I just reviewed the Fitbit Edge, Google's long-awaited follow-up to 2023's Fitbit Charge 6, and it's better than its predecessor in nearly every single way, making it one of the best fitness trackers in 2026.

However, some folks seem particularly irked by Google's decision to nix the NFC antenna — found in the Charge 6 and used for contactless payments — from the Fitbit Edge. This is a criticism I don't agree with.

With that in mind, here are the three biggest reasons I'm genuinely glad Google didn't give the new Fitbit Edge NFC.

1. Google gave the Edge an altimeter instead

The main reason I'm glad Google nixed the NFC antenna on the Fitbit Edge is that the tech giant replaced it with something far more useful: a barometric altimeter for tracking elevation during outdoor workouts.

The Fitbit Charge 6 lacks this piece of tech, and as a result, it doesn't provide climb data, even for activities like bike rides and hikes.

More importantly, the Fitbit Edge has already proven to be an extremely reliable fitness tracker for logging uphill efforts based on test results from my Fitbit Edge review and an even more recent head-to-head comparison versus the Apple Watch 12 (which the Edge won).

2. Less than 1% of Fitbit Charge 6 users used NFC

Another reason I don't miss NFC on the Fitbit Edge — as recently confirmed via an email from Google — is the fact that less than 1% of Fitbit Charge 6 owners actually use NFC for contactless payments. So, for the Fitbit Edge, the brand instead "prioritized other top features such as adding an altimeter and requested improvements," according to that same email.

As noted in the Fitbit Edge conclusion of my review — written before receiving Google's note about Fitbit Charge 6 NFC usage — I suspected that most folks would rather have accurate elevation data for outdoor workouts than the ability to pay for their coffee from the wrist. And Google's note only confirms that hunch.

3. The lack of NFC keeps the cost of the Edge down

Finally, why pay more for features you're unlikely to use? After all, the $179 Fitbit Edge costs roughly the same as its three-year-old $159 predecessor when you account for inflation. Not only might adding NFC potentially increase the device's launch price, but it could also result in a larger case size, two things that would definitely detract from the Edge's overall appeal.

What are your thoughts on the Fitbit Edge? Do you agree with me that Google was wise to swap the NFC antenna for an altimeter? And which Google wearable would you be most likely to rock in 2026 and beyond? Let me know in the poll below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 6,000 steps with the Fitbit Edge vs Apple Watch 12 — and I'm shocked by the results
• 3 reasons why the new Fitbit Edge beats the Fitbit Charge 6 — and 1 reason it doesn’t
• Google Fitbit Edge vs Fitbit Air: Which should you choose?

I walked exactly 6,094 steps wearing the Fitbit Edge on my left wrist and the Apple Watch Series 12 on my right wrist to find out which is the more accurate fitness tracker.

My 55-minute walk also included just under 500 feet of elevation gain with roughly three miles of ground covered. As a control, I separately logged my walk using the Strava app on my iPhone 16 Plus.

Find the results of my Fitbit Edge versus Apple Watch Series 12 head-to-head fitness tracking performance test below, along with the five biggest takeaways from the data.

Fitbit Edge vs. Apple Watch 12

But first, it's worth calling out key differences in terms of cost, features, and intended user between these two modern devices. For instance, when it comes to full-featured wearables, the Apple Watch 12 is one of the best smartwatches you can buy.

The Fitbit Edge, meanwhile, has essentially zero smart features, but is still among the best fitness trackers on the market because it offers reliable, distraction-free holistic insights. Cost-wise, the Fitbit Edge starts at $179, and the Apple Watch 12 starts at $399.

While the Apple Watch 12 is for iOS users only, the Fitbit Edge brings Google's best health and fitness features to both Android and iOS devices.

Ultimately, when it comes to onboard holistic and tracking tech, the two are fairly evenly matched: Both models have GPS, barometric altimeters, and continuous heart rate monitors.

With that out of the way, on to the test results!

I walked 6,000 steps with the Fitbit Edge vs Apple Watch 12

1. Fitbit's step count is closer to the control

I walked precisely 6,094 steps during my 55-minute outing, according to the control data logged by Strava, a tally that the Fitbit Edge came ridiculously close to matching.

In terms of accuracy in these comparisons, my rule of thumb is that any step count within 100 steps of the control is excellent and well within a reasonable margin of error. With that in mind, Apple and Fitbit each performed seriously well. But while Apple undercounted by only 41 steps, the Fitbit Edge came within 15 steps of my actual total.

2. But Apple's total distance is more accurate

On the flip side, when it came to correctly logging my total distance, the Apple Watch Series 12 proved more accurate than the Fitbit Edge, with a tally that's just 0.06 miles off from Strava's measure.

The Fitbit Edge didn't do too badly, though, coming within 0.13 miles of the control data, a result I still deem more than acceptable.

3. Fitbit's climb data is spot-on

I just published my Fitbit Edge review, and one of the upgrades I'm most excited for is the onboard barometric altimeter for precise elevation tracking. The Edge's predecessor, 2023's Fitbit Charge 6, lacked this important piece of tech. While some wearables try to roughly calculate climb using GPS data, the Charge 6 never did.

The upgrade definitely paid off, because the Fitbit Edge logs uphill efforts with impressive reliability. For this test, the Edge's climb data is within four feet of the control. The Apple Watch 12, meanwhile, proved a little more generous with its climb data, a trend I've noted several times before in similar head-to-heads.

4. Apple's average heart rate is slightly higher than expected

I'm not sure if the Apple Watch 12 wasn't worn tightly enough (or maybe too tightly), but the logged average heart rate of 133 bpm for this brisk yet not overly demanding walk is slightly higher than I expected, especially when compared to heart rate data from walks of similar effort (~120 bpm tends to be my average).

That said, the Fitbit Edge's average heart rate is slightly lower than anticipated, though the max pace is much more aligned with what I've come to expect from such a workout.

5. Apple's pace is closer to the control, but Fitbit wins overall

Finally, Apple's average pace data is much more closely aligned with Strava's. Fitbit's tally, meanwhile, I'd label as "slower than expected," especially given the fact that I was moving briskly and barely paused at any point during the walk.

That said, the Edge logged several additional minutes of workout time compared to Strava and Apple (it was the last device I ended my workout on), which might be the reason for the sluggishness.

Ultimately, pace aside, I'm calling the Fitbit Edge the winner for this head-to-head fitness tracking showdown versus the Apple Watch Series 12. Not only did the Edge log a more accurate step count, but it also beat Apple at logging my climb and heart rate (even if the Apple Watch was closer in terms of distance and pace).

Of course, I'd happily trust either device as my daily fitness tracker. Which begs the question: Which of these two 2026 wearables would you rather own? Let me know in the poll below.

More from Tom's Guide

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• Apple Watch Series 12 vs Apple Watch Ultra 4: Which new Apple Watch should you buy?
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The Fitbit Charge 6 is one of the fitness trackers I've recommended the most over the past three years. Originally launched in 2023, a replacement has been long overdue, and for a while, I had my doubts we'd ever get one.

After all, when Google acquired Fitbit in 2021, it wasn't crystal clear what the tech giant's plans were for the brand. Would the Fitbit name live on, or would the best bits of Fitbit be chopped up for parts and fed to the more advanced Pixel Watch line?

Now we have our answer. The Fitbit line truly lives on with the launch of the 2026 Fitbit Edge, which I've been wearing for the past ten days.

A worthy replacement for the Fitbit Charge 6, the Fitbit Edge is better than its predecessor in nearly every way. Moreover, the Fitbit Edge feels like just the right amount of fitness tracker for most folks, which is why I highly recommend it.

Fitbit Edge: Specs compared

Fitbit Edge value: 4/5

• The Fitbit Edge costs roughly the same as its 2023 predecessor, accounting for inflation
• The optional Google Health Premium subscription is $9.99 a month or $99 a year and includes personalized AI-backed holistic trend reports, training tips, custom workout plans, and more

The Fitbit Edge is priced at $179 via Amazon and other major retailers, which is pretty close to the $159 launch price of its 2023 predecessor, accounting for inflation. It's also $79 more than the screen-free Fitbit Air, which also arrived this year.

Google offers the Fitbit Edge in an impressive range of case designs. Options include a Matte Black case with an Obsidian strap (shown here), a Satin Silver case with a "Fog" strap, a Satin Pyrite case with an Olive strap, a Champagne Gold case with a "Canyon" strap, and a Satin Pyrite case with a limited edition Stephen Curry band ($219).

There are also plenty of accessory straps in all styles and materials, including metal, silicone, and woven cloth to choose from for added personalization.

Fitbit Edge value: 4/5

Fitbit Edge design and display: 4.5/5

• Comfortable, highly customizable design with lots of strap options to choose from
• Aluminum case with 50 meters of water resistance
• Larger, brighter display than its predecessor, despite a similarly sized case design
• Google ditched the haptic button of the Fitbit Charge 6 for a more responsive physical button on the Fitbit Edge

The Fitbit Edge case is a tad larger and heavier than its predecessor to accommodate a bigger display. That said, the two feel pretty much indistinguishable once on the wrist.

Ultimately, I prefer the design of the newer model for several key reasons. While both the Fitbit Charge 6 and Fitbit Edge feature aluminum cases and 50 meters of water resistance (enough for surface-level swims, hand-washing, etc.), the Edge boasts a 1.34-inch AMOLED screen with 1,000 nits of max brightness that's far roomier and easier to view in direct sunlight than the Charge 6's 1.04-inch touchscreen with roughly 450 nits of max brightness.

In terms of controls, the Fitbit Charge 6 has a single haptic-style button on the side of the case that vibrates slightly when you press it. I've never been a huge fan, and I'm thankful that Google reverted to a physical, clickable button on the Edge's case.

Fitbit Edge design and display: 4.5/5

Fitbit Edge Health tracking: 4.5/5

• Detailed nightly sleep reports are on par with the best fitness trackers I've tested
• The Fitbit Edge supports Google's latest Health Guardian features, including breathing emergency alerts and loss of pulse detection
• The companion Google Health app is easy to navigate, with key vitals and metrics presented front and center, including your heart rate, HRV, breathing rate and quality, skin temperature, and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2)
• Some health tracking features require a Google Health Premium subscription, like insulin resistance and blood pressure trend reports

The Fitbit Edge is packed with all sorts of holistic tech to keep tabs on your heart health, sleep quality, body temperature fluctuations, breathing rate and quality, stress, women's health, and more.

I'm a particularly big fan of Google's detail-rich daily sleep reports, which include a numeric score out of 100 along with a rating, plus insights into time spent in various sleep stages, sleep interruptions, "sound sleep," and restlessness.

I also love Google's dynamic Readiness Score, also out of 100; it reflects how much effort you should put into physical fitness daily and is based on your resting heart rate, heart rate variability trends, and recent sleep quality. A low Readiness Score might also reflect an oncoming illness or general fatigue.

For example, my Readiness Score this morning was 65/100, which Google considers high. This means that I got solid recovery over the weekend, and I'm cleared for a hardcore workout this afternoon.

The Google Health app, which replaces the old Fitbit app, puts all your most important insights and metrics front and center on the main "Today" tab. That said, users can fully customize what appears. By default, the Today tab shows your current step count for the day, Readiness Score, sleep duration and score, and progress toward your weekly cardio goals.

Meanwhile, the Vitals tab is where you'll find your real-time cardiovascular insights beyond heart rate, including your heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate trends, blood oxygen saturation levels, and VO2 max, a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen your body uses during peak exercise.

The Edge also supports all of Google's Health Guardian features, like high and low heart rate alerts, breathing emergency alerts, and loss of pulse detection.

Finally, Google Health Premium subscribers get access to Google's new insulin resistance and blood pressure trend reports, something older Fitbit models don't support. The subscription also unlocks Google's AI-powered health concierge called "The Coach," which can help you set goals and better understand your real-time and long-term health data.

Fitbit Edge Health tracking: 4.5/5

Fitbit Edge fitness tracking: 4.5/5

• The Fitbit Edge has onboard GPS (unlike the Fitbit Air) and a barometric altimeter (unlike the Fitbit Charge 6) for precise location and elevation data
• The Fitbit Edge proved just as accurate at tracking a basic walking workout as the Strava app
• 50+ common workout types are supported, but auto-workout detection isn't always reliable
• Highly-personalized training plans, recovery advice, and more are available via the Google Health Premium subscription; the Edge ships with a trial to try before you buy

The Fitbit Edge has one clear advantage over its predecessor when it comes to fitness tracking: the inclusion of a barometric altimeter. This handy piece of tech is used to precisely log changes in elevation when tracking an outdoor workout. Not only does the Charge 6 lack an altimeter, but it also doesn't even report climb data.

In terms of accuracy, I tested the Fitbit Edge's outdoor workout tracking performance against the Strava app running on my iPhone 16 Plus during a particularly hilly ~2.5-mile walk around Seattle, Washington. Check out the results below.

The Edge logged nearly the exact same number of steps taken during the workout, along with remarkably similar elevation gain data. Distance data aligns slightly less well; the same goes for pace. Then again, Strava almost always logs a quicker pace than other tracking methods I've tested.

The Fitbit Edge additionally supports 50+ common workout types and can even auto-detect certain ones, like walks and runs, with hit-or-miss reliability. One of the downsides of the feature is that users need to perform a workout for 15 consecutive minutes before auto-detection kicks in.

This stipulation means that, as a newbie runner who tends to interval train with a mix of running and walking, I can't really rely on the Edge's auto-detection to log my training efforts.

Some of the Fitbit Edge's most impressive training tools and insights require a Google Health Premium subscription. Fortunately, the tracker ships with a three-month free trial.

Premium subscribers get personalized, adaptive training plans via Google's AI-powered "Coach," custom-tailored daily recommendations to build better workout and recovery habits, and access to Google's large library of fitness and mindfulness video content.

Fitbit Edge fitness tracking: 4.5/5

Fitbit Edge smart features: 2/5

• The Fitbit Edge isn't the wearable to get if you want smart features
• The Edge does support mirrored notifications and music control for paired Android and iOS devices
• Unlike the Fitbit Charge 6, the new Fitbit Edge lacks NFC for contactless payments

If you want smart features, the Fitbit Edge probably isn't the wearable for you. Instead, consider the Google Pixel Watch 5, one of the best smartwatches of 2026.

That said, the Fitbit Edge does work with both Android and iOS devices (unlike the Pixel Watch 5), with support for mirrored notifications and music/media control.

Unfortunately, unlike 2023's Fitbit Charge 6, the Fitbit Edge lacks onboard NFC for contactless payments.

Fitbit Edge smart features: 2/5

Fitbit Edge battery life: 4.5/5

• In my testing, the Edge surpassed its advertised battery life rating of seven days per charge
• That includes logging one ~45-minute workout per day during the test period
• The Fitbit Edge recharges from 0 to 100% in about 90 minutes, compared to a two-hour recharge time for the Fitbit Charge 6

Google rates the Fitbit Edge's battery life at seven days per charge with normal use, the same as its predecessor. However, in reality, the Fitbit Charge 6 lasts closer to five or six days per charge.

Fortunately, in my testing, the Fitbit Edge not only met the advertised rating, but surpassed it by a cool 24 hours. During the eight days of battery testing, the Edge rarely left my wrist, and I logged a roughly 45-minute outdoor workout using GPS each day of the test period.

The Fitbit Edge also recharges faster than its predecessor. Google claims a 90-minute recharge time from 0 to 100%. In my testing, it took the Edge roughly 90 minutes to go from 5% to 100%. By comparison, the Fitbit Charge 6 needs closer to two hours for a full recharge.

Fitbit Edge battery life: 4.5/5

Fitbit Edge review: Verdict

The Fitbit Edge is, in most regards, the perfect successor to the Fitbit Charge 6, with a bigger, brighter display, easier-to-use controls, more accurate elevation tracking, access to Google's latest/greatest health and safety features, and better battery performance, in an equally comfortable, similarly priced package.

Put another way, the Fitbit Edge offers nearly all of the best health and fitness features found in the latest Google Pixel Watch 5, for a fraction of the price (and in a smaller form factor).

