The first modern smartwatch, the Fossil Wrist PDA, launched in 2003 from Palm. Microsoft then followed up with its unique SPOT watch collection powered by MSN Direct services running over FM radio waves. Motorola, Pebble, Samsung, Suunto, and others then provided various options as wearables advanced with smartphones.
Today’s smartwatches offer more advanced features, such as detailed 24/7 health and wellness tracking, voice assistants, call and text message support, and a variety of apps and services that extend the power of your smartphone to your wrist. Some models have cellular support and can serve your needs independently from your phone for limited functionality.
In 2021, there are several powerful options available to help you get work done through a wearable device. While the Apple Watch is the best for iPhone users, those iPhone users can also choose one of the other watches that may better fit their needs, price range, or battery life.
Display: 368×448 pixels OLED | Battery Life: 18 hours | Dimensions: 44x38x10.7 mm | Weight: 36.5 grams (Al) | Water Resistance: 50m | LTE Cellular Option: Yes | Starting Price: $429
In 2015, Apple released its first Apple Watch, and over the next six years, it secured its place as the best smartwatch available. No other watch has such vast application support while also getting all the smartwatch essentials nearly perfect. It may be debatable if an iPhone is the best smartphone or not, but it is clear the Apple Watch is the wearable to beat.
The only current limitation of the Apple Watch is that it requires an iPhone as its companion. This means that more than 80% of the world’s smartphone owners cannot use it as their wearable. Many in the tech media community have stated that the Apple Watch is the best device Apple has ever made and ZDNet’s own Jason Perlow wrote how the Apple Watch saved his life.
The Apple Watch Series 6, see our full review, is the newest model available with a couple of new case colors, blood oxygen monitoring, sleep tracking, and much more. A few updates have appeared over the past several months and the Apple Watch continues to get better with age.
Pros:
Gorgeous, refined hardwareBright and useful always-on modeBlood oxygen sensorExcellent third-party application support
Cons:
Expensive Less than two-day battery life Limited sleep details
$414 at Amazon
Display: 368×448 pixels OLED | Battery Life: 18 hours | Dimensions: 44x38x10.7 mm | Weight: 36.5 grams (Al) | Water Resistance: 50m | LTE Cellular Option: Yes | Starting Price: $279
Apple made an interesting move in 2020 and released a lower-priced Apple Watch designed to expand the use of an Apple Watch to other family members. The Apple Watch SE starts at just $279 and if you are an iPhone user it’s an easy wearable to recommend.
Physically, the Apple Watch SE has the same design and large display seen on the Apple Watch Series 6, complete with many of the same health tracking features and all of the application support. The watch has a slightly less capable processor, doesn’t support the always-on watch face, and does not include the blood oxygen monitoring capability found in the Apple Watch 6. However, you can purchase it with a cellular radio, and with Family Setup, you can pair watches for children or older adults who don’t have their own iPhone.
At this low price and with a growing Apple ecosystem, it’s tough not to at least consider the Apple Watch SE if you have any interest in a wearable.
Pros:
Gorgeous, refined hardwareExcellent price for a powerful smartwatchBroad support for health and fitness featuresExtensive third-party application support
Cons:
Less than two-day battery life Limited sleep details
$279 at Best Buy
Best smartwatch for Android phone owners
Display: 1.4-inch 360×360 pixels AMOLED | Battery Life: Three days | Dimensions: 45×46.2×11.1 mm | Weight: 53.8 grams (Al) | Water Resistance: 5 ATM+IP68 | LTE Cellular Option: Yes | Starting Price: $429.99
Samsung is clearly not standing by as Apple continues to update and improve the Apple Watch. Samsung’s latest Galaxy Watch 3 offers many of the same advanced health tracking features, such as blood oxygen monitoring, ECG, and sleep tracking, with the ability to connect with both Android and iPhone devices.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 will also soon be certified to measure and track blood pressure (the feature is approved for use in other countries), a critical health metric that Apple does not track. The Galaxy Watch 3 is an affordable smartwatch with both Wi-Fi and LTE models in two different sizes. A special titanium model is also available.
It has a sleek rotating bezel and an operating system optimized for the round watch design. Fall detection, messaging, phone calls, and more are available on the watch, with advanced fitness data such as VO2 Max and advanced running dynamics data also supported.
Pros:
Slick rotating bezel designHigh-quality stainless steel materialBroad support for health and fitness featuresSolid battery life for provided features
Cons:
Limited third-party applications Large size not fit for small wristsBlood pressure certification taking much longer than advertised
$172 at Amazon
Best Samsung smartwatch without a rotating bezel
Display: 1.4-inch 360×360 pixels AMOLED | Battery Life: Three days | Dimensions: 44x44x10.9 mm | Weight: 42 grams (stainless steel) | Water Resistance: 5 ATM+IP68 | LTE Cellular Option: Yes | Starting Price: $269.99
Samsung offered smartwatches long before Apple joined the market and the early model had innovations such as integrated cameras. Prior to the Galaxy Watch 3, we had the Galaxy Watch Active 2 and this model is still a viable option today with a smaller form factor that will appeal to more people than the larger Watch 3.
The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is arguably better than the Apple Watch in many regards, but it doesn’t have nearly the support for third-party apps that we see in the Apple ecosystem, and to be a true smartwatch, then extensive third-party app support is essential.
However, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 has a traditional round watch face design, a vast number of available watch faces, the ability to charge on the go on the back of a smartphone, and advanced health and wellness tracking capability. The Watch Active 2 was my preferred smartwatch for about six months because I switch phones so often and it even works with the Apple iPhone.
Pros:
Sleek, minimalist designVibrant Super AMOLED displayAffordableDigital rotating bezel
Cons:
Limited third-party application supportBattery life not as long as expected
$195 at Amazon
Best Google Wear OS smartwatch
Display: 1.4-inch 454×454 pixels AMOLED and FSTN secondary display | Battery Life: 72 hours | Dimensions: 47x48x12.2 mm | Weight: 41.9 grams | Water Resistance: IP68 | LTE Cellular Option: No | Starting Price: $299.99
While Google has not put much effort into developing its Wear OS platform, companies like Mobvoi continue to offer solid smartwatch competitors running Wear OS. The latest watch from Mobvoi is the TicWatch Pro 3, the first smartwatch sporting Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform.
The TicWatch Pro 3, see our full review, is the best Wear OS device available with a unique layered display design that has an LCD display on top of an AMOLED display so users can have extended battery life, up to 30 days, with a more limited watch experience.
While not as well supported as the Apple Watch, Wear OS is still a very capable wearable platform with an extensive number of available watch faces, plenty of popular third-party apps, Google Assistant voice support, advanced health tracking, and much more. The TicWatch Pro 3 has all of the latest advanced health metrics, such as blood oxygen monitoring, and is also a very capable GPS sports watch.
At just $299.99, it’s also tough to beat the TicWatch Pro 3. It works with both Android and iOS smartphones too so if you are considering a smartwatch for multiple platforms, then this is a very capable option.
Pros:
Innovative dual-display designGoogle Assistant and Google Pay on the wristSolid third-party app supportLightweight and comfortableAffordable price
Cons:
Duplicated health appsNo offline music support
$300 at Amazon
Second best Google Wear OS smartwatch
Display: 1.19-inch 390×390 pixels AMOLED | Battery Life: 18 hours | Dimensions: 44x44x12 mm | Weight: 99 grams | Water Resistance: 3 ATM | LTE Cellular Option: Yes | Starting Price: $295
In addition to Mobvoi, Fossil continues to release new Google Wear OS smartwatches and also often uses the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile processors. The Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch is available in various colors with different band options for less than $300.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 powers this Fossil smartwatch, and with Wear OS, users enjoy the power of Google Assistant on the wrist. Google Pay is supported, so you can pay wirelessly with your phone in your pocket. Integrated GPS also means you can track your outdoor exercise with the Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch.
