The perfect smartwatches for 2025

Smartwatches do extra than simply observe your steps and ship cellphone alerts to your wrist. The perfect smartwatches go even additional, providing you with the flexibility to pay for a cup of espresso, take calls and hook up with apps like Spotify all with out whipping out your smartphone.

Chances are high, when you’re studying this, you already know the entire advantages of a smartwatch. You’re prepared to speculate, or improve from an growing older accent, however we wouldn’t blame you when you when you didn’t know the place to start out. There are dozens of smartwatches out there now, together with GPS running watches, fitness trackers that appear like smartwatches and multi-purpose gadgets. Plus, you’ll need to think about components like sturdiness, battery life and working system earlier than you spend some huge cash on a brand new wearable. We’ve examined and reviewed most main smartwatches out there at present and these are our high picks.

Desk of contents

Finest smartwatches of 2025

Google / Engadget

Tracks: Sleep, exercise, energy, stress | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Mobile (non-obligatory) | GPS: Sure, in-built | Water-resistant: Sure | Assistant help: Google Assistant | Show: All the time-on Actua touchscreen | Weight: 31 grams | Battery life: 24 hours

Learn our full Google Pixel Watch 3 review

It solely took three iterations, however Google lastly acquired it proper with the Pixel Watch 3. It’s essentially the most totally realized Pixel Watch but, and one which any Android fan would get a variety of use out of. The most recent mannequin, which now is available in 41mm and 45mm sizes, has a barely bigger round show that’s brighter than ever and may attain as much as a 60Hz refresh fee. It might probably additionally drop down to simply 1 nit of brightness whenever you’re sporting it to sleep, which not solely makes for a greater expertise general, but additionally contributes to its longer battery life. You’ll rise up to 24 hours out of the Pixel Watch 3, which is a giant enchancment over the earlier technology and extra according to competing gadgets from Apple and Samsung.

The Pixel Watch 3 can be an awesome exercise monitoring system, with options like auto exercise detection and customized working plans, plus the flexibility to trace metrics like Cardio Load. There’s Fitbit smarts in right here, identical to in earlier Pixel Watches, so that you’re coated relating to day by day exercises, steps, sleep and extra. The one draw back to that is that when you’re desirous about extra in-depth teaching, these options are hidden behind the Fitbit Premium paywall.

Whereas Put on OS 5 might use a bit extra polish, the mixing with the Google Assistant on the Pixel Watch 3 is helpful so you should use voice instructions to verify on issues like climate forecasts, calendar alerts, map instructions and extra. We additionally respect the addition of sooner charging on the Pixel Watch 3, so you may go from 0 to 100 in a bit much less time than earlier than. That’ll turn out to be useful when you’re actually eager on utilizing the watch as a sleep tracker. Total, the enhancements Google made on this version of the Pixel Watch helped push it over the sting as a worthy competitor to the Apple Watch and a high decide for Android customers searching for their subsequent wearable.

$350 at Amazon

Picture by Valentina Palladino / Engadget

Tracks: Sleep, exercise, energy, stress, dozens of exercises | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ANT+ | GPS: Sure, in-built | Water-resistant: Sure | Assistant help: None | Show: 1.2-inch AMOLED with non-obligatory always-on mode | Weight: 39 grams | Battery life: 11 days in smartwatch mode, 19 hours in GPS mode

Garmin is understood for its prowess on the earth of health watches and the Garmin Forerunner 165 is the watch I examined that I wished to put on essentially the most after I went out for a run. The experience of the Forerunner line is within the title, and Garmin really excels at making complete but pleasant GPS running watches in flavors that may swimsuit all types of athletes, from newbie to knowledgeable. The Forerunner 165 stands out with its light-weight design, brilliant AMOLED touchscreen, simple button controls, correct built-in GPS and its means to trace exercise stats simply in addition to all-day exercise information.

