I wore 4 wearables on my left arm, and 8 on my right arm, to understand how they might vary with regard to number of steps walked and calories burned during a working day. The variances I observed when I first started this test have not disappeared.

1. Real World Test
Activity tracking using 12 wearables
18th Feb 2016
Maneesh Juneja

2. Disclosure
• I have no commercial ties to any of the companies that make the
wearable technology used in this test
• All of the devices were purchased by me using my own funds
• My views expressed are my own

3. 12 devices.
4 smartwatches. 8 activity trackers.
From Left to Right
Huawei Watch
Microsoft Band 2
Basis Peak
Apple Watch
From Left to Right
Mi Band 1S
Fitbit Flex
Misfit Flash
Moov Now

4. Background
• The majority of the population are yet to use a wearable to track activity
• Insurers, employers and healthcare systems may be experimenting with
using basic data obtained from wearables
• My objective is to test the accuracy of wearables in terms of walking
(steps, miles walked, calories burned)
• This is a real world test, not a clinical trial
• Needs to be repeated & results validated
• Measurements may vary because the device is not closest to the wrist. I
will have to repeat the test later, but swapping the position of devices on
each arm
• Need a baseline for reference – mechanical German made waist mounted
pedometer has been ordered

5. Left arm (my non dominant arm) - smartwatches
• All devices worn continuously for 12.5 hours during the day
• All devices were fully charged prior to start of test
• Each device was connected by Bluetooth to the phone for duration of test
• Basis Peak, Microsoft Band, and Huawei watch paired with Samsung
Galaxy S6 Edge +
• Apple Watch paired with iPhone 6+
• All devices are were touching my skin (some use heart rate monitoring
for calorie burned algorithm)
• My exact date of birth (or year and month), weight (108kg), height (6’2”)
entered in apps for all devices

6. Right arm (my dominant arm) - information
• All devices worn continuously for 12.5 hours during the day
• 4 different models, but wearing 2 identical products of each model
• In addition to comparing with the smartwatches on my left arm, I’m interested whether the
identical products also produce identical results
• 4 devices connected by Bluetooth to iPhone 6+
• 4 devices connected by Bluetooth to Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+
• All 8 devices were touching my skin
• My exact date of birth (or year and month), weight (108kg), height (6’2”) entered in apps for all
devices
• In Fitbit app, dominant arm as a location selected
• In Mi Band app, right arm as a location selected
• In Misfit app, wrist as a location selected
• In Moov app, no ability to select location of device

7. Data from Left Arm
Full table of results from both arms in later slides

8. Huawei Watch
Basis Peak
Microsoft Band 2
Apple Watch

9. Data from Right Arm
Showing screenshots from app since the devices don’t have displays

10. Mi Band 1S (1st away from wrist) Mi Band 1S (2nd away from wrist)

11. Fitbit Flex Green (3rd away from wrist) Fitbit Flex Red (4th away from wrist)*

12. Misfit Black (5th away from wrist) Misfit White (6th away from wrist)

13. Moov Now Red (7th away from wrist) Moov Now Green (8th away from wrist)

14. Q. Why are calories on Apple watch so low?
• A. Apple Watch only shows ‘active’ calories. The Health app will show
the ‘resting’ and ‘active’ calories, when added up can be compared
with other devices. I assume this applies to the low numbers from
Huawei Watch & Mi Band 1S too.
547.72+2,084.33
= 2,632.05

15. Discrepancy between ‘active calories’ on Apple
Watch vs Health App
At 9.54pm 4 minutes later
My assumption is that the Watch
is rounding up to the nearest 10
when reporting active calories.
However, from tests earlier in this series,
that wasn’t the case.
It’s a small discrepancy, but something
that makes me curious.

16. Glossary
•LA = Left Arm
•RA = Right Arm
•1W = 1st away from wrist
•2W = 2nd away from wrist
•And so on

17. Device Firmware version Steps walked Distance
(miles)
Calories burned Steps per mile
(derived)
Position
Huawei Watch 1.3.0.2421912 8,946 N/A 718 (active calories) N/A LA 4W
Microsoft Band 2 2.0.4117.0 26 R 8,834 4.65 2,337 1,900 LA 3W
Basis Peak 1.18.3.0 7,384 N/A 3,924 N/A LA 2W
Apple Watch 2.1 (13S661) 8,738 4.68 2,632 (active 548) 1,867 LA 1W
Mi Band 1S 4.15.11.20 12,243 5.59 788 (active calories) 2,190 RA 1W
Mi Band 1S 4.15.11.20 11,844 5.39 765 (active calories) 2,197 RA 2W
Fitbit Flex (Green) 81 9,908 4.80 2,953 2,064 RA 3W
Fitbit Flex (Red) 7.81 9,915 4.80 2,934 2,066 RA 4W
Misfit Flash (Black) N/A 7,952 3.20 2,888 2,485 RA 5W
Misfit Flash (White) N/A 7,626 3.10 2,851 2,460 RA 6W
Moov Now (Red) 6.0* N/A N/A 2,732 N/A RA 7W
Moov Now (Green) 5.0* N/A N/A 2,648 N/A RA 8W
*Note: Moov app on iPhone & Galaxy are both reporting firmware as up-to-date, which is bizarre.

