Guide to finding the best smartwatch for you: Fitbit or Garmin?
Smartwatches are all the craze right now, however, deciding on the best smartwatch for you and your fitness journey isn’t always straightforward.
Thankfully, the Intersport Elverys team is here to help you choose the right smartwatch for your needs from our range of leading brands, such as Fitbit and Garmin.
We’ll try and answer all the initial questions you may have before you take the plunge and purchase a smartwatch, such as…
- What is the best smartwatch for your sport?
- what is the best smartwatch for lifestyle?
- what is the best smartwatch for battery life?
- what is the best smartwatch for your budget?
There are so many choices to pick from, so before you do, read on to find out some of the most important aspects you should consider before taking the plunge.
What do you want from your smartwatch?
While Fitbit and Garmin smartwatches are quite similar, there are some significant differences between the two.
So, what are they, you might be wondering:
- if you’re a dedicated sports person or athlete and want a smartwatch that will give you large amounts of accurate data during your running, swimming or cycling workouts, then a Garmin smartwatch may be best for you.
- However, if you’re a casual sportsperson, or someone with little interest in sport but is eager to try and live a better lifestyle with the help of technology to track your steps, heart rate or sleep, then a Fitbit might be the best smartwatch for you.
- If you’re a woman looking to buy a smartwatch, our blog on finding the best smartwatch for women might be of interest
What is the best smartwatch for your sport?
As mentioned above, if you’re an athlete and you’re buying a smartwatch, it is important to factor in what data you want access to.
Because Fitbit and Garmin smartwatches can track a lot of data, which varies across their devices and ranges, delving into exactly what you want might save you a headache down the line. Our guide to finding the best smartwatch for running might help you save time too.
Here’s the deal:
Fitbit made their name with fitness tracking and it underpins all their devices, meaning every model will track your steps, monitor your heart rate 24/7, monitor your sleep and give you inactivity alerts throughout the day. Their sleep feature insights are excellent, too.
Garmin, of course, offers similar features, but when it comes to sports and sport tracking, they come into their own.
They primarily cover…
- Running
- Cycling
- Swimming
That means Garmin’s are also water resistant in the pool and the sea, while more niche sports like skiing, climbing and hiking are also offered on the more premium models.
External heart rate monitor connectivity and a Body Battery monitor can come in handy for the right athlete too.
So do your research, because the last thing you want to do is go open-sea swimming with a smartwatch that is not swim resistant!
At Intersport Elverys, we’re committed to helping your fitness journey, whatever the sport. So consider reading our ultimate beginners guide to running if this year is when you intend on starting.
Which is the best smartwatch for battery life?
Imagine you’re out for a run, moving well and have your 5k or 10k PB in your sight, but then your battery runs out! Or, you’re a person who likes to track their steps, sleep or heart rate religiously, and right when you go to check your metrics, find your smartwatch battery died because you forgot to plug it in the night before.
These are just some of the reasons why researching what smartwatch has the best battery life to suit your needs is crucial before making a purchase.
Want to know the best part?
Garmin pride themselves on producing fitness trackers and smartwatches that deliver battery life that last up to a week, sometimes greater. Fitbit is not far behind and is closing the gap all the time.
But don’t forget, using power-hungry applications can drain the battery life of most smartwatches, and the more active you are, the faster it will drain.
So too do the ‘always on’ modes on your smartwatch display.
Fitbit and Garmin are constantly working to improve battery life and have developed some interesting power-saving modes and fast-charging features on their product ranges to help alleviate any concerns you may have.
Find the best smartwatch for your lifestyle
If you’ve read this far and are starting to think that a smartwatch might not be for you because you’re not a sportsperson or athlete, then fear not, we’ve got you covered.
That’s because Fitbit and Garmin watches extend way beyond usage in the gym or during exercise and can actually be really helpful in day-to-day activities.
The release of the Fitbit Versa and Sense allows its users to access cool features like:
- push notifications
- make payments
- a wide variety of apps, watch faces and music players
- compatible to other external music devices, such as Spotify
There are also some cool features available that might answer the question as to what is the best smartwatch for women, such as stress monitoring, guided breathing exercises and female health tracking, which allows the user to log periods, track their cycle and gauge ovulation.
For any females out there interested in purchasing a Fitbit or Garmin and taking a step into your fitness journey, our guide to finding the best leggings might provide you with further help.
What style smartwatch do you want?
If you’re thinking of investing in a smartwatch but already own a nice shiny wristwatch that you’re hesitant to depart ways with, then you should consider a band-style smartwatch.
Fear not:
Both Fitbit and Garmin offer trendy band-style fitness trackers such as the Inspire or the Vivofit.
These two smart watches are simple and elegant and will tick all the boxes for someone looking for simplicity, practicality and the best budget smartwatch. While they’re also available in a choice of colours, so they won’t cramp the style of your precious timepiece.
What is the best smartwatch for your budget?
Both Fitbit and Garmin produce smartwatches to suit all budgets.
So, whether you’re looking for the best budget smartwatch or the more premium models, both brands have smartwatches that tick those boxes.
It gets better:
While features and capabilities are obviously limited with the budget options, Fitbit and Garmin still offer very impressive value for money smartwatches.
Both the Fitbit Inspire and the Garmin Vivofit are available for under €100 and provide plenty of bang for your buck.
But if you want to splash out that bit more, the Garmin Venu and the Fitbit Sense, or similar premium models, go for over €300 and beyond. But remember, it’s all down to your needs. Sometimes the best smartwatch for you might not be the more expensive option. Or vice versa; you might need to spend that bit more to find the smartwatch that works for you.
FAQ’s
Are all smartwatches compatible with iPhone’s and Androids?
Most, if not all, Fitbit and Garmin smartwatches will work with both Android and iPhone devices and will offer core features, like being able to view notifications, check the time etc.
However, it is important to ensure that your phone is fully compatible with the smartwatch before you make a purchase, so you can find the best smartwatch for Android or the best smartwatch for iPhone.
Are all Fitbit & Garmin smartwatches water resistant?
Most Fitbit and Garmin watches offer water-resistance, meaning you can wear it in the shower or in the pool and not worry about destroying the electronics.
But not every smartwatch is swim-proof, meaning they aren’t suitable for long distance, open-sea swimming and it is usually recommended to avoid swimming to prevent long-term damage.
Final thoughts
We hope this guide has given you plenty of food-for-thought before you make your smartwatch purchase.
If it has, you can check out our diverse range of wearable technology that will make you stand out from the crowd, like the hugely popular Fitbit Inspire, Fitbit Versa and Fitbit Sense, as well as the Garmin Forerunner, Garmin Vivofit and the Garmin Vivosmart.
Happy training, folks!
