4 Best Fitness Trackers With Built-In GPS

A fitness tracker helps you stay more active by motivating you to reach your goals faster, whether the number of calories burned or the number of steps taken. And a fitness tracker with GPS takes it even further by letting you track your walks and runs more accurately. While there are many trackers with companion-GPS, they have their limitations. For instance, you’ll have to take your smartphone always when you go out for your runs or walks.

Fitness trackers with built-in GPS solve exactly that. You can go ahead with your morning walks and runs without the hassle of carrying your phone.

So, if you are in the market looking for the best fitness tracker with built-in GPS, here are some of the best ones. But before that,

• Looking for fitness trackers for kids? Here are the top 5
• Caught between Google Fit and Samsung Health? Read the comparison to see which is better at tracking your health

1. Garmin Vivosport

Garmin Vivosport

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The Garmin Vivosport is the best option for you if you want a fitness tracker with accurate measurements and no extras. For starters, it’s slim, lightweight, and the waterproof feature means you can wear it throughout. It’s not really a looker. You will get an always-on color touchscreen display and a variety of sports widgets. More importantly, advanced features like built-in GPS, accurate heart-rate monitoring, and onboard music controls make it one of the best trackers for the price.

At the same time, the Vivosport’s battery is built to last. On a single charge, it can last around 7 days. If the GPS is switched on, naturally, the battery life takes a plunge and gets as low as 8 hours.

It tracks a variety of activities such as cycling, walking, running, etc., and counts the basic activities such as steps taken, stairs climbed, sleep, and intensity minutes automatically. Interestingly, the Vivosport has a feature named VO2 max that shows the measurement of your aerobic activities as per your age.

It also measures your stress and if it’s elevated, it prompts you to do some breathing exercises. Plus, it throws an alert as soon as your heartbeat goes over a threshold value.

When it comes to GPS, it’s quite accurate. The lock-in time is less than 20 seconds. However, it’s not without its share of limitations. As per the folks at CNET, the Vivosport takes a little time to sync and start. Moreover, it lacks a dedicated swimming mode.

It’s available in three colors, and the Fushcia Focus variant packs a gorgeous look.

2. Fitbit Charge 4

Fitbit Charge 4

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If the looks of the Garmin Vivosport are a matter of concern with you, you should check out the Fitbit Charge 4. The latest addition to the company’s fitness tracker lineup brings almost similar features to the table, such as music controls, heart-rate monitoring, Spotify integration, and on-board GPS. However, the inclusion of some extra features such as NFC mode for mobile payments, makes it stand out from the rest. The best part is that the Vivosport looks and feels modern.

The Charge 4 has what Fitbit calls Active Zone Minutes. This neat feature measures your workouts based on your age and heartbeat and rewards you with one point per minute you spend in the fat burn zone. The goal is to collect around 22 such points per day. Cool, I would say.

That said, it lets you track several exercises via the sports widgets. Basic exercises like steps taken, calories burned, floors climbed, and heart monitoring automatically.

The onboard GPS is quite handy. Not only does it track your walks and runs, but it also shows you your pace and distance traveled on your wrist. The best part is that should you want to preserve the tracker’s battery life, you can switch on Dynamic GPS, which will make the tracker switch to your phone’s GPS.

Speaking of battery life, it lasts up to seven days on a single charge and plunges to five hours when on GPS. It’s not without its share of limitations. The Charge 4 has a monochrome screen. Yep, no vibrant and punchy colors on this one.

3. Huawei Band 3 Pro

Huawei Band 3 Pro

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The Huawei Band 3 Pro is the perfect middle ground between the Fitbit Charge 4 and the Garmin Vivosmart. It is an advanced version of the Honor Band 4 and sports a colored 0.95-inch AMOLED display, which is bright and displays vibrant colors. At the same time, the band is slim and sleek, and the edge-to-edge display of the screen adds to the experience. The crux of this fitness tracker is the swimming mode, which works as great in the swimming pool as it does in open-water. What’s more, it also promises to improve your strokes. Now, that’s something.

Other than that, you will find all the usual flavors like heartbeat monitoring, sleep tracking, and the likes. At its launch, it attracted a bevy of criticism for its handling of heartbeat monitoring. However, it has since been fixed over updates. It’s worth noting that the watch doesn’t have an ambient light sensor, and you will have to lower/increase the brightness manually.

Navigating between the different menus is simple and easy. All it takes is a series of flicks and swipes, and you will arrive at your destination in seconds.

GPS on the Huawei Band 3 Pro is pretty accurate. Like its counterparts above it needs a little time for lock-in, and once done, it sets to do its job pretty accurately and quickly.

4. Amazfit GTS

Amazfit GTS

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If you are looking for a slim and stylish fitness tracker, you can’t go wrong with the Amazfit GTS. This one bears a strong resemblance to the Apple Watch, and it doesn’t stop there. This stylish smartwatch-like tracker packs quite a few interesting features and has an affordable price tag. Apart from 5ATM water resistance and long battery life, it also comes with 12 sports modes and lets you track your walks and runs without breaking a sweat. And the bevy of attractive watch faces adds to the experience.

Like most conventional trackers, it regularly reminds you to take a break when you’ve been sitting for far too long. The device is easy to operate, and the clutter-free interface is the cherry on top. You have easy access to the heart-rate monitor and the sleep tracker for starters, and you can tweak the vibration pattern as well. And you can control the music playback on your phone or check your phone’s notification on your watch.

A 220mAh battery unit powers the GTS, and a single charge buys you approximately 14 days of battery life. Switching on the GPS reduces the battery life to 20 hours.

Speaking of the GPS, it can track seven sports activities, and it can be activated simply with a long press on the side button.

Though Amazfit markets the GTS as a smartwatch, there are fewer to no smart features. For example, you can’t reply to a mail or a message from the watch. And the many workout modes and the heart rate tracking makes it more of a fitness tracker. However, note that it tends to over-estimate the steps at times.

If you are a fan of round watch dials, you can also check out the Amazfit GTR. It has a longer battery life and has the right heft to make it pass off as a conventional watch.

Buy Amazfit GTR

Workout in Style

With each passing year, fitness trackers are getting better at tracking your movements and sports activities. However, if you want a bit more from your wearable, it’s best to invest in a smartwatch that combines fitness features and smart quotient. If you are an iPhone user, the Apple Watch Series 5 is one of the best wearables. It has precise tracking, and the ECG feature is the cherry on top.

Buy Apple Watch Series 5

Android users can have a look at the Samsung Galaxy Active 2. It features a cool digital rotating bezel that lets you navigate between the different widgets and menus. From automatic tracking (swimming, walking, cycling, running, etc.) to breathing exercises to writing emails and checking incoming messages, it lets you do a lot.

Buy Samsung Galaxy Active 2