Count your steps without a smartwatch - your phone is enough
You do not need a smartwatch to know how much you walk. Your phone counts steps for free, and it is accurate enough to follow your weekly trend.
Your friend shows 10,000 steps on a smartwatch. You look at your wrist. No watch. You think you need one to walk more. You do not. The phone already in your pocket counts steps for free. This short read shows how, and how true that number really is.
Your phone is already a step counter
Every smartphone has a tiny part inside. It is called an accelerometer (say ak-sel-er-om-e-ter). It feels movement. That is how the screen turns when you tilt the phone. The same part can count your steps. One study tested the step counter built right into Android phones. People walked 100 steps on a treadmill, phone in a pouch. The phone was off by only about 6 steps in every 100. That is close enough to follow your trend.
You need a smartwatch to count steps accurately.
mostly falsemostly false
A smartwatch is nice. It is not needed. In a lab test, three free Android step apps were checked against video counting. The apps were Google Fit, Pacer and Pedometer. At a normal walking pace, Google Fit was about 6 to 7 steps off in 100. Pacer and Pedometer were about 9 off. Walk faster, and all three got even closer. That is plenty to see if you walk more this week than last. A smartwatch may look smarter. It is not more honest about the trend.
What makes your phone count better or worse
How to use your phone as a step counter
The bottom line
You do not need a smartwatch to walk more. In normal walking, a phone is off by only about 6 steps in 100. That is good enough for the one number that matters: is your weekly trend going up? Carry the phone on your body, read the trend, and let Burnie mind your food and weight. Your feet do the rest.