The 5 Best Smartwatches for Every Wrist

Best overall smartwatch

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Cons

If you’re an iPhone user wanting a smartwatch, the Apple Watch Series 8 should unquestionably be the first one you consider. Whether you’re an athlete, professional or tech enthusiast, there’s bound to be something that appeals to you about this smartwatch. More than any other watch, it feels like an extension of the iPhone, letting you both receive notifications and act on them, track your fitness, and run a limited—but useful—number of apps. Of all the watches we tested, the Apple Watch Series 8 was the most enjoyable to use on a daily basis. The Apple Watch’s fitness-tracking skills are a particular standout, thanks to a blood oxygen sensor, optical heart sensor, electrocardiogram (ECG) app and sleep tracking. In fact, the Apple Watch Series 8 is similar to the premium Apple Watch Ultra when it comes to fitness tracking—the Ultra is a bit more rugged and features a few extra certifications for extreme sports (such as enhanced waterproofing and a depth gauge for diving). But beyond those niche requirements, the Series 8 is ready to accompany you on every adventure. It’s hard to overstate just how fluid and engaging this smartwatch is—every swipe, tap and press is accurately registered, and they’re often accompanied by tactile feedback to heighten the user experience. Much of this responsiveness is due to the Apple S8 processor. Like all of Apple’s chips, it’s made in lockstep with the software, ensuring optimized performance. If you’re not interested in the fitness abilities of the Apple Watch Series 8, there are plenty of other reasons to add it to your wrist. Besides responsiveness, the most compelling are its looks. Apple gives you dozens of ways to modify the Apple Watch Series 8, with the option for 41- or 45-millimeter case sizes, aluminum and steel bodies, more than 40 official band designs (and countless third-party options) plus dozens of editable watch faces. Every Apple Watch supports Bluetooth, and you can choose to upgrade to a model with a cellular radio that allows you to make calls, send texts or stream music without your phone nearby. Our daily testing backed up all these specs, as fitness tracking, phone calls, text messaging, app switching and watch-face customization worked exactly as advertised. It’s remarkably easy to sync the watch with your smartphone through the preinstalled Apple Watch app, allowing you to get up and running in a matter of minutes. Using the rotating crown to navigate screens is also surprisingly simple and makes the watch easier to interact with than the competition. Toss in a striking Retina display with up to 1,000 nits of brightness that’s easy to read even in direct sunlight, fall detection, a dust resistance rating of IP6X, and swim-proofing, and it’s easy to see why Apple dominates the smartwatch market. The Series 8 comes close to being a perfect smartwatch, but it still falls short in terms of battery life, which lasts for around 18 hours on a full charge. However, this can vary dramatically based on your usage. In general, expect to toss it onto your charger every day after work or as you get ready in the morning after using it for sleep tracking. The Apple Watch’s square face has also been a sticking point for some buyers, as many prefer the traditional, circular watch face offered by many of Apple’s competitors. Apple does, however, use this square design to its advantage, as it lets developers pack a bit more information onto the screen than its rounded counterparts can hold. As you might expect, the Apple Watch Series 8 doesn’t play nicely with Android, and anyone with a Google or Samsung smartphone will need to look elsewhere for their smartwatch needs.

