The first night made the case. Hume Band 2.0 has no display, so when I turned over at 3 a.m. the room stayed dark. The strap adjusts to your wrist, there's nothing to tap, and by week two I had stopped noticing it until I opened the app with my coffee.

That's also the catch. The band can't show you the time or a text. Everything lives in the Hume Health app on your phone, so if you check your wrist all day, one of the watches below will suit you better.

What it tracks is why it won. Under the strap sit 5 LEDs and 4 photodiodes. They follow your sleep through light, deep, REM and awake stages, along with HRV, SpO₂, skin temperature, activity, strain and recovery. The app turns that into Metabolic Capacity, Metabolic Momentum, Pace of Aging and Biological Age, and adds blood pressure trends, no cuff. You won't find a Biological Age on any of the four watches. Garmin's "Fitness Age" is a fitness estimate and measures something different. The Poalar does take cuff-style blood pressure readings with an air bag in its strap, which Hume doesn't try to do. Even so, Hume put more of my biology in one app than any of the watches did.

Around week five work piled up. I had a run of late deadlines, dinners at 10 p.m. and short nights. Both devices on my wrists that week showed my sleep getting worse, and Hume's Metabolic Momentum score slid along with it.

I moved dinner up to 7, cut the evening beer and set a firm lights-out. The line started climbing again within about ten days. After that I checked it every morning, mostly to see whether the previous day's choices showed up.

Blood pressure on Hume is a trend line across days that shows which direction you're drifting over a week or two. For one number at one moment, use a cuff, or look at the Poalar at #4.

Battery is rated up to 14 days with typical use, and that's about what I saw. A recharge took 20 to 80 minutes depending on how empty it was. That beats the Garmin (up to 11 days, 5 with the display always on), the Poalar (5 to 10) and the Fitbit (6+). The Amazfit goes longer, up to 25 days, and I'll give it that one.

The app is free. Health Score, Metabolic Momentum, Metabolic Capacity and the rest of the core metrics cost nothing. Hume Premium starts at $8.99 a month and brings AI coaching. I tried a month of it. It's fine, but I'd start on the free version. Fitbit puts its coaching behind Google Health Premium at $9.99 a month once the 3-month trial runs out.

Where the watches beat it. Hume has no GPS, and if you run outdoors, the Garmin is the better training tool. Every watch here can show your texts. Hume can't. The Garmin, Amazfit and Fitbit are rated to 50 m, while Hume is IP68, which means up to 2 hours at 1 meter. That handled every shower and swim I did.

At $249 (marked down from $356), it sits in the middle on price. The Amazfit ($169.99) and Fitbit ($199.95) cost less. Hume ships free, is HSA/FSA eligible and lets you return it within 45 days.

PROS

CONS

My Findings: Across 90 days and four watches, Hume told me the most about my body: Biological Age, Metabolic Momentum, blood pressure trends and full sleep stages. It stayed dark in bed and went on the charger about twice a month. What I gave up for that was texts on my wrist and built-in GPS for my runs, and for me that was an easy trade.

Bottom Line: The Hume Band 2.0 gets my money for keeping tabs on my body, and at $249 it costs less than two of the four watches. If you want a screen, GPS and payments, go with the Garmin at #2.

I've worn a Garmin on runs since my first marathon, so the vívoactive 6 felt familiar from day one. For its weeks in the test it sat on my right wrist with the Hume band on my left, and it gave the band its closest fight of the whole test.

As a training tool, the Garmin wins. Built-in GPS let me leave my phone at home on long runs, and up to 21 hours of GPS-only tracking is more than I'll ever use. I paid for a sports drink with Garmin Pay and ran to music stored on the watch. The Hume has no GPS and no screen, and if you train outdoors, that matters.

Battery is good for a watch with a 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen. Garmin rates it for up to 11 days in smartwatch mode, but switch the display to always on and that falls to 5. The Hume goes up to 14 days, and its charger spent most of the test in a drawer.

The free health data is generous. Overnight HRV status, Pulse Ox, sleep stages with a sleep score and sleep coach, stress, Body Battery and a Morning Report all come at no extra cost. Garmin Connect+ ($6.99/month or $69.99/year) adds AI insights, and I didn't miss it.