Beginning a run with the Forerunner 165 is as simple as urgent a single button — the top-right button on the case actually has “run” embossed onto it, and it takes you to the exercise profile menu the place you may select the train you need to observe. Run is the primary possibility, however you’ve gotten greater than 25 profiles to select from together with observe run, treadmill, stroll, power, swim and extra. When working outdoors, the GPS took a median of 15-20 seconds to lock onto my location, however you don’t have to attend for it to take action — press the run button once more to start and the GPS will catch up by itself.

The Forerunner expertise has benefited enormously from the continual enchancment of the Garmin Join cell app. The beforehand clunky, complicated app has been properly refined so as to customise its homepage the exercise and exercise stats you care about essentially the most, together with issues like Physique Battery, Sleep Rating, menstrual cycle data and extra. It’s simple to dive into your most just lately tracked exercise and get within the weeds with tempo, cadence, coaching impact (cardio or anaerobic), energy and stamina stats.

Garmin places the battery lifetime of the Forerunner 165 at 11 days in smartwatch mode, and I discovered that to be largely correct even with a handful of GPS-tracked runs thrown in. The corporate claims you’ll rise up to 19 hours of battery life with steady GPS use, which must be sufficient for many runners and athletes competing in long-haul races. You can too get the 165 with music storage in-built or not, with the previous permitting you to retailer music domestically on the watch so you may hear with a pair of Bluetooth headphones.

The Garmin Forerunner 165 will set you again $250 with out music storage, or $300 for the mannequin with music storage in-built. That’s on the decrease finish of the worth spectrum for GPS working watches; you might simply spend $500 or extra when you’re uncertain about what you want and what’s simply additional fluff. Whereas Garmin does have a couple of cheaper gadgets, the Forerunner 165 strikes the appropriate stability of function set and worth that may attraction to seasoned runners and those that are simply diving right into a extra regimented working routine.

$250 at Garmin

Fashionable smartwatches: Fossil and extra

Sure, there are nonetheless corporations on the market making an attempt to make “trendy” hybrid smartwatches. Again when wearables have been novel and usually ugly, manufacturers like Fossil, Michael Kors and Skagen discovered their area of interest in trendy smartwatches that took cues from analog timepieces. You even have the choice to choose up a “hybrid” smartwatch from corporations like Withings and Garmin – these gadgets appear like basic wrist watches however incorporate some restricted performance like exercise monitoring and coronary heart fee monitoring. They continue to be good choices when you favor that look, however fortunately, wearables made by Apple, Samsung, Fitbit and others have gotten way more engaging over the previous few years.

Finally, the one factor you may’t change after you purchase a smartwatch is its case design. Should you’re not into the Apple Watch’s squared-off corners, all of Samsung’s smartwatches have spherical circumstances that look just a little extra like a conventional watch. Most wearables are provided in a selection of colours and you’ll pay additional for premium supplies like chrome steel for additional sturdiness. When you determine on a case, your band choices are infinite – there are dozens of first- and third-party watch straps out there for many main smartwatches, and for each bigger and smaller wrists, permitting you to alter up your look everytime you please.

Components to contemplate earlier than shopping for a smartwatch

Compatibility

Apple Watches solely work with iPhones, whereas Put on OS gadgets play good with each iOS and Android telephones. Smartwatches made by Samsung, Garmin, Fitbit and others are additionally appropriate with Android and iOS, however you’ll want to put in a companion app in your smartphone.

The smartwatch OS may also dictate the kind and variety of third-party apps you’ll have entry to. Many of those aren’t helpful, although, making this issue a reasonably minor one within the grand scheme of issues.

Value

The perfect smartwatches usually value between $300 and $400. In comparison with funds smartwatches, which value between $100 and $250, these pricier gadgets have superior working programs, communications, music and health options. Additionally they typically embrace perks like onboard GPS monitoring, music storage and NFC, AMOLED shows, and lengthy battery life, issues that funds gadgets usually don’t have.

