The Best Smartwatches, According To Rigorous Testing

We tested the best smartwatches to determine which one you should wear on your wrist.

The second important consideration is what ecosystem you’re going to stick with. According to Avi Greengart, President of Techsponential, “The smartwatch generally has tremendous lock-in effect. Once you go Apple Watch, you’re very unlikely to leave the Apple ecosystem and move to Android, even if Android makes perfect sense for you on the phone.” As Greengart suggests, many smartwatches are dependent on the kind of smartphone you use. Considering the iPhone’s commanding market share in the United States, that’s a recommendation that will suit most; but if you are using an Android phone, you will want to check out the Google Pixel Watch 2. Without further ado, here are the best smartwatches according to my testing and insight from experts.

Best Smartwatch Overall: Apple Watch Series 9
Best Premium Smartwatch For Apple: Apple Watch Ultra 2
Best Smartwatch For Android: Google Pixel Watch 2
Best Smartwatch For Sleep Tracking: Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
Best Smartwatch For Battery Life: Oneplus Watch 2
Best Budget Smartwatch: CMF by Nothing Watch Pro
Best Hybrid Smartwatch: Withings Scanwatch 2

Best Smartwatch Overall

An All-In-One Smartwatch With Advanced Features

Apple Watch Series 9

Best for:

Apple users who want the best dollar-for-dollar value
People who are starting to get into fitness

Skip if:

You have an Android phone
You want more advanced health metrics

The Apple Watch Series 9 is Apple’s flagship smartwatch. The Series 9 has a more powerful sibling, which I discuss below, but when it comes to a combination of features and value, the Series 9 is your best bet. The Apple Watch Series 9 comes in two sizes (41 mm and 45 mm) and two finishes (aluminum and stainless steel, with the latter costing double the price).

Apple brings a slew of health metrics to my wrist, tracking my sleep, steps, activity and heart rate. But more than health features, Apple has built an app ecosystem that is unrivaled in any other smartwatch after my testing. Apple matched me up with apps on my phone that also have corresponding watch-friendly apps that made my life more convenient. From the Apple Watch, I can start my car, arm my home’s security system and even order pizza from my wrist without ever picking up my smartphone. It’s the extra functionality that you don’t get in other ecosystems that puts the Apple Watch above the rest of the field.

While sleek, the crown juts out from the Apple Watch Series 9.

Of course, I needed to use an iPhone to use the watch—a downside, since I’m primarily an Android user. Also, Apple estimates up to 18 hours of battery life on a charge; my testing says it was actually closer to 30 hours, so Apple’s estimate is quite conservative. While your mileage may vary, its battery life could be improved. I needed to charge the Watch just about every day, especially if I used it for frequent workouts or continuous sleep tracking. However, the extra functionality of the app ecosystem more than makes up for that battery deficiency, making this the best smartwatch you can buy. You can also read more about in the Apple Watch Series 9 review.

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Best Premium Smartwatch For Apple

Apple’s Latest Smartwatch Is The Splurge You Deserve

Apple Watch Ultra 2

Best for:

Apple users who want the very best Apple offers
Adventurers and those away from a charger for days at a time

Skip if:

You don’t want to spend close to four figures
You don’t regularly climb mountains or dive in the ocean

While the Apple Watch Series 9 takes the award for best overall smartwatch, if you want the very best of the best you can get for Apple, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is it. As its name suggests, the Ultra embodies a philosophy of excess. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 isn’t really built for everyday use; it’s built for when your everyday gets extraordinary. This is a watch built for adventurers, like climbers and divers, as implied by the elevation and diving depth complications that come with Ultra’s specialized watch faces.

Additionally, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is larger, with a 49 mm case. I didn’t find that extra bulk to be an issue, personally. The titanium case makes the Apple Watch Ultra 2 even more durable than the stainless steel version of the Series 9. The screen gets extremely bright at 3,000 nits. The battery is good for a solid two days of use (Apple advertises a more conservative 36 hours), based on my testing. And, in speaking with Greengart, he adds, “The solution to [Apple Watch’s battery life] is the [Apple Watch] Ultra 2, but that really provides features that some people don’t actually need.”

