Best waterproof smartwatch: Top watches you can swim with

Water-resistant smartwatches aren’t uncommon these days—but some also offer excellent swim-tracking features

With smartwatches accompanying us everywhere, it’s understandable that most of the models nowadays are water resistant. Yet, simply being able to stay active in the water does not always translate to great tracking for water sports.

Following extensive, ongoing testing by the Wareable team, we continue to rank the Apple Watch Ultra 3 as the best waterproof smartwatch. Its diving features, auto-depth tracking, and excellent native and third-party app options make it a formidable choice.

However, we understand that its lofty price tag and iOS-only compatibility means it's not necessarily the best fit for every swimmer. So, as part of our ongoing review process, we've been swimming with all the top smartwatches to find out which ones can tell your breaststroke from your front crawl.

• What is SWOLF? Swimming watch metrics explained

At a glance: Best waterproof smartwatches

1. Apple Watch Ultra 3: Best waterproof smartwatch overall
2. Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: Best waterproof watch for Android
3. Apple Watch Series 11: Best waterproof smartwatch for iPhone
4. Suunto Ocean: Best smartwatch for diving and multisport
5. Garmin Forerunner 970: Best smartwatch for swimming and triathlons

Smartwatch water resistance ratings explained

If you're looking for a smartwatch for swimming, you need a device with 5ATM and IPX8 ratings (or higher).

A watch with these certifications can offer both ingress protection for continuous immersion in water and the ability to handle a good level of water pressure.

It might sound baffling, but a 3ATM watch is technically water-resistant up to 30 meters, but it won't provide suitable protection for swimming.

• Read our guide to wearable waterproof ratings

Apple Watch Ultra 3

Best waterproof fitness tracker in 2026

One of the ultimate smartwatches available today, Apple Watch Ultra 3 is water resistant to 100m and EN13319-compliant for recreational scuba diving to 40m. This alone puts it a few lengths ahead of its competitors on this list.

When submerged in water, Ultra 3 can automatically launch its built-in Dive app, which shows live depth, dive duration, and other key metrics in a clear, easy-to-read view. It’s adept for swimming, snorkeling, and recreational dives, and can also endure the water pressure of high-speed water sports.

It also integrates with the Oceanic+ app, which offers specialist diving metrics and features for a subscription. Divers are also well catered for with Ocean Band, our favorite of the standard-issue bands.

Regarding swimming, Ultra 3 offers excellent tracking, with automatic stroke and count detection, SWOLF, splits, auto sets, water temperatures, pace, distance, heart rate, and lap tracking. However, the 49mm case looks very chunky on the wrist, and many people may find it uncomfortable.

But the bright display and solid battery life more than make up for that. With up to 42 hours of normal use, or even around 72 hours in Low Power Mode, Apple Watch Ultra 3 is built for much more than a few laps in the pool. And it continues to ooze outdoor vibes when you’re getting on with the mundanities of everyday life.

Waterproof rating: 100m | Pool and open water: Yes | Dive: EN13319, up to 40m

• Check out our full Apple Watch Ultra 3 review

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8

Best waterproof smartwatch for Android

After several incremental updates, Galaxy Watch 8 feels like a significant step forward and is Samsung's most compelling mid-range smartwatch in years.

The big story is the integration of Google Gemini. Unlike its predecessors, it brings a genuinely helpful and intelligent AI assistant on the wrist that's capable of handling complex queries with ease.

Available in 40mm and 44mm sizes, Watch 8 adopts the new ‘cushion’ case design from the Ultra model for a cleaner, more refined look. The Super AMOLED display is also brighter and sharper than ever before, while subtle UI improvements make the Wear OS feel smoother and more intuitive to navigate day-to-day.

GPS accuracy still falls short of the best dedicated sports watches, but the inclusion of dual-frequency GPS is a welcome upgrade, and we think the heart rate tracking is pretty accurate, even during intense exercise. With a 5 ATM rating, it's suitable for swimming and reliably tracks both pool and open water swims. You can view key metrics like distance, strokes, lap time, and SWOLF, and we found the accuracy in the water to be solid for a smartwatch.

The biggest compromise remains battery life. Samsung rates Galaxy Watch 8 for up to 30 hours with the always-on display enabled, and in our testing it typically managed around a day and a half. That means regular charging is still part of the deal, particularly if you’re using GPS.

