The best smartwatches for Android range greatly in terms of style, price and functionality. In other words, there’s something for everyone.
Whether you have a handset from Samsung, Google or OnePlus, or any of the best Android phones, you’ll want to consider the smartwatches below. Some are optimized to work with specific smartphones, but all are among the best smartwatches for Android you can buy now.
Not all of the best smartwatches for Android are made the same, though. Some are sophisticated fitness trackers, while others are designed to make the ultimate fashion statement. A few of these smartwatches even support LTE, so you can communicate from your wrist untethered from your smartphone.
What are the best smartwatches for Android?
We’ve tested dozens of Android-compatible smartwatches in all shapes, sizes and prices here at Tom’s Guide, and our current top pick is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. It offers a versatile, yet a sporty-looking design and starts at $279. The Galaxy Watch 5 is a compelling Wear OS 3 smartwatch, even if you’ll need a Samsung smartphone to use all its features. It’ll be interesting to see how the Google Pixel Watch ultimately compares when we get to face off the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 vs. Google Pixel Watch.
However, the Galaxy Watch 4 is being replaced by the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 (starting at $279) and Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro (starting at $449), which offer greater battery life and performance, as well as a new sensor that measures your skin temperature.
What about Fossil smartwatches?
Note there aren’t any Fossil smartwatches on this list. We’re waiting to test the Fossil Gen 6, which is technically available now, but worth waiting for until it gets the new Wear OS in 2022.
The $299.95 Fitbit Sense, another excellent premium smartwatch for Android, is a close second. Of course, Fitbit is owned by Google, so future launches should also run Wear OS based on what both companies have said. But for now, the Sense is built on Fitbit’s reliable platform complete with popular apps and voice assistants. The Fitbit Sense provides the most holistic look at your health of any of the best smartwatches we’ve ever used.
For about $100 less, you can get the Fitbit Versa 3 instead. It launched at the same time as the Fitbit Sense, and gets the same 6-day battery life along with a capable collection of fitness tracking features. When it comes to the best cheap smartwatches, there are a few even more budget-friendly smartwatches for Android, so read on for all our recommendations.
For brand-specific buying advice, see our guides to the best Samsung watch, best Fitbit and best Garmin watch models. Otherwise, see all the best smartwatches for Android below.
The best smartwatches you can buy today
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 has a new skin-temperature reader, more scratch-resistant display and a longer-lasting battery life. It’s the best Samsung watch yet, because while there aren’t a ton of differences between the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 vs. Galaxy Watch 4, the changes make what was already a great device all that much better. And starting at $279, it remains a fair value.
Though the skin temperature reader won’t work at launch, there’s plenty to like about the Galaxy Watch 5. For one, it lasted for an entire two days in our testing, and reached almost 50% charge from 0% in 30 minutes. Wear OS 3 with Samsung’s skin has more perks, too, including Google Assistant and better interoperability with your other Samsung devices. For more GPS features and an even longer-lasting battery life, check out the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 review.
Based on our experience and familiarity with Fitbit devices, we think the Fitbit Sense is the company’s most ambitious smartwatch yet. It comes with more advanced health and wellness features than any of the best Android smartwatches. Not only does it have an FDA-approved ECG sensor and blood oxygen reading, but the Sense has the ability to measure electrodermal activity and skin temperature, too.
Aside from it being a premium health tracking device, the Sense could answer and make phone calls when tethered to our Android phone. It also has on-board GPS, a native app store, Alexa, Google Assistant and other tools you’ll find useful on our wrist. The Google-owned Fitbit isn’t just a brand with products for tracking our steps: Fitbit devices like the Fitbit Sense show what it means to take a holistic look at our health.
Read our full Fitbit Sense review.
The Garmin Venu 2 was already a stellar fitness-tracking smartwatch. We consider it one of the best smartwatches for Android that’s both a capable workout companion and stylish lifestyle device. The $449 Garmin Venu 2 Plus introduces on-wrist calls and voice assistants. While it maintains Garmin’s reputation for thorough fitness tracking and accurate GPS, the Venu 2 Plus is now a stronger sell for those who want their smartwatch to act as an extension of their smartphone.
Though Garmin still lacks a large third-party app store and continues to steer clear of LTE support, embracing more communication tools is a major step towards mastering the complete smartwatch experience. 9 days of battery life is the cherry on top.
