After a protracted stretch of slim pickings, 2022 was an enormous 12 months for Android smartwatches. The Google Pixel Watch lastly launched after what felt like a decade. Samsung launched its second-gen Put on OS smartwatches. And Fossil introduced its first native Put on OS 3 watch and began updating its myriad Gen 6 units to the brand new platform. A pair months into 2023, it seems to be like that power will proceed all through this 12 months too.
However that is nonetheless a transitional period. Put on OS 3 is a piece in progress, and whereas we’re inspired by the stronger third-party app choices, the market remains to be fragmented. Some options, like Google Assistant, is probably not obtainable but on sure Put on OS 3 smartwatches — although that one might come through an replace someday sooner or later. And since Google is gonna Google, we now know that Put on OS 4 is coming later this 12 months even though Put on OS 3 hasn’t rolled out to each doable smartwatch simply but.
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- The perfect health trackers to purchase proper now
- The perfect sleep tech you should purchase proper now
- The perfect Fitbit in your health and well being
In the event you’d relatively wait till Put on OS settles down a bit, there are platform-agnostic smartwatches and health watches you should purchase within the meantime. At this level, I don’t suggest shopping for a Put on OS 2 watch that may’t be upgraded, even when the reductions are tempting. Put on OS 4 is on the horizon, and Google hasn’t mentioned but whether or not Snapdragon Put on 4100-powered units will help the replace. In summer time 2022, Qualcomm additionally introduced its Snapdragon Put on 5 Plus chip — a 4nm processor that can give a much-needed increase to the following spherical of Put on OS smartwatches. Mobvoi’s TicWatch Professional 5 is the one one that includes the brand new chip within the US, and whereas it’s an excellent watch, chances are you’ll need to wait till there are extra W5 Plus watches to select from.
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 high picks, but when none of those is the suitable match, you’ll be able to all the time take a look at our health tracker information.
What we’re searching for
- Processor: Android smartwatches have lengthy been foiled by outdated processors. Is the chip beneath the hood highly effective sufficient to run Put on OS / proprietary RTOS easily?
- Ecosystem: Does a watch work higher inside one firm’s product ecosystem versus one other? Will it’s a must to purchase a brand new watch if you happen to change telephones?
- Sensible options: As of late, most wearables are succesful health trackers. Nevertheless, they’re not all able to controlling your sensible residence, contactless funds, or interacting with digital assistants.
- Help: Is that this system prone to final you some time, or will it is advisable to improve earlier than you’d like? How communicative is the OEM about forthcoming adjustments?
- Battery life: Are you able to get by way of the day with out reaching for a charger? If not, does it help fast charging?
Greatest smartwatch for Samsung telephones
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Professional (Bluetooth solely)
$399$44911% off$399$399$44911% off
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.
$399 at Amazon (45mm)$399 at Greatest Purchase (45mm)
Sizes: 45mm / Weight: 46.5g / Battery life: as much as 80 hours / Show sort: always-on OLED / GPS: Constructed-in GPS, plus GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou / Connectivity: LTE (non-compulsory), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: as much as 50 meters / Music storage: 16GB
If in case you have a Samsung cellphone, you’ll get probably the most mileage out of a Samsung smartwatch. And of the 2 watches Samsung launched in 2022, the $449.99 Galaxy Watch 5 Professional will get you the most effective total expertise. It’s not a giant improve from the Galaxy Watch 4, nevertheless it’s trendy, lasts longer on a single cost, and provides some neat GPS options. The Professional edges out a win over the common Galaxy Watch 5 due to its battery life. We obtained as much as 65 hours in testing, although if you happen to allow the always-on show, you’ll extra doubtless get round 48 to 50 hours. Nonetheless, that’s a notable bump over both the 40mm Galaxy Watch 5 or the Galaxy Watch 4 lineup. Software program updates 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.
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- Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Professional assessment: typically greater is best
The 45mm Professional wears surprisingly small for a health watch of its measurement, and the larger sapphire crystal show makes textual content simpler to learn. And whereas it’s too unhealthy Samsung did away with the bodily rotating bezel, the Professional’s raised lip makes the contact bezel simpler to make use of than the flat one on the vanilla Watch 5. We additionally just like the deployant clasp, which is each safe and cozy to put on. In order for you mobile connectivity, you’ll be able to pay $50 additional plus your provider’s month-to-month price for the LTE model. The watch additionally has twin SIM help (as long as you’ve gotten a cellphone that additionally helps twin SIM.).
Put on OS 3 is snappy on the Professional, and Samsung’s model of Put on OS is intuitive to make use of and makes higher use of the watch’s round show than Google’s default UI. Samsung additionally added some neat accessibility options, like coloration filters and the power to rebalance audio.
