For the more outdoorsy types, you can get smartwatches with standalone LTE and GPS connectivity, allowing it to track your runs and providing onboard music storage. Depending on your use case, you may want to take a look at our roundup of the best fitness trackers and the best smartwatches for women.
If you’re an iPhone user, it’s simple - just buy the Apple Watch Series 7. Otherwise, read on for our picks.
It’s got a robust suite of fitness tracking and health and wellness features, including blood oxygen and ECG tracking. For the most part, it’s a modest update - but our tester found that the screen, 20% larger than the Series 6, really does make the Series 7 a lot more usable. In fact, thanks to refractive edges, in person it looks even bigger than it actually is. Apple even managed to cram a full keyboard onto it, which is (just!) usable with one finger.
Elsewhere, there are some small updates to the Series 6, but nothing to write home about, with the exception of a new faster charging cable, which Apple claims (and our tester agrees) can charge the Watch from 0% to 80% in 45 minutes and to 100% in 75 minutes. Given the Watch can track your sleep, this is a useful boost - it means you can wear the Watch overnight, and charge before bed or while you shower in the morning.
On paper, the screen is really the only update here. But given the Series 6 was our previous pick, and still head and shoulders above the competition, that’s not a disaster. Overall, this is undoubtedly the best smartwatch on the market, and the larger screen means that even for Series 6 owners, it’s an update worth considering.
Screen Size: 1.9 inches | Weight: 1.1oz | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE| Battery Life: All day | Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters
Less great is the fact that the battery life has also been cut down, that the app ecosystem is lacking, and that the price has bumped up $70-80 depending on model. Still, Samsung’s premium watch is a good option, particularly for Android users. However, iOS limitations make it a weaker option on the iPhone side than the rival Apple Watch Series 6 or Apple Watch SE, both of which benefit from Apple’s tight integration and strong app selection.
Screen Size: 1.4 inches | Weight: 1.9oz Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE | Battery Life: 340mAh | Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters
Our product reviewer found the Fitbit Versa 3 lightweight and small enough for her petite wrist but did note issues with button and touchscreen responsiveness and some GPS tracking inconsistencies. Overall, though, she found it a solid motivator and wellness tracker with some appealing smart features for a decent level of connectivity.
Size: 1.59 inches | Weight: 1.5oz | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Battery Life: 6+ days | Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters
However, it loses the always-on display from the Series 6 and Series 5 before it, turning the screen off to conserve energy when your wrist isn’t raised. It also lacks the electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood oxygen sensors, limiting some of its health detection capabilities. There are also fewer color and material options available for the body, which solely comes in aluminum in three colors. Still, if the health sensors aren’t a big selling point of the Apple Watch experience for you, then you can save a lot of cash by going for the SE model.
Screen Size: 1.78 inches | Weight: 1.27oz Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE| Battery Life: Up to 18 hours | Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters
Other new perks include the improvement of the heart rate monitoring system. The Active2 now features eight sensors and a new curved design that better captures heart rate at all times—and issues alerts if readings look too low or high. There’s also talk of an ECG feature just like on the Apple Watch, but it’s yet to be released in the U.S.
As an added fitness-tracking motivator, the Active2 now also includes swimming on its list of seven automatically tracked workouts. And other health-focused apps for tracking sleep and guided breathing round out the experience. While the fitness app integrations include big names like Strava and MyFitness Pal, the broader selection of third-party apps from the Tizen store continue to be a bit limited. If you’re a premium Spotify subscriber, though, you’ll be able to store playlists to your device and even forego Bluetooth headphones since the Active2 has a built-in speaker. If you have a Samsung phone, you have the advantage of WPC Qi wireless device-to-device charging functionality, which allows you to place the watch directly on your smartphone for a battery boost.
Screen Size: 1.4 inches | Weight: 1.48oz | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE| Battery Life: 340mAh | Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters
While the proprietary software isn’t as intuitive as what bigger players in the fitness tracking game offer, the Amazfit GTS is a capable basic tracker. It measures heart rate 24/7, logs sleep metrics, comes with 12 popular exercise modes programmed onto the device for more in-depth workout analysis, and is also suited for swimming workouts in water up to 50 meters deep. This slim and streamlined fitness tracker includes other handy traits for everyday convenience such as calendar and text notifications, a stopwatch, and the ability to navigate playlists and queue podcasts from your smartphone.