Note that the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s case is bulkier, especially compared to the Apple Watch Series 9.

I got all the same apps and features that came with the Series 9, including the innovative new double-tap feature, which lets me navigate my watch by tapping my thumb and forefinger together twice. It’s handy when I’m loaded down carrying something and need to answer an incoming call. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 also adds an action button on the case to which I could assign a number of different activities, including a flashlight function. Note: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 doesn’t have an actual flashlight built into the case, but I found that the aforementioned 3,000-nit screen can act as a nice one in a pinch.

But all this comes at a cost—arguably, a ridiculous cost. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 starts at $799, which is the same price as the base iPhone 15. That’s a very expensive piece of hardware, and it’s simply not practical for many. Most users—myself included—aren’t climbing, backpacking or diving, and they don’t require the additional durability and utilities that drive up this watch’s price. But if you can afford it, this is peak Apple Watch.

Best Smartwatch For Android

Add Google To Your Wrist

Google Pixel Watch 2

Best for:

Android phone users who value style
Someone with smaller wrists

Skip if:

You want your watch to last more than a day
You want a bigger smartwatch

In 2022, Google finally got into the hardware game, launching the Pixel Watch in arguably one of the most anticipated hardware launches in years. People were excited to see what the makers of Android and WearOS could do. The Google Pixel Watch 2 looks very similar to its predecessor but manages to solve one of the Pixel Watch’s biggest issues: battery life.

The Google Pixel Watch 2 features a minimalist design.

It’s true, the battery life on the Pixel Watch 2 is not amazing. I got just a hair over 24 hours on a single charge, but the classy look and refined hardware make it worth the sacrifice. The Pixel Watch 2 has a domed crystal on top that curves all the way around and blends seamlessly with the aluminum casing. The straps even have a proprietary attachment, much like Apple Watches. The difference is that while the Pixel Watch does have third-party strap options, they are far more numerous for Apple’s wrist-rider.

The software experience on the Pixel watch is natural and intuitive. I can navigate the interface using the digital crown or by swiping the screen directly. I can install watch apps that coincide with my phone’s apps, but the discovery process is a bit rough. Rather than being presented with a list of compatible apps, Google let me go find compatible apps for things like Pocketcasts. This is an area where WearOS could stand to be improved.

The smaller, sleek design directly affects the battery life—and how it looks on your wrist.

Another area where it falls short is the size of the watch. A 41 mm case is great for people with smaller wrists, or those who don’t want to wear a big chonker, but it’s also limiting from both a battery and style perspective. Some people simply like bigger watches, and others want the extra battery life a larger case could accommodate. Most experts I spoke to anticipate that the Pixel Watch 3 will address this shortcoming, but for now, it’s one size fits all. I also go into more detail in my Google Pixel Watch 2 review.

Best Smartwatch For Sleep Tracking

Improve Your Sleep With Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

Best for:

People who value sleep tracking above all else
Samsung Galaxy phone users who want a fully optimized, seamless ecosystem

Skip if:

You want advanced health metrics
You have either the Galaxy Watch 5 or Galaxy Watch 4

Sleep is one of the most important things you can do to maintain your health. The fact is, many people simply don’t sleep enough. Samsung knows this and wants to help people fix it with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6. While most smartwatches will track your sleep, stages of sleep and overall sleep quality, Samsung can actively coach you on how to get better sleep. Tech analyst Nirave Ghondia of House of Technology calls the Galaxy Watch 6’s sleep tracking “phenomenal,” adding that, “Samsung has done deep integration…and worked with the National Sleep Foundation, and by doing that, they’ve built really good sleep profiles.” The first thing the Watch did was assign me a sleep animal. It sounds corny, but each animal is meant to represent how you sleep and help you understand how your sleep behavior affects you when you’re awake.

Notice that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 doesn’t feature a digital crown, but instead offers intuitive buttons.

