Health monitoring, medical wearables, and wellness technology — every article scored and ranked. Sleep tracking, blood pressure, SpO2, ECG, and the devices pushing healthcare forward.
Modern health wearables can track heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen (SpO2), ECG, blood pressure, skin temperature, respiratory rate, stress levels, sleep stages, and body composition. Some devices also offer continuous electrodermal activity (EDA) sensing for stress monitoring. See our Oura Ring review and smartwatch guide for specific device capabilities.
Yes. The Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch can perform ECG readings and detect signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib), an irregular heart rhythm linked to increased stroke risk. The Apple Heart Study demonstrated this capability across over 400,000 participants. However, wearable ECGs are screening tools, not diagnostic devices. Any irregular heart rhythm alert should be followed up with a medical professional.
Wearable health trackers are consumer wellness devices, not medical devices (with a few exceptions like FDA-cleared ECG features). They are useful for tracking trends over time — your resting heart rate going up, your sleep quality declining, your HRV dropping — but individual readings should not be used for medical diagnosis. The value is in continuous, longitudinal monitoring that clinical visits cannot provide.
Not yet with clinical accuracy. The Whoop 5.0 offers blood glucose estimation, but it is classified as a wellness feature, not a medical device. Apple and Samsung are both working on non-invasive glucose monitoring technology, but it is not expected to be consumer-ready until 2028-2030. Current continuous glucose monitors like the Dexcom G7 still require a small under-skin sensor. Read more in our future of wearables analysis.
The Oura Ring Gen 4 is widely considered the best dedicated sleep tracker, with accurate sleep staging, continuous SpO2 monitoring, and a comfortable ring form factor that you can wear to bed without noticing. For a detailed comparison of the top sleep trackers, see our sleep tracker guide.