Best Smartwatch for Heart Rate: Scientific Review - 12 Smartwatches Tested on my Colleague Raphael
The Quantified Scientist
@thequantifiedscientistAbout
Looking for a scientific view on wearables? Look no further! My name is Rob, and I am a scientist who is into all sort of wearables, but wants to make sure they are accurate. On this channel, I test different devices, and see how I can use them to improve my life. Support the channel and become a member🙏: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChNWxrTlmh4IRSevon1X93g/join I am life-logging and quantifying everything about my body, mind and surroundings. My measurements take more than 11 hours a week and include a weekly brain MRI, sleep EEG and gut microbiome composition. I am quite possibly doing the ultimate "quantified self". As a scientist, I specialise in biological informatics, which means I write computer programs to analyse data. I now use these skills to learn more about myself and I try to improve my life. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quantified_scientist/ Twitter: @QuantifiedRob Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-ter-horst-90756a4a/ Website: www.robterhorst.com
Video Description
Support the channel by becoming a member🙏: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChNWxrTlmh4IRSevon1X93g/join ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬👇DISCOUNTS/AFFILIATES*!👇▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 🔴 Whoop Strap 4.0*: https://join.whoop.com/QuantifiedScientist (best $$$ off any new WHOOP membership) 🔴 Best place to get a sports watch in the USA*: https://www.playbetter.com/rob-ter-horst 🔴 Anything on Amazon*: https://geni.us/thequantifiedscientist 🔴 Oura Ring Link: I recommend you search for a discount on reddit with the "Refer-A-Friend" program! If you can’t find one: https://ouraring.sjv.io/Oura4 * (affiliate link that supports the channel, but doesn't have a discount) 🔴 Eight sleep best $$$ (€) discount*: https://eight-sleep.ioym.net/TheQuantifiedScientist + add code “TQS” for full discount ☝️Amazon Affiliate* (paid) links. Supports the channel, doesn't cost you any more!☝️ 🟢 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quantified_scientist/ 🟡 Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/5206985 🟠 Shorts: https://www.youtube.com/@smartwatchshorts 🔵 Newsletter: www.robterhorst.com 🟡 Twitter: @QuantifiedRob * Affiliate (paid) links support the channel by earning me a commission on any sale, and it doesn't cost you any more! My opinions are completely my own, and this content is not sponsored. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Video edited by Alex: https://linktr.ee/allexb 📸My Gear* (paid links, supports the channel and doesn’t cost you any more)📸 Camera body (main): https://geni.us/SonyA6600_body Camera lens (main): https://geni.us/SigmaContemporary Camera (B-roll 1): https://geni.us/Sony_ZVE1 Camera (B-roll 2): https://geni.us/CanonEosM50MarkII and https://geni.us/Sony_ZVE10 Light: https://geni.us/Godox_VL150 Softbox: https://geni.us/NiceFotoSoftbox Light stand: https://geni.us/WalimexLightstand ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #applewatchultra2 #applewatchultra #galaxywatchultra #samsungwatchultra Reference devices: ZMax + Dreamento: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.08.18.553744v1 & https://github.com/dreamento/dreamento Polar H10: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31004219/ 🔴 Polar H10: https://geni.us/hnXc Timestamps: 0:00:00 Background and Test Setup 0:02:49 Samsung Galaxy Fit3 $59.99 0:09:40 Huawei Watch Fit3 $154.51 0:14:38 Pixel Watch 2 $221.05 0:19:59 Galaxy Watch 7 $239.00 0:25:17 Pixel Watch 3 $276.49 0:28:00 Apple Watch 10 $323.10 0:32:55 Coros Pace Pro $349.00 0:36:45 Huawei Watch GT5 Pro $444.50 0:41:11 Whoop Strap 4.0 $574.5 0:47:20 Polar Vantage V3 $599.18 0:49:23 Polar Vantage V3 - Fixing My Mistake 0:54:37 Garmin Enduro 3 $833.99 0:58:01 Ranking Devices 0:1:05:40 My Testing vs Raphael’s Testing 1:11:30 Conclusions and Limitations To see which smartwatch is the most accurate, I tested the heart rate tracking performance of 11 different smartwatches on my colleague Raphael. After testing over 100 smartwatches on myself over the years, I think it’s time to see if we get similar results on a second test subject. And I must say, the results are super interesting! Now, I recently learned it is important for the audience to build a connection with the characters in a YouTube video, so let me share some personal information on Raphael. Raphael works at the Center for Molecular Medicine and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Like all of us that work there he is a big nerd, but luckily he also does a lot of sports, which will be very important for our testing, since we need that juicy hard rate date. Well, it is clear that some devices are better than others in terms of heart rate tracking on the wrist. I think the general patterns in terms of which watches are good, and which are bad, are similar between me and Raphael, but some of the details are different. Also, it seems that on average, Raphael has a somewhat easier physiology for these watches to measure heart rate than I do, since on average the different devices did better on him. It is pretty clear that the Apple Watch Series 10 and Pixel Watch 3 have some of the best heart rate tracking, though of course their battery life is pretty bad. Still, if accurate heart rate tracking is your goal, the Apple Watch Series 10 will be your best bet on iPhone and the Pixel Watch 3 the best bet on Android. However, if you need better battery life, you can always get another device and add a chest strap. For instance, I use a Garmin watch myself every day, but I connect it to a chest strap. Or, if you also care about health and sleep tracking in addition to heart rate, the Whoop Strap might be a good compromise.
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