All smartwatches are water resistant these days – but some offer excellent swim tracking features.
After extensive testing by the Wareable team, we’ve ranked the best waterproof smartwatch as the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for its diving features, auto-depth tracking, and excellent built-in Workout smarts.
However, the hefty price tag means it’s not necessarily the right choice for everyone. So, as part of our extensive review process, we’ve been swimming with all the top smartwatches to find out which can tell your breaststroke from your front crawl.
- What is SWOLF? Swimming watch metrics explained
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.
You can read our guide to wearable waterproof ratings for more detailed information.
Apple Watch Ultra 2
The ultimate waterproof smartwatch available today, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is rated 100ATM and good for diving (EN13319 certified). This alone puts it a few lengths ahead of its competitors.
When submerged in water the Apple Watch Ultra 2 automatically turns into a dive computer, showing you live depth in a clear and easy-to-read view. It’s good for dives up to 40m and can also endure the water pressure of jet-skiing and surfing.
It also integrates with the Oceanic+ app, which offers specialist diving metrics and features. Divers are also well catered for with the Ocean strap (shown above), our favorite of the standard issue bands.
When it comes to swimming, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 shares the excellent tracking performance of the standard Series 10 and Apple Watch SE models. However, it’s a completely different beast to wear. The 49mm case means it’s chunky on the wrist, and many people (especially women) will find it more uncomfortable to wear.
But the screen and added day(s) of battery life more than make up for that, and the Apple Watch Ultra oozes outdoor vibes when you’re getting on with the mundanities of everyday life.
Waterproof rating: 10 ATM (100m) | Pool and open water: Yes | Dive: EN13319
- Check out our full Apple Watch Ultra 2 review
Apple Watch Series 10
If you don’t fancy the Apple Watch Ultra 2’s size or price, the mid-range Series 10 is a fantastic pool/water companion.
Apple’s Workout app features multiple swimming modes (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.
Unlike previous generations, the Series 10 has also gained some of the Ultra’s exclusive features.
Swimming workouts can now be customized, so you can do proper pool intervals, and the depth sensor and water temperature sensor are integrated, too. So, snorkeling, Oceanic+, and the Depth app are all at your disposal with the Series 10. You just can’t go on deep dives like with the Ultra.
The ultra-wide display is inactive during all these swimming activities, but the always-on display ensures you can raise your arm to check real-time progress.
Looking at accuracy, the 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 Activity app, but third-party Apple Watch swimming apps can provide an extra hit of analysis if required.
Waterproof rating: 5ATM (50m) | Pool and open water: Yes
- Check out our full Apple Watch Series 10 review
Garmin Forerunner 965 / 265 / 165
We’ve lumped these Forerunner devices together here due to their similarities in swimming tracking. This trio essentially afford you the same broad insights in a lightweight design.
All are adept at tracking pool or open water workouts, while the 265 and 965 can chain activities together if you want to train/race the triathlon or record swim-run sessions. There are many different versions here to help you find the right fit and screen size for your wrist.
As you would expect, the performance and accuracy are very similar to what’s offered on other Garmin watches – and that’s no bad thing. Metrics like distance, pace, stroke count, and SWOLF scores are all presented neatly, with the option to customize data fields also present.
As with the Fenix 8, you can also set up auto-resting, pace alerts, and Garmin’s Drill Log feature from the old Swim 2, which is handy for pool workouts. The 165 misses out on the odd feature available on the 265/965, such as Critical Swim Speed, but the broad tracking is identical.
The battery life also varies dramatically between these three sports watches. The 965 can reach a couple of weeks with standard use as a smartwatch, while the 265 (13 days) and 165 (11 days) are shorter.
As we say, though, any of these is a solid companion in the water. The experience is feature-rich and accurate, 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
- Reviews: Forerunner 965 | Forerunner 265 | Forerunner 165
Huawei Watch Fit 3
Like the GT series, the Watch Fit 3 is capable of tracking both open water and pool swimming offering metrics including laps, calories, distance, speed, SWOLF, swim stroke rate, and frequency.
When you head outdoors, you can expect to see distance, average SWOLF, swimming time, swimming strokes, and swim stroke rate. And we’ve found Huawei wearables to be a decent companions in the pool, with accurate data on lengths and strokes.
The Huawei Health app is a good place to review swimming data and you can have data synced to Strava, which is a big plus for swimmers.
