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Wearables worthy of your time. Smart Watch Number
We've updated this roundup in January 2024 to guarantee that our best smartwatch picks are in stock and reflect up-to-date prices.
It's easy to be sceptical about the usefulness of smartwatches. Do you really need all that activity tracking? And are you ever going to talk to your wrist like Buzz Lightyear? Well, we’ve been converted. The beauty of the best smartwatches is that you’re the one in control and you can customise things just the way you want.
So, whether you’d like to use every single feature or just the ones that’ll improve your life, you can set the timepiece to work for you.
No longer only worn by techies, these devices let you to keep a phone in your pocket while delivering notifications to your wrist. They let you pay for your latte without delving into your wallet or purse and show off calendar events and emails, all while monitoring your sleep and health stats, tracking your fitness, and inspiring you to walk and move more. Similarly, there's even fitness and activity trackers for kids these days.
We try out the best smartwatches and use them just as you would. We look at how they work, how long their batteries last and their design. We check how many smartphone notifications they can display, test out the voice assistant and try setting timers and checking the weather.
We also use the watches to count our steps and daily distance travelled, along with monitoring exercise sessions. The models on our list are a mix of those we’ve tested hands-on and expert recommendations from our rigorous research.
If you’re prioritising fitness features, going with Fitbit is well worth it, especially as these models are more affordable than a lot of the other smartwatches on the market and deliver more battery life.
In the case of the Versa 4, you’re getting up to six days of life from one charge, and a water-resistant and swimproof watch that can log a wide variety of different exercises. It automatically detects many of them without you needing to tap the screen. It tracks your heart rate, blood oxygen and stress levels and we like how it works whether you’ve got an iPhone or an Android handset, so you’re not tied to one brand.
The Versa 4 comes with Alexa, allowing you to ask the voice assistant to set timers, check the weather forecast, start exercise sessions for you and control your smart home devices.
The watch alerts you to calls, texts and emails on your smartphone, but you can't take calls from your wrist. You can make contactless payments via Fitbit Pay, but this isn’t as widely supported as the likes of Google Pay and Apple Pay, with just nine compatible banks in the UK. You’ll find that Fitbit OS lacks smart apps, and despite Google owning Fitbit, there’s no Google Pay, Assistant or Maps here. However, with built-in GPS and a sleek, lightweight, design - this is one of our favourite fitness-focused wearables in 2024.
The Doro Watch simplifies every aspect of the smartwatch experience, increasing the size of the display, buttons and icons while keeping the menus uncluttered and easy to read.
This is made for older users who want simplicity. The strap is comfy to wear for a full day and we like the uncomplicated design of both the watch and the Doro companion app, plus navigation is easy for those who may not be familiar with tapping and scrolling. Battery is very good, too, with a week of use from a charge and taking less than two hours to fuel back up.
Clicking the top right button opens up the main menu, and from there you use finger scrolls to swipe down through the modes: exercise, activity, heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen, find phone, and the settings. Each icon is brightly coloured and the font is large enough to see at a quick glance.
Pressing and holding the home screen lets you choose from a variety of clock faces – they are all in black and white, and very easy to read. Data is fed into the Doro app, which uses large icons and fonts, and clearly shows health and fitness records.
We paired the watch to a Google Pixel 7 Pro, and found our notifications quickly appeared on the display when we received text messages and emails. However, this is a wearable that works best when paired to the Doro 8100 smartphone.
Doing so lets you make use of the second button to launch a special Response mode. As long as you are within 10 metres of the phone, tapping the button triggers alerts to chosen family and friends to get help. When the person accepts the alert, the wearer is then automatically placed on a loudspeaker voice call.
Fitbit’s top-of-the-range wearable builds on its Versa models with some great additional health features. As well as being able to track the same 20 exercises (including seven automatically) and monitor how much light, deep and REM sleep you get each night, it can also monitor your blood oxygen level, take an ECG, and flag if your heart rate is too high or low.
When you buy the watch, you also get a membership to Fitbit Premium for six months, which gives you some seriously impressive health features.
You’ll get more information on all the key metrics and access to guided programmes, including meditation and workouts. You can download music to the device and listen to it through Bluetooth headphones, while Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant is built-in too. When we tried it out, we found Alexa was efficient at setting timers, showing the weather forecast and starting exercise sessions. The watch also lets you talk with callers on your smartphone straight from your wrist, and it alerts you to texts and emails.