But what about the lack of NFC for contactless payments? My theory is that Google needed to free up some space in the case for the barometric altimeter (used to track elevation), a tradeoff I fully support. After all, as an avid mountain adventurer, while paying for a coffee with my Fitbit sounds nice, accurate climb data is a whole lot nicer.

A glance at the people around you on the train, walking down a busy street, or in the grocery store will tell you that the gym isn’t the only place people are wearing fitness trackers these days.

Devices like the Apple Watch Series 12, Oura Ring 4, or Whoop 5.0 have become more of a fashion accessory than strictly for tracking workouts. They’re a great way of tracking your training and seeing tangible evidence of your progress, but does everyone need one? I’m not so sure.

There’s a dark side to the tracking. Viewing burned calories so easily in an app can be an extremely triggering experience for some users, and it may even begin unhealthy habits like calorie counting and overexercising. So, let's go over the perks of these devices and discuss the science behind why they can also become harmful.

Fitness tracker or calorie counter

The majority of these smartwatches and smart rings track your health using metrics including sleep and activity. I’ve used these devices myself, and having a consistent way to make sure I’m getting enough rest as well as hitting my activity goals has been very helpful in my own fitness journey.

Recently, while testing these devices, I’ve noticed the introduction of calorie counting and ways to monitor food intake. This raises alarm bells for me, as while it’s important to track protein and nutrient intake for intense training, it’s not a feature every individual will need.

So now, with more people focusing on their food consumption alongside their training, could this lead to unhealthy eating habits taking hold? I spoke to leading sports dietician Renee McGregor to find out about the effect it may have.

She said, “A lot of these apps are built on the archaic equation and reduce a human to calories in versus calories out. Humans are much more complex than this, and so this setup often leads to underfuelling, especially in those individuals who are highly active.”

A healthy lifestyle or an obsession

Although there’s some inaccuracy, these activity and food tracking features are excellent if you want to track your weight loss. Having a visual measure of calories burned and/or the number of steps you’ve completed can be a good indicator to inform a calorie deficit.

But what about people who are struggling with eating disorders? Is this just another way to reinforce the resurgence of diet culture we’re seeing in the wider media?

For some people, seeing calories burned rise and calories consumed fall can become intoxicating. It won’t come as a surprise to you that right now we’re entering into a “skinny epidemic.”

This cultural term was popularized in the 2010s, marking a resurgence of the ‘90s diet culture that was coined as “heroin chic”. It’s a pendulum we see swing from celebrating larger bodies and then smaller bodies over time. It’s all directly impacted by the media we consume.

Wearables now come with software that can evaluate meals. Oura has Meals, and Garmin has its own nutrition tracking in the app. I asked Renee about how wearables could contribute to this, especially for people who have previously lived with eating disorders. She told me, “The main concern is that it keeps people ‘contained,’ and they don't rebuild the relationship with their bodies. Instead of listening and responding to their bodies, they follow an external cue which keeps them stuck. While they may believe it helps them to be ‘in control’ in reality, they are being controlled.”

The Alliance For Eating Disorders advises, “For individuals struggling with eating disorders, fitness trackers can act as a form of control, feeding into the disordered mindset that one’s worth is tied to their physical appearance, weight, and level of activity. The numbers on the screen can become a constant source of validation or anxiety. These numbers may be used to justify extreme exercise regimens or changes in eating behaviors.”

Where does AI come into this?

It’s not just companion apps for fitness trackers that are enabling these behaviours. People are taking pictures of their food and uploading them to AI chatbots, like ChatGPT, and asking how many calories are in their food. This can be damaging and lead to fueling the body improperly, meaning cutting down on more calories than you need.

Renee says using AI this way is highly inaccurate. “It’s only as good as the information that has actually been put into these AI apps. The other key problem is that not all calories are equal… a calorie is an arbitrary unit of energy.

“It’s based on the energy yielded when you burn a food in a calorimeter. Humans are not calorimeters. So while a calorimeter may say a carrot provides 10 calories, a human cannot absorb all of those calories because most of it is indigestible due to the high fibre content.”

This means that when we’re told something is X calories, we’re not actually taking all of that in. So if we burn more to remain in a deficit for weight loss, it could be more dramatic than intended.

With all of this said, wearable technology can also aid in food and exercise tracking when done properly. Renee says, “In the same way that tracking food and exercise can be problematic, if done in the right way — maybe by ensuring an appropriate app or working alongside a coach — the data being collected can provide key information to demonstrate that you may be lacking sufficient recovery or not fuelling appropriately, particularly carbohydrates, which are the most important macros required for optimal health and performance.”

So, how did we get to a point where we need a wearable to tell us what to eat? The only way to get reliable nutritional information tailored to you is by talking to a nutritionist or reaching out to a medical professional.

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I'm reviewing the new Fitbit Edge, Google's follow-up to the 2023 Fitbit Charge 6, one of the best fitness trackers we've tested.

In terms of upgrades, the Edge has a lot going for it, including several important new health and safety features, welcomed design improvements, and enhanced outdoor tracking capabilities.

It's not all lollipops and ice cream, though. The Fitbit Edge comes up short in one key area versus the Fitbit Charge 6; read on to find out which one that is. But first, here are the three biggest reasons why the Fitbit Edge beats the Fitbit Charge 6.

1. A bigger, better screen

The Fitbit Charge 6's 1.04-inch AMOLED touchscreen isn't the smallest I've encountered on a modern fitness tracker, but it's far from the biggest. Translation: interacting with it can be a tad fumbly for those with big fingers, and squint-inducing for farsighted folks.

This is much less the case with the Fitbit Edge, which features a noticeably roomier 1.34-inch AMOLED screen. Roughly twice the maximum brightness output means the Fitbit Edge is also easier to read than the Fitbit Charge 6 in direct sunlight.

2. More advanced health features

Both the 2023 Fitbit Charge 6 and 2026 Fitbit Edge work with Google's recently overhauled Google Health app, which replaces the old Fitbit app. Regardless of which tracker you wear, you'll be greeted with daily insights into your sleep quality, energy levels, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), body temperature trends, and more.

You can also perform ECG readings using either Fitbit, but only the Fitbit Edge supports Google's new insulin resistance and blood pressure trend reports. The Edge additionally has important health safety tools absent from the Charge 6, including Loss of Pulse Detection and Breathing Emergency Alerts.

3. Onboard altimeter for elevation tracking

As a lover of outdoor mountain adventures, including hiking, skiing, snowmobiling, and more, I'm thrilled that Google added a barometric altimeter to the Fitbit Edge, something that was noticeably lacking in the Fitbit Charge 6.

While some fitness trackers without onboard altimeters try to guess elevation gain using GPS insights, this method is far from precise, which is probably why the Fitbit Charge 6 doesn't bother to share the metric at all.

Thankfully, the Fitbit Edge does, but how accurate is the new model's elevation tracking performance? You'll have to wait a few more days until I publish the full review to find out!

But only the Fitbit Charge 6 has NFC

While the new Fitbit Edge handily beats its predecessor when it comes to health and fitness tracking chops as well as overall usability and design, the newer model omits one key piece of tech: NFC for contactless payments.

It's ultimately a bit ironic that the 2023 model supports tap-to-pay but the 2026 model doesn't. On the flip side, perhaps Google needed to nix something from the design to make room for the altimeter. If that's the case, I gladly take precise elevation tracking over the ability to pay for things from the wrist.

What are your thoughts on the Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Charge 6? Let me know below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Fitbit Edge first impressions: 5 reasons to buy (and 2 reasons to skip) Google's new fitness tracker
• Google Fitbit Edge vs Fitbit Air: Which should you choose?
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The Fitbit Inspire 3 is Google's four-year-old, entry-level fitness tracker. Originally priced at $99, you can easily pick one up on sale for much less... but should you, especially when newer models like the Fitbit Edge exist?

Howdy, I'm Dan, and I lead our wearable tech coverage at Tom's Guide. Not only am I in the process of reviewing the new Fitbit Edge — which seems potentially destined for our best fitness tracker list — but I'm also a long-time owner of the Fitbit Inspire 3. This is to say, I know both wearables reasonably well.

So how do they stack up? Here's a breakdown of the Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Inspire 3 across six categories, including price, design, display, health and fitness, smart features, and battery life.

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Inspire 3: Cost

Even at full price, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is a bargain compared to the Fitbit Edge. Of course, since it's also four years old, you're unlikely to pay anywhere near the $99 launch price. For instance, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is just $88 on Amazon right now.

The Fitbit Edge, meanwhile, is a brand new fitness tracker for 2026 and still in the preorder phase of its launch. With units expected to ship at the end of October, the Fitbit will run you $179 at Amazon and at other major retailers.

Winner: Fitbit Inspire 3

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Inspire 3: Design

The Fitbit Edge and Fitbit Inspire 3 look surprisingly similar; the cases are almost identical in height and thickness, though the Edge is taller. The newer model is also nearly double the weight of the Inspire 3. However, it by no means feels bulky or uncomfortable on the wrist (I've been wearing one for nearly a week).

In addition to touch displays — more on that below — each tracker has a single button on the side of the case for navigation. Similar to 2023's Fitbit Charge 6, the Fitbit Inspire 3 sports a haptic button that vibrates slightly (sometimes) when you press it. I'm not a huge fan of this type of control, and much prefer the Fitbit Edge's physical button with actual tactile feedback.

Material-wise, the Fitbit Inspire 3 case is primarily plastic, while the Edge case is recycled aluminum and plastic. Both have 50 meters of water resistance, enough protection for showers and surface-level swims.

Winner: Fitbit Edge

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Inspire 3: Display

The Fitbit Inspire 3 has a modest 0.76-inch AMOLED screen that's decently bright and well-saturated, though the touch functionality can occasionally feel clunky/unresponsive. By comparison, the Fitbit Edge offers far more screen real estate, despite a somewhat similarly-sized case.

The Edge's 1.34-inch display is crisp, easy-to-read, and responsive. With greater maximum output than its predecessor, the Edge's screen is bright enough to view in direct sunlight without straining your eyes.

Winner: Fitbit Edge

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Inspire 3: Specs compared

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Inspire 3: Health and fitness

The Fitbit Inspire 3 is a four-year-old entry-level fitness tracker, and even though it covers the basics well, like logging common workouts, daily movement, sleep quality, and overall health, it lacks many of Google's latest and greatest holistic tools.

These include the new insulin resistance and blood pressure trend reports, breathing emergency alerts, and loss of pulse detection. The Inspire 3 additionally lacks the hardware to perform ECG readings. On the flip side, the Edge supports all of these features, and more.

The Inspire 3 also lacks onboard GPS and an altimeter, so users have to carry a paired smartphone for accurate location- and elevation-based metrics when logging an outdoor workout like a run, hike, or bike ride. The Fitbit Edge, meanwhile, has both.

Finally, the Edge supports a ton of additional AI-powered health features courtesy of the Google Health Premium (formerly Fitbit Premium) subscription, which is $9.99 a month or $99 a year. These include personalized training plans, nutrition insights, and even deeper dives into sleep and workout recovery.

Winner: Fitbit Edge

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Inspire 3: Smart features

Both the Fitbit Edge and four-year-old Fitbit Inspire 3 work with Android and iOS, with the ability to mirror notifications and control media playback. But that pretty much rounds out the list of smart features on either.

Sadly, unlike the Edge's predecessor, the Fitbit Charge 6, the newer model lacks NFC for contactless payments. That said, it does play nicely with some other Google apps. For example, the Edge will display Google Maps turn-by-turn directions when using the app on your paired smartphone.

Winner: draw

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Inspire 3: Battery life

Google says that the Fitbit Inspire 3 should last up to ten days per charge, and the Fitbit Edge should cruise for up to seven days. In reality, the Fitbit Inspire 3 averages closer to seven or eight days per charge, assuming you're recording one ~45-minute workout a day.

I'm still testing the Fitbit Edge, but if battery performance is anything like the Fitbit Charge 6 — which is also rated at seven days per charge — I expect the Edge to last a little closer to five or six days.

That said, one clear advantage the newer model has is a faster recharge time: 90 minutes for the Fitbit Edge compared to two hours for the Fitbit Inspire 3 (and Fitbit Charge 6).

Winner: Fitbit Inspire 3

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Inspire 3: Outlook

Ultimately, while the Fitbit Inspire 3 remains a fairly competent budget fitness tracker in 2026 for keeping tabs on basic workouts, well-being, and sleep quality, the Fitbit Edge is in numerous ways a more capable device in a similar-sized package with a bigger screen and better overall usability.

But if you're still not sold on the Fitbit Edge over the Fitbit Inspire 3, I reccomend taking a look at my Fitbit Air vs Fitbit Inspire 3 comparison. Not only does the Fitbit Air support a lot of the same groundbreaking Google health features as the Edge, but it's also just $99 and even smaller/lighter than the Inspire 3 (though it lacks a screen)

Overall winner: Fitbit Edge

More from Tom's Guide

• Fitbit Edge vs Fitbit Air: Which should you choose?
• Fitbit Edge vs Fitbit Charge 6 — which Google fitness tracker wins?
• Fitbit Air vs Fitbit Charge 6 — which top-performing Fitness tracker wins?

The new Fitbit Edge is a follow-up to 2023’s Fitbit Charge 6, one of my favorite wearables and one of the best fitness trackers of all time. But is the Edge actually a worthy successor?

I’ve been wearing the Fitbit Edge for just over 24 hours, and three things are immediately clear. While I’ll save my hardcore test results and comparisons to the competition for the forthcoming review, here’s why the Fitbit Edge already has me impressed.

1. It borrows the Pixel Watch 5’s best health features

Google's Pixel Watch 5 is one of the best smartwatches for health and safety features thanks to groundbreaking tools like Loss of Pulse Detection, Breathing Emergency Alerts, and monthly insulin resistance/blood pressure trend reports.

Fortunately, you don't need to spend $399+ to unlock them. The new Fitbit Edge offers all these same features in a smaller, lighter, and perhaps most importantly, more wallet-friendly $179 package.

These features are in addition to other essentials, like continuous heart rate and body temperature monitoring, dynamic sleep and readiness scores, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and ECG readings, heart rate variability insights, and breathing rate/quality tracking.

The Edge also supports Google's AI-powered Health Coach for personalized training plans, nutrition insights, and deeper dives into sleep and workout recovery. It's part of the brand's Google Health Premium subscription, which will run $9.99 a month or $99 for the year.

Not sure if Google Health Premium is worth it for you? The Fitbit Edge comes with a three-month free trial, so you can try before you buy.

2. It’s just as comfy as its predecessor, dimensions be damned

Sometimes, specs can be deceiving. For example, on paper, the Fitbit Edge is taller, wider, thicker, and even a bit heavier than the Fitbit Charge 6. But on the wrist, you'd be hard-pressed to tell.

Despite a slight increase in case real estate, the Fitbit Edge is incredibly comfortable, just like its predecessor, and this is coming from a guy who strongly dislikes wearing any wrist-based wearable to bed. (Thank goodness for the best smart rings)!

There's also a good reason for the bigger case: the Fitbit Edge sports a 1.34-inch AMOLED screen, which is noticeably roomier and easier to interact with than the 1.04-inch display on the Charge 6.

3. Physical buttons > haptic buttons

While the Fitbit Charge 6 is one of my fitness trackers of the past three years, there's one design element I still loathe: the haptic button on the side of the case that vibrates (sometimes) when you press it.

Clearly, I'm not the only one who's anti-haptics, because Google ditched it for a proper clickable physical button on the Fitbit Edge, a small but meaningful user interface improvement I'm thrilled to see.

What are your thoughts on the new Fitbit Edge? Do you think it's a worthy replacement for the Fitbit Charge 6? Let me know below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Fitbit Edge first impressions: 5 reasons to buy (and 2 reasons to skip) Google's new fitness tracker
• Google Fitbit Edge vs Fitbit Air: Which should you choose?
• Exclusive: Inside the Pixel Watch 5's breathing emergency detection — and why it's like an 'airbag on your wrist'

Fitbit Edge or Fitbit Charge 6: which fitness tracker should you buy? While the choice may seem obvious to go with the newer model, several key factors may make the older option the better choice for you.

