🔗 Can You Trust Your Smartwatch?

I was browsing YouTube the other day when this video came up in my feed. Because I’ve been working out and going to the gym more late, I’ve had this actual question on my mind and had been meaning to see if there were any videos on the subject. This is one of those times where, as much as I love my Apple Watch, I’ve wondered just how accurate a device on your wrist can be for tracking your steps. And getting your heart rate with a light? What’s up with that.

If you’re someone who is genuinely curious about this, the entire video really is worth a watch as it’s very well put together. It’s part of a series and I’m going to be going back to check out the first part, which deals with how fitness trackers are able to track your heart rate via lights.

I’m really impressed with what was discovered during testing. The result? SPOILER ALERT: The Apple Watch is actually pretty accurate. There were definitely times where the Apple Watch was off or missed data completely, but that’s not actually as bad as it sounds.

In the case of trying to carry a glass of water without spilling it, Apple Watch was unable to get a step count at all because of how steady it was being held. In terms of heart rate, there were periods when it missed changes in heart rate. This situation was because of the time intervals at which Apple Watch checks your heart rate. While I can’t say for sure what a solution could be for trying to track steps when the watch is held too still, the heart rate tracking feature shows a few areas where things could be tightened up. That being said, it’s very clear that having the watch check more would only improve the accuracy of the data, as it would be catching changes in heart rate that it previously wasn’t before.

At the end of the day, it’s safe to say while Apple Watch isn’t as accurate as gold standard medical devices for tracking these things, even in its current state, it’s truly good enough.