Screen Size: 1.65 inches | Weight: 1.66oz | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Battery Life: 14 days| Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters (3ATM)
Impressive battery aside, the TicWatch Pro 3 also offers an impressive array of connectivity and fitness features. With an Android phone, easily respond to texts and phone calls. Both Android and iOS users can receive notifications to their wrists and stay on top of wellness around the clock with Google Fit and TicHealth and TicExercise apps. There is a bit of an overlap between the fitness offerings, but certain advanced monitoring for sleep and blood oxygen saturation is exclusive to the TicWatch offerings. While the fit could present challenges for wearers with smaller wrists, this watch offers a well-rounded smartwatch experience if you can find a comfortable fit.
Screen Size: 1.4 inches (dual)| Weight: 1.48oz | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE, GPS | Battery Life: 72 hours | Water Resistance: IP68 (no soap and water)
Still, it’s handy for built-in GPS tracking and general health and fitness stats such as steps taken, inactivity, heart rate, and calories burned, which means it can help motivate you to keep moving. The built-in speaker is another function that lends to everyday convenience. Use Google Assistant voice commands to check the weather or set your smart thermostat to a comfortable temperature. Other daily-use conveniences include Google Pay integration so you can skip fumbling for your wallet at checkout, the ability to receive Bluetooth phone calls as long as your phone is nearby, and 8GB of storage for music. This model also offers improved battery life over the previous generation with three battery modes and a quick-charging function that brings your watch to 80 percent in just one hour.
Screen Size: 1.28 inches | Weight: 3.5oz | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Battery Life: 24 hours | Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters (3ATM)
This smartwatch doesn’t just look stylish, it also offers the versatility you want in a smartwatch with Google Assistant and contactless pay, plus the added perk of a swim-proof build with untethered GPS. Go ahead and leave your phone at home while you swim laps or jog. Although, if you’re expecting a call, you’ll still want to bring that along so you can answer mid-workout.
While the analytics you’ll see in the complementary Google Fit app should be considered more as ballpark insights rather than highly accurate metrics, there’s still value in that for those who mostly want encouragement to stay active. You’ll also get the usual step tracking, heart-rate monitoring, and smartphone notifications.
Screen Size: 1.65 inches | Weight: 1.44oz Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC | Battery Life: One day | Water Resistance: Up to 50 meters (3ATM)
Fit and style: If you want a wearable that transitions well, smartwatches can flex to fit your schedule. While many models favor a silicone band that’s friendly to sweat, you can purchase alternate styles and fabrics such as leather and swap them out as needed. Smartwatch faces are another design aspect to consider when purchasing a wearable for your lifestyle. Maybe you want a device that plays the part of an analog watch with an always-on display. If you don’t mind the look of a fitness-centric smartwatch, the size of the face and strap width could be keys for finding an ideal middle ground between sporty and versatile.
Battery life: Most smartwatches are built to get you through at least one full day of work and workouts, if not a few. It’s not atypical to recharge a smartwatch battery every few days, though most people will prefer a device that lasts closer to five days on a single charge. But battery longevity really depends on how you use your wearable. If you’re the adventurous type who’s always on the move, you’re better served finding a device that has some big battery chops. Additional services such as cellular connectivity, music streaming, health-tracking features, and an always-on display can put added stress on battery levels.
Fitness tracking: Smartwatches cover a wide net of “smart” services, from smart notifications alerting you to texts and emails to being able to directly respond and make phone calls, streaming and storing music, and contactless payment convenience. But the other big part of the smartwatch equation is fitness tracking. There are many models that can provide a helpful nudge in the right direction. Otherwise, if you want an all-in-one smartwatch and fitness tracker, you’ll want to look for more specialized models that offer advanced performance tracking, precise GPS, and multisport or dedicated support for your specific sport.
About Our Trusted Experts
Yoona Wagener has reviewed numerous smartwatches and fitness trackers for Lifewire from brands such as Garmin, Withings, and Samsung. As an avid runner, she’s a big fan of fitness trackers. Jason Schneider has a decade of experience covering tech and writing for media companies. He specializes in reviewing audio equipment, but has also tested a variety of other devices including smartwatches, laptops, and fitness trackers. Andrew Hayward is a Chicago-based writer and product tester who’s been writing for Lifewire since 2019. Previously published by TechRadar, Polygon, and Macworld, he’s reviewed a variety of mobile devices and wearables. Rebecca Isaacs has been writing for Lifewire since 2019 to test and review gadgets. She specializes in wearables and mobile tech. Ajay Kumar is a Tech Editor at Lifewire with over a decade’s experience in the industry. He specializes in mobile devices and has previously been published at PCMag and Newsweek where he reviewed hundreds of phones, tablets, and other products. Mark Prigg is a VP at Lifewire and has over 25 years experience reviewing consumer tech at newspapers and magazines, including the Daily Mail, London Evening Standard, Wired and The Sunday Times.
