Do you remember when wearable technology was new to the scene? It’s so prevalent today that IÂ can remember the days when everyone and their dog wasn’t wearing a fitness tracker (at minimum) … But it’s a struggle. The consumers have spoken, however, so here are five of the best wearables available at Best Buy!
I know I always struggle to make choices when I have a lot of options, so hopefully, this will help narrow down your selection somewhat. There are plenty of great wearables that aren’t on this list, of course, but these five are pieces of wearable technology that I hear about all the time. That includes smartwatches, fitness trackers, and even VR wearable technology. (Basically anything that a) makes you feel like you’re living in the future, and b) isn’t a piece of smart home technology.)
1. Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch with Heart Rate Monitor
The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch with Heart Rate Monitor is, in a word, sexy. It’s a stylish, rugged-looking watch, and it’s easy to see why it’s rated as one of the best wearables available at Best Buy.
The S3 Frontier features both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as activity tracking, heart rate monitoring, and GPS navigation. Unlike other wearables, it’s IP68-rated dustproof and waterproof, so it can count your sleeping hours, calories, and distance walked each day–no matter the environment.
The Samsung S3 also includes S Voice technology, which lets you dictate commands directly to your smartwatch. And it doesn’t just cover alarms and messages, either: the technology of the S Voice lets you do everything from make calls to search the web. With the touch of a finger on the 1.3″ AMOLED touchscreen, you can even text directly from your watch.
“I just love this watch. It does everything I need in a smart watch and I look forward to when Samsung Pay actually comes to Canada. The phone on it is really good as well. Very surprised on sound quality and clarity of the speaker. A great watch for health tracking as well. And of course messaging and emails are easy to read and respond to quickly. The only downside for me is the rubber watch band. My skin is not a fan and need to source out a metal band instead.”
2. Fitbit Charge 2 Fitness Tracker
The Fitbit Charge 2 Fitness Tracker is one of the brand’s newer models, and like a lot of the best wearables on the market, it’s half fitness tracker, half smartwatch.
This fitness tracker monitors your activity and heart rate, but it also has GPS tracking to help you navigate your run, push notifications from your smartphone, a time face that doubles as a digital watch.
The Fitbit Charge 2 can also lead you through guided breathing sessions. It uses PurePulse heart rate monitoring for the most accurate readings possible both during activities and during your guided breathing sessions, which are custom-tailored to your heart rate.
One charge on the Charge 2 takes 2-3 hours and lasts for 5-7 days.
“This is my second Fitbit. I really like their quality and functionality. The text display on the tracker is a nice feature as well as the hourly reminders to get up and move! I would recommend this product.”
3. Oculus Rift & Touch System
I’ve been waiting for VR technology to pass its infancy before I take the plunge. With the Oculus Rift & Touch System, I feel like that time is either imminent or has already arrived.
The Rift & Touch is a “next-generation virtual reality experience” that includes both a headset and touch controllers. It’s designed to work with something that has plenty of computing power, so unlike some of the other VR headsets on the market, you’ll need a PC to use it.
The Oculus Rift boasts visuals of a 2160 x 1200 resolution (note that this is 1080 x 1200 pixels per eye) and a 110 degree field of view. (The human eyes have a visual field of approximately 120 degrees, so the Rift comes very, very close to seamless). It also has an audio system that “places sounds in three-dimensional space,” making the experience even more immersive.
“I purchased the Rift because it was on sale. was waiting for winter because the wireless headsets that aren’t computer/console dependant are coming out. this went on sale for 550 and comes with free content. a lot of free content.after getting the rift because you can’t beat 620 after tax for a VR experience. was worth it but you only get a total VR experience with a 3rd sensor so you can be 360 tracked. that being said its VR. if you think playing VR is like playing your normal video game its not. its a different experience altogether and really for me is hard to compare the 2 even if your playing the same game. all in all 100% worth it. you just can’t beat shooting with actual guns in your hands and aiming them independently of one another. 100% satisfied.”
4. Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch
Fitbit is slowly becoming iconic in the wearables sector, and it’s easy to see why. Their products are designed for versatility and solid workouts, and they were one of the first companies to make dedicated activity trackers – especially with heart rate monitoring in mind.
The Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch is another activity monitor from Fitbit that tracks your heart rate, steps, and sleep. It integrates with your phone to track you on runs, push notifications to you when you can’t pull out your phone, and guide you through workouts on the FitStar app.
The Fitbit Blaze vibrates to send you notifications, and it offers more band options than other Fitbit models – including both fitness bands and stylish leather bands.
“I am very impressed with the Blaze. I have a number of smart watches and fitness trackers and this is by far the best of both worlds. It’s very comfortable and light and looks fantastic. I was concerned about the accuracy of the heart rate monitor but I’ve been testing it out in comparison to my Polar H7 and I’m blown away as it’s never more than 1 bpm different from the polar reading. Way to go Fitbit this watch is worth more than the asking price.”
5. Garmin vivoactive HR GPS Smartwatch with Heart Rate Monitor
Our last of the best wearables of today is the fan-favourite Garmin vivoactive HR GPS Smartwatch with Heart Rate Monitor. The Garmin vivoactive HR is designed with fitness buffs in mind, and it’s a fully integrated smartwatch – not just a fitness tracker with a watch face.
The vivoactive tracks steps, heart rate, calories, sleep, and more, and keeps you tied into your email, calls, social media, and texts while you’re working out. It has up to 8 days of battery life on a single charge (or 16 hours on GPS mode, which really eats up your battery), so many users will only need to charge their vivoactive once a week.
“Bought the watch on Boxing Day. love the long battery light. It is a great all round watch. I already have a Garmin auto GPS, Garmin S2 golf GPS etc. I bought this based on the Garmin reliability. I have not tried many functions yet but it does not disappoint. The one drawback would be the back lighting could be a brighter but of course this would be at the expense of battery life. It pairs super easy to my iphone. For the beginner to intermediate athlete this watch does it all at a great price.”
