9to5 Mac reports today on a new survey out of Stanford University looking into fitness trackers that has found that the Apple Watch is the most accurate heart rate monitor, although it doesn’t fare so well at measuring calories.
The study saw 60 participants wearing different fitness trackers such as the Apple Watch, Samsung Gear S2, MIO Alpha 2, Microsoft Band, Fitbit Surge, among others. The participants all wore the fitness trackers when doing various types of exercise, including running, biking, and walking.
The results were then compared with the “gold standard” of tracking, which includes such methods as the electrograph for heart rate monitoring and the indirect calorimeter for tracking calories burned.
The tests found that the Apple Watch was the most accurate heart rate monitor, with a median error rate of 2%. The Samsung Gear S2 was the least accurate, with a median error rate of 6.8%. The study also found that cycling had the lowest error rates and walking had the highest error rates.
As far as energy expenditure tracking was concerned, it seems that none of the tested fitness trackers were able to be anything like as accurate as any of the comparable clinical grade indirect calorimeters. The Apple Watch was found to be the most consistent of the trackers tested in terms of energy expenditure tracking, but, with an error rate of almost 40%, it was only the third most accurate tracker, with the Fitbit Surge coming top with a 27% error rate and the Microsoft Band in third place with approximately 33% error rate.
Source: New study finds Apple Watch to be most accurate at measuring heart rate, calorie tracking subpar