We can vouch for the comfort of Samsung's latest smartwatch. On test, the new Watch 6’s lightweight aluminium case and buckled rubber strap combine to make this one of the most pleasant wearable experiences we’ve had, with no irritation when worn all day through work and a commute, then overnight to take advantage of the built-in sleep tracking.
While the design hasn’t changed much from the Watch 4 it is still a great looking device, with slimmer bezels than the Pixel Watch and a more premium construction than any Fitbit. This model has more memory and a better chip than older Samsung watches, and swiping through menus and booting up apps is speedy. The 40mm variant we tested was compact and stylish, but the 44mm model is the preferred option for anyone with larger wrists.
The battery is enough to last for around two days between charges – unlike the Pixel Watch and some Apple models – and we appreciate not having to refuel it up every single night.
The Wear OS software feels fairly similar to Google’s wearable but lacks the built-in Fitbit integration. Still, the Watch 6 lets you track your workout performance, sleep patterns, monitor your heart rate and check your blood pressure without having to download additional apps. The Watch 6 can survive being plunged into water of up to 1.5 metres for up to 30 minutes, and gives you safety modes, too, including fall detection and emergency calling.
We’d suggest going for the latest Apple Watch SE if you’d like to have almost all the functions you get on the more expensive model above but in a more affordable package.
This one lacks some of the complex health features and the fully edge-to-edge screen, but it’s still an Apple Watch and packs in loads of convenience for any iPhone owner. Despite the price difference, the SE has more in common with the Series 8 than you might expect. You’re still getting a bright display, a “swimproof” body, heart rate monitoring and 18-hour battery life (although it can last much longer with the “low power” mode enabled).
It lacks that larger “always-on” display along with the blood oxygen, temperature sensing, and ECG functionalities of the Apple Watch Series 8, but both models have the same car crash detection.
The latest update added fresh new colours and an upgraded faster processor. As it starts at £219, we think the SE should be the go-to option for most iPhone users, especially those on a budget who don’t think they’ll need the additional features of the Series 8 or the latest Series 9.
Overall, it’s an excellent smartwatch for staying on top of fitness tracking and accessing notifications, contactless payments and Siri right from your wrist (and, as with the Series 8, there’s a cellular version too).
The GTS4 is an affordable wearable that takes design inspiration from the Apple Watch, with a squared-off case and a twistable scroll wheel on the right side.
While it can’t compete with the iOS-powered models in terms of software or build quality, after wearing it for a few weeks we’re convinced that it’s perfect for beginners, or anyone who needs a smart looking watch for the basics. The strap is comfy to wear all day, the body is small and lightweight and its battery life is among the best we’ve tested – easily lasting for a week at a time.
The display is bright, colourful and more than big enough to see the time and app notifications at a glance. Navigation feels good – tapping the scroll wheel brings up the main menu while swiping down on the main screen shows app shortcuts – and it has everything you need from a basic watch: step counting, heart rate tracking, sleep reports and blood-oxygen readings.
There’s nothing as fancy as temperature sensors, ECG readings or automatic crash detection like the flagship models from Apple and Samsung, but that’s not surprising given the price. We like the variety of exercise modes, and the readings reflected our efforts when tested in the gym.
We paired it with a Google Pixel 7 Pro and the alerts received to the phone quickly appeared on the watch. The app used to pair them is called Zepp Health. There is a nice selection of free watch faces on the store (although they are slightly hidden behind paid options unless you tap an icon on the top-right) and they’re speedy to sync. The app layout is cluttered, but we appreciate the amount of data it shows. The black version of the watch that we tested isn’t the most exciting to look at and doesn’t feel high-end to wear like the Pixel Watch or other flagships. If you need a no-fuss non-iOS smartwatch for under £200 this is our pick, but anyone with an iPhone and an extra £50 should get the Apple Watch SE instead.
Huawei’s latest premium watch, the GT 3 Pro has an incredible battery life of up to two weeks so you don’t have to worry about taking it off your wrist at the end of every day – unlike some models on this list that require more frequent recharges (like the Apple and Google models). But it’s not just the internals that shine. On test, we enjoyed the slimline circular display set on top of an angular titanium body, and we found the leather strap to be suitable for all occasions, and comfortable to wear. We admit it’s a simple look, but we think it’s – dare we say it – pretty timeless.
You get all the health and fitness modes you expect from a smartwatch – including heart rate monitoring, GPS, step counts and workout tracking – alongside loads of choice when it comes to customising the watch faces.
