Google’s Pixel Watch is widely considered to be an all-around solid fitness tracker with a suite of solid smartwatch features. However, one bug discovered since its release is the inaccurate calorie burn data the wearable provides.
Google has been really utilizing the Fitbit umbrella, especially when it comes to the Pixel Watch. In a sense, the device bridges the gap between the Pixel line and the fitness tracker and offers the best of both worlds. However, users are starting to discover that the wearable’s Fitbit integration software is inflating calorie burn results.
The Pixel Watch is experiencing an issue where it displays inaccurate data on a user’s basal metabolic rate (BMR). This leads to inflated results and unreliable stats for those invested in keeping track. BMR is a stat that considers age, weight, height and sex. This metric utilizes these factors to calculate passive calories burned throughout the day. Therefore, if a device is inaccurately reading a BMR count, the data churned out for the user is relatively meaningless.
The Google Pixel Watch team is aware of the issue. Google states that rebooting the Pixel Watch may temporarily solve the problem. While it’s unknown what a proper fix looks like, it raises a much deeper conversation regarding fitness trackers. Different wearable manufacturers use various algorithms to power their trackers. Therefore, there are often inconsistencies across the board.
Fitness trackers from Google, Samsung and countless others use data taken from steps taken, heart rates, distance, etc. and combine them with the metrics listed above. Pairing with age, height, gender and weight, these trackers estimate what they believe is an accurate read on calories burned.
As of now, fitness trackers and wearables aren’t able to give 100 percent accurate data. It’s important to keep that in mind when looking at calories burned. However, they can provide a good baseline. Using the Pixel Watch as an example, it shows that a minor bug can even impact the algorithms powering these statistics.
Source: Android Police Via: The Verge
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