After all, the Fitbit Charge 6 is arguably one of the best fitness trackers ever made. How much better could the newer model be? We've barely gotten acquainted with the Fitbit Edge, but there's a lot to like, including support for Google's latest health and safety features and a comfortable, familiar design. Translation: It might well nab its predecessor's "best ever" crown.

To better understand the key differences between 2023's Fitbit Charge 6 and 2026's Fitbit Edge, here's a head-to-head breakdown of price, design, display, health and fitness, smart features, and battery life.

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Charge 6: Cost

The Fitbit Edge costs $179 via Amazon and other major retailers, just $20 more than the Fitbit Charge 6's $159 launch price. For what it's worth, $159 in 2023, adjusted for inflation in 2026, is roughly $176.

Of course, you're unlikely to pay $159 for the Fitbit Charge 6 in 2026, especially with the arrival of its replacement. For example, you can buy the Charge 6 right now for just $124 at Walmart. Note: The Fitbit Edge is still in preorder, with units expected to ship at the end of October.

Winner: Fitbit Charge 6

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Charge 6: Design

The Fitbit Charge 6 case weighs 15 g, compared to 17.7 g for the Fitbit Edge case. The newer model is also a bit larger and thicker than its predecessor (see exact dimensions in the table above).

Both devices sport a single button on the side of the case; however, they were not created equally. The Fitbit Charge 6 has a haptic button that vibrates when pressed, while the Fitbit Edge has a physical, clickable button, which I much prefer.

Ultimately, while the Fitbit Edge has more presence on the wrist than the Fitbit Charge 6, it still feels comfortable and uncumbersome. As a result, this one is a draw.

Winner: draw

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Charge 6: Display

This one is easy: the Fitbit Edge has a 1.34-inch display compared to a 1.04-inch display on the Fitbit Charge 6. Both are reasonably bright AMOLED affairs, though the Edge's display appears to offer a higher maximum output, making it easier to view in daylight. This, coupled with the additional screen real estate, makes the Fitbit Edge easier to interact with (less squinting) than its predecessor.

Winner: Fitbit Edge

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Charge 6: Specs compared

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Charge 6: Health and fitness

The Fitbit Edge and Fitbit Charge 6 support a lot of the same basic health tracking features, like continuous heart rate and skin temperature monitoring, ECG and Sp02 readings, cycle tracking, and daily sleep reports.

However, the newer model has several key advantages over its predecessor, including support for Google's newer insulin resistance and blood pressure trend reports. It also supports important health safety tools like breathing emergency alerts and loss of pulse detection.

Finally, when it comes to logging outdoor workouts, the Fitbit Edge has one more advantage over the Charge 6: an onboard barometric altimeter for precise elevation loss/gain tracking.

Winner: Fitbit Edge

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Charge 6: Smart features

This may come as somewhat of a surprise, but the 2023 Fitbit model actually has more smart features than the 2026 model.

Sure, both the Edge and Charge 6 are capable of mirroring smartphone notifications from paired Android and iOS devices. You can also control media playback from a paired smartphone with either wearable.

However, only the Fitbit Charge 6 has NFC and support for Google Wallet, allowing on-wrist contactless payments. Why Google removed this useful tech on the Edge, I cannot say, but it is a bummer.

Winner: Fitbit Charge 6

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Charge 6: Battery life

Both the Fitbit Charge 6 and Fitbit Edge promise up to seven days of battery life per charge. In reality, the former lasts for close to five or six days. I've yet to test the battery performance of the Edge, but it will be interesting to see whether or not it lives up to its advertised longevity better than its sibling.

A full battery recharge on the Fitbit Charge 6 takes roughly two hours compared to 90 minutes for the Fitbit Edge.

Winner: draw

Fitbit Edge vs. Fitbit Charge 6: Outlook

While the older Fitbit Charge 6 is more affordable and a little sleeker than the newer Fitbit Edge, it lacks support for many of Google's most exciting new health and safety features, like loss of pulse detection, breathing emergency alerts, and blood pressure trend reports.

The Edge also boasts a larger, brighter display than its predecessor, more user-friendly controls, and potentially improved performance when tracking outdoor workouts. Ultimately, the only major advantage the Charge 6 has over the Edge is support for NFC.

Overall winner: Fitbit Edge

More from Tom's Guide

• Fitbit Air vs Fitbit Inspire 3 — which $99 fitness tracker wins?
• Fitbit Air vs Fitbit Charge 6 — which top-performing Fitness tracker wins?
• Google Fitbit Edge vs Fitbit Air: Which should you choose?

Screen-less fitness trackers like Oura Ring, Whoop 5.0, and Garmin Cirqa may be the hot accessory in 2026, but I, for one, am thrilled to see Google finally add a new, petite screen-sporting wearable, the Fitbit Edge, to its portfolio.

The Fitbit Edge is a $179 follow-up to 2023’s Fitbit Charge 6, one of the best fitness trackers of all time, and a contemporary sibling to the screen-free Fitbit Air, another top-performing tracker. More advanced than the Air, the Fitbit Edge sits below the Google Pixel Watch 5, which is, you guessed it, one of the best smartwatches in 2026.

I lead TG’s wearable tech coverage, and I’ve been hoping for a Fitbit Charge 6 replacement for years. Now that it’s finally here, it’s time to decide whether or not it truly lives up to my expectations. With that in mind, here are the five biggest reasons to buy the new Fitbit Edge and the two biggest reasons to skip it, based on my initial impressions.

Buy: Onboard GPS

Two major design factors set the new $179 Fitbit Edge apart from the $99 Fitbit Air; the first is onboard GPS. Do you frequently log outdoor workouts, like walks, hikes, runs, and bike rides? If so, the Fitbit Edge will likely be a better choice for you than the Air. Why?

Because the Fitbit Air lacks onboard GPS, users have to carry a paired smartphone when recording outdoor activities if they want accurate location-based data for metrics like distance, pace, and climb. On the flip side, the Fitbit Edge has a built-in GPS antenna, allowing you to log that same data without the extra bulk of your smartphone.

The Edge even sports an onboard altimeter for on-device elevation tracking. As an avid mountain sports enthusiast, this is something I seriously appreciate.

Buy: 1.34-inch display

The second, perhaps more obvious difference between the Fitbit Edge and Fitbit Air is that the former has a display; the latter does not. The Edge’s 1.34-inch AMOLED touchscreen may not be enormous, but it represents a decent upgrade over the Fitbit Charge 6’s 1.04-inch display.

Unlike the Fitbit Air, users can start and stop workouts on the Edge without needing to open the companion Google Health app on their phone. You can also view your post-workout stats, recent sleep reports, current heart rate, mirrored smartphone notifications, and more.

Buy: Comprehensive holistic insights

Speaking of wellness, the Fitbit Edge is positively brimming with state-of-the-art holistic features, including heart rate variability monitoring, AFib detection, blood oxygen saturation measurements, continuous heart rate, breath rate, and skin temperature monitoring while you sleep, women’s health tracking, Loss of Pulse Detection, and even Breathing Emergency alerts.

Buy: Petite case design

I’m positively allergic to bulky wearables, which is why I’m such a big fan of the Fitbit Air. Not only is it one of the smallest, lightest fitness trackers on the market today and super comfy on the wrist, but it barely even looks like a piece of wearable tech.

The Fitbit Edge is a little less discreet, thanks to its 1.34-inch AMOLED screen. It’s also a bit larger and heavier than its stripped-back sibling. That said, the Fitbit Edge is roughly the same size as its easy-wearing, sleek-ish predecessor, the Fitbit Charge 6, and also a little lighter.

Buy: Compatibility with Android and iOS

Unlike the latest Pixel Watch series, the Fitbit Edge (like the Air) plays nicely with both Android and iOS smartphones. Better yet, the Edge supports mirrored smartphone notifications regardless of which OS you use. There are even a handful of basic pre-written quick replies you can use to quickly respond to texts.

Additionally, the Edge supports universal music control from any Bluetooth-connected device.

Skip: Some features are paywalled

While Google offers a lot of impressive wellness features for free, some of the more advanced, personalized insights and tools require a Google Health Premium subscription for $9.99 a month or $99 annually.

Paywalled features include adaptive fitness plans, sleep coaching tips, blood pressure and insulin resistance trend reports, and personalized metabolic recommendations.

Skip: Lacks NFC for contactless payments

All in all, the Fitbit Edge feels like a proper upgrade to the beloved Fitbit Charge 6 in all but one key way: it lacks NFC. So, while 2023’s Charge 6 supports Google Wallet for contactless payments, Fitbit Edge owners will have to carry a credit card or smartphone to pay for their post-hike pint or after-run pick-me-up.

What are your thoughts on the new Fitbit Edge? Let me know below. And stay tuned for my full review, coming soon.

More from Tom's Guide

• Google Fitbit Edge vs Fitbit Air: Which should you choose?
• Exclusive: Inside the Pixel Watch 5's breathing emergency detection — and why it's like an 'airbag on your wrist'
• Apple Watch Ultra 4 first impressions: 5 reasons to buy and 2 reasons to skip Apple’s new rugged model

I logged a 5,000-step walking workout with the Apple Watch Series 12 on my left wrist and the Garmin Forerunner 170 on my right wrist to find out which of these new smartwatches is the better fitness tracker.

The Apple Watch Series 12 is one of the best full-featured smartwatches of 2026, and the Garmin Forerunner 170 is one of the best budget-friendly running watches.

However, cost-wise, the Garmin is $349. The Apple Watch 12, meanwhile, starts at $399 and goes up to $549.

Apple Watch 12 vs Garmin Forerunner 170

Both smartwatches offer comparable onboard heart rate, location (GPS), and elevation tracking (altimeter) tech, plus bright, touch-sensitive displays and sleek cases. Safety- and wellness-focused features are plentiful too. But the Apple Watch supports way more apps and smart features, while the Forerunner has better training and recovery tools for runners.

Design-wise, the Forerunner 170 Music comes in a wider range of colorful, sporty options, but features a plastic case. The Series 12, by comparison, boasts an aluminum case. That said, it also weighs more. The 46mm Apple Watch 12 case is roughly 39 g compared to 26 g for the Forerunner 170 Music case.

I already tested the Apple Watch Series 12 versus the Garmin Venu 4, a higher-end ($549) sibling of the Forerunner 170. In that showdown, both devices impressed across the board, but the Venu 4 proved slightly more accurate. Will Garmin pull a repeat win? There’s only one way to know.

I walked 5,000 steps with the Apple Watch 12 vs Garmin Forerunner 170

As a primary control, I manually counted all 5,014 steps, using a tally counter to record every hundred. As a control for distance, climb, and pace, I turned to ol’ reliable, the Strava app.

Find the results of my Apple Watch 12 vs. Garmin Forerunner 170 Music walk test below, along with the five biggest takeaways from the data.

1. Both watches came remarkably close to my actual step count total

I've done dozens of these smartwatch walk tests, and my general rule of thumb is that any step count total within 100 steps of my actual tally is considered a solid result and within an acceptable margin of error. With that in mind, the Apple Watch 12 and Garmin Forerunner 170 each performed exceptionally well here.

The Series 12 undercounted by a mere 11 steps, while the Forerunner 170 was over by just six steps. Meanwhile, the Apple Watch and Garmin noted exactly the same amount of distance covered. More importantly, the tallies are also less than a tenth of a mile off from the control.

2. Garmin's climb data is slightly closer to the control

In my experience, even the best Apple Watch models sometimes inflate elevation gain data during outdoor workouts by a noticeable, albeit not outrageous, margin. That's again the case here.

The Apple Watch Series 12 noted 28 additional feet of climb compared to the control. The Forerunner 170, meanwhile, was off by just six feet, an impressive result.

3. Apple doesn't provide an average moving pace metric

Both the Strava app and Garmin provide average moving and elapsed pace metrics for outdoor workouts, like walks. Of the two, the former tends to be the more useful, as it more accurately reflects your overall speed.

Apple only provides one post-workout pace metric, and it's almost certainly elapsed pace, which is what I've recorded in the table above. That being said, Apple's average elapsed pace metric is closer to the control than Garmin's.

Meanwhile, Strava noted a moving pace of 18:07 per mile compared to 18:39 per mile for the Garmin.

4. Apple and Garmin's heart rate data is a perfect match

Both Apple and Garmin allow users to specify which wrist their smartwatch is on via the companion app. So, assuming those details are correctly entered, there should be zero difference in heart rate tracking accuracy between your right and left wrists. But is that actually the case?

The results of this walk test suggest that the answer is yes, seeing as both wearables noted identical average and max heart rates for my ~50-minute walk.

5. Garmin burned through more battery, but overall, proved more accurate

One might assume Garmin smartwatches always beat Apple Watches when it comes to battery performance, but this showdown proves that isn't always true. While the Garmin Forerunner 170 Music can far outlast the Apple Watch Series 12 in standard smartwatch mode, when using continuous GPS and heart rate tracking, the Apple Watch Series 12 actually has the advantage.

That said, when it comes to comparing the fitness tracking performance of the Apple Watch Series 12 vs. the Garmin Forerunner 170 Music, the latter slightly outperforms the former... in this test, at least. The Forerunner 170 produced an ever-so-slightly more accurate step count and climb total, while the Series 12 was closer in terms of pace.

Which of these two smartwatches would you rather use to keep tabs on your health and fitness? Let me know in the poll below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 5,500 steps with the Apple Watch 12 vs Garmin Venu 4 — here's the winner
• Apple Watch Series 12 vs Apple Watch Ultra 4: Which new Apple Watch should you buy?
• I’ve tested over 100 fitness trackers head-to-head — 3 workout stats I trust the least

I’ll let you in on a secret — I never really liked the Fitbit Charge 6. Sure, it’s been one of the most popular fitness trackers on the market for years, and when someone asked me for a Fitbit recommendation (pre-the launch of the Fitbit Air earlier this year), the Charge 6 was the one I’d recommend. But between the slightly boxy look and the tiny screen that was impossible to use with sweaty fingers, I didn’t love it.

Yesterday, Google announced the launch of the $180 Fitbit Edge, coming October 27, and it looks to be replacing the Charge 6 in the brand’s lineup, sitting between the $99 Fitbit Edge and the $399 Google Pixel Watch 5.

Here’s why I’m excited about the new fitness tracker:

1. There's loads of different band options

At launch, Google has shown us tons of different band options coming with the Fitbit Edge. There’s everything from plastic active bands to sleek metal options, and like the Fitbit Air, it looks to be super easy to swap between them.

This makes it easy to upgrade the look of your fitness tracker at the click of two buttons, making it much more versatile. We’re not sure yet how much these extra bands will cost, and at the time of writing, you can only choose between the active band and the Stephen Curry looped band when pre-ordering.

2. It's larger than the Charge 6

While this won’t be a selling point for everyone, I’m pleased that the Fitbit Edge is slightly larger than the Fitbit Charge 6. The dimensions aren’t hugely different: 39.2 x 25.6 mm, compared to 36.7 x 23.1 mm on the Fitbit Charge 6, yet the screen is much bigger.

As mentioned above, I found the screen of the Fitbit Charge 6 difficult to use, especially with sweaty or wet fingers, so the larger, brighter screen is a welcome addition.

3. There's a physical button on the side

If you’ve read any of my articles on Tom’s Guide before, you’ll know that I hate a fitness tracker without any buttons. As well as a bigger, brighter screen, there’s also a physical button on the side of the Fitbit Edge, which seems to be an actual button you can click, rather than the haptic button on the Fitbit Charge 6.

4. Unlike the Fitbit Air, it has an ECG sensor

If you flip the Fitbit Edge over, you’ll see that you’re getting quite a few sensors for $180. The heart rate sensor looks pretty similar to that used in the Fitbit Air, which I’ve found to be extremely accurate. It takes a reading every two seconds, giving you accurate heart rate readings, but the Fitbit Edge takes this further with an ECG sensor, which can detect signs of A-Fib.