Some corporations make specialised health watches: These can simply run north of $500, and we’d solely suggest them to severe athletes. Luxurious smartwatches from manufacturers like TAG Heuer and Hublot can even attain sky-high costs, however we wouldn’t endorse any of them. These gadgets can value greater than $1,000, and also you’re often paying for little greater than a model title and a few needlessly unique collection of construct supplies.

Battery life

Battery life stays considered one of our greatest complaints about smartwatches, however there’s hope as of late. You may anticipate two full days from Apple Watches and most Put on OS gadgets. Watches utilizing the Snapdragon Put on 3100 processor help prolonged battery modes that promise as much as 5 days of battery life on a cost — when you’re keen to close off most options apart from, , displaying the time. Different fashions can final 5 to seven days, however they often have fewer options and lower-quality shows. In the meantime, some health watches can final weeks on a single cost. If lengthy battery life is a precedence for you, it’s value testing the watch’s specs beforehand to see what the producer estimates.

Communication

Any smartwatch value contemplating delivers name, textual content and app notifications to your wrist. Name and textual content alerts are self explanatory, but when these imply rather a lot to you, think about a watch with LTE. They’re costlier than their WiFi-only counterparts, however mobile connectivity permits the smartwatch to take and obtain cellphone calls, and do the identical with textual content messages, with out your system close by. So far as app alerts go, getting them delivered to your wrist will allow you to look all the way down to the watch face and see when you completely have to verify your cellphone proper now.

Health monitoring

Exercise monitoring is a giant motive why individuals flip to smartwatches. An all-purpose timepiece ought to operate as a health tracker, logging your steps, energy and exercises, and most of at present’s wearables have a coronary heart fee monitor as properly.

Many smartwatches’ health options embrace a built-in GPS, which is beneficial for monitoring distance for runs and bike rides. Swimmers will need one thing water-resistant, and fortunately most all-purpose gadgets now can face up to not less than a dunk within the pool. Some smartwatches from corporations like Garmin are more fitness focused than others and have a tendency to supply extra superior options like heart-rate-variance monitoring, restoration time estimation, onboard maps and extra.

Well being monitoring on smartwatches has additionally seen advances through the years. Each Apple and Fitbit gadgets can estimate blood oxygen ranges and measure ECGs. However the extra reasonably priced the smartwatch, the much less possible it’s that it has these sorts of superior well being monitoring options; if amassing these sorts of wellness metrics is essential to you, you’ll need to pay for the privilege.

Music

Your watch can’t solely observe your morning runs but additionally play music whilst you’re exercising. Many smartwatches allow you to save your music domestically, so you may join wi-fi earbuds through Bluetooth and hearken to tunes with out bringing your cellphone. People who don’t have onboard storage for music often have on-watch music controls, so you may management playback with out whipping out your cellphone. And in case your watch has LTE, native saving isn’t required — you’ll be capable of stream music straight from the watch to your paired earbuds.

Shows

Most wearables have touchscreens and we suggest getting one which has a full-color touchscreen. Some flagships just like the Apple Watch have LTPO shows, which stands for low-temperature polycrystalline oxide. These panels have sooner response instances and are extra energy environment friendly, leading to a smoother expertise when one interacts with the touchscreen and, in some circumstances, longer battery lives.

You gained’t see vital positive aspects with the latter, although, as a result of the additional battery primarily will get used up when these gadgets have always-on shows, as most flagship wearables do at present. Some smartwatches have this function on by default whereas others allow you to allow it through tweaked settings. This sensible function lets you look down at your watch to verify the time, well being stats or another data you’ve set it to indicate on its watchface with out lifting your wrist. It will little doubt have an effect on your system’s battery life, however fortunately most always-on modes dim the show’s brightness so it’s not working at its peak unnecessarily. Cheaper gadgets gained’t have this function; as an alternative, their touchscreens will robotically flip off to preserve battery life and also you’ll need to deliberately verify your watch to activate the show once more.

