The seven best Android smartwatches in 2024

After an extended stretch of slim pickings, the final couple of years have been huge for Android smartwatches. Now there are extra good choices than ever.

But that is nonetheless a transitional period. While we’re inspired by the stronger third-party app choices, the market remains to be fragmented. Wear OS 5 is right here for Samsung’s Galaxy Watches and the Pixel Watch 3. However, the bigger ecosystem remains to be catching up. Some options, like Google Assistant, usually are not but obtainable on sure Wear OS 3 smartwatches, and Wear OS 4 nonetheless isn’t broadly obtainable. Even so, the Android wearable ecosystem is barreling forward.

If you’d quite wait till Wear OS settles down a bit, there are platform-agnostic smartwatches and health watches you should buy in the meantime. Otherwise, you’ll need to concentrate on the chip and Wear OS model powering your watch. Mobvoi, for example, took forever to roll out Wear OS 3 to its eligible Wear OS 2 watches and only in the near past introduced the rollout of Wear OS 4. Speaking of Mobvoi, its TicWatch Pro 5 was the primary to sport the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Plus in the US, and whereas it’s a terrific watch, it’s possible you’ll wish to wait till there are extra W5 Plus watches to select from. That mentioned, the bottom W5 chip can also be fairly good. The Pixel Watch 3 and OnePlus Watch 2 each sport the W5 and have notably higher efficiency and battery life.

So lengthy as you retain the aforementioned caveats in thoughts, Android customers have extra smartwatch choices than ever earlier than. I’ve rounded up my prime picks, but when none of those is the best match, you possibly can all the time try our fitness tracker buying guide. 

Sizes: 43mm, 47mm / Weight: 77g, 85g / Battery life: Up to 30 hours with AOD, 40 with out AOD / Display kind: Always-on OLED / GPS: Built-in GPS / Connectivity: LTE (elective), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: Up to 50 meters, IP68 / Music storage: 16GB

If you may have a Samsung cellphone, you’ll get essentially the most mileage out of a Samsung smartwatch. And of the 4 watches Samsung has in its present lineup, I like to recommend the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. Although Samsung not too long ago launched the Galaxy Watch 7, there wasn’t a refresh for the Classic. That means you must be seeing some good offers for the Classic quickly, if not already. It’s not typically that I like to recommend a last-gen machine, however such is my deep love for the bodily rotating bezel.

But, if you need the newest and biggest, the Galaxy Watch 7 provides an upgraded 3nm Exynos W1000 chip and a brand new 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor. It’s a marginal enchancment over final yr’s fashions, however I don’t really feel like Samsung launched something this yr that requires having them. It additionally has Wear OS 5 and One UI 6 Watch, although Samsung has begun to roll out the newer OS to older watches (together with the Galaxy Watch 6). Mostly, I like to recommend the 7 if you happen to choose a smaller dimension, don’t care concerning the rotating bezel, and wish one thing a smidge extra futureproof.

The Classic’s rotating bezel is 15 p.c thinner than the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. The up to date design is sleeker than its predecessor, and the bigger show is simpler on the eyes and is barely barely larger at 43mm and 47mm. I’ve small wrists, however the 47mm was nonetheless fairly snug for on a regular basis put on. It’s launching with Wear OS 4, which provides prolonged battery life, and — lastly — cloud backups. One UI 5 Watch additionally provides some minor well being and sleep monitoring enhancements, however this may finally make its strategy to older fashions. While I choose the Classic, the bottom Watch 6 mannequin would be the higher possibility if you need a smaller, lighter, sleeker, and cheaper smartwatch.

For extra outdoorsy people, the $649.99 Galaxy Watch Ultra is likely to be the extra good choice. Of all Samsung’s watches, it has the best battery life, lasting round three days in our testing. (Though, we by no means obtained the complete 100-hour estimated battery life.) It’s obtained dual-frequency GPS, a brand new multisport exercise, an emergency siren, elevated sturdiness, 10ATM of water resistance, and a Quick Button, which acts as a customizable shortcut button. It’s mainly an Apple Watch Ultra for Android.

Meanwhile, if you happen to’re on a funds, there’s the brand new $199.99 Galaxy Watch FE, which is actually a rebadged Galaxy Watch 4.

The Samsung Health app additionally delivers a great general health monitoring expertise, particularly since you possibly can allow turn-by-turn navigation for mountain climbing and biking actions. We weren’t too impressed with nightly SpO2 readings, however Samsung’s general sleep monitoring continues to enhance. You additionally get built-in GPS, physique composition evaluation, irregular coronary heart fee notifications, fall detection, emergency SOS options, and EKGs. Most not too long ago, Samsung’s added a brand new Energy rating, AI-powered wellness insights, FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection, and a complicated AGEs Index metric for metabolic well being. While the Energy rating is broadly correct, I discovered the AI-generated options to be hit and miss and the AGEs Index to be extra gimmicky than helpful. The latter function can also be restricted to the Galaxy Watch 7 and Ultra.

We don’t essentially advocate the Galaxy Watches if you happen to don’t have a Samsung cellphone. EKGs and sleep apnea detection require the Samsung Health Monitor app, which is restricted to Samsung telephones. You can work round it, however all Samsung watches work best with different Samsung gadgets.

Read my full review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series.

Sizes: 41mm, 45mm / Weight: 31g for 41mm, 37g for 45mm / Battery life: Roughly 24 hours with AOD enabled / Display kind: Always-on OLED / GPS: Built-in GPS / Connectivity: LTE (elective), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Safety Signal with Fitbit Premium / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 32GB

The $349.99 Google Pixel Watch 3 is completed enjoying catch-up. It’s an annoying reality that you probably have a Samsung cellphone, a Samsung smartwatch might be the best selection for you. However, for everybody else, I extremely advocate the Pixel Watch 3.

There are a number of updates to the Pixel Watch 3, however the gist is that it’s a extra refined watch that additionally expands into new territory. One main replace this yr is that there are actually two sizes: 41mm and 45mm. You get further display actual property on the bigger watch, however the bezels are additionally smaller on the 41mm mannequin this yr. (If you’re attempting to select between sizes, I choose the 45mm.) The shows are brighter as nicely, starting from a minimal of 1 nit to a most of two,000 nits.

Health and health additionally get a number of updates, particularly for runners. There’s a brand new Cardio Load metric that gauges the cardiovascular depth of the workout routines you’ve been doing over a set time period. It’s just like Garmin’s Training Load metric. You’re additionally given a Cardio Load goal based mostly in your health targets, readiness, and present exercise. Runners additionally get a brand new dashboard filled with kind evaluation metrics in addition to the power to program customized exercises. In addition, you will get AI-generated urged exercises. And if you happen to’re in Europe, the Pixel Watch 3 can now detect if you happen to not have a pulse and name emergency companies.

The Pixel Watch 3 additionally provides a bunch of nifty Google integrations. It’s glorious you probably have a Google-powered sensible dwelling as a result of now you can instantly view and work together together with your Nest Doorbell or digicam feeds. You may use the watch as a distant to your Google TV, and there are new Google Home Tile / issues that make controlling your property out of your wrist a breeze. Also new this yr are offline Google Maps, the power to unlock Pixel telephones, and a Call Assist function that lets a caller know you want an additional minute to select up your cellphone.

That mentioned, whereas the Pixel Watch was initially framed as a look ahead to any Android cellphone, a number of updates this time round imply you’ll get the best expertise with a Pixel cellphone. But in comparison with Samsung, there isn’t fairly as a lot lock-in. Health options, for instance, can be found to everybody as long as you may have a Fitbit account. Extra excellent news: Google eliminated sure metrics, just like the Daily Readiness Score, from the Fitbit Premium paywall. Mostly, the options locked to Pixel telephones are issues like the power to unlock your cellphone with the watch and use of the Recorder app.

One factor to be aware of is sturdiness. While the domed show is gorgeous, we cracked the display on the unique Pixel Watch and obtained deep scratches on the Pixel Watch 2. (Thankfully, we haven’t tousled the Pixel Watch 3.) Google doesn’t provide any restore choices, however you will get the Preferred Care prolonged guarantee if you wish to be ready ought to one thing occur. It’s not splendid because it’s restricted to the US and Canada, nevertheless it’s a step in the best route.

Read my full Google Pixel Watch 3 review.

Sizes: 47mm with 22mm straps / Weight: 49g case, 80g with strap / Battery life: Up to 100 hours in sensible mode, 48 with AOD on, and 12 days in power-saving mode / Display kind: OLED touchscreen / GPS: Dual-frequency GPS, Beidou, GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, QZSS / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 32GB

The $299.99 OnePlus Watch 2 is what a glow-up seems like. While the unique OnePlus Watch was horrible, this watch helps fill the void that Fossil left when it mentioned it was pulling out of Android smartwatches — particularly, a viable different to Google and Samsung.

The 47mm case is large for petite wrists, and sadly, it solely comes in one dimension, nevertheless it’s manufactured from sturdy chrome steel and sapphire crystal. Plus, it homes a 500mAh battery. That, plus a dual-chip structure and novel dual OS system, outcomes in tremendous lengthy battery life. How lengthy a smartwatch lasts will in fact rely in your particular person utilization, however I obtained practically 4 days with regular use. That’s unbelievable for a flagship.

It additionally has Wear OS 4, making it the one third-party Wear OS watch working the newest software program. It has Google Assistant from the get-go — a giant achievement since that’s been an issue with different third-party Android watches. Plus, you get entry to the Google Play Store for a sturdy app ecosystem. On the health aspect of issues, OnePlus added dual-frequency GPS. That’s a plus if you happen to’re outdoorsy and frequent difficult GPS environments like dense forests or crowded cities.

The principal belongings you’re giving up are LTE connectivity and a few options like EKGs, atrial fibrillation detection, native interval monitoring, and fall detection. The lack of mobile is a bummer, because it means you actually ought to hold your cellphone on you if you’re out and about. Still, the $300 price ticket is a aggressive one and could also be definitely worth the tradeoff given battery life.

Read my review of the OnePlus Watch 2.

Sizes: 50mm with 24mm straps / Weight: 44.3g / Battery life: Up to 80 hours / Display kind: OLED touchscreen and secondary ultra-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 cause: tremendous lengthy battery life. The $249.99 TicWatch Pro 5 isn’t any exception. It’s obtained an estimated 80 hours of battery life with commonplace use, a secondary ultra-low energy show, and a large (for a smartwatch you put on in your wrist, not less than) 628mAh battery. I didn’t fairly get 80 hours in my testing, however I did get a strong 48-60 hours even with heavy GPS use. That outclasses many of the watches in this class (besides the OnePluS Watch 2) 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 wiser look ahead to a fraction of the worth.

Battery life apart, the Pro 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. 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 danger of unintended presses.

The Pro 5 additionally has an ingenious technique of displaying coronary heart fee. When you raise up your arm, the backlight adjustments shade relying on which coronary heart fee zone you’re in. That means you possibly can immediately gauge whether or not to up the depth or gradual your roll. The Pro 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 varieties, 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 offers you a fast have a look at 5 metrics (coronary heart fee, blood oxygen, stress, respiratory fee, and general coronary heart well being).

It’s additionally fairly succesful on the productiveness entrance. You get contactless funds, entry to the Play Store, notifications, and the power to take calls. It’s additionally the one Android smartwatch obtainable in the US with the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Plus chip, which is a plus in phrases of futureproofing. The solely main considerations are the 50mm case that won’t swimsuit smaller wrists and the shortage of a digital assistant.

And excellent news! Mobvoi simply introduced that Wear OS 4 is rolling out this month.

Read my full review of the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5.

Sizes: 37mm with 18mm straps / Weight: 45g / Battery life: Up to 39 days / Display kind: OLED show / GPS: Tethered GPS / Connectivity: Bluetooth / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: N/A

Hybrid smartwatches are a wonderful strategy to hold issues easy and delicate. The $249.95 Withings ScanWatch Light will get you the fundamentals like push notifications, timers, and alarms. On the well being entrance, you possibly can monitor steps, sleep, menstrual cycles, and GPS exercises. (That mentioned, GPS is tethered out of your cellphone, not constructed in.) The design jogs my memory of a classier Swatch, notably if you happen to get the extra colourful choices in a minty inexperienced or pale blue. But the large cause the Light has dethroned our earlier choose, the Garmin Vivomove Sport, is its extra-long battery life. Withings estimates it lasts as much as 30 days on a single cost, and I obtained fairly near that in testing with 25 days. Despite the Vivomove’s extra interesting $180 price ticket, it solely lasts about 5 days.

If you need a bit extra out of a hybrid, you too can go for the ScanWatch 2. It’s an additional $100, however you get EKGs and atrial fibrillation detection, temperature sensors, SpO2 readings, and an altimeter for measuring elevation. It additionally seems a bit extra elegant on the wrist, partly due to a secondary dial that tracks your day by day step progress.

If neither matches your fashion, the Vivomove Sport remains to be a great possibility that will get you entry to Garmin’s in-depth platform. Its Vivomove Trend is a barely extra upscale possibility that additionally helps Qi charging.

Read my full review of the Withings ScanWatch 2 and Light.

Sizes: 41mm with 18mm straps; 45mm with 22mm straps / Weight: 40g for the 3S; 47g for the three / Battery life: Up to 10 days for 3S; 14 days for 3 / Display kind: OLED touchscreen / GPS: GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Ant Plus, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 8GB

Garmin is best identified for making rugged GPS watches which have glorious health options however aren’t so sensible in any other case. But the $449.99 Venu 3 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 comes in two sizes: 41mm and 45mm. Like its predecessor, the Venu 2 Plus, it additionally has a microphone and speaker so you possibly can take and make calls instantly from the wrist. 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 nicely in testing, although digital assistants aren’t all the time the neatest at understanding instructions.

The Venu 3 doesn’t have the best third-party app ecosystem, nevertheless it has Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music for offline playback. Android customers may ship fast responses for texts, and the watch works with both iOS or Android for people who wish to hold their choices open. It additionally has fall detection, dwell monitoring, and contactless funds.

As for well being options, it has Garmin’s newest coronary heart fee sensor, which allows its FDA-cleared EKG app to detect atrial fibrillation. Otherwise, you get built-in GPS, steady coronary heart fee monitoring, all the superior teaching options in the Garmin Connect app, and Garmin’s well-known in-depth well being information. The Venu 3 additionally improves sleep monitoring with nap detection and provides audio-guided meditation classes. There’s additionally a brand new wheelchair mode.

This isn’t essentially the most hardcore Garmin that cash should 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.

Read my Garmin Venu 3S review.

Size: 46mm with 22mm straps / Weight: 34g / Battery life: Up to 14 days / Display kind: OLED touchscreen / GPS: Dual-frequency and 6 GNSS methods / Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi / Water resistance: 5ATM / Music storage: 2.3GB

Amazfit’s made a reputation for itself making funds wearables that punch far above their weight. I’ve been constantly impressed by the GTR line of smartwatches over time, 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 shade, always-on OLED show. New to the GTR 4 is dual-band GPS — a function that Apple and Garmin solely not too long ago launched to their higher-end smartwatches. Or, if you happen to prefer to plan your individual path runs or hikes, you possibly can import your individual GPS routes, too. It tracks 150 sports activities and options all-day steady coronary heart fee monitoring. You may monitor stress, sleep, and SpO2 ranges. For sensible options, you possibly can take calls on the wrist, and it has two digital assistants: Alexa and a proprietary offline assistant. The machine additionally syncs with Strava and Adidas Running. 

The GTR 4 isn’t the best smartwatch round. Flagship watches can do all the pieces the GTR 4 can do however in a sleeker, extra polished package deal. However, they will’t do it at this value. If value is your principal precedence, this will get you unbelievable bang to your buck. Plus, you possibly can continuously discover Amazfit gadgets on sale. The icing on the cake is it really works simply as nicely on Android because it does on iOS.

Read my full review of the Amazfit GTR 4.

Update, November nineteenth: Adjusted costs and availability.