There’s also a skin temperature sensor, which can help give you menstrual cycle insights, HRV tracking, and an SpO2 sensor to track blood oxygen saturation. All of these are pretty standard on fitness trackers these days, but you’re getting a lot for your money here.

5. There's built-in GPS

As well as the screen, one of the main selling points of this tracker over the Fitbit Air is the built-in GPS, allowing you to track your runs and rides outside without having to have your phone with you.

Plus, at launch, Google really highlighted the updated automatic activity tracking coming later this month on the Fitbit Edge and Fitbit Air, saying it will be able to recognise exercises like stand-up paddleboarding and yoga, as well as more typical ones like bike rides, walks, and runs.

Of course, with the Edge, you have the option of easily starting a workout from your wrist, but I’m excited to try the new feature, as I’ve never found automatic activity tracking to be all that great.

6. Tracking gets a big upgrade from the Fitbit Charge 6

Finally, if we’re comparing this to the Fitbit Charge 6, it’s a much better fitness tracker in general. You’ve got all of the new features released that were released with the Fitbit Air, including cardio load, VO2 max, and the readiness feature, which tells you how ‘ready’ you are to push yourself.

There’s also Google’s Gemini-powered health coach for Google Health Premium subscribers, which I’ve found one of the best out there. In my testing, rather than just regurgitating your own stats back to you, it’ll give you actionable insights into how to recover smarter.

I’ll be putting the Google Edge to the test once I get my hands on a device in the next few weeks, but it’s shaping up to be a decent option if you’re not after a smartwatch, or you love the sound of the Fitbit Air, but aren’t quite sure if a screenless device is for you.

More from Tom's Guide

• Can the $99 Fitbit Air beat the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 at fitness tracking? I manually counted 4,500 steps to find out
• I walked 4,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 — and the winning margin was razor-thin
• Oura vs Whoop vs Fitbit Air — 5 questions to ask yourself before buying a screen-free fitness tracker

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — the Fitbit Air is one of my favorite fitness trackers to launch this year. At $99, it’s super affordable, it’s extremely comfortable to wear, and the Google Health app is excellent. Yet my one gripe has been that, while it looks a lot more discreet than a Whoop or Garmin Cirqa, I’d still take it off if I was going out with friends.

That is, until now — along with the Fitbit Edge, Google quietly released some new premium metal bands for the Fitbit Air, and they look beautiful. Move over, Oura; there’s a new device that looks like jewelry — read on to find out more.

Fitbit Air Metal Mesh band: when is it coming and what will it cost?

The Metal Mesh band is made from stainless steel and will be available in champagne gold or polished silver. On its own, it’ll cost $70, but you can also buy one that is paired with an Obsidian Fitbit Air for $149. This gives users the option to buy a more expensive-looking version of the tracker, but even with just the band itself, you won’t be able to see the little pebble when it’s on your wrist.

Of course, I’m yet to see the band up close, but they definitely give the Fitbit Air a premium facelift. The finely woven metal bands allow the device to disappear onto the wrist and look more like jewelry than any of the bands it launched with. At first glance, you probably wouldn’t even notice the tracker, making it more like the Oura Ring in terms of discreet fitness tracking.

The new bands will be available on October 27, when the Fitbit Edge launches. I, personally, can’t wait to get my hands on the Champagne gold band, but let me know what you think of the new launches in the comments below, and whether $70 is too much to spend when the tracker itself only costs $99.

Until then, I’ll sit here patiently waiting for Google to release the armband we’ve all been asking for.

More from Tom's Guide

• Can the $99 Fitbit Air beat the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 at fitness tracking? I manually counted 4,500 steps to find out
• I walked 4,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 — and the winning margin was razor-thin
• Oura vs Whoop vs Fitbit Air — 5 questions to ask yourself before buying a screen-free fitness tracker

Fans of the Fitbit Charge 6, listen up—Google just launched the new $179 Fitbit Edge, and it replaces the Charge in the brand’s fitness-tracker lineup.

But where does it fit in Google’s smartwatch lineup? And should you choose the Fitbit Edge or the $99 Fitbit Air? Read on to find out more

What is the Fitbit Edge?

Google hasn’t released a Fitbit Charge since 2023, and at a glance, the Fitbit Edge seems to be replacing the budget fitness tracker.

On paper, it has a lot of the same features as the Charge: a small display, a week of battery life, built-in GPS, and the ability to track your workouts, sleep, and stress from your wrist. It won’t give you as many apps or notifications as a smartwatch, but it will do all the basics when it comes to keeping an eye on your health and fitness goals.

Design-wise, it looks more modern, with rounded edges compared to the Fitbit Charge 6’s boxier look. It’s also slightly bigger at 39.2 x 25.6 mm, compared to 36.7 x 23.1 mm on the Fitbit Charge 6.

The Fitbit Edge costs $180/£160 and comes in four different colors in the active band option: olive green, black, white, or pink.

The olive version has an olive aluminum casing, and the pink Fitbit Edge has a champagne gold casing. Like the Fitbit Air, there’s also a special edition Stephen Curry band, which is more expensive. Like the Fitbit Air, it’s easy to swap between bands, and from the looks of things, there are plenty more options coming soon.

Like the Fitbit Air, if you want to unlock the Gemini-powered health coach, or some of the more advanced sleep features, you’ll need to pay for a Google Health Premium membership.

This is an extra expense, but in my testing, the Fitbit Air has the best AI-powered health coach out there, so if you use it, it’s worth it.

You can pre-order the Fitbit Edge now, for release on October 27.

Should you buy the Fitbit Edge or the Fitbit Air?

Here’s the big question, though: should you buy the Fitbit Edge or the $99 Fitbit Air? The answer really depends on how much you want your fitness tracker to have a screen.

I’m yet to test the Fitbit Edge, but will, of course, be following up with a full review once I get my hands on one. The Fitbit Air, on the other hand, is one of my favorite fitness trackers of 2026.

Part of the appeal when it comes to the Fitbit Air is its low cost and its comfortable design. For $99, you’re getting an excellent fitness tracker that’s seriously comfortable. However, you obviously can’t see any live feedback during your workouts.

The Fitbit Edge seems to be in the middle. It won’t give you all the notifications and apps as the Pixel Watch 5, but it will give you more than the Fitbit Air, which doesn’t have a screen, an ECG app, or built-in GPS.

Unlike the Google Pixel Watch 5, the Fitbit Edge will work with Android and iOS.

We’ll be testing the Fitbit Edge soon, so keep an eye on Tom’s Guide!

More from Tom's Guide

• Can the $99 Fitbit Air beat the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 at fitness tracking? I manually counted 4,500 steps to find out
• I walked 4,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 — and the winning margin was razor-thin
• Oura vs Whoop vs Fitbit Air — 5 questions to ask yourself before buying a screen-free fitness tracker

Despite debuting back in 2023, the Fitbit Charge 6 remains one of my favorite fitness trackers on the market today because of its onboard GPS, reliable tracking performance, small but bright display, comfy design, impressive battery life, and support for several handy Google apps.

While 2026’s Fitbit Air is in some ways the spiritual successor to the Fitbit Charge 6, the lack of a screen, smart features, and onboard GPS means it doesn’t quite fill the same shoes as its older sibling.

So, will Google ever launch a Charge 6 replacement, or is the brand too concerned about sales potentially cannibalizing interest in the Pixel Watch 5? Based on a host of recent rumors and links, the former now seems likely.

That’s right, a true-blue Fitbit Charge 6 replacement could debut as early as this year. Better yet, it may combine all the best bits of the Fitbit Charge 6 in a smaller, more Fitbit Air-like package.

Here are the five biggest things you should know about the rumored Fitbit Edge.

1. Unlike the Fitbit Air, the Edge is rumored to have a screen

Screen-free fitness trackers are clearly in vogue at the moment. 2026 gave us the Fitbit Air, Garmin Cirqa, Luna Band, and more. While I’m a fan of the distraction-free promise of these devices, sometimes it’s nice to interact with your gadget without having to open an app on your phone.

Google seems to agree, because the Fitbit Edge is rumored to incorporate a 1.34-inch display that’s likely touch-sensitive, according to a report by Forbes. Leaked images, shared by Android Headlines, also suggest that the device will have at least one physical button on the side of the case.

2. Onboard GPS also seems likely

My biggest gripe about the Fitbit Air is that it lacks onboard GPS, which means you need to carry your paired phone with you for outdoor workouts if you want accurate location-based data.

As someone who frequently makes use of the great outdoors for my recreational enjoyment, I much prefer not being forced to bring my bulky iPhone 16 Plus along for the excursion, especially when going for a run or bike ride.

Fortunately, the Fitbit Edge is rumored to include onboard GPS, just like the Fitbit Charge 6. On the flip side, this probably means that battery life won’t be quite as good as the Fitbit Air, which lasts roughly a week per charge. More likely, it will be closer to five days, similar to the Charge 6.

3. The Edge will probably support basic Google apps

Don’t expect the Fitbit Edge to be jam-packed with smart features; that’s what the Pixel Watch line is for, but you can likely expect it to support some basic Google apps, like Google Maps, Google Music, and Google Wallet.

4. Expect a petite, lightweight design

Again, going by leaked images, the Fitbit Edge appears to be slightly smaller than the Fitbit Charge 6, with a more pebble-like case design. The strap shown appears similar in design to the silicone straps that ship with the Pixel Watch 5.

While I don’t have any concrete specs, I suspect the Edge will weigh less than the ~30 g Fitbit Charge 6 but a little more than the ~13 g Fitbit Air.

With only one physical button shown on the right side of the case, it seems likely that the screen on the tracker will be touch-sensitive. Design-wise, I expect Google to launch the Fitbit Edge with a decent selection of eye-catching color combinations to choose from.

5. It will likely cost between $150 and $200

The Fitbit Air is $99, while the Fitbit Charge 6 launched at $159. How much can we expect the Fitbit Edge to go for? Given the rate of inflation over the past three years, it seems likely that the Edge will cost a little bit more than its predecessor, but I highly doubt it will surpass $200.

What are your thoughts on the Fitbit Edge? Does it sound like a proper replacement for the Fitbit Charge 6? Moreover, cost aside, which fitness tracker would you rather own, the screen-free Fitbit Air or a screen- and GPS-equipped Fitbit Edge? Let me know below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Fitbit Air vs Fitbit Charge 6 — which top-performing Fitness tracker wins?
• Fitbit Air vs Fitbit Inspire 3 — which $99 fitness tracker wins?
• I've been using the Fitbit Air for over a week, and my favorite feature has completely changed the way I wake up

2026 is the year of the screenless tracker, and as a health editor, I’m here for it. These discreet devices are designed to sit unnoticed on your pulse points and track your steps, stress, workouts, and cycle, without the constant buzz of WhatsApp notifications or emails.

Two big releases this year are the $99 Fitbit Air, an excellent, affordable tracker that’s comfortable to wear, and the $399 Oura Ring 5, which is the smallest and lightest smart ring on the market. I’ve been wearing both for five months, and below, I’ve broken down which I’d pick based on all my testing.

Fitbit Air vs Oura Ring 5: Counting calories

One of the main reasons people buy a fitness tracker is to keep track of their health goals. If losing weight is your goal, you’ll know that the best way to do this is to be in a calorie deficit — in other words, burning more calories than you consume.

As a health writer, I’m here to tell you that none of the best fitness trackers are particularly good at this. No wearable can directly measure your metabolic activity, oxygen uptake, or heat production to fully understand your true calorie burn; instead, they take a fairly educated guess.

A lot of the algorithms are based on your age, sex, weight and height, but won’t account for biological differences like your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and body composition (muscle burns more energy at rest than fat).

I’d take all readings with a pinch of salt and instead look at how active you were week on week, how many workouts you fit in, or whether you’re eating a healthy, balanced diet to fuel the movement you’re tracking.

Winner: It’s a tie

Fitbit Air vs Oura Ring 5: Counting steps

Again, steps aren’t the best metric for how healthy we are, but they are a good place to start and something a lot of people care about. After five months of testing, I’d say the Fitbit Air is more accurate for my daily step count compared to the Oura Ring.

Ways to make the Oura Ring more accurate in tracking your steps are to ensure you’re wearing the ring the right way — the sensors should be on the bottom of your finger. Your ring should be tight enough to track your data, but not so tight it’s cutting off circulation. It’s also a good idea to connect your ring to the Apple Health app on your iPhone or the Android Health app.

Winner: Fitbit Air

Fitbit Air vs Oura Ring 5: Design and comfort

Both of these devices are extremely comfortable to wear. The Fitbit Air is far smaller and lighter than the Whoop 5.0 or the Garmin Cirqa; plus, unlike the Whoop and Cirqa, it doesn’t stay wet for hours on your wrist.

That said, the winner here is the Oura Ring 5, which really does disappear on your finger. It looks like jewelry, and it would be the device I recommend to anyone who doesn’t want to be seen wearing a fitness tracker. The Oura Ring 5 also comes out on top for hygiene, as it’s really easy to clean and you’re never going to have to worry about the band getting smelly or dirty.

Winner: Oura Ring 5

Fitbit Air vs Oura Ring 5: Battery life

Again, this one is pretty much a tie. The Fitbit Air gives you seven days of battery life from a single charge. The Oura Ring 5 gives you up to nine days of battery life, depending on the size of your ring. I wear a size 8 and find I get about a week between charges.

Either way, you’re charging both trackers a lot less than your Apple Watch.

Winner: It’s a tie

Fitbit Air vs Oura Ring 5: Sleep

Far from just being an interesting thing to look at every morning, how well you sleep is actually as important as how much you move. Experts say sleep rivals diet and exercise as a core pillar of longevity; the American Heart Association, for example, uses sleep data as a metric for heart and brain health.

Both trackers do a good job of making it easy to understand how well you’re sleeping. Both give you a sleep score out of 100, a breakdown of the different stages of sleep you’ve entered, and tips on how to improve your quality. That said, Oura goes far deeper, and to get the same level of sleep insights from the Fitbit Air, you have to pay for a Google Health membership.

Winner: Oura Ring 5

Fitbit Air vs Oura Ring 5: Stress and recovery

Again, this is a tough one, as both devices do a pretty good job of looking at how well your body copes with stress over the day. Neither goes into as much detail as the Whoop, which largely focuses on your overall strain score, but both definitely have a focus on resilience.

I’d say the Oura tips it slightly, but this one is hard to call. I’d also say that if you do subscribe to the Google Health membership, Fitbit’s AI health coach is the best I’ve used. It doesn’t just regurgitate your workouts; instead, it gives you actionable advice based on how well you’ve slept, how hard you’ve pushed yourself, and the recovery data the device has collected.

Winner: It’s a tie

Fitbit Air vs Oura Ring 5: Female health tracking

This one is easy — the Oura Ring 5. Oura has always been a leader in terms of menstrual tracking, pregnancy tracking, and now menopause features. Heck, my Oura Ring 3 knew I was pregnant weeks before I did.

It’s also compatible with Natural Cycles, allowing you to use the ring with the app to plan or prevent pregnancy. At the time of writing, the Fitbit Air isn’t compatible with Natural Cycles, and while it has the ability to track your skin temperature, it’s not using this data as part of its menstrual tracking features.

Winner: Oura Ring 5

Fitbit Air vs Oura Ring 5: Price

Another super easy one: for $99, the Fitbit Air is the screenless tracker I’d recommend to most people. If you’re not bothered about the deeper sleep insights or AI health coach, it’s also a one-time purchase, compared to the ongoing subscription you’ll need with the Oura Ring.

Winner: Fitbit Air

Fitbit Air vs Oura Ring 5: Which should you buy?

So, which should you buy? If you’re on a budget, you don’t really care about wearing a watch and a screenless tracker, and you don’t need female health tracking features, the Fitbit Air is the obvious choice.

You don’t need a subscription to get all you need from the device, and it’s super lightweight and comfortable to wear. If you do pay for the subscription, the Gemini-powered health coach is the best I’ve used.

