How Accurate Are Fitness Trackers, Really?
May 4, 2026 · 6 min
Step counts and GPS distance are reliable. Heart rate is reliable at rest and during steady effort, less so during intervals with rapid wrist movement.
Calorie burn, sleep stages and 'recovery scores' are models built on those inputs. Treat them as trends over weeks, not as measurements you can act on day to day.
If GPS accuracy matters to you, dual-band reception is the single spec worth paying for — it dramatically improves traces in cities.
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