Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
EDITORS’ NOTE
October 10, 2025: With this update, we added the Google Pixel Watch 4. Our remaining picks have been vetted for currency and availability. Since our last update, we reviewed and evaluated six new smartwatches for potential inclusion in this roundup.
- Nearly two days of battery life in testing
- Now supports 5G
- FDA-approved hypertension notifications
- WatchOS 26 delivers helpful new features
- Vibrant screen
- Slim design
- More durable
- Same specs and sensors as the previous model
- Sleep Score and Workout Buddy lack depth
The Apple Watch Series 11 offers a broad suite of lifestyle, fitness, health, and safety tools, plus the best third-party app selection of any smartwatch. It features a harder, more scratch-resistant screen and longer battery life than its predecessor, while adding 5G connectivity for faster downloads when you’re separated from your phone. It otherwise carries forward the Series 10’s sleek design, featuring a bright and colorful 2,000-nit wide-angle OLED display. Thanks to watchOS 26, the Series 11 has Workout Buddy to offer encouraging words as you exercise, a new Sleep Score metric that encapsulates your overnight data into a single value, and hypertension notifications to let you know if it senses high blood pressure. With these upgrades, the Apple Watch Series 11 remains the best iPhone-compatible smartwatch for most buyers.
If you’re looking for a feature-rich smartwatch to stay connected, monitor your health, and track your fitness, the Series 11 is our Editors’ Choice winner for iPhone users.
Phone OS Compatibility
iOS
Watch OS
watchOS
Processor
Apple S10
Display Size
1.65 inches/1.81 inches
Display Type
Always-on LTPO3 OLED
Fitness Features
Heart Rate Monitor, ECG, Blood Oxygen Monitor, Temperature Sensor, Pedometer, Gyroscope, Pulse Oximeter, Accelerometer, GPS, Barometer
Battery Life
43 hours (tested)
Learn More
Apple Watch Series 11 Review
- 3,000-nit display
- AI coaching helps with sleep and fitness
- Accurate heart rate tracking
- Measures antioxidant levels
- Google Gemini built-in
- One-day battery life
- More expensive than last-gen model
The Galaxy Watch 8 brings AI coaching for running workouts and sleep, antioxidant testing, and vascular load measurements for arterial health to Samsung’s popular smartwatch line. Its Galaxy AI-powered coaching works well, and Google’s Gemini AI assistant is built in to respond to your voice commands. It has a thinner frame than its predecessor and offers a minor bump in battery life. Otherwise, it carries forward everything from past models, including advanced glycation end products (AGEs) index tracking (an indicator of metabolic health), FDA-approved sleep apnea detection, and body composition measurements similar to a smart scale. It’s also durable with an IP68 resistance rating, MIL-STD-810H certification, and 5ATM of water resistance.
If you want the best Wear OS smartwatch for fitness and sleep tracking, go with the Galaxy Watch 8. It offers Galaxy AI wellness assessments and has a large, bright screen. It comes in small (40mm) or large (44mm) sizes in silver or graphite with two connectivity options (with or without LTE), accommodating a wide range of buyers.
The Galaxy Watch 8 series is exclusive to Android phones. Some of its features only work with Samsung handsets, including the Running Coach, irregular heart rhythm notifications, phone separation alerts, gesture controls, and snoring detection.
Phone OS Compatibility
Android
Watch OS
Wear OS
Processor
Samsung Exynos W1000
Display Size
1.34 inches/1.47 inches
Display Type
Super AMOLED
Fitness Features
Accelerometer, Heart Rate Monitor, GPS, Blood Oxygen Monitor, Pedometer, Barometer, Temperature Sensor, Gyroscope, ECG, Light Sensor
Battery Life
26 hours (tested)
Learn More
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Review
- Activity-focused games
- Location tracking
- Supports texting and calling trusted contacts
- Robust parental controls
- Works with Android or iOS
- Expensive
- Occasionally sluggish
- No music app, sleep tracking, or selfie camera
- Bloated rewards systems
The Fitbit Ace LTE has fitness, gaming, and safety features tailored for kids ages 7 to 11. A built-in arcade forms a central part of the watch’s experience, and each game is meant to limit screen time and encourage activity between short rounds of play. The watch tracks floors climbed, light activity, moderate activity, and steps as the child goes about their day, and offers daily quests and a customizable avatar to encourage active play. Even simple features like the activity ring is a customizable animal that celebrates reaching the daily goal with a variety of animations.
For parents, the watch has built-in location tracking through GPS and Google Maps, included as part of the monthly subscription that also unlocks LTE service. Kids can use the watch to send texts and make calls, but only to trusted contacts added by the parent through a Google Family Link account.
