Gear S as useful as Fit Bit?

[JetJock79]

So I've been trying to research as much as possible before posting.....but I haven't seen as much health app videos, as I have other stuff regarding txt'ing and calling, etc. I'm looking to buy the Gear S to track things like the Fit Bit would. Any ideas how well the gear S tracks stuff like sleep, etc? Thanks for the help!!

 

[kieso]

So I've been trying to research as much as possible before posting.....but I haven't seen as much health app videos, as I have other stuff regarding txt'ing and calling, etc. I'm looking to buy the Gear S to track things like the Fit Bit would. Any ideas how well the gear S tracks stuff like sleep, etc? Thanks for the help!!

For me the the sleep tracking seems accurate. The pedometer seems spot on. I've watched it counting as i am walking. I've heard complaints about distances being incorrect but I forget what app they were using for running. Hopefully others that run with the watch can chime in. Sorry I'm not up to running yet plus it's been 0 and below here in PA.

 

[ChemMan]

So using a tread mill I have to put the Gear S in my pocket to have it be more accurate. Other than that it is just fine.

 

[pre1561]

The Pedometer in any of the Sheath apps is not accurate at all. You can shake the phone or watch and the thing will count steps. Stand still and zero the pedometer on your phone and shake your phone. I don't use the just the Sheath app. I refer to it and use the heart rate monitor. But I think the whole app is packed with bugs and more of a gimmick to sell the products. The Samsung app store is the same way, even free apps refuse to download from there app store. You would think Samsung could do better, but they are more concerned with making fantastic devices than apps. I use apps that actually work with the exception of a pedometer, I don't really need one of those anyway. It would be nice but even the stand alone pedometers are not reliable.

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[PookiePrancer]

So using a tread mill I have to put the Gear S in my pocket to have it be more accurate. Other than that it is just fine.

No. I run on a treadmill all the time and it's pretty accurate. If you put it in your pocket, you can't monitor heart rate.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[anon(5719825)]

I think the pedometer is pretty accurate. I was using my phone for the past two weeks and then got the watch.

The heart rate app seems pretty accurate too. I've tested within a minute or two on my Note 4, Note Edge and my watch and they are all within a beat or two.

 

[dnkeyhnter]

The gear s does everything the fitbit does and it does all kinds of extra stuff i.e. text, calls, notifications, surf the web, instagram and many other things on a much better screen... You know you want it.. Just go get it.. Ha ha

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[InfamousUnknown]

This is a snippit about pedometer accuracy from DCRainmaker.com - he does a ton of sports related technology reviews and is very in depth (probably to a fault).

Really none of them are accurate, the question is are the consistent.



[BOX]

Obviously, the goal of an activity tracker is to track your activity. But, that becomes a slightly more murky proposition than most realize. See, all of these devices depend on accelerometers for tracking motion – and thus, they have to filter out what is steps versus other random motion. For example, if I’m sitting at my desk and drink a 64oz Slurpee, is that mistakenly identified as steps? It’s motion, right?

If you look at any activity tracker on the market, you should take none as an absolute measure of exactly how many steps you did that day – down to the step. Instead, you should look at trending over time. In virtually all of the units I’ve found that if I go out and just walk 100 steps, it counts it just fine as 100 steps.

Rather, it’s my day to day wanderings that I get more variation between units. For example – how does one unit count a quick 5-10 minute ride on a Velib bike share bike to a local store? On the cobbles, are those triggering steps? And turbulence on a plane?

Thus, for fun, for the last 10 days I’ve tracked across 4-5 activity trackers to see how they’d chart. Obviously I don’t know exactly who is right, nor who is wrong. There are some cases where it’s clear one is wrong (for example, why the Basis appeared to take a vacation on the Wednedsay for a good chunk of it).

I thought it was interesting how much variation I saw in the first half, versus the second half. I have absolutely zero idea why there was that much variation initially, and the closest day overall was actually Tuesday the 11th – astoundingly close, especially given a run was involved.​

[/BOX]

The quote is from: Garmin Vivofit In-Depth Review | DC Rainmaker this section is called counting steps and accuracy.