Read our full Garmin Venu 2 review.
The best smartwatch for Android for those interested in advanced sleep tracking is the Fitbit Versa 3, the next-generation of the popular Fitbit Versa 2. The Versa 3’s standout upgrade is on-board GPS. Even when you leave your phone at home, the Versa can track your location during outdoor exercise. A curvier, larger display is welcome, too.
Plus the Versa 3 has gained a great motivational workout feature, Active Zone Minutes. Introduced with the Fitbit Charge 4 and now a staple of Fitbit devices, Active Zone Minutes monitors the time you spend in the fat burn, cardio or peak heart-rate zones while exercising. Your goal is to earn the AHA’s and WHO’s recommended 150 Active Zone Minutes each week. Again you can use your Fitbit Versa 3 for phone calls and speak to voice assistants for queries, but note you can only enable one voice assistant at once. Torn between the Sense and Versa? See our Fitbit Sense vs. Fitbit Versa 3 face-off.
Read our full Fitbit Versa 3 review.
With an accurate GPS, a long-lasting battery, and the ability to track many types of workouts, the Garmin Forerunner 245 is one of the best sports watches. When synced with your Android phone, the Forerunner 245 can send (or cancel) emergency notifications at the push of a button, so you’ll have peace of mind wherever your next workout takes you.
The Garmin Forerunner 245 is small and light, so it won’t weigh down your wrist during runs or feel uncomfortable during everyday wear or while you’re sleeping. And it gets the same fitness metrics as Garmin’s latest higher-end GPS watches: Training Status to track progress, Training Load to see workouts over a seven-day period, and Training Effect to measure anaerobic and aerobic. It also supports sleep, stress, blood oxygen saturation, and menstrual cycle tracking. Garmin even offers a Forerunner 245 Music edition, which comes with onboard storage for up to 500 songs and syncs with Spotify and Deezer accounts.
Read our full Garmin Forerunner 245 review.
Despite there being a newer Galaxy Watch 5, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic remains available as the best smartwatch for those who like a traditional look. This ‘Classic’ version of watch features luxurious characteristics, namely the physical rotating bezel (starting at $349.99.)
Thanks to a 3-in-1 health sensor, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic measures heart rate, takes ECGs and reads body composition. And while it gets appealing Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Wear OS features, it still pays homage to Tizen, making it the ideal accessory for the best Samsung phones. Note that certain features are exclusive to Samsung users, so not all Android users will benefit from all the Galaxy Watch 4 can do.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic review.
We often get asked whether you should buy an Amazfit Watch, and the answer is yes, especially the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro. This is easily the brand’s most premium smartwatch yet, and while we wish it was a bit more full-featured for the price (there’s no NFC, for example,) there are ample health and fitness features on board. With improved accuracy compared to the previous-generation Amazfit GTR 2, the GTR 3 Pro offers an excellent one-stop measurement tool for your heart rate, blood oxygen, stress levels and more in a single reading.
When you’re not checking on your body or working out with the 150+ exercise types, the watch’s built-in apps, hands-free voice controls and menu layouts can be tailored to suit your needs. Pair that with up to 12 days of battery life, and this is one of the best smartwatches for Android that isn’t from one of the top-shelf names in connected wearable.
Read our full Amazfit GTR 3 Pro review.
While probably better known for its budget smartwatches, Mobvoi has branched into higher-end devices such as the TicWatch Pro 3, which we liked during testing. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform, which makes it eligible for the new Wear OS platform and delivers better overall performance than previous TicWatch offerings.
As a smartwatch, the TicWatch Pro 3 works quite well, with easy Wear OS integration and notifications that are prompt but unobtrusive. The activity tracking features seem sub-par, especially compared to some of the other best smartwatches for Android on this list, but they’ll suffice for basic step counting and sleep tracking. In terms of style, the TicWatch Pro 3 feels like a traditional timepiece. But with a large 1.4-inch display, the TicWatch Pro 3 is sharp and easy to read at a glance. It’ll be even better with the new Wear OS update.
Read our full TicWatch Pro 3 review.
As our Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs. Galaxy Watch Active 2 face-off explains, the Watch Active 2 is still worth buying, especially when you find it on sale. Samsung’s watch works with any Android smartphone and features GPS, a heart rate monitor and the option to enable LTE. It also can automatically track your activity and sleep. (It’s much better at the former task than the latter.)
