In a walk test reported by Jane McGuire at Tom’s Guide and published Nov. 1, 2026, Apple Watch Series 12 recorded 8,293 steps against 8,270 counted manually; Fitbit Edge recorded 8,199. Apple Watch was closer in this one test: it counted 23 steps high, while Fitbit Edge counted 71 low.
What the three walk segments recorded
Absolute deviation is the number of steps a device’s count was above or below the manual count, without regard to direction. Apple Watch had the smaller deviation in each segment of McGuire’s reported walk.
| Walk segment | Manual count | Apple Watch Series 12 count | Apple Watch absolute deviation | Fitbit Edge count | Fitbit Edge absolute deviation |
| 1 | 2,900 | 2,905 | 5 steps | 2,864 | 36 steps |
| 2 | 2,990 | 3,000 | 10 steps | 2,964 | 26 steps |
| 3 | 2,380 | 2,388 | 8 steps | 2,371 | 9 steps |
| Total | 8,270 | 8,293 | 23 steps | 8,199 | 71 steps |
The device totals differ by 94 steps
Apple Watch’s reported total of 8,293 minus Fitbit Edge’s 8,199 equals 94 steps. The article’s prose says the watches were 50 steps apart, but that does not match its reported totals.
This was one walk by one tester, not a general accuracy ranking. McGuire also recounted an earlier 6,000-step test by her colleague Dan that favored Fitbit Edge. The two reported tests had different results.
How McGuire counted the steps
McGuire wore one watch on each wrist, counted steps with a manual clicker and divided the walk into three segments. She says she used the third-party app Pedometer+ to get the workout-specific Apple Watch count for the comparison.