The downside here is that the app experience is lacking compared to rivals, specifically the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. When it works, Huawei’s Health app is feature-rich. However, we encountered a few connection drops and unexpected updates during our time with the wearable, plus an update that couldn’t be accessed via the Play Store, only Huawei’s App Gallery. The lack of Google and payment apps is another annoyance (same as the GT2 above) but if you don’t need those smart functions, this will serve you well.
Garmin is a serious contender when it comes to fitness wearables with built-in GPS, and it has a reputation for making some of the best running watches on the market. While it's not designed as a dedicated running watch, the Venu 2 Plus is both an everyday smartwatch and a highly capable fitness tracker.
We think it’ll work well for runners with its onboard GPS and all the main metrics most runners need. It’s relatively slim and stylish too, while offering voice assistant support for Siri or Google Assistant, notifications from your phone and a battery that can last for up to five days (if you turn off the always-on display).
This watch has plenty of space for storage, with enough room for up to 650 songs that you can download from Spotify, Deezer or Amazon Music. We like how this comes with some unique features like the “Health Snapshot” (for recording key metrics like heart rate, heart function and stress level during a two-minute session) and “Body Battery” (to check your energy level) – both of which are ideal for evaluating readiness for your next run.
It also comes with the Garmin Coach, which lets you select your race goal and will guide you to your next 5K or 10K personal best. Where this does fall down slightly is with certain smart features. We like that it has contactless payment support, but only 11 UK banks work with Garmin Pay, so you may not get much use out of it. For a fitness-focused watch, though, this is one of the best picks. Also, if you don’t need voice assistant support, you can also make a saving by going for the non-Plus Venu 2.
Google’s second-generation Pixel Watch is everything we wish the first would have been on its release – it keeps the same sleek circular design but now has a better processor that delivers smoother performance and a battery life that actually lasts for a full day between charges. Sure, the wearable lacks the power of the Apple Watch Series 9 or the Samsung Galaxy 5 Pro, but it’s ideal for anyone searching for a smartwatch that’s small and easy to use.
The 1.2-inch OLED panel feels responsive – and even though the borders around the screen are big compared to its rivals, Google does a commendable job of hiding them by using dark backgrounds that blend into the sides. It’s one of the best-looking watches you can buy, but it’s still a shame that there’s no larger size option for anyone with bigger wrists.
This peddle-shaped device is at its best when used as an extension of your Android phone (we use ours with a Pixel 8 Pro), and it works really well for getting real-time notifications, checking your heart rate or tracking your workouts and daily step count via the companion Fitbit app. This also lets you access sleep, weight, nutrition, exercise and fitness metrics. You’ll get six months of the Fitbit Premium tier for free, but enhanced stress and sleep analysis – plus mindfulness sessions – are eventually paywalled, costing £7.99 per month once the trial ends.
After testing for multiple weeks, we think the Pixel Watch 2 is ideal for anyone who wants a balance between the Galaxy Watch 6 and a wearable like the Fitbit Sense. It gives you all of the usual Fitbit goodness, plus more than enough smartwatch features for casual users.
If your priority with a smartwatch is style, then you’ll want to consider this Amazfit model. We really like its classic design, aluminium alloy casing and the choice to get it with either a sports strap or a brown leather band. It’s just worth noting that while the slim exterior and watch faces on the crisp display look stunning, it isn’t quite as clever as other watches on this list. In fact, we’d say it’s a bit closer to a fitness tracker than a smartwatch. It’ll send you notifications, but you can’t take any action after receiving them, and the overall software experience from Zepp OS lacks the number of apps and versatility that you’d get from a Wear OS watch (although it does work with iPhones, too).
As a fitness tracker, it delivers loads of the features you need, including workout (it logs 150 different exercises) and sleep tracking, blood oxygen monitoring, heart rate, stress levels and more. It’s another strong contender in the battery department too, and Amazfit says it delivers up to 12 days. In practice, this should get you through well over a week of moderate use before needing a recharge. We don’t think we could recommend this over some of our top picks, but if you care about a sleek look, health features and a bright display over app integrations and smart features, this could be a great option – especially as it’s great value at £179.