If you want to wear a beautiful watch to the office, or no watch at all, and still track your health metrics, the Oura Ring 5 is the obvious choice. It looks stunning, it’s easy to clean, and it gives you tonnes of data. If you forced me to choose, I’d still pick the Oura every time, but it is undeniably more of an investment.

More from Tom's Guide

• Can the $99 Fitbit Air beat the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 at fitness tracking? I manually counted 4,500 steps to find out
• I walked 4,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 — and the winning margin was razor-thin
• Oura vs Whoop vs Fitbit Air — 5 questions to ask yourself before buying a screen-free fitness tracker

There are 24 hours in the day but is your wearable capturing all of them? With the launch of the SL-1 smart band, from $199.95, smart ring brand QALO hopes to deliver non-stop health tracking that combines 24/7 data in an understandable, actionable package. No blank spots, no missing hours.

Geared towards intense movement and workouts — but with the capability to track sleep and stress — the QALO SL-1 is the latest wearable aiming to make health tracking more accessible. It joins the FitBit Air and Oura Ring 5 in arguing that the best sleep trackers of 2026 have all been screenless.

I've been hands-on with the SL-1 smart band and yes, when you're lifting a kettlebell, it's more comfortable to wear than a pricey smart ring. But a lot of us don't lift kettlebells that often, so I spoke to Jake Curreri, CEO of QALO, about the SL-1, non-stop tracking and how wearables might change lives.

QALO SL-1 Smart Band: How it works

QALO is best known for its silicone rings (aka the functional wedding ring.) A brand that puts convenience and athletics at the heart of its production, wearables were the obvious next step. That's where Curreri comes in.

"I've founded several startups in the digital health and fitness space, and then on behalf of one of my companies, consulted with Nike Innovation Labs," he explains.

Brought on to steer QALO into the growing wearables market, Curreri asked a simple question: "What do we want to focus our users' attention on?"

The answer came in three parts.

"Sleep was foundational. Vitality was foundational. And movement was foundational."

'Empower you to make a change in habits you otherwise might not have made'

QALO turned three interests into one easy metric; the Q score. QALO's proprietary 1-100 score synthesizes key metrics to form a snapshot of your day. (Think of it as their version of FitBit's popular readiness score.)

"You don't need a ring or a band to tell you your sleep was terrible," says Curreri. "The important part is how that impacts your overall health."

He explains that having that data equips people, particularly those working in high pressure situations, to understand their readiness. "It's one of the ways we built the product to make health tracking fit into people's lives, rather than asking people to change their lives around the wearable."

But, of course, QALO doesn't want you to simply sit back and watch low scores roll in.

"We really want it to be something that you can easily digest, and then make changes based off of," explains Curreri. "For example, going to bed before 10:30 versus after 10:30."

Alongside your score, the QALO app also delivers "optimal zones", based on the data it collects. From your personal baseline, the app can tell you if you're "high, low or in the optimal zone" for a number of metrics.

"[It's] just enough insights not to overwhelm you, but to empower you to make a change in habits today that you otherwise might not have," says Curreri.

"It truly not just changes lives, it saves lives."

'A continuous, always-on, health monitoring experience'

If QALO is looking to deliver data you can use, the release of the SL-1 hopes to increase the tracking that informs that data.

"The smart ring [released September 2025] and the smart band are designed for interchangeability," says Curreri. "The smart ring fits very well for sleep. The smart band fits very well for day to day activities."

He explains that QALO didn't want to be tied down to a "single form factor" but to provide a "continuous, always on health monitoring experience."

This versatility not only increases the data collected, but can also expand the awareness of the user. You might think fitness tracking is your focus, but learning about sleep explains your off days. Or, you might be the Fittest Man on Earth, but you still want to reach your step goals.

Engineered towards high-intensity movement and hands-on work, the SL-1 is designed to take over where a smart ring can't follow. Think construction work and weight training. (Although if you only want to make one investment, the SL-1 can be used all day long.)

I've been testing the Smart Band and it's made me realize how often I take my Oura Ring 5 off. Everyday activities like cleaning and cooking are often done sans-ring, leaving holes in my data. The SL-1 can plug those gaps, giving me the clearest picture of my metrics. Including just how stressed I get when cleaning the oven.

'It's important for us as wearable companies to push the envelope'

The launch of the SL-1 expands the usability and data collection of the wearable system. But the next frontier for QALO might lie less in new types of trackers, more in expanding just what metrics your wearable can gather.

The SL-1 includes women's health metrics, an area historically overlooked by fitness trackers. Curreri describes the "free, fully integrated cycle tracking solution" as the "bridge between fitness and medical."

So what more metrics should our wearables be tracking that they currently aren't? That's not for us to know just yet, but Curreri notes QALO is looking ahead.

"It's important for us as wearable companies and wearable visionaries and leaders at the intersection of health and fitness, to push the envelope."

QALO SL-1 Smart Band: Price and availability

The QALO SL-1 Smart Band is available right now from $199.95 at QALO. This fall, it will be sold from select Walmart stores (the QALO Smart Ring 2 is currently available from Walmart.)

Unusually for a wearable, the QALO smart ring and band are completely subscription free — no extra charge to see your scores.

This subscription-free philosophy is something Curreri describes as important to QALO and notes that expanding access to wearables backs the brands mission to deliver more data to everyone.

"We can do something pretty magical by both pushing the research component of it, but also pushing the business model."

Hang around the Tom’s Guide fitness desk long enough, and we’ll strap a tracker to your wrist and ask you to start counting your steps. Sure, most gadgets on the market these days do more than track steps, but we think if a watch does the basics right, it’s probably doing the bigger things well too.

Next on our list of watches to test is the new Apple Watch Series 12 (starting at $399) and the Garmin Forerunner 570 ($549). Both devices are designed to be worn 24/7 and track your sleep, readiness, activity, and heart rate, not just your steps. Apple says it made its pedometer more accurate in the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, so I was keen to put the two watches head to head to find out more.

Like all of these walk tests, I strapped one watch to each wrist, and used a $5 clicker tool from Amazon to count my steps as I walked manually. Both trackers count your steps using an internal accelerometer, which measures the swing of your arms. Each swing counts for two steps, and it doesn’t matter whether you wear your watch on your dominant or non-dominant hand. It doesn’t matter if you walk with your hands in your pockets or holding a cup of coffee; the accelerometer should still measure your body’s movement.

Read on to find which watch came out on top, and read our Apple Watch Series 12 review and our Garmin Forerunner 570 review here on Tom’s Guide to take a deeper dive into both watches.

I walked 5,000 steps with the Apple Watch 12 vs Garmin Forerunner 570

As with all of the best Apple Watches, the Apple Watch Series 12 still doesn’t tell you the number of steps you’ve taken during a specific workout; instead, you see an overall number of steps throughout the day, which you can now pin to your home screen. This is probably because steps aren’t actually that useful a metric beyond a certain point, but annoying for me when writing these articles. For this comparison, I downloaded a third-party Pedometer+ app onto my Apple Watch.

Here’s the results:

As you can see from the results, the Apple Watch Series 12 won in this walk test, only counting an extra 50 steps. That’s not to say that the Garmin Forerunner 570 was inaccurate, however, only overcounting by 72 steps, but the Apple Watch got closer to my manual step count.

It’s worth noting that 50-70 steps is pretty much spot on. The average person takes 2,000 steps a mile, so an extra 50 steps is nothing.

To really put these two watches head-to-head, you’d need to look at a lot more than just how well they count steps. Both are designed to be worn 24/7 and help you track more than just walking workouts. There are some big differences, however: the Garmin Forerunner 570 has a far superior battery life, at 10 days in smartwatch mode for the 42mm version, and 11 days for the 47mm watch.

That said, the Apple Watch Series 12 is like having an extension of your iPhone on your wrist, and with the new heart rate sensor, it’s definitely the best Apple Watch on the market for most people. We’ll continue to compare the two watches head-to-head, so stay tuned for more testing.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’m a smartwatch reviewer: This is the new Apple Watch 12 feature I’m most excited for
• Apple just killed one of my favorite Apple Watch features with the launch of watchOS 27
• I’ve tested over 100 fitness trackers head-to-head — 3 workout stats I trust the least

Hang around the Tom’s Guide fitness desk long enough, and we’ll probably strap a fitness tracker to your wrist and ask you to go and count your steps. Sure, step counting isn’t the best measurement of how fit you are or how good a fitness tracker is, but our thinking is that if a watch can do the basics right, it’s probably doing the bigger things well too.

Next up on our list of trackers to test was the new $799 Apple Watch Ultra 4 and the $1099 Garmin Fenix 9 Pro. Apple says it made the pedometer more accurate with its new rugged adventure watch, and while both high-spec watches do a lot more than just count steps, I was keen to put them head-to-head.

To find out more, I strapped one to each wrist and used my trusty clicker tool to manually count 10,000 steps. Read on to find out which watch came out on top.

I walked 10,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

If you’ve read one of my walk tests, you’ll know we always start with the basics. For this test, I manually click every time I take a step, because counting to 10,000 while navigating traffic and a deaf dog is too overstimulating to describe in words.

I manually click every time I take a step. For this test, I wore the Apple Watch Ultra 4 on my left wrist and the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro on my right. Both trackers count your steps using an internal accelerometer, which measures arm swing.

Each swing counts for two steps, and it doesn’t matter whether you wear your watch on your dominant or non-dominant hand. It doesn’t matter if you walk with your hands in your pockets or hold a cup of coffee; the accelerometer should still measure your body’s movement.

As with all the best Apple Watches, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 still doesn’t tell you the number of steps you’ve taken during a specific workout; instead, you see an overall number of steps throughout the day, which you can now pin to your home screen.

This is probably because steps aren’t actually that useful a metric beyond a certain point, but annoying for me when writing these articles. For this comparison, I downloaded a third-party Pedometer+ app onto my Apple Watch.

I split this test into three walks, and when I got home, I downloaded all the data. Here are my results:

In all my years of doing these walk tests, I think this is the closest one yet. As you can see, there’s only a difference of 32 steps between the two watches, which is unheard of.

The average person takes 2,000 steps a mile, so 32 steps is nothing. The Apple Watch Ultra 4 was ever so slightly more accurate, only missing 43 steps, making it pretty much spot on.

To really put these two watches head-to-head, you’d need to look at a lot more than just how well they count steps. Both are designed to be worn 24/7 and cope with outdoor adventures. There are some big differences, however: even with a bigger battery life of 50-74 hours, the Fenix 9 Pro still offers 29 days in smartwatch mode and up to 54 hours in activity mode. The Fenix also has a built-in multi-LED flashlight and full offline mapping.

That said, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is like having an extension of your iPhone on your wrist, and with the new heart rate sensor, it’s definitely the best Apple Watch on the market for anyone serious about training. We’ll continue to compare the two watches head-to-head, so stay tuned for more testing.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’m a smartwatch reviewer: This is the new Apple Watch 12 feature I’m most excited for
• Apple just killed one of my favorite Apple Watch features with the launch of watchOS 27
• I’ve tested over 100 fitness trackers head-to-head — 3 workout stats I trust the least

Apple is slowly rolling out a revamped Health app for iPhone and Apple Watch, and you can try it now by downloading the iOS 27.2 public beta; you’ll also need to run watchOS 27 on your Apple Watch.

One of the coolest new features in the overhauled app is a series of at-home longevity assessments designed to be done in your living room using your iPhone’s camera and Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor.

These assessments provide insights into a user’s strength, balance, flexibility, and more. I tried both the balance and flexibility tests, which take about five to seven minutes each, and gained some valuable, surprising insights into my physical health. Here’s what I learned.

How Apple’s at-home longevity tests work

To perform one of these assessments, users are asked to place their iPhone on the ground, lean up against a wall, and then walk back ten to 12 feet, ensuring their entire body is framed within the front-facing camera’s view.

The assessments use a vision-based AI model to track your body movement as you perform each step. However, no video is actually being recorded during the assessment, and all the AI processing occurs on-device.

What I learned from Apple’s flexibility test

Once your iPhone is set up and you're well-framed in the center of the screen, it’s time to start the assessment.

An on-screen trainer demos the movements for each test with more than enough detail to easily follow along. For example, the flexibility assessment involves five different stretches to thoroughly determine your overall upper and lower body flexibility ratings. Ratings fall into one of four categories: Needs Improvement, Fair, Good, and Excellent.

So, how did I do? My upper body flexibility score was ‘Good,’ but my lower body flexibility score was only ‘Fair,’ lower than I expected. I performed the five tests in the assessment twice, just to be sure I properly followed all the instructions, and both times the results were the same.

Was I aware that my lower body flexibility could use some attention? Honestly, no, not at all. Now that I am, I plan to prioritize more workouts and stretches to improve it.

Helpfully, in addition to a rating, the new Health app also provides fairly comprehensive information on the best ways to make progress in either category, including suggested exercises to try.

My balance is better than my flexibility, according to Apple

The balance assessment is even easier than the flexibility one, involving just one test. Users are asked to stand on one foot, with their other foot suspended in the air behind them for as long as they can without touching the ground, for up to sixty seconds. You do this twice, once for each foot.

Once the countdown begins, calming music starts playing, while a voice periodically provides encouraging words. Balance is scored on the same rubric as flexibility.

Fortunately, this time around I scored an Excellent — again, I did the test twice — which was a lovely little ego boost after my mediocre flexibility performance.

Like an at-home physical exam

These are just two of the 17 longevity assessments found in the new Apple Health app. Once all the assessments are complete, the Health app generates a report based on the results to share with your doctor.

Ultimately, Apple’s new longevity assessment might be foreshadowing what the future of healthcare will look like, where users rely on a mix of AI-powered consumer tech and traditional doctor visits to better understand and improve their well-being.

What are your thoughts on Apple’s new longevity tests in the updated Health app in iOS 27.2? Are you looking forward to trying them yourself? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 4 first impressions: 5 reasons to buy and 2 reasons to skip Apple’s new rugged model
• Here's how to enable the new Siri AI on your Apple Watch
• Apple just killed one of my favorite Apple Watch features with the launch of watchOS 27

2026 seems to be the year of the screenless fitness tracker. We’ve seen the success of the $99 Fitbit Air, as well as the launch of the Garmin Cirqa and the Oura Ring 5. And according to new rumors, Apple might be joining the party.

As reported by Bloomberg, Apple is working on a screenless health tracker, set to take on the likes of Fitbit Air, Garmin Cirqa, and Whoop. There have been rumors for months that Apple has been “exploring” the category and developing prototypes, which feature a fabric band attached to a module that rests on the wrist — similar to the Apple Watch, but without a screen.

It’s said that Tim Cook and services chief Eddy Cue are interested in the product. Cue now leads Apple’s health teams and is thought to be pushing to explore wearables with simpler interfaces. Yet as someone who has been writing about wearables for the past decade, I really don’t see this happening any time soon.

With the Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4, Apple has made two of its best health trackers yet, with an updated heart rate sensor and built-in recovery tools at last. Yet part of their appeal is that they feel like an extension of the iPhone on your wrist. Without a screen, you’re left with the slightly chaotic Health app (though I’ll wait to test the new version launching in the iOS 27.2 Beta with its new user-friendly interface) and the need to check your phone constantly to see the progress of those all-important rings.

Only time will tell, but if you’re a fan of the Whoop, I wouldn’t hold your breath. The report does state that if we do see a screenless tracker from the brand, it probably won’t be till 2028, as Apple is said to be focusing on AI smart glasses and AirPods with cameras first.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 4 first impressions: 5 reasons to buy and 2 reasons to skip Apple’s new rugged model
• Apple just killed one of my favorite Apple Watch features with the launch of watchOS 27
• How to add Apple's new dynamic step count widget to your Apple Watch

I walked 5,500 steps with the new Apple Watch Series 12 on my left wrist and the Garmin Venu 4 on my right wrist (Okay, it was 5,520 steps) to determine which is the better fitness tracker.

