I found myself asking Gemini about things I’d normally search Perplexity for and converting units. I’ve used my fair share of smartwatches and wearables with cheap vibration motors, and you can really feel the difference. Apple Watches have had premium Taptic Engine haptics since the original, so it’s nice to see Android smartwatches finally do, too. Developed by an iconic brand with over a century of history in making fine timepieces, the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 is the Wear OS smartwatch to get if your budget has no limits. Its stainless steel case with ceramic bezel, sapphire crystal, and a silicone strap with a titanium clasp make other Wear OS smartwatches look cheaper in comparison.
Garmin vivomove Sport: The best hybrid watch for fitness tracking
The former means you’ll need to carry a phone with you for location-tracking data. If you don’t mind those two factors then the Lily 2 is a more sensible buy than the pricier Active. There are two Fenix 8 Pro models to consider, but the MicroLED version is wildly expensive and doesn’t offer as much battery life as the AMOLED one, so we’d recommend the latter for your trips into the wilderness. It’s especially good for triathletes and runners who want a lightweight but advanced sports watch, and the Forerunner 970 packs an incredible array of useful sports and navigation features into its slim case. Unless you want the more rugged, diveproof design of the Fenix 8, this is the top Garmin going. But the watch itself will only judge your strength workouts on basics like heart rate and calories burned, whereas Garmin tracks individual reps for each exercise type, such as bench presses.
Figuring out what scenarios you plan to use your Android smartwatch for, and assessing how frequently you plan on using it, is a crucial step in figuring out which one is best for your needs. If you’re looking to drastically reduce your phone interactions, I highly recommend a touchscreen Google Wear OS product. Jen Zeltwanger, ACSM-EP, is an ACSM-certified exercise physiologist and Verywell Fit writer. She has lots of experience with in-home and outdoor fitness and tracks it all wearing an Apple Watch.
Plan your bedtime, detect snoring, and track your sleep stages, including awake, light, deep, and REM. This smartwatch becomes your sleep coach on your wrist, ensuring you wake up refreshed and ready to tackle the day.Prioritize your heart health with the always-on heart monitor. Android smartwatches are becoming increasingly popular, offering excellent compatibility and features for Android phone users. A key benefit of smartwatches is that they seamlessly integrate with your Android phone and apps, offering a more unified experience.
Fitness Trackers and Watches We Also Tested
It retails at a comparable $399 and features a thinner build, redesigned speakers and—most importantly—a new sleep apnea detection feature (in addition to everything else the Series 9 already does). Read more about these improvements in our tester’s full review of the Series 10. The https://www.reviews.io/company-reviews/store/madmuscles.com Charge 6 also features a more advanced heart rate monitor than its predecessors, which paid off in its level of accuracy during my testing.
Battery LifeMost of Garmin’s watches have excellent battery life, but some are better than others. Some Garmin watches, like the Fenix 8, Enduro 3 and Instinct 3 (Solar) have solar charging options, increasing the battery life of the watch. If you plan to spend extended periods of time outdoors, choose your watch accordingly.
The Venu 3 works flawlessly with iOS and Android while offering superb health and fitness functionality with advanced smartwatch capability. The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra has a unique square design with a round watch face, an interesting magnetic lug system, three buttons on one side, gesture support, advanced running dynamics, and more. Samsung’s Galaxy AI is present in the form of wellness insights that combine into a daily score to help guide you to optimal performance, including healthy sleep levels. Add to that the fact that the SE 3 is the first Apple Watch SE to include an always-on display, and you have to wonder why you’d buy the Series 11 in the first place.
Why you can trust Tom’s GuideOur writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what’s best for you. Typically, my review period lasts at least a week, giving me time to explore the product fully. I also revisit the devices I test regularly to check in on software updates and feature drops and to make sure my original findings stand the test of time.
Battery life
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- However, for something nearly as competent but a little more wallet-friendly, check out the Garmin Forerunner 165.
- Keep an eye out for sales; you might snag this smartwatch at a more budget-friendly price.