The change 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 companies 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. The identical goes for Samsung Pay and Google Pockets. In order for you a extra in-depth have a look at how this watch stacks up in comparison with the Pixel Watch specifically, you’ll be able to take a look at our Versus video.
Samsung Well being additionally delivers an excellent total health monitoring expertise, particularly since you’ll be able to allow turn-by-turn navigation for mountain climbing and biking actions. Samsung is increasing this to incorporate walks and runs when One UI 5 Watch launches later this 12 months. We weren’t too impressed with nightly SpO2 readings, however Samsung’s total sleep monitoring is sweet. You additionally get built-in GPS, physique composition evaluation, irregular coronary heart price notifications, fall detection, emergency SOS options, and EKGs.
We don’t essentially suggest the Galaxy Watch 5 or 5 Professional if you happen to don’t have a Samsung cellphone. 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 — which can be gated to Samsung telephones except you sideload the APK — and requires you to join Samsung’s service. You possibly can work round it, however all Samsung watches work finest with different Samsung units.
The Galaxy Watch 5 can be a stable various, each within the 40mm ($279.99) and 44mm ($309.99) sizes. You’ll worsen battery life, it’s not as sturdy, and there’s no turn-by-turn navigation. Nevertheless, the additional financial savings could also be a worthwhile tradeoff.
Learn my full assessment of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Professional.
Greatest Android smartwatch for non-Samsung customers
Google Pixel Watch
$350
Google’s first in-house smartwatch has a lovely domed show and native Fitbit integration for well being monitoring. It comes with six months of Fitbit Premium and three months of YouTube Music. Wellbots is discounting it by $60 whenever you use promo code GWATCHVERGE at checkout.
$350 at Wellbots$350 at Greatest Purchase$350 at Amazon
Sizes: 41mm / Weight: 36g / Battery life: as much as 40-50 hours / Show sort: always-on OLED / GPS: Constructed-in GPS, plus GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou / Connectivity: LTE (non-compulsory), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 32GB
The $349.99 Google Pixel Watch is a beautiful smartwatch, however it’s a first-gen system with some notable rising pains. The Galaxy Watch 5 lineup will get you a extra polished expertise, however the Pixel Watch is the higher selection for Android customers who aren’t on a Samsung smartphone.
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- Google Pixel Watch assessment: it’s a better Fitbit
That’s due to ecosystems. Some options of Samsung’s watches solely work with Samsung telephones. The Pixel Watch doesn’t care what Android cellphone you’ve gotten; you’ll get the identical expertise regardless. Broadly talking, it’s additionally all the time going to have the newest updates to Google companies like Google Maps, Google Pockets, YouTube Music, and Google Assistant as a result of, properly, it’s Google’s smartwatch. Talking of which, shopping for the Pixel Watch will even get you a six-month trial of Fitbit Premium and a three-month trial of YouTube Music.
The Pixel Watch doesn’t care what Android cellphone you’ve gotten
Whereas it makes use of a last-gen Samsung chip, the Pixel Watch has snappy efficiency, due to 2GB of RAM and a co-processor that helps optimize battery life. Its redesigned Put on OS 3 interface can be straightforward to make use of, and belief us: you received’t be bothered a lot by the bezels. Whereas thick, they’re not that noticeable, due to the darkish backgrounds and watch faces.
In the event you’re a long-time Fitbit person, that is the smartwatch you’ve been ready for — not the Fitbit Sense 2 or Versa 4. Not solely does it have Fitbit integration, however you’ve additionally obtained the choice of mobile connectivity for $50 extra, higher third-party apps than Put on OS 2 watches, and Google Assistant. (Google Assistant is lacking from Fitbit’s Sense 2 and Versa 4, although Google Maps is now obtainable.) The Pixel Watch lacks some staple well being options — irregular coronary heart rhythm notifications, automated exercise monitoring, and nightly SpO2 percentages are the massive omissions — however the bulk of Fitbit’s well being platform is there. The Pixel Watch additionally helps EKG readings, has built-in GPS, and means that you can obtain offline playlists from YouTube Music.
One factor to be aware of is sturdiness. Whereas the domed show is gorgeous, we cracked considered one of our assessment models in per week. (The others had been nice, nevertheless!) You additionally received’t get the most effective battery life at 24 hours — much less if you happen to use the always-on show — however it’s pretty customary for this class. The excellent news is Put on OS 4 ought to enhance battery life and add cloud backups when it arrives later this 12 months. It’s additionally obtained a proprietary strap mechanism, although we’re starting to see third-party straps hit the market. These tradeoffs are a giant purpose why this first-gen system isn’t our total choose. Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless a promising system that’s a good selection for first adopters.
Learn my full Google Pixel Watch assessment.
Greatest smartwatch you’ll be able to improve to Put on OS 3
Fossil Gen 6
$230$29923% off$230$230$29923% off
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.
