Fitness Tracker or Smartwatch: Which One You'll Still Be Wearing in a Year

The choice between a fitness band and a smartwatch comes down to one habit, and it isn’t about sensors. A band like the Fitbit Charge 6 or Garmin Vivosmart 5 runs about a week between charges, so it stays on your wrist overnight and sleep tracking actually happens. A smartwatch like the Apple Watch SE lasts a little over a day, which means it spends most nights on a charger and most of its sleep data is missing. If you mainly want steps, resting heart rate and sleep trends, buy the band. If you want to answer texts, pay for coffee and get directions from your wrist, buy the smartwatch and accept the nightly ritual.

We’d put it more bluntly than most guides. For most people we’d buy the Amazfit Band 7, because at about $50 it does the everyday health basics with the longest battery here and no subscription. The Fitbit Charge 6 is the band to buy if you want built-in GPS and the deepest health features. The Garmin Vivosmart 5 is for people who refuse to pay a monthly fee for their own data. The Apple Watch SE is for iPhone owners who already know they want a watch rather than a tracker. None of those is an affiliate link; we earn nothing on this article, which makes it easier to be blunt.

We didn’t lab-test heart-rate accuracy. What follows is a comparison of published specs, the accuracy testing that wearable-focused reviewers have published, and long-term owner reviews, particularly the ones written six months in, when the novelty has worn off and the charging habit has either stuck or hasn’t.

The four we’d point you to

Battery life is the decision, not a spec

A wearable that’s on the charger isn’t tracking anything. That sounds obvious, but it’s the single pattern that separates the long-term reviews: people who bought a band mention charging as an afterthought (“once a week, in the shower”), and people who bought a smartwatch describe a routine, on the charger during morning coffee or at the desk, that either became automatic or didn’t. The Apple Watch SE is rated for about 18 hours, and that’s the honest number for a day with a workout and notifications. Wearing it to bed means charging it during the day, every day.

The bands are a different category. Fitbit claims about seven days for the Charge 6, and owners land there if the always-on display is off and GPS runs are occasional. Garmin claims about seven days for the Vivosmart 5, and it gets there partly because its display is small and dim. The Amazfit Band 7 is the outlier: up to 18 days claimed, and owners with everything switched on still report well over a week. If you know yourself to be the person who forgets chargers, the Band 7’s battery is worth more than every extra sensor on the other three.

What the sensors are good at, and where they lie

All four use an optical heart-rate sensor on the back of the case. Those are reliable at rest and during steady cardio such as walking, cycling and easy running. They wander during weightlifting, interval training and anything with a lot of wrist flexing. If you care about heart rate during hard efforts, the Charge 6 can broadcast its heart rate to compatible gym equipment and apps over Bluetooth, but a chest strap is still the honest answer, and only a full watch pairs with one comfortably.

Sleep staging (light, deep, REM) is an estimate built from movement and heart-rate variability on every device here. It’s useful for trends, such as noticing you sleep worse after late dinners, and useless as a diagnosis. Total sleep time and consistency are the numbers that track well. The Charge 6 is the only one of the four with an ECG app for irregular-rhythm checks; the Apple Watch SE skips ECG (the pricier Apple Watch has it), and neither the Vivosmart 5 nor the Band 7 offers it. The Charge 6, Vivosmart 5 and Band 7 all report blood-oxygen estimates. Treat those as a nudge to see someone, not a result.

None of these is a medical device. We’d repeat the manufacturers’ own line: a strange reading is a reason to talk to a doctor, not a diagnosis.

GPS: built in or borrowed from your phone

The Charge 6 and the Apple Watch SE have GPS inside; the Vivosmart 5 and Band 7 borrow it from your phone. For neighborhood walks and gym sessions the difference is nothing, because the phone is in your pocket anyway. For runners who leave the phone at home it’s the whole decision, and it narrows the field to the Fitbit or the Apple. Built-in GPS is also the fastest way to drain a band; a long GPS run takes a visible chunk out of the Charge 6’s week.

The phone question

The Apple Watch SE pairs only with an iPhone. If you’re on Android, it’s not on your list, and the Charge 6 becomes the most capable option. Fitbit accounts have moved to Google sign-in, which some owners resent; the device itself works fine with either platform. The Vivosmart 5 and Band 7 are phone-agnostic.

The reverse case matters too. iPhone owners who want notifications, replies, payments and maps on the wrist should just buy the SE. The bands mirror notifications, but you can’t reply from them in any useful way, and the integration with Apple’s Health app is something none of the third-party apps match.

Subscriptions: read the small print before the price

This is where “cheap” and “expensive” swap places. Fitbit’s app is free for the basics but puts several of the Charge 6’s headline features (the Daily Readiness score, the detailed sleep profile, longer-range trends) behind Fitbit Premium at roughly $10 a month. A trial is included; after that, the band can cost more per year than the $250 watch. Garmin’s Connect app gives you Body Battery, sleep score and all of your history with no paywall, which is the main reason the Vivosmart 5 stays on our list despite a small screen and no built-in GPS. Amazfit’s Zepp app is free as well. Apple’s Health app is free; Fitness+ is a separate workout-video subscription you can ignore.

Decision rule: if you’d resent a monthly charge, choose Garmin or Amazfit, not Fitbit.

Comfort, screens and the drawer test

A tracker you take off is a paperweight. The Vivosmart 5 is the smallest and lightest of the four and the one owners most often forget they’re wearing; its display is also the hardest to read in sunlight. The Band 7 has the largest screen of the three bands, a bright AMOLED that makes it usable as a watch. The Charge 6 sits between them and brought back a physical side button, which owners of the button-less Charge 5 had asked for. The SE is a proper watch in 40 and 44 mm cases and feels like one on a small wrist.

All four are rated for swimming (50 meters or 5 ATM). Silicone straps are fine for workouts and irritate some skin when worn 24 hours a day; a woven or nylon band for sleep is the cheapest comfort upgrade there is.

Who should buy which

If you want steps, sleep and resting heart rate with the least fuss: Amazfit Band 7. About $50, the longest battery here, no subscription, and enough screen to tell the time.

If you want a band with built-in GPS and the deepest health features, and you’re willing to pay for Premium or live without it: Fitbit Charge 6.

If you want a small band and never want to see a paywall: Garmin Vivosmart 5. Accept the dim screen and the borrowed GPS.

If you have an iPhone and want a watch: Apple Watch SE. Buy a second charger for the bedside and charge it during the shower.

Again, we earn nothing on any of these. They’re just the four we’d point a friend to.

FAQ

Is a band enough, or do I need the smartwatch?

If your goals are activity, sleep and heart-rate trends, a band does it and stays charged. Choose the smartwatch only when you specifically want replies, calls, payments or apps on your wrist.

Should I buy the newest version?

Not automatically. Last year’s Charge or SE gets the same app updates for a while, and the differences are often a brighter screen or a faster chip. If the older one is $50 cheaper, it’s the smarter buy.

Can I track sleep with the Apple Watch SE?

Yes, and Apple’s sleep-stage data is decent. The catch is the charging: you have to build a daytime charging habit or the watch will be dead by 3 a.m. two nights a week.