The gaps are in the biology. The watch has no skin-temperature sensor, no ECG and no blood pressure at all, and I had nothing to compare with Hume's Biological Age or Pace of Aging. Garmin's Fitness Age is a fitness estimate, and it measures something different from Hume's Biological Age. TechRadar also found its heart rate sensor less accurate against a chest strap.

At 36 g with the band it's light, but it's still a screen on your wrist in bed. By its last week I was taking the Garmin off at bedtime and leaving only the Hume on.

At $299.99 it's the priciest watch in this test, though it is HSA/FSA eligible for qualified customers. If GPS, payments and music are what you want on your wrist, this is the watch I'd buy.

PROS

CONS

My Findings: The vívoactive 6 is the best training partner I tested. GPS, Garmin Pay and stored music made it the watch I reached for before every run, and its free sleep and HRV data is good. It lost points on biology, with no skin temperature or blood pressure and none of Hume's aging metrics. At $299.99 it also costs more than the band.

Bottom Line: Buy it if you train outdoors and want GPS, payments and music on your wrist. Hume Band 2.0 still edges it for following your biology, with deeper metrics and 14 days per charge at $249.

Halfway through the test I had to hunt for the Active Max's charger because I'd used it so rarely. Amazfit rates it for up to 25 days of typical use, the longest of anything I wore.

Heavy use cuts that to 13 days. With the display always on it still lasts 10, where the Garmin manages 5. Continuous GPS runs for 64 hours, and the offline maps got me back to my car on a trail I'd never run before. The GPS is single-band, though, and its accuracy lags, so I wouldn't trust it on race day.

The price is the other reason to buy it. At $169.99 it's the cheapest watch in this test and costs less than the Hume's $249. The 1.5-inch AMOLED screen reaches up to 3,000 nits, bright enough to read at noon.

You get a lot of health data for free: 24/7 heart rate, SpO₂, stress, temperature, HRV during sleep, sleep stages with a sleep score, VO2 max and training load. The BioCharge readiness score became my morning check before deciding how hard to run. Zepp Aura sleep and stress coaching is optional, sold in the US as 3 months for $29.97.

Deeper biology is where it falls short. It has no blood pressure tracking, no ECG and no biological-age metric, so I had nothing to set beside Hume's Biological Age or its blood pressure trends.

It was also a tough watch to sleep in. The case is 48.5 mm wide and 12.2 mm thick, in one size and only in black, and I woke up with it twisted on my wrist more than once. The Zepp app felt less polished than Hume's, and its app store is small.

For the longest battery at the lowest price, this is the watch to get.

PROS

CONS

My Findings: On battery and price, the Active Max beat everything I wore, Hume included. Its free heart, sleep and readiness data is solid for $169.99. It lost points on depth, since it tracks neither blood pressure nor biological age, and the 12.2 mm case made it awkward to sleep in.

Bottom Line: If battery life and price decide it for you, buy the Active Max, because it beats the band on both. Hume Band 2.0 edges it on biology, with Biological Age and blood pressure trends, and 14 days per charge is plenty for most people.

The PH17 is the one watch in this test that squeezes you. Press a button and a tiny pump fills an air bag tucked inside the strap, which is the same idea an arm cuff uses. You sit still, hold your wrist up at heart level, and when the strap lets go there is a blood pressure reading on the screen.

Hume can't do that, and I want to be fair about it. The band shows how my blood pressure trends across days, with no cuff involved. The Poalar hands you an actual cuff-style number you can write down. During its turn on my right wrist, with Hume on my left, the PH17 was what I pressed whenever I wanted one specific reading.

One part of the listing I set aside. Poalar also advertises needle-free blood glucose readings, along with uric acid and blood lipids. Its own fine print calls those results "for reference only" and says the watch is not a medical device. In February 2024 the FDA warned people not to use smartwatches that claim to measure blood glucose without piercing the skin, and said it had authorized none. I found no FDA clearance for this watch's readings, so I judged it on the cuff and ignored the glucose screen.