Despite that limitation, Watch 8 is a resounding success and a strong choice for Android users. The polished design, bright display, excellent tracking, improved GPS, and the game-changing utility of Google Gemini make it an appealing option.

Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m) | Pool and open water: Yes

• Check out our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 review

Apple Watch Series 11

Best water-resistant smartwatch for iPhone

If you don’t fancy Apple Watch Ultra 3’s size or price, Series 11 is a great pool and open-water companion.

Apple's Workout app features multiple swimming modes, including pool swim, open water swim, and multisport for triathlons, with each serving up a host of metrics. Distance covered, lengths, average pace, and stroke detection are all here.

Like Series 10 before it, Series 11 also benefits from some of the Ultra;s water-focused features. Swimming workouts can be customized so that you can do proper pool intervals, while the built-in depth gauge and water temperature sensor add useful data for time spent in the water.

The depth gauge measures down to 6m, making Series 11 adept for snorkeling, shallow-water activities, and underwater swimming. The Depth app can display your current and maximum depth, water temperature, and time underwater. Just keep in mind that Series 11 isn’t designed for scuba diving or other activities involving high-pressure and deeper submersion.

Looking at accuracy, Apple Watch is up there with the dedicated sports watches, and the swimming experience overall is strong. Core data (distance, lap counts, average pace) were all in line with our control testing, and it's a comfortable watch to wear in the water.

Data lives in the Apple Fitness and Health apps, while third-party Apple Watch swimming apps can provide an extra hit of analysis if required. So, Series 11 is a highly capable option for swimmers who don’t need deeper-diving capabilities.

Waterproof rating: 50m | Pool and open water: Yes | Depth gauge: 6m

• Check out our full Apple Watch Series 11 review

Suunto Ocean

Best smartwatch for diving and multisports

If you’re in need of a serious sports watch that can handle everything from pool to deep-water sessions, Suunto Ocean is built just for that.

Specifically for pool workouts, Ocean tracks distance, laps, pace, strokes, SWOLF, calories, and rest time, with customizable data screens making it easy to keep an eye on the metrics. During testing, it automatically recognized our swimming strokes and can detect intervals as well.

Open-water swimmers are also catered for. GPS tracking records your route and distance, while multisport features make it suitable for triathletes.

Where we’d say Ocean really stood out to us is its diving credentials. It’s rated to 100m and is designed for recreational scuba diving down to 40m. You can even check depth, dive time, water temperature, ascent rate, and other key information after the dive.

The trade-off is the design in our opinion. It’s bulky and large, so Suunto Ocean won’t be easy to wear everyday.

Waterproof rating: 100m | Pool and open water: Yes | Dive: Up to 40m

• Check out our full Suunto Ocean review

Garmin Forerunner 970

Best smartwatch for swimming and triathlons

Forerunner 970 is one of Garmin’s most capable multisport watches, and its swimming credentials are every bit as impressive as its running and triathlon features.

It’s adept at tracking both pool and open water workouts, with a comprehensive set of metrics that includes distance, pace, stroke count, stroke type, intervals, rest time, and SWOLF. Remember that you can customize your data screens, making it easy to put the metrics you care about the most front and center.

For pool workouts, the 970 offers auto-rest, pace alerts, and Garmin's Drill Log feature, which is handy for recording kick sets, one-arm swimming, and other drills. It also supports Critical Swim Speed testing for more serious swimmers.

The model is equally well equipped for open-water sessions, with GPS tracking and swim-specific metrics carried over into the outdoor environment.

Battery life is another major strength. It does depend slightly on which size case you choose, but, generally speaking, Forerunner 970 will last longer up to 15 days in smartwatch mode. Of course, GPS-only mode cuts this estimate dramatically.

As we say, though, Forerunner 970 is a solid companion in the water. The experience is feature-rich, offering plenty of other smarts and tracking insights when you're done in the water.

Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m) | Pool and open water: Yes

• Check out our full Garmin Forerunner 970 review

Huawei Watch 5

Best premium water-resistant smartwatch

Like the GT series, Watch 5 can track both open water and pool swimming, offering metrics including laps, calories, distance, speed, SWOLF, swim stroke rate, stroke type, and frequency.

For pool sessions, you can expect key metrics like distance, laps, pace, and SWOLF, while outdoor swimming adds GPS-based distance and route tracking. We’ve generally found Huawei wearables to be decent companions in the water, with Watch 5 offering plenty of useful data for swimming training.