After a week of tracking my sleep habits, the watch gave me a better idea of how to improve. It recognizes some factors, including my sleep consistency (how often you go to bed and wake up at the same times), the number of sleep cycles I’ve completed, sleep stages and snoring. Then it offered me suggestions on how to improve my sleep, such as breathing exercises or evening meditation before bed.

In addition to sleep monitoring, Samsung also has major chops in the smartwatch arena. Samsung has been making successful smartwatches for years. From a hardware perspective, Samsung has been at this for a long time, and it showed in the high-quality build during testing. That’s a good–and bad–thing. The watch’s design hasn’t changed much in the last few years, but the build is quality. Aluminum lugs and a glass face with minimal bezels look great and stylish, whether I dressed up or went out for a casual Saturday bike ride. The watch comes in two sizes, so you can find a size that compliments your wrist.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 assigns a sleep animal to help you understand your sleep patterns.

Samsung also put a lot of thought into OneUI and how it works on my wrist. Gestures are intuitive, and a wealth of included watch faces and widgets can help you through your day. That attention to detail is noticeable when navigating the menus. If you’re still on the fence, we cover more details with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 review.

Best Smartwatch For Battery Life

Get 100 Hours In One Charge

Oneplus Watch 2

Best for:

Android users that don’t want to worry about recharging daily
People who like large watches

Skip if:

You have small wrists
You change phones regularly

2024 is shaping up to be an exciting year for smartwatches because Google has rolled out a dual processor that can (and does) greatly increase the battery life of a WearOS smartwatch. With two distinct processors in your watch, one can run WearOS whenever you need it to, while the bulk of the watch’s functions occur with a lower-powered processor that uses less battery.

As the first beneficiary of this new architecture, Oneplus has leveraged this new architecture to promise up to 100 hours of battery life out of its latest watch, the Oneplus Watch 2—and dear reader, it works really well. In reality, with six complications on the watch face and always-on display enabled, the watch manages about 75 hours on a charge. That’s pretty great, considering most WearOS watches, if they’re very lucky, get half of that. Of course, Oneplus won’t be the sole beneficiary of this new dual processor for long, but in the meantime, it takes the “best battery life” moniker by being the first.

The interface looks big and bright so you can easily see your stats at a glance.

The rest of the smartwatch I found to be fairly standard WearOS fare, which is remarkable in itself since fewer than half of its functions actually use WearOS. One fun thing that Oneplus added to its software was a little bit of attitude. When explaining various metrics, it often showed me a surprising comparison. Want to know how many calories I’ve burned with my walking? The Oneplus informs you that is, “2.5 handfuls of berries.” There are also passive-aggressive messages: “Try to meet at least one of your goals today.”

The Watch can monitor your fitness activities, but the data is trapped to on your phone—and is transferrable.

The smartwatch buckles in one prominent way. As of this writing, there is no way to migrate my health data from one phone to another. If you change phones while wearing the watch, the data will reside on each phone separately, and never the twain shall meet. Oneplus has promised there will be a way to move your data in the future. In reality, most people use one watch and one phone, so it won’t be too much of a problem. But if your watch or phone breaks, you could lose your health data. You can read my in-depth look at this watch in my Oneplus Watch 2 review.

Best Budget Smartwatch

Get Health Tracking For Less Than $75

CMF by Nothing Watch Pro

Best for:

People on a budget
Nothing brand fans

Skip if:

You want actionable notifications
You don’t like square watch faces

Nothing is a phone brand known for its transparent design elements. Its design-focused sub-brand, CMF, offers the CMF By Nothing Watch Pro, a fairly basic smartwatch with plenty of fitness tracking features built in. But the watch’s biggest draw is its price: I can get this watch for less than $70.

The watch shares a similar design with the Apple Watch Series 9.

Fitness bands aren’t uncommon at that price, but CMF gives you a lot at that price. The watch borrows some design DNA from the Apple watch, in that it’s square and has a single button on the side (unfortunately, that button is not a digital crown), but if you just glanced at the watch, there are some similarities between Apple’s watch and Nothing’s.

