Testing Smartwatch Elevation Accuracy on a Hike Up Mount Diablo - Garmin Most Accurate While Samsung Struggles
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I wore 5 smartwatches (Apple, COROS, Garmin, Polar, Samsung) on a hike up Mount Diablo to test their elevation accuracy using the barometric altimeter.
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Garmin was the most accurate overall - its total elevation gain was only 1 foot different from official data.
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Apple also performed very well, overreporting total gain by just 8 feet. COROS was close behind.
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Polar crashed and reset, so I couldn't get full data, but seemed accurate before that happened.
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Samsung was way off on start/max elevation and underreported total gain by over 100 feet. Its altimeter needs work.