Two of the best smartwatches in 2026, the Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399, though the 46mm 5G+GPS model I'm testing is $549, the same cost as the Garmin Venu 4. More importantly, both devices are equipped with their respective brand's latest heart rate tracking tech, along with onboard GPS and barometric altimeters for elevation tracking.

So, which of these two popular, capable devices came out on top in this fitness tracking accuracy showdown between the Apple Watch Series 12 and Garmin Venu 4? See for yourself below, along with my five biggest takeaways. I've also declared a winner at the very end.

I walked 5,000 steps with the Apple Watch 12 vs Garmin Venu 4

As noted above, I wore the Apple Watch on my left wrist and the Garmin on my right during this ~50-minute walk around hilly Seattle, Washington. As a control, I manually counted my steps, recording every 100 with a click of a tally counter, and logged the walk in the Strava app on my iPhone 16 Plus.

1. Both wearables logged my steps and distance with impressive accuracy

Strava logged the exact same number of total steps taken as my manual count: 5,520, a tally that both the Apple Watch 12 and Garmin Venu each came ridiculously close to matching as well.

Apple ended up overcounting by just 11 steps while Garmin undercounted by only two steps. Distance data is also impressively close to the control, with the Apple Watch being just a bit more spot-on than Garmin.

2. Apple was generous with climb data

I've come to expect my Apple Watch to be on the generous side when it comes to logging climb data, whether strolling around the city or hiking a mountain. That said, despite my expectations for this consistent inconsistency, the best Apple Watches still tend to be in the ballpark at logging uphill efforts, just, perhaps, the furthest corner of the upper deck.

That's the case here; Apple seemingly tacked an extra 38 feet of climb onto my walk compared to Strava, which is both forgivable and certainly better than undercounting my ascent by 38 feet.

3. Heart rate data is a perfect match

The Garmin Venu 4 sports the brand's latest Elevate V5 heart rate sensor, and the Apple Watch Series 12 — along with the Apple Watch Ultra 4 — uses Apple's newest, most powerful holistic sensor arrays.

Latest tech or not, Apple and Garmin are two brands I've come to trust when it comes to accurately logging heart rate. This is to say, I expected the Series 12 and Venu 4 to produce pretty similar HR data for my walk. Instead, they noted the exact same average and max, a rare, encouraging outcome!

4. The Venu 4 used a lot more battery than the Series 12

Garmin watches may have a reputation for outlasting their Apple rivals, but during this roughly 50-minute outdoor workout, the Garmin Venu 4 burned through four times the battery of the Apple Watch Series 12.

5. Both smartwatches did well, but Garmin wins overall

Ultimately, both watches performed extremely well in this fitness tracking showdown between the Apple Watch Series 12 and the Garmin Venu 4, but a winner must be declared, darn it.

While the Apple Watch Series 12 was closer distance-wise, the Garmin Venu 4 was slightly more precise at tracking steps, and comfortably closer to the control with regard to climb and pace data.

I am, of course, splitting hairs here. The big takeaway is that both the Garmin Venu 4 and Apple Watch Series 12 are both excellent, reliable options if you want a sleek, modern smartwatch to keep tabs on your outdoor workouts. That said, for the uphill-obsessed, the Series 12 just may be the bigger ego booster.

Which smartwatch did you expect to win this head-to-head? Let me know in the poll below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’m a smartwatch reviewer: This is the new Apple Watch 12 feature I’m most excited for
• Apple just killed one of my favorite Apple Watch features with the launch of watchOS 27
• I’ve tested over 100 fitness trackers head-to-head — 3 workout stats I trust the least

The popular Fitbit Air is one of the best fitness trackers of 2026 thanks to its wallet-friendly price tag, reliable tracking, and simple-to-use design. However, it’s far from the only affordable, screen- and subscription-free fitness tracker out there.

I’m currently reviewing the Luna Band, a device I initially got hands-on back in January at CES in Las Vegas, and then again in early September at IFA in Berlin.

The Luna Band is a direct competitor to not just the Fitbit Air but also the Garmin Cirqa, and notably splits the difference, cost-wise, between the two. Feature-wise, all three trackers promise no-fuss insights into your daily movement, workouts, sleep quality, and overall well-being.

I’ve already covered the key differences between the Luna Band and Garmin Cirqa. Here are the five most important things to know when comparing the Luna Band vs. Fitbit Air.

1. The Luna Band is $50 pricier

When it comes to price, the Fitbit Air has the Luna Band beat. Google’s screenless tracker starts at just $99, while the Luna Band is $149. That said, the latter is still a better bargain than the $199 Garmin Cirqa.

2. But none of Luna’s features are paywalled

While the Fitbit Air is less expensive upfront compared to the Luna Band, in the long run, the Google tracker might end up costing you more.

Unlike the higher-end Whoop 5.0, neither the Garmin Cirqa nor the Fitbit Air nor the Luna Band require you to sign up for a subscription to use basic features. However, both Garmin and Google paywall some of the more advanced features behind a monthly/annual cost.

For example, access to Google Health Premium for the Fitbit Air is $9.99 a month or $99 for the year. Meanwhile, the Garmin Connect+ plan is $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually.

Luna takes a different approach, as noted numerous times on the Luna Band product page: All of the Luna Band’s features, including personalized AI insights, are subscription-free for the life of the device.

3. The Luna Band has better battery life

The Luna Band also has a higher battery life rating than the Fitbit Air: up to ten days per charge — the same as Garmin Cirqa — versus seven days per charge for the Google wearable. That said, I’ve personally verified the claims of the Fitbit and Garmin, but not the Luna Band, so stay tuned for real-world verification.

4. But the Fitbit Air is smaller and lighter

Of these three trackers, the Fitbit Air is by far the lightest and most comfortable, thanks in part to a narrower strap and more compact tracking tech. In terms of weight, the Fitbit Air clocks in at just ~14 g, compared to ~26 g for the Luna Band; the Garmin Cirqa weighs ~22 g.

5. The Luna Band uses haptic feedback to deliver notifications

While both the Fitbit Air and Luna Band support haptic feedback, on-device vibrations are a much bigger part of the user experience for the latter. For example, the Fitbit Air only buzzes when you set a “Smart Alarm” to wake you up via haptics at an optimal time in your sleep cycle. That’s basically it.

On the Luna Band, users can set the device to vibrate for health alerts, notifications, and alarms. Haptics can also be set to automatically “nudge” you throughout the day to stand up and/or move around.

What are your thoughts on the Luna Band? Would you consider purchasing one over the competition? Moreover, which 2026 screenless fitness tracker do you like the most? Let me know below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I just went hands-on with the new Circular Ring 3 — and it beats the Oura Ring 5 in 3 big ways
• I just reviewed the Garmin Cirqa — 5 things you need to know about Garmin’s subscription-free Whoop and Fitbit Air alternative
• Exclusive: Garmin Cirqa PM says ‘it just felt like we had all of the pieces in place’ to launch a screen-free fitness tracker

Bad news, Apple Watch power users: the latest watchOS 27 software release removes the easiest way to quickly and efficiently jump between apps.

In watchOS 26 and earlier, users could simply double-press the digital crown at any time to jump back into the previous app they were using. This functionality, unofficially called the “app switcher,” is unfortunately no longer available in watchOS 27.

Here’s everything you need to know about the removal of the app switcher function for Apple Watch in watchOS 27.

watchOS 27 removes the app switcher function

I just updated my Apple Watch Series 11 to watchOS 27, a process that took longer than expected (several hours). While I’m largely impressed with the new software — these are the 7 watchOS 27 features you should try first — it falls short in two regards.

First, Apple removed the fan-favorite Walkie-Talkie app for no apparent reason. Second, and perhaps much more noticeable, double-tapping the digital crown no longer brings you to the last app you used. Instead, it defaults to displaying the new “Dynamic App Grid” with your seven most-used apps.

Oddly, a single click of the digital crown also launches the Dynamic App Grid, which seems redundant/oddly un-Apple-like. What gives?

Apple has bigger plans for the digital crown double-tap

Apple apparently has even bigger plans for the digital crown double-tap. Later this year, several intriguing new “Audio Intelligence” features are set to be added to watchOS 27, including “Live Rewind.”

It’s designed to give users an easy and discreet way to relisten to the last 15 seconds of audio captured by their Apple Watch (Series 12 and Ultra 4 only) at any moment, and even generate a transcript. For example, if you’re bad with names, like me, Live Rewind could be a truly useful bit of tech. It's also freaking some users out.

But what does this have to do with the end of the app switcher function? When Live Rewind launches, the digital crown double-tap will default to opening the feature on compatible devices.

What comes next?

Ultimately, it’s possible that if enough folks convey their annoyance with the removal of the app switcher function for Apple Watch, the brand might add it back in future firmware, at least for the devices that don’t support the new Live Rewind feature.

What are your thoughts on Apple removing the app switcher in watchOS 27? Let me know below.

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• Apple Watch Ultra 4 first impressions: 5 reasons to buy and 2 reasons to skip Apple’s new rugged model
• Here's how to enable the new Siri AI on your Apple Watch
• 3 reasons why the Pixel Watch 5 Stephen Curry edition is totally worth it

Apple designed the Ultra for summiting mountains and diving reefs. In reality? Most of us wearing one are weekend warriors chained to a 9-to-5, using an $800 rugged watch to track our steps on our commutes. With the Apple Watch Ultra 4, Apple makes having the watch on your wrist even better, whether you're working out or not.

The big headlines with the Apple Watch Ultra 4 are a new heart rate monitor, a readiness score to help you know when to push and when to rest, two days of battery life for the first time, and new Audio Intelligence features that will come later this year. Physically, it looks the same, but under the hood, this is a smarter watch.

But is it worth the upgrade if you already have the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on your wrist? I’ve been wearing the Apple Watch Ultra 4 for the past week and wore it for a 22-mile run this morning to see how the heart rate monitor compares to a physical chest strap. Read my full Apple Watch Ultra 4 review to find out more.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Quick facts

• Improved battery life: lasts up to 50 hours per charge compared to 42 hours for the Ultra 3
• New S11 chip: Faster, more efficient processing with support for Siri AI features
• Redesigned holistic sensors: Apple says this is the most accurate heart rate sensor on a wearable; heart rate and HRV are sampled more frequently than before; HRV insights are now more readily displayed in the Health app
• New health metrics: the Ultra 4 supports a new Readiness score and Health Age metric
• Siri AI features: the Ultra 4 ships with support for Siri AI voice assistance; new "Audio Intelligence" features help you better recall life's important details

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Specs

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Price and availability

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is available for preorder from September 9, 2026. Units should hit store shelves and your hands starting on September 18.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is $799 / AU$1,349, the same price as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and prior models.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Design and display

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 looks physically identical to the Ultra 3, boasting the same dimensions, oversized display with 3,000 nits of max brightness, an all-titanium case, and 100 meters of water resistance. It’s still available in black and natural titanium.

There are slightly more bands to choose from: the Trail Loop is now available in dark umber, sand, and Apple’s color of the year, burgundy. The Alpine Loop comes in desert, dark olive, and also burgundy. Ocean Bands are now made from translucent silicone and come in three new colors: translucent gray, translucent kelp, and translucent black.

The big difference between the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 from a design perspective is when you flip the watch over. The heart rate sensor has been completely redesigned, but more on that below. The Apple Watch Ultra 4 also has a built-in microphone for all of the audio intelligence features coming later this year.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Health and fitness tracking

The biggest difference, and the reason I think this is the best Apple Watch Ultra yet, is the new heart rate monitor loaded onto the watch. When looking at the two monitors side-by-side, the Ultra 4 and the Apple Watch Series 12 have a “32-petal design,” whereas older watches had a two-petal design. This refers to the spoke-like lines coming out of the electrode.

The green LED lights, which measure your heart rate by shining light into the skin, are bigger and more powerful. Apple says it also makes the heart rate monitor more accurate on certain skin tones, although it might still struggle if you have tattoos on your wrist.

I’ve always found the heart rate monitor on my Apple Watch Ultra 3 to be a little sketchy, and while I often put this down to how it sits on my wrist, I was keen to see how things might have changed on the Ultra 4. It’s worth noting that if, like me, you have petite wrists, you’ll need to ensure the Ultra is really tight against your wrist. I’ve found that if my watch strap isn’t tight enough, the watch just doesn’t give me a heart rate reading.

Heart rate data lies at the heart of a lot of health features on the Apple Watch, including HRV, workouts, and ovulation prediction. With the Apple Watch Ultra 4, the new heart rate monitor, along with the S-11 chip, measures your heart rate every five seconds, all day long. On the Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple only allowed continuous heart rate monitoring during a workout, but this is a huge step in the right direction. Inside the Heart Rate app, there's a rolling two-minute chart.

On the Apple Watch Ultra 4, you’ll be able to see your Recovery HRV score, which shows signs of stress and recovery, as well as your overall HRV, which offers insights into your overall health. You can now see from your wrist if your heart rate suddenly spikes, and through the new daytime Vitals app, you're getting a much more immediate picture of what's happening, rather than having to wait till you’re asleep.

I’ve been testing the new heart rate sensor alongside a chest strap and my Oura Ring 5, and have found the Apple Watch Ultra 4 to be pretty much spot on. Here’s a graph from my recent run:

The new sensors also feed into the new daily Readiness score, which is only available on the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. Readiness provides a single score out of ten with one of four different recommendations: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready, or Go For It. Readiness updates throughout the day as new data comes in, and is based on your overnight vitals, sleep score, recent physical activity, and training load.

To get a Readiness score, you need to wear the watch for seven nights and get at least four hours of sleep per night. While I have done that, my Apple Watch got a little confused by moving time zones, so it only registered two hours of sleep as I travelled back to London from Cupertino. I’ll update this review soon when I’ve had a few days of Readiness scores. I’ll also look at how these scores compare to the likes of Body Battery on Garmin, and the Readiness score on the Oura Ring 5.

Later this year, the Health App will see big changes, including a new Health Age score that compares your physical fitness to the average for your age. There will also be a greater emphasis on things like sleep trends, heart data, and other longevity metrics. Again, I’ll be testing these as soon as they drop, but I’m excited to hear about these updates to make the Health app more useful to users.

Of course, it's worth noting that Apple isn’t reinventing the wheel — Garmin has had a Fitness Age score forever, but wearing a Garmin isn’t like having an extension of your iPhone on your wrist. While these little changes might not sound like a lot, a Readiness score can show you at a glance if you’re overtraining and putting yourself at risk of injury. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or training for your seventh marathon, knowing how well you’re coping with your training is imperative, and Apple makes this easier with the Apple Watch Ultra 4.

Another minor but exciting update I’ve found during my testing is the Steps watch face. At last, you can see your daily step count from your watch face. Sure, steps aren’t the biggest health metric to keep an eye on, but on rest days, I still like to make sure I’m closing my rings and keeping my legs moving. Unfortunately for folks with an older Apple Watch, this is a hardware thing, as Apple says it relies on the more accurate S-11 chip, so older watches won’t get the updated pedometer.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Audio Intelligence

Now, to address the parts of the watch that are probably going to get headlines — the Audio Intelligence features. Here’s everything you need to know about the new Audio Intelligence features, but in a nutshell, the two features everyone is talking about are Live Rewind and Siri Recap.

Neither is available for me to test just yet; they are coming later in the year, but essentially, Live Rewind allows you to double-click on the Digital Crown of your Apple Watch Ultra 4 and get a 15-second recap of what was just said around you. The Watch will play an audible chime even if your watch is on silent and puts a microphone indicator on screen, so people around you will know you’re recording.

One example is if you’d missed the specials at a restaurant, or missed a colleague's name, you could read it from your watch. I think there’s a compelling reason here, say, if you have ADHD or struggle with auditory processing.

The trickier sell, for me and most people I’ve spoken to, is Siri Recap. This records ambient audio every 15 minutes to create an itemized CliffsNotes of your day. You can set this to record at certain times or locations, say only at work, or only after 6 pm. Apple put a lot of stress on privacy when demoing this new feature — raw audio isn’t saved, uploaded, or retrievable, and Siri Recap doesn’t identify individual speakers. It’s also designed to exclude sensitive information or hate speech.

