Do you want to get fit? We all do, really. Do you want to know exactly how far you're walking — or not — each day, and to know exactly how long you're sleeping — or not? How about your heart rate after all those coffees? Fitbit's latest Alta HR fitness tracker is by far its most refined device yet, and one of the first we'd actually recommend for the everyday wearer doing everyday things.

Let's face it, the world of fitness trackers has sort of plateaued. Most people who want a fitness tracker already have one, and more than a few of us have old trackers shoved away in a drawer, useless because the charging cable mysteriously disappeared, or because the company who made it decided it didn't care anymore and killed the software (RIP Nike FuelBand).

The smartwatch and fitness tracker markets might be in a race to the bottom, but that hasn't stopped Huawei, the Chinese phone maker, from tossing a watch-shaped tracker into the mix. It's an interesting tack for a company known primarily for its phones (and barely known at all in the US). If this thing takes off when it appears in Best Buy today, and other big box retailers later this year, then it's a whole new introduction to America for Huawei. And what a wonderful introduction at that. The Huawei Fit looks like the Pebble Round smartwatch, functions like a Fitbit Charge, and costs less than both.

I was very impressed with the Apple Watch Series 2. It added GPS and waterproofing and became a far more effective fitness tracking tool. But there's another new Apple Watch, and this one has even more sporting cred. Nike's take on the Apple Watch adds a fancy lightweight band and two exclusive watch faces, but is that a good enough reason to choose one over the equally priced regular Watch?

When it comes to choosing a smartwatch, do you really need to spend $500 on a device that almost does more than your phone — including reminding you to breathe? No. The Pebble has always been about simplifying the smartwatch, and even with improved fitness features, the $US129 Pebble 2 remains exactly as much smartwatch as you really need.

Fitbit is quickly becoming the Xerox or Kleenex of fitness trackers, but its popularity hasn't come without a few hurdles. With the Fitbit Charge 2, we finally get a device that's polished enough to justify the hype.

My Apple Watch has taught me a lot of things. It's taught me that I can hit about 40km/h flat out on my cheap fixie bike before I run out of legs. It's taught me that my exercising heart rate is really kinda high and I should probably see a doctor. It's taught me that taking a minute out of each hour to walk around is really quite a good idea, but taking a minute to focus on my breathing just leaves me light-headed. Apple's newest and most fitness-focused wearable is, on paper, a small improvement from the original — but those improvements under the hood translate to a massive increase in usability.

After two years in the wilderness — so to speak — Fitbit has a replacement for its now-middle-aged Charge and Charge HR fitness trackers. The new Charge 2 adds GPS tracking for your workouts — although not built into the wristband itself — and a host of other fitness tracking software features, like a new Cardio Fitness Level metric for you to base your overall fitness on. The hardware has evolved, too, with a bigger screen and removable wrist straps. One of the best fitness trackers you could buy is now even better.

Samsung's Gear S3 is a small evolution from the Gear S2 announced exactly one year ago. The software is very similar, and the processing hardware hidden away inside the watch's casing is nearly identical as well. But small evolutions can still be significant, and the Gear S3 is the first Samsung smartwatch that I'd consider wearing for more than a couple of weeks at a time.

We were wolfing down lunch in a dank Austin chilli parlor, and I flicked my wrist. The time flashed, blue and bright on the OLED screen, and my friend's eyes darted to the wearable. "What is that," she asked — her interest piqued — her need for some perfect blend of Fitbit and Apple Watch apparent.

There's never been a better time to utilise technology for health and fitness purposes. Fitness trackers are, by far, the most common piece of wearable tech available, letting you track your movement and activity as you go about your business – and all you have to do is remember to charge it and put it on in the morning.

But the fact that they're so common is somewhat of a downside, since, as a consumer, it can be difficult sorting the good from the bad. How do you know which ones are actually worth going out and buying? That's why we took a look a seven of the latest trackers from big-name companies to work out which ones are worth getting your hands on.

Despite the name, smartwatches can be kind of dumb. Sure, they can do cool things, like control your music and put notifications on your wrist. But battery life woes and underwhelming platforms leave you questioning the real IQ of these supposedly "smart" devices. However, there is a road less travelled: an area unexplored by big tech giants, where people can revel in functioning wristputers without being stuck in a technological mire.

"For gamers, by gamers" is the kind of motto that sells liquid-cooled spec-obsessed towers, headsets, rumbling lounge chairs, and ergonomic mice with more buttons than a double-breasted suit. Razer, however, has these words stamped into the back of its wearable Nabu, which it'd like to remind us is not a smartwatch, but a watch with smart features.

Everyone knows Fitbit: The proud Fitbit data announcements of that dude from high school on Facebook, the friend who wears a Zip on their hip or your coworker with a Charge on their wrist. It's the best known name in fitness trackers.

The Tag Heuer Connected is the first Android Wear smartwatch made by a Swiss watchmaker. With a big display, a stainless steel frame, and powerful guts inside, the Connected is the forefather to all the luxury wrist wearables that will inevitably follow it, and it's a wonderful piece of wrist gear.

There are smartwatches, and there are fitness trackers. If you want any combination of the two, you'll have to accept the compromises inherent in cramming a lot of sensors into an attractive, wrist-sized package. This is the problem the Moto 360 Sport comes tantalisingly close to solving.

I bought my stainless steel Apple Watch the first day that it was available. I was incredibly excited about it; a big new splashy technology platform from Apple! Fitness! Apps! A digital crown! What's not to like?

Sadly, this honeymoon phase didn't last very long.

I woke up feeling a bit odd. I strapped on my Apple Watch, unlocked the iPhone, and then felt for my pulse on my right wrist. Soon I was in the hospital cardiac unit for observation and treatment.

Fitness wearables really only exist for one reason: To collect information about your health in order to coach and encourage you into being a better version of you. Even though the Band 2 sucks at being actually wearable, it's still one of the best fitness trackers I've ever strapped on my wrist.