Do you want to expand your daily connectivity beyond your smartphone? Smartwatches are one way to achieve this.
Smartwatches today are capable of supporting everything, from music playback to contactless payment and much more. In recent years, price and battery life, which were once the biggest obstacles to smartphone adoption, have been reduced.
The Worldwide Quarterly Wearables Monitor by IDC shows that wrist-worn wearables are expected to continue their positive momentum. They are projected to sell 152.7 million units in 2019, with 21.7% growth compared to last year, and 194.1 million units when 2023 rolls around.
It’s the perfect time to get your first smartwatch, or to upgrade to a more powerful model. These are our top picks for smartwatches if you want to take advantage of the holiday season’s slew of sales events such as Black Friday.
Apple Watch Series 6
The latest Apple Watch is the smartwatch you want. The Series 4 and 5 models are nearly identical if you want to save some money. The Series 6 Apple Watch is the best Apple Watch if you have the budget for it.
It’s not possible to use the Apple Watch with other ecosystems if you don’t want to. The Apple Watch can’t be set up with Android phones like the Google Pixel 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S21.
Apple’s new smartwatch has not changed much since its previous version. It’s still miles ahead in both hardware and software. You can usually expect to get around two days of battery life per charge. Sleep-tracking is an issue that the Apple Watch doesn’t support officially.
Fitbit Versa 2
Fitbit’s Versa second-generation smartwatch is a complete redesign of the original.
You get a better OLED display and more advanced software. Versa’s sleep tracking tech is extremely reliable, with 5-day battery life.
“The Versa 2 provides meaningful improvements over the original that make it the definitive Fitbit smartwatch to buy but little in the way of genuine innovation. Honestly, it doesn’t feel like Fitbit’s latest really pushes things forward or changes the smartwatch equation in any real way.”
“The Fitbit Versa 2 is a more than adequate alternative to the Apple Watch but it shouldn’t be confused for a substitute.”
Samsung Galaxy Watch3
The Galaxy Watc3h may be more for you if you don’t like the square displays in Fitbit and Apple’s smartwatches.
The Galaxy Watch range continues where the Gear S range left off. The bezel-based control scheme is still intact and it offers many of the same perks and features. It has IP68 waterproofing, GPS built-in, mobile payments, sleep monitoring, and works with all Samsung SmartThings.
“If you’re the kind of user who digs where non-Apple smartwatches are at, you’ll probably get a lot out of the Galaxy Watch. It’s got every smartwatch feature you could want and some of the best battery life out there.”
Apple Watch Series 3
Apple has reduced the price of the Series 3 Apple Watch, which is still a great watch but less expensive than the Series 6 Apple Watch.
Only the Series 4’s larger OLED and the Series 5’s always-on functionality are the only things you are missing. The Series 3 Apple Watch is almost identical to the current model and uses the same WatchOS 6 software. It also supports contactless payments via Apple Pay and all fitness tracking features.
“For my purposes, Apple Watch Series 3 is a software update and a couple of apps away from being my dream device. But even in its current form, it’s miles ahead of its closest competitors when it comes to functionality and parsecs ahead with the design.”
“There’s a reason Apple hasn’t visually changed its watch in three generations: It’s nearly perfect.”
Huawei Watch Fit
Huawei’s Watch Fit is a hybrid of a fitness tracker and a full-fledged smartwatch. It has the looks and features of the former, but it also has the functionality of the latter. There’s definitely value here if you are able to tolerate some minor software quirks. Although the design isn’t original, it’s well-executed and the battery life removes a lot of worries.
The Huawei Watch Fit features a 1.64 inch AMOLED screen, built-in GPS, and more than 90 workout modes. It doesn’t run Wear OS, unlike the Oppo Watch. Instead, it runs on a simpler proprietary OS. Although the software is not as fast as some other options, it still manages to be comparable to most of them in terms of raw functionality.
NFC payments are the only exception to this rule, which is what the Watch Fit does not have. The Huawei Watch Fit’s 10-day battery life is worth it if you are willing to sacrifice some of the tangible luxuries of an Apple Watch.