities, but still want to traditional look of a watch.