There are a lot of rumors that Fossil will soon launch its first Snapdragon Wear 4100-powered smartwatch as the Fossil Gen 6 model, so we will continue to monitor these rumors until an announcement is made.
Pros:
Vibrant displayGoogle Assistant and Google Pay on the wristSolid third-party app supportAffordable price
Cons:
Average battery lifeHeavy, big watch
$295 at Best Buy
Display: 1.58-inch 336×336 pixels AMOLED | Battery Life: Six days | Dimensions: 40.5×40.5×12.35 mm | Weight: 48 grams | Water Resistance: 5 ATM | LTE Cellular Option: No | Starting Price: $299.95
The Fitbit Sense has a stainless steel ring around the watch face and additional sensors on the back so that it offers support for ECG, skin temperature, and a few more advanced health metrics. If you want to save $70 then you can buy the Fitbit Versa 3 and lose out on a few advanced wellness metrics.
A significant improvement in this watch compared to previous Fitbit watches is the integrated GPS receiver that will help you more accurately track your outside activities.
The Fitbit ecosystem is well supported, with many people on the platform to help motivate you toward achieving your daily activity and fitness goals. The smartphone app is fantastic and offers a ton of insight, recommendations, and understanding of the data collected by the watches. Android smartphone users enjoy a better experience with support for quick text message replies, but these new Fitbit watches work well with Android and iOS for most functions.
Pros:
Bright and clear AMOLED displayLightweight and comfortable for 24/7 wearGoogle Assistant and phone call supportSmart alarm supportExtensive health and wellness support
Cons:
Solid-state button is not as reliable as physical buttonLimited third-party app support
$300 at Amazon
Can you use a Samsung Watch with an iPhone?
While the Samsung Watch, Google Wear OS watches, and the Fitbit all work with both Android and iPhone devices, one feature that is not supported by Apple with any of these alternative watches is the ability to text from the watch through the connected smartphone.
Samsung Pay is also limited to Android phones with the best experience with a Galaxy Watch taking place through a connection with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
Can you use a cellular Apple Watch as a standalone device?
While you can leave your iPhone at home while you run, go to the store, or stroll on the beach, you must have an iPhone turned on and connected to the internet at this other location. This is one reason why connecting to an iPhone and then switching to an Android then makes the Apple Watch basically useless to use with an Android phone.
A cellular-enabled Samsung Galaxy Watch can indeed act as a stand-alone mobile device after initial setup. However, there are limited third-party apps for the Galaxy Watch so the idea of having your phone as your watch is still not a possibility.
What are the hot new features in the latest smartwatches?
Health and fitness tracking have been the areas with most innovations and improvements in the last couple of years. While these watches are not medical devices, they have sensors, algorithms, and applications that help you track trends in your heart rate, stress levels, blood oxygen levels, and more. You can use it as a basic ECG to check if further investigation is needed.
All of these smartwatches can also serve as capable GPS sports watches to track the details of your outdoor activities. Exercise guidance is provided on the watch with connected health applications on your smartphone so you can keep track of your progress too.
Which is the right smartwatch for you?
If you own an iPhone, we highly recommend the Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch 6. Honestly, most people will be perfectly happy with the less expensive Watch SE and not even see much of a difference for a decent cost savings. Nothing beats the Apple Watch for the third-party apps, seamless connectivity, Apple Pay, and much more.
While the Samsung Galaxy Watches are amazing smartwatches, Android phone users should seriously consider the TicWatch Pro 3 with Google Assistant, Google Pay, and better third-party application support. It’s a very affordable smartwatch and there are rumors that Samsung may eventually move from Tizen OS to Google’s Wear OS too.
How did we choose these smartwatches?
We have spent weeks, sometimes months, with most of these wearables while connecting them to the Apple iPhone and various Android smartwatches. We have run, walked, hiked, biked, slept, worked, traveled, played, and more with these watches on our wrists. We also read other reviews and reviewer guides provided by the smartwatch makers to make sure we have explored all of the available features.
