Walking, running, and riding a bike are all wonderful ways to keep healthy. Unfortunately, we often struggle to hold our smartphones and other personal belongings while exercising. Thankfully, smartphone armbands are a great way to carry your phone, keys, and other small accessories while on the move. If you exercise at night, some armbands can even help you stay safe.
Whether you’re looking for a simple solution or something designed to hold a smorgasbord of items, we’ve rounded up a host of great running armbands that are sure to fit your style, budget, and, most importantly, your stuff. After all, a fanny pack just isn’t an option.
If you have a large phone, such as a Galaxy Note or an iPhone 7 Plus, then Yomole’s armband is a pretty simple solution. It’s made from neoprene and a breathable mesh that provides extra comfort. It has a soft, adjustable, elastic Velcro strap, so you can fit it perfectly to your arm. The great thing about this band is that the clear screen protector means you don’t have to handle your phone with dirty or sweaty hands. You can answer calls and use the interface without problems. Inside you’ll find a separate compartment to store other things like charging cables, keys, and other small personal items. The port at the bottom enables you to use your headphones while the phone is inside the pouch. This running armband comes in blue, gray, pink, and green.
A smartphone armband just isn’t enough for you? How about an Armbag? If you’re out biking, running, or hiking, and you need more space than a regular running armband gives you, then this is what you’re looking for. It will basically fit any phone from 3.5 inches to 5.8 inches in size. It sports double pockets, so not only can you fit small personal items like keys, cards, and cables in there, but you can also stow small snacks inside. It has an 11-inch belt that can be adjusted to any arm size, and the zippers are made to be silent while you’re running. It is waterproof, sweat-proof, and if you’re running at night, it has built-in warning reflectors, so that you’re visible, even in the dark.
If you’re going for simplicity, then Tribe brings you an armband that will fit smaller phones like the iPhone 6S or 7, or any other phone that is smaller than 5.2 inches. This running armband boasts a screen protector for easy access and protection from sweat and dirt. It comes with a money back guarantee, so if you don’t like the armband for any reason, you can return it and get a full refund. It also comes with a reflective strip for low light visibility and a built-in, hidden key holder.
If you own a big phablet, this is the smartphone armband for you. It’s a comfortable neoprene armband that has enough space to fit some personal items, alongside bigger smartphones up to 6.3 inches in size. There’s also a handy Velcro loop for headphones. Unlike other, bigger armbands that offer you pouches to carry items, this one has a plastic front that allows you to control your smartphone. The fabric is resistant to sand, water, and sweat.
It may be a little pricey, but this unique armband by Griffin features flashing LEDs for superior visibility, which is ideal if you like biking, jogging, or working out at night. The armband is adjustable to fit arms up to 18 inches in size. This one is for people who use phones that are on the smaller side, so anything smaller than 5.2 inches should be fine. If you’re an iPhone user, it even has a cut-out to allow you access to the fingerprint scanner.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.