It’s 2022, and if your watch isn’t at the very least tracking your steps, then it belongs in a museum. The era of the smartwatch has been upon us for a while now, and the plethora of options out there to fit every wrist and need imaginable make it hard to choose what's best for you.
Of course, any good smartwatch will do far more than step tracking, so if that's more of what you're interested in, you may be better suited for a budget-friendly fitness tracker. Smartwatches, however, will have options like notifications, music control, sleep tracking, and heart rate monitoring – plus, there are heaps more on offer. You don't need to conform to the typical fitness watch look, there are plenty of classic watch styles available to choose from too. Plus, some connect via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or even your cell network. The possibilities are endless, and we've helped to narrow down your search. Here are the best smartwatches you can buy right now.
TL;DR – These are the Best Smartwatches:
- Apple Watch Series 8
- Ticwatch E3
- Amazfit Bip U Pro
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
- Garmin Enduro
- Garmin Epix
- Skagen Falster Gen 6
- Casio G-Shock GBD-H1000
- Polar Ignite 2
1. Apple Watch Series 8
Best Smart Watch
The Apple Watch has received a minor update with the introduction of the Series 8. You’ll still find a host of handy features, from 24/7 heart rate tracking, step count, and fitness tracking to more advanced features like the ECG and fall detection. However, the Series 8 introduces skin temperature sensors that are insanely accurate, which is great for menstrual cycle tracking and sleep analysis. And a crash detection feature allows the device to check in with you, letting you make emergency calls or calling emergency services for you. A new low-power mode comes with the watchOS 9 update, too, so you should be able to extend its 18-hour battery life to about 36 hours, and charging will be quicker with the USB-C connection.
The Series 8’s design and display are identical to the Series 7, albeit it comes in a few different colors. You get a big, bright and always-on OLED display with thin bezels. Its touch screen is simple to navigate and highly capable. Not only can you use it for checking on your health data, but on it, you can send messages, play music, makes calls, pay for things, and plenty more. The underside of the watch is slightly protruding with the heart rate and temperature sensor, but it’s still a comfortable accessory to have on your wrist. And you can take this watch almost anywhere, as it’s durable with an IP6X rating and water resistance up to 50 meters.
2. Ticwatch E3
Best Budget Smart Watch
Ticwatch has made a name for itself with compelling smartwatches that keep the price down. The Ticwatch E3 is the latest in the economic series of wearables, and it features plenty to get excited about at a $200 price point. To start, you’re getting a smartwatch powered by Wear OS, so you’ll have access to a wide app ecosystem, Google Assistant, and handy integration of notifications from an Android phone. The watch is also running on the newer Snapdragon Wear 4100 chip for wearables.
The Ticwatch E3 can track a bunch of different activities from runs and cycling to swimming and yoga. All the while, the Ticwatch E3 can keep track of your heart rate for more insight into your fitness. It even monitors blood oxygen saturation. You can keep the monitoring going overnight with sleep tracking to get insight on whether or not you're getting enough quality zzzs. When you’re on the go, you can use the built-in GPS and make NFC payments with Google Pay.
3. Amazfit Bip U Pro
Best Ultra Cheap Smart Watch
If you think you can't get much of a smartwatch for $60, Amazfit has some news for you. The Amazfit Bip U Pro offers a staggering number of capabilities for a watch at this price point. For one, you're getting plenty of fitness tracking potential including 24/7 heart rate monitoring, checking your blood oxygen levels, and tracking your movement. The sensors can also help you gauge your sleep quality. With sports modes for over 60 activities from running and cycling to Tai Chi and curling, you can get even more insight into how these activities are benefiting your body. There's even swim tracking, as this watch is ready to go for a dip thanks to water resistance down to fifty meters.
Amazfit packs all this capability into a compact watch that's just 11.4mm thick and 31 grams. And yet there's still a 1.43-inch display. That display is of the transflective variety, which lets you see it in broad daylight without needing to use a power-draining backlight. This allows the watch an impressive 9-day battery life. Really driving the smarts of this watch home, Amazfit has integrated Amazon's Alexa, so your $60 gets you all that tracking capability plus a smart assistant on your wrist.
4. Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Best Smart Watch for Android
Though you don’t hear nearly as much about the Samsung Galaxy Watch as the Apple Watch, it’s still a solid smartwatch, especially if you’re an Android user. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 has plenty of functionality and totes Google’s Wear OS. You’ll get serious health tracking capabilities with heart rate and step tracking and more advanced sensors like blood oxygen saturation, ECG, skin temperature, and a Biological Impedance Analysis tool to measure body composition for body fat and muscle percentages. Beyond that, there are other typical smartwatch features like the ability to send messages, make calls, get app alerts, and make payments. However, you’ll need to download the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone to take advantage of everything. Also, the Google Pixel Watch is coming, running on Wear OS, giving Samsung a run for its money as the best Andriod smartwatch.
You don’t see many changes in the display and design of the Galaxy Watch 5 compared to the previous model. There’s a circular super AMOLED display that’s sharp and bright, and rather than the rotating bezel of yesteryear, you get an invisible, touch-sensitive bezel. The sapphire crystal display is also slightly more durable, and you’ll be good to take this watch just about anywhere with its IP68 rating and MIL-STD-810H approval. With this model, you get a slight boost in battery life, bringing it to 50 hours, so maybe you can take advantage of some sleep tracking. Even with the bigger battery, the watch is still lightweight and comfortable.
5. Garmin Enduro
Best Smart Watch for Runners
The Garmin Enduro is the smartwatch you’ll want when you’re planning to really go the distance. Garmin loads this watch up with features to help you keep track of your exercise and complete your exercise goals. With tracking for heart rate, movement, altitude, skin temperature, blood oxygen saturation, and your GPS location, the watch can provide valuable data for your activities. You can plan out specific runs on the watch ahead of time and get useful information on what’s ahead of you.
Where the Garmin Enduro really steps ahead is in battery life – the hint is in the name. Without any special considerations, this watch can run for 50 days with the smartwatch features enabled. It can even go for 70 hours with GPS added into the mix. Plus, there are built-in solar panels that can stretch that battery life considerably, so you can keep running without needing to worry about when your next recharge will be.
6. Garmin Epix
Best Fitness Smart Watch
Garmin offers some of the best fitness tracking features in the smartwatch game, and their Epix model is the best way to take advantage of them all. Once you get past the slightly exorbitant price, you’ll find some insanely advanced tracking tools for a wide variety of activities including cycling, swimming, and running – there are even helpful surf and ski metrics. Furthermore, an on-wrist stamina meter tells you how much juice you’ve got in you for a training session, and there are helpful graphs to estimate race times. Plus, it gives you insight into your energy levels, the intensity level of the workout you should be doing, and when to take time to rest and recover. And, of course, you get all the fitness basics like your heart rate, blood oxygen, and sleep tracking. You honestly can skip paying for a personal trainer when you’ve got this device.
Now, the Garmin Epix also functions as a smartwatch. You can make contactless payments and receive notifications–though, there isn’t a microphone built-in to answer calls. It can store songs and podcasts, or you can stream them when connected to Wi-Fi. And, it’s Garmin, so you’re getting a super-accurate GPS and great maps. If you’re on the hunt for the best fitness tracker out there with smartwatch capabilities, this is the device for you.
7. Skagen Falster Gen 6
Best Looking Smart Watch
Most smartwatches tend to be clunky and sometimes just downright ugly. Luckily, the Skagen Falster Gen 6 exists. Skagen is a Fossil licensed brand that has been churning out gorgeous, reliable smartwatches for quite some time, and this model is the latest in its lineup. You still get a full-blown, customizable touchscreen display, but the design of the watch is quite minimal. There are two additional configurable push buttons along with a rotating home button. But, most importantly, it’s got a reasonably sized unisex 42mm case with a choice of sleek leather, silicone, or metal mesh strap. You’re no longer going to have to worry about your fitness tracker bringing down your fashion game with this option.
The Skagen Falster is also packed with all the features you’d expect from a smartwatch–like a heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, GPS, and even get your blood oxygen levels. You can also make payments, respond to messages, and answer calls. Sadly, this device does run on Google's Wear OS, which works well, but it is not on the same level not as Apple or Fitbit’s health tracking. It also offers only 24-hours of battery life, so you’ll have to charge it up every day. But, if you can look past those flaws, you’ll be rocking the most stylish smartwatch out there.
8. Casio G-Shock GBD-H1000
Best Rugged Smart Watch
The Casio G-Shock GBD-H1000 is designed to run and run and run wherever you go. It may be one of the chunkiest smartwatches on this list, but it's packed full of features. It has a suite of sensors to track your fitness activities, including your steps, heart rate, location, VO2Max, and even altitude and temperature. With a water resistance rating for up to 200 meters underwater, or 20 ATM of pressure, you can get truly adventurous with this smartwatch.
It may have a simple display, but the Casio G-Shock GBD-H1000 offers easy button navigation so you won't be fussing around with a tiny touchscreen. You'll still get plenty of information on the display, including notifications from your phone while connected over Bluetooth. The story just gets more exciting with the battery life. When the watch is just tracking the time, your steps, and delivering notifications, it can run for up to a year. What's more, you can actually keep it topped up in that mode because it's capable of drawing some solar power to recharge the battery. Of course, if you want to use more of the sensors and tracking, you'll want to use USB charging, which can give you 14 hours of continuous tracking power in just 2.5 hours of charging.
9. Polar Ignite 2
Best Smart Sports Watch
If you train for a variety of sports, maybe you want a smartwatch that's ready to go along with you on the workout? The Polar Ignite 2 offers some serious tracking that includes an advanced heart rate sensor and built-in GPS. Plus, there is a total of 130 different sports and exercise modes, which range from swimming to weight lifting. So, chances are good this wearable’s got what you’re looking for. You can even get detailed summaries of your exercises and training tips to ensure you’re getting the best workout possible.
Even better, the Polar Ignite isn't so overt about its sportiness compared to other fitness smartwatches with their massive frames and chamfered edges. It's not just low-key but also low-profile in comparison, making it a great partner for exercise since it won't bulk up your wrist. And, you can make this watch your own thanks to a variety of band options and a customizable watch face. The Polar Ignite even manages up to 5 days of battery life despite its compact size.
What to look for in a smartwatch
Smartphone compatibility
This is the big one. Your choice of smartphone will determine your list of possible smartwatch options. The good news is that your choices have grown massively for both iOS and Android camps, but there are still some notable absentees, the biggest of which is the Apple Watch still being an iPhone exclusive.
Google has made big headway in equalizing the Wear OS for Android and iPhone users, but it’s not a totally level playing field, yet. And among all the smartwatches that work with both platforms, there tend to be a few differences, often in the messaging experience. So, be sure to make note of those before making a decision.
Battery life
We’re all accustomed to plugging in our smartphones at night, but watches? Are you serious? Sadly in most cases, it’s something you need to think about. Unfortunately, battery life is almost always a trade-off.
The Apple Watch and many of the Wear OS smartwatches have rich screens and deep features but require daily (or nightly) charging in return. Fitbit’s watches will run for several days and unlock sleep tracking, but the watches have a less premium design.
Be sure to think not just about the features you want, but how much you’ll be using them. Weekend warriors will need to be much more conscientious about running the GPS in an Apple Watch than a Garmin Enduro, for example.
To LTE or not to LTE
For a long time, all smartwatches required a Bluetooth connection with your phone in order to receive texts, make calls and play music. Slowly, we’re seeing more watches cut the tether and offer a standalone data connection. This can be handy if you want to work out without a phone in your pocket. On the other hand, it will hammer that battery life a little more, particularly under intense use. A data connection will also come with a monthly cost, usually around $10 a month tied to your phone contract, assuming you want to use the same number.
Danielle Abraham is a freelance writer and unpaid music historian.
source https://www.ign.com/articles/best-smart-watches