If you're motivated to get healthy in the new year, you might be considering a fitness tracker to monitor your efforts and motivate you to keep going.
Or perhaps you're not planning on changing your lounge lizard ways but want to buy a nice gift for the gym bunny in your life.
Either way, these fitness trackers can be safely removed from your shortlist. They're the lowest scorers in our test of 28 models on the market.
"Ease of use, comfort and distance accuracy are key components of our test and some of these devices stumbled when it comes to comfort, while others have some annoying quirks that turned our testers off" says CHOICE tech expert Peter Zaluzny.
"Some otherwise decent fitness bands or smartwatches have been let down by poor performance in some important areas."
We don't want you to end up with a dud buy, so here are the products that scored lowest in our lab tests. Consider becoming a CHOICE member to see the best performers.
The lowest scoring fitness trackers in our tests
If you want to track your progress or you're planning to buy a fitness band as a gift, step away from these four products. The CHOICE Expert Ratings for these models aren't bad, but they're not exactly great either when you consider that a number of the top performers cost the same or even less than these.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 GPS + Cellular, 49mm Black Titanium Case with Dark Green Alpine Loop – Medium
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 77%
- Distance accuracy score: 99%
- Price: $1399
This Apple watch is a serious piece of kit, but it scored the lowest of any product we tested.
Why?
Because while it boasts some fancy features that might be handy for serious divers or triathletes (like the ability to function a whopping 100 metres underwater), it really isn't a good option for the average person looking to stay fit with an easy-to-use, comfortable device.
It achieved impressive results in our technical tests, with near-perfect results for distance accuracy and pace count, and it has features like fall detection, built-in GPS and the ability to receive phone notifications, reply to texts and receive or reject calls.
But if you're spending over $1000 on a smartwatch, most people would at least expect it to be comfortable to wear. Unfortunately, our trialists didn't find this watch very easy to put on and take off, nor did they think it was easy to adjust the band to get the right fit. And the watch failed to impress our female trialists in terms of comfort for daily wear.
Ultimately, this watch just isn't worth the price tag if you don't need the high-tech specialist features it boasts. The most popular features are available in other models that are both cheaper and more comfortable.
Read the full Apple Watch Ultra 2 GPS + Cellular, 49mm Black Titanium Case with Dark Green Alpine Loop – Medium review.
Now owned by Google, will future Fitbits be better?
Google Fitbit Charge 6
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 78%
- Distance accuracy score: 97%
- Price: $260
Yes, Fitbit is now owned by Google. While "Google Fitbit" is a bit more of a mouthful than the original, the new ownership could mean new and improved features for Fitbits, but the jury is still out on this for now.
Unfortunately, the Charge 6 didn't impress our experts: it's one of the lowest scoring fitness bands in our review. The CHOICE Expert Rating of 78% isn't bad, but it's not exactly great either when you consider that a number of the top performers cost the same or even less than this one.
It did perform quite well in terms of accuracy and our experts liked its apps and website, but they had a few quibbles.
The features on offer with the Charge 6 require an ongoing subscription
The band struggled to sync with the phone during setup, and the date resets when you're browsing old data or drilling down into details which is frustrating when you're trying to track your progress over time. (One or both of these problems occurred with all three Google bands we tested.) And while the band is comfortable to wear, some testers found it a bit awkward to fasten.
The features on offer with the Charge 6 also require an ongoing subscription, which may not be appealing for people who just want to count their steps and do some sleep tracking. You don't need a subscription for many features of the Charge 6's predecessor – the Charge 5 – so it might be better value for money depending on what you want from a fitness tracker.
Read the full Google Fitbit Charge 6 review.
Garmin's Vivosmart won't keep up with your steps.
Garmin Vivosmart 5 Small/Medium
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 78%
- Distance accuracy score: 97%
- Price: $249
This is one to avoid if you're planning to track your steps or distance while walking or running with a pram. While it's very accurate when your arm is swinging free, it doesn't accurately record your distance or step count when your arm is relatively still – so you won't get the credit for all those steps you did while pushing the baby in a pram, or any other activity where you're not moving your arms much.
On the plus side, it has very good Android and iOS apps for monitoring data, and our testers found it very easy to set up.
Like the Charge 6 above, there are better fitness trackers to buy if you have a budget of around $250.
Read the full Garmin Vivosmart 5 review.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is only marginally better with a different band.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 GPS + Cellular, 49mm Black Titanium Case with Black Titanium Ocean Band
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 79%
- Distance accuracy score: 99%
- Price: $1399
This is the same watch as the Ultra 2 we've mentioned earlier, just with a different band. We've tested this separately because comfort is a significant factor when using a fitness tracker.
Fortunately our trialists did find this band slightly more comfortable (though it still only scores 58% for comfort), but its other scores are identical to the watch with the Alpine Loop band.
Needless to say, it's still not great value for money, unless you are training for the next Olympic game triathlon, and you can get far better performance for less money by choosing a better product.
Read the full Apple Watch Ultra 2 GPS + Cellular, 49mm Black Titanium Case with Black Titanium Ocean Band review.
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
