We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Terms of use.

New Year, New Gear: The Best Health and Fitness Tech Gifts

 & Andrew Gebhart Senior Writer, Smart Home and Wearables

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS
(Credit: Zain bin Awais/PCMag Composite; Amazon; Chamelo; Peloton)

For Gamers Who Want an Excuse to Exercise

Aviron Strong Series Rower

4.0 Excellent

The Aviron Strong Series Rower is a smooth and comfortable rowing machine with a large display that offers subscription-based access to competitive races, trainer-led workout videos, and even Netflix. The Aviron also lets you row to play numerous games, keeping the experience continually fresh and entertaining; our favorite is the addictive Row Breaker, which challenges you to keep a ball bouncing off a paddle and break down walls of bricks to earn points.

Aviron Strong Series Rower review

For Apple Enthusiasts

Apple Watch Series 11

4.5 Outstanding

Is your giftee an Apple fan? Get them the Apple Watch Series 11, which has a beautiful, scratch-resistant screen and an impressive array of activity, exercise, and sleep tracking features. Those include a new AI-powered Workout Buddy, which offers encouraging words as you exercise, and FDA-approved hypertension notifications. This Apple Watch is available in multiple finishes with a variety of bands, so you can match the recipient's style preferences.

Apple Watch Series 11 review

For all kinds of active lifestyles

JBL Endurance Peak 3 (Sponsored)

When you’re shopping for someone whose tastes are impossible to pin down, versatility becomes a real superpower. Although they’re built as a gym partner, these buds hold up to just about anything—workouts, commutes, travel, or everyday listening—thanks to their secure fit and serious bass. With up to 50 hours of playback and rich JBL Pure Bass sound, they're a smart choice for gifting.

For the Jewelry Fan

Oura Ring 4

4.0 Excellent

For a stylish alternative to traditional wrist-based trackers, try the Oura Ring 4, our top pick for a smart ring. While not as good at exercise tracking as the wrist-based options on this list, the Oura excels at monitoring your health vitals throughout the day and tracking your sleep at night. Its long-lasting battery and sleek design make it a good option for getting holistic health insights while adding a bit of flair to your look.

Oura Ring 4 review

For Aspiring Meditators

Core Meditation Trainer

4.0 Excellent

If the person you're shopping for is interested in meditation but unsure how to get started, the Core Meditation Trainer can help. You hold it in your hands while it uses gentle vibrations to guide your breathing. It even has sensors built in to measure your pulse and heart rate variability, so you can see how meditation helps improve your health.

Core Meditation Trainer review

For Competitive Cardio Buffs

Peloton Bike+

4.5 Outstanding

Your giftee will love the Peloton Bike+ if they want a premium stationary bike complete with fabulous trainer-led classes, competitive leaderboards, and fun social features. The Auto Follow resistance system will automatically adjust the pushback on the pedals based on the trainer's instructions throughout class, allowing the rider to focus on the experience without needing to fiddle with controls.

Peloton Bike+ review

For Fit-stagram Influencers

Oakley Meta HSTN

4.0 Excellent

If you want to give a health-related gift while maintaining your status as the “cool” relative, check out the Oakley Meta HSTN. They are smart glasses that look stylish, featuring a built-in camera for POV-style photos and videos of their athletic adventures, as well as open-ear speakers for music playback. Via an upcoming update, they will also work with Garmin and Strava, adding a social element to tracking workout statistics.

Oakley Meta HSTN review

For iPhone Users Who Stay Active

Apple AirPods Pro 3

5.0 Exemplary

Sensors built into the Apple AirPods Pro 3 can actually measure your heart rate from your ears while you listen to music. Otherwise, these AirPods are highly capable wireless earbuds with a waterproof build, excellent noise cancellation, and engrossing audio. If your giftee doesn't want a separate wrist-based fitness tracker, the AirPods Pro 3 can work alongside their iPhone to record 50 different types of activities, including everything from indoor walking to kickboxing.

Apple AirPods Pro 3 review

For A Breath of Fresh Air

Dyson Purifier Cool TP07

4.0 Excellent

For the person in your life with pesky allergies, consider the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, a capable HEPA air filter that doubles as an oscillating fan to keep you cool. Dyson’s classic bladeless tower design remains as stylish as ever, and the TP07 is easy to use with an included remote and integrated Wi-Fi connectivity for phone and voice control. It even tracks indoor pollution levels and can automatically adjust its fan speed based on the air quality.

Dyson Purifier Cool TP07 review

For the Exercise Devotee

Fitbit Charge 6

4.5 Outstanding

The Fitbit Charge 6 is for the person who’s serious about exercise and wants a highly capable tracker that can keep up. It offers a few lifestyle features, such as Google Maps and Google Wallet apps, but it’s an activity monitor first and foremost, as it can track numerous workouts in detail and connect directly to exercise machines. Additionally, it’s significantly more affordable and offers a much longer battery life compared with a smartwatch.