NFC

Many new smartwatches have NFC, letting you pay for issues with out your pockets utilizing contactless funds. After saving your credit score or debit card data, you may maintain your smartwatch as much as an NFC reader to pay for a cup of espresso in your method dwelling from a run. Remember the fact that completely different watches use completely different cost programs: Apple Watches use Apple Pay, Put on OS gadgets use Google Pay, Samsung gadgets use Samsung Pay and so forth.

Apple Pay is without doubt one of the hottest NFC cost programs, with help for multiple banks and credit cards in 72 completely different nations, whereas Samsung and Google Pay work in fewer areas. It’s additionally essential to notice that each NFC cost help varies by system as properly for each Samsung and Google’s programs.

Different smartwatches our consultants examined

Apple Watch Extremely 2

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 might be overkill for most individuals, however it has a ton of additional options like additional waterproofing to trace diving, an much more correct GPS and the largest battery of any Apple Watch to this point. Apple designed it for essentially the most rugged amongst us, however on your common particular person, it possible has extra options than they’d ever want. Should you’re significantly clumsy, nonetheless, its excessive degree of sturdiness may very well be an awesome motive to contemplate the Apple Watch Extremely 2.

Apple Watch SE

The Apple Watch SE is much less feature-rich than the flagship mannequin, however it is going to most likely suffice for most individuals. We truly regard the Watch SE as the very best smartwatch possibility for first-time patrons, or individuals on stricter budgets. You’ll get all of the core Apple Watch options in addition to issues like fall and crash detection, noise monitoring and Emergency SOS, however you’ll need to do with out extra superior {hardware} perks like an always-on show, a blood oxygen sensor, an ECG monitor and a pores and skin temperature sensor.

Garmin Forerunner 745

Garmin watches generally will be nice choices for essentially the most energetic amongst us. The Garmin Forerunner 745 is a superb GPS running watch for severe athletes or those that prize battery life above all else. Once we examined it, we discovered it to supply correct distance monitoring, a killer 16-hour battery life with GPS turned on (as much as seven days with out it) and help for onboard music storage and Garmin Pay.

Amazfit Bip 6

The Amazfit Bip 6, an $80 smartwatch from Zepp Well being, didn’t fairly make the reduce. As a health tracker, it’s respectable, however it’s a irritating smartwatch. For exercises, the built-in GPS tracks runs and rides with out your cellphone and, mixed with the guts fee and blood oxygen sensors, collects a great quantity of information to create correct photos of your exertion ranges, cadence and tempo. It’s remarkably light-weight however doesn’t really feel low-cost and the AMOLED display is brilliant and sharp. It’s not an always-on show, however lifting your wrist wakes it reliably.

The sleep monitoring information is on par with what we measured on different smartwatches and there’s even a day by day readiness rating that compares your sleep high quality and the day past’s exertion to estimate how bodily ready you might be for the day forward — much like what Pixel Watches, Fitbit gadgets and Garmin watches supply. And for the reason that watch battery lasts for over per week on a cost, it’s possible you’ll be much more apt to put on it to mattress than a watch it’s a must to cost day by day.

We weren’t anticipating an $80 system to be a severe Apple Watch challenger, however the Bip 6’s glitches and overly sophisticated interface (each on the app and on the watch itself) have been disappointing. Throughout per week of testing, I acquired a number of repeated notifications, even after they have been deleted, together with options to face after I was actively doing chores round the home. The watch faces will not be customizable, so it was onerous to get the information I wanted at a look (the Zepp app has a number of paid watch faces which will have what I wished, however I didn’t need to pay $3 for one thing that’s free elsewhere).

Advertising particulars state that the Bip 6 can auto-detect exercises, together with strolling and bike using. Throughout testing, I walked a couple of times per day for over one mile and went on two bike rides, however no exercise was ever detected. The watch integrates with Apple Well being, so I used to be in a position to see the way it compares to the info my Apple Watch gathers. After per week of sporting the Bip 6, with no modifications to my day by day routine, I averaged 400 fewer energy burned and a couple of.4 fewer miles tracked every day. That was presumably the largest disappointment of all. — Amy Skorheim, Senior Reporter

Smartwatch FAQs

Is there a distinction between a smartwatch and a health tracker?

