I walked 4,500 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3 — and I'm surprised by the winner

I tested the fitness tracking performance of the Apple Watch SE 3 vs the Fitbit Air while walking exactly 4,500 steps, and I'm surprised by the winner. The Apple Watch SE 3 is Cupertino's latest entry-level, full-featured smartwatch and one of the best cheap smartwatches of 2026. The Fitbit Air, meanwhile, is a brand-new, diminutive, screen-free wearable and one of the best fitness trackers available right now. Both devices track tons of workout types and deliver similarly detailed post-effort insights, but which one is more reliable?

I walked 4,500 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3 — and I'm surprised by the winner. I tested the fitness tracking performance of the Apple Watch SE 3 vs the Fitbit Air while walking exactly 4,500 steps, and I'm surprised by the winner. The Apple Watch SE 3 is Cupertino's latest entry-level, full-featured smartwatch and one of the best cheap smartwatches of 2026. The Fitbit Air, meanwhile, is a brand-new, diminutive, screen-free wearable and one of the best fitness trackers available right now. Both devices track tons of workout types and deliver similarly detailed post-effort insights, but which one is more reliable? To find out, I walked 4,500 steps while wearing the Apple Watch SE 3 on my left wrist and the Fitbit Air on my right. As a primary control for tracking accuracy, I manually counted my steps, noting every hundred t...