The Ace LTE is worth the splurge for parents who want to give themselves peace of mind while keeping their child engaged. Keep in mind that it requires a monthly subscription, and it doesn’t have a camera or track sleep.
Phone OS Compatibility
Android and iOS
Watch OS
Wear OS
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1
Display Size
1.6 inches/1.8 inches
Display Type
OLED
Fitness Features
Accelerometer, GPS, Heart Rate Monitor, Gyroscope, Light Sensor, Pedometer
Learn More
Fitbit Ace LTE Review
- Large AMOLED touch screen
- Weeklong battery life
- Lightweight design
- Plenty of health metrics
- Contactless payments
- Integrated GPS
- Does not track floors climbed
- Preloaded workouts are not animated
- Limited lifestyle features
In the crowded fitness smartwatch market, Garmin’s Venu Sq 2 stands out for its practicality. It features a large AMOLED color touch screen with a squarish design that offers better text legibility compared with round models. Battery life is also a strong suit: In testing, the Venu Sq 2 ran for up to nine days between charges with light use. The second-generation Sq is a fitness-first wearable with a robust suite of workout- and health-tracking tools, but it also offers some useful lifestyle features, including calendar and weather apps, vibrating alarms, smartphone notifications, and Garmin Pay mobile payment support.
If you’re looking for a reasonably affordable smartwatch with exceptional battery life and a focus on fitness, the Garmin Venu Sq 2 is an Editors’ Choice winner. It pairs with smartphones running at least iOS 15 or Android 7.0 via the Garmin Connect app, so compatibility shouldn’t be an issue.
Phone OS Compatibility
Android, iOS
Watch OS
Proprietary
Processor
N/A
Display Size
1.41 inches
Display Type
AMOLED
Fitness Features
Accelerometer, GPS, Heart Rate Monitor, Blood Oxygen Monitor, Temperature Sensor
Battery Life
9 days
Learn More
Garmin Venu Sq 2 Review
- Responsive touch and gesture controls
- Accurate heart rate monitoring
- In-depth sleep metrics
- Detailed exercise tracking
- Measures ECG, SpO2, body fat percentage, and more
- Large app selection
- Small screen with big bezels
- Dated processor
- No AI health insights
The Galaxy Watch FE is the budget choice in Samsung’s smartwatch lineup, but it makes few sacrifices for its reasonable price. It gives you access to all the standard Google apps like Assistant, Maps, Messages, and the Play Store. On the wellness front, the Galaxy Watch FE can automatically or manually track a wide range of workouts and measure heart rate, pace, and VO2 Max, as well as advanced outdoor running metrics like asymmetry and vertical oscillation. It even offers a few advanced health features, including overnight snore tracking and the ability to measure your body composition. It’s surprisingly durable for the price, with an IP68 weather-resistance rating, a 5ATM waterproof rating, and MIL-STD-810H certification.
If you want to save money and still get loads of smart features and health tracking capabilities, the Galaxy Watch FE is the best budget-friendly WearOS smartwatch. It’s compatible with phones running Android with at least 2GB of RAM. It’s only available in one small 40mm size, with just Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, or added LTE connectivity for $50 extra.
Phone OS Compatibility
Android
Watch OS
Wear OS
Processor
Exynos W920 Dual-Core 1.18GHz
Display Size
1.19 inches
Display Type
AMOLED
Fitness Features
Accelerometer, GPS, Heart Rate Monitor, Gyroscope, Pedometer, Light Sensor, Barometer, Blood Oxygen Monitor
Battery Life
27 hours (tested)
Learn More
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE Review
- Sharp always-on display
- Same processor as the Series 11
- Nearly two days of battery life
- Supports 5G
- Gesture controls
- Lacks sensors for blood oxygen, ECG, and hypertension
- No QWERTY keyboard for text input
- Large bezels
The Apple Watch SE 3 is the least expensive and smallest watch in Apple’s lineup. The third-generation model brings several important improvements to the line, including an always-on display, on-device Siri processing, wrist temperature sensing, and the same S10 chip used by the flagship Series 11. Safety features include Emergency SOS, fall detection, sleep apnea detection, and irregular heart rate and rhythm notifications. The SE 3 now has 5G for faster downloads when you’re away from your phone. And the SE 3 launches with watchOS 26, including all of Apple’s latest software features such as gesture controls, Workout Buddy, and Sleep Score.