The Huawei Health app is a good place to review swimming data, and you can have data synced to Strava or some other third-party platforms, which is a big plus for swimmers.

It runs on Huawei's software platform and has access to third-party apps through Watch AppGallery. Though, the selection isn’t as extensive as what you’ll find on Apple or Google watches, and app availability can vary by region.

Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m) | Pool and open water: Yes

• Check out our Huawei Watch 5 review

Huawei Watch Fit 4

Best affordable waterproof smartwatch

Huawei Watch Fit 4 is one of the more stylish options in Huawei’s affordable smartwatch range. It combines a slim, lightweight design with a surprisingly broad set of health and fitness features. It sits above the entry-level options in Huawei’s Fit lineup, but remains considerably cheaper than premium models.

Its standout feature is the bright 1.82-inch AMOLED display, which makes workout metrics easy to read even underwater. The lightweight 27g design also makes it comfortable to wear and doesn’t limit your movements.

For workouts, Watch Fit 4 offers GPS tracking alongside heart rate monitoring, and it supports a broad range of activities. For swimming, it can track bot pool and open-water sessions, with metrics like distance, duration, pace, calories, stroke count, type, and SWOLF.

It's not technically suitable for scuba diving or high-velocity water sports, but it’s completely enough for swimming. We've used Huawei wearables extensively in the pool and always find the data reliable.

The primary compromise remains small third-party selection. But if that doesn’t bother you, it’s a fine option to consider

Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m) | Pool and open water: Yes

• Check out our Huawei Watch Fit 4 review

Amazfit Active 2

Best budget smartwatch for swimming

Amazfit offers a decent swimming experience across its range of smartwatches, but it’s Active 2 we’ve highlighted here. That's because this watch brings much of what's good about its recent smartwatches with a budget-friendly price tag. It's easy to recommend.

Pool swimming is automatically detected, and the AMOLED display is well-suited to checking your metrics while in the water. Whether tracking open water or pool swims, Active 2 will record the distance, swim duration, pace, speed, strokes, SWOLF, and calories burned. It also supports dedicated modes for pool, open-water, fin and artistic swimming.

The Zepp app also plays nicely with Strava, which is a great place to record and review swimming data. You can also sync it to adidas Running, TrainingPeaks, komoot, and Relive.

Away from the pool, the watch is a solid workout companion for runners, and the readiness assessments will suit those who work out regularly and want to keep tabs on fatigue.

It lacks third-party music services, broader app ecosystem, and payment support, but it's tough to argue against it at this price.

Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m) | Pool and open water: Yes

• Check out our full Amazfit Active 2 review

Fitbit Charge 6

Best waterproof fitness tracker for a pool

For those who prefer lightweight trackers rather than full-blown smartwatches, Fitbit Charge 6 is a solid option to check out. Surprisingly, we found it to be a capable swimming companion.

It only supports pool swimming and records useful basics such as duration, distance, laps, and calories. The simple interface really makes it easy to keep track of your session and it doesn’t show hard-to-understand data. If you’re swimming just casually, these metrics are more than enough.

The small AMOLED display is bright, we found it enough to check your progress between lengths. It’s not specifically a swimming tracker, but Charge 6 offers a broader everyday fitness routine, including activities in the water.

The main limitation is that it’s not suitable for open-water sessions or diving, though we believe it’s still an appealing choice.

Waterproof rating: 50m | Pool: Yes | Open water: No

• Check our full Fitbit Charge 6 review

Final word

When looking for a smartwatch suitable for swimming, consider depth rating, swim tracking, battery, and your preferences.

For diving or watersports, consider 10ATM or dive-certified models like Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Suunto Ocean, with depth sensors and better pressure resistance.

For regular pool or open-water use, 5ATM is usually enough, especially with lap counting, stroke detection, pace data, and open-water GPS. We recommend Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, Apple Watch Series 11, depending on your phone and preference.

Don’t forget battery life. Most traditional smartwatches need charging every couple of days, but fitness-focused watches can last a week or more. This makes smartwatches like Garmin Forerunner 970 and Huawei Watch 5 better for triathlon training or holiday use.

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly smartwatch consider Huawei Watch Fit 4, Fitbit Charge 6, or Amazfit Active 2. Just keep in mind that some important features may be missing from cheaper options.