7 guides in Health & fitness
Polar's $104.95 H10 shifts heart-rate sensing from a wrist LED to two chest electrodes, which is the part a watch's own sensor cannot add; the cost is a second strap to wash and a coin cell you replace yourself.
Apple's $249 SE 3 keeps the Always-On display, sleep apnea notifications and 32 hours in low-power mode; the $150 step to Series 12 buys an electrical heart sensor, blood oxygen and hypertension alerts.
At $199.99 on Amazon, $50 under Garmin's own price, the Forerunner 165 keeps the barometric altimeter, Garmin Pay and 4 GB that the $249.99 Forerunner 70 leaves off; the 70 answers with longer battery life and Training Readiness.
The titanium Oura Ring 5 starts at $399 in Silver and puts its sleep, readiness, and activity analysis behind a $5.99 monthly membership. Three years on the monthly rate comes to $614.64, against a $149.99 Garmin band this site checked that needs no subscription.
A $149.99 screen-only band with Garmin's sleep, stress and Body Battery metrics and no subscription behind them. It gives up built-in GPS, NFC and a bright display to get there.
At $159.95 the Charge 6 is Google's top Fitbit band: onboard GPS, NFC payments, Maps directions, YouTube Music controls, and electrodes for ECG and EDA apps. The catch is a seven-day battery that drops to five hours with GPS running, and a coaching tier that bills $9.99 a month once three free months end.
A $99.95 band with a ten-day battery claim, a full sensor list on paper, and a coaching layer that costs $9.99 a month once the bundled three months run out.
