Do you want to practice a physical activity or need to (re) put yourself in sport? Treat yourself to a connected bracelet! Once on your wrist, it will motivate and follow you by measuring your performance and giving you advice. And no need to break the bank: we find it at all prices!
You couldn't keep your good resolutions at the start of the year? You know, regular sport, restful nights, healthier eating… It's not too late yet. And to motivate you to take back control of your body and take care of your health, there's nothing like a coach! Oh, rest assured, there are some who know how to remain discreet while holding your hand, or rather the wrist in this case: these are the activity bracelets. Measure your heart rate constantly, analyze your efforts, assess the oxygen saturation of the blood, calculate the number of steps daily, examine the amount of calories burned, monitor your sleep… these little devices that look like watches can do it all. Connected to your smartphone, they also play the role of secretary, informing you of SMS, e-mails and messages arriving on your favorite apps. Some even turn into a remote control to control music playback from your smartphone. Convenient !
At first glance, activity bracelets have a lot of similarities to smartwatches. But there are many differences. “Smart watches” generally benefit from a better finish, a larger screen and specific applications which give them a multifunction aspect. Conversely, activity bracelets are centered on sport and health. Lightweight, they are quickly forgotten on the wrist. So they can be worn overnight without discomfort. They are also much more autonomous than connected tocantes, their battery allowing them to last several days, even several weeks, without flinching. Finally, they turn out to be much cheaper.
To make your choice under the best conditions, here are some criteria to watch out for:
- The GPS module: if the majority of bracelets offer monitoring of several activities, fans of hiking and long running sessions must however focus on an important criterion: the presence or not of a GPS module. Indeed, a bracelet equipped with such a device avoids lugging the bulky smartphone with you and still getting the route taken. Without this module, a Bluetooth link between the bracelet and the mobile (equipped on its side with GPS) must be maintained if one wishes to view the distance traveled on a map. An unstoppable argument for running light and recording all your running data.
- The screen: several display techniques coexist on the activity tracker market. The color oled is the most common today. It allows good readability with infinite contrast. The models equipped with a monochrome Oled panel are not left out. Since readability remains a crucial point during a sporting activity, they have the advantage of not drowning the information displayed in an explosion of colors and also consume less energy. As for the translective LCD models, they take advantage of the ambient light to make the data on the screen readable. The brighter the light, the better the display. They are therefore ideal for outdoor activities in direct sunlight. They also have a backlighting system to remain usable in the dark. They consume little energy but appear a little pale in front of Oled screens.
- Water resistance: the vast majority of activity bracelets have a water resistance of 5 ATM (50 m). This is guaranteed for swimming sessions in swimming pools and in fresh water. Sea water, which is more corrosive, is strongly discouraged.
- Autonomy: it is extremely variable from one model to another. In question, the components used, their number and their mode of operation. Thus, a bracelet equipped with a GPS module will be able to see its energy reserve melt when the function is activated. Ditto for the heart sensor which monitors heart activity day and night. Finally, like connected watches, these bracelets remain connected to the smartphone by a Bluetooth connection through which flows quantities of data: not only those related to the activity but also all the notifications such as SMS, e-mails, phone calls. , weather conditions, etc. So many uses that draw on the resources of the battery. The more you “wake up” the bracelet by turning on its screen, the less good its autonomy will be.
- The number and type of sports activities tracked: walking, running and cycling are still sports that all activity trackers are able to monitor. If you spend your energy in other disciplines such as tennis, badminton, swimming or yoga, check that they are indeed part of the sport modes supported by the bracelet that tempts you.
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