Whereas smartwatches and health trackers share some similarities, they’re designed for barely completely different functions.

A health tracker is primarily targeted on well being and exercise monitoring. It retains tabs in your steps, coronary heart fee, sleep and exercises, and a few even supply superior metrics like blood oxygen ranges and stress monitoring. Health trackers are usually extra compact, have longer battery life and are constructed with exercise in thoughts.

A smartwatch, alternatively, is sort of a mini smartphone in your wrist. It presents health monitoring options, but additionally enables you to do issues like reply to texts, take calls, use apps and management sensible dwelling gadgets. Many smartwatches help voice assistants, cell funds and even LTE connectivity, so you may go away your cellphone behind in some circumstances.

Should you primarily need well being and exercise monitoring with lengthy battery life, a health tracker is the way in which to go. In order for you a extra related expertise with additional options, a smartwatch is the higher selection.

How lengthy do smartwatches final?

How lengthy a smartwatch lasts largely is dependent upon two issues: battery life and general sturdiness.

Smartwatch battery life varies rather a lot relying on the model, options and the way you employ it. Primary fashions with e-ink shows or monochrome screens can final per week or extra, whereas full-featured smartwatches just like the Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch often want a cost daily or two. Should you’re utilizing options like always-on show, GPS monitoring or LTE connectivity, anticipate the battery to empty sooner.

Bodily, a great smartwatch ought to final a number of years earlier than that you must improve. Premium fashions with scratch-resistant glass, water resistance and robust construct supplies have a tendency to carry up properly over time. Nonetheless, software program help issues too — manufacturers like Apple and Samsung sometimes present updates for not less than a couple of years, whereas some funds smartwatches might not get long-term software program help.

You may anticipate to cost most smartwatches day by day or each few days, and when you deal with them, they need to final 3-5 years earlier than an improve is important.

How a lot do you have to spend on a smartwatch?

How a lot it is best to spend on a smartwatch is dependent upon what options you want and the way typically you propose to make use of it.

Should you simply need the fundamentals — step monitoring, notifications, coronary heart fee monitoring and primary health monitoring — you’ll find some stable budget-friendly choices from manufacturers like Amazfit, Fitbit and a few Put on OS fashions. These often have respectable battery life however might lack premium options like LTE, superior well being monitoring or third-party apps.

Within the mid-range smartwatch worth bracket, you’ll discover fashionable fashions just like the Apple Watch SE and Fitbit Versa collection. These supply a great mixture of health monitoring, sensible options and design high quality. You’ll get higher construct supplies, extra correct sensors and app help, however battery life would possibly nonetheless be restricted to a day or two.

Excessive-end smartwatches just like the Apple Watch Extremely, Samsung Galaxy Watch Extremely and Garmin Fenix/Epix collection supply superior well being monitoring, rugged designs, LTE connectivity and longer software program help. These are nice for severe athletes, out of doors adventurers, or anybody who desires the most recent and biggest options.

Should you simply desire a easy smartwatch for notifications and health monitoring, a funds or mid-range mannequin will do the job. However if you would like a premium really feel, superior well being monitoring or LTE connectivity, it’s value spending a bit extra. For most individuals, $200 – $350 hits the very best stability of options and worth.

Do all smartwatches have GPS?

Not all smartwatches have built-in GPS. Some depend on your cellphone’s GPS, whereas others have it built-in for unbiased monitoring.

Excessive-end and fitness-focused smartwatches, just like the Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch and Garmin fashions have their very own built-in GPS. This implies they’ll observe your runs, walks, bike rides and hikes while not having to be related to your cellphone. It’s vital for severe athletes or anybody who desires correct location monitoring with out carrying a cellphone.

