The research team under the leadership of Professor Olafa Obershar conducted an experiment, during which 15 female and 15 male athletes underwent tests to measure the quality of pulse measurement using 10 different smart devices from various global companies during running, cycling, and swimming.
After conducting the tests, results showed that smartwatches significantly lag behind the electrocardiographic belt, which is considered the standard for measuring cardiac electrical activity. Deviations in measurements may be caused by leather strap thicknesses, skin color, and the relative movement of hands and watches.
The most accurate among the smartwatches turned out to be the Apple Watch SE, although it still showed 40 beats per minute fewer than two of the athletes. The researchers recommend measuring pulse before training with the help of the electrocardiographic belt and comparing the results with the readings of smartwatches for determining the real accuracy of measurements.
Thanks to the use of modern GPS and GNSS technologies, no significant differences were noticed in the measurements during running. However, after running on different surfaces and with varying height offsets, deviations from the actual distances ranged from 8 to 17% on average 5%.
Among the devices that were tested and showed deviations of less than 1%, were the Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar, Huawei Watch GT 3, and Apple Watch SE. Overall, measurements turned out to be more accurate during cycling over longer distances with fewer turns compared to running.
Measurements during swimming were found to be less accurate, since all smartwatches and devices for tracking could not determine the distances or swimming styles during changing positions in the basin. However, three devices demonstrated good accuracy during swimming, especially over distances greater than 400 meters.
Although modern smartwatches and fitness bracelets are designed to assist athletes in measuring distances, speed, and pulse, researchers from the universities of Magdeburg and Leipzig in Germany confirm that these measurements cannot be considered reliable, especially regarding pulse measurement, even when using more advanced and expensive models.
