Updated: Handpicked recommended smartwatches from our in-depth reviews
Smartwatches are now extremely versatile and powerful tools. The best options can track exercise, monitor advanced health metrics, and act as a handy second screen to your smartphone.
The best smartwatch to own right now is the Apple Watch Series 10, but it’s not necessarily the top option for everyone.
Android phone users should look to the Google Pixel Watch 3 or the Galaxy Watch Ultra if they crave a more premium, sporty flair.
Here at Wareable, we’ve thoroughly tested and reviewed every major smartwatch on the market, and our reviews are regarded as some of the most stringent in the industry.
Read on for our hand-picked best smartwatches.
How we tested these smartwatches
Trying to rank the top smartwatches is a complex task; no two devices are the same, nor are the people using them. With this in mind, we use our expertise to provide our opinion on the watches that fit the categories listed in the quick summary below.
Ultimately, this buyer’s guide extends from our full, in-depth reviews, which see us test a device over several weeks (and often longer). We rigorously analyze the design, features, health monitoring, activity tracking, and manufacturer claims during this time.
Best smartwatch 2025: Overview (jump to the full review)
- Apple Watch Series 10: Best overall smartwatch
- Google Pixel Watch 3: Best smartwatch for Android
- Xiaomi Watch 2: Best budget Android smartwatch
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: Best Samsung smartwatch
- Huawei Watch Fit 3: Best fitness tracking smartwatch
- Apple Watch Ultra 2: Best sporty smartwatch
- Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: Best sporty smartwatch for Android
- Garmin Venu 3: Best smartwatch for wellness
- Apple Watch SE: Best affordable Apple Watch
Smartwatch launches we’re expecting in 2025
While the watches we’ve detailed below are the best currently available, that doesn’t mean they will be for long. It always pays to have one eye on future smartwatch releases.
We’re expecting a bumper amount of launches in 2025. Brands such as Apple, Garmin, and Huawei should have new watch generations that were skipped over last year. Annual releases from Samsung, Xiaomi, Google, OnePlus, and Amazfit should also appear.
Here’s a quick list of incoming smartwatches this year, when we might see them announced, and ones that have already been confirmed:
- Amazfit Active 2 (announced in January; launching in February)
- Apple Watch SE 3 (September)
- Apple Watch Series 11 (September)
- Apple Watch Ultra 3 (September)
- Garmin Venu 4 (August)
- Google Pixel Watch 4 (July)
- Huawei Watch 5 and 5 Pro (June)
- Huawei Watch Ultimate 2 (March)
- OnePlus Watch 3 (February)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 (July)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 (July)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch FE 2025 (July)
- Xiaomi Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro (February)
Apple Watch Series 10
Best overall smartwatch (iOS only)
The Apple Watch Series 10 is the best smartwatch in 2025, but it only works with iPhone.
It’s also a more substantial update than we’ve had in the previous couple of generations, with Apple delivering a pair of thinner, lighter smartwatches. The new 42mm and 46mm duo are also bigger and boast more edge-to-edge displays that are brighter than ever when viewed at an angle.
Aluminum remains the core case material for the Series 10. However, Apple has changed the premium material available for those who wish to upgrade – it’s now titanium and carbon neutral (like the Apple Watch Ultra 2) instead of stainless steel. It’s a change we rate after testing.
Other minor changes include an upgraded speaker, which allows out-loud audio from more than just phone calls, a depth gauge and water temperature sensor, a rebadged S10 chip, and ever-so-slightly quicker charging.
They’re all welcome additions, but the real meat – as ever – is what Apple has built up through previous generations; features such as Double Tap gestures, Low Power Mode battery control, ECG readings for serious health screening, a temperature sensor for detailed cycle tracking, and a bustling app store full of third-party downloads.
Combined with the watchOS 11 update, which adds sleep apnea detection, the Vitals app, and more advanced insights into training, it’s the most comprehensive smartwatch experience on the market.
However, single-day battery life continues to be the major Achilles heel of the Apple Watch Series models, and problematic if you require a smartwatch that can withstand heavy use.
We’re also not sure the bump in overall size – with the case sizes now 42mm/46mm, up from 41mm/45mm – will be to everyone’s taste, particularly those with smaller wrists.
