Best Mobile App or Wearable From Healthtech Companies for Longitudinal Biomarker Tracking

Apple Watch and Apple Health: Strong for Broad Tracking

Apple is probably one of the strongest choices when the goal is to bring several health signals into one long-term record.

Apple Health can collect information from Apple Watch and other connected devices, including heart rate, ECG, sleep, activity and blood oxygen data, depending on the device and region.

Towards Healthcare lists Apple among the leading digital health monitoring companies and notes that Apple Watch has expanded from fitness tracking toward broader health monitoring.

The real advantage is not necessarily one individual measurement.

It is the ability to build a longer personal record and observe whether activity, resting heart rate, sleep or other measures are changing together.

Oura: Particularly Interesting for Longitudinal Trends

For people interested in continuous tracking rather than a traditional smartwatch experience, Oura Ring is particularly interesting.

The ring tracks signals such as heart rate, blood oxygen, body temperature, sleep and activity, creating a picture of how the body changes from day to day.

Towards Healthcare reports that Oura had sold more than 2.5 million units since its launch in 2015 and raised $200 million, reaching a reported valuation of $5.2 billion.

The company is also moving toward combining different biological signals. In November 2024, Oura partnered with Dexcom to connect glucose data with Oura's sleep, heart-rate and activity information.

That combination is particularly interesting because glucose, sleep and activity can tell a more complete story when viewed together.

Dexcom: When the Biomarker Is Glucose

If the focus is specifically on a measurable biomarker rather than general wellness, Dexcom is one of the strongest examples.

Its continuous glucose monitoring systems, including Dexcom G7, provide repeated glucose readings throughout the day and connect those measurements with smartphones and digital platforms.

Towards Healthcare describes Dexcom as a pioneer in CGM technology and highlights its CLARITY analytics platform for healthcare professionals.

This is a different level of longitudinal monitoring because glucose is being measured continuously rather than estimated from occasional manual tests.

Fitbit and Garmin: Useful for Everyday Patterns

Fitbit, now part of Google, remains important for long-term tracking of activity, heart rate, sleep and other health metrics.

Garmin Connect takes a similar approach, combining wearable measurements with longer-term fitness and recovery information.

Towards Healthcare lists both companies among leading digital health tracking platforms, while Garmin's portfolio includes features such as Body Battery, heart-rate tracking and sleep monitoring.

These platforms are particularly useful for people who want to understand how everyday behaviors affect their longer-term health patterns.

A Simple Comparison

Capabilities vary by device, model, geography and software version.

The Real Value Is the Timeline

For healthcare researchers, the biggest opportunity is not simply collecting more data.

It is understanding how measurements move together over time.

Towards Healthcare recently highlighted the importance of longitudinal data in health monitoring, noting that extended, repeated measurements can reveal patterns and night-to-night variation that a single intensive measurement may miss.

This is particularly relevant to chronic conditions, clinical research and preventive health.