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Best for iPhone Owners
Apple Watch Series 8
Best for Android Owners
Samsung Galaxy Watch5 and Galaxy Watch5 Pro
Best Hybrid Smartwatch
Withings ScanWatch
Best Fitness Watch
Garmin Vivomove Trend
A great timepiece doesn’t just display the time of day; it can elevate your outfit and make you feel good. Smartwatches can do even more, from tracking your workouts and measuring your heart rate to serving up notifications and access to voice assistants. While you’re wearing a connected watch, you can leave your phone in your pocket and use your wrist for simple tasks.
The Apple Watch is our favorite for iPhone owners, but Samsung’s Galaxy Watch5 is a great wearable for anyone on Android. We also like several other options—in various styles and with different levels of smarts. Below is a roundup of the best smartwatches we’ve tested. Looking for a fitness tracker instead? We’ve got plenty more workout-friendly options in our Best Fitness Trackers, Best Fitbits, and Best Garmin Watches guides.
Updated July 2023: We’ve added the Mobvoi Ticwatch Pro 5, Garmin Vivomove Trend, and Casio G-Shock DW-H5600.
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Photograph: Apple
Best for iPhone Owners
Apple Watch Series 8
The Apple Watch is the best smartwatch money can buy. It has the best operating system, WatchOS, which is slick, with plenty of apps to help reduce the number of times you need to pull out your phone. The Series 8 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) doesn’t introduce a ton of new changes over the Series 7, but most notable is a skin temperature sensor that may or may not be helpful for tracking fertility and periods. It also features Crash Detection, which ensures the watch will contact emergency responders if you’re unresponsive in a car accident.
As usual, the health features are robust. There’s a sensor to measure oxygen saturation in the blood (SpO2)—helpful for athletes training at altitude or anyone with an underlying health condition—as well as an FDA-cleared electrocardiogram sensor. Unfortunately, battery life is still mediocre; you’ll need to charge it the following morning after tracking your sleep. That said, WatchOS 9 added a new Low Power Mode that extends the battery life to two full days while sacrificing features such as the Always-On Display or workout autostart. Our Best Apple Watch guide has more details, and check out our Apple Watch Accessories guide for extras.
Comes in 41-mm or 45-mm sizes.
★ A cheaper alternative: The second-gen Apple Watch SE ($240) is likely all you need (it includes fall detection too!). It debuted alongside the Series 8 and is the model for those who balk at a $400 price and don’t need an electrocardiogram, SpO2, the always-on display, or the new skin temperature capabilities.
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Photograph: Samsung
Best for Android Owners
Samsung Galaxy Watch5 and Galaxy Watch5 Pro
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch5 and Watch5 Pro (7/10, WIRED Recommends) are easily the best smartwatches for anyone using an Android phone, especially if you have a Samsung. They match the Apple Watch’s accuracy in several health and fitness metrics, from SpO2, sleep, and heart-rate tracking to electrocardiogram measurements (though the latter is exclusive to Samsung phones). The Watch5 Pro is larger and therefore has a battery that lasts roughly two full days, whereas the Watch5 lasts around a day and a morning. The Pro also adds GPX, meaning you can download hiking routes to the watch. They have sapphire crystals protecting the screen, but the Watch5 Pro’s crystal is even more durable, and it has a stronger titanium case versus the standard Watch5’s aluminum.
They’re comfy to wear, look attractive, and boast slick interfaces, though you still won’t find nearly as many apps on the Wear OS Google Play Store as in the Apple App Store. Still, you can respond to notifications, rely on these devices for turn-by-turn navigation in Google Maps, and ask Google Assistant anything—rivaling the Apple Watch in utility.
Comes in 40- and 44-mm sizes. Watch5 Pro comes in 45-mm size.
Note: Samsung is expected to unveil successors at its Galaxy Unpacked event on July 26. It might be prudent to wait.
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Photograph: Withings
Best Hybrid Smartwatch
Withings ScanWatch
Withings’ ScanWatch (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has nearly all the functions you want—heart rate and sleep tracking, plus basic notification alerts—but it goes further with its FDA clearance for the blood-oxygen and electrocardiogram measurements. The latter can be helpful to detect atrial fibrillation and irregular heartbeats, though you should always consult your physician if you’re concerned about the results.
This minimalist watch can go a whole month between charges—who doesn’t love that? The face is covered by sapphire glass, and the case is stainless steel, so it’s durable and feels well-built. What gives away its smart sensibilities is the OLED subdial, which is also one of the ScanWatch’s biggest downsides. This screen is tiny! You’ll be reading texts like the news ticker in Times Square, New York. It’s better for quickly glancing at the date and your heart rate and step count.
Comes in 42-mm or 38-mm sizes.
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Photograph: Garmin
Best Fitness Watch
Garmin Vivomove Trend
Fitness watches are typically not as sleek or simple to operate as more robust smartwatches, but the Vivomove Trend (8/10, WIRED Recommends) oozes elegance. This is also the first Garmin to include wireless charging, which means you’re now free to ditch your annoying Garmin plug-in charger.
The watch has it all—wireless charging, blood oxygen measurements, sleep tracking, auto-activity tracking, and Garmin’s proprietary and excellent algorithms for measuring your fitness. It’s a little clunky to operate, but that’s something you can get used to, especially if it means a five-day battery life.
Read our Best Fitness Watches guide for more recommendations.
Comes in a 40.4-mm case.
