Spring is finally here to stay, and many of us are champing at the bit to head outside and shake off the winter frost. Whether you’re doing so for fun or for fitness, a good activity tracker can help you get the most out of your outdoor adventures and workouts, and Amazon has just cut prices on a small handful of the Buy at Amazon .
Smartwatches haven’t quite caught on like smartphones did more than a decade ago – turns out people weren’t sold on the “phone on your wrist” slogans – but fitness watches remain a popular niche for wearable tech. This is largely due to the simpler and more purpose-focused design of an activity tracker. If you’re looking for one of these (and aren’t in the market for a full-on smartwatch), the Fitbit Alta and Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro should be right up your alley.
The Fitbit Alta is almost as sleek and no-frills as an activity tracker can get: Its simple design tracks distance, calories burned, sleep quality, and more, and can auto-detect common workouts to start tracking without you having to fuss with it. The Fitbit Alta HR boasts some improvements, namely a built-in heart rate monitor, and both Alta models automatically sync with your phone via Bluetooth when it’s in range to upload fitness data to the Fitbit app and to send alarms and message notifications to your wrist via a gentle buzz.
In contrast to the Alta, the Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro packs more smartwatch functionality while still offering a full suite of fitness tracking functions. Along with distance, active minutes, calories burned, heart rate, and other vital metrics, the Gear Fit2 Pro activity tracker can stream music from apps like Spotify and even has on-device music storage so you can jam without using data. It’s swim-ready, too, thanks to its 50-meter waterproof rating. Its color display lets you read messages right on your wrist, or even find your way around thanks to its built-in GPS.
All three of these activity tracker models are on sale on Amazon right now: The standard Fitbit Alta is available for as low as $69, while its heart rate-monitoring sibling, the Fitbit Alta HR, is discounted to as little as $82 (with most models hovering around $90-100 depending on color and size). Finally, the all-black model of the Buy Now is on sale for $150, saving you $50.
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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.