With the ever-evolving technology scene, Smartwatches have become more than just fitness and daily wear devices. They’re companions that show personalized health suggestions. And they keep us up to date with connected experiences with just a flick of a wrist. If you’re considering getting one for yourself, finding the best one in this giant market could be hard. Hence, here’s a list of best smartwatches you can buy.
Best Smartwatches That Do It All
The following list is a compilation of the best smartwatches you can buy right now. Ultimately, what suits you depends on on your preferences and the phone you’ll pair it up with. So, choose wisely.
1. Apple Watch Ultra 2
The best Smartwatch that you can buy right now is the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and for many reasons. Firstly, it’s one of the best-rugged smartwatches you can buy right now. The case is made of Titanium and the display is made of pure Sapphire glass. It features an OLED 410 x 502 pixels resolution display that can get as bright as 3000 nits. The battery life is rated for 36 hours.
Coming to the cons, the major one as you may have guessed is that it only works with iOS. Besides, 49mm could be too large for smaller wrists, and the Ultra 2 is IP6X rated. The “X” might suggest the Watch wasn’t tested for water resistance. But, Apple claims it can survive up to 100 meters under ISO standard 22810.
Pros Cons Exceptionally rugged Titanium build Expensive Bright OLED display Works only with iOS 100m water resistance 49mm size could be too big Great speakers
2. Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 Ultra
If you think the Watch 7 Ultra (review) is just a bulkier Watch 7, you’re not totally wrong. However, there are a few differences. While the price tag is still questionable, the Watch 7 Ultra is a better pick for a certain group of people.
Its outer chassis is made of Titanium and it’s 5 ATM water resistant instead of just having an IP68 rating. It’s also much larger at 47 mm and comes in only one variant, i.e., LTE. It also has a bigger 590 mAh battery but weighs twice as much as the regular Galaxy Watch 7. It may be an expensive purchase but you can’t deny that it’s the best rugged Wear OS smartwatch right now.
Pros Cons Best rugged Wear OS watch Heavy Excellent display Expensive Larger battery Better water resistance
3. Apple Watch Series 10
The Watch Series 10 is the latest Apple smartwatch for everyone, bringing a few key improvements over the Seires 9. If you’re an iPhone user, this would generally be the best Apple Watch you can own other than Ultra 2. Sporting an OLED display enclosed in a bigger 46mm chassis (with a 42mm option), Series 10 can get as bright as 2,000 nits.
It features Apple’s latest S10 SiP which is a refreshed version of S9. However, among the new features the Series 10 brings are Depth Gauge and Water temperature sensor. Overall, the Series 10 is one of the best smartwatches you can get. But how does Series 9 compare? Find out after this.
Pros Cons Available in 46 mm and 42 mm Battery life Excellent OLED display No major upgrades from Series 9 50m water resistance
4. Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
The Galaxy Watch 7 is Samsung’s latest Wear OS wearable and it gets a lot of things right. It comes in two sizes 44 mm and 40 mm. And, it features a Super AMOLED 1.5-inch display which also goes till 2,000 nits.
The watch comes with the latest One UI 6 Watch based on Wear OS 5, and the new W1000 chipset. It has 32GB memory and 2GB RAM and comes with a 425mAh battery that’s rated to last for a day. It does have an LTE variant and comes in three colors cream, silver, and green. The Galaxy Watch 7 is arguably the best Wear OS watch that you can buy right now.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Available in multiple sizes | Battery lasts a day |
| Excellent, bright display | |
| Protection against glasses with Sapphire | |
| One UI 6 Watch is excellent |
5. Pixel Watch 3
Google solved a prominent complaint with the Pixel Watch, i.e., its size. The Pixel Watch 3 comes in two sizes — 41 mm and 45 mm, and the bigger one is easily the best Wear OS device Google has ever made. For starters, it’s got a significantly larger battery that lasts for more than a day, a bigger display with thinner bezels.
It sports the same Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 SoC as the Pixel Watch 2 but the Watch 3 series has features like Morning Brief, Auto-bedtime, and loss of pulse alerts. All in all, if you’re confused between the Pixel Watch 2 and 3, getting the latter and only the 45 mm variant would be a wise choice. Considering the improvements this year, the Pixel Watch 3 XL is one of the best Wear OS watches on the market for Pixel smartphone owners.
Pros Cons Available in multiple colors Display cannot be replaced Excellent LTPO display A tad bit expensive Larger battery in 45 mm variant Lots of software features
6. Apple Watch Series 9
While Watch Ultra 2 is superior and the Series 10 is newer, buying a Apple Watch Series 9 will make more sense if you’re budget conscious. It features the same OLED display as the Watch Ultra 2, and Series 10, a still-powerful SoC. With the watchOS 11 update available, it offers almost the same feature-set as the newest model.