Fitbit Charge 6 review

For Outdoor Sports Enthusiasts

Chamelo Music Shield

3.5 Good

With a simple swipe, the Chamelo Music Shield can transform from nearly clear to dark sunglasses. These sporty, sweatproof smart specs also feature built-in speakers for listening to music or taking phone calls. The open-ear speakers deliver surprisingly good audio quality, and the one-piece lens offers an uninterrupted view perfect for beach volleyball, mountain biking, and other outdoor activities.

Chamelo Music Shield review

For Android Fans

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8

4.0 Excellent

If you're shopping for someone with an Android phone, check out the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8. Samsung’s latest smartwatch is loaded with features for the health-conscious, such as an antioxidant test and body composition measurements, along with the expected mix of activity, sleep, and stress tracking tools. It even has an AI-running coach, making it a great pick for someone who wants to start training for an event like a marathon.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 review

For Those Wanting to Build Muscle

Tonal 2

4.0 Excellent

If you know someone who wants to get ripped without the inconvenience of going to a gym, get them the Tonal 2, a wall-mounted smart strength trainer with digitally managed resistance up to 250 pounds and a screen for following along with workout routines. The Tonal 2 is versatile enough to be used for cardio and recovery modalities in addition to strength training, and we love its AI-powered form feedback to help you stay safe while lifting.

Tonal 2 review

For Those Seeking More Comfy Sleep

Perfectly Snug Smart Topper

4.0 Excellent

Health and fitness gifts don’t all have to be about working out. Getting a good night’s rest is just as important, and the Perfectly Snug Smart Topper is an easy way to add temperature controls to an existing mattress. The Smart Topper can monitor body temperatures throughout the night and adapt its settings accordingly. Co-sleepers can even independently adjust the temp on their side of the bed.

Perfectly Snug Smart Topper review

For Anyone Who Spends Hours Staring at Screens

Gunnar Intercept Gaming Glasses

If your loved one spends a lot of time staring at a screen, consider gifting them a pair of blue-light-blocking glasses. They help mitigate the negative health effects of blue light, which can harm your eyes and disrupt your sleep. Popular with gamers, Gunnar offers a variety of frames and tint types; we've tried out several pairs from the brand, and each one has been well-made, sturdy, and comfortable.

For People in Need of More Greens

Purple Carrot Meal Delivery Service

4.0 Excellent

Do you have someone in your life looking to eat healthier? The Purple Carrot delivery service offers ingredients and recipes from a creative plant-based menu that mixes modern entrees and classic favorites. Our reviewer calls it "a wonderful service for getting more plants in your diet and learning how to cook and eat well as a vegan."

Purple Carrot Meal Delivery Service review

About Our Expert

Andrew Gebhart

Andrew Gebhart

Senior Writer, Smart Home and Wearables

My Experience

I’m PCMag’s senior writer covering smart home and wearable devices. I’ve been reporting on tech professionally for nearly a decade and have been obsessing about it for much longer than that. Prior to joining PCMag, I made educational videos for an electronics store called Abt Electronics in Illinois, and before that, I spent eight years covering the smart home market for CNET. 

I foster many flavors of nerdom in my personal life. I’m an avid board gamer and video gamer. I love fantasy football, which I view as a combination of role-playing games and sports. Plus, I can talk to you about craft beer for hours and am on a personal quest to have a flight of beer at each microbrewery in my home city of Chicago.

The Technology I Use

I tend to like mixing flavors from various companies. My personal computer is an Apple MacBook Pro. My phone is a Google Pixel 7a. On my wrists are an ever-rotating lineup of the latest smartwatches, and I sometimes wear two at once for testing and extra style. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is a mainstay on my wrist because I use it as a control for evaluating the accuracy of other devices' fitness metrics. 

I spend plenty of time in front of my entertainment center, which features a 55-inch LG OLED TV, a Yamaha soundbar, a Nintendo Switch, and a PS5. (I insisted on getting the PS5 with the disc slot when they were hard to come by and haven’t used the feature in more than a year.) I thought I’d have given in to temptation and snagged an Xbox to play Starfield by now, but Baldur’s Gate 3 saved me money by distracting me long enough for the Starfield hype to blow past.

I have two cats and sneeze plenty, so I have a Shark Air Purifier to help me fight back against their dastardly, shedding ways.

I use my aforementioned Pixel 7a and a Nest Hub for Google Assistant, an iPhone 16e and AirPods to talk to Siri, and an Amazon Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 15 for Alexa, so I’m not in danger of losing touch with any of the big three digital assistants.

Read full bio