Smartwatches, while a simple wrist wearable, are powerful tools that deliver vast health and fitness insight along with delivering cool features like contactless pay, hands-free phone integration, and tracking the time, of course. When trying to figure out which is the best smartwatch for your needs, however, there are almost too many things to consider -especially for those new to the area, placing a wearable on the wrist and unlocking a new way to access notifications, apps, and fitness tracking can feel a little daunting. Luckily, there are a ton of great options to explore in the smartwatch field, whether your preference is with Apple, Samsung, Fitbit, Garmin or a lesser known, but just as capable, wrist wearable.
To help you narrow things down when choosing between different styles, operating systems and price, we’ve compiled our top smartwatch recommendations – which is updated regularly all in order to factor in reviews of the latest devices on the market.This buyer’s guide covers smartwatches on various platforms, including Google’s Wear OS to Apple’s watchOS. If you are only interested in Wear OS smartwatches or Apple Watch options, we have separate features that you can read to find your perfect smartwatch.
Best smartwatches: Our top picks
Apple Watch Series 9
1. The best smartwatch
Apple’s latest and greatest
The Series 9 isn’t that different from its predecessors, but it’s chockfull of great tech for tracking health and fitness and is loaded with all the useful lifestyle features you’d need, like payments, messages, calendar, Siri and much more.
- Faster chipset than the Series 8
- Brighter OLED display
- UWB chip
- Not too many changes from the Series 8
Apple’s latest, the Series 9, doesn’t stray too far from its predecessor, with a familiar design and feature set to the Series 8. However, that’s no bad thing; this is a premium option with a lovely finish and a boatload of sensors.
The Series 9 does bring a few new features to the table, however, like a faster S9 chipset and the double tap feature for multi-functional use, along with Siri access to health data.It’s not the most exciting update, all told, but when it’s already one of the best smartwatches money can buy, it doesn’t take much to stay on top. If you’re an Apple user and want something that does it all, this is it.
Google Pixel Watch 2
2. Best Wear OS watch for fitness/health
Google’s newest timepiece features Fitbit’s tech in an elegant build
Pixel Watch 2 has a unique look to it, and a wonderful, customisable user interface, but its strength is really Fitibit integration. It’s a superb fitness-tracking watch for Android users.
- Fitbit is a major selling point here, it’s fantastic
- Beautiful design and build
- Fluid, responsive performance
- Lightweight and comfortable to wear
- Water and dust resistant to high levels
- No iPhone support
- Battery life isn’t amazing
- Needs a bigger display
It’s not the perfect smartwatch, but the Pixel Watch 2 is a delight to use. It’s got a curved, seamless design that really sets it apart from the competition, and we love the way the strap clips into the body of the watch to enhance that seamless look.
What really sets it apart, however, is the integration of Fitbit health and fitness tracking abilities. It’s detailed, accurate, and – most importantly – displays your health information in a way that makes it easy to see the important stuff but also presents it in a way that’s easy to understand. You can focus on performance if you want, but you can also choose to tailor it around mental health, stress, or weight management.
Add this to a watch with a fluid, lightweight user interface and strong water/dust-resisting abilities, and you have a brilliant all-rounder for Android users. The only issue, still, is the battery life. It’s not as good as a lot of its competition and can’t go much further than a full day on a full battery.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
3. Best classic-look smartwatch
Return of the rotating bezel
$370 $400 Save $30
The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is a solid feature-rich Wear OS but with a more traditional design than its regular Watch 6 sibling. Battery life is solid, the display is great, and it looks good.
- Nicer-looking than the regular Galaxy Watch 6
- Great, big vibrant display with skinny bezels
- Decent battery life
- Comes in two different sizes
- Fitness tracking is okay, but not amazing
- Not the cheapest
The Galaxy Watch 6 felt like a bit of an iterative update to the Galaxy Watch 5, delivering a bigger screen and faster performance but not a lot else. However, with the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, we’re getting something quite different. It’s got the look of a traditional watch, with its more elaborate case and bezel design, but doesn’t lose any of the features that make the Watch 6 so good.
It comes in two sizes – which a lot of Wear OS watches don’t – so it can fit smaller or larger wrists well.
The display is big and bright, with skinny bezels, and the bezel around the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic can be turned to control parts of the interface on the screen. Samsung’s also managed to pack a huge number of features into the watch, including the body composition tool, skin temperature, SpO2, all-day heart rate and advanced menstrual cycle tracking and predictions.
It does pretty much everything you’d want a smartwatch to do, except it only works with Android phones.
Garmin Venu 3
4. Best cross-platform sports smartwatch
Fitness focused in form factor and software
With its comprehensive health tracking, excellent sleep analysis and recovery data, the Venu 3 is a stellar fitness-focused smartwatch. The fact it can go two weeks between charges and offers music and payments too, rounds out a truly excellent wearable.
- Great fitness, health and recovery analysis
- Long battery life
- Contactless payments and offline music support
- Works with Android and iPhone
- 5ATM waterproof
- Design is a bit plain
- Software could be smoother and more responsive
- No wireless charging
Garmin’s watches are typically quite niche-focused connected watches designed for the super-fit. People who want to track their outdoor activities – particularly hiking, running and cycling – will typically turn to a Garmin. But with the Venu range, the company is attempting to appeal to a broader audience, offering a more affordable watch focusing on overall fitness, health, sleep and recovery.
If you don’t want to be tied to your iPhone or an Android device – and want the option to change platforms – the Venu 3 is a wonderful option. It’s still got exceptional fitness and health tracking like most other Garmins, but it works with both iOS and Android, has Garmin Pay for contactless payments and offline music support for Spotify, Amazon Music and Deezer.
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5
5. Best Wear OS watch for battery life
Not Apple, Google, or Garmin, but just as feature-rich and will last longer
The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 has an ingenious design that allows it to run full Wear OS when needed and a simplified mode when it’s not. The result is superb battery life without compromising on features.
- Superb battery life
- Full Wear OS 3 functionality
- Rotating crown control
- Some fitness tracking inconsistencies
- Standard watch faces aren’t the prettiest
Mobvoi might not quite be a household name like Google or Samsung, but with a product like the TicWatch Pro 5, it’s easy to imagine it becoming one. We think it’s one of the best Wear OS options on the market today.
The TicWatch Pro 5 has a clever design with a dual-layer display. This means that it can be used in full smartwatch mode or a simplified “essential” mode to preserve battery life – and if you like, it can automatically switch between the two modes.
This means that you get the usual flagship smartwatch suite including GPS, heart rate monitoring, contactless payments and app support, but with a vastly improved battery life.
Huawei Watch Ultimate
6. Best luxury cross-platform smartwatch
Nobody would even know you’re wearing a sportswatch
Huawei Watch Ultimate is the company’s attempt at an ultra-premium smartwatch, made from zirconium alloy and ceramic and featuring some advanced fitness tracking abilities. It can dive to 100m and features a dedicated expedition mode.
- Gorgeous and durable design
- Great fitness and health tracking
- Water resistant to 100m
- Fast wireless charging and long battery life
- Works with iPhone, Android and Huawei phones
- Pricey
- Still lacks contactless payments and third-party music support
It’s safe to say there aren’t many smartwatches out there like the Huawei Watch Ultimate. It’s made from Liquid Metal – for starters – which, by its very nature, is really durable and incredibly resistant to corrosion. Add a solid chunk of sapphire crystal glass to the top, and you have a watertight watch that can even cope with being in depths up to 100m in salt water.
Huawei’s health-tracking is very detailed and generally accurate, plus you get a watch with a beautiful, massive, vibrant AMOLED display that’s easy to see in all conditions. Plus, the watch will charge on almost any wireless charger or – if you use the bespoke charger – it’ll refill really quickly, and a full battery will last a couple of weeks Plus, it’s compatible with both iPhone and Android handsets.
It does, however, lack some key features other name brands tote. For example, there’s no contactless payment option or support for third-party streaming services, but you get great insights into your running ability, performance and effort.
Pocket-lint
Apple Watch SE (2022)
7. Best budget smartwatch for iPhone
Tracks all the basics and integrates perfectly with Apple
Apple’s entry-level watch is an absolute star, with excellent features and top-notch fitness tracking at a very reasonable price.
- Great value
- Brilliant Apple integration
- Lightweight and stylish
- No always-on display
- Doesn’t work with Android phones
The 2022 Apple Watch SE misses off a couple of the more accomplished Series 9 features, including the always-on display, blood oxygen sensor and ECG sensor, but it still has a gorgeous design with a colour-matched body, runs the same software, and it’s more budget-friendly than the flagship models.
The Apple Watch SE is a great entry point to the Apple Watch lifestyle, offering a great middle-ground between the sensor-rich Series 8 and the older Series 4.
Essentially, this is a great smartwatch for most people – particularly, of course, if they’re already embedded in the Apple ecosystem.
Pocket-lint
Withings ScanWatch Horizon
8. Best hybrid smartwatch
Sleek and smart in more than just the software
This great hybrid watch looks amazing and tracks all the most important stats.
- Premium design
- More subtle than a traditional smartwatch
- Great tracking
- Long battery life
- More expensive than normal ScanWatch, same tracking
- Limited smartwatch features
- Pretty heavy
The Withings ScanWatch Horizon is ideal for anyone who loves the idea of tracking a bunch of health metrics but wants a watch that looks more traditional and will fit in with a suit nicely.
You get an analogue watch face along with a small screen on the top half to tell you your heart rate or a range of details that you can scroll through with the crown.
It’s metallic and elegant, and the tracking is exemplary, and if you want a more affordable version, the standard ScanWatch 2 is well worth considering, too.
Loic Salan
Apple Watch Ultra 2
9. Best Apple Watch for battery life
Apple’s second rugged watch iteration gets a major battery bump
It hasn’t changed much since the first gen, but the premium titanium watch from Apple is the one with the longest battery life. It’s also primed and ready for the great outdoors.
- Display is very bright
- On-device Siri works well
- Fast, fluid performance
- Better battery life than regular Apple Watch
- It’s expensive
- Battery life still doesn’t match Garmin/Huawei
The looks are undoubtedly divisive, but the Apple Watch Ultra 2 brings all the best Apple Watch features in a device which is primed and ready for the outdoors. It’s got a more durable build, with dedicated software features for long route tracking sessions and battery life that’s much better than the standard Apple Watch Series 9.
One of its highlight features is the display. It’s incredibly bright and crisp, making it really easy to read whether you’re in bright sunlight or underwater. And the experience of using it is so slight and buttery smooth that it makes its competitors look decidedly clunky.
Its only issue – if it really is trying to compete with the likes of Garmin – is that the battery life still isn’t anywhere near as strong as that of the outdoor specialist brand. It’s also lacking a bit in terms of fitness and performance data. But, as an Apple Watch, you won’t get another model that lasts as long or has as-clear a display.
The bottom line: What is the best smartwatch?
Thanks to its premium build, feature set and fitness tracking – plus the excellent Apple ecosystem integration – the Apple Watch Series 9 model is our expertly picked choice for the best smartwatch on the market right now.
Apple Watch Series 9
Editor’s Choice
Apple’s latest and greatest
The Series 9 isn’t that different from its predecessors, but it’s chockfull of great tech for tracking health and fitness and is loaded with all the useful lifestyle features you’d need, like payments, messages, calendar, Siri and much more.
How did we choose these smartwatches?
We’ve reviewed each and every smartwatch on this list. Not only do we put each model through rigorous testing, but in many cases, we continue to wear these smartwatches long term – learning all the benefits and shortcomings as we go.
Before adding a recommendation to our buyer’s guide, we take many things into consideration. This includes things like the build quality and performance, as well as value for money and brand reputation. We’ve only picked the models that we believe are the best available today so you can buy with confidence and know that you’ll be getting a quality product.
How should I pick the right smartwatch size?
A key decision is to decide how big you want your watch to be – most smartwatches range from 38mm to 46mm or so in size, reflecting the many sizes of normal watches available.
Working out what you prefer can really narrow the field, so it is a great first step.
How much should you pay for a smartwatch?
The next thing to think about could be your budget, which will also constrain what you can choose. If you’re looking to spend less than $200, for example, there are fewer quality options to go for.
Equally, if you’re happy to spend over $500, you open yourself up to premium options like many Garmin watches or the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Spending much below $150 starts to make quality control difficult, but all the options on our list above are safe bets.
What’s the ideal smartwatch battery life?
Another key consideration for a smartwatch is battery life. Most of the popular mainstream options like the Apple Watch and Wear OS devices will struggle to make it through two days. In general, the more features you get, the shorter the battery life might be.
However, while some models do manage a week-long battery or better, we’d say that most people get used to a nightly charge pretty easily – it’s not a huge sacrifice, in our eyes.
What features should a smartwatch have?
Features offered by smartwatches vary massively, but some you should look out for, including standalone GPS, which is really helpful for fitness tracking.
Bluetooth is also really useful to connect to headphones and more, and being able to store music offline can be great for taking runs without your phone.
Sleep tracking is another optional extra that some smartwatches manage, while heart-rate monitoring is nearly ubiquitous at this stage. Some more advanced watches might also pack in SpO2 monitors, but you’re unlikely to need this.
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