The Series 9 is available in two sizes — 41mm and 45mm. It’s water resistant up to 50 meters, and comes with 64GB onboard storage and 1GB RAM. The battery life may still be a downer as it barely makes it through the day with AOD on. Otherwise, it’s easily one of the best smartwatches you can buy.
Pros Cons Available in multiple sizes Battery life Bright OLED display 50m water resistance WatchOS 11 is great
7. Pixel Watch 2
If you have smaller hands, you should skip the Pixel Watch 3 41 mm and get the Watch 2 instead. The specifications are similar to those of the Pixel Watch 3 — Snapdragon W5 Gen 1, and the sensors include skin temperature, SpO2, EDA, and ECG.
Sure the bezels are a bit thicker but the battery still surprisingly lasts for an entire day. Coming to health features, Samsung Health runs circles around the Fitbit app when it comes to personalized health tracking.
Also, we feel the ecosystem lock-in is tighter on the Pixel Watch 2, meaning, to fully enjoy it, you’ll need a Pixel phone. All in all, it’s still one of the best smartwatches you can buy.
Pros Cons AMOLED display Tighter ecosystem lock-in Fast charging Three major updates vs four on Samsung IP68 Water resistance No iOS compatibility WearOS 4 with four major Wear OS updates Thick bezels Great performance Available in only one size (41mm)
8. Garmin Venu 3
If we had to pick one of the best fitness-focused smartwatches, the Garmin Venu 3 ticks all the boxes. For starters, it offers up to 14 days of battery life which is more than any other smartwatch on this list. The display is a touchscreen OLED panel and the dial size available is 45mm. It works on both Android and iOS. What makes the Venu 3 a good offering is that it still does things a smartwatch should do while being a fitness-focused device.
Some of its fitness features include body battery energy monitoring, sleep tracking, workout tracking to track over 30+ workouts, nap detection, heart rate, stress tracking, women’s health tracking, respiration, fitness age, VO2, and much more.
As for the Smartwatch features, it can send you notifications which you can respond back to using the watch’s keyboard, take calls, view photos, control music, and turn on safety tracking. The Garmin App offers tons of customizations, and there’s support for music streaming apps like Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| AMOLED display | Proprietary charging plug |
| 5 ATM Water resistant | Available only in 45mm size |
| Excellent health tracking | Expensive |
| Good build quality |
9. OnePlus Watch 2
And alas, the smartwatch with the best battery life is, hands down, the OnePlus Watch 2. It’s OnePlus’ first Wear OS smartwatch and features an exceptional battery life that can last for around 3 days thanks to the 500 mAh capacity. Combined with RTOS, you can stretch it further.
The watch comes in one size, i.e., 47mm and there’s no LTE variant on offer. There’s a 1.43-inch AMOLED display on offer with the fastest charging speed in the segment. The storage and RAM are 32GB and 2GB and the watch has a Stainless Steel chassis. One of the major drawbacks, however, is that OnePlus only offers two major Android updates. If nothing but the battery life matters to you, the OnePlus Watch 2 is one of the best in battery life.
Pros Cons AMOLED display Only two promised major updates IP68 Water resistant Available only in 47mm size Excellent Battery Life No LTE variant Good build quality
10. Apple Watch SE 2
The best smartwatch for kids is the Apple Watch SE 2 40mm. While you could give your younger kids something like the recently launched Fitbit Ace LTE, the Watch SE 2 is a bit more future-proof for when they grow up a little and get a smartphone. The Watch SE’s 40mm size and small dial are perfect for small hands.
It’s got health tracking and monitoring, but what puts it on top of the competition is the Schooltime feature. You can manage your kid’s Apple Watch using iCloud Family Sharing and schedule Schooltime, a Do Not Disturb mode that suppresses all notifications.
Besides, you’ve got Apple’s comprehensive Find My features that can ensure your kid’s safety, making the Apple Watch SE 2 one of the best smartwatches for kids. Just make sure you buy the cellular variant.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| OLED display | The battery doesn’t last for more than a day |
| 50 meters water resistant | No Android compatibility |
| Excellent iCloud location, health, and family management for kids | No Always-on Display |
11. Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
Thanks to Samsung’s 4-year update policy, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is still very relevant. The watch features a bright AMOLED display and a stainless steel build. It comes with everyone’s favorite rotating bezel to navigate through Google’s Wear OS. Performance-wise, it features Samsung’s then-updated Exynos W930 which is a dual-core SoC.
The battery capacity of the watch is 425 mAh and it can last for more than a day. While that’s better than most Wear OS watches it’s still not enough to get through two complete days. Besides, a few features like ECG and various feature syncs only work with Samsung smartphones. The watch comes in two sizes — 43mm and 47mm.
Pros Cons Bright AMOLED display Marginal improvements over its predecessor Decent battery life Slightly expensive IP68 Water resistance No iOS compatibility Four major Wear OS updates
12. Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
The Watch 6 Classic caters to a group that loves big watches with rotating bezels but if you don’t fit in that, the Watch 6 is still relevant too. For starters, it features the same processor, battery, display, storage, and software as the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.
However, the main differences are in the price and the sizes. The Watch 6 comes in two sizes — 40mm and 44mm but the good thing is that the larger chassis packs in the same battery capacity as the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.
The sensors are all the same, including the BioActive Sensor, Temperature, Light, Gyro, SpO2, Skin Temperature, and ECG. The Watch 6 is also the most affordable modern Wear OS smartwatch starting from just $100 for the 44 mm variant. Overall, it’s easily one of the best smartwatches you can buy.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Bright AMOLED display | No iOS compatibility |
| Decent battery life | Samsung Ecosystem Lock-in |
| IP68 Water resistance | |
| WearOS 4 with four major Wear OS updates | |
| Great personalized health tracking with Samsung Health |
13. TicWatch Atlas
The Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas is the second-best rugged Wear OS smartwatch on this list. Its chassis is made of Stainless steel and the screen uses Sapphire Crystal for extreme protection against scratches. It’s got a massive 628 mAh battery combined with dual display tech OLED + Ultra low power display through which Mobvoi promises 90 hours of battery life on a single charge.
It’s got Qualcomm’s W5+ Gen 1 under the hood, 2 GB RAM, and 32 GB storage, so performance shouldn’t be an issue. However, one of the major complaints with TicWatches is updates. The Atlas runs the older Wear OS 4 with no sighting of Wear OS 5.
Considering the firm’s history updates, we believe it’s going to stay like that until Wear OS 6 gets announced. Otherwise, it’s one of the best smartwatches you can buy.
Pros Cons Dual displays Proprietary charging puck Rugged build Available only in one size Great performance Runs older Wear OS Excellent battery life Extremely inexpensive
14. Amazfit Balance
Wear OS’ biggest drawback is that the battery life of the watches doesn’t last for more than 3 days. If you have charging anxiety and need a smartwatch that could run for a week or two on a single charge, you might want to consider a non-Wear OS smartwatch like the Amazfit Balance. If you’ve never heard of Amazfit, the company is owned by Huami, which is in turn a partner of Xiaomi.
The Amazfit Balance is one of the recent offerings from Amazfit and it’s easily one of the best non-Wear OS smartwatches for many reasons. First up, the watch comes with all sorts of fitness features, including an AI-powered fitness coach in Amazfit’s latest Zepp OS 3.5. There’s support for Body composition measurement, offline maps, readiness, sleep tracking, VO2, SpO2, and lots of other health-tracking features.
Amazfit claims 14 days of battery life on the Balance and five days with AOD on, which is better than any Wear OS watch right now. For an asking price of $149, it’s easily our top recommendation for the best non-Wear OS smartwatch.
Pros Cons AMOLED display Proprietary charging plug Water resistant up to 50 meters Available only in 46mm size Extensive health tracking Excellent build quality A great connected app experience
15. CMF Watch Pro 2
Most inexpensive smartwatches are glorified fitness trackers that can barely do any “smartwatch” stuff. The most inexpensive smartwatch that’s the closest to a smartwatch is the CMF Watch Pro 2. For those unaware, CMF is a Nothing sub-brand that offers affordable smartphones and accessories.
The Watch Pro 2 features a square 1.32-inch AMOLED display with an Auto-brightness sensor and a 60 Hz refresh rate, which is quite rare in this segment. GPS, the ability to take calls on the watch, and a whopping 11 days of battery life. The watch is IP68-rated and has surprisingly good health features, including stress and SpO2 tracking.
The Watch Pro can control music and turn the screen bright to act as a flashlight. It can also show the weather forecast, find your phone, and view notifications from the phone but you cannot respond to them. It also has an interchangeable bezel to customize. Overall, for an asking price of $59, you cannot go wrong with the CMF Watch Pro 2.
Pros Cons Great AMOLED display Proprietary charging puck IP68 water resistance Available only in one size SpO2 and Stress Tracking are rare for this price Customizable Affordable
Some of the best premium smartwatches you can buy right now are the Apple Watch Ultra 2, Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, and Pixel Watch 3 (45 mm). If you need something slightly cheaper, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Galaxy Watch 6 or Pixel Watch 2 will do fine. The cheapest “smartwatch” you can buy is the CMF Watch Pro 2.
For the budget-conscious, the Galaxy Watch 6 and Apple Watch SE 2 are both excellent options and serve multiple use cases. As for the best battery life, the OnePlus Watch 2 and TicWatch Atlas with their (almost) 3-day battery life are unbeatable. If you want the best non-Wear OS watch, the Amazfit Balance is the device to go for thanks to its 14-day battery life.
And these are some of the best smartwatches you can buy right now. Let us know in the comments if there’s a smartwatch we didn’t mention that deserves to be on the list.
