If you need some guidance and motivation on your health and fitness journey, there's no shortage of smart devices and mobile apps that promise to help.
The health and fitness technology market includes everything from meditation and workout apps to wearables, connected home gym equipment, Wi-Fi-enabled bathroom scales, and more. These technologies can help you reach a range of goals such as losing weight, lowering your stress level, sleeping better, boosting your immunity, elevating your mood, or improving your nutrition.
It's not an exaggeration to say these technologies can be a true blessing. When gyms across the country shut down due to COVID-19, health and fitness tech helped many of us (including me) stay sane at home in quarantine. But with so many options to choose from, it can be tough to find what works, and that's where we come in. Our mission is to help you make the most informed buying decisions, which is why we exhaustively test every product and analyze its strengths, weaknesses, and value compared with the competition.
As a yoga teacher and PCMag's fitness expert, I get to review all the latest smart health technologies, and some of the recent innovations I’ve seen are truly impressive. But not every product is a winner, and not every good product is the right fit for everyone.
In this story, we highlight some of the best health and fitness products and software you can use right now, as well as explore some of the more promising technologies on the horizon. If a product catches your eye, be sure to check out its full review.
NordicTrack RW900
NordicTrack RW900 Rowing Machine
With its 22-inch HD touch screen and vast library of outdoor, studio, and Google Maps-based iFit workouts, the NordicTrack RW900 rowing machine is an excellent choice for beginner, intermediate, and advanced rowers alike.
NordicTrack RW900 Rowing Machine review
Peloton Bike+
With a rotating screen and a new Auto Follow feature for automatic resistance adjustments, the Peloton Bike+ is a compelling upgrade over its predecessor, and the best smart indoor cycling bike you can buy.
Peloton Bike+ review
Peloton Tread
MYX Fitness
With the same top-notch workout classes and a smaller design, the Peloton Tread is a more practical and wallet-friendly version of its problematic larger sibling, and the best connected treadmill for small spaces.
MYX Fitness review
SoulCycle At-Home Bike
With a focus on riding in step with the beat of music while working to master choreography moves, the SoulCycle At-Home Bike offers fun and challenging workouts that combine cardio and strength training with elements of dance and meditation.
SoulCycle At-Home Bike review
With its sophisticated form-tracking and rep-counting software, challenging on-demand and live classes, and excellent trainers, the Tempo Studio is the best smart strength training machine we've tested.
Tempo Studio review
The Tonal system isn’t cheap, but it’s like having a full gym’s worth of strength training equipment—and a virtual personal trainer—in your home.
Tonal review
NordicTrack RW900
NordicTrack RW900 Rowing Machine
With its 22-inch HD touch screen and vast library of outdoor, studio, and Google Maps-based iFit workouts, the NordicTrack RW900 rowing machine is an excellent choice for beginner, intermediate, and advanced rowers alike.
NordicTrack RW900 Rowing Machine review
NordicTrack RW900
NordicTrack RW900 Rowing Machine
With its 22-inch HD touch screen and vast library of outdoor, studio, and Google Maps-based iFit workouts, the NordicTrack RW900 rowing machine is an excellent choice for beginner, intermediate, and advanced rowers alike.
NordicTrack RW900 Rowing Machine review
MYX Fitness
It doesn't have live classes and leaderboards, but MYX Fitness is an excellent and competitively priced Peloton Bike alternative that focuses on personalized heart rate zone training.
MYX Fitness review
Peloton Row
The Peloton Row is the smartest and most luxurious rowing machine on the market, with class-leading interactivity and unique form feedback features to keep you safe.
Peloton Row review
With its sophisticated form-tracking and rep-counting software, challenging on-demand and live classes, and excellent trainers, the Tempo Studio is the best smart strength training machine we've tested.
Tempo Studio review
With modest improvements over the last generation, including new Google lifestyle apps, Bluetooth integration with gym equipment, and a refreshed companion app, the affordable Fitbit Charge 6 remains the best fitness tracker on the market.
Fitbit Charge 6 review
With long battery life, a color touch screen, and all the basic activity and sleep features you need, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is the best fitness tracker you can get for under $100.
Fitbit Inspire 3 review
With a faster processor, better battery life, and a lower price than the previous model, the second-generation Apple Watch SE is an excellent budget-minded alternative to the Series 8.
Apple Watch SE (2022) review
The sleek, style-forward Fitbit Luxe offers all the basics you want from a fitness tracker in a design that looks more like jewelry than gym wear.
Fitbit Luxe review
Ideal for small wrists, the Garmin Lily smartwatch has a fashionable, jewelry-inspired design and many useful health-tracking features for a reasonable price.
Garmin Lily review
Oura Generation 3
The third-generation Oura Ring offsets its new monthly membership fee with an upgraded suite of health-tracking features including continuous heart rate measurements, improved temperature sensing, and period predictions.
Oura Generation 3 review
Polar H9
The entry-level Polar H9 is the best heart rate monitor for anyone with basic needs, with a wide range of compatibility and an excellent companion app.
Polar H9 Heart Rate Sensor review
The Wyze Scale offers unbeatable value, with the ability to measure and track 12 metrics, Wyze Band integration, and a safe mode for pregnant women and people who wear pacemakers.
Wyze Scale review
Green Chef Meal Delivery Service
If you like fresh, vegetable-forward meals, GreenChef is the meal kit delivery service for you. The entrees put plants at center stage, with mouth-watering options for vegetarians and vegans, as well as meat eaters who follow paleo or keto diets.
Green Chef Meal Delivery Service review
With the ability to track your sleep in addition to all of the voice control capacity of the original, the second-generation Nest Hub smart display is an ideal bedside companion for Google Assistant users.
Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) review
Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover
The Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover smart mattress topper lets you adjust your existing bed's temperature from hot to cool via your phone and expertly tracks your sleep health.
Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover review
Sleep Number 360 i8 Smart Bed
With a temperature-balancing surface and the ability to track your rest, the Sleep Number 360 i8 is one of the smartest and most luxurious mattresses you can buy.
Sleep Number 360 i8 Smart Bed review
Core Meditation Trainer
The Core Meditation Trainer is a handheld meditation aid that uses vibrations to help you focus and guide your breathing as ECG sensors measure your mindfulness and its companion app tracks your progress.
Core Meditation Trainer review
Fitbit's health-focused Sense 2 smartwatch puts an emphasis on stress management while improving upon the original with a more responsive touch screen and longer battery life.
Fitbit Sense 2 review
Samsung's Galaxy Watch 6 offsets its unimpressive battery life with striking display upgrades to remain the best Android-compatible smartwatch.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 40mm Bluetooth Smartwatch (Gold) review
Setting up and using the Wahoo Tickr Fit armband to measure heart rate during exercise couldn't be easier, making it a top pick among heart rate monitors.
Wahoo Tickr FIT review
The Apple Watch Series 9 has a faster processor, a brighter display, and a more eco-friendly build than its predecessor, making it the best smartwatch for iPhone owners.
Apple Watch Series 9 review
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic smartwatch offers the same improved display and middling battery life of its more affordable sibling, but in a deluxe design that brings back the beloved rotating bezel.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic review