After a protracted stretch of slim pickings, the final couple of years have been large for Android smartwatches. Now there are extra good choices than ever.
However that is nonetheless a transitional period. Whereas we’re inspired by the stronger third-party app choices, the market remains to be fragmented. Put on OS 4 is already right here for Samsung’s Galaxy Watches and each variations of the Pixel Watch, however the bigger ecosystem remains to be catching as much as Put on OS 3. And a few options, like Google Assistant, aren’t but accessible on sure Put on OS 3 smartwatches — although that one might come by way of an replace someday sooner or later.
When you’d fairly wait till Put on OS settles down a bit, there are platform-agnostic smartwatches and health watches you should buy within the meantime. In any other case, you’ll need to pay attention to the chip and Put on OS model powering your watch. Mobvoi, as an example, solely simply began rolling out Put on OS 3 to its eligible Put on OS 2 watches. Talking of Mobvoi, its TicWatch Professional 5 was the primary to sport the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Plus within the US, and whereas it’s an important watch, chances are you’ll wish to wait till there are extra W5 Plus watches to select from. The Pixel Watch 2 has the W5 (no Plus) chip, and the consequence to date has been zippier efficiency and higher battery life.
As long as you retain the aforementioned caveats in thoughts, Android customers have extra smartwatch choices than ever earlier than. I’ve rounded up my prime picks, but when none of those is the suitable match, you’ll be able to at all times take a look at our health tracker information.
Finest smartwatch for Samsung telephones
The rotating bezel returns on the Galaxy Watch 6 Basic. Whereas the updates are iterative, you now get Put on OS 4, One UI 5 Watch, bigger batteries, and a bigger show due to the 15 p.c thinner bezel.
Sizes: 43mm, 47mm / Weight: 77g, 85g / Battery life: As much as 30 hours with AOD, 40 with out AOD / Show kind: All the time-on OLED / GPS: Constructed-in GPS / Connectivity: LTE (non-obligatory), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: As much as 50 meters, IP68 / Music storage: 16GB
When you’ve got a Samsung telephone, you’ll get essentially the most mileage out of a Samsung smartwatch. And of the three watches Samsung has in its present lineup, I like to recommend the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Basic.
First off, it’s received a rotating bodily bezel — and stated bezel is now 15 p.c thinner than the Galaxy Watch 4 Basic. The up to date design is sleeker than its predecessor, and the bigger show is less complicated on the eyes and is simply barely larger at 43mm and 47mm. I’ve small wrists, however the 47mm was nonetheless fairly snug for on a regular basis put on. It’s launching with Put on OS 4, which provides prolonged battery life, and at last, cloud backups. One UI 5 Watch additionally provides some minor well being and sleep monitoring enhancements, however this can ultimately make its method to older fashions. Whereas I desire the Basic, the bottom Watch 6 mannequin often is the higher choice in order for you a smaller, lighter, sleeker, and cheaper smartwatch.
Total, the Galaxy Watch 6 sequence is an iterative replace, however I recognize that battery life has improved to the purpose the place I’m not anxious whether or not it’ll final me all the day. After all, your mileage will differ relying in your particular person use and which settings you allow. For instance, turning on steady SpO2 sensing at evening could make the battery drain quicker, however utilizing bedtime mode can mitigate that so that you solely lose 10–15 p.c in a single day as an alternative of 25–30 p.c.
Final 12 months’s $449.99 Galaxy Watch 5 Professional will even get you an important general expertise. It’s not an enormous improve from the Galaxy Watch 4, however the principle advantages of the Professional over different fashions are additional sturdiness, neat GPS options, and battery life. I like to recommend choosing the Professional in case you’re a weekend warrior or if multiday battery life is your prime precedence. We received as much as 65 hours in testing, although in case you allow the always-on show, you’ll extra doubtless get round 48 to 50 hours. Nonetheless, that’s a notable bump over the Galaxy Watch 6 sequence, the bottom Watch 5, and the Watch 4 lineup. Software program updates (and larger batteries on newer fashions) have improved the battery life on these watches, however you’ll nonetheless must cost them each day or each different day. And the Pixel Watch solely lasts round 24 hours.
Samsung’s top-of-the-line flagship smartwatch has EKG readings, physique composition evaluation, turn-by-turn navigation, and a brand new physique temperature sensor. Learn our Galaxy Watch 5 evaluation.
The swap to Put on OS means you’re getting a way more strong third-party app expertise than on Tizen-powered Samsung smartwatches, just like the Galaxy Watch 3 and the Galaxy Watch Lively lineup. You additionally get extra flexibility on providers than with every other Put on OS watch. For instance, if you wish to kick Bixby to the curb in favor of Google Assistant, you’ll be able to. If you would like a extra in-depth have a look at how the Galaxy Watch 5 stacks up in comparison with the Pixel Watch particularly, you’ll be able to take a look at our Versus video. (Nearly all of the factors nonetheless apply to the Watch 6, as not a complete lot has modified.)
Samsung Well being additionally delivers a very good general health monitoring expertise, particularly since you’ll be able to allow turn-by-turn navigation for climbing and biking actions. Samsung is increasing this to incorporate walks and runs with One UI 5 Watch. We weren’t too impressed with nightly SpO2 readings, however Samsung’s general sleep monitoring continues to enhance. You additionally get built-in GPS, physique composition evaluation, irregular coronary heart charge notifications, fall detection, emergency SOS options, and EKGs.
We don’t essentially advocate the Galaxy Watch 6 sequence or 5 Professional in case you don’t have a Samsung telephone. EKGs require the Samsung Well being Monitor app, which is restricted to Samsung telephones. Additionally, when you can customise the buttons to launch your digital assistant of selection, the shortcut for contactless funds is difficult coded to Samsung Pay / Pockets — which can also be gated to Samsung telephones except you sideload the APK — and requires you to enroll in Samsung’s service. You possibly can work round it, however all Samsung watches work greatest with different Samsung units.
Learn my full evaluation of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 sequence.
Finest Android smartwatch for non-Samsung customers
The brand new Google Pixel Watch 2 now achieves a dependable 24 hours on a single cost with the always-on show enabled. It sports activities a brand new processor, multipath well being sensor, Put on OS 4, and new security options, throughout a considerable replace.
Sizes: 41mm / Weight: 31g / Battery life: Roughly 24 hours with AOD enabled / Show kind: All the time-on OLED / GPS: Constructed-in GPS / Connectivity: LTE (non-obligatory), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Security Sign with Fitbit Premium / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 32GB
The $349.99 Google Pixel Watch 2 is a big enchancment over the unique. The Galaxy Watch 6 lineup will nonetheless get you a extra polished general expertise, however the Pixel Watch 2 is the higher selection for Android customers who aren’t on a Samsung smartphone.
That’s due to ecosystems. Some options of Samsung’s watches solely work with Samsung telephones. Broadly talking, the Pixel Watch doesn’t care what Android telephone you’ve; you’ll get the identical expertise regardless. That stated, its name screening function will solely work in case you pair it with a Tensor-equipped Pixel telephone. It’s just a little disappointing, however in comparison with Samsung, the Pixel Watch 2 doesn’t gatekeep well being options based mostly on what telephone you’ve. It’s additionally at all times going to have the newest updates to Google providers like Google Maps, Google Pockets, YouTube Music, and Google Assistant as a result of, nicely, it’s Google’s smartwatch. With the Pixel Watch 2, Google additionally added Calendar and Gmail to its checklist of supported apps. Talking of which, shopping for the Pixel Watch 2 will even get you a six-month trial of Fitbit Premium and a one-month trial of YouTube Music.
An important improve from final 12 months is that the battery reliably lasts 24 hours with the always-on show enabled. A few of that is as a result of extra power-efficient Put on OS 4 and a brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 processor. (It additionally means zippier efficiency general.) It’s additionally switched to a pin-charging system, which interprets to a lot quicker charging. You may get about 50 p.c in half-hour, and a full cost takes about 75 minutes. Due to a firmware replace, the unique Pixel Watch now fees extra slowly — so the distinction is additional noticeable.
The Pixel Watch doesn’t care what Android telephone you’ve
In comparison with final 12 months, Google has additionally achieved a greater job this 12 months of integrating Fitbit’s well being and health options. The Pixel Watch 2 now has a multipath sensor that allows 40 p.c extra correct coronary heart charge monitoring for vigorous workouts. Plus, you’ll be able to make the most of coronary heart charge zone and tempo coaching — options different health smartwatches have had for a very long time. The train views are additionally simpler to learn. It additionally now has a pores and skin temperature sensor and the Fitbit Sense 2’s steady electrodermal exercise sensor (cEDA). This implies the Pixel Watch 2 is now able to proactive stress monitoring. When indicators of physiological stress are detected, you’ll be prompted to replicate in your temper, take a stroll, or do a respiratory train. It’s imperfect, nevertheless it’s among the finest implementations of mindfulness options we’ve seen up to now.
Google has additionally launched new private security options. Security Test is a proactive timer that can ship your location to family members in case you’re in a pickle. You set an exercise (i.e., taking public transportation or strolling alone) and a timer length. When you don’t test in when the timer goes off, your location will mechanically be shared together with your emergency contacts. One other neat function is Security Sign. When you get an LTE watch and have a Fitbit Premium subscription, you don’t want an lively LTE plan so as to make the most of emergency providers.
One factor to be conscious of is sturdiness. Whereas the domed show is gorgeous, we cracked the display screen on the unique Pixel Watch and received deep scratches on the Pixel Watch 2. Google doesn’t provide any restore choices, however with the Pixel Watch 2, it has began providing its Most popular Care prolonged guarantee, so you’ve extra alternative choices ought to one thing occur. It’s not supreme because it’s restricted to the US and Canada, nevertheless it’s a step in the suitable route.
Learn my full Google Pixel Watch 2 evaluation.
Finest smartwatch you’ll be able to improve to Put on OS 3
The Fossil Gen 6 is a succesful Put on OS smartwatch with a Qualcomm Snapdragon Put on 4100 Plus chip. It’s eligible for the improve to Put on OS 3 and has a number of revamped well being options.
Sizes: 44mm w/22mm straps / Weight: 51g / Battery life: 24 hours / Show kind: OLED touchscreen / GPS: Constructed-in GPS / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 8GB
You can argue that by placing out a horde of Put on OS watches 12 months after 12 months, Fossil has singlehandedly saved Put on OS afloat throughout its darkest days. On the brilliant facet, that dedication to the platform means the $299 Gen 6 is likely one of the higher third-party choices — particularly because it has Google Assistant on Put on OS 3.
The Fossil Gen 6 launched in 2021 as a Put on OS 2 watch working on a Snapdragon Put on 4100 chip however has since gotten the improve to Put on OS 3. You could simply must manually replace the software program as soon as you purchase it. That’s an enormous motive why you’ll find it on sale fairly typically, often for round $220–$230. In October 2022, Fossil additionally started rolling out upgrades to all of its designer-branded smartwatches, just like the Skagen Falster Gen 6 and the Michael Kors Gen 6.
The Gen 6 watches have Alexa compatibility, contactless funds by way of Google Pockets, and entry to the Google Play retailer for third-party apps like Strava and Spotify.
In late 2022, the corporate additionally not too long ago launched its $299 Gen 6 Wellness Version. Consequently, it’s additionally beefed up accessible well being options throughout the Gen 6 units. That features SpO2 readings, VO2 Max, automated exercise monitoring, coronary heart charge zones, steady coronary heart charge monitoring outdoors of exercises, and improved sleep monitoring. The Wellness Version comes with Put on OS 3 out of the field, which is a tad extra handy, and the elevated design is kind of fetching. Nevertheless, in case you don’t thoughts the additional step of upgrading, choosing up any Gen 6 watch on sale isn’t a foul manner to avoid wasting additional moolah. Particularly for the reason that Wellness Version has most of the similar flaws because the common Gen 6 anyway.
My one concern going ahead is that it’s been an awfully very long time, and we’ve but to listen to of a Fossil Gen 7. CES 2024 has come and gone, and Fossil wasn’t current prefer it often is. Fossil spokesperson Amanda Castelli additionally confirmed to me that the Skagen Jorn, an E Ink hybrid the corporate makes, is not accessible. Some Redditors have anecdotally stated that Fossil retail workers have advised them the corporate is leaping ship, whereas others say the corporate is ready for a brand new chipset. I’ve reached out to Fossil to touch upon the rumors a number of occasions however haven’t obtained a response. Plans and timelines can change, so till we hear official phrase, that is all rumour — it’s simply one thing to bear in mind if you see gross sales on the Gen 6.
Learn our full evaluation of the Fossil Gen 6.
Finest health smartwatch for Android
Mobvoi’s long-awaited TicWatch Professional 5 has superior battery life, glorious health monitoring, and Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon W5 Plus chip.
Sizes: 50mm w/24mm straps / Weight: 44.3g / Battery life: As much as 80 hours / Show kind: OLED touchscreen and secondary ultra-low energy show / GPS: GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, Beidou / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 32GB
Mobvoi’s TicWatch lineup has its devoted followers for a motive: tremendous lengthy battery life. The $249.99 TicWatch Professional 5 is not any exception. It’s received an estimated 80 hours of battery life with commonplace use, a secondary ultra-low energy show, and an enormous (for a smartwatch you put on in your wrist, no less than) 628mAh battery. I didn’t fairly get 80 hours in my testing, however I did get a strong 48-60 hours even with heavy GPS use. That outclasses a lot of the watches on this class and is helpful for backpackers and endurance athletes. It may not maintain a candle to a top-of-the-line Garmin, nevertheless it’s additionally a better look ahead to a fraction of the worth.
Battery life apart, Mobvoi’s watches are an important various to the Fossil Gen 6, and the Professional 5 is an efficient choice for fitness-focused individuals who aren’t eager on giving up good capabilities for a Garmin or Polar. It’s additionally extra sturdy than Fossil’s trend watches or the Pixel Watch. This time round, Mobvoi has additionally added a digital crown so that you don’t have to fret about scrolling by means of menus with sweaty fingers. The flatter facet button additionally reduces the chance of unintentional presses.
The Professional 5 additionally has an ingenious technique of displaying coronary heart charge. Whenever you elevate up your arm, the backlight modifications shade relying on which coronary heart charge zone you’re in. Which means you’ll be able to immediately gauge whether or not to up the depth or sluggish your roll. The Professional 5 additionally provides new coaching metrics, like VO2 Max and restoration time.
The TicWatch helps stress monitoring, all-day blood oxygen monitoring, fatigue assessments, in addition to atrial fibrillation and irregular heartbeat detection. For outdoorsy varieties, it additionally has entry to a number of GNSS techniques, and there’s a brand new barometer and compass app, in addition to a one-tap measurement app that offers you a fast have a look at 5 metrics (coronary heart charge, blood oxygen, stress, respiratory charge, and general coronary heart well being).
It’s additionally fairly succesful on the productiveness entrance. You get contactless funds, entry to the Play Retailer, notifications, and the power to take calls. It’s additionally the one Android smartwatch accessible within the US with the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Plus chip, which is a plus by way of futureproofing. The one main issues are the 50mm case that will not swimsuit smaller wrists and the dearth of a digital assistant.
Learn my full evaluation of the Mobvoi TicWatch Professional 5.
Finest hybrid smartwatch
$180
The Garmin Vivomove Sport is an inexpensive, fashionable hybrid-analog tracker. It’s not as beefy as Garmin’s different trackers and is nicely fitted to informal exercise.
Sizes: 40mm w/20mm straps / Weight: 19g / Battery life: As much as 5 days / Show kind: “Hidden” OLED touchscreen / GPS: Tethered GPS / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Ant Plus / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: N/A
If all you need is easy health monitoring and notifications in a extra refined gadget, the $179.99 Garmin Vivomove Sport is a superb, inexpensive choice. It appears to be like like a Swatch, full with actual analog palms, however has a hidden OLED for notifications. Principally, in case you don’t need folks to know you’ve received a smartwatch on, a hybrid smartwatch is the best way to go. Plus, it’s suitable with each iOS and Android if you wish to reserve the choice to change between each ecosystems.
You’re giving up sure good options, like contactless funds, digital assistants, and built-in GPS. The hidden show can ship the fundamentals, like notifications, the time, and fundamental well being stats. Nevertheless, what it lacks in smarts, it makes up for with battery life. You get an estimated 5 days on a single cost. On the health entrance, it’s an correct tracker regardless of its lack of built-in GPS. As for well being monitoring, you get entry to a ton of in-depth information from Garmin’s platform.
Alternatively, you’ll be able to go for the following step up with the $269.99 Vivomove Pattern. Whereas the Sport is the proper value for a hybrid, there are just a few situations the place shelling out just a little additional for the Pattern is sensible. For starters, the hidden LCD show fills all the watchface. (The Sport solely shows info on the underside half of the display screen.) That’s simpler to learn whole notifications. Plus, it’s extra legible as you profit from bigger fonts. The Pattern additionally has a dressier look due to the stainless-steel bezel, making it higher fitted to enterprise conferences or formal occasions. Lastly, the Pattern helps Qi charging. When you’ve already received Qi chargers, meaning much less litter in your nightstand.