Best smartwatch for Android phone users

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The Galaxy Watch5 Pro brings just as much to the table for Android users as the Apple Watch does for iOS fans, making it the best alternative if you don’t use an iPhone. It looks every bit as premium, thanks to its durable titanium case, D-buckle clasp and AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) display, which make it a great companion whether you’re hiking, biking or strolling through the city. The D-buckle was a notable standout of the Galaxy Watch5 Pro’s design, as it was the only smartwatch I tested that used such a secure clasp. Most other watches employed a variation of the simple pin-buckle design—which works fine, but isn’t quite as engaging. The D-buckle ensured I had the exact same fit every time I put the watch on, allowing it to remain comfortable and take accurate health measurements without any variance from a loose (or tight) fit. Fitness features are front and center on the Watch5 Pro. In addition to its bulky, rugged design, it’s built with an accelerometer, gyrometer, compass and heart rate sensor. This allows it to accurately track health metrics such as heart rate and continuous oxygen saturation level, or SpO2, while also helping you navigate during your outdoor adventures. Location tracking was impressive during our testing, and all health metrics are conveniently stored in the Samsung Health smartphone app. Despite all these features, battery life is impressive (lasting for up to 80 hours, depending on usage), and it’s more than enough to keep you charged through a typical day without any issues. Like any good smartwatch, Samsung offers hundreds of ways to personalize your Watch5 Pro. From bands to watch faces, there’s a wide assortment of sporty, professional and fashion-forward options. Watch faces can be further personalized by swapping out complications (small widgets that display live information like the weather), so you can easily launch your favorite apps or check important info without digging through menus. Samsung built the Galaxy Watch5 Pro for Samsung devices—a few features aren’t natively supported on other Android devices, such as ECG and Samsung Wallet. It’s also not possible to use the smartwatch with iOS. But if you are running with a Galaxy Z Fold4 or Galaxy S23, the Watch5 Pro meshes seamlessly with all your apps. Messaging and taking calls from your contact list is as simple as tapping a few buttons, since all your phone’s data is shared with the smartwatch during setup. Everything is also easy to navigate, thanks to the peppy processor and large 1.36-inch AMOLED display.

Best smartwatch for Google phone users

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Google doesn’t have a lengthy history of producing smartwatches like Samsung and Apple do, but the first-generation Pixel Watch stacks up surprisingly well against the competition. Your eyes will immediately be drawn to the sleek, streamlined device, thanks to a rounded AMOLED display and a design philosophy that opts for a less-is-more approach. Along with a touch screen, the Pixel Watch uses one button (integrated into the top right corner) and a rotating crown for input. This makes it appear less bulky and more aerodynamic than many smartwatches that feature several large buttons. The watch is already small at 41 millimeters, and its design with no bezel only serves to make it look smaller. If you have large wrists, there’s a real possibility the Pixel Watch will feel too small for you. Google doesn’t offer any other sizes, making the 41-millimeter model your only option. However, the majority of shoppers should find it the perfect size—it’s especially enticing if you love minimalist designs. Toss in the usual assortment of customizable watch faces and bands (Google offers more than 20 official designs), and it’s easy to build a sleek showpiece for any occasion. Aside from its unique look, Google sets itself apart from other smartwatches with its Fitbit integration. All of its fitness features are powered by the Fitbit app, giving you remarkable control over your health data. Sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, ECG support, mindfulness sessions and more are all available to users. There’s a paid Fitbit Premium plan if you want more in-depth data. Our testing found this to be one of the best smartwatches for fitness (thanks to its small footprint and impressive software), although it’s not quite as rugged as the Galaxy Watch5 Pro or Garmin Forerunner 965. It’s a great fit for cycling or jogging, but more adventurous activities (such as trail running or mountain biking) might be better served by something more durable. All told, the Pixel Watch is a Fitbit with an extra layer of smartphone integrations. Its lightweight design and small footprint made it feel more like a fitness tracker during my testing, and it’s a great option for anyone who wants a simplistic smartwatch that doesn’t get bogged down in complex features or a multitude of physical buttons. Just about every other Google app is featured on the Pixel Watch, including Google Wallet, Google Assistant, Google Calendar, Gmail and YouTube. This makes it the perfect companion for anyone with a Google Pixel smartphone—so long as you can live with the 41-millimeter footprint.

Best lower-price smartwatch

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The Apple Watch SE offers almost everything found in the higher-price Series 8, making it a great option for shoppers looking for a lower price tag. To hit this price point, Apple had to make a few concessions. This means you won’t have as many options for case colors, the case and screen sizes are slightly smaller, it lacks an always-on display and there’s no ECG app. The watch is also designed with an aluminum case, with no option for a stainless steel model. Aside from those omissions, the Apple Watch SE shares many of the same features found on its higher-price sibling. Most importantly, this includes the Apple S8 processor—which lets you flip through apps with ease. Our testing found there to be no real difference between the performances of the Watch SE and the Series 8, and of all the smartwatches I tested with a price tag under $400, this one felt the most premium. Texting, making phone calls, starting a fitness event and checking messages are the same across both devices. The same goes for battery life, with an expected 18 hours on a single charge. The Apple Watch SE lacks fast charging (so it takes a bit longer to charge up between uses than the Series 8), but that wasn’t a big deal during our daily testing, as charging while getting ready in the morning or sleeping at night gave us more than enough power to get through the day. Keep in mind that resource-taxing activities like using GPS or LTE will drain the battery faster than simply checking messages will, and your mileage may vary dramatically from day to day based on your schedule.

Best smartwatch for athletes

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The Garmin Forerunner 965 isn’t nearly as customizable as other smartwatches on this list—you’ll find only a handful of bands and watch faces, all of the sporty variety. But what it lacks in customization it makes up for with rugged construction and top-of-the-line fitness tracking, making it the best smartwatch for athletes and adventurers. Built with a sturdy titanium bezel and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 DX lens, the Forerunner 965 has no problem handling rocky terrain. Yet it’s lightweight compared with other premium smartwatches: Garmin managed to keep it to just 53 grams (the Apple Watch Ultra weighs 61 grams, for comparison). The difference was noticeable during testing, with the Forerunner 965 offering a more comfortable experience than other watches of a similar size. Part of this is due to the perforated silicone band, which is ultrabreathable and well-suited for long workouts or all-day wear. Another standout feature is the multitude of buttons littered around the Forerunner’s bezel. There are five physical buttons, allowing you to quickly check your stats during a run, bike ride or hike without having to fumble with its touch screen. After your workout, you’ll get a detailed readout of every stat related to your activity. All this info is readily available in the Garmin Connect app along with other fitness metrics such as heart rate, VO2 max (a measure of oxygen uptake), sleep quality, blood oxygen and heart rate variability (HRV). The Forerunner 965 was our favorite smartwatch to run with not just because it was comfortable and easy to control, but also because it gave direct feedback during workouts. This included verbal alerts when we were diverging from the correct pace for the day’s training session or when our overall performance was better (or worse) than expected. This served as a great motivator, as it took the guesswork out of each exercise and provided information without the need to glance at the watch. Depending on your usage, it’s possible to get up to 23 days of runtime on a single charge. That makes it a compelling option for ultramarathon runners and triathletes, as it guarantees you won’t run into low-battery warnings during extended events. It also means you can wear it day and night, charging a few times a week as your busy training schedule permits. Athletes interested in diving deep into stats will find plenty of unique metrics to track (including Acute Load, Training Readiness, Chronic Training Load, and estimated times for different events based on your training regimen). Even if you’re not a professional athlete, having access to these advanced features makes it easy to track your progress, plan your workouts and improve your fitness without overworking your body.

Others you should know about

Great for an upgraded Apple Watch experience

The Apple Watch Ultra is a more rugged version of the Apple Watch Series 8. It offers a massive, 49-millimeter titanium case, a customizable Action button that can be used to trigger workout recordings or launch other software shortcuts, and a battery that runs for up to 36 hours on a single charge. It’s a solid choice for iOS owners seeking an outdoor or fitness-oriented watch, although it still falls well behind the Garmin Forerunner 965 in terms of battery life and fitness-focused features (especially when you consider its $800 price tag).

Great for a lower-price Android experience

The Samsung Galaxy Watch5 is priced lower than the Watch5 Pro, and it provides users with many of the same features. This includes the Exynos W920 processor, cellular and Bluetooth support, and the vast majority of fitness-tracking tools. However, the Watch5 Pro’s titanium case, improved battery life and Route tile (which shows you a map during your workouts) make it a better companion for your wrist. Garmin has plenty of other great products for athletes to consider, including the Venu 2 Plus , Fenix 7 Pro and Epix Pro . The first is a solid, fitness-oriented alternative to the Apple Watch SE, while the other two are ultraluxurious outdoor gadgets. They offer over two weeks of battery life along with a few other perks (such as a built-in flashlight), but most buyers will be served just fine with everything offered on the Forerunner 965. The recently released Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 is a gorgeous Wear OS smartwatch that can’t quite stack up to the competition. It’s responsive (thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 processor), but its lack of an altimeter, cellular support and customization options make it less enticing than the Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Pixel Watch. Fitbit and Coros are popular choices for smartwatches, but they’re better used as fitness trackers than bona fide smartwatches. Cellular options are limited on most products in these catalogs, and they tend not to integrate standard features like texting or accessing apps as well as our recommended picks. However, the streamlined designs and fitness abilities of the Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4 make them lower-price alternatives to the Garmin Forerunner 965. Fossil watches running Wear OS 3 recently gained support for Google Assistant, though they tend to carry higher prices without bringing unique features to the table. They are, however, available in a variety of styles. If customization options are at the top of your list, consider giving Fossil a closer look—but be sure to compare them to the winners above, as they all offer similar personalization options while boasting better performance.

Smartwatch releases in 2023

Samsung announced its upcoming Galaxy Watch6 and Watch6 Classic , which are available for pre-order before their August 11 launch date. Both models sport thinner borders and larger screens, while the Classic gets a rotating bezel that can be used to scroll through content on the watch. They also have a new band attachment system and larger batteries. We’ll be testing these new smartwatches in the coming weeks. Apple and Google are expected to announce new smartwatches before the end of 2023. Like smartphones, smartwatches typically work on an annual release schedule. None of our top picks will be obsolete when their replacements inevitably roll around, but you’ll get more value out of the product if you pick it up at the beginning of its life cycle (or when it’s on sale).

How we picked

Trust us

I’ve been writing about consumer electronics for more than four years and have been following the smartwatch market for nearly a decade. I also have a background in biology and am an avid runner, having competed at the collegiate level, which allowed me to perform extensive fitness testing of each of the above smartwatches. To learn more about smartwatches and the variety of roles they serve, I connected with three experts in three different fields: Rashelle Isip, a productivity consultant and time management coach; Judd NeSmith, founder and head coach of Serious Fitness; and Elizabeth Wissinger, a sociologist of wearable technology and fashion, and professor of liberal studies at the CUNY Graduate Center. Their expertise helped identify how users can use smartwatches to enhance their productivity and fitness goals, along with privacy concerns and customization options surrounding their use.

We tested

Depending on what you want out of a smartwatch, you’ll need to consider different criteria. NeSmith, for example, stresses the importance of battery life. He highly recommends the Apple Watch Series 8, although he notes that outdoor enthusiasts who spend hours running or cycling will benefit from something more robust. Simplicity is also key, with many of his clients choosing smartwatches that are easy to manipulate while working out and allow for intuitive stat tracking after a session. If you’re seeking a smartwatch to improve your productivity, it’s important to have access to alarms, timers and a variety of watch faces that let you quickly launch your most-used apps. Isip says that smartwatches can work as tools to help you focus on the task at hand, with power users enabling timers to alert them when it’s time to take a break or move on to the next task. Basic features like these can be found on nearly all smartwatches. Not all products, however, have them in easily accessible locations. Watch-face selection also varies from brand to brand. And since Isip recommends swapping your watch face for the task at hand (an info-heavy face while working, then a streamlined face for the weekend, for example), a product with limited options may not be ideal for boosting productivity. Privacy concerns may not be front of mind when shopping for a smartwatch, but it’s an important factor to consider. Dr. Wissinger recommends checking the privacy settings of your device, as you might be sharing health data and personal stats that you’d rather keep to yourself. After selecting a dozen smartwatches based on the criteria offered by our experts, we put each watch through the rigors of daily use. This included spending multiple days with the smartwatch to see how it performed tasks from the simple, such as answering phone calls and sending texts, to the complex, like customizing watch faces and tracking health stats. Specifically, we looked at these factors: Most important, however, was a smartwatch’s overall livability. The Apple Watch Series 8, for example, boasts features like tactile feedback and a brilliant Retina display that truly shine while in use. The easier it was to live with a smartwatch throughout the testing process, the more likely it was to place on this list. Smartwatches are meant to augment your smartphone and make your life easier—if they can’t do that, they’re not worth your time.