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I walked 7,000 steps with the Garmin Cirqa vs Fitbit Air - and there's a clear winner
Tom's Guide • • technology
Key Points:
- The Fitbit Air and Garmin Cirqa are both screen-free fitness trackers that rely on companion apps and paired phones for GPS data, with the Cirqa featuring a single physical button for workout control.
- In a test involving a 7,000-step walk, the Fitbit Air undercounted steps by 10, while the Garmin Cirqa overcounted by 70; Strava's count was also close, overcounting by 10.
- The Garmin Cirqa failed to register distance, climb, or pace data due to logging the walk as a generic workout, whereas the Fitbit Air's distance and pace data aligned closely with Strava, though its climb data was inaccurate.
- Heart rate data between the two devices showed inconsistency, with a suspicion that the Garmin Cirqa may be more accurate during intense hill climbs, though no control data was available to confirm this.
- Overall, the Fitbit Air performed slightly better than the Garmin Cirqa in this walk test, continuing findings from previous comparisons, despite some ongoing issues with climb data accuracy.