Even with these features, there’s still the slightly blurred line around the fact that other people’s snippets of conversation could appear in my Siri Recap, without them knowing they were being recorded. This isn’t a problem Apple faces alone — the same questions can be leveled at the ambient AI, cameras, and microphones in smart glasses and other wearable devices.

Personally, I don’t think I’d ever want my watch to be silently recording in the background, but I’ll reserve judgment until I go hands-on with the features later this year. It’s also worth noting that all of these features you’ll have to opt in to — they are automatically disabled when you unbox the watch.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Battery life

Even with continuous heart rate monitoring every five seconds, Apple has improved the battery life on the Apple Watch Ultra 4. You’re now getting more than two days of battery life in smartwatch mode, with 50 hours of battery life, up from 42 hours of battery life in the Ultra 3. In low power mode, you’ll get 84 hours of battery life in the Apple Watch Ultra 4, compared to 72 hours in the Ultra 3.

In workout tracking, the battery is better on the Ultra 4 too. You’ll get 25 hours of battery life for tracking workouts with full GPS and heart rate tracking. This is up from 20 hours on the Ultra 3. There’s also a Max Extended Workout mode that allows the Apple Watch Ultra 4 to track outdoor runs, walks, and hikes for up to 45 hours.

I’ve found these numbers to be pretty accurate. I’m easily getting two days of battery life on my Ultra 4. It’s 5 pm right now, and I have worn the watch all day, replying to messages from my wrist and tracking three and a half hours of workouts, and my watch has gone from 82% at 6 am to 61%.

You also get faster charging on the Apple Watch Ultra 4 — 15 minutes of charge will give you up to 18 hours of battery life.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Should you buy?

This is, without question, the best Apple Watch Ultra yet. Sure, there are still things missing: I’d love a built-in LED flashlight or a second size option for smaller wrists, but the health improvements made to this watch with the continuous heart rate sensing and recovery information help you train smarter. Little things like a Readiness score and Daytime Vitals help me see, at a glance, how much my long run has impacted my body.

Would I upgrade if I had an Apple Watch Ultra 3 on my wrist? I’m not sure, as the heart rate monitoring isn’t bad on the older watch, but if you’re wearing an older Ultra, you want longer battery life, or you’re intrigued by the Audio Intelligence features, this is a watch worth buying.

If you’re on a budget, I’ve also been wearing the Apple Watch Series 12, which is similarly excellent and has all the same sensors and features as the Ultra 4. It’s also smaller, lighter, and more comfortable to wear for 24/7 sleep tracking.

With the Apple Watch Ultra 4, you’re getting Apple’s extreme durability, the best battery life on an Apple Watch, and that all-important Action Button, which really does make using your watch with sweaty fingers better, along with the native recovery metrics long requested by serious athletes. This stands out as Apple’s most competitive endurance wearable to date.

There’s a bit of a revolution happening in the wearable space right now because many of us realize we don’t want yet another screen vying for our attention. But we still need to know our metrics. That’s why the likes of the Oura Ring 5, Garmin Cirqa, or Whoop 5.0 have surged in popularity, and we get constant questions about which is the right one to buy.

Casting the longest shadow, though, is the Fitbit Air, which was released for $99 / £84 and scored 4 stars when my colleague Jane reviewed it in March.

The Fitbit Air is a simple, discreet tracker with no screen and no subscription, and it allows you to go about your routine and almost forget you’re wearing it. Of course, if you’re training for an Ironman, you need something a little more hardcore, but for the vast majority of us, the Fitbit Air feels like the right device at the right time. But the fact is, we’ve been here before.

Back in 2013, Fitbit was an up-and-coming wearable tech company that had yet to be swallowed up by the Google Empire. It made its name with the Fitbit Flex, a $99 wrist-worn pedometer and sleep tracker that landed alongside the likes of the Jawbone Up and Nike Fuelband as a way for people to track progress toward their 10,000 steps per day.

I had one of those trackers back in the day, and after a recent clear-out at home, I not only found it — but discovered it still held a charge. Earlier this year, my colleague Dan Bracaglia matched a 5-year-old Fitbit vs Apple Watch Series 11 on a 5,500-step walk to find out if your old fitness tracker is still good enough. So I decided to go one better and see how a 13-year-old fitness tracker holds up to Fitbit’s 2026 breakout success.

I wore both trackers on my wrist for a day and a night and took their readings on steps and sleep. Back in 2013, the Flex couldn’t measure anything else. But even after all this time, the results from the two devices on those two metrics were pretty close:

I continued to wear the two devices alongside each other on my wrist for a couple of days. I would have gone longer, but the brittle rubber strap of the Flex embarrassingly broke as I went to shake someone’s hand. Even so, after spending some time with my fitness tracker of yesteryear, I’ve come to some conclusions about just how good the Fitbit Air is.

Fitbit Air vs Fitbit Flex: All the improvements for the same $99 price

It's kind of incredible to think the Fitbit Flex launched with a $99 / £79 price back in the day, and now the Fitbit Air is here for that same $99. In the U.K., where I live, the £79 has ballooned to £84, but you can’t win ‘em all.

For that same price, 13 years later, instead of just getting steps and sleep, you now get heart rate, blood oxygen, skin temperature, a sleep and readiness score as well as workout tracking and — if you want to pay for it — a full AI coach sitting inside the Google Health app.

The improvements don’t just stop at the hardware: Google’s Fitbit Air woven loop is a breathable fabric strap that’s 10 times more comfortable than the bulky rubber strap the Fitbit Flex arrived with. And the Air will go for seven days without charge, while the Flex only manages five. After more than a decade in storage, my model lasted a little over two days before needing to be recharged.

Lastly, the fact that the Air will automatically track when you fall asleep or start a workout is a huge improvement. On the Flex, you had to remember to tap it firmly to put it in sleep mode, and it had no workout option. I remember missing many nights of sleep because I forgot to put my tracker into sleep mode before my head hit the pillow.

One thing I do like about the Flex is the little row of blinking LEDs that gives you some idea of your step progress. The Air is completely screen-free, but in a roundabout way, this might not be the panacea you think it is. If you want to see how you’re tracking against a goal, you need to pull out your phone and look — which ironically makes it all too easy to spiral into a screen-time rabbit hole if you’re not careful.

Fitbit Air vs Fitbit Flex: Step counting vs true health tracking

It was a simpler time back in 2013; all we really wanted to know was if we could hit 10,000 steps a day. Now we know that metrics aren’t as important as we thought they were, and the goal is overall holistic wellness.

That’s why the Air is powered by Gemini and can automatically provide you with a detailed sleep summary every morning or give you a cardio load score — which measures the strain on your system when you’re exercising.

But this is where we run into some of the Air’s downsides. There’s no onboard GPS for location data or altimeter for elevation insights. So if you want to go for a run or a cycle, you’ll need to bring a paired smartphone along with you.

It’s still better than what we had in 2013, though, as the Fitbit Air automatically tracks a small selection of workout types, including walks, bike rides, "sports," and other activities. It does so whether you carry your paired phone or not, but there's a catch. For an activity to be auto-logged, you have to do it for at least 15 consecutive minutes.

Also, as mentioned, to get the most from the tracker, you need to pay for the Google Health Premium subscription to unlock personalized AI-backed health and fitness insights, along with deeper dives into your holistic trends. That will cost you $9.99 a month or $99 a year.

Fitbit Air vs Fitbit Flex: Last band standing

The point of this little experiment — beyond the novelty of finding an old piece of tech that still works — is the amount of value the Fitbit Air brings to the table as a tracker in 2026. If you’re a more established athlete and training toward a goal, I would personally recommend one of the best Garmin smartwatches or the best Apple Watches over the Fitbit Air.

But for those of us who want to keep an eye on our activity without it being intrusive — just like back in the day — the Air is hard to beat. And while the RAM crisis is pushing up prices across the board, I was struck by how much more Google can offer with the Air for the same price as its predecessor was over a decade ago.

There are still some niggles, like having a proprietary charging port so you can’t charge either the Flex or the Air with a generic USB-C cable, but I know that’s due to the waterproofing requirements. Overall, despite initially thinking I was done with Fitbit after 10 years, the simplicity and comfort of the Air have pulled me right back into it.

More from Tom's Guide

• The best Fitbit trackers we've tested
• I spent two weeks with the $99 Fitbit Air
• Exclusive: Google design director says Fitbit Air reception proves they 'made the right decision'

Apple’s latest watchOS 27 software is officially out and available for free download, as long as you have a compatible Apple Watch (more on that below). The new operating system adds all sorts of new health and fitness features, AI tools, and usability improvements.

I’ve been exploring watchOS 27 all day — loaded up on my Apple Watch Series 11 — and it’s a modest yet welcome improvement to watchOS 26. That said, there is one notable downside to upgrading.

Read on for everything you need to know about watchOS 27, including compatible models, installation steps, the seven coolest new features to try first, and more.

Which Apple Watches support watchOS 27?

Apple is generally pretty good about supporting older Apple Watch models with new software. Unfortunately, this time around, the list of models compatible with watchOS 27 is frustratingly short. It includes the latest Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 (duh), along with:

• Apple Watch SE 3
• Apple Watch Series 9
• Apple Watch Series 10
• Apple Watch Series 11
• Apple Watch Ultra 2
• Apple Watch Ultra 3

Most notably missing from the list is 2022’s original Apple Watch Ultra model

How to update to watchOS 27

To update your Apple Watch to watchOS 27, you’ll first need to update your paired iPhone to the latest iOS 27 software. After that, navigate to the Settings menu, either on your Apple Watch or via the Watch app for iPhone, and open General> Software Update.

You might need to reload the update screen a few times by swiping down, but an option to download the latest watchOS 27 should eventually appear. When it does, tap Download, punch in your passcode if prompted, accept the TOS, and wait…

Depending on your internet connection, the whole installation process could take up to several hours. One more thing: Ensure your Apple Watch is on its charger during the update process and keep your paired phone close.

7 new watchOS 27 feature to try first on Apple Watch

With watchOS 27 up and running on your Apple Watch, now it's time for the fun part: exploring all the cool new features. Here's what I recommend checking out first.

1. Siri AI with dedicated Siri app

Ladies and gentlemen, a true-blue AI-powered Siri is finally available on the Apple Watch. With watchOS 27, your Apple Watch now has a dedicated Siri AI app that supports a more conversational style of interaction. The voice is also more natural and expressive, making interactions feel less awkward.

Perhaps most importantly, Siri is now actually good at answering even complex, context-based questions. The question is, can Apple's on-wrist Siri AI compete with Google Gemini AI voice assistant (as found on the latest Pixel Watch 5)? I look forward to testing both head-to-head in a coming article.

2. The Dynamic App Grid

Meet your new default home screen, the Dynamic App Grid. When you press the Digital Crown once, your Apple Watch will automatically display your five most frequently used and/or relevant apps, saving you the effort of scrolling around. As the name suggests, these update dynamically throughout the day.

But what if the app you want isn't one of those five? Simply swipe down/scroll to view the full app view.

3. New Siri Modular watch face

Apple's latest Siri Modular watch face is a personal favorite. Highly customizable, it automatically displays a complication for quick access to the most recently used widget in your Smart Stack. Best of all, this complication also updates dynamically. The new watch face additionally offers a complication to open the Siri app with a tap.

Of course, users can further customize the appearance of the Siri Modular watch face to their heart's delight with the complications and time format of their choosing.

4. Single-tap gesture control to open Smart Stack

The latest watchOS 27 introduces a handy new way to open the Apple Watch's Smart Stack and select one of the dynamic widgets: The Single Tap gesture control. Apple launched the Double Tap gesture in 2026, where users press their index finger and thumb together twice on their watch-worn hand to perform an action, like answering a call.

The new Single Tap gesture works exactly the same way, minus the second tap.

5. Call Context and Smart Stack suggestions

Apple's AI-powered Siri shows up in more places than just the dedicated Siri app. For instance, two new features, Call Context and Smart Stack suggestions, use Siri to automatically surface relevant information on the watch display when it might be useful.

The Call Context feature is designed to display relevant details when brought up during a phone call. For example, if I casually mention an upcoming flight while chatting with my mom, Call Context should then show my itinerary on the Apple Watch screen for me to reference (stay tuned for testing).

Smart Suggestions, meanwhile, generates reminders in your Smart Stack for things you might otherwise overlook/miss, like a friend's birthday, a low balance on a transit card, changes to an upcoming flight departure, and more.

6. New Find My app

One of my favorite watchOS 27 improvements is the updated Find My app, where people, objects, and devices are all consolidated into one easy-to-navigate map view.

I love to travel and use AirTags to keep tabs on all my luggage and bags. Now, instead of having to pull out my phone to make sure that my suitcase actually made it back home to Seattle and isn't still chilling in Amsterdam, I simply need to tap on my Apple Watch a few times and glance down at my wrist.

7. Improved indoor workout tracking

Last but not least, workout tracking accuracy for indoor activities like walking and running should be improved with the latest watchOS 27 release. While I'm not much of a treadmill guy — I prefer to walk and run outdoors, weather be damned — you can count on us fully testing these claims in the coming weeks.

As a big fan of Apple's overall approach to on-wrist fitness tracking, any accuracy improvements are welcomed with open arms.

Now, if only Apple would provide individual step counts for logged workouts...

watchOS 27: Goodbye Walkie-talkie app

With the good comes the bad. While watchOS 27 is brimming with a lot of cool, new features and design improvements, Apple sadly killed off one fan-favorite app in the latest release: the Walkie-Talkie app for Apple Watch.

What are your thoughts on the new watchOS 27 software, and what features are you most excited to try? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 4 first impressions: 5 reasons to buy and 2 reasons to skip Apple’s new rugged model
• We asked 368 people what they want from the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Here’s the resounding answer (and it’s not AI)
• I’ve been writing about the Apple Watch for the past decade: Here’s the rumored update I’m most excited about for the Apple Watch Ultra 4

If you’re like me and sometimes struggle to remember names and other small bits of information on the fly, despite your best attempts, this article is for you.

At best, this shortcoming can lead to awkwardness; at worst, utter embarrassment. But what if some magical bit of tech solved this issue once and for all? Enter: Apple’s new Live Rewind feature for the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4.

I’ve long dreamed of being important/wealthy enough to have a team of assistants that follow me around, whispering crucial details in my ear before I need them… like names of acquaintances. Unfortunately, rather than pursuing a career in politics or entertainment, my calling was journalism, an occupation where you’re very much your own assistant (and editor, photographer, etc.).

No worries; Apple has my back. Here’s why I’m super-excited to try out the Live Rewind Audio Intelligence feature on the new Apple Watch 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4.

At last, a smartwatch feature for the short-term memory-challenged

The whole concept behind Live Rewind is to allow users to easily and discreetly relisten to short snippets of conversations they may have missed, immediately after-the-fact. When active, Live Rewind continuously records the past 15 seconds of ambient sound from your wrist.

When you want to rewind and listen in on something that was just said, you simply need to double-tap the digital crown and hold your smartwatch to your ear (or simply listen if you’re wearing paired Bluetooth headphones).

Not only do I see this feature being useful when meeting new people and trying to remember names, but also in the presence of fast-talking servers at restaurants, when asking for directions from strangers, or when trying to recall book/movie/TV recommendations from friends.

How does Live Rewind actually work?

How exactly does Live Rewind on the Apple Watch work? The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 sport an upgraded S11 processor, which unlocks the ability to continually buffer up to 15 seconds of audio capture, day and night.

In addition to being able to play back 15 seconds of audio at a moment’s notice, the feature can generate a transcription of the audio — something I appreciate as a visual learner — as well. Users can even save said transcription for later.

Privacy isn’t an afterthought

The idea of having your smartwatch continuously record your surroundings 24/7 might seem a bit unsettling, and frankly, it is. However, Cupertino has put several actions in place to guarantee the privacy of anyone recorded by the latest Audio Intelligence tools.

