Low-cost activity tracking
The Withings Move is a very attractive fitness tracking option, especially if you're just getting into fitness tracking. It's an analog watch that's focused just on fitness tracking and telling time, so if you want something with notification support, you'll need to look elsewhere. There's no heart rate monitoring, and for most features outside of automatic tracking and the time, you'll need to use the smartphone app. It's highly customizable, but only when selecting your watch.
For
- Low price
- Automatic activity tracking
- Myriad of customization options
- Sleep tracking
- Shows activity on the dial
- Water resistance to 50m
- Up to 18 months of battery life
- Customizable bands and faces
Against
- No heart rate monitoring
- Need to use the phone app for most features
- Customizations can't be changed later
- No option for notifications
Do-everything wearable
Where the Withings Move is a fitness tracking watch, the Apple Watch Series 4 is a full-blown smartwatch. It does many of the same things your phone does, just at a smaller scale. You can make calls, send texts, get notifications. On the fitness front, the Apple Watch has a built-in heart-rate monitor and a built-in ECG. But it's pricey compared to the Move, especially if all you're looking for is a fitness tracker. And that ECG, while helpful for some customers, isn't available everywhere yet.
For
- Customizable faces
- Easily-swappable bands
- Third-party apps
- Built-in GPS
- Tracks your heart rate
- Built-in ECG
- Options for notifications
- On-board storage for music and podcasts
- Cellular option
Against
- Very expensive compared to the Withings Move
- Rounded-rectangle style isn't for everyone
- ECG only available in select countries and territories
The Withings Move and Apple Watch Series 4 are ultimately two very different products. The Move is an analog watch with activity tracking features. The Apple Watch is a smartwatch that tracks your activity, allows you to use apps, and more. The Move is great if you like analog watches (and saving money), and want one that offers some activity and sleep tracking. However, if you want a smartwatch, the Apple Watch is the better bet.
What really sets the Withings Move and Apple Watch apart
As I've noted, the Withings Move and Apple Watch Series 4 are very different products, but there are some similarities. For instance, at their core, both products are watches, and tell the time. The Move is generally going to be the winner here, as it's an analog watch that doesn't have an OLED display that you have to wait for -- you just look at the time. The only exception is going to be when you're without a source of light. The Apple Watch's display, which lights up on its own, will be quite handy.
They also both track your general activity, such as steps taken. Both feature automatic activity tracking for walking, running, swimming, and more. The Move will also track sleeping, but you can also achieve this on the Apple Watch with third-party apps.
That being said, there's a lot that sets these two devices apart. The Withings Move is an analog watch with some fitness tracking capabilities that shows your status on a special dial on its face. The Apple Watch is a smartwatch; a dynamic device on which you can track fitness, use apps, communicate with both voice and text, and more. The Apple Watch Series 4 is also the more advanced fitness tracker of the two. It features both a heart rate monitor and an ECG, which the standard version of the Move lacks. You can also use the watch to record your workout data into your favorite third-party fitness app. And of course, the Apple Watch integrates seamlessly with your iPhone and various Apple devices.
Of course, for all that functionality in the Apple Watch, you pay a premium. Even at its lowest prices right now, the Apple Watch is priced at over $300 more than the Withings Move, which makes sense. The Move's functionality is fairly basic. If you're just getting into fitness and activity tracking, then check out the Move. Additionally, the Move's battery life is going to be a lot longer than the Apple Watch. At around 18 months, you'll only need to worry about the battery every so often. Plus, that battery is a replaceable, standard coin-type cell, and as such, you also don't have to charge the Move as you do the Apple Watch.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Withings Move | Apple Watch Series 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $70 | $384 |
| Battery Life | Up to 18 months | Up to 18 hours |
| Activity tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep tracking | Yes | Through third-party apps |
| Heart rate monitor | No | Yes |
| ECG | No | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth Low Energy (Version unspecified) | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Wi-Fi | No | Yes |
| Third-party apps | No | Yes |
| On-board storage | No | Yes |
| Notifications | No | Yes |
Despite some surface similarities, these devices are very different. The only thing the Move does better than the Apple Watch is tell time, and that's only because it takes any amount of time at all for the Apple Watch's display to turn on. It doesn't track your activity as well, and it doesn't have the versatility of the Apple Watch.
But...the Withings Move is more than $300 cheaper than the Apple Watch Series 4. If all you want is a watch that will track some activity, a timepiece that'll do a bit more, and you don't care about any of the other features of the Apple Watch or don't have the money for an Apple Watch, this is easy: get the Move and save your money. Also, you have a lot of default color combination options, and if you buy through the Withings site, you can customize everything from the watch face to the activity tracking dial. Also, if you don't own an iPhone, you're not going to be able to set up your Apple Watch, so that'll make your decision for you, too.
But if you have an iPhone and can afford the Apple Watch, get the Apple Watch. It's more capable overall, and does most of what the Move does, only better. Get the Apple Watch. Yes, you have to charge it. Yes, you have to wait half a second for the display to come on so you can tell time. It's just a much more capable device in every capacity. It goes well beyond fitness. It works with third-party apps, lets you store music, podcasts, and other audio, and connects to headphones! So, you can go workout and listen to music using only your watch and leave your iPhone behind.
Sure, maybe you don't actually want a device that's constant vibrating your wrist with notifications, but at least you have an option for them, and can turn them off as you'd like.
A watch with capable fitness tracking built-in
The Withings Moves tracks basic activity and sleep automatically, with a excellent 18-month battery life. It lacks a heart rate monitor and smart watch functions like apps and notifications, but maybe you want a smarter device that isn't constantly buzzing your wrist.
Get better fitness tracking and so much more.
The Apple Watch is a better activity and fitness tracker than the Move, it allows you to communicate, and it will deliver notifications if you want it to. It's also more than five times the price of the Move, so you should be sure you want more than just an activity tracker before you spend the money.
