Finding The Best Fitness Trackers for 2021 for you with our buyer’s guide and run-down of Fitbit, Garmin, Apple, Huawei and Samsung models
ECO Whiff is a participant in Affiliate Programs such as Commission Junction and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.co.uk
The GT 2e looks like a smartwatch with its large colour touchscreen, but since it isn’t compatible with the Google Play store and so can’t get apps a more apt description would be fitness watch, especially since it has built-in GPS and 100 workout modes to pick from. The watch’s battery life is also impressive thanks to the divorce from Google, with Huawei’s own software allowing the GT 2e to run for over a week between charges even when using it frequently to track exercise, and having the screen and heart rate monitoring on all the time.
There is also music on the watch, but only for Android users – the iOS app doesn’t allow you to sync songs to the GT 2e. Everyone gets access to Huawei’s excellent sleep tracking, however, and runners in particular are well served by the sports tracking: there are 13 preset workouts to use plus in-depth training and fitness analysis through a partnership with Firstbeat, which provides the same data analysis on Garmin’s sports watches.
The result is a pretty impressive all-round watch, especially given that it costs £160 and is often reduced on Amazon. For that you get solid sports tracking, great battery life and sleep tracking, and a smartwatch-level screen. Not bad at all.
The Apex looks like a £500 multisport watch and has most of the key features of one too, yet it only costs £269.99 for the 42mm version and £299.99 for the 46mm. The battery life clocks in at a massive 35 hours of GPS on the larger version (25 hours on the 42mm) and the Apex offers detailed tracking of running, cycling and swimming, including a nifty Stamina stat for running that estimates how much energy your body has left. However, it does lack other sports modes, customised workouts are restricted to a simple intervals mode, and we have found the heart rate monitoring to be a little spotty while running. Still, given the price, this a stand-out option for triathletes and keen runners who don’t want to splash out big bucks on something like the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro.