Top 10 best smartwatches
The world these days is submerged by lavish devices and overwhelming innovative technology, in the midst of these, we have smartwatches. A watch that does not just tell you time but also perform various other activities to make your life easier for you. For example, You can surf the internet using it using your voice, you can use GPS, it works as an E-compass, it can also monitor your heartbeat to help you watch over your well-being. Along with all these features, the best smartwatches also allow you to capture pictures and videos whenever and wherever you want. The last, but not least, it looks beautiful on your wrist J.
The demand for smartwatches is getting increased with every passing day. Due to which smartwatch-maker companies are adding new features to it and making it more and more advance. They are working constantly on upgrading these watches with the latest and most demanded innovative technology.
There are a lot of companies that are making and supplying smartwatches to the market. Each smartwatch has its own specifications which make it different from the other one. Due to this, it often becomes difficult to select a specific smartwatch to buy while keeping in mind your budget. If you are also a victim of such a condition, do not worry, because we have already done the required basic research for you and prepared the list of top ten best android smartwatches. Let’s have a look at it below:
- Apple Watch Series 5:
This is considered as the best sport smartwatch for iPhone users because this watch does not work with an android smartphone. There is not too much difference in Apple Watch Series 4 and 5, the main advanced feature of this series is that it has an Always-On display. Along with Always-On display, there are undoubtedly a few more advanced and innovative upgrades, but from a user’s perspective, this is the first thing you will notice. If you regularly use a smartwatch, then you would have stopped noticing the time which your watch takes to turn on its display after you flick your wrist. But since you will start using Apple Watch Series 5, you will realize that something has changed, because you do not have to twist your arm in order to see the time.
This Always-On display feature helps athletes in many ways such as one can focus on all the basic training features like treadmill, outdoor running, cycling, etc without waiting for the screen display to turn on. Because in such conditions one desperately wants to see that how much longer is on his timer, but can’t flick his wrist to activate his smartwatch.
If you open an application other than WorkOut, then your watch will go to sleep mode. But it will show time and other critical data according to your choice such as temperature etc. If you were hoping that this watch will not go to sleep by using any application, then this might not be the watch you were hoping for.
The display dimmer of this Apple Smartwatch adjusts automatically, and it is always too bright, which is not comfortable, especially at night. Apple should have added a manual screen adjustment setting in order to make it more user-friendly, while the battery life would also get longer.
LTPO technology is used in Apple Watch Series 5. Apple claims that this is the main reason for the longer battery life of this smartwatch. But after a little research, we found that it is just an incremental upgrade to the OLED display of Apple Watch 4. There are a lot of new display drivers installed in this watch to make the display even better. Between the new drivers, sensors and LTPO technology, the Apple Watch 5 can go from a refresh rate of 60Hz to 1Hz in just 1 second, resulting in more efficient dimming and longer battery life.
If it comes to the fitness features of Apple Watch 5, you won’t see many upgrades in it. The accelerometer and heart rate monitor are the same as those in Apple Watch 4. The compass, however, is upgraded and can tell you where are you going. It also works out your elevation in collaboration with the super-accurate GPS. This is a very useful feature for joggers and hikers.
- Samsung Galaxy Watch:
Samsung Galaxy Watch is probably the best Always-On android smartwatch. This Watch is a direct competitor of the Apple Watch 5. If you do not mind spending money, both of these watches are great. Both these watches are generalized smartwatches having a lot of applications. But the main thing to consider is the OS you are using. Apple Watch requires iOS while Samsung Galaxy Watch required Android OS.
The style of the Samsung Galaxy watch is quite beautiful and it matches fancy dinner parties and upscale wardrobe for boardrooms. Its case is made from rounded stainless steel, which gives it a classic look. It also has a good-looking rotating bezel, which pilots, drivers and other professionals used on ancient, analog clocks to track time. On Samsung Galaxy Watch, this bezel is smartly designed to navigate multiple options and menus. By rotating it towards the left side, you can see your notifications. While on rotating towards the right side, you can see your widgets. You can control this watch using a rotating bezel, buttons and touch screen, which makes it quite a masterpiece. Samsung Galaxy Watch is probably the best stylish android Always-On smartwatch in the market.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch is released in two different sizes. One is 46mm having a black and silver theme. While the second one is 42mm in size which comes in either Rose Gold or Midnight Blue theme.
Samsung Galaxy Watch runs on Tizen OS. Samsung uses this OS in its TVs and other devices. Due to this OS, the bezel is functional. This OS also enhances the battery life of Samsung Galaxy Watch. The 46mm lasts for 4 days and 42mm lasts for 3 days, which is quite impressive.
Samsung smartwatches also have fitness tracking capabilities. This watch has a lot of sensors and Samsung Health Application. These can automatically detect six types of exercises and you can add 33 more exercises manually. This watch also contains a sleep tracker. Along with all of these features, we would like to mention that this smartwatch is waterproof up to 50 meters depth.