For starters, the latest Apple Watches don’t actually save any audio files, on the device or in the cloud. Every 15 seconds of buffered audio is continuously replaced by new audio. Furthermore, the feature never identifies individual speakers (for better or worse). Finally, all the data used for this feature is encrypted end-to-end.

So, what are your thoughts on Apple’s new Live Rewind feature for the Apple Watch 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4? Is this something you might benefit from? Do you have any hesitations? Let me know in the comments.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 4 first impressions: 5 reasons to buy and 2 reasons to skip Apple’s new rugged model
• We asked 368 people what they want from the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Here’s the resounding answer (and it’s not AI)
• I’ve been writing about the Apple Watch for the past decade: Here’s the rumored update I’m most excited about for the Apple Watch Ultra 4

One of my favorite aspects of being a technology journalist is getting to cover the debut of exciting new products at events like the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, and most recently the Internationale Funkausstellung show, aka Innovation for All (IFA) in Berlin.

With no shortage of ground to cover at each of these tech conferences, I’ve made a habit of treating each day as a marathon of sorts, tracking my stats via one of the best fitness trackers or top smartwatches I can find.

For IFA 2026, I opted to log my efforts using the new Garmin Cirqa, a screen-free tracker that’s comfortable, long-lasting, and discreet. Ultimately, it proved to be a competent wearable for the task, with one notable exception (more on that below).

With that said, here are the five biggest takeaways from logging my steps at IFA 2026 on the Garmin Cirqa.

I logged 28k steps at IFA in Berlin on the Garmin Cirqa

1. I covered way more ground than expected, especially on day 1

Much to my surprise, I walked nearly 18,000 steps on my first day of IFA, which was technically a day before the show opened to the public (the press tends to get early access).

To be fair, the Berlin Messe is an absolutely sprawling conference complex, with no shortage of seemingly secret passages and tucked-away halls that are easy to stumble upon by accident but virtually impossible to find again when you’re actually looking for them.

This partially explains why my day one step count was so much higher than day two: I spent considerable time on the ground day one simply trying to get a lay of the land (in an admittedly very jet-lagged state). Day two, I had meetings scattered throughout the complex, and I didn’t want to be wandering around like a ding-dong.

2. I logged more steps on day 1 of IFA than any single day covering MWC

At 17,902 steps, my day one of IFA coverage in Berlin beat my step count for any individual day of coverage at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona back in March. That said, I spent a total of five days covering MWC compared to just two days covering IFA, for a total step count of 67,398 steps in Spain.

3. But CES day 1 was more intense than both

While day one of IFA may have been a leg-burner, it falls a bit short of my total step count from day one of the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas back in early January, where I logged a dog-barking 20,253 steps, more than double my everyday average back home.

Then again, as anyone who has been to CES likely knows, things are very spread out in Las Vegas, which also just might be the least pedestrian-friendly city in the U.S... want to cross the street? You'll need to walk another half-mile down the strip and wander through multiple casinos to do so.

4. Commuting on the U-Bahn seemingly skewed Garmin's distance and pace data

I didn’t include my distance or pace totals in the table above because it’s clear these figures are skewed. Both days of the show, I fired up a walking workout in the Cirqa upon leaving my hotel, trekked about half a mile to the nearest U-Bahn station — I am a nerd for experiencing public rail transit in new cities — and rode the metro roughly two miles to the show grounds.

Unfortunately, the Garmin Cirqa clearly interpreted this time spent riding the train as me moving at near-superhuman speed. For example, my average moving pace on day one of the show, according to Garmin, was 8 mins 41 secs per mile. Sure, I can maintain that pace when running a mile, but covering a trade show? Def not.

Garmin also said I walked 14.14 miles on day one, which would equal 1,266 steps per mile, way less than what I normally average, which is closer to 2,000 steps per mile.

5. I mostly forgot the Garmin Cirqa was even there, but might not wear it again

Ultimately, I opted to wear the Garmin Cirqa for two primary reasons. First, it’s comfortable and lightweight, so much so that I pretty much forgot it was even there. Second, I wanted to wear a mechanical watch on my left wrist to keep a constant eye on time; the nine-hour time difference between Seattle (where I live) and Berlin was my main rationale (also, I got a cool new watch I wanted to show off).

So, will I be wearing the Garmin Cirqa the next time I cover a major tech show? Honestly, probably not. While I appreciate how wrist-friendly it is, the lack of GPS means it has to piggyback off my smartphone’s signal, which isn’t necessarily ideal. Moreover, I’d rather opt for a wearable that’s capable of discerning time spent walking from time spent riding a subway.

More from Tom's Guide

• I biked 11 miles with the Garmin Instinct 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 — and the winner is clear
• I walked 4,000 steps with the Pixel Watch 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 — and we have a new Android champ
• I walked 7 miles with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Pixel Watch 5 — here's the winner

Shiny and new, shiny and new, we all love things that are shiny and new. Then again, just because something is fresh on the scene doesn’t necessarily mean it’s meaningfully better than its predecessor.

Hi, I’m Dan, and I review smartwatches. I’ve been covering the Apple Watch Ultra series ever since the first model launched. As you might expect, I had a long wishlist of upgrades for the fourth generation, many of which came to fruition!

Of course, not all my desires were fulfilled by the cult of Cupertino. With that in mind, here are the five biggest reasons I’m excited about the new Apple Watch Ultra 4 (i.e., the five biggest reasons to buy it).

And for all the contrarians out there, I've also included the two biggest letdowns, aka why you might want to skip the Ultra 4.

Buy: Better heart rate tracking

Apple went ahead and completely overhauled every aspect of the on-wrist holistic sensor array, including making the heart rate tracking LEDS more powerful and increasing the size of the electrode surface used for ECG readings.

Moreover, after extensive internal testing against the competition and a traditional chest-mounted heart rate monitor, Apple says that the Ultra 4 and Series 12 (which share the new holistic tech) are the most accurate heart trackers in any wearable on the market.

That’s not all; the new tech now takes heart rate readings every five minutes (60x times more frequently than the Ultra 3) and HRV readings every 15 minutes (24x more frequently than its predecessor) to better understand your long-term health trends.

Buy: New ‘Live Rewind’ feature

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Apple Watch Series 12 are the first two Apple Watch models to ship with true-blue Siri AI features built-in, including my personal favorite, Live Rewind.

Are you someone who forgets names moments after they're told to you? Did you just zone out while the server read off tonight’s specials? Live Rewind allows you to discreetly listen back to the past 15 seconds of audio at any given moment with a double-tap of the digital crown.

Essentially, the watch is constantly buffering 15 seconds of ambient audio from your wrist. However, actual recordings are never saved, individual voices aren’t identified, and all of the data used for the feature is encrypted end-to-end.

Buy: Improved battery life

This is a biggie and an upgrade that tends to top my wishlist for pretty much every anticipated smartwatch release. The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is now rated to last up to 50 hours per charge, a noteworthy increase over its predecessor’s 42-hour rating.

For extreme athletes, there’s also a new Max Extended workout tracking mode that increases longevity from around 18 hours with full-time GPS and continuous heart rate tracking to a whopping 45 hours without sacrificing cardiovascular and location insights.

Buy: More accurate distance and step count tracking

As one of TG’s resident smartwatch walk testers, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw that the Apple Watch Ultra 4’s onboard pedometer software has been completely overhauled for better step count and distance tracking accuracy, thanks in part to machine learning.

Stay tuned for countless head-to-head walk test comparisons with the Ultra 4 versus the competition; let me know in the comments which smartwatch I should test it against first!

Buy: No price increase

Unlike those nerds over at Google and Samsung, Apple opted to keep its pricing for the 2026 line of smartwatches exactly the same as before, inflation and RAM crisis be damned!

This is commendable and, frankly, not very Apple-like. But, hey, there’s a new CEO in charge, so maybe the Apple of today and tomorrow will be a little more budget-minded than the Apple of yesterday.

Skip: Same display

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 sports the same exact display as its predecessor. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic panel that’s easy to read at just about any angle. It also boasts an impressive max brightness of 3,000 nits.

That said, the Apple Watch Ultra 4’s nearest competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, boasts a max screen brightness of 5,000 nits. Ultimately, it would’ve been nice to see some sort of upgrade to the display in the Ultra 4, if only to keep up with its rivals.

Skip: It’s still gigantic

Every year, come late August, I close my eyes and pray to Steve Jobs, asking him for the one thing that would make the latest Apple Watch Ultra a total slam-dunk: A smaller size option. And every year, I’m disappointed.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is the same dimensions as its predecessor, and even though it isn’t quite as chunky as the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, it still wears rather large on my fairly average-sized 6.5-inch wrist.

Ultimately, in addition to the 49 x 44mm standard Ultra model, I’d loooove to see a second 45 x 40mm offering for those who prefer smaller wrist candy and/or have daintier extremities.

What are your thoughts on the new Apple Watch Ultra 4? What do you love, and what do you hate? Let me know below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I went hands-on with the Apple Watch Series 12: A new heart rate sensor, ceramic colors and a readiness score, at last
• We asked 368 people what they want from the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Here’s the resounding answer (and it’s not AI)
• I’ve been writing about the Apple Watch for the past decade: Here’s the rumored update I’m most excited about for the Apple Watch Ultra 4

Apple just announced the Apple Watch Ultra 4 alongside the Apple Watch Series 12, iPhone Duo, and iPhone 18 Pro at the September 9th "Surprise and Shine" event in Cupertino, California.

Boasting loads of new wellness tools, improved heart rate tracking, better battery life, an upgraded processor, and a handful of cool AI features, here's everything you need to know about the Apple Watch Ultra 4.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Upgrades cheat sheet

• Price and release: The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is available for preorder starting today and will be available on September 18; the price is $799, the same as the Ultra 3
• Design: The Apple Watch Ultra 4 looks similar to its predecessor; available in Black or Natural Titanium
• Health features: Updated health sensing system; improved heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) tracking; HRV reflected in Vitals app; new Readiness metric; new Health Age score; redesigned Health app with improved recovery insights and personalized AI health/fitness guidance that updates dynamically; Health app now supports personal health data and lab results
• AI features: Support for Siri AI voice assistant; Live Rewind lets you ‘go back in time’ up to 15 seconds; Sound Recognition can auto-alert users to common sounds like sirens and alarms; Siri Recap takes high-level notes of conversations and generates summaries
• Under-the-hood: Upgraded S11 processor
• Battery life: Improved battery performance lasts up to 50 hours per charge; up to 18 hours when recording a workout with heart rate and GPS tracking

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 is a substantial upgrade over the Apple Watch Ultra 3, which is currently one of the best smartwatches you can buy.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Price and availability

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 costs $799 / AU$1,349, the same as all the Apple Watch Ultra models that came before it. Available for preorder on launch day (September 9), the Apple Watch Ultra 4 will be available globally starting on September 18 in your choice of Black or Natural Titanium.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Health upgrades

Improved heart rate tracking

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Series 12 boast “the most accurate heart rate tracking in wearables.” That is, of course, according to Apple’s own internal testing. To be fair, Apple completely overhauled the sensor array on the underside of the watch, making a number of significant improvements to its functionality.

Both the optical and electrical components have been reworked for more precise, efficient performance. More powerful LEDs measure your heart rate every five seconds, a 60-fold increase in sampling frequency over prior models.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is now measured every 15 seconds, a 24-fold increase compared to before. Speaking of HRV, users can now view that dynamic metric from the Heart Rate app. HRV is also logged in your overnight vitals report.

Dynamic Readiness score

Apple is finally adding a daily Readiness metric to the Health app, something nearly every other smartwatch brand has long offered. Based on a scale from one to ten, your Readiness Score updates dynamically and is based on recent workouts, sleep quality, training load, and vitals.

The score is accompanied by a brief, actionable, AI-generated recommendation for how to best tackle the day.

Improved step count tracking

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 should be Cupertino’s most accurate step counter, thanks to a completely overhauled pedometer that uses machine learning to more accurately log your steps and distance covered. There’s also a new step count complication to more easily stay on top of your efforts.

Redesigned Health app focused on trends and actionable advice

A totally overhauled Health app is expected to debut later this year with a greater focus on long-term health trends and personalized wellness and fitness advice, courtesy of Siri AI. The refreshed app is expected to offer new Longevity and Insights tabs. The former features a new Health Age feature that compares your physical fitness to others in your age range.

The Insights tab, meanwhile, is where you’ll find dynamic Siri AI-generated health briefings, workout suggestions, and more.

Finally, the updated Health app will better support the integration of a user’s personal health data, including notes from doctor’s visits and lab test results.

Siri AI with Siri Recap

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 supports Apple Siri AI voice assistant, but AI integration powers much more than just that. Siri Recap, for example, can be set up to listen in on important conversations and meetings, and then automatically generate a report with an overall summary along with key talking points. User control when this feature is active, either manually, via a schedule, or based on location.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: New AI features

Live Rewind and Sound Recognition

One of the more exciting new Siri AI features is Live Rewind. Let’s say you just met someone new at a dinner party, but their name “went in one ear and out the other.” With Live Rewind, I can double-tap the digital crown on the Ultra 4 and relisten to the past 15 seconds of ambient audio anytime I like.

It’s worth noting that Apple doesn’t identify people when using this feature or save any recording. Moreover, any logged audio is end-to-end encrypted.

Finally, the Ultra 4 supports Apple’s Sound Recognition feature, which can alert those who are hard of hearing when sounds like fire alarms, doorbells, sirens, or crying babies are registered.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Battery life

Battery life on the Apple Watch Ultra 4 has been increased to 450 hours per charge, up from 42 hours per charge for the Ultra 3. When using the Ultra 4 to log an outdoor workout with continuous GPS and heart rate tracking, users can expect about 18 hours of use.

Extended workout tracking mode bumps that number to 25 hours per charge, while a new Max Extended mode increases battery life to an impressive 45 hours per charge.

The Ultra 4 charges a little faster than its predecessor. Apple says a 15-minute charge should provide up to 18 hours of use.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Outlook

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 isn’t exactly a massive upgrade over the Ultra 3 —externally, the two are identical — but the combination of better health tracking tech, new AI features, improved battery life, and updated holistic tools galore… all for the same price as before, is pretty darn compelling.

Stay tuned for my full Apple Watch Ultra 4 review, coming soon. Until then, what new Apple Watch Ultra 4 features are you most excited about? Let me know in the comments.

More from Tom's Guide

• We asked 368 people what they want from the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Here’s the resounding answer (and it’s not AI)
• I’ve been writing about the Apple Watch for the past decade: Here’s the rumored update I’m most excited about for the Apple Watch Ultra 4
• Leaked Apple Watch 12 design change is the opposite of an upgrade — and that has me worried

Move over, Apple Watch Series 11; there's a new flagship Apple Watch in town. Apple just announced the Apple Watch Series 12 alongside the Apple Watch Ultra 4 during Cupertino's September 9 "Surprise and Shine" event (we also got the new iPhone 18 series and the iPhone Duo).

Boasting a completely redesigned health sensor array, upgraded processor, and tons of new wellness tools, here's everything you need to know about the Apple Watch Series 12.

Apple Watch Series 12: Upgrades cheat sheet

• Price and release: The Apple Watch Series 12 is available for preorder starting today and will be available on September 18, with a starting price of $399, the same as the Series 11
• Design: The Series 12 looks similar to the Series 11; available in Space Grey, Black, Light Gold, and Dark Bronze (aluminum case); Pearl White and Night Blue (ceramic case); Polished Gold and Polished Silver (titanium case)
• Health features: Updated health sensing system; improved heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) tracking; HRV reflected in Vitals app; new Readiness metric; new Health Age score; redesigned Health app with improved recovery insights and personalized AI health/fitness guidance that updates dynamically; Health app now supports personal health data and lab results
• AI features: Support for Siri AI voice assistant; Live Rewind lets you ‘go back in time’ up to 15 seconds; Sound Recognition can auto-alert users to common sounds like sirens and alarms; Siri Recap takes high-level notes of conversations and generates summaries
• Under-the-hood: Upgraded S11 processor
• Battery life: Up to 24 hours per charge, same as Series 11