Some funds and mid-range smartwatches (like some Fitbit and Amazfit fashions) don’t have built-in GPS however can use your cellphone’s GPS when related through Bluetooth. This works advantageous when you often carry your cellphone whereas figuring out, however it’s much less handy when you favor to go away it behind.

Some very primary or funds smartwatches skip GPS fully and rely solely on step monitoring or movement sensors. These are advantageous for informal customers who don’t want location monitoring.

Can you allow your cellphone at dwelling and nonetheless use a smartwatch?

Sure, however it is dependent upon the smartwatch and what you need to do with out your cellphone.

In case your smartwatch has LTE or mobile connectivity , you may make calls, ship texts, stream music, use maps and even entry apps with out your cellphone close by. Nonetheless, you’ll want a separate information plan out of your service, which often comes with an additional month-to-month value.

Even with out LTE, some smartwatches can nonetheless do a lot on their very own, together with observe exercises and GPS routes (if they’ve built-in GPS), play music offline (in the event that they help downloads from Spotify or Apple Music), might contactless funds with options like Apple Pay and Google Pockets and management sensible dwelling gadgets.

If going phone-free is essential to you, search for a smartwatch with LTE and built-in GPS for the very best expertise.

Can a smartwatch make calls with no cellphone?

Sure, a smartwatch could make calls with no cellphone — however provided that it has the appropriate options.

Some smartwatches have built-in LTE connectivity, which means they’ll work independently out of your cellphone. You may make and obtain calls, ship texts, stream music and use apps so long as you’ve gotten a cell information plan for the watch. Nonetheless, you’ll have to pay for a separate mobile plan and battery life drains sooner when utilizing LTE.

In case your smartwatch doesn’t have LTE, it might nonetheless make calls, however solely when related to your cellphone through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. It primarily acts as a distant speaker and microphone on your cellphone’s calls. Watches like the usual Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch (Wi-Fi variations) can do that. Nonetheless, in case your cellphone isn’t close by or related to Wi-Fi, calling gained’t work.

Some fitness-focused smartwatches (like sure Garmin, Fitbit and Amazfit fashions) don’t have a built-in speaker or microphone, to allow them to’t make or obtain calls in any respect — solely present notifications.

If calling with no cellphone is a should, be certain to decide on an LTE mannequin with a built-in mic and speaker.

What is the distinction between an Android and Apple smartwatch?

The most important distinction between Android and Apple smartwatches comes all the way down to compatibility, options and ecosystem integration.

Apple smartwatches (Apple Watch) solely work with iPhones. When you’ve got an Android cellphone, you may’t use an Apple Watch in any respect. Android smartwatches (Put on OS, Samsung Galaxy, Garmin and so on.) largely work with Android telephones, however some additionally help iPhones with restricted options. When you’ve got an iPhone, the Apple Watch is your best option. When you’ve got an Android cellphone, go for a Put on OS or Samsung Galaxy Watch.

Apple Watch (watchOS) has the very best app help with seamless integration into Apple’s ecosystem (iMessage, FaceTime, Apple Pay, Apple Health+, Siri and so on.). Android smartwatches supply extra selection, with entry to Google providers (Google Assistant, Google Pockets and Google Maps), and a few help Amazon Alexa or Samsung’s Bixby.

By way of design, Apple Watch has a single design however is available in completely different sizes and supplies. It’s glossy, however your solely actual customization comes from bands and watch faces. Android smartwatches, alternatively, are available tons of types and types (Samsung, Google Pixel Watch, Garmin, Fossil and so on.), which means you may decide a spherical watch, a rugged design or a luxury-looking mannequin.

If battery life is essential to you, the Apple Watch lasts a couple of day or two per cost, relying on utilization and mannequin. Many Android smartwatches (particularly Garmin, Amazfit or Mobvoi TicWatch) final a number of days and even weeks on a single cost.

Georgie Peru contributed to this report.