18. Variance between highest and lowest results
on both arms
Measurement Highest Lowest Variance (Highest-
lowest)
Percent Variance
between lowest and
highest
Steps 12,243 (Mi Band 1S – RA
1W)
7,384 (Basis Peak – LA
2W)
4,959 65.8%
Distance (miles) 5.59 (Mi Band 1S – RA
1W)
3.10 (Misfit Flash White
– RA 6W)
2.49 80.3%
Total Calories
(includes Active
Calories)
3,924 (Basis Peak – LA
2W)
2,332 (Microsoft Band 2
– LA 3W)
1,592 68.3%
Active Calories
(those from
activity tracked)
788 (Mi Band 1S – RA
1W)
548 (Apple Watch – LA
1W)
240 43.8%

19. Variance between highest and lowest results
on left arm
Measurement Highest Lowest Variance (Highest-
lowest)
Percent Variance
between lowest and
highest
Steps 8,946 (Huawei Watch –
LA 4W)
7,384 (Basis Peak – LA
2W)
1,562 21.2%
Distance (miles) 4.68 (Apple Watch – LA
1W)
4.65 (Microsoft Band 2 –
LA 3W)
0.03 0.6%
Calories 3,924 (Basis Peak – LA
2W)
2,337 (Microsoft Band 2
– LA 3W
1,587 67.9%

20. Variance between highest and lowest results
on right arm
Measurement Highest Lowest Variance (Highest-
lowest)
Percent Variance
between lowest and
highest
Steps 12,243 (Mi Band 1S – RA
1W)
7,626 (Misfit Flash
White –RA 6W)
4,617 60.5%
Distance (miles) 5.59 (Mi Band 1S – RA
1W)
3.10 (Misfit Flash White
– RA 6W)
2.49 80.3%
Total Calories
(includes Active
Calories)
2,953 (Fitbit Flex Green –
RA 3W)
2,648 (Moov Now Green
– RA 8W)
305 11.5%

21. Variance between Mi Band 1S on right arm
Measurement 1st away from wrist
(paired to iPhone 6+)
2nd away from wrist
(paired to S6 Edge+)
Variance (2nd away-
1st away)
Percent Variance
Steps 12,243 11,844 -399 -3.3%
Distance
(miles)
5.59 5.39 -0.20 -3.6%
Active
Calories
788 765 3 -0.4%

22. Variance between Fitbit Flex on right arm
Measurement Green model (3rd away
from wrist)
Red model (4th away
from wrist)
Variance (4th away-
3rd away)
Percent Variance
Steps 9,908 9,915 7 0.1%
Distance
(miles)
4.80 4.80 0.0 0.0%
Total Calories
Burned
2,953 2,934 -19 -0.6%

23. Variance between Misfit Flash on right arm
Measurement Black model (5th away
from wrist)
White model (6th away
from wrist)
Variance (6th away-
5th away)
Percent Variance
Steps 7,952 7,626 -326 -4.1%
Distance
(miles)
3.20 3.10 -0.10 -3.1%
Total Calories
Burned
2,888 2,851 -37 -1.3%

24. Variance between Moov Now on right arm
Measurement Red model (7th away
from wrist)
Green model (8th away
from wrist)
Variance (8th away-
7th away)
Percent Variance
Total Calories
Burned
2,732 2,648 -84 -3.1%
Active
Minutes
33 38 5 15.2%

25. Insights - Distance from wrist
• Many have suggested that the results may be affected because most
of the devices I’m testing are worn away from the expected position
on the wrist (where you would normally wear it)
• Whilst that may be true, my test is also to look at how results vary
because someone wore the device in a different way compared to
how the manufacturer recommends it be worn
• For example, a user may have jewelry, bracelet or some other kind of
wrist band already that means they put the wearable further away
from the wrist

26. Insights – Which arm?
I’m wearing the Moov Now on my right arm (dominant)
which is not what is recommended by the manufacturer
who suggest wearing it on your non dominant arm

27. Almost 11 hours of restorative sleep?
• That’s what the Moov Now trackers report
• What it reports as ‘sleep’ time was actually the duration that both
devices were on the shelf, not in use
• Bizarre to see this happening, as other devices used during this test
don’t do the same thing
• This is the 2nd test in which this has happened

28. Variances between identical devices
• Would you expect to see differences in data between identical models
next to each other on the same arm?
• I wonder how sensitive these devices are to distance away from wrist
• I suspect that how loose/tight each strap may play a role
in different data
• Interesting to see that Fitbit Flex has the smallest variances between
• Moov Now shows 15% variance on ‘active minutes’ between
identical models next to each other on right arm

29. Many straps are not easy to put on
User experience begins when you attach it to your wrist. I found the easiest to
attach is the Apple Watch (light blue strap) – The worst are the Huawei watch &
the Fitbit Flex. In fact, all of the trackers on my right arm are far too fiddly when trying to
attach to my wrist. I wonder if this is part of the reason why some quit using them?

30. All feedback welcome
• If you have any feedback, want to share your own findings, or have
suggestions on how I could improve my testing, please do get in touch
• The best way is on Twitter @maneeshjuneja
• If would rather send me a message privately, you can email me via my
website