Best smartphone fitness apps

Fitness has become a major part of our smartphones whether we like it or not, with manufacturers giving you a way of ditching that sedentary lifestyle through using their latest piece of kit. But with so many different apps out there, how do you know which one is the best fitness tracker for you?

So if you fancy lacing up the trainers and going out for a run with your smartphone in tow, here are the best health apps you can find to keep you at the peak of physical fitness.

The Android option: Google Fit

Google Fit is the Android fitness tracker of choice, available on the Google Play Store and pre-installed on many Android powered handsets. It offers the ability to track activities like walking, running and cycling, whilst also letting you set goals to measure your progress.

Its clean and simple user interface makes it incredibly easy to use and read, without confusing you with complicated graphs and over the top readings.

Compatible with all Android Wear devices, Google Fit isn’t just restricted to your mobile phone, with wearable tech also integrating the app. Also, with tablet compatibility and a purpose built website linked to your account, you won’t require just your phone to ensure your fitness is at its peak.

With classic Google style, you get a day to day rundown of your activities, whilst simple graphs give you a more illustrated way of tracking your progress. It doesn’t pack as many features as some other apps, but overall its simplicity and ease of use make it a brilliant smartphone fitness tracker.

Verdict:

A simple and attractive way of measuring your fitness levels, but lacks some of the features which are commonplace in other similar apps.

Samsung’s S Health

Pre-installed on all the recently released Samsung smartphones, S Health is the South Korean company’s take on the fitness app market. Offering a way of personally tracking your fitness, S Health monitors numerous facets of health and well-being to offer an in-depth look at your personal fitness.

Recording exercise, diet and even your heart rate, S Health covers more areas than its Android competitor, with another brilliant and easy to use design. Using your smartphone’s pedometer, the feature can track your footsteps, and give you a detailed evaluation of distance covered and steps taken.

Also, with a food diary option and the best fitness tracker around, it’s ideal for mixing with the Galaxy Gear Fit to keep you going without carrying around your phone. However, it does vary on its performance depending on which device the app is run on, so can’t be linked to FitBit or other wearable kit out there. If you’re interested in fitness bands, take a read of our guide.

Samsung’s own TouchWiz user interface style is in action again with S Health, giving you that unique Samsung feel you’ll be used to on your smartphone.

Verdict:

Offering more recordable stats than Google Fit, S Health is definitely a great tool for tracking smartphone fitness, but is available on just a few devices.

An Apple a day: Health

Available with iOS 8 on the iPhone, Health is the Apple take on fitness apps, and as you’d expect packs a tonne of features. Its smooth design is stuffed with all kinds of data, with heart rate, calories, blood sugar, cholesterol and even sleep covered by different measurements.

The app’s amazing dashboard offers a full overview of your level of health, whilst the medical ID section even lets you list key areas of importance like blood type and allergies which can be easily shared with doctors. It might seem complex at first, but is easy to access after a few minutes of adjusting yourself to the service.

Using tables and graphs to display recordings quickly and easily, you can get a proper take on your overall health with real in-depth detail. This is all completely shareable, and with the Apple Watch on the way, will also be able to link to the wearable tech.

Finally, with the Healthkit SDK available for developers to use, almost any app can be linked to the Health portion of the phone, meaning it will collect data with your permission. All of this makes for one of the most informative health readings on the market; all without having you pay a penny!

Verdict:

Health from Apple offers the most readings of any fitness app listed here, but is still waiting for a wearable link, albeit one which is coming soon, however it still is the best iPhone fitness tracker on the App Store right now.

So, that’s our fitness app review, showing off some of the best smartphone health trackers on the market! If you’re aiming to get yourself in better shape, maybe you should try one of these apps- it might surprise you as to just how effective they are!