• Sizes: 42 mm, 45 mm • Casing material: Aluminium alloy • Included strap material: Brown leather or black fluoroelastomer • Battery life: Up to 12 days • Operating system: Zepp OS (works with iPhones and Android phones) • Voice assistant: Amazon Alexa • Contactless payments: No • Heart rate sensor: Yes
While the Apple Watch above is a natural fit for iPhone users, anyone with an Android phone in their pocket should check out Samsung’s latest Watch 5 series instead. On test, the Watch 5 Pro pairs seamlessly with our Pixel via the Galaxy Wear app, providing us with instant notifications, exercise reminders and lots of customisation over watch faces and settings, including a Find My Watch button that makes your watch vibrate and play a chirpy sound so you can locate it.
You navigate through the menus by rotating your finger along the edge of the circular display, and we like how the watch gives nice haptic feedback as you scroll. A simple swipe right opens up the “Tiles” menu that gives you quick access to modes including a daily activity report, sleep tracking, weather, step counter and body composition analysis. That’s only a few – it’s impressive how many modes have been packed into the smartwatch (and you can easily change the order of the Tiles via the app).
The build quality is also fantastic – a sturdy titanium frame on a rubberised strap that has a unique D-buckle that snaps in place using a magnet, helping you to find the perfect tight fit.
Make no mistake, though, this isn’t a wearable for petite wrists and anyone with smaller arms is better looking at the standard Watch 6. The 5 Pro is thick and heavy compared to some other watches on our roundup, but it’s got lots of power and we think the minimalist black design looks the part whether you're struggling through a gym workout or out for a fancy meal. It’s a shame it’s not compatible with iOS, but Android users (with bigger wrists) will love it.
If you’re getting a smartwatch to work as a companion to your iPhone, we recommend going with the latest model, the Apple Watch Series 9. It’s ideal as a way to filter your notifications and make sure the most important ones come direct to your wrist, meaning you’ll spend less time grabbing your iPhone out of your bag or your pocket.
We find it straightforward when controlling music and podcast playback on our commute, and using Apple Pay to tap to pay for your morning coffee is a surefire way to make you feel like you’re living in the future. On the health side of things, we’ve used the Apple Watch to monitor our goals, and to track walks, gym sessions and pool swims. It’s also worth mentioning the huge number of Apple Watch straps available – if it’s personalisation you want, the options for customisation on this and the Apple Watch SE feel almost endless.
It’s easy to use Apple's voice assistant, Siri, to set your timers and reminders or to dictate message responses. The hands-free capabilities have got major upgrades with the Series 9, making Siri far more responsive and quick, and adding a double-tap gesture to control the watch by pinching your thumb and forefinger. If you don’t feel like talking to it, its edge-to-edge screen is big enough (20% larger than the one on the SE) that it’s easy to type in your response on the keyboard or select a quick reaction.
Many of the features do require your phone to be nearby, but if you opt for the cellular version, you can use it without having your phone on you (but you will need to set it up and have a compatible EE, O2 or Vodafone mobile contract). We also like how it comes with several clever health features, like the ability to measure your blood oxygen level or take an ECG (electrocardiogram). It can also detect if you’ve had a fall and will alert an emergency contact.
The Series 8 added a temperature sensor and car crash detection (something we hope you’ll never have to use) and the Series 9 builds on these upgrades with a faster processor, better Siri performance, double-tap and a new ultra-wideband chip that makes it easier to find your misplaced iPhone. Apple also makes a premium Apple Watch Ultra 2, but this is aimed at adventurers, hikers, climbers and divers rather than the average user.
Just like your smartphone, a smartwatch is a tiny computer that runs apps, allowing you to check the emails and messages that arrive on your phone without getting it out of your bag or pocket. They can store and play music from streaming platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal or Apple Music, and feature a voice assistant (to provide you with weather forecasts, set reminders, timers and more).
Most smartwatches these days are not designed to work without a smartphone, so they’ll need to connect to your handset via Bluetooth.
These wearables are also made for health and fitness, offering several advanced features. They come with sensors to measure movement and vibration, so they know whether you’re standing, sitting still, walking or working out.
Combine this with an included heart rate monitor and your relevant information (like height, weight and age), and then the watch will work out your step count and calorie burn each day, helping you to hit your goals and motivating you along the way.
We think so. Of course, it’s an entirely different experience when compared to wearing a traditional wristwatch and you have to get used to charging the device quite often. But you’ll find that many people who use a smartwatch soon find it invaluable.
It’s convenient to get alerts about calls, messages, emails or app notifications (for example, alerts of motion detected by your wifi security camera) straight to your wrist, so you’ll never miss anything and will spend far less time looking at your phone.