The Apple Watch SE 3 is a solid option for its target audience of first-time smartwatch buyers, budget shoppers, children/teens, and older adults. It even supports Apple’s Family Setup feature, which enables you to manage the watch for a family member who doesn’t have an iPhone. In all, the Apple Watch SE 3 is an excellent pick with strong value and long battery life to boot. Just keep in mind this model has noticeably larger bezels than the Series 11, and lacks hypertension notifications as well as sensors for blood oxygen saturation, water depth and temperature, and ECG.
Phone OS Compatibility
iOS
Watch OS
watchOS
Processor
Apple S10
Display Size
1.5 inches/1.7 inches
Display Type
Always-On LTPO OLED
Fitness Features
Heart Rate Monitor, Pedometer, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, GPS, Barometer
Battery Life
46 hours (tested)
Learn More
Apple Watch SE 3 Review
- Supports satellite connectivity for off-grid communication
- 5G comes standard
- Longest battery life of any Apple Watch
- Vibrant, wide-angle OLED display
- FDA-approved hypertension notifications
- Expensive
- Bulky
- Same sensors as the previous model
The Ultra 3 is the most rugged and battery-rich Apple Watch, offering exclusive outdoor adventuring features that can help you stay safe when you veer off the beaten path. That includes the ability to send a text or Emergency SOS message via satellite when out of cell signal range, as well as a bright orange customizable Action button, a nubby crown you can operate with gloved hands, and a durable titanium case. It also boasts a diving-friendly EN13319 certification, a built-in 86dB emergency siren that is audible from up to 600 feet away, and a dual-frequency GPS for tracking your location in cities and the woods. The Ultra 3 comes with 5G cellular support and offers excellent call quality thanks to a dual-speaker system and a three-microphone array. Powered by Apple’s S10 chip, the Ultra 3 has enough battery life to power through a weekend and offers all the features of watchOS 26, including hypertension notifications and Workout Buddy.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is best for endurance athletes, ocean enthusiasts, and anyone else who spends a lot of time in the great outdoors. With a WR100 water-resistance rating, Ultra models are the only Apple smartwatches suitable for high-speed water sports and recreational diving. Like its predecessors, the third-gen Ultra works for recreational dives at depths of up to 40 meters and can function as a dive computer with the Oceanic+ app. It’s pricey, though, and people with smaller wrists might not like its bulky design.
Phone OS Compatibility
iOS
Watch OS
watchOS
Processor
Apple S10
Display Size
1.9 inches
Display Type
Always-on LTPO3 OLED
Fitness Features
Blood Oxygen Monitor, ECG, Heart Rate Monitor, Accelerometer, GPS, Temperature Sensor, Pedometer, Gyroscope, Light Sensor, Barometer
Battery Life
63 hours (tested)
Learn More
Apple Watch Ultra 3 Review
- Attractive, comfortable design
- Better touch-screen responsiveness than predecessor
- Physical button improves usability
- 40 exercise modes (up from 20)
- Long battery life
- Lots of watch faces
- Tracks overnight skin temperature variation
- No third-party app support
- Some lifestyle apps from previous generation removed
- Lacks ECG, stress sensors
The Fitbit Versa 4 is an excellent fitness-focused smartwatch. With 40 exercise modes, it covers everything from kayaking and golf to strength training, skiing, and yoga. We appreciate its attractive yet comfortable design, responsive touch screen, and long battery life. In testing, it lasted four days between charges with the always-on display enabled and the screen brightness set to max. In addition to its robust fitness and health capabilities, it has a small but useful selection of lifestyle features, including Amazon Alexa, Google Maps, and Google Pay. On the downside, the Versa 4 doesn’t support third-party app downloads, with the exception of watch faces.
If you’re looking for a smartwatch with support for cellular calling and third-party apps, this isn’t it. Instead, the Versa 4 is a strong option for anyone in search of a simple, attractive, budget-minded smartwatch for monitoring their health and fitness. For activation and setup, it requires a smartphone running at least Android 11 or iOS 16.4 or higher. Keep in mind that you will need a Google account to log into the Fitbit app. Legacy Fitbit users will need to migrate their account over to Google’s platform to log in, a fairly painless process we detail in our Versa 4 review.