$230 at Amazon$299 at Fossil
Sizes: 44mm w/22mm straps / Weight: 51g / Battery life: 24 hours / Show sort: OLED touchscreen / GPS: Constructed-in GPS / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 8GB
You would 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 aspect, that dedication to the platform means the $299 Gen 6 is without doubt one of the most secure buys on the planet of Android smartwatches. Not solely is Fossil in it for the lengthy haul nevertheless it’s additionally taken buyer suggestions into consideration for future designs.
The Fossil Gen 6 is, out of the field, a Put on OS 2 watch working on a Snapdragon Put on 4100 chip. That’s a giant purpose why you will discover it on sale fairly typically, normally for round $220-$230. It’s a modest low cost, however this can be a smarter choose than a 3100-powered Put on OS watch, just like the Gen 5 and Gen 5E, even if you happen to discover them for a lot much less. However if you happen to do need Put on OS 3, there’s excellent news. Fossil started rolling out upgrades final October 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 through Google Pockets, and entry to the Google Play retailer for third-party apps like Strava and Spotify. There’s no timeline simply but for Google Assistant if you happen to improve to Put on OS 3, and it’s been faraway from Put on OS 2.
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- Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch assessment: higher luck subsequent time
- Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Version assessment: historical past repeats itself
The corporate additionally just lately launched its $299 Gen 6 Wellness Version. In consequence, it’s additionally beefed up obtainable well being options throughout the Gen 6 units. That features SpO2 readings, VO2 Max, automated exercise monitoring, coronary heart price zones, steady coronary heart price monitoring exterior 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, if you happen to 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 because the Wellness Version has lots of the identical flaws because the common Gen 6 anyway.
Learn our full assessment of the Fossil Gen 6.
Greatest health smartwatch for Android
Mobvoi TicWatch Professional 5
$350
Mobvoi’s long-awaited TicWatch Professional 5 has superior battery life, glorious health monitoring, and Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon W5 Plus chip.
$350 at Amazon$350 at Mobvoi
Sizes: 50mm w/24mm straps / Weight: 44.3g / Battery life: as much as 80 hours / Show sort: OLED touchscreen and secondary extremely 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 purpose: tremendous lengthy battery life. The $249.99 TicWatch Professional 5 isn’t any exception. It’s obtained an estimated 80 hours of battery life with customary use, a secondary ultra-low energy show, and an enormous (for a smartwatch you put on in your wrist, a minimum of) 628mAh battery. I didn’t fairly get 80 hours in my testing, however I did get a stable 48-60 hours even with heavy GPS use. That outclasses a lot of the watches on this class and is beneficial for backpackers and endurance athletes. It won’t maintain a candle to a top-of-the-line Garmin, nevertheless it’s additionally a better look ahead to a fraction of the value.
Battery life apart, Mobvoi’s watches are an excellent various to the Fossil Gen 6, and the Professional 5 is an efficient possibility for fitness-focused individuals who aren’t eager on giving up sensible capabilities for a Garmin or Polar. It’s additionally extra sturdy than Fossil’s style 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 way of menus with sweaty fingers. The flatter aspect button additionally reduces the chance of unintended presses.
The Professional 5 additionally has an ingenious technique of displaying coronary heart price. Whenever you elevate up your arm, the backlight adjustments coloration relying on which coronary heart price 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 sorts, it additionally has entry to a number of GNSS methods, and there’s a brand new barometer and compass app, in addition to a one-tap measurement app that provides you a fast have a look at 5 metrics (coronary heart price, blood oxygen, stress, respiratory price, and total 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 obtainable within the US with the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Plus chip, which is a plus by way of futureproofing. The one main considerations are the 50mm case that will not swimsuit smaller wrists and the dearth of a digital assistant.
Learn my full assessment of the Mobvoi TicWatch Professional 5.
Greatest hybrid smartwatch
Garmin Vivomove Sport
$150$18017% off$150$150$18017% off
The Garmin Vivomove Sport is an reasonably priced, trendy hybrid-analog tracker. It’s not as beefy as Garmin’s different trackers and is properly suited to informal exercise.
$150 at Amazon$180 at Garmin
Sizes: 40mm w/20mm straps / Weight: 19g / Battery life: as much as 5 days / Show sort: “hidden” OLED touchscreen / GPS: Tethered GPS / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Ant Plus / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: N/A
If all you need is straightforward health monitoring and notifications in a extra delicate system, the $179.99 Garmin Vivomove Sport is a superb, reasonably priced possibility. It seems to be like a Swatch, full with actual analog fingers, however has a hidden OLED for notifications. Principally, if you happen to don’t need individuals to know you’ve obtained a smartwatch on, a hybrid smartwatch is the way in which to go. Plus, it’s suitable with each iOS and Android if you wish to reserve the choice to modify between each ecosystems.