- Sporting a sub-$100 price tag, the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini offers a lightweight and durable design with a solid rating for water-resistance and a stellar set of features.
- The Pixel Watch 4 now offers support for emergency satellite communications.
- By tracking progress, offering prompts to move, and providing motivation, they can encourage more movement.
- You can also tweak display settings like brightness and timeout duration and pick what metrics you want displayed on your watch face, like steps, heart rate, etc.
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If a product boasts a large feature set but doesn’t deliver accuracy, it may not be worth its price. Conversely, if a wearable successfully executes more tools than competitors of equal price, I rate it higher. In most cases, smartwatches use an accelerometer to detect your movements and will utilize an algorithm to determine how many steps you’re taking.
Garmin’s GPS-Enabled Smartwatches
It also runs the latest software, Wear OS 6, and offers new health and fitness features, a personalized sleep coach, and integration with Google’s Gemini AI assistant. Unfortunately, like its predecessor, it doesn’t offer great battery life, as it lasted us only a little over a full day. If you want all the same features, plus a larger case and longer battery life, we also recommend the Samsung Galaxy Watch8 Classic. If fitness is your top priority, it’s worth considering brands like Garmin, Fitbit, or COROS, all of which are known for their health-first approach.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is a sporty and rugged GPS watch with up to 48 hours of battery life and impressive health and fitness tracking tech on par with the Galaxy Watch 7. However, it’s also among the heaviest and chunkiest Android wearables around. This tracker has a ton packed — attach this to your wrist and you can monitor data like heart rate, sleep monitoring, step counting, distance, calories burned, active minutes, and even sleep duration. It has a bunch of exercise modes built in it so that you can have an easier time recording things like calories burned during a gym session or hike. The LETSCOM Fitness Tracker HR even lets you connect up to your Android device for taking calls and messages, as well as sending those out.
Best Android smartwatch
Because they have fewer features than smartwatches, they also tend to have a lighter and/or smaller build. However, if you want those fitness tracking features plus extra smart features, texting and voice calls in one wearable device, smartwatches are better equipped for the job. That said, these are more expensive and often bulkier than fitness trackers. The Garmin Forerunner 265 is easily one of the most impressive running watches I’ve ever used and a welcome upgrade to its already powerful predecessor. The most apparent improvement on this model is its OLED touchscreen display. I also applaud Garmin’s decision to offer the watch in two sizes, a 265 and 265S, with the same retail price.
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As A Personal Trainer, These Are The 7 Best Fitness Trackers I Recommend In 2025
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Some Garmin models offer the ability to send a quick reply from the wrist by selecting from a list of pre-written messages. Only Garmin’s higher-end watch models offer the ability to download and manage maps to your device for offline use. These include the Garmin Forerunner 965 (and 955), Enduro 3 (and Enduro 2), Fenix 8 (and Fenix 7) and the Garmin Epix series. All of the models in our buying guide boast GPS, which means that you won’t need to carry a paired phone with you for location-tracking data. Garmin Lily 2The Garmin Lily 2 is the non-GPS version of the Lily 2 Active featured above. The standard model is $50 cheaper but doesn’t sport onboard GPS or physical buttons.
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Do some Android smartwatches work better with certain Android devices?
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I doubt I’ll ever find myself trapped in some remote place without cellular connectivity, but if you think you might, it’s reassuring to know the feature is there. Unfortunately, Google didn’t have the new Fitbit app experience powered by an AI coach available just yet. It’s supposed to launch later this month, so we’ll have to wait and see how it changes the fitness and health experience of the Pixel Watch 4 (and all Fitbit devices). The caveat is that you cannot see your workout information on the watch if you have this passive method turned on.
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The best Android smartwatch for battery life
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An additional service plan is required for cellular connectivity directly on the watch. Unlike the Apple Watch, your Android phone is not required to be https://www.instagram.com/madmuscles_app/ on for the service to work. Before you purchase the newest accessory for your wrist, consider our recommendations based on priorities.