 

[alan44]

Thanks thats very helpful and I'm going to study the link in more detail

I was going to say imho across the spectrum from couch potato, weekend warrior, up to say committed runner / semi-pro athlete all the devices and associated apps seem to do a reasonable job and are all practically "close enough"

but that's projecting my personal reality tunnel onto others

so in thinking "why would anyone short of a pro athlete need super precision and ultra accuracy?" I am being as stupid and insular as for example the nay-sayers wondering (which is of course allowed) or actively expressing their opinions (versus asking a genuine question): "why would anyone want a smartphone with a sim card on their wrist?"

Like if one doesn't see the use case that another sees - stfu!

 

[InfamousUnknown]

It is a valid question, and one that in the endurance sports arena gets asked a lot.

The basic answer is if you swap between devices and want consistency, or you compare and contrast with your buddies and want bragging rights, then they need to be accurate. If not then really consistency is probably enough. It doesn't matter if I lose 10% of the steps as long as I always lose 10%. I still can judge how much more or less that I walked. If it is inconsistent and one day I lose 10% and the next day I gain 20 then I can't judge how hard I'm working vs how hard I worked before.

 

[anon(5719825)]

It is a valid question, and one that in the endurance sports arena gets asked a lot.

The basic answer is if you swap between devices and want consistency, or you compare and contrast with your buddies and want bragging rights, then they need to be accurate. If not then really consistency is probably enough. It doesn't matter if I lose 10% of the steps as long as I always lose 10%. I still can judge how much more or less that I walked. If it is inconsistent and one day I lose 10% and the next day I gain 20 then I can't judge how hard I'm working vs how hard I worked before.

It's probably a good idea for some then to walk or run the same exact route every day for several days to see what the watch or phone reports each time.

 

[ShaggyKids]

Good idea!

 

[KoukiFC3S]

I'm finding the Gear s super useful for tracking my cardio.

The only downside is that S Health doesn't have a friends list. Makes it hard to compare results against friends.

I'm mostly running treadmill and the watch tracks distance just fine while on my wrist. The HR monitor is also decent, seems better than the new fitbit or the Microsoft band.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[star444]

I wore my Gear S to Physical Therapy last week (post knee replacement), and the Physical Therapist was quite interested in it. At one point she measured my heart rate using their equipment at the same time the watch was measuring, and it was spot on!

 

[durgaprasadzone]

Thanks for info....

 

[Tamara Wise]

Thanks thats very helpful and I'm going to study the link in more detail

I was going to say imho across the spectrum from couch potato, weekend warrior, up to say committed runner / semi-pro athlete all the devices and associated apps seem to do a reasonable job and are all practically "close enough"

but that's projecting my personal reality tunnel onto others

so in thinking "why would anyone short of a pro athlete need super precision and ultra accuracy?" I am being as stupid and insular as for example the nay-sayers wondering (which is of course allowed) or actively expressing their opinions (versus asking a genuine question): "why would anyone want a smartphone with a sim card on their wrist?"

Like if one doesn't see the use case that another sees - stfu!

 

[InfamousUnknown]

In general accuracy doesn't matter as much to the non pro as consistency does. Having consistent readings means you can adjust your effort based on past performance. "I know I can do better than this" or "I know my fastest run is x, but I'm going longer so I'm going to stay at 80% of x" If you are not consistent in your measurements you can blow up or leave too much energy on the course that you could have made use of.

 

[mountainbikermark]

If you're getting inconsistent results try putting it wrist side under. This sensors can be buggy with darker skin, tattoos and other dark objects. The inside of the arm is usually lighter than the outer plus the vessels are closer to the skin more times than not.

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[kevindharrisii]

Does anyone know if fitbit has an app in the app store for Gear S? I really like fitbit and use a Charge HR a well a Aria scale. Would love to get a Gear S to supplement my fitness tracking within the fitbit echosphere.