- Read our Apple Watch Series 10 review
Pros
- Easier to use
- Lovely finishes
- Sleep apnea detection
Cons
- Battery life is still a day
- Huge display is a lot on the wrist
Google Pixel Watch 3
Best smartwatch for Android (Android only)
After getting its smartwatch series back on track last year, Google has propelled itself to the top of the Wear OS smartwatch field thanks to the additional case size for the Pixel Watch 3.
The all-new 45mm model doesn’t just open up the Pixel Watch line to those previously put off by the small, 41mm case size, it also ensures genuine multi-day battery life thanks to the extra space under the hood.
We found it consistently capable of lasting over 48 hours with the always-on display enabled during testing, and that can stretch to three or four days if you play it conservatively with settings or hammer the battery-saving mode.
This performance is on par with the Galaxy Watch Ultra, which means the wonderfully intuitive Fitbit platform is the key separator.
For this edition, the upgrades to the Fitbit experience include Cardio Load/Target Load (ideal for those craving more training insights), a helpful morning brief, and improved data for running workouts. Meanwhile, the Daily Readiness Score is now available (to all Pixel Watch generations) after being behind the Fitbit Premium paywall.
Accuracy remains a strong point, too. The heart rate data is among the best we’ve tested across multiple workout types, while GPS (though sadly not dual-frequency GNSS) is certainly accurate enough to get by with. Comprehensive sleep tracking and health vitals data are also packed in, even if stress tracking is still an area of the Fitbit experience we’re not the biggest fans of.
The Pixel Watch 3 provides a seriously refined and rounded smartwatch experience. Though the battery life still isn’t amazing on the 41mm model, the 45mm equivalent is our top recommendation for Android owners.
- Read our Google Pixel Watch 3 review
Pros
- Finally in two case sizes
- Two-day AOD battery life (45mm version)
- Still excellent HR tracking
Cons
- Not much of an upgrade for 41mm users
- No dual-frequency GNSS
- Stress tracking remains baffling
Xiaomi Watch 2
Best budget Android watch (Android only)
The Xiaomi Watch 2 is the play if something like the $399/£349 Pixel Watch 3 is too pricey for your budget. Wear OS has been bereft of budget options for years, but this one truly delivers.
The build quality and display are superb for a cheaper smartwatch, and Wear OS 3.5 (not the latest 5.0) was much slicker than we found when testing the pricier Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro.
As you would expect at this price, there are compromises. Battery life is limited to a single day and there’s no room for features like LTE. Fitness and sports tracking are also decent, but still not up to the standard of Fitbit on the Pixel Watch 3.
Yet, you can’t access the wealth of apps and features of Wear OS for less than this. The Xiaomi Watch 2 offers a mix of usability and build quality we’d have previously thought impossible at this price point.
- Check out our full Xiaomi Watch 2 review
Pros
- Superb price tag
- Light and attractive design
- HR accuracy is very solid
Cons
- Battery life is very average
- Mi Fitness is a glitch-fest
- Doesn’t run Wear OS 4
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
Best Samsung smartwatch for most people (Android only)
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is probably one of the most incremental smartwatch updates of all time, so feel free to grab a Galaxy Watch 6 if you spot a deal, but the latest model is still a crowdpleaser.
Available in 40mm and 44mm sizes, it works perfectly well on male and female wrists. Plus, while hardly a fashion accessory, we do think that the Watch 7 looks significantly nicer in the flesh.
It runs Wear OS 5, offers support for all the latest apps, and boasts some serious health and fitness features. The Galaxy Watch 7 also has dual-band GPS for tracking runs, ECG, and blood pressure tracking if you calibrate it with a cuff.
Meanwhile, Samsung Health is a decent place to track your wellness and has vastly improved with the new sleep tracking/coaching and Energy Score, which we’ve found intuitive and accurate.
Battery life is a sticking point, and we found that Samsung’s 30 hours of battery life (with the always-on display enabled) rings true. That means you’ll need to charge it as soon as you wake up if you use it to track sleep. If you want a longer battery, you’ll need to look at the Galaxy Watch Ultra or Google Pixel Watch 3.