You’re giving up sure sensible 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.
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- Garmin Vivomove Development assessment: trending smarter
Alternatively, you’ll be able to go for the following step up with the $269.99 Vivomove Development. Whereas the Sport is the proper value for a hybrid, there are just a few situations the place shelling out slightly additional for the Development is sensible. For starters, the hidden LCD show fills the complete watch face. (The Sport solely shows data on the underside half of the display.) That’s simpler to learn complete notifications. Plus, it’s extra legible as you profit from bigger fonts. The Development additionally has a dressier look due to the chrome steel bezel, making it higher suited to enterprise conferences or formal occasions. Lastly, the Development helps Qi charging. In the event you’ve already obtained Qi chargers, meaning much less muddle in your nightstand.
Learn my full assessment of the Garmin Vivomove Sport.
Greatest platform-agnostic health smartwatch
Garmin Venu 2 Plus
$400$45011% off$400$400$45011% off
This Garmin smartwatch has an OLED contact display and the power to take and make calls and use your cellphone’s voice assistant.
$400 at Garmin$400 at Greatest Purchase
Sizes: 43mm w/20mm straps / Weight: 51g / Battery life: as much as 9 days / Show sort: OLED touchscreen / GPS: GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Ant Plus, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 8GB
Garmin is finest recognized for making rugged GPS watches which have glorious health options however aren’t so sensible in any other case. However the $449.99 Venu 2 Plus caters to individuals who need top-notch health monitoring with out sacrificing productiveness options.
It’s obtained a colourful and vibrant always-on OLED show and a whopping 9 days of estimated battery life. It’s additionally added a microphone and speaker, that means it’s one of many few Garmin smartwatches that can allow you to make and take calls from the wrist (so long as it’s in Bluetooth vary of your cellphone; it doesn’t have mobile connectivity). It additionally has a intelligent workaround for digital assistants — it makes use of Bluetooth to work with no matter assistant is already in your cellphone. You’d suppose extra health trackers would do that, however they don’t. It labored properly in testing, although digital assistants aren’t all the time the neatest at understanding instructions.
The Venu 2 Plus doesn’t have the most effective third-party app ecosystem, nevertheless it has Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music for offline playback. Android customers also can ship fast responses for texts, and the watch works with both iOS or Android for folk who need to maintain their choices open. As for well being options, Garmin just lately introduced the Venu 2 Plus has an FDA-cleared EKG app to detect atrial fibrillation. In any other case, you get built-in GPS, steady coronary heart price monitoring, the entire superior teaching options within the Garmin Join app, and Garmin’s well-known in-depth well being information. This isn’t probably the most hardcore Garmin that cash can purchase, nevertheless it’s undoubtedly the neatest. The value is a bit excessive in comparison with most smartwatches, however by Garmin requirements, it’s middle-of-the-pack.
Greatest price range Android smartwatch
Amazfit GTR 4
$200
The Amazfit GTR 4 is a platform-agnostic smartwatch that delivers a whole lot of bang in your buck. It has dual-band GPS, is Alexa-compatible, and has 14 days of battery life.
$200 at Amazon$200 at Greatest Purchase$200 at Amazfit
Dimension: 46mm w/ 22mm straps / Weight: 34g / Battery life: as much as 14 days / Show sort: OLED touchscreen / GPS: Twin-frequency and 6 GNSS methods / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 2.3GB
Amazfit’s made a reputation for itself making price range wearables that punch far above their weight. I’ve been constantly impressed by the GTR line of smartwatches through the years, and the $199.99 GTR 4 isn’t any exception.
Not solely does it have a basic look, however you additionally get 14 days of battery life and a coloration, always-on OLED show. New to the GTR 4 is dual-band GPS — a characteristic that Apple and Garmin solely just lately launched to their higher-end smartwatches. Or, if you happen to wish to plan your personal path runs or hikes, you’ll be able to import your personal GPS routes, too. It tracks 150 sports activities and options all-day steady coronary heart price monitoring. You may as well monitor stress, sleep, and SpO2 ranges. For sensible options, you’ll be able to take calls on the wrist, and it has two digital assistants: Alexa and a proprietary offline assistant. The system additionally syncs with Strava and Adidas Working.
The GTR 4 isn’t the most effective smartwatch round. Flagship watches can do every part the GTR 4 can do however in a sleeker, extra polished bundle. Nevertheless, they will’t do it at this value. If value is your foremost precedence, this will get you unimaginable 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 properly on Android because it does on iOS.
Learn my full assessment of the Amazfit GTR 4.
Replace Might twenty fourth, 5:22 PM ET: Swapped out the Mobvoi TicWatch Professional 3 Extremely GPS for the Mobvoi TicWatch Professional 5.