The design continues in the software, and I found Nothing’s dot-matrix style font present in most of the UI, including the watch faces and the cards for mini-apps, like weather. Speaking of watch faces, the CMF Watch Pro comes with a large number of faces I could choose from. But if you’re looking for a smartwatch that looks great and costs as little as this one does, you might assume that it has some pretty big compromises—and it does.

The watch face can’t be customized, a drawback compared to other options I tested.

Notably, I couldn’t customize any watch faces, including complications and colors. That might be frustrating for some. Additionally, notifications on the watch only tell you that XYZ just happened, but if you want to do anything with that information, you have to use your phone. They’re not actionable at all. Still, it’s hard to argue with a $70 smartwatch that works on both iPhone and Android phones.

Best Hybrid Smartwatch

A Sleek Smartwatch

Withings Scanwatch 2

Best for:

People looking for battery life measured in weeks
Getting a true “analog” watch face in a smartwatch

Skip if:

You want advanced notifications
You like touchscreens

One great way to get long battery life out of your smartwatch is to turn the screen on as little as possible. To that end, the Withings Scanwatch 2 uses a hybrid system with a real watch face and a small LED screen that stays off most of the time. The normal watch face has one complication that tracks your steps and keeps time. Meanwhile, anything “smart” you want to do with the watch is done on the small LED screen. Withings says this gives you up to 30 days of battery life on a single charge. My testing was closer to 21 days, which is still impressive for a smartwatch.

The watch complications can show you hear rate, fitness tracking and more, but it only shows your steps most of the time.

Most of the time, the screen is off. When you press the digital crown, it turns on. The black-and-white interface is fairly simple, but it works well. It’s also not a touch screen, so all of your navigation happens through the rotating digital crown. Withings as a company is also very health-focused, with a vast array of equipment to track my health. That carries through to the Withings app, which tracks all of my metrics and displays them in a way that makes sense.

The Scanwatch 2, at a glance, doesn’t look like a smartwatch.

The complication on the watch face only tracks my steps, which is a bummer. It would be nice if I could assign that to battery life, or even a world clock. In this case, it seems the watch is almost too health-focused. But all the same, I can’t argue with almost a month of battery life, especially when a lot of the competition currently can only last a day or two before requiring a recharge. So if you’re someone who often forgets to charge their watch, this might be the one for you. You can read more about this smartwatch in my Withings Scanwatch 2 full review.

Other Smartwatches I Tested

Ticwatch Pro 5 Enduro (8/10): The Ticwatch Pro 5 Enduro is Mobvoi’s latest smartwatch. Like the Oneplus Watch 2, the Ticwatch uses a WearOS platform that gets longer-than-expected battery life by using a dual-layer display with a normal OLED screen alongside a transflective LED display. This second layer displays the time and date using a low-powered LED when the watch isn’t being actively used. If you just need to glance at the time, you can do that without activating the primary screen. This way, the Ticwatch is able to achieve an advertised 80 hours of battery life. While the dual-layer display gives the watch a long battery life, that second LED layer is very barebones and divisive; you will love it or hate it.

The Ticwatch Pro 5 features a dual-layer display.

Garmin Instinct 2X Solar (7/10): If you want the longest battery life you can find on a smartwatch, the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar is a great option. The Instinct can get up to 40 days—not hours—of battery life, but it does so with a pretty big compromise. Namely, it uses a low-power, non-touch-sensitive, black-and-white LED screen. Not only that, but Garmin built small solar panels into the watch to recharge the watch battery. If that sounds a bit gimmicky, realistically, the solar panels can keep the watch going for an extra day, possibly two. The best part about the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar is arguably its built-in LED flashlight, which is just there any time you need it, a wonderful addition. But since it’s not a touchscreen, customizability is limited, and thus navigation gets limited to a series of button presses. Put simply, it’s not for everyone.

The Garmin Instinct 2X Solar has built-in solar panels.

How I Tested The Best Smartwatches

I wore each smartwatch on this list for at least two weeks, but often more, over the course of eight weeks. During that time, I used the watch to check my notifications, send messages and more. I looked for suitable watch faces and always turned on the always-on display. Where possible, I kept between five and six complications on the watch face for consistency in battery life testing, which I tracked in a spreadsheet for comparison.