- Read our Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 review
Pros
- Feature-packed software
- Much-improved sports tracking
- Some useful new health and wellness insights
Cons
- The battery performance hasn't improved
- Some features require a Samsung smartphone
- No major design changes
Huawei Watch Fit 3
Best for battery life (iOS/Android)
The Huawei Watch Fit 3 is a great budget smartwatch that you can bag for just $135/£135.
Yes, it’s a massive clone of the Apple Watch, but it gets so much right. It’s so thin and light to wear and truly unisex. There’s a range of strap options, but we don’t know why people would look beyond the nylon option, which we tried in our review time (above).
The Huawei Watch Fit 3 offers generally good health and sports tracking, offering a broad spectrum of metrics and accurate data, from heart rate to GPS distance. It passed all our tests and punches well above its price tag, with running particularly well handled.
Sleep tracking is also fairly solid. While we did find it wasn’t the most sensitive to grace our testing lab, it’s consistent and helpful enough to get value from. Again, it’s great for this price.
Where it falls short of Apple and Wear OS is the lack of a robust ecosystem, especially for apps and payments. Yet, the tradeoff is much-improved battery life. If you want 14 days, you will need to forego features like the always-on display, but you should get a week even with all the bells and whistles turned on.
- Check out our full Huawei Watch Fit 3 review
Pros
- Good workout tracking
- Lovely price
- Slim and light
Cons
- Sleep tracking accuracy could be better
- Basic watch faces and UI design
- Lack of apps/services
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Best sporty smartwatch (iOS only)
We loved the original Apple Watch Ultra, and the Ultra 2 launched in 2023 made gentle refinements to the overall proposition, including a boost in screen brightness, a carbon-neutral design, and a chip that enables the Double Tap feature.
We didn’t get an Apple Watch Ultra 3 in 2024, as the rumors suggested we would. However, at the most recent September event, Apple added a black case option to the titanium finish (shown above). The Ultra 2 also gained sleep apnea detection support via watchOS 11.
The 49mm Ultra 2 remains bold and aimed at weekend warriors who want a superior Apple Watch to the Series 10. It’s tough and suitable for diving and watersports, and runners will love the multi-band GPS, which aced our city marathon testing.
The thing we love most is the 2-3 days of battery life, which eliminates the battery anxiety of the Series models. Returning to a Series 10 after spending time with the Ultra 2 is tough; this is the peak Apple Watch experience.
The native outdoor apps still need some depth, with mapping, navigation, and performance analysis undercooked compared to Garmin. However, you can always hunt down some third-party Ultra apps to help it realize its potential.
- Check out our full Apple Watch Ultra 2 review
Pros
- Great screen
- Supreme GPS accuracy
- Gestures are cool AF
- Carbon neutral
Cons
- Wellness feels a tad stale
- Short on prosumer metrics
- New carbon neutral bands slightly dull
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Best sporty Wear OS smartwatch (Android only)
Wear OS was deprived of a truly rugged outdoor smartwatch until the Galaxy Watch Ultra launched in 2024.
Samsung’s most premium smartwatch apes the Apple Watch Ultra to a ludicrous degree, but it adds something unique for Android users.
The 47mm case size feels huge and rules out smaller wrists, but it offers accurate dual-frequency GNSS, all the health tech bells and whistles, 100ATM water resistance, and some proper sports tracking features such as (very fiddly) FTP, and the ability to chain together different workouts.
Battery life is between two and three days, but we did find the drain inexplicably inconsistent at launch, so it’s hard to get a feel for how much you’ll get.
Providing you can handle the size, slightly clunky navigation, and inconsistent battery life, this is a great upgrade from the typical Samsung smartwatch experience.
- Check out our full Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review
Pros
- Solid build and fun design
- Excellent HR and GPS tracking
- Cracking display
- Sleep tracking is very detailed
Cons
- Insane rotating bezel miss
- Battery life feels inconsistent
- Samsung phone required for some features
- Looks ridiculous on smaller wrists
Garmin Venu 3
Best for wellness (iOS and Android)
The Garmin Venu 3 represents a big improvement over the Venu 2, with a slicker design, improved UI, and a more intuitive set of health features.
It’s still a jack-of-all-trades sporