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I tested the Google Fitbit Air's heart rate data.
I compared it against the Polar H10 chest strap, a reliable heart rate monitor.
The Fitbit Air is good for heart rate checks, but not as accurate as a calorie counter.
Just how accurate is that health tracker around your wrist? The truth is, you don't really know. The companies that create these devices equip them with sensors that detect every heart rate spike or dip, but their trackers are designed for general, recreational use. Inaccuracies happen.
Still, many of the top health trackers out there are surprisingly accurate, and technological advances have brought each new generation a little closer to the gold standard of exercise and heart rate monitoring.
Also: Google's Fitbit Air is a $99 screenless wearable that I can actually take seriously
I tested this out on the Fitbit Air, one of the fitness world's bigger releases of the year. Using the Polar H10 chest strap as a control, I recorded my gym workout to see how the devices compared. While the Polar H10 chest strap is also a consumer product, it's often considered the gold standard of heart rate monitoring for its technical accuracy. One study found that the chest strap showed "almost perfect agreement" with a reference Lead II ECG system, for example.
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