When it comes to exercise, the step counter and distance monitor may be accurate but the calorie burn is only an estimate, as it relies on more factors than a smartwatch can track. We suggest you use it as a guide but not an exact record.
If you’re a target-driven person, you may find the challenge of reaching a certain distance, step count or calorie burn goal every day motivates you. And, if you like a little friendly competition, many smartwatches allow you to compete in challenges with friends (or strangers) using devices from the same brand.
Buying a smartwatch can be complicated, and there are several different things to consider before you decide which one to go for – we’ve rounded the key factors below:
As your smartwatch is a companion to your phone, you’ll need to think about the operating system. We recommend an Apple Watch to iPhone users, as they work best together, but it’s worth noting that you can’t use Apple’s wearables with Android phones.
You’ll also get the best experience from an Android device with Google’s Wear OS. The operating system also determines which third-party apps you can add to your watch. There are some watches that use an operating system from the manufacturer (like Fitbit’s “Fitbit OS” and Garmin’s “Garmin OS”), although these don’t get as wide of a variety of extra apps.
One reason that the display size matters so much is that we all have different-sized wrists. You may prefer a slightly smaller screen if you feel that will fit better around your wrist.
After all, wearing the watch should be comfortable. You’ll see that some displays are circular and others are squared-off, and you may prefer one style or the other.
All smartwatches offer a wide selection of different watch faces within their companion apps to display the time in different ways, ideal whether you prefer a traditional dial, an easy-to-read digital approach, or the ability to switch between them.
The extent of fitness tracking varies between smartwatches. Most allow you to record exercise sessions such as walking and running (both indoors and outdoors), while some can log up to 100 different types of exercise and track several different health metrics. All the smartwatches on this list have a built-in heart rate monitor too, so you can also track beats per minute (bpm).
Sweat-proofing and waterproofing are standard on most smartwatches, so they can be worn in the bath, in the shower and while swimming. Some can monitor your swim session, both in the pool and in open water.
Some smartwatches come with built-in GPS, rather than relying on your smartphone. With this, you can leave your phone behind when running or walking and still track the route you’ve covered. It also helps with getting directions from your watch.
Most smartwatches have this feature built-in as standard. However, the depth of information can be varied. Some just provide a total for the number of hours you sleep, while others break this down into heavy, light and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
How long your watch lasts between charges is crucial, especially if you need to find some time to recharge it and it’s designed for overnight wear to track your sleep.
Some offer “all-day” battery life, which will mean they need a refuel each morning or overnight (which stops you from using sleep tracking and vibrating alarms), while others will last for several days and up to more than a week without needing juice, depending on how you use it.
Smartwatches are often equipped with fast charging, too – if you think you’ll need to recharge on the go, we recommend owning a power bank.
Many smartwatches can be used to make contactless payments by hovering the watch’s face over a contactless reader.
Apple Pay and Google Pay are the most widely supported mobile payment services, but Samsung, Garmin and Fitbit all have their own offerings. Not all UK banks support all mobile payment services, though.
There’s a real range of prices in the smartwatch world. You can find super cheap options that go for under £100, mid-range models will tend to cost around £200, while premium models like the flagship Apple Watch Series 8 cost around £400.
With customisations like different materials or straps, the price increases, and there are smartwatch models designed for extra robustness or specific activities that will be pricey. When you start to look at dedicated watches to survive harsh conditions, you’ll see the price go up to £800 or more.
Simon Cocks is our Technology Ecommerce Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy across a range of titles including Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Digital Spy and more.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, charging kit and smartphones.
Previously, Simon was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team, conducting price comparison research, writing detailed advice guides and editing thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram at @simonrcocks and on Twitter at @simoncocks.
Jason Murdock is our Deputy Technology Ecommerce Editor, writing across multiple titles including Good Housekeeping, Esquire and Digital Spy.
With more than eight years’ experience covering tech at publications including Radio Times, Newsweek and the International Business Times, Jason has extensive knowledge on the latest gear and gadgets – reviewing phones, tablets, laptops, headphones, smart home products and more – and covering the biggest shopping events of the year, including Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day.
For his coverage on cybersecurity in the International Business Times, he won Digital Writer of the Year at The Drum's Online Media Awards in 2017. When not writing and testing the latest gadgets, you’ll find Jason playing the guitar or learning how to parent his new baby.
You can follow Jason on Twitter at @Jason_A_Murdock.
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