Activity tracker or smartwatch – which one should you be using? Should you be wearing both? Trying new technology can sometimes be tricky (especially when you don’t know if it has everything you need) and it can be kind of impossible to keep up with all the fitness trends. The best way to know whether an activity tracker or smartwatch is right for you is by getting the facts, knowing the features and the differences between them.

So what is an activity tracker? I think the name should be pretty self explanatory but for those of you who do not know, it is a device designed to keep track of your physical activity on a daily basis. It also allows you to check back and get a report full of facts about your health and well being. They were designed and created for one main purpose and that is to help you keep track of your fitness goals.

Unlike smartwatches that need to be worn on the wrist which can get annoying, you can put your activity tracker wherever you like on your body. You can easily clip it to your shirt or jacket or slip it into your pocket and it will still collect all the information you need. You also don’t need to worry about breaking it as it is built to be durable; you can even find water resistant activity tracker and in different colours and sizes.

There is not mucking around when it comes to an activity tracker; all the data it collects is quickly and efficiently sent to an app on your phone which you can easily check at any time. This device is not very hard to use, it will last you a long time, the battery also last longer meaning you won’t have to recharge it so often and the best of it all, it is cheaper than smartwatches available on the market.

So let’s move on to smartwatches and what they are good for. This fitness gadget is not specifically built for just one purpose like monitoring your health and fitness; it does not have a main goal overall, it’s more about all the things it can do like surf the web, take calls, organize your apps and so on. It’s just a little off from being a smartphone.

While they are not quite up to the speed and abilities of a smartphone, most of us can imagine what they will look like in a few years. Everyone still remembers what smartphones looked like when they first came out, well these watches are no different. The first designs still feel and act a little clunky and slow, but that will surely change as newer models come out.

While they have great potential, they are not quite there yet. And this is what baffles most people as to why they are so expensive. Yes, the technological leap is great, but is it worth the price for something that your smartphone can already do? They range from the hundreds to the thousands, it all depends on how much you’re willing to pay.

To conclude, if you are just looking to improve your overall health or just keep an eye on it to make sure you are meeting all your fitness goals, maybe you don’t want to spend a whole load of cash, then I suggest you get an activity tracker. If you do, however, have some money to spare and you just want to test out all the latest technology then go ahead and try the smartwatch.