Sensors in today’s smartwatches can detect your heartbeat, track how you sleep and even monitor blood oxygen levels. We’re not far from your watch tracking your blood sugar … and possibly sending reports about it to your doctor.
Ever wondered, “Just how accurate are these smartwatch readings?” You’re not the only one, so I took a look. Smartwatches and fitness watches have some serious flaws you should know about.
Paging Dr. Watch! Emergency!
Turns out that cramming a bunch of sensors into a tiny watch doesn’t create the most legitimate results. Who knew? If you’re seeing spikes or drops in readings for sleep states or blood oxygen levels, don’t panic — it happens to everyone.
- Sensors have problems with skin tone: A lawsuit filed against Apple says its Watch blood oxygen sensors don’t work correctly on dark skin. Yikes! Research, however, indicates this may be a problem with many blood oxygen sensors.
- Smartwatches don’t reach medical levels of accuracy: High-grade studies are limited, but this one for Garmin fitness watches found they couldn’t measure energy expenditure or blood oxygen levels with enough accuracy to make medical decisions.
- Step counters and calorie trackers are easily fooled: Smartwatches stink at measuring calories burned and can struggle to define steps walked. And don’t get me started on how vague sleep tracking can be!
OK, so smartwatches are only helpful for estimates. But what can we do to make them better?
Take your health in stride
Here are a few figurative steps I think all smartwatch users should take while getting in their literal steps (plus, a free play on words!).
- Size your watch for your wrist: Many accuracy problems are caused by loose-fitting watches that slip around on your arm. Buy one with straps you can adjust.
- Focus more on heart rate than steps or calories: Your pulse is right there, so it’s no surprise watches are more accurate about heart rate than almost anything else.
- Don’t stress over readings: Ironically, that stress will increase your heart rate and other vitals. Even worrying about sleep tracking can cause inadequate sleep (doctors call it “orthosomnia”). Don’t think of readings as hard numbers but rather general brushstrokes about your health picture.
- Watch readings over time: Those bigger-picture charts and graphs are more helpful than going number by number.
- Visit a doctor if you’re worried: Don’t waste time or energy obsessing over what your smartwatch tells you. If you’ve got a serious concern, make an appointment like a grown-up.
‘Kim, which watch should I buy?’
This is one case where splurging on newer tech is actually better; the big-name smartwatches get more accurate with each new model. Here are the heavy hitters:
- Use an iPhone? The Apple Watch Series 10 has all the bells and whistles, including ECG, fall detection and heart tracking. For a cheaper option, the 2nd-gen Apple Watch SE is under $200 right now.
- In the Google-sphere? The Pixel Watch 3 is Google’s fancy-schmancy version — and way more affordable than Apple’s. For something more fitness-focused, a Fitbit is the way to go.
- If your phone’s a Samsung: You might as well get the watch that “talks” to your phone best — the Galaxy Watch 7 is Samsung’s latest and greatest.
- In it for health and wellness? I hear great things about WHOOP.
Continue reading →
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
