I have been using a Pebble Time Steel for years even after their acquisition by Garmin Someone corrected me it was FitBit not Garmin thanks to Rebble, a modded firmware that gives it new life, but I would like a smartwatch that can track my heart rate.
I don’t mind using an older device especially if it means a cheaper price. A bonus for me would be if it still had some kind of community around it or a custom firmware like Pebble watches do.
I found an original Moto 360 with a functional battery for about $30 but I am not sure if due its age its functionality would be greatly limited.
Edit: It seems like Garmin and FitBit might be worth looking at. But I wouldn’t know what devices to look at or if there have been any major improvements with recent revisions.
Edit: Just an update I bought a Garmin VivoActive 3 used and locally. It seems to have some solid build quality but appears to have significantly less apps and features compared to my Pebble. The heart rate sensor seems to work alright though. I am a dork for metrics so I feel like that should make up for it.
i’m using a miband 5 for years now and still works fine.
it was only ~35€ when it was new.
I have a Miband 6 and it’s pretty nice. The advantage over bigger smart watches is the battery lasts like 2 weeks more per charge.
Fitbit acquired Pebble, not Garmin, so any of that tech is now with Google.
Garmin devices can be cheap, reliable, and work for a long time. There’s a bit of a community for them online, but I am not aware of any custom firmware.
Oh thanks for correcting me.
Is there typically a go-to devices that’s recommend for Garmin?
I’ve got a Garmin Vivoactive 3 and it works great. Heart rate tracking seems decent, and it will also do pulse oxygen though I usually leave that off because it drains the battery faster. The price is good too, they can be had new for $230 Canadian, so probably sub-$200 US.
Android app works well often, mostly I just use it as a bridge to get my calories burned data into a calorie tracking app (Chronometer, free version). The calories burned estimate seems to be decently accurate. I’ve been trying to eat 500 calories under the estimated burn rate, and I’ve lost 30 pounds since last November. Not a linear process, there were lots of events and trips where my willpower went right out the window, but those weren’t the watch’s fault!
You could look into the Fossil hybrid smartwatches, the battery lasts up to two weeks and they have a decent amount of sensors
I really like my hybrid HR. Had it for years and still going strong.
Like you said, weeks of battery life, decent activity tracking, always shows the time, and notifications work great.
I don’t care one bit for mobile data via my watch, nor calling, nor voice interactions. It does things I want a smartwatch to do, and only the things I want a smartwatch to do.
I chose the hybrid cos I didn’t want a TV on my wrist. Really happy with it, it’s indistinguishable from a normal watch at first glance. Does only the things I need it to, and no more, and looks classy instead of tacky
The strap, however, was the most horrible uncomfortable thing I’ve ever had the displeasure to put on my wrist. Changed it for a leather one within a month
9/10 would recommend
Huami makes Amazfit which work better, in many aspects, than the big brands. My GTR 3 has a battery life of a week or more and does most of the health features. Cheaper too!
I’ve been very happy with the Amazfit I’ve had for the last couple of years. The built in GPS is great for tracking my walks and the accompanying phone software seems to be decently maintained and supports Fit and Strava integrations.
I’ve got a cheap fitbit and the god damn thing can’t even track heart-rate without you doing this weird ass finger-pinch bullshit on it. So I’d love to know this as well.
I’ve still got my eye on the https://www.pine64.org/pinetime/ – but it’s an open source project and while I may be highly devoted to promoting open source things, there are times when open source just isn’t…solid enough for daily use. This is one of those times. Cool to see an open development platform for a smartwatch though :)
I have a PineTime and admittedly I haven’t used it in a while since it’s original release but the heart rate monitor, at least then, was all over the place. I am going to try to see if I can charge it up and update the firmware to test and see if it makes a difference.
I daily drive it for almost 2 years. Can totally recommend. With the latest firmware it lasts half a month for me.
Unfortunately very few watches for android have great heart rate sensors, but Huawei’s are the most accurate for android. For a less expensive watch, the huawei band 8 just got released, and it has among the best in heart rate tracking.
Check out the quantified scientist’s best of 2023 smart watches. He actually verifies their accuracy with vigorous testing, unlike most reviewers.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
the quantified scientist’s best of 2023
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
The Withings one is a good option if you want one that just looks like a normal watch.
Definitely withings. I have had a steel HR for 2,5 years now and I still love it. You can buy any standard wristband that you like and the battery lasts a month. It’s also waterproof so no worries there. Plus I like the more traditional look, so it still looks good when wearing a bit more formal clothes.
If you want something similar in terms of display and size, take a look at the BangleJS2, which is also supported by Gadgetbridge.
The firmware and the user-made apps are all open-source.
Sorry I don’t have an answer to your question.
Watch heart rate monitors are terribly inaccurate for me. Unusably so. I’ve always wondered if it’s like that for everyone or just me?
Heart rate sensors usually work best when the watch is worn tightly. Most people tend to wear their watch too loosely on their wrist, which lets in a lot of background light. Since these sensors are optics-based, that light translates to interference. Try wearing it one notch tighter than you usually do (or slightly higher on your wrist, if tightening isn’t an option for you), and see if that makes a difference.
Also, for what it’s worth, accuracy isn’t as important as consistency. If one device consistently reads you at 120 BPM and another consistently reads you at 130 BPM during the same activities, you at least know that you’re getting the same (albeit slightly scaled) results. As with most things in this space (quasi-medical equipment), most readouts are going to be an algorithmic estimate, as opposed to a true live reading.
My Garmin heartrate monitor is spot-on. I’m sure that’s not unusual.
I’m not sure how old qualifies for this post, but loads of Garmins are out there 5+ years old and working just as well as the day they were made. Mine is only 4.5 years old and runs perfectly.
I run into much the same thing, although newer Apple Watches may be more reliable. So long as I only use it to spot trends and not to detect real-time events, a Garmin Vivoactive 3 seems to work pretty well.
I personally use the original amazfit bip. Cannot be newthough, I sourced mine from aliexpress, and even there they are ex-demo and stuff. Heart rate sensor isn’t amazing but I don’t know if that’s maybe my hairy arm. The main reason I got it, can be used with gadget bridge, for best privacy
Edit: worth noting that I had to flash it with English firmware, which did mean I had to use the official app originally
I’m curious if this $69 watch turns out to be any good:
https://intl.cmf.tech/pages/watch-pro
https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/26/23891328/nothing-cmf-buds-pro-watch-charger
Claims more than a week of battery life, and while not offering 100% of the features of a Wear OS device, if you’re used to a Pebble it might be a comparable feature set.
There’s the PineTime, though it admittedly has limited overall functionality.
Love my Garmin Solar Instinct: It’s certainly not the fanciest, but the battery life is very good and I find it to be a very functional watch and heart rate monitor.
They also made a new version last year I think that you effectively don’t have to charge at all because it’s efficient enough to just run off solar. Even if you never see sun though, the old model can run for a couple weeks between charges, I imagine the new one is better.
I bought a mid range (~$200) smart watch pretty recently. It’s the amazfit t-rex 2. I didn’t want to pay what Samsung and Google were charging, but I wanted more than basic. The battery lasts like a week, it’s water resistant (I wore it in a pool and it was fine), it buzzes for calls and texts, and it tracks sleep and activity. The app is meh but works fine. The watch itself isn’t always intuitive to navigate since what you’re looking for could be in any of like five separate locations, but you’ll only find it in one of them.
Anyway, I love it. For the price, it’s surprisingly close to what premium shit is doing, and premium shit is double the price. I get annoyed at times, but everything is annoying at times. It might be out of your price range, but if you’re on the fence, I’ve banged it up a few times at work and it’s still like new. However, I have a coworker who was impressed by it when I showed it to him, so he bought one and it died on him after like 2 months. So maybe I got lucky, maybe he got unlucky. Keep it in mind and hold onto your receipt so you can do a return if my recommendation goes south.
Garmin Vivoactive 3 seems to work pretty well. They’re comparatively inexpensive, and there’s something of a community. I don’t know of custom firmware, but it may exist.
