The best smartwatches we tested
Best smartwatch: Apple Watch Series 9
Best Android smartwatch: Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
Best budget smartwatch: Apple Watch SE
Buying a smartwatch isn’t quite as simple as it used to be. iPhone owners now have three notably different Apple Watch models to choose from, and Android users have a wealth of options that range from traditional-looking timepieces to sporty fitness trackers. You’re probably wondering where to even start, and we’re here to help.
We’re always rigorously testing the latest watches from Apple, Samsung, Google and their increasingly compelling competitors to help you figure out which model actually belongs on your wrist. Whether you’re team iPhone or Android — and whether you’re an outdoor adventurer or just want something good and cheap — we’re here to help you find the best smartwatch for your needs.
If you're upgrading from an Apple Watch Series 6 or older — or buying your first smartwatch — the Series 9's excellent performance and robust feature set make it the best option for most people.
Samsung's Galaxy Watch 6 is the best smartwatch for folks on team Android, offering a number of big, vivid display options and tons of useful ways to track your health and fitness.
The Apple Watch SE gets you the modern Apple Watch design and everyday usability for a good price. It lacks the Series 9's always-on display and core health features like ECG readings, but it's a great entry point.
Best smartwatch: Apple Watch Series 9
The Apple Watch Series 9 is more refinement than reinvention, taking the excellent ease of use and tight integration that’s long made the Apple Watch our top pick and simply adding a handful of useful new perks. If you’re an iPhone user buying your first smartwatch (or upgrading for the first time in many years), this is the watch to get.
Aside from doing all the things you’d expect an Apple Watch to do — displaying your iPhone’s notifications, letting you take calls, tracking your sleep and exercise, and so on — the Series 9 brings a key new feature to the mix in the form of Double Tap. This lets you perform certain actions (such as answering calls or controlling your music playback) with a quick double pinch of your fingers, making the watch much easier to operate with one hand. It’s worked well in our testing, and while previous Apple Watches have offered one-handed controls as an accessibility feature, this is the first time this kind of functionality has been smoothed out for mainstream use.
Other new benefits include a speedier S9 chip that can process more commands, which we’ve found to be quicker and more reliable when using our voice to start a timer or control our smart home gadgets via Siri. Those with an iPhone 15 or 15 Pro can take advantage of Precision Finding for step-by-step directions to find their lost phone, and the display is twice as bright as that of last year’s model for easier use in direct sunlight. Oh, and you get double the storage at 64GB for loading up more music and podcasts for when you want to leave your phone at home.
If you do decide that the Apple Watch Series 9 is for you, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the right model. Apple recently stopped selling the original version that features blood oxygen tracking, due to ongoing patent disputes around the technology. The model currently available on Apple’s website is a newer version without said feature, though certain third-party retailers still offer the launch model with blood oxygen functionality. Keep an eye out for model numbers: the updated Series 9 without blood oxygen tracking have numbers ending in “LW/A.”
If you own an Apple Watch Series 7 or 8, you’ll find the new model to be a pretty incremental upgrade and can hold out for now. But for Apple users upgrading from a Series 6 or older — or picking up a smartwatch for the very first time — the Series 9 is the best overall value for most people.
Best Android smartwatch: Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
Much like the latest Apple Watch, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic are iterative updates that don’t fix what isn’t broken. If you’re an Android user — particularly one with a Samsung phone — and want the best watch for tracking your health and accessing your key apps at a quick glance, this is the one to get.
While the latest Galaxy Watches look similar to their predecessors at a quick glance, they have displays that are both bigger and brighter than before. You can look forward to about 20% more screen space, as well as a bump to 2,000 nits of brightness (just like on the Apple Watch Series 9) for seeing things better on a bright day.
As with previous iterations, the basic Watch 6 is the sportier-looking model, while the pricier Watch 6 Classic has a more refined look for those who want a more traditional-looking timepiece. The watches come in a total of four sizes — 40mm and 44mm for the Watch 6, and 43mm and 47mm for the Watch 6 Classic — and we found that even the largest overall model sat comfortably on our wrist.
We were especially impressed by the Galaxy Watch 6’s wealth of health and fitness tracking capabilities, which include heart rate, blood oxygen and body composition stats as well as more than 100 different workout options for tracking your gym sessions. New features include irregular heart notifications to detect signs of atrial fibrillation (Afib), as well as skin temperature monitoring for tracking menstrual cycles. Samsung’s latest smartwatch builds on the robust sleep tracking capabilities of its predecessors, with features that not only give you scores to better understand how well you’re sleeping but perks like Sleep Messages and Sleep Coaching that give you tips on improving your rest.
The Watch 6 isn’t without its shortcomings, including somewhat subpar performance from Samsung’s Exynos W930 processor. While the watch works well enough day to day, it doesn’t feel quite as smooth and responsive as rivals like the Pixel Watch 2 and Apple Watch Series 9. It’s also not the longest-lasting watch out there. While Samsung rates it for up to 40 hours on a charge, we usually ended most days with about 35% to 45% battery remaining and often had to recharge before the next day.
It’s also worth noting that while the Watch 6 will work with most Android phones, it’s primarily designed for folks on team Samsung. The Samsung Health Monitor app (which includes features like electrocardiograms and irregular heart rate tracking) requires a Galaxy phone, as does the ability to use your watch as a remote shutter for your phone. Google Pixel owners should consider the Pixel Watch 2, which has better compatibility with Google’s own phones but at the expense of a smaller display and less rugged design.
However, if that’s not a deal breaker for you — and if you haven’t upgraded your watch in a few years — the Galaxy Watch 6’s big, bright displays and plethora of health and fitness features make it the way to go for most Android users.
Best budget smartwatch: Apple Watch SE
The Apple Watch SE gives you a near-complete Apple Watch experience for nearly half the price of a Series 9, making it a great buy for anyone on a budget.
In terms of the essentials, the latest Watch SE stacks up well against its more expensive siblings. You’ll still get Apple Watch staples like in-depth heart rate and sleep tracking and hands-free Siri support, as well as safety features like Emergency SOS and fall and crash detection. It’s water-resistant for up to 50 meters just like the Series 9 and has the same 18-hour battery life.
So what are you giving up at this bargain price? Since the Watch SE has the older (but still speedy) S8 chip, you won’t get perks like Double Tap for one-handed navigation, on-device Siri for faster commands and Precision Finding for iPhone 15. You also can’t use the SE to take an electrocardiogram via the ECG app to get insights into your heart health. The SE’s 1000-nit display is half as bright as the Series 9’s, and a third as bright as what you’ll get on the Ultra 2. Apple’s affordable watch also lacks its premium siblings’ Always-On Retina display, which lets you see important info at a quick glance even when the watch is asleep.
Still, if you’re cool with making those trade-offs, the Apple Watch SE does most of what you’d want an Apple Watch to do for a fantastic price.
How we tested
As Underscored does with any product we test, we went deep on these watches. In many cases, it’s using them as any consumer would, wearing them daily, using them for workouts, maxing out the battery and, of course, seeing how they hold up to normal wear and tear.
Design
- Comfort and aesthetics: We took note of how comfortable each watch was to wear during prolonged use, as well as the overall style of the device. We factored in how many watch face sizes each wearable was available in, as not all models offer multiple options.
- Durability: We tested how each watch held up to basic sweat and splashes from daily active use and noted of each wearable’s IP durability rating.
Setup and software
- Setup process: We carefully went through the setup process, noting any necessary apps and extra steps each watch required. For instance, how easy was it to set up notifications, one of the key features of a smartwatch?
- Customization and software: We considered third-party app and watch face availability, along with the ability to customize the overall look of the watch face. We asked ourselves how easy it was to complete routine tasks, like viewing a weather forecast, checking daily agenda or sending a message.
Features and battery life
- Health tracking: We paid close attention to activity tracking and health features. With the latter, we established a baseline with consumer-facing devices that are designed to just track those metrics (i.e., SpO2 or heart rate).
- Battery life: We wore each watch for several days, monitoring battery life with normal usage while also mixing in workouts.
Other smartwatches we tested
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is a great splurge for serious outdoor adventurers or anyone willing to pay up for Apple's most fully featured wearable.
If you’re a serious athlete or adventurer — or simply willing to pay up for the most advanced Apple Watch experience out there — the Apple Watch Ultra is worth the money. For everyone else, the Apple Watch Series 8 remains a great pick.
The original Pixel Watch is a solid pickup for Android users on a budget, though newer models are much more refined.
With a great balance of features, specs and fitness tools, the Google Pixel Watch is probably the closest Wear OS watch you can call the “Apple Watch for Android phones.” If you have a Pixel phone or you’re a fan of the Fitbit brand, snagging this watch is a no-brainer. But if you own another non-Apple phone like a Samsung Galaxy, you should look toward the excellent Galaxy Watch 6.
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro gets you a larger, more durable design than the standard Watch 5, as well as more advanced GPS tracking.
The Watch 5 Pro is a bigger, more durable version of our former top Android pick in the Galaxy Watch 5 that also touts more advanced GPS tracking. It’s a good pick for people who do lots of biking or hiking (especially since there’s no Pro option on the Watch 6 series), but most people are better off with the standard Watch 6 or Watch 6 Classic.