The rest is a busy smartwatch. You get ECG with a finger on the electrode, heart rate, SpO₂, sleep stages and wrist temperature, plus Bluetooth calls and SOS on a 2.06-inch AMOLED screen. The app is free and Poalar charges no subscription.

Charging was my gripe. Poalar quotes anywhere from 5 to 10 days of use, and I plugged it in more often than the band. Poalar lists no water rating and no GPS, and I couldn't find an independent review to compare notes with.

For tracking my biology, Hume came out a step ahead. None of the watches here track Biological Age, and Hume added Pace of Aging and its metabolic scores, all on a screen-free strap I could sleep in without a glow by my face. Hume also costs $249 to the PH17's $269.99 and gives you 45 days to return it, against Poalar's 30-day guarantee.

PROS

CONS

My Findings: I'd buy the PH17 for the air bag. Any time I wanted a cuff-style blood pressure reading, I pressed a button, sat still and got one, which Hume doesn't offer. Across the rest of my day, the band tracked more of my biology, went longer between charges and cost less. I also had nothing outside Poalar to check the watch against.

Bottom Line: Get the PH17 if a cuff-style blood pressure number on your wrist matters more to you than anything else. For Biological Age, metabolic scores and a battery that goes up to 14 days, Hume Band 2.0 covers more at $249, with 45 days to return it.

At 37.64 grams the Versa 4 is light, and after a day or two I stopped noticing it. It has built-in GPS, so my runs mapped without my phone in a pocket, and Google Maps directions and Google Wallet both worked from the wrist. Battery is rated at 6+ days, which is decent for a watch with a screen.

The free tier is generous. With no payment you get heart rate, HRV, SpO₂, breathing rate, skin temperature variation, sleep stages with a Sleep Score, and a Daily Readiness score each morning.

The catch is the paywall and the Google Account. Google Health Premium costs $9.99 a month after a 3-month free trial, and that is where the Gemini coach and the advanced analytics live. You need a Google Account to set it up, and the watch can't run third-party apps or play music.

Workout heart rate is the weak spot. Tom's Guide found it reading 10 to 15 bpm low during workouts, and I train by heart rate, so that bugged me. It has no ECG or blood pressure either, and it's the oldest watch here, out since 2022.

With the Versa on one wrist and Hume on the other, Hume told me more about my body: blood pressure trends, Pace of Aging, Biological Age and Metabolic Capacity, with core metrics free and up to 14 days between charges. The Versa 4 is cheaper at $199.95, and I'll grant that. Pay for Premium a while and that gap disappears.

PROS

CONS

My Findings: The Versa 4 is an easy watch to live with, and the free sleep and readiness data is good. At $199.95 it's the second cheapest thing I tested. The low workout heart rate is what bothered me as a runner, and the deeper biology Hume gave me never showed up on the Versa.

Bottom Line: A good pick if your life already runs on Google and you want GPS without spending much. If your goal is a read on your own biology, Hume Band 2.0 digs further, and its core metrics come free.

Megan R.

More useful for daily health

"I already had an Apple Watch, so I was pretty sure Hume Band would feel like a duplicate. It does not. My watch is still useful for workouts and texts, but Hume Band is the one I check in the morning when I want to know how my body is actually doing. The app makes sleep, recovery, stress and heart trends feel connected instead of scattered."

Tom E.  

No screen is a real advantage at night

"I bought it after getting tired of wearing a bulky watch to bed. Hume Band is much easier for sleep tracking because it is lighter and less distracting. No screen is a real advantage at night. I can still see everything in the app the next morning, and the sleep/recovery summary is clearer than what I was getting before."

Laura B.

Easy to act on

"I have used Fitbit, Garmin and Apple Watch at different times. Hume Band is the first one that made the health data feel easy to act on. I do not need ten charts every morning. I want to know what changed, what might be affecting me, and what I should pay attention to today."

Luke M.  

A better option over the Apple Watch

"I really like the Hume Band for tracking my habits and longevity vs just sleep. I prefer it over the Apple Watch due to the battery life. I'm also not a watch wearer! It tracks sleep really well, but I will say there is a learning curve trying to learn about metabolic momentum and capacity."