Smartwatches & fitness trackers: the downsides, first

Amazon's review summary says battery life and value for money get mixed reviews, with some owners saying the battery only lasts a couple of days and others saying it isn't worth the price. Tom's Guide, by contrast, got close to 60 hours on the 45 mm model.

Amazon's review summary says customers disagree on how accurate the heart-rate tracking is. Tom's Guide calls the fitness and health updates incremental.

Tom's Guide lists incompatibility with older chargers as a con, along with satellite SOS messaging being limited to the pricier LTE models.

Android Central lists the missing Training Load and Training Status as a con, saying Garmin reserves them, along with Training Readiness and multisport profiles, for the pricier Forerunner 265.

Amazon's summary calls the interface mixed, with some owners saying it isn't intuitive. Low-star Walmart reviews say it has too many buttons to figure out, Bluetooth pairing isn't user-friendly, and it came without instructions. Android Central says the button layout has a learning curve.

Android Central dislikes the plastic, button-heavy look and the glass, which isn't Gorilla Glass. It says the watch feels substandard next to full smartwatches, and music storage and Wi-Fi cost extra. A Walmart reviewer complains about needing an adapter to charge.

Wirecutter's tester, with 6-inch wrists, found the 49 mm watch uncomfortable to sleep in and says it slides around during exercise. She suggests the 40 mm SE or 42 mm Series 12 for small wrists.

Wirecutter says it brings no design changes and largely the same health and fitness features, so it will feel stale to Ultra owners. Tom's Guide also says the design and display are basically unchanged.

Wirecutter says it costs double a 42 mm Series 12, which has the same health features, and the Audio Intelligence features aren't ready to try yet.

Tom's Guide says you don't get the emergency alerts, on-watch calls or third-party apps of Apple and Google watches. Runtesters calls the ecosystem weaker, with a smaller app store, payments not available everywhere, and less polished watch faces and music support.

Runtesters says heart rate is good overall but falls behind during high-intensity runs. Amazon's summary says customers note accuracy issues, especially with high-intensity heart-rate monitoring. Runtesters also notes it has only single-band GPS.

Tom's Guide got just over a week, about eight days, against Amazfit's 12-day claim. Runtesters says GPS battery life seems shorter than advertised and that it needs a proprietary charger.

Tom's Guide's only listed con is the lack of 'feminine' style options despite being aimed at women; it comes in black, navy and white. Amazon owners report mixed experiences with compatibility.

Apple rates it at 18 hours. Wirecutter got 23 hours and calls it the worst battery among its fitness-tracker picks, adding that sleep tracking means charging at some point during the day. Amazon's review summary says battery life is mixed, with some owners saying it doesn't stay charged long. Several 1-star Walmart reviews say they must charge it every night or that it drains quickly.

Wirecutter and Tom's Guide note the SE lacks the ECG app and hypertension alerts. Tom's Guide adds that it also lacks blood-oxygen readings and uses an older heart-rate sensor.

Wirecutter says the screen may feel small and dated next to newer Apple Watches, and it comes only in two aluminum colors. Amazon's summary calls size mixed (some say it's too small) and compatibility mixed, with some owners noting it won't work with older iPhone models. A low-star Walmart reviewer says many calls and notifications never reach the watch.

Wirecutter got just over 24 hours against Samsung's 30-hour claim, and a full charge took about 1 hour 40 minutes. Pickr calls battery life weak, saying the 40 mm model struggles to reach two days. Amazon owners are mixed: some get 2-3 days, others charge daily. A 1-star review on Walmart's page (collected via Samsung) says the battery lasts about 8 hours with health features and always-on display on.

Wirecutter says it costs $50 more than last year's model and doesn't recommend upgrading from a Watch8. Pickr says little has changed, and Tom's Guide says it has basically the same design and display as the Watch8 despite costing more.

Wirecutter lists ECG, Vitals, Heart Health Score and Energy Score among the features lost without a Galaxy phone. Low-star reviews on Walmart's page report that it won't charge on older Samsung chargers or via phone power share, that the included strap was too small, that the screen chipped within a week, and that it freezes. Amazon's summary calls fit and durability mixed.

Wirecutter says the Live Rewind and Siri Recap Audio Intelligence features, and parts of the new health tools, weren't available to test. It says the watch isn't worth buying for those features yet. Tom's Guide couldn't try them either and says they have already been controversial despite Apple's privacy emphasis.

Tom's Guide lists the same design and display as a con, and Wirecutter says it will be a disappointing upgrade for owners of a recent Apple Watch.

Wirecutter says Readiness, Vitals, Heart Rate and the iPhone Health and Fitness apps all analyze your data in different places, which can be confusing and a lot to keep track of.

Amazon's review summary says some owners report it completely stops working and stops syncing with their phones. Low-star Walmart reviews describe units that broke within a month, wouldn't charge out of the box, or showed glitchy screens. Wirecutter notes owner reports of flimsy band attachments that can break, which Google says it has improved.

TechRadar lists 'severely flaky GPS' as a con, especially with the strap fastened tight. Wirecutter hit connection problems and heard reports of spotty GPS, and Android Central found its GPS too erratic to chart.

Amazon owners are split on step counting. TechRadar says heart-rate accuracy isn't the best and suffers with a looser fit. Low-star Walmart reviewers report heart-rate readings stuck low during exercise and sleep tracking that didn't match how they slept.