This smartwatch has few software limitations. A lot of important third-party apps are missing in this watch including Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Google Maps. Similarly, fitness apps that come with Wear OS are missing such as Google Health. The only apps that you get are those which come with Tizen OS. Tizen ecosystem is not that much diverse as of Wear OS or iOS.
Their voice assistant, Bixby also is not satisfactory and has a lot of voice recognition issues, i.e. it has issues in understanding voice commands.
- Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch
Fossil is a company which is making watches since 1984 and has a good reputation in this business. In their 35 years of business, they have worked on a lot of other fashion products such as fragrances, wallets, handbags and higher-end watches in their line of “Fossil-Swiss”, but mainly they focus on mid-priced watches.
The price of Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch is around $100, which is quite low as compared to Apple Watch 5 and Samsung Galaxy Watch. Considering the features, functionality, and price of this watch, it ranks among the Best Android Smartwatches.
Fossil is basically a fashion company, that is why this watch is also the best android stylish smartwatch. It gives you seven options of band/bezel, from simple and classic stainless steel to black silicon.
The display is AMOLED screen having 328ppi pixel density. It looks good in normal conditions, but in bright sun, it becomes unreadable. You need to adjust the brightness manually, but it is a difficult task to perform when you can’t see the screen clearly. This watch comes with 1 GB of RAM, which makes it the smoothest and fastest smartwatch.
The features of this watch are pretty much advanced. It has built-in NFC, GPS, heart rate monitoring and speaker. Its Cardiogram application detects sleep apnea, hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation. The water resistance if this watch is up to 3 atmospheres of pressure, which is enough for you to take a shower and even swim.
- Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active 2 released almost 6 months after the release of the original Galaxy Watch Active. These two watches do not have that much difference. The software and hardware upgrades in Galaxy Watch 2 are minor, the highlighted ones are improvements in screen sizes and battery life.
In Active 2 there is a built-in ECG and fall detection, which will be available after the approval of the FDA, which is expected in the first months. These features target those people who are interested in fitness.
This watch comes with widely used android entertainment applications such as YouTube, Twitter, and Spotify. With Spotify, you can download the playlist and listen to it while you are offline.
Its Running Coach is also quite improved and gives real-time pace metrics. You can listen to the audio-clues via the speaker of the watch or via Bluetooth headset.
The chipset in this watch is the Exynos 9110 dual-core processor, which is the same as of Samsung Galaxy Watch. It comes with RAM of 768MB. If you buy the LTE version, then you will get it with 1.5GB of RAM.
Galaxy Watch 2 comes with a variety of colors and styles. The simple stainless steel variants are comparatively less expensive and its bands are interchangeable.
- Mobvoi TicWatch Pro
TicWatch is not an old name in the business of smartwatches. But still, it managed to rank in the world’s best smartwatches.
Commonly people focus on the style and design of the smartwatch instead of the specs of it. TicWatch kept that point in their consideration and made TicWatch Pro according to the demand of people. TicWatch Pro does not just have fantastic look, but also awesome features and specs. There watch has probably the best battery timing among all the other smartwatches up to date.
The top screen display of this watch is a transparent LCD which is used in low power or Essential use. It shows the basic data such as Time, Date, Heartbeat rate and steps count. Beneath this layer, there is a kind of touchscreen that most of the smartwatch companies are using. It has a screen resolution of 400×400 pixels which is used for displaying and navigating the key functions of the watch.
TicWatch Pro comes in eight different colors which range from brown leather to colored silicone. The interesting thing is that you can also opt to select straps that combine leather and silicone.
The drawback is that it is not that much user-friendly for a new smartwatch user because in order to work properly. Wear OS is installed in TicWatch Pro, but the Mobvoi application should also be installed in order to function properly.
The fitness tracking functions of this watch are just ok. This watch is water resistance but Mobvoi recommends not to wear this watch while taking a shower/bath with hot water. If you want such a watch which has high fitness tracking, then this watch is not for you. You can look for another watch on this list.
- Mobvoi TicWatch E2
Mobvoi TicWatch E2 is the cheapest android smartwatch running with Wear OS as it costs only $160. This watch is available only in one color, which is black polycarbonate having only one button nondescript. Its running Google’s Wear OS, which gives the users access to one of the biggest platforms of the market.
Its chipset is Snapdragon 2100, which was among the best a while ago but does not fulfill modern demands. Navigating between multiple applications is quite slow if you are adapted to user higher-end Android devices then you will feel frustration. For a new user, it is a good option to consider.
E2 does not have sleep tracking. Its battery life is about 24 hours. However, it does offer a fitness tracking option, but their fitness tracking lack accuracy. The heart monitor takes a while to register changes. I also do not count certain moves during exercises, due to which the calories burned and several other charts show the wrong results. If you want to buy a watch for fitness tracking, forget about this device.