Phone OS Compatibility
Android, iOS
Watch OS
Fitbit OS
Processor
N/A
Display Size
1.58 inches
Display Type
AMOLED
Fitness Features
Accelerometer, GPS, Heart Rate Monitor, Blood Oxygen Monitor
Battery Life
6 days
Learn More
Fitbit Versa 4 Review
- Stunning curved display
- More than two days of battery life
- Built-in Gemini for voice control
- Accurate exercise, sleep tracking
- Emergency satellite communication
- No new sensors
- Few software upgrades over its predecessor
- Daily run recommendations are paywalled
The Google Pixel Watch 4 features a striking design with a curved display housed under a domed glass enclosure. It supports key lifestyle features, including calling, texting, mobile payments, and smart home controls, and you can customize the watch with a wide range of third-party apps. You can also control the watch with voice commands and ask a variety of questions through Google’s Gemini AI. For fitness and health tracking, we appreciate its Readiness Score, Cardio Load, and Target Load metrics that together paint a picture of your overall well-being and indicate whether you’re heading toward fitness progress or potential burnout. Plus, the Pixel Watch 4 lasted an impressive 56 hours in our battery rundown test with the always-on display enabled.
The Pixel Watch 4’s eye-catching curved screen makes it a top smartwatch if you prioritize style, especially if you have a Pixel phone or you want a watch that leverages the latest Fitbit health features. Its best features work on Android phones of any brand, but it offers some useful exclusives when paired with Pixel handsets, such as camera controls and phone call screening.
Phone OS Compatibility
Android
Watch OS
Wear OS
Processor
Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 processor with a Cortex-M55 co-processor
Display Size
1.27 inches/1.46 inches
Display Type
AMOLED
Fitness Features
Accelerometer, Heart Rate Monitor, GPS, Blood Oxygen Monitor, Temperature Sensor, Pedometer, Gyroscope, Barometer, ECG, Light Sensor
Battery Life
56 hours (tested)
Learn More
Google Pixel Watch 4 Review
- Five-day battery life
- Accurate exercise and sleep tracking
- Dynamic AI health insights
- Fall detection
- Wrist temperature sensor
- No cellular option
- ECG disabled in the US
The third-generation OnePlus Watch features a classy design, standout battery life, and useful safety and wellness features, including AI-powered health insights, fall detection, and wrist temperature sensing. In our testing, it lasted an impressive 98 hours on a charge with its always-on AMOLED display enabled, outperforming its Wear OS and watchOS peers. The OnePlus Watch 3 achieves its impressive battery life by employing two different operating systems to save power. It uses Wear OS 5 to run third-party apps and other battery-intensive tasks alongside a proprietary real-time operating system (RTOS) for low-power operations like sending notifications or running background tasks.
This is a top Wear OS pick if battery life is a primary concern. Like other Wear OS devices, you need an Android phone to use the OnePlus Watch 3. If you have a OnePlus phone, you can use the watch to take pictures or hit play on a YouTube video on your phone, but it otherwise functions the same on any handset running Android 9.0 or later. The OnePlus Watch 3 has no LTE option, but it has all the apps you’d expect from a Wear OS smartwatch, and it doubles as a capable fitness and sleep tracker.
Phone OS Compatibility
Android
Watch OS
Wear OS
Processor
Snapdragon W5 + BES2800
Display Size
1.5 inches
Display Type
AMOLED
Fitness Features
Accelerometer, Heart Rate Monitor, GPS, Blood Oxygen Monitor, Temperature Sensor, Gyroscope, Light Sensor, Pulse Oximeter, Barometer
Battery Life
98 hours
Learn More
OnePlus Watch 3 Review
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The Best Smartwatches for 2025
Compare Specs
Buying Guide: The Best Smartwatches for 2025
Pick a Watch That Works With Your Phone
Naturally, the first thing you should consider before you buy a smartwatch is compatibility. We include these details in our reviews of each product.
All Apple Watch models run watchOS, Apple’s smartwatch operating system, and work only with iOS devices. Apple’s latest wearables—the Series 11, the Ultra 3, and the Watch SE 3— require an iPhone 11 (or the 2nd Gen iPhone SE) or later with iOS 26 or later and do not work with Android handsets.
The Galaxy Watch 8, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra run Wear OS 6 with Samsung’s One UI 8 interface. They require a smartphone running Android 12 or later. Although you can pair the Watch 8 with non-Samsung Android phones, some features work only with Samsung handsets, including the AI coaching features, irregular heart rhythm notifications, phone separation alerts, gesture controls, and the Camera Controller app.
Google’s Pixel Watch 4 runs Wear OS 6 and works with most phones running Android 11 or newer via the Google Pixel Watch app, which requires a Google Account to log in. It’s not exclusive to Pixel phones and should pair just fine with devices from any other Android phone maker, including Samsung. That said, some Pixel Watch features are only available when paired with a Pixel phone, like Ask to Hold for calls, automatic call screening, and the camera controller.
Most of the other smartwatches on this list are compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones.
Which Platform Offers the Best Smartwatch Apps?
What separates a smartwatch from a dumb watch? Lots of things, but as smartphones have taught us, apps might be the most important.
