Compare Top 8 Smartwatches
More Smartwatches to Consider
The number of smartwatches on the market is staggering. Here are a few other options we like.
Casio Pro Trek PRG-340B for $220: I enjoyed wearing this Casio watch—designed for the outdoors—in decidedly non-outdoor conditions for several months. From the green case to the plant-derived Castlon green strap, it looks smart and works with various outfits, even for city slickers. I largely relied on the timekeeping (in several time zones) and the stopwatch during workouts, but you can also monitor barometric pressure, altitude, and temperature, plus check the compass to get your bearings. The LCD is easy to read, and I like the auto LED function that lights up the screen when you tilt the watch. Best of all, this is a Tough Solar watch, so you won’t have to bother with a charging cable. It doesn’t do heart rate and notifications, but the small feature set makes this Casio useful and slightly smarter than your average timepiece. —Julian Chokkattu
Casio CA53W-1CR Calculator Watch for $40: It’s a calculator on a watch. The buttons might be tiny, but you can calculate how much your tip will be when grabbing the bill at the restaurant, and everyone will marvel at your brilliance. This cheapo watch from Casio is a classic—it’s comfy and lightweight—and you can cycle through a few modes, including a stopwatch, an alarm, and a second time zone. There’s a five-year battery life, and the fully automatic calendar goes through the year 2099 (that’s 15 battery changes). If you’re interested in non-smartwatches, check out our Best Cheap Watches Under $1,000 guide. —Julian Chokkattu
Casio G-Shock Master of G Rangeman GPR-H1000 for $520: It’s not for every event, but the Master of G-Land Rangeman (GPRH1000RY1A) looks great on my wrist, and I love that I only need to charge it about once a week. This is a G-Shock first and foremost. It has a durable, thick case and a comfortable strap. It’s a big watch. It also has six sensors and a built-in GPS. Connect the watch to your smartphone via Casio’s app, and you can get simple notification alerts, heart-rate tracking, activity tracking, and sleep tracking. That’s without mentioning other features like blood oxygen monitoring, compass, world time, altimeter, and barometer. I’ve compared the results to an Apple Watch Series 10, and for the most part, core metrics like heart rate, step tracking, and sleep stages are similar. I have had some data not show up in the Casio app for a few days, and many of these functions are slow to load on the watch. This would not be my first choice if I wanted a fitness-focused wearable—get a Garmin instead—but I like the ability to look at and track some of these metrics whenever I want. —Julian Chokkattu
Withings ScanWatch 2 for $370: The ScanWatch 2 has been on the market for several years now—one of the few analog smartwatches that discreetly offers a robust suite of health-tracking features. While Withings has introduced new versions of it in fresh styles (like the Nova), the hardware is largely the same. In the fall of 2025, Withings released a new operating system called HealthSense 4, and you don’t need to buy a new ScanWatch 2 to receive it. The health-tracking algorithms are more accurate, there are more predictive features, and you even get longer battery life (35 days). I retested the ScanWatch 2, and overall, I enjoyed my time with it; the data is laid out nicely in the Withings app. The tiny display is still a problem, but I can get the gist of incoming-message notifications, and it’s easy to scroll with the crown to quickly glance at heart rate, steps, sleep data, and even start a workout. What is frustrating is that any semblance of insight into your data is paywalled behind the Withings+ subscription ($8 per month or $99 a year). My sleep data was more accurate on the Apple Watch and Pixel Watch 4, though the other metrics are on point. If you want a nice-looking analog watch to track basic health data, the ScanWatch 2 is solid, but I think it’s time for fresh hardware. —Julian Chokkattu
.jpg)
Apple Watch Series 10 for $360: Thanks to watchOS 27, the 2024 Series 10 has many of the same features as the new Series 11, like hypertension notifications and Sleep Score. It has a thinner and lighter design with a larger screen than prior models, and it even got blood oxygen sensing back via a software update in August 2025. It’s too bad this one still has the 18-hour battery life. Avoid paying anywhere close to MSRP for this watch. If you can find it for under $300, snag it. —Boutayna Chokrane
Apple Watch Ultra 2 for $730: The Watch Ultra 2 is still worth considering, just don’t pay anywhere near MSRP; otherwise, you may as well buy the new Watch Ultra 3. It can last several days of use, and has many of the same great features as the latest model, including better mics to pick up your voice, an 86-decibel siren to alert your position to anyone nearby, and precise GPS to better track your hikes (plus help you find your way back with the Backtrack feature). The screen can display topographic maps, but you cannot view offline maps without an iPhone. —Boutayna Chokrane
.jpg){kind=tracking}
Google Pixel Watch 3 for $300: The Pixel Watch 3 is seeing some steep discounts now that the Pixel Watch 4 is here. It’s a great smartwatch, with the caveat that it’s not repairable. (The newer model addresses that.) It features loss-of-pulse detection—cleared by the FDA for use in the US—which can be critical in saving someone’s life. Google also focused its fitness updates on running, enabling users to create custom runs and follow AI-powered run recommendations while getting feedback on cardio load—how hard your heart is working and whether it’s appropriate for your body. I strongly recommend you go with the 45-mm model, which doesn’t even feel that big. It simply delivers better battery life—just about 24 hours with the always-on display or a little more if you have it turned off. —Julian Chokkattu
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra 2025 for $650: The 47-mm Galaxy Watch Ultra is the company’s Apple Watch Ultra and Garmin competitor, and it’s a solid first entry into the world of pricey, feature-rich, and powerful smartwatches designed for professional athletes. This is technically the 2025 model, which is identical to the 2024 version but comes with 64 GB of storage and in a new blue color. It lasts a little over two days on a charge because it’s a big 47-mm watch and can pack a beefy battery. There’s a titanium case and sapphire glass face, plus it’s rated to 10 ATM and IP68, so you can submerge it underwater to 100 meters. The heart rate tracker is remarkably consistent with the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and the dual-band GPS delivers accurate mapping. The software isn’t as intuitive, and a few features are lacking when compared to other performance smartwatches, but this is a good start if you’re in the world of Android. If you don’t care for the blue or the extra storage, you could save some money with the 2024 model. —Julian Chokkattu
Samsung Galaxy Watch7 44 mm for $280: Samsung’s Galaxy Watch7 from 2024 is a little plain. This model debuted Samsung’s Energy Score and added updated sleep tracking capabilities. You also get FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection, though this isn’t a feature you’ll turn on all the time—it takes two nights to track, and afterward, you’ll get a note saying whether or not you show symptoms. This feature, along with the electrocardiogram and irregular heart rhythm notifications, is only available when paired with a Samsung phone. Otherwise, this watch functions well with any other Android. You can choose from two sizes, plus Bluetooth-only or LTE. I tested both sizes and found battery life frustrating compared to its predecessors. With the always-on display, I struggled to hit 24 hours with two tracked activities and sleep tracking overnight. With it turned off, things fared a little better, but I was still barely hitting a full day. You’ll have to baby the battery and utilize the power-saving modes. If you don’t care for the latest and greatest, you can save a lot of dough with the Watch7. —Julian Chokkattu
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE for $172: The Galaxy Watch FE is a fine budget Wear OS smartwatch. The 40-mm Galaxy Watch FE has a smaller screen that doesn’t get as bright and sports a slower processor and a smaller battery compared to the Watch7 series. The health sensors are almost the same, and I got accurate results with heart rate and sleep tracking. The battery lasts just about a day, if not a little less. —Julian Chokkattu
TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E5 for $1,950: I’ve spent close to a month with TAG Heuer’s new luxury smartwatch. It’s a nice alternative for anyone tired of Google’s Wear OS or the Apple Watch, but design and brand are the top reasons to buy this smartwatch. You’re not getting the rich smartwatch experience with third-party apps and the ability to reply to messages; heck, it still doesn’t even have sleep tracking. (That’s supposedly coming in a software update.) But you can track heart rate, steps, calories, and a handful of workouts. My data was generally aligned with the Pixel Watch 4, though the Calibre E5’s heart rate data during intensive workouts is slightly off. I do appreciate that Tag offers a battery replacement service for the smartwatch, but again, this is for someone with multiple Tag watches in their collection. Most people will be better served by one of our picks above. (Note: This product is currently sold out, but we anticipate a restock in the near future.) —Julian Chokkattu
Frequently Asked Questions
How Are Smartwatches and Fitness Trackers Different?
Smartwatches typically replicate many of the functions found in your smartphone via apps—you can control smart home functions, start conversations via WhatsApp, respond to Slack messages, and call up smart assistants like Siri or Gemini to ask almost anything. This is in conjunction with the standard health and fitness tracking features, plus a more familiar touchscreen interface. However, the downside is the battery life typically lasts a day or two, if not a little more.
Fitness trackers, on the other hand, aren’t as feature-rich. You typically won’t be able to access many other apps. There’s the basic ability to read emails and texts, control music playback, or even access tap-to-pay features, but you’re generally more restricted. They deliver the same if not better health- and fitness-tracking capabilities (depending on the model) than smartwatches. Battery life is where fitness trackers win out, typically lasting days if not a week. If battery life and fitness and health are top of mind, get a fitness tracker. (Read our Best Fitness Trackers guide for options.) But if you want rich notifications, the ability to respond to them, and the option to access apps without having to pull out your phone, a smartwatch is the better pick.
Smart rings are the least functional of the lot but they trade versatility for battery life. Devices like the Oura Ring and Ultrahuman Ring Air can last close to a week while still tracking your heart rate and sleep, though few are successful at automatic workout tracking. You might not wear a fitness tracker and a smartwatch, but you totally can and might want to wear a smartwatch and a smart ring. The two complement each other well, and some devices, like Samsung’s Galaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch8, can work with each other to extend battery life, passing off duties from ring to watch and vice versa. Read our Best Smart Rings guide for recommendations.
Are All Smartwatch Straps Compatible?
Photograph: Natalya Trofimchuk/Getty Images
You don’t need to stick with the strap you get in the box! Every smartwatch has straps that can easily be swapped out. Apple Watches, Google’s Pixel Watch, and Samsung’s latest Galaxy Watches have a proprietary strap system, but analog watch straps will work for others, making your options nearly endless. All you need to do is figure out the strap size of your smartwatch and whether or not they’re proprietary. You can usually find this on the back of the strap (you’ll see “20 mm” or just “22”), or you can check the manual or the website you purchased the watch from. It’s an easy way to further match your timepiece to your look.
How Can I Tell If a Band Is PFAS-Free?
A study published in December of 2024 found that many smartwatches and fitness trackers that come with “fluoroelastomer” straps—synthetic rubber—had “high concentrations” of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHx4), a type of polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), which is considered a “forever chemical” that can cause immune, thyroid, kidney, and reproductive health problems. The study notes that there’s limited knowledge about the absorption of these chemicals into the skin.
The researchers tested bands from various brands, including Apple, Casetify, Fitbit, Google, and Samsung. If you’re worried, steer clear of bands made from fluoroelastomer (often listed in the product description, but not always). That includes Apple’s Sport Bands and Google’s Active Band, to name a few. Opt for other materials instead, like silicone, metal, or leather.
Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.
.png "O2 deploys 500th advanced mobile site as part of £700m network upgrade")