This watch includes the “Swim” feature and is water-resistant up to a pressure of 5 Atmospheres (almost 50 meters/170 feet of depth). When you are swimming in a pool, its display gets locked automatically to prevent you from accidentally swiping the screen. After coming out of the pool, you just need to press the power button to unlock the display.
This watch comes with 4GB of internal storage. Which is enough for downloading a lot of applications and music you want to listen while doing a workout. It can also be connected with Bluetooth headphones. The display of E2 is 1.39 inches. It is an OLED screen having a resolution of 400 by 400 and a pixel density of 404 PPI. Which gives a nice and bright look. Just like other Mobvoi watches, this watch is also not user-friendly. It forces you to install the Mobvoi application for the watch to work.
Mobvoi’s E2 is enabled with GPS. But lack NFC and LTE. This watch is the best in the range of $160. If your budget is limited and you still want a smartwatch, you can consider Mobvoi TicWatch E2.
- Apple Watch 4
Before the release of Apple Watch 5, people were considering this watch as the best smartwatch in the world. It was really fast, versatile and innovative. It is still a good watch to consider if you do not want to spend an extra $95 to buy Apple Watch 5. Apple Watch 4 is quite similar to Apple Watch 5 in sizes, shapes, and bands as well. They have the same memory, processor and same digital crown which is used to navigate application as well as to access EKG. Both of these watches offer fall detection. Even the OS is the same, i.e. both have WatchOS 6.
As we have mentioned in this article earlier the Watch 5 and 4 do not have many differences, but there are two main downsides of buying Apple Watch 4. The first is that Watch 4 does not have a built-in compass. The second is that Apple Watch 5 offers Always-On display feature, which is not available in Watch 4. But both of these features are not that much important if you are not buying it as a fitness guru.
This watch in the background checks your heartbeat every two hours. Whenever it detects an irregularity, it will send you a notification immediately. But never rely completely on the results of this watch and consult with your doctor if you feel something irregular. If you are using an iPhone and going to buy a smartwatch, Apple Watch 4 is the best one to consider if you want both the best watch and save money at the same time.
- Fitbit Versa 2
With the Fitbit Versa 2, Forbes has moved this model firmly into smartwatch market. In terms of style, many people mistakenly consider it as an Apple Watch. Versa 2 is focused on fitness tracking. Its bands are mostly silicon-based which does not absorb sweat. The main differences between this watch and Apple Watch 5 are that its former is squarer and its latter is more rectangular.
Versa two has only one button which works as a back button as well as a select button. You just need two clicks to get to the feature you want to access and any other action can be done with the help of touchscreen.
This watch comes with Gorilla Glass 3 and AMOLED touchscreen which has an Always-On option, but if you leave this option on, it will drain out the battery.
This watch has two versions of the sleep tracker. One is free and the second is paid. The free version allows you to take your sleep habits into account and gives you scores. If you are struggling with poor sleep, then you could record this to monitor your sleeping habits over a period of a few days or weeks to see the effectiveness of any changes in your routine. The paid version will not only monitor your sleep but also show periods of restlessness and total sleep period. It also shows the fluctuation of heart rate, deep sleep vs light sleep as well as compare your sleep from the past 30 days.
- Fitbit Ionic
The body of Ionic is aluminum with antenna bands on the side. It is quite an attractive and good-looking premium smartwatch. It has a single button on the left side and two on the right.
The LCD screen has a resolution of 250×384 and a resolution of 1000 nits, which is just like Apple Watch 2. And you can easily read the display easily even in bright sunlight.
The fitness-oriented features are much improved in this watch as compared to old Fitbit smartwatches. The heart rate monitor is more accurate due to a design that allows the monitor to get closer to your skin. The most important difference between Ionic and Versa is the presence of built-in GPS in the Ionic smartwatch, which lets you examine tracking the pace and disturbance and climb on runs and rides.
A great feature of this watch is the SpO2 sensor which monitors the level of oxygen in your blood. If you pair Fitbit Ionic and Dexcom G5 Mobile sensor, then it will also be able to monitor your blood glucose level. That is why it is a recommended smartwatch for Diabetic patients.
10. Apple Watch 3
Apple Watch 3 is probably the best smartwatch for those iPhone users who have a limited budget. And it is best for a very good reason that is it has an LTE network, which allows it to work independently of your smartphone.
But unfortunately, this does not mean that you can use Apple Watch 3 without an iPhone. It means that on occasions when you forget your iPhone at your home, you can still run a few apps. If you are willing to spend an extra $10/month then you will be able to make calls from your Apple Watch 3 even without your smartphone.
This watch comes in two sizes, 38mm and 42mm with a choice of GPS or GPS+Cellular. The GPS model has 8 GB while the GPS+Cellular model has 16 GB of internal memory.
The operating system of Apple Watch 3 is the same as of Watch 4 and 5, that is WatchOS 6. This watch does not have fall detection. Its heart rate monitor’s data is not reliable. If an iPhone user who does not care about the latest technologies and just want a Smartwatch, then this is the best choice for such a user.