It does run on Huawei’s HarmonyOS operating system, which means you do get access to Huawei’s AppGallery store, though it lacks any big-name apps or swim-centric apps for that matter.
It’s also a good budget smartwatch that works well with iOS and Android alike. And at £139, it’s one of the cheapest devices on this list. It’s not as slick in places, and you don’t get access to apps and services like Apple/Google watches. But it gets a lot right.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m) | Pool and open water: Yes
- Check out our full Huawei Watch Fit 3 review
Huawei Watch 4 Pro
While significantly more expensive than the Fit 3 (and still a bit more than the Watch GT 5 Pro), the Huawei Watch 4 Pro offers diving smarts thanks to its EN 13319 rating. It’s good for free dives up to 30m.
We’ve used Huawei wearables extensively in the pool and always find the tracking of laps, calories, distance, speed, SWOLF, swim stroke rate, and frequency reliable. So on that front, the Huawei Watch 4 series is recommended.
The dive app will produce plenty of data. It will measure the speed, depth, and duration of dives, as well as depth curve, heart rate, breath holding duration, and data on diaphragm contraction.
It also features a titanium and ceramic build and an excellent AMOLED screen. Battery life is a cut above rivals, too, with a week away from the charger.
However, all those premium materials mean it costs more than an Apple Watch (but less than an Apple Watch Ultra).
Waterproof rating: 10 ATM (100m) | Pool and open water: Yes | Dive: EN13319
- Check out our Huawei Watch 4 Pro Space Edition review
Garmin Venu 3
For swimmers, buying Garmin is a strong choice – and the Venu 3 is the company’s most advanced smartwatch, so you’re getting an excellent all-rounder here.
The Venu 3 is two things. First, it’s a sporty smartwatch with a (fairly basic) sports profile. For a Garmin, the Venu 3 produces quite low-level data for running and cycling, but it produces an excellent array of swimming metrics.
Garmin watches have led the way here, and you’ll get the detection of strokes (backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle), accurate length tracking, and also the all-important SWOLF metric. The Venu 3 will also record heart rate underwater using the optical sensor.
It’s also a strong wellness watch, with in-depth metrics such as the new sleep coach (as mentioned above) but also Morning Report and HRV Status, Body Battery, stress tracking, and metrics such as respiration rate and heart rate.
It comes in two available sizes (45mm and 41mm) with options for varied colors and features like the Sleep Coach and an automatic nap detection mechanism, which personalizes sleep requirements based on numerous metrics.
Battery life is 10 to 14 days depending on the model size (and always-on display usage brings that estimation down considerably, too).
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m) | Pool and open water: Yes
Amazfit Active
Amazfit offers a decent swimming experience across its range of smartwatches, but it’s the Active we’ve highlighted here. That’s because this watch brings much of what’s good about its recent smartwatches with a budget 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 pool. Whether tracking open water or pool swims, the Active will show the distance covered, swim duration, and calories burned. It will also track average pace, speed, and average strokes per minute.
The Amazfit app also plays nicely with Strava – a great place to record and review swimming data.
Away from the pool, the Amazfit Active is a solid workout companion for runners, and the new Readiness feature will suit those who work out regularly and want to keep tabs on fatigue.
It lacks third-party apps, payments, and native streaming music support, but at this price, it’s tough to argue against it.
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m) | Pool and open water: Yes
- Check out our full Amazfit Active review
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
The Galaxy Watch 7 is Samsung’s latest smartwatch. It runs on One UI Watch 6 (a skin of Google’s Wear OS 5), giving you access to Google features like the Play Store and the ability to download Google apps.
In terms of its sports tracking prowess, it still feels very Samsung. You can expect similarly solid swimming pool tracking and open water from previous generations, with it remaining waterproof up to 50 meters for this latest edition.
It’s a smartwatch that will let you view metrics like distance, strokes, lap time, and SWOLF (to measure swimming efficiency) from the Super AMOLED display. However, as we say, you can also employ apps from the Play Store if you need extra tracking insights.
It offers good accuracy in the water and is comfortable, too. You’re also getting one of the best smartwatch experiences (outside of Apple’s), whether in music features or cellular support.
One caveat, though: the Watch 7 only works with Android phones. If you’re an iPhone user, you’re forced to consider the Apple Watch (or another compatible brand, like Garmin).
Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m) | Pool and open water: Yes
