The heart of a fitness tracker

Each tracker is placed on the scale and in the caliper.

The heart of a fitness tracker

The current trackers can count all steps and analyze sleep. Heart rate measurement is of particular importance . Almost all fitness trackers use an optical pulse sensor to check how much the heart rate increases during training and in everyday life, and they are correct. Exception: Avoid Huawei Watch Fit , Honor Band 6 and Xiaomi Mi Band 6 , which failed in our test. When buying, make sure that the wristband fits snugly on your wrist - if it slips while exercising, the heart rate values will no longer match. Many manufacturers advertise with a so-called pulse oximeter. Such a sensor estimates the oxygen saturation in the blood (SpO 2). But because the measurement is not medically accurate, there is no added value.

Fitbit Luxe (2021): Slim and meticulous

 • Exact heart rate measurement

• Accurate sleep tracking

• GPS only via smartphone

• The display is a bit sluggish

The Fitbit Luxe contains the strengths of the manufacturer, including the accurate automatic training recognition . The slim bracelet, which also looks good on narrow women's wrists, shines with a noble cover that looks like jewelry instead of cheap technical junk. In the test, the Luxe scored with an exact heart rate measurement. If you pair it with an Android cell phone, you can even reply to incoming messages from the bracelet. The sluggish operation of the small screen and the lack of built-in GPS and smart functions spoil the overall impression.

Practical: automatic training recognition

With automatic sport detection, trackers notice that you are currently exercising and, ideally, automatically record movements and heart rate data. Fitbit, Withings and Samsung have long perfected this. Huawei and Xiaomi devices that were released after 2020 can also do this, but they need confirmation of the recording by hand, Garmin trackers only offer this in a stripped-down form - namely without heart analysis.

• Measures heart rate accurately

• Records routes via GPS

• No music functions

• Floor counter is missing

to offer

The Fitbit Charge 5 has more pleasant features compared to its predecessor: The display now lights up in color and permanently shows the time, the tape has learned to record an electrocardiogram via update. Tried and tested functions such as sport detection, route recording via GPS, and precise heart and sleep analysis are retained in the Charge 5 . But Fitbit steals the floor counter as well as the music remote control from the new tracker and a button on the side is missing, which makes the operation feel unusual - and the Charge 5 "only" pulls on the same note as the Charge 4 .