You may also wish to think about the Withings ScanWatch 2 or ScanWatch Gentle, which I’m at the moment reviewing. The $350 ScanWatch 2 has extra fashionable well being monitoring options, like EKG, blood oxygen, and temperature sensors, all whereas sustaining that very same elegant type. The Gentle knocks off about $100 and is a extra one-to-one various with the Vivomove Sport in that it focuses on informal exercise monitoring solely. I’ll replace this information as soon as I’ve completed my evaluation.
Learn my full evaluation of the Garmin Vivomove Sport.
Finest platform-agnostic health smartwatch
$450
The Garmin Venu 3S provides a brand new coronary heart charge sensor, a wheelchair mode, and much-improved sleep monitoring and nap detection.
Sizes: 41mm w/ 18mm straps; 45mm w/ 22mm straps / Weight: 40g for the 3S; 47g for the three / Battery life: As much as 10 days for 3S; 14 days for 3 / Show kind: OLED touchscreen / GPS: GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Ant Plus, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 8GB
Garmin is greatest recognized for making rugged GPS watches which have glorious health options however aren’t so good in any other case. However the $449.99 Venu 3 caters to individuals who need top-notch health monitoring with out sacrificing productiveness options.
It’s received a colourful and vibrant always-on OLED show and is available in two sizes: 41mm and 45mm. Like its predecessor, the Venu 2 Plus, it additionally has a microphone and speaker so you’ll be able to take and make calls straight from the wrist. It additionally has a intelligent workaround for digital assistants — it makes use of Bluetooth to work with no matter assistant is already in your telephone. You’d suppose extra health trackers would do that, however they don’t. It labored nicely in testing, although digital assistants aren’t at all times the neatest at understanding instructions.
The Venu 3 doesn’t have one of the best third-party app ecosystem, nevertheless it has Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music for offline playback. Android customers may also ship fast responses for texts, and the watch works with both iOS or Android for people who wish to preserve their choices open. It additionally has fall detection, stay monitoring, and contactless funds.
As for well being options, it has Garmin’s newest coronary heart charge sensor, which permits its FDA-cleared EKG app to detect atrial fibrillation. In any other case, you get built-in GPS, steady coronary heart charge monitoring, all the superior teaching options within the Garmin Join app, and Garmin’s well-known in-depth well being information. The Venu 3 additionally improves sleep monitoring with nap detection and provides audio-guided meditation classes. There’s additionally a brand new wheelchair mode.
This isn’t essentially the most hardcore Garmin that cash can purchase, nevertheless it’s positively the neatest. The value is a bit excessive in comparison with most smartwatches, however by Garmin requirements, it’s middle-of-the-pack.
Finest finances Android smartwatch
$200
The Amazfit GTR 4 is a platform-agnostic smartwatch that delivers a variety of bang in your buck. It has dual-band GPS, is Alexa-compatible, and has 14 days of battery life.
Dimension: 46mm w/ 22mm straps / Weight: 34g / Battery life: As much as 14 days / Show kind: OLED touchscreen / GPS: Twin-frequency and 6 GNSS techniques / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 2.3GB
Amazfit’s made a reputation for itself making finances wearables that punch far above their weight. I’ve been persistently impressed by the GTR line of smartwatches through the years, and the $199.99 GTR 4 is not any exception.
Not solely does it have a traditional look, however you additionally get 14 days of battery life and a shade, always-on OLED show. New to the GTR 4 is dual-band GPS — a function that Apple and Garmin solely not too long ago launched to their higher-end smartwatches. Or, in case you prefer to plan your individual path runs or hikes, you’ll be able to import your individual GPS routes, too. It tracks 150 sports activities and options all-day steady coronary heart charge monitoring. You can too monitor stress, sleep, and SpO2 ranges. For good options, you’ll be able to take calls on the wrist, and it has two digital assistants: Alexa and a proprietary offline assistant. The gadget additionally syncs with Strava and Adidas Operating.
The GTR 4 isn’t one of the best smartwatch round. Flagship watches can do all the pieces the GTR 4 can do however in a sleeker, extra polished bundle. Nevertheless, they’ll’t do it at this value. If value is your important precedence, this will get you unbelievable bang in your buck. Plus, you’ll be able to continuously discover Amazfit units on sale. The icing on the cake is it really works simply as nicely on Android because it does on iOS.
Learn my full evaluation of the Amazfit GTR 4.
Replace January twenty third 4:15PM ET: Swapped out Garmin Venu 2 Plus for Venu 3 sequence. Up to date textual content for 2024 and added context concerning the Fossil Gen 6.