Most of the watches we like feature full-fledged app stores that bring everything from Spotify, Yelp, and Strava to your wrist. Much like smartphones, app availability is a good way to determine which product to get, so make sure to check out the app selection for each watch before you make a final decision.
If you’re looking for apps, Apple is your best bet. The App Store lets you browse and download third-party watchOS apps directly on the watch, including popular favorites like AllTrails, Calm, Pandora, Peloton, Shazam, Spotify, Starbucks, and Strava.
The Apple Watch still has the largest number of high-quality apps and big-name developers, but Google’s Wear OS platform is catching up.
Samsung’s latest smartwatches feature popular Google apps like Maps and the Play Store, alongside Samsung’s Buds Controller, Pay, and more. The Pixel Watch features all the Google standbys, including Assistant, Gmail, Home, Maps, the Play Store, and Wallet.
Other popular apps available for download via the Google Play Store on Wear OS smartwatches include Amazon Music, Calm, Deezer, Easy Voice Recorder, KakaoTalk, Samsung Internet Browser, SmartThings, Spotify, Stocard, Todoist, and WhatsApp.
How Are Smartwatches and Fitness Trackers Different?
Unless you want a gadget on both of your wrists (not the best look), you should pick a smartwatch that also works as a fitness tracker. Most smartwatches are capable of tracking basic activity, like steps, but you need to pay close attention to additional features.
Most of the smartwatches on our list feature GPS connectivity, which means they can record your runs without the help of a companion device. Most modern smartwatches also have an optical heart rate sensor that can take continuous and on-demand heart rate measurements.
Fitbit Versa devices are fairly affordable and track plenty of fitness and sleep metrics. However, they have fewer third-party apps, so there are some trade-offs. Look closely and choose a watch that tracks the activities and health metrics you want to monitor. Some smartwatches offer advanced health-tracking features, including the ability to take an ECG and measure your SpO2 level.
Which Smartwatches Have Cellular and Are They Worth the Money?
A cellular connection allows you to make calls, send texts, stream music, download apps, and do anything else that requires an internet connection—all without your phone. The cellular Apple Watch Series 11 carries a $100 premium over the base model (Bluetooth and Wi-Fi only), but now works with 5G signals for faster downloads. Still, you also have to pay for a separate data plan—most carriers charge an additional $10 per month per smartwatch. The Galaxy Watch FE, Galaxy Watch 8, and Google Pixel Watch 4 are also available with cellular connectivity.
Whether this convenience is worth it for you depends on how you plan to use your watch. If you want to stream music while you exercise and leave your phone at home or in the locker room, a cellular connection can certainly come in handy. If you always have your phone on you, however, you can probably save money and skip it.
Recommended by Our Editors
How Long Do Smartwatches Last?
You don’t want a smartwatch with good battery life, right? Good, because you’re not going to get it. Features like an always-on display and GPS tracking are nice, but they drain battery life quickly. Watches with full-color, smartphone-like displays, like the Apple Watch and Wear OS watches, generally only last about a day on a charge.
There are a few exceptions, including the OnePlus Watch 3 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3, which offer multi-day battery life. In general, you get much better battery life with a Fitbit or Garmin watch. They typically last around six days on a single charge.
How Much Should You Spend on a Smartwatch?
Smartwatches can be very expensive, but that doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot of money to get a good one. Yes, the $1,000+ Apple Watch Hermès is sure to draw a lot of attention, but for that price, you could buy five Fitbits. If you’re a first-time smartwatch buyer, consider the less-expensive route first in case you wind up not wearing it all that much.
What’s the Best Android Watch?
All of the models on this list work with Android phones except for the Apple Watch. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is our current favorite thanks to its in-depth AI coaching and robust wellness features. The Samsung Galaxy Watch FE is the best affordable Android smartwatch thanks to its streamlined design, excellent health and safety features, useful calling and texting capabilities, and overall value for the money.
What’s the Best-Looking Smartwatch?
Let’s not forget: You’re also going to wear this thing. And unlike your Timex, it’s probably not going to remain in style for years. Smartwatch design is rapidly changing, so hold out until you find something you actually want to wear. And keep in mind that smartwatches are still gadgets. The coming year is sure to bring new iterations of pretty much every watch on this list, not to mention completely new ones.
The battle for wrist real estate is quickly heating up. That’s good news for consumers because this pace of innovation is likely to result in more capable—and more stylish—devices. I wouldn’t be surprised if this list reads completely differently the next time you see it. But if you’re looking for the best smartwatch available today, the options here are the finest we’ve tested.
For more, check out our roundups of the best Android watches and the best Samsung watches.
