The best smartwatches you can buy: Expert tested

My pick for the best smartwatch is the Apple Watch Ultra 2. It may be debatable if an iPhone is the best smartphone or not, but it is clear the Apple Watch is the wearable to beat -- especially for Apple users. The Ultra 2 is lauded by athletes and members of the press as the best Apple Watch ever made. 

If you're an Android user, you may prefer a Samsung Galaxy 6 Classic -- the newest of the company's smartwatch lineup. I picked up the LTE model that provides cellular connectivity independently from my phone, but when paired with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 (or the newest Flip 5 model), it's a perfect combination of elegance and power. Plus, the battery life even exceeds that of the standard, and comparably priced, Apple Watch Series 8. 

If you're in the Apple ecosystem, we highly recommend the Apple Watch Ultra, Apple Watch SE, or Apple Watch Series 8 due to the easy connectivity and convenience of features like Apple Pay and Apple Music.

The Google Pixel Watch 2 is the prime option for Pixel owners and for those Android smartphone users who want the best available from Google. It doesn't have the battery life of a Samsung Galaxy Watch, but there are other compelling features that stand out.   

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Classic and Watch 5 Pro are great smartwatches built to last with stellar sensors and the ability to work with Android and iPhone devices. 

However, finding the best smartwatch for you can be more complicated, especially if you're looking for one that fits a specific use case. Check out my expert recommendations below.

Smartwatches serve as companions to our smartphones, and there are several things to consider as you explore the many options available to you. Several factors will help you quickly narrow down available candidates, so let's take a closer look and help you select the best smartwatch for you.

• Primary smartphone: Start by looking at the phone in your hand. If you own an iPhone, then you can consider an Apple Watch, or a watch running an operating system that is not powered by Google's Wear OS. If you own an Android smartphone, forget about buying an Apple Watch, as they do not even work with an iPad or Apple computer, let alone your Android. Android users can consider Google Wear OS watches, as well as those running a real-time operating system like Amazfit offers.

• Price: Most smartwatches are priced in the $250 to $400 range, so there is not a lot of variance in price, especially if you use your smartwatch daily and want a reliable watch. Apple offers the high-end Apple Watch Ultra 2, while there are some specialized Google Wear OS and Garmin watches that can cost more than $1,000. 

• Battery life: Expect your smartwatch to last a full day and night, so you can track your sleep and then charge it while you get ready for work. A few new smartwatches are now easily lasting 48 hours between charging, with some pushing that another day or two so we are seeing improvements in battery life.  

• Cellular connectivity: While smartwatches serve as companions to our smartphones, some models support cellular connectivity. If you buy one of these then you will need a watch line with your carrier, but these are typically $10 per month. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 only comes with LTE support, but you are not required to enable cellular service. Cellular capability is great for those who want to leave their phones behind and still remain connected for communications, application usage, and safety.

All of the smartwatches included in this list were chosen based on how they performed when tested in the real world by the ZDNET team. When we test smartwatches, we typically follow the same routine for each one to see which performs best.

• Daily wear: We wear the smartwatch as our primary watch with communications, applications, and other elements being tested as if it was our only smartwatch.

• Application selection and performance: One aspect that makes smartwatches different than standard watches is the support for applications. We load up the watch with apps and then test the performance and functionality of those applications. Apple excels in the area of third party application support with Google's Play Store improving each year. Garmin, Amazfit, and others also are expanding the number and selection of apps available on watches.

• Workouts: Smartwatch makers have embraced health and fitness so we take our smartwatch out for running with GPS, rowing on the Hydrow, biking on trails, and walking with the family. GPS and heart rate data is tracked and then we evaluate the accuracy against proven GPS sports watches.

• Sleep and activity tracking: Sleep tracking has improved with smartwatches over time and we evaluate them as compared to smart rings and other watches. Night time is also a good time to charge your smartwatch so you may choose not to use your watch to track sleep so your watch can serve faithfully all day and into the night.
  

There are many reasons why a person might want a smartwatch, so depending on your needs, it's hard to recommend watches that will satisfy everyone. However, based on my testing, there are a couple of smartwatches that you may want to leave off your list of considerations as you conduct your research.

Fossil has been offering smartwatches for a long time, and I still have a working Fossil Wrist PDA that is powered by Palm OS and has a tiny stylus. For the past few years, Fossil has been making Google Wear OS-powered smartwatches and offering a fairly compelling option with some unique styles. However, in January 2024 Fossil Group announced that it would no longer be releasing smartwatches, with the last Gen 6 model released in 2021. You can still find some Fossil watches available, and Fossil Group stated that they will continue to update the watches for the next few years, but be careful when you are considering one of these watches.

There was a great promise with a luxury Wear OS watch in 2022 when Montblanc released the Summit 3 smartwatch. While we provided a preliminary review as we looked for a future update that was supposed to add some core functionality, that update never came, and the watch sits idly by running the same older version of Wear OS on a processor that is now a couple of generations old. It's a lovely luxury watch so if you want a basic smartwatch with those good looks, maybe you can find one on sale. 

Watches in our list, other than Google Wear OS or Apple Watch models, are typically set up by downloading and installing the associated companion smartphone application and then pairing the watch with that application. Some Google Wear OS watches also use this method since those models have additional applications beyond what Google provides on Pixel Watch.

