The Microsoft Band 2 is displayed, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015 in New York. The fitness tracker features built-in GPS and a heart-rate monitor and will notify you of new texts or calls. The Band also offers news headlines and a few apps from the likes of Starbucks and Facebook. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) — If you’re looking for a device to track your fitness, alert you to incoming messages and occasionally let you buy stuff with a scan or a tap, there’s no shortage of computerized wristwatches to choose from.
This photo provided by Fitbit, Inc., shows the Fitbit Surge, among the few fitness trackers with built-in GPS and heart-rate monitors. Under normal use, the Surge’s battery life lasts up to a week. (Fitbit via AP)This Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015, photo shows Samsung’s Gear S2 smartwatch during a presentation in New York. Samsung smartwatches have improved tremendously. Instead of swiping through screen after screen, you now rotate the watch’s circular outer ring to select apps or view notifications. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)FILE – In this Sept. 9, 2014 file photo, the new Apple Watch is modeled during a media event in Cupertino, Calif. Although the watch doesn’t have GPS, it learns your walking and running patterns when you have the phone with you, so it’s more accurate than other non-GPS watches when you leave the phone at home. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)The Microsoft Band 2 is displayed, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015 in New York. The fitness tracker features built-in GPS and a heart-rate monitor and will notify you of new texts or calls. The Band also offers news headlines and a few apps from the likes of Starbucks and Facebook. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)This photo provided Asus Computer International by shows the Asus’s ZenWatch. Several companies make smartwatches that run Google’s Android Wear software. The most inexpensive is the Asus’s ZenWatch 2. (Asus Computer International via AP)
Over the past several months, I’ve tested numerous smartwatches for iPhones and Android devices, along with fitness trackers that have some smarts. I’ve even worn six watches at once during three marathons over the past month, courting both ridicule and some lousy times. (I’m blaming the extra weight.)
Smartwatches and fitness trackers are relatively early devices with a lot of growing up still to do. Temper your expectations, and you might be pleasantly surprised. Just don’t go in expecting magic, because that’s a recipe for disappointment.
Your options will vary depending on whether you use an iPhone or Android, as most of these watches require a companion phone for their smarts. There are also big differences between all-in-one smartwatches and simpler gadgets that primarily track fitness.