The OCU points out that the variety of activities or the precision in their measurements are the main factors that differentiate these tools.
The variety of activities or the precision in their measurements are the main factors that differentiate these apps.
Fitness monitoring apps, also called health apps, can be an important help to exercise or, at least, to keep fit. But not all of them are equally useful or precise, warns the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) after analyzing 21 of these free applications for smartphones.
To begin with, although all applications of this type allow the distances and speeds traveled by the user to be measured, not all of them do so with the same precision: deviations in the number of steps can reach 8%; while in speed the error can exceed 9%. But, in addition, not all of them are easy to use. Some require certain technical skills when registering, setting parameters or scheduling challenges.
Another important difference is the range of sports they cover: while some only adapt their measurements to the most basic activities such as walking or running, there are others that include cycling, cardiovascular training or strength training with weights, for example. And it is worth knowing that the additional use of biometric parameters (heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, sleep cycle, menstrual cycle monitoring…) often requires the use of a wearable, such as a smart watch or an activity bracelet .
The results, published in the magazine ‘March Master Purchase’, highlight two applications for their good performance. Is about:
- SamsungHealth. It has operating system for Android and IOS. As points in favor, the application presents a good precision, it is easy to use and it has a great variety of fitness and health functions. Against it is that some features require a Samsung phone.
- GoogleFit. Also for Android and IOS, its advantages are good precision, it is easy to configure and it offers very good privacy and security, but only with Android mobiles (with iOS the results are not good). Its weak points are that they do not include as much variety of sports and some menus are not very intuitive.
OCU reminds, as the manufacturers themselves also indicate, that the measurements of the biometric parameters of the apps do not serve as a tool for evaluating physical or health status or for evaluating symptoms of covid-19 or self-diagnosis in relation to any disease. Simply, they help to promote the practice of exercise.
