Samsung Health vs. Google Fit

Have you ever searched for fitness apps on your device’s app store? Both Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store are filled with fitness apps. Deciding which one’s best is really difficult. If you ask us, the choice boils down to Samsung Health and Google Fit.

Sure, Apple Health is not a bad choice either if you’re an iOS user, but this article is going to cater more to the Android crowd. You can find Samsung Health and Google Fit on the App Store as well.

Here’s a thorough comparison of the two and the final verdict.

Stating the Obvious About Samsung Health

Obviously, if you have a Samsung ecosystem (phones and wearables) you’ll want to use the Samsung Health app. The app is by Samsung for Samsung users.

The list of compatible devices for Samsung Health is much shorter than that of Google Fit. Yes, you can download the Samsung Health app on Android and iOS devices (iOS 9.0 or newer smartphones). Unfortunately, this app is currently (January 2020) not compatible with any other wearables (smartwatches) other than those manufactured by Samsung.

The list of supported devices includes Gear Sports, Galaxy Fit, Galaxy Watch Active 2, Gear Fit 2, Gear Fit 2 Pro, Samsung Gear S2, S3, and S4. You need to create a Samsung account for use with this app so that it can track your activity across multiple devices.

What About Google Fit?

Don’t expect any favoritism here. We’re just pointing out the elephant in the room that is Google Fit. It’s pretty obvious that this app is much more accessible as it’s available for nearly any Android wearables, which is a huge plus.

You can download Google Fit for Android or iOS devices. More importantly, Google Fit is compatible with a lot more devices than Samsung Health. It works on all versions of Wear OS by Google and also Xiaomi Mi Bands, Polar devices, etc.

Google Fit is also compatible with many great apps, such as Strava, Calm, Headspace, Calorie Counter, etc. All in all, Google Fit seems to be more versatile and user-friendly, but we are yet to cover the main similarities and differences between the two apps.

UI Comparison

Samsung Health and Google Fit are both sleek and intuitive. They even share a similar philosophy in the user interface. Both use a white background and keep the important stats to the bottom part of the screen.

Google Fit is simple in the sense it uses your profile picture on your Google account. It also shows your recent data like steps taken, calories burned, kilometers walked, etc.

If you have a Wear OS or other device that keeps track of your heart rate, it will be displayed too. There is a Weight display too, and you can add your activities using the plus icon.

Samsung Health has some news articles and motivational quotes at the top instead of your profile picture. Then there are the important fitness tracking stats, including weight, heart rate, number of steps, kilometers walked, but also your sleeping habits, water intake, etc.

Samsung Health provides more important data on the front page, which gives more insight than Google Fit.

Tracking Comparison

Google keeps track of your movement by default. Besides the data as mentioned in the previous section, you can also get more details. Just tap on kilometers, for example, and you’ll see how far and how fast you moved, how many calories burned, etc.

Google can also track your weight, blood pressure, and various activities such as riding a bike, walking, and so on. Finally, you can track your workouts with Google Fit, and the stats are truthful and informative.

Samsung Health also tracks your workouts by default, your activities, and your sleep. You can use it to check your stress levels and heart rate whenever, which can be very useful. Keeping track of your water intake and weight is also important, which Samsung Health can handle.

The difference between these apps is the sleep tracking feature in Samsung Health, which is amazing. This feature aims at improving your sleeping habits. To keep you motivated, Samsung Health is loaded with challenges under the Together tab. Google Fit uses Heart points for the same purpose.

Finally, let’s take a look at the precision of tracking. Both apps rely on sensors, therefore they can’t be perfect. They both may run into hiccups and fail to give precise data. Google has very precise maps, but its activity tracking is not perfect. The same goes for Samsung Health’s data tracking.

The Final Verdict

Both of these apps are great, especially because they are free. Google Fit is more versatile and available on more than just Samsung devices. If you are a Samsung user, Samsung Health seems like the obvious choice.

It has more tracking options, such as sleep tracking, and it presents you with more useful details. Both apps can use some improvement, but overall Samsung Health seems like the better app as of now. That may change in the future.

Which do you prefer? Do you have a suggestion for another app that can top both? Let us know in the comments below.