If you own a Google Wear OS smartwatch, primarily from Google or Samsung, then the Google Watch or Samsung Wearable application must first be installed on your Android smartphone. Google Pixel Watch models also now have Fitbit integrated into the watch, but to take advantage of this vast health/fitness ecosystem the Fitbit smartphone application is also required. Samsung also has its Samsung Health application so pairing and set up of a Google Wear OS watch is a bit of a process that generally requires two or more smartphone applications.

Apple Watch users turn on the watch and then follow the prompts to pair it to an iPhone, often with the iPhone camera scanning an image that appears on the Apple Watch face. Apple has the Watch smartphone application preloaded on the iPhone so set up is quick and easy. If you had a previous Apple Watch then you can also have all of that data synced over to a new model, which makes upgrading Apple Watch models one of the experiences that keep people upgrading on a regular basis.

Google Wear OS watches used to work with both Android and iPhone devices, but the new Wear OS 4 and later watches from Samsung and Google only support Android smartphones. iPhone users should stick with the Apple Watch, while Android phone users should seriously consider a Google Pixel Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch model.

Garmin, Amazfit, and Withings watches work flawlessly with both Android and iPhone devices.

You absolutely can! However, most of their screens are too small to type on, so you'll compose messages with speech-to-text or other dictation functions or choose from several generic, auto-generated responses. 

Garmin watches support quick-response text messaging via a connected Android smartphone. Apple restricts third-party text messaging on the iPhone.

While you can leave your iPhone at home while you run, go to the store, or stroll on the beach, you must have an iPhone turned on and connected to the internet at this other location. This is one reason why connecting to an iPhone and switching to an Android makes the Apple Watch useless with an Android phone.

After initial setup, a cellular-enabled Samsung Galaxy Watch can act as a stand-alone mobile device. With the latest Galaxy Watch 6 or Watch 5 Pro running Wear OS powered by Samsung, many more apps can be used on the go, so you can leave the phone behind in most cases.

Health and fitness tracking have been the areas with the most innovations and improvements in the last few years. While these watches are not medical devices, they have sensors, algorithms, and applications that help you track trends in your heart rate, stress levels, and blood oxygen levels, even allowing you to detect when ovulation occurs. You can use it as a basic ECG to check if further investigation is needed. The latest Galaxy Watch 5 can also measure your body composition; testing indicates it matches other methods reasonably well.

These smartwatches can also serve as capable GPS sports watches to track the details of your outdoor activities. Exercise guidance is provided on the watch with connected health applications on your smartphone so you can keep track of your progress, too.

We will likely continue to see expansion of the health and wellness features in smartwatches, but what's next on the horizon for these wrist-based computing devices? With increased connectivity and widespread adoption, smartwatches will likely become more integral to our daily lives. This may include connectivity to other devices in our lives. For example, as you approach your electronic door lock, your paired smartwatch could unlock your door so you can keep both hands on your groceries or luggage when you return home. 

People also regularly have video calls with family and friends, not just coworkers, so future smartwatches may integrate tiny cameras so that users can communicate in this same manner while out and about.

In addition, as AI continues to integrate into our lives, having this technology available in our watches should help provide data faster and more accurately than simple web search queries that we may carry out with Siri or Google Assistant.

All smartwatches today integrate advanced heart rate sensors, temperature sensors, blood oxygen sensors, and more, as our health data is tracked 24/7. Samsung led the way with its smartwatch health monitoring, which includes body composition, advanced sleep tracking, ECG, blood oxygen, running power, and even blood pressure measurements.

Apple has advanced its health monitoring technology, and the upcoming watchOS 11 will bring even more capability with detailed data measurements in its Vitals application. Training Load will also be coming with this next version of the operating system, challenging the likes of Garmin, Coros, and Polar with this advanced fitness metric.

The FDA released a safety communication to the public that advises consumers not to use smartwatches or smart rings that claim to measure blood glucose levels without piercing the skin. That said, there are indeed FDA-authorized blood glucose level devices that attach to your body and then send that data to smartwatch applications so that you can use your smartwatch to view the readings from an approved device.

Devices, like those from Dexcom, send real-time glucose data directly to a compatible watch. For Dexcom monitors, this includes most versions of the Apple Watch. Make sure to check both your glucose monitor and your smartwatch compatibility before deciding whether or not to use your smartwatch to connect to your monitor and smartphone.

There are a few models out there that can measure health stats like blood pressure, which are great for giving you a general idea of how your health journey is going so you can keep your doctors up-to-date with your healthcare plans. However, they're not as accurate as a blood pressure monitor, so you shouldn't rely solely on your smartwatch to monitor your heart or general health.

Samsung provides blood pressure monitoring via its Galaxy Watch models in countries outside the US, with rumors that Apple may launch watches supporting this functionality in 2024.

Eric Potter, USA weightlifting Level 1 Coach and Performance Coach at Future Fitness, encourages people to choose a smartwatch based on compatibility, recommending an Apple Watch for iPhone users and a Samsung Galaxy Watch for Android fans. He notes that both smartwatches can track steps, heart rate, and exercise, but there are also crucial differences.

"The Apple Watch has a larger interface allowing for easier viewing," he said. "On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Watch is cheaper than the Apple Watch, and the battery life tends to last longer."

There are many options if you're looking for a smartwatch to pair with your phone to keep up with calls and messages or track your workouts and morning jogs. Here's a short list of choices that I thought were great options.

ZDNET sourced external industry experts for this article. Here is more information about them:

• Emma Clark: A former University of San Diego track athlete. 
• Dr. Richard Newman, MD: A now-retired head and neck surgical oncologist. 
  
• Eric Potter: A USA weightlifting Level 1 Coach and performance coach at Future Fitness.