I wore each watch all day, every day, including at night with sleep tracking enabled. The only time I took off the watch was to shower. I went on neighborhood walks three times per week wearing with each watch, weather permitting, to review fitness metrics. During rainy days, I opted for a VR headset to play movement-focused games and check my metrics.

In addition to my own testing, I consulted with experts. I interviewed Avi Greengart, president of consumer tech analytics company Techsponential, about smartwatches, including what consumer should look in a smartwatch. I also interviewed Nirave Gondhia of House of Technology regarding the health tracking features.

How To Pick The Best Smartwatch

Not all smartwatches work with all smartphones. Specifically, WearOS watches only work with Android phones, while Apple Watches only work with iPhones. A couple on our list work across either smartphone, and made note of those watches’ cross-compatibility accordingly.

If you just want a watch to track your steps and your workouts and aren’t concerned with sleep tracking, battery life is less of a concern as you can charge it overnight. If you want a more complete view of your health metrics, more battery life will always be better: The less often you have to take off the watch, the more data you’ll have.

Looking for the best smartwatch for your needs? It depends on what you need out of your device.

The Apple Watch Series 9 will get you a full day or day and a half. WearOS, which includes the Google Pixel Watch 2 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, is starting to take strides toward multi-day experiences, but it’ll be a while before that’s common. That means if you want multi-day performance, you’re looking at a hybrid watch or something from a non-phone manufacturer like Garmin. Those watches give you five to 15 days, while the Withings Scanwatch 2 scores you three weeks.

Of course, your budget will affect what you can buy in a smartwatch. We took into account a variety of price points, ranging in price from $70 to $800, so you can find a watch that fits any budget. Most smartwatches have the basic functions. The higher cost is where the extras will come in, such as the ability to take phone calls from the watch, to access your phone’s assistant and even to have an LTE signal that lets you leave your phone at home. Determine what extras you need and budget accordingly.

Most of the watches on this list allow for interchangeable bands to express your personal style. They also allow you to change the watch face (with the exception of the Withings Scanwatch 2). After that, the main style questions are the shape of the screen and what watch faces are available. WatchOS and WearOS give you the widest variety of watch faces. Garmin has a good number available, as well.

The only other consideration is the size of the casing and the material and color. Smartwatches come in darker and lighter finishes. Only a few of the watches in this list come in different sizes, so it’s important to make sure that the size is comfortable for your wrist.

My Expertise

I’m a Chicago-based freelance reviewer and have been writing about consumer electronics for over a decade with a particular focus on mobile phones and cellular technology including the birth of 5G. I’ve also tested most phones and smartwatches on the market over the last several years. In addition, I’ve also rigorously tested wireless earbuds, which often go hand-in-hand with the smartwatch/smartphone ecosystem.

When I’m not testing the latest and greatest flagship wearables, I’m hosting the Benefit of the Doud podcast/YouTube channel with my co-host Clifton M. Thomas and editing technology news articles for SlashGear. In addition to Forbes and SlashGear, I have bylines at Android Central, Reviewed.com, Android Authority, Lifewire and more.

The Best Smartwatches, According To Rigorous Testing

Best Smartwatch Overall

An All-In-One Smartwatch With Advanced Features

Apple Watch Series 9

Best Premium Smartwatch For Apple

Apple’s Latest Smartwatch Is The Splurge You Deserve

Apple Watch Ultra 2

Best Smartwatch For Android

Add Google To Your Wrist

Google Pixel Watch 2

Best Smartwatch For Sleep Tracking

Improve Your Sleep With Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

Best Smartwatch For Battery Life

Get 100 Hours In One Charge

Oneplus Watch 2

Best Budget Smartwatch

Get Health Tracking For Less Than $75

CMF by Nothing Watch Pro

Best Hybrid Smartwatch

A Sleek Smartwatch

Withings Scanwatch 2

Other Smartwatches I Tested

How I Tested The Best Smartwatches

How To Pick The Best Smartwatch

My Expertise

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