#self analytics

Functionality All of the popular wearables record the steps you take and calories you burn, but only some of them track stairs climbed, sleeping patterns, and more.

Most of this functionality can easily be matched with only one or two apps. Moves tracks your steps and calories, SleepCycle can monitor your sleep, and Cardiio can track your heart rate. For tracking runs in more detail, you can use apps like Runkeeper and Endomondo.

Although the core functionality of wearables and the tracking apps are similar, there are differences in other areas. For example, none of the popular tracking devices record your location, but Moves does. With Moves, you can learn more about where you spend your time, how long different transport routes take, and more.

There are also differences in analytics and social features offered with each service, but when it comes to hardware and sensors, the popular wearables aren't more powerful than modern smartphones.

Cost If you decide that you want to start tracking more parts of life and cost is a factor, assuming you already have a smartphone, apps are clearly the cheaper option. Buying a wearable tracker will cost you anywhere between $70 and over $200.

Apps on the other hand are very cheap. Moves and MyFitnessPal are completely free. Sleepcycle costs $0.99 and Cardiio is $1.99.

Practicality Different devices are better suited for different situations. Overall, I'd say that the smartphone wins out because most of us carry them around all of the time.

There are situations however, when wearables are better. Some people don't like running with a phone, and might prefer a wristband instead.

Fashion and design It could be argued that fitness trackers are used to make fashion statements. Wearing a Fuelband is a clear sign that you're active and you take care of your health. It also shows that you're an early adopter who's interested in technology. Tracking apps don't allow you to make the same statements as they're not on display.

Although some wearables aren't supposed to be on display, the fact that the Misfit Shine's unique selling point is its design shows that it's an important factor to some. If you want to show the world that you care about your health and you like gadgets, wearables are the better option.

Batteries and charging One of the main complaints that activity tracking apps get is that they reduce battery life. If you struggle to get a full day of battery life out of your phone, I wouldn't recommend adding any activity tracking apps to the mix, especially if they use GPS.

The downside with wearables is that you have one more thing to charge. As the devices are quite passive and only need charging once every few days, it can be very easy to forget to charge them.

For my workflow, smartphone apps win out. I always remember to charge my phone, but frequently forget to charge my Fitbit One.

Conclusion Clearly, there are some benefits to wearables. They don't drain your phone's battery life, they look cool, and some of them come with amazing analytics services.

For most people, I feel like apps are the better option. If you're thinking about buying a wearable tracking device, I'd recommend trying some of the apps out first and potentially saving yourself some money. If you find that you can't live with the reduced battery life or you don't have your phone with you often enough, you can then consider a wearable device.

Obviously, if you don't use a smartphone that supports the best tracking apps, a wearable device is more tempting.

My theory is that smartphone apps and wearable devices will eventually meet in the middle. If Apple, Samsung, or anyone else successfully launch a smartwatch, it makes sense that they will include plenty of sensors that tracking apps can make use of. When that happens, we will get the best of both worlds.

Which do you prefer? Wearable tracking devices or smartphone apps?

It's what this tiny group of people are constantly discussing and thinking about that's important. The Quantified Self is for life logging/tracking what the Homebrew Computer Club was for personal computing. 

Lifelogging, self-analytics, self-hacking, or whatever you want to call it, is all about using technology and data to improve life in some way. Whether it's to augment and preserve memories or it's to gain insights into how small changes could make significant improvements, Quantified Self members see the benefits that personal data can bring.

They're the early adopters who see the value in the data, but want to learn from others, share their findings, and stay up to date with everything that's going on in the space.

There was a time when the idea of everyone having a computer was ridiculous and there are now people who just don't understand why we care about our data so much. 

Although the number of enthusiasts is relatively small, there are actually 10s of millions of people who are involved in the Quantified Self movement without even knowing it. Nike+ have over 11 million people in their ecosystem and according to research by Pew, 69% of adults in the US track a health metric for themselves or for a loved one.

The most interesting finding from the study was that only 21% of the people who tracked health metrics used technology to do it. This will continue to increase until almost all health tracking is done with technology.

We're not saying that everyone will make as much effort as the hardcore trackers, but that advancements in technology will bring down barriers and increase the benefits of logging. Most people don't know what the Quantified Self means and will never need to.

Just as DIY computer building never became a mainstream activity, most of the current methods used to track won't ever become popular. It's the constant discussions and thoughts that members of the Quantified Self meet ups continue to have that will shape the way lifelogging changes the world.