Nowadays you can buy fitness trackers from Samsung, Amazfit or even Aldi. But how good are the devices and which ones are worth it? Mein-MMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann has tested half a dozen fitness trackers and explains which one he liked best.
How did the list come about? Fitness trackers promise to improve your day since I can capture many aspects of my daily life in various data and then evaluate them.
I bought my first fitness tracker because I wanted to know if I was moving enough in my daily life despite working from home. Now I’ve picked up half a dozen. I wanted to know which device I like best and which one meets my needs most closely.
I wore the fitness trackers continuously: I went for walks with them and wore them at night.
What criteria did I use to evaluate? I evaluated all fitness trackers using the same criteria so that they are comparable with each other.
- Wearing comfort: How well does the device fit and does it bother me in the long term on my arm? How securely does it fit on my wrist?
- Fitness functions: Which functions are available and do the data I want to track match?
- Operation and display: How bright is the display when I am outside? How readable are things on it?
- Battery life: When does the tracker need to be recharged?
By the way, none of the fitness trackers bypass a manufacturer account. I used all devices in combination with an Android smartphone. For a time I wore two devices simultaneously to compare the trackers with each other. While heart rate and sleep data were close together on all devices, there were sometimes differences of several hundred steps in movement.
You can find health tips at the Federal Ministry of Health (via bundesgesundheitsministerium.de) or in a conversation with your personal general practitioner. Important health tips from experts can be found in the Plus report on health at GameStar.
The fitness tracker from Xiaomi relies on strange app politics
The Mi Smart Band 6 from Xiaomi is in last place for me. The price is 49.99 euros, and it is often already on sale for 30 euros. The wearing comfort is fine, and Xiaomi relies on a snap closure with a metal pin for the strap. This pin surprisingly holds very well, although I would have preferred a buckle.
What annoys me: Xiaomi switched from its official Mi-Fit app to the “Zepp Life” app a few weeks ago. This app comes from the company Huami, which also provides the app for its Amazfit devices. In the future, Xiaomi will likely develop a completely new app called Xiaomi Sports Health. I’ll definitely keep an eye on that. For me, it’s a negative point because I don’t know if all my data will continue to be transferred in the future.
What I don’t like: The provider uses collected health data, for example, menstrual data, for marketing goods and services. This is not allowed in Europe, but seems not to concern the provider. In principle, all trackers and apps may process data, but this peculiarity was too much for me, and the sudden change of the app leaves me a bit puzzled.
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Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6, Fitness- & Aktivitätstracker (1,56 AMOLED Display, 30 Trainings Modi, SpO2... | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
The tracker from the supermarket lacks important comfort functions
In fourth place on my list is the Activity Tracker from SilverCrest. You can regularly get it at Lidl for around 25 euros. The tracker fits me very securely on my wrist. The app is also well-structured, and you can quickly find your way around. A manufacturer account is mandatory; there is no guest login.
The tracker comes with a color LCD and is not equipped with an OLED display. Inside the home or in rooms, it is sufficient, but outdoors and in sunlight, the display is hardly readable.
Annoying are also the following features: There is no real night mode, so the tracker lights up at night with a wrong movement. This is very annoying. However, much more disturbing is that the tracker only saves the data until the end of the day. So if I don’t back up the day’s data via Bluetooth by midnight, it’s gone. All other trackers at least save the data for several days in system memory.
The processing is also no highlight. After a while, the display mount broke. By the way, the in-ear headphones from Silvercrest were an absolute failure in my short test. You can find the test and also my absolute favorite that I use every day in the following article:
I tested 5 in-ear headphones blindly and was surprised by the winner
The second tracker from the discounter feels better
In third place is the Medion Life fitness tracker, which you can get at Aldi for just under 30 euros. In structure, the fitness tracker looks almost identical to the model from Silvercrest. The battery life is around 10 days, which is similar.
Medion uses a color LCD for its tracker, just like Silvercrest. In rooms, it’s completely sufficient, but it’s too dark in the sun, and the colors are less vibrant than with an OLED screen.
A special feature compared to other models is the ribbing of the strap. This gives the tracker more grip when I want to take it off after swimming. All other manufacturers rely on smooth, soft rubber for their strap. By the way, with the buckle closure, the Medion Life holds securely on the wrist.
In direct comparison to the Silvercrest product, I also like the “Medion Fitness” app in structure and design much better. The synchronization is also faster. Additionally, the Medion Life also comes with a spare strap in a second color.
The fitness tracker from Amazfit surprised me
In second place is the Amazfit Band 5. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is 44.99 euros, and you can now also get the tracker on sale for around 20 euros. The tracker uses the Zepp app, which initially sounds similar to Xiaomi’s. No wonder, because both apps come from the same manufacturer but for different devices.
The Amazfit tracker uses a snap closure secured with a metal pin. The closure is fussy, but it holds the watch securely on the wrist.
Huami, the manufacturer behind Amazfit, uses an AMOLED display for the Band 5. This offers vibrant colors and good brightness. Only in direct sunlight is everything not always readable, even when you set the brightness to maximum.
The Amazfit tracker impresses with a long battery life. On average, I manage 10 to 15 days with it. The app is nicely designed and very well structured. However, you can’t operate it without an account with the manufacturer.
All important data such as heart rate or my sleep can be viewed directly. Integrated is a voice assistant with Alexa. This feature is not offered by the other tested trackers. However, I never used Alexa. Since April 2021, Alexa has been available in German on the Band 5.
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Amazfit Smartwatch Band 5 Fitness Tracker Armband mit 15 Tagen Akkulaufzeit, Blutsauerstoff,... | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
Although Huami belongs to the Xiaomi ecosystem, it does not use my data for marketing goods and services, which I find better. However, data protection remains unclear, and the functionality is still better than with the Mi Band 6. Because here you pay 10 euros more for the same functionality, or even 15 euros more if you are interested in NFC and Alexa.
The fitness tracker from Samsung can convince me the most
In first place, I put the Galaxy Fit 2 from Samsung. Nowadays, you can get the smart tracker from Samsung for about 30 euros from various retailers.
I really like the AMOLED display of the Fit 2. The colors are rich and vibrant, and the display is easy and intuitive to operate. In bright sunlight, I can still read the display well – for this, I have to set the brightness to maximum. In my opinion, the AMOLED display is better than that of the Amazfit Band 5.
According to Samsung, the tracker should last up to 21 days on a single charge; on average, I only get 14 days, but that is still a good value.
It is also helpful that I can receive all notifications on the tracker. The tracker from Silvercrest only offered a very limited selection of supported apps, and well-known apps like the Telegram messenger were not included at all.
However, I am not entirely satisfied with the counted steps. According to Samsung, steps can be counted by both the phone and the tracker. At the end of the day, however, there’s often a difference of several hundred steps between the Samsung phone and my tracker: The watch complains that I have not yet reached my step count, while the phone is already well above the recommended step count. Here, the only solution is to turn off tracking on the phone and let the watch do all the work. This tip actually comes from Samsung itself.
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Samsung Galaxy Fit2 , 1,1 Zoll AMOLED Farbdisplay, Fitnessarmband, wasserdichte Fitnessuhr, bis zu... | Zu Amazon |
*Affiliate-Links. Wir erhalten bei einem Kauf eine kleine Provision von Amazon. Vielen Dank für Eure Unterstützung!
Similar to Xiaomi, Samsung also relies on a snap closure for the strap. Here, you fit a small piece of plastic into the band. I am skeptical about how long this closure really lasts with continuous use. I prefer the metallic closure of the Amazfit Band 5 here.
My conclusion: Winner, loser, and the surprise
Who is my winner? The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2. Good, intuitive software and a great AMOLED display, combined with good battery life. The strange step counting can be solved easily.
Who is the loser? The Mi Smart Band 5 from Xiaomi. The features are better than those of Silvercrest and Medion, but I really don’t like the selling of health data for products. Here, the data protection regulations are better regulated at Samsung, Silvercrest and Co.
Is there a surprise? The Band 5 from Amazfit for around 20 euros is a real surprise for me. The device combines a good battery life with good software and integration of Alexa. The Amoled display is not as good as Samsung’s but still convinces me in everyday use.
More exciting gadgets in a quick test: Are you looking for more gadgets that help you in everyday life? Then check out my quick test of a seat cushion. The cushion has made my daily life immensely easier and is definitely among my best investments last year:
A cushion for 40 euros saves my butt in the home office and gaming
