I love a smart watch. They make keeping on top of your health, workouts and life in general a whole lot easier. Only thing is, more often than not, they ruin an otherwise perfect outfit. Sure, my Apple Watch is convenient as hell, but it’s also ugly. And overstimulating. So if I can track my steps and not have an unfashionable, incessant communicator pinging from my wrist, consider that my dream come true. An inconspicuous fitness tracker, if you will.
Thanks to the tech geniuses out there, we now have a bunch of fitness trackers that meet the brief. From subtle rings to analogue-appearing watches, there’s now a range of sleek, minimalist devices that blend seamlessly into your style — offering all the functionality without screaming “tech gadget” from your wrist.
If you wanna tap into your fitness data but don’t want to look like you’re doing it, here are four subtle fitness trackers that’ll do the trick.
5 Inconspicuous Fitness Trackers For The Fashion-Forward Folk
Oura Ring 5
As an Oura Ring 4 owner, I was so excited to hear all about the brand’s fifth edition. The Oura Ring 5 is 40 per cent smaller than previous versions — and is the smallest smart ring in the world — so if you have smaller fingers or don’t like the look of a bulky cigarette band, you may be more inclined to try out the new edition. Made from non-allergenic titanium, this new ring is also designed to be waterproof and more scratch-resistant than previous models, a gripe many gym goers and weight lifters have with the Oura Ring 4.
One of the major upgrades that comes with the Oura Ring 5 is its new live activity tracking. While the Oura Ring 4 is great at detecting activity after the fact, the new model allows you to track your workouts as you go along in the app. You can start a workout on your phone, then see metrics like calories, pace and distance, and you can also monitor your heart rate by connecting a third party app. Forget to start a workout on your app, or going into a no phone zone like Pilates? The ring still automatically picks up on activity, and has improved low-impact workout detection, too.
There are also new developments for women’s health tracking, including menopause insights and hormonal birth control. Users can take an assessment to understand how perimenopause affects their daily lives. As for hormonal birth control, there’s new Cycle Insights for people who use different forms of birth control, and insights as to how that contraception may influence their baseline of achievement over time.
Now, onto what may be the simplest upgrades, but the ones I appreciate the most. The gold colour has been redesigned so it’s more aligned with what true gold actually looks like, so goodbye to that ultra yellow costume colour. It’s also doesn’t cost more than most of the other Oura Ring Shades (IYKYK)! Gold, Stealth, Brushed Silver and Deep Gold are all priced at $799, and the black and silver rings are a little cheaper at $649. Why those four shades are more expensive, I have no clue, but at least the gold fans aren’t being singled out this time.
The cherry on top is it comes with a portable charging case that stores one month of battery, which is great for when you’re travelling. As for the downside? Unfortunately for us, we’ve still gotta cough up the monthly membership fee ($9.99 per month).
Shop Oura Ring, from $649Oura Ring 4
If you’re keen on getting an Oura Ring but don’t want to drop upwards of $649 on the latest model, the Oura Ring 4 is still a great option. I caved last year after wanting it for ages, and after wearing it every single day for a year, I’m here to report that it’s worth every dollar — the amount of data it gives you is nuts.
I’m not just talking steps, calories and sleep data. At the start of the day, it gives you a sleep score and readiness score depending on how well rested you are from the night before. It’ll advise how much it thinks you should push yourself, whether you should send it with a hardcore workout or take it easy and recover from the previous day’s activities.
It measures your heart rate and stress levels throughout the day, your vitals including heart rate variability, body temperature, sleep regularity, menstrual cycle and more.
There’s also a food logging feature, wherein you can either take a picture of your food or provide a written description, and it’ll give you insights into its nutritional value — excluding calories, which I think is great for anyone who feels conscious about their eating habits.
In terms of workout detection, it tracks activity pretty seamlessly, especially walking. I’ve had to manually log my gym workouts, but it pulls in pretty accurate calorie and heart rate information.
The battery lasts up to eight days, so you can go days on end without worrying about popping it on its stand. Be careful when you do, though, because if you don’t line it up properly (the line on the ring needs to be in line with the charger), it gets stuck. I thought I’d never get it off.
While the membership is a continual cost, I’d say this is a worthy investment in your health, especially if you care about all the extra data, not just step tracking.
Shop Oura Ring, from $569 (usually from $649)Withings ScanWatch Nova Brilliant
Don’t want to part with your analogue watch but want the benefits of a smart watch? The ScanWatch Nova Brilliant is the answer to your dilemma. Everyone I’ve shown this watch to has been baffled when I reveal it’s actually a smart watch, asking how it tracks data when it’s supposedly analogue
Available in two colours, silver or two-tone silver and gold, the only thing that gives this watch’s digital status away is the small black circle at the top of its face. This circle allows you to navigate your steps, heart rate, workouts, alarms and timers, body temperature, floors climbed, and more. It’s not touch screen, but you can control it by scrolling using the crown on the side of the watch.
