Medical doctors inform us to attempt to get 10,000 steps a day, however nearly nobody makes use of a pedometer to test. As an alternative, we depend on our health smartwatches to inform us after we’ve hit our objective. However ought to you belief your watch’s step counter accuracy?
I made a decision to check this for myself. I strapped on six smartwatches without delay — an Apple Watch Collection 6, Galaxy Watch 5 Professional, Garmin Forerunner 265, COROS APEX 2 Professional, Fitbit Sense, and Amazfit T-Rex Extremely — and walked laps round my neighborhood whereas counting each single step in my head (and oh boy, was it tedious).
As soon as I hit 5,000 steps, I in contrast the real-world quantity in opposition to what every watch mentioned. Then I ran a further 1,000 steps, checking to see if it was any kind of correct if I used to be shifting at a quicker tempo with longer strides.
So, are smartwatches correct for step counting? It is dependent upon which model you personal.
Sunday Runday
In his new weekly column, Android Central Health Editor Michael Hicks talks concerning the world of wearables, apps, and total health tech associated to operating and well being.
I particularly subtracted any “steps” taken earlier than the check began. This made the beginning situations equal, but additionally erased the commonest reason behind step-counter inaccuracy: watches’ accelerometers and/or gyroscopes measuring “steps” from you simply shifting your arms round as a part of day by day life.
That apart, right here had been my smartwatch step counter check outcomes after strolling 5,000 steps and operating 1,000 steps:
- Amazfit T-Rex Extremely: 5,046 strolling, 984 operating
- Apple Watch: 4,940 strolling, 1,050 operating
- COROS APEX 2 Professional: 5,070 strolling, 989 operating
- Fitbit Sense: 4,714 strolling, 994 operating
- Garmin Forerunner 265: 5,014 strolling, 999 operating
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Professional: 5,074 strolling, 1,039 operating
Ignoring the Fitbit Sense‘s surprisingly inaccurate strolling outcomes for a second, you may see that the majority of those watches fall inside a ±100-step vary of the true outcome — or double that for 10,000 steps. So in case you exit for a stroll and hit 10K, you may usually assume you are not too far off the mark.
The operating outcomes solely look extra correct at first look; quintuple the distinction, and you may see how, particularly, the Apple Watch Collection 6 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Professional battle to precisely depend operating strides, in comparison with strolling. Devoted operating watches do higher, together with Fitbit (regardless of its early step-counting struggles).
Rating them for closest accuracy, the Garmin Forerunner 265 is the clear winner, simply 15 steps off in whole and solely 1 off for operating monitoring. Amazfit’s flagship watch (62 steps off) and the COROS APEX 2 Professional (81) take second and third place, each predictably doing nicely for operating information. Apple (110), Samsung (113), and Fitbit (292) take up the ultimate three spots.
[Before anyone gets up in arms, I’m aware the math says Apple was only 10 steps off 6,000 because it was 60 short for walking and 50 long for running, the two inaccuracies canceling each other out. That’s not how I chose to measure accuracy, because someone either only walking or only running wouldn’t get a super-accurate result.]
As a last level, I additionally stored an Android telephone (the Samsung Galaxy S22+) in my pocket throughout my stroll/run, as a baseline to check and see in case you do not even want a smartwatch for step counting. The outcomes? 5069 and 998. That final outcome positively shocked me, because it did much better than Samsung’s personal top-tier watch. Usually talking, it is fairly correct, about on par with Amazfit and COROS; you simply do not get all the different health-tracking advantages {that a} smartwatch presents.
Analyzing my completely unscientific smartwatch step-counting check
I had no concept how tedious it might be to discover a bunch of lifeless watches sitting in my closet, discover all of the proprietary charging cables, recharge and replace them one after the other, sync them to my Android telephone or iPhone, after which squeeze three watches onto every wrist. In principle, a watch being barely greater on my arm may have affected the outcomes a bit, so I did my finest to mitigate that and stored them shut collectively.
Then I walked in 93º climate whereas all of my neighbors gave me very judgy and confused stares (aka “Why the heck is that this weirdo carrying six watches? Is he the Clock King?”), attempting to maintain depend in my head whereas retaining a constant strolling tempo.
So, yeah, I thought about doing the check once more, presumably with different watches from the identical manufacturers, or simply to see if the winners and losers had been constant. However no approach am I doing it once more, sorry buddies! You’ll be able to attempt the experiment at residence your self to see what outcomes you get, if you need.
I do not personal (or could not match) each smartwatch model; I missed loads of Put on OS watches like Pixel Watch, TicWatch, and Fossil Gen 6, in addition to different operating manufacturers like Polar.
Furthermore, I haven’t got the most recent variations of sure manufacturers’ flagship watches just like the Fitbit Sense 2 or Apple Watch Collection 8. However to be honest, you nearly by no means hear something a few watch’s accelerometer being X% extra correct than the final technology in advertising and marketing supplies. It isn’t clear what number of manufacturers are literally enhancing them from 12 months to 12 months, now that they’ve hit a sure baseline of accuracy.
The purpose is, that is hardly a scientific check, and also you might need very totally different outcomes relying in your top, strolling stride, cadence, and different elements. Plus, like I mentioned earlier than, on a regular basis false positives for steps are an actual downside.
Although the Garmin Forerunner 265 gained the battle for step accuracy, I’ve observed my step depend climbing when doing nothing however sitting at my desk. One thing so simple as stretching or pointing at one thing can set off it. And when strolling and not using a pure arm movement, equivalent to once I’m holding a telephone in my hand, the shortage of back-and-forth motion can befuddle the accelerometer.
The purpose is, in case you do wish to stroll 10,000 steps a day, or no matter step depend your watch’s well being algorithm recommends, it’s possible you’ll wish to take false steps into consideration and stroll a pair hundred additional steps, simply to be protected. Although in Fitbit’s case, you may assume you are already nicely above 10K when you hit it.
My private step depend common during the last six months is, paradoxically, 6,000 steps (give or take 100 steps, I suppose). My objective is to attempt to maintain elevating that quantity by the point I hit 2024, as I try to enhance my VO2 Max and different metrics.
So I am pleased that my day by day Garmin watch, the Forerunner 265, is fairly darn correct on step counting, even when they nonetheless have room for enchancment. Add to that the truth that it is additionally among the many most correct in terms of GPS monitoring, and it is no fluke that it sits on the highest of our finest operating watches listing.
However for folks with customary way of life watches just like the Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch, 200 steps off the mark after 10,000 whole is not so horrible that it is best to assume critically about switching manufacturers. It is simply one thing to concentrate on!
Why correct step counting issues
In keeping with a examine by the Journal of American Medical Affiliation, strolling 10,000 steps a day results in lowered danger for heart problems, most cancers, or mortality usually for older sufferers. The NIH discovered that for hypertension sufferers, three months of day by day strolling reduces your common systolic rating by about 10 factors.
Constant strolling can enhance cognitive perform and reminiscence, in keeping with an Alzheimer’s journal examine, in addition to your temper. Your muscular tissues are strengthened, combatting pure muscle weak point and shakiness from growing old. It not solely makes contracting Sort 2 diabetes much less seemingly but additionally helps stabilize your blood sugar when you have diabetes.
Plus, in fact, there’s the apparent profit that strolling about 5 miles will burn a whole bunch of energy — seemingly someplace between 300 and 600, relying in your weight and tempo.
All of this helps clarify why so lots of the finest health smartwatches incorporate step counting into their watch faces and well being snapshots. It is the one metric that offers well being advantages throughout the board, particularly for middle-aged-and-older customers dealing with severe illnesses.
