I walked 12,000 steps with the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the $199 Garmin Cirqa: Here’s which came out on top

I've been testing fitness trackers for years, so one of the first things I do when unboxing a new device is to measure how many steps it takes. This is known as a Tom's Guide walking test. Recently, I unboxed the Garmin Cirqa, Garmin's first screenless tracker, and put it to the test against the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3. My first test with the Cirqa was against the Fitbit Air, but I wanted to see if things had improved after customizing the button and wearing it continuously for a few weeks.

To find out how the Cirqa compared to Apple's most expensive and smartest smartwatch, I walked 12,000 steps with both devices. I chose this number because it's a significant distance that would show any differences in accuracy. I wore the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on my left wrist and the Garmin Cirqa on my right, both counting steps using an internal accelerometer.

This device measures the swing of my arms, which determines each step. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 doesn't show the exact step count during a workout, but it does provide an overall daily total. To make the comparison fair, I used a third-party Pedometer+ app on my Apple Watch and split the test into three walks. After I got home, I downloaded the data from both trackers and compared the results.

The Garmin Cirqa came out on top, counting 12,678 steps, compared to the Apple Watch Ultra 3's 12,333 steps. The difference of 100 steps may seem small, but when considering that the average person takes 2,000 steps per mile, it's not significant enough to impact tracking accuracy. Customizing the activity on the Cirqa's side button also improved its step count accuracy.

Despite the close results, it's clear that the Garmin Cirqa can keep up with a watch four times its price. However, these devices are designed for different consumers, so most people wouldn't choose between them. This test showed how Garmin's affordable screenless tracker can compete with high-end smartwatches in step tracking.