The best part of this watch by far is the battery life. A single charge lasts up to 35 days, so if you’re prone to forgetting to charge your watch and it always going flat, you’ll hardly have to worry about that.
The sleep tracker is really insightful. It gives you a quality score, tells you the duration, regularity, depth and interruptions you experience throughout the night. Basically, it calls me out for never getting enough rest every time I open the app.
There’s also a cycle tracking feature for women, which gives cycle predictions and insights into the phase your in. It’s great when it comes to understanding your body and why it might be feeling a certain way.
Tracking workouts is super straightforward. However, I did notice the tracking is most accurate when you keep the app running in the background, otherwise it takes a little while to update.
One annoying aspect I did notice is that if you turn on GPS location tracking, the watch doesn’t properly log your walk unless you have the Withings app running in the background. I did a five kilometre walk without the app open and while it recorded my steps and my heart rate, it told me I only travelled 100 metres.
Another con is that you don’t get access to all the features unless you pay a monthly membership of $14.99 a month. This gives you a health improvement score, ECG-powered cardiologist review and Withings intelligence (AI-driven insights). They’re not necessary features, you still get plenty of insights without them, but it’s something to consider.
Shop Withings Scanwatch Nova Brilliant, $798Garmin Lily 2
The Garmin Lily 2 is still noticeably a smart watch, but it’s a lot more tame in comparison to some of the tech-heavy contraptions out there. I’d say it’s a good in-between for people who don’t mind the look of a digital watch, as it’s got a colour palette that’s easy on the eyes and is can be worn daily.
It has a customisable screen, so you can tailor it to look exactly how you want, whether that’s with analogue watch hands or a digital face. You can also receive your phone’s notifications on your watch, or turn the feature off if you find it distracts you from your nine to five.
In terms of fitness tracking, you’ll be able to keep tabs on your sleep, respiratory rate, Body Battery, menstrual cycle and pregnancy, hydration, stress and heart rate. You can also enable GPS tracking to record your outdoor walks and runs.
If you’re the type of person who once you’re seated at your desk, you don’t get up until the end of the day, the Garmin Lily 2 will send you movement reminders. After all, it’s good to get up and move around every once in a while.
It’s not the most inconspicuous of fitness trackers, but it’s certainly not ugly, either. If you don’t want to give up all the features of your smart watch (especially notifications), this is the one I’d opt for if I were you.
Shop Garmin Lily 2, $429Ultrahuman Ring Air
If you like the concept of an Oura Ring but don’t want to pay for the ongoing subscription costs, allow me to introduce you to the Ultrahuman Ring Air. There’s a longstanding debate on social media as to which ring fitness tracker takes the top spot, and there’s pros and cons to both, but there’s a couple features the Ultrahuman Ring has that sets it apart.
This ring’s sleep tracker not only tells you how well you slept, but it also gives you suggestions on how to improve your sleep if you’re not getting enough. It also informs you how much sleep debt you’re in, as well as how you can catch up.
@bethanyysimko For those of you asking which ring I like better !! Oura ring pros: more accurate with steps, better app, potentially more accurate w sleep Oura Ring Cons: subscription fee, more expensive, cycle tracking thru 3rd party app Ultra human pros: more info given (blue light tolerance, best time for caffeine, best time for movement), accurate cycle tracking, one time payment Ultra human cons: the app 😭 soo glitchy and freezes constantly every time I open it, not accurate w steps, potentially not accurate w sleep #ouraring #ultrahumanring #ouravsultrahuman
♬ original sound – BETHANY SIMKO
If you’re a coffee drinker, the app gives you a ‘caffeine window’, which is the ideal time it recommends you consume caffeine throughout the day. Sorry to tell you, but if you’re 3pm caffeine consumer, the app is probably gonna tell you to cut it out.
It also tells you your aging capacity through measuring your cardio age and ultra age (pulse age, brain age and blood age). This shifts depending on how poorly you’ve slept and recovered from the day before, but can be a really useful insight into improving your health.
As for cons, a bunch of Ultrahuman Ring reviewers have reported that the ring seemingly undertracks steps. When comparing it to the Oura Ring, Apple Watch, Garmin and other fitness trackers, this ring consistently scores lower than the rest.
Some reviewers also say that the battery is inconsistent. While the Ultrahuman website says the ring has a four to six day battery life, users have said that they need to charge it every three days or so.
The Ultrahuman Ring has only been around since 2023, whereas the Oura Ring has been around since 2015, so they’re likely still ironing out a few kinks.
Shop Ultrahuman, $349That’s a wrap on the best inconspicuous fitness trackers out there. Now go and track your struts, diva!
Image Credit: @annaelerihart / Garmin / @theunlockr
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