As for looks, Galaxy Watch Active 2’s circular design is visually appealing, whether you get the 40mm or 44mm model. Based on Samsung’s Tizen operating system, this Galaxy Watch boasts other useful features such as Samsung Pay, onboard music via Spotify and heart health features. That includes an ECG feature, which is usually reserved for pricer models.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 review.
Another previous-gen model on this list, the Fitbit Versa 2 is a highly capable smartwatch. It has Amazon’s assistant built in, which lets you do such things as control smart home devices, look up the weather and news, and a lot more. It comes with advanced sleep-tracking features, which, when combined with the Versa 2’s ability to monitor blood oxygen saturation levels, could help alert you to conditions such as sleep apnea.
You can also download up to 300 songs to the Versa 2 itself, as well as from Pandora and Deezer, so you can leave your phone at home if you want to listen to some tunes. Sadly, the Versa 2 lacks on-board GPS, so you will need to tote your phone if you want that feature.
Read our full Fitbit Versa 2 review.
The Garmin Instinct 2 boasts an infinite battery life — yep, it has the power to last forever, charging with the sunlight. There are a few catches, from which features work on solar power, to which versions of the Garmin Instinct 2 even pack a solar panel, to how many hours a day the watch needs to be exposed to sunlight. But beyond that, the Instinct 2 is better than the first Garmin Instinct in almost every way.
It retains it’s rugged feel, while borrowing features from some of Garmin’s more expensive watches. It also now comes in a smaller 40mm size — the 2S, designed for smaller wrists. Unlike the new Garmin Fenix 7 range, there’s no touchscreen, but the five-button functionality is easy to figure out, and use on the move.
Read our full Garmin Instinct 2 review.
The $159 OnePlus Watch finally offers OnePlus customers an optimized wearable accessory for their smartphones. On paper it looks great, loaded with features we’ve come to expect on many of the best smartwatches for Android, including fitness tracking and blood oxygen monitoring, plus a 14-day battery life. It also can be used to answer phone calls as long as your smartphone is nearby.
Compared to the smartwatches made by OnePlus’s mobile competitors, the OnePlus Watch’s alluring price makes it a curious option. We’d say a Fitbit is better, but if you have one of the best OnePlus phones, why not complete your ecosystem? Of course, buying the OnePlus Watch comes with some caveats. The performance is inconsistent, and the proprietary Real TIme Operating System (RTOS) lacks compared to Wear OS, despite looking similar to Google’s platform.
Read our full OnePlus Watch review.
How to choose the best smartwatch for Android for you
When looking at the best smartwatches for Android, you have plenty of options, no matter the connected smartphone brand (as long it’s not an iPhone, obviously.) That said, if you have a Samsung smartphone, you’ll probably enjoy the ecosystem experience of a Samsung-made Galaxy Watch more than a smartwatch from Fitbit or other third-party maker. But if fitness tracking or working out is your priority, a Fitbit or Garmin wearable might be better for reaching your goals.
After that, when picking any smartwatch, you want to get one that fits your wrist comfortably. Those with smaller wrists may find larger smartwatches — ones with case sizes larger than 44mm — bulky and cumbersome. Many of the watches listed above are large, which might make them awkward to wear overnight. On the other hand, the larger displays make whatever is on your screen easier to read.
Lastly, consider style. Some of the best smartwatches for Android look like high-tech fitness trackers while others look like traditional timepieces. If you want something sporty, stick to sleek materials with fewer embellishments. If you want something you can wear on nicer occasions, look for bezels or other eye-catching accents.
How we test the best smartwatches for Android
Whenever an attractive, Android-compatible smartwatch is released, we fully charge it up, then strap it on our wrist for about a week or so to test out all the features.
We gauge how it feels on our wrist throughout our day-to-day, as well as how easy (or not) the interface is to navigate when we need to read notifications, set timers or change other settings. Next, we look at its fitness features, such as heart rate readings, blood oxygen readings, step counts and, when applicable, GPS. How accurate are all these readings?
Finally we consider battery life claims and compare it to our actual use. Some features like continuous GPS use, playing music or enabling an always-on display chew up juice faster than others. We understand that not all smartwatches last two weeks — we just want our experience to match up with the expectations put forth by the company.
[ad_2]
