Activity trackers are quickly proving unnecessary for anyone who owns a smartphone, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania. Fitness apps available for contemporary smartphones like the iPhone 5s and the Samsung Galaxy S4 can do things like count steps taken just as well as activity trackers or other armbands built specifically for that purpose, the study shows.
Additionally, the bands can sometimes be inaccurate, anywhere from 1.5 per cent to 22.7 per cent of the time. The Galaxy only underestimated steps taken 6.7 per cent of the time, while the iPhone overestimated the figure 6.2 per cent of the time.
Since a lot of the measurements offered by an activity tracker are based on these counts, it's important to have accuracy here. Thus, according to the study, those who want to track their exercise are just as well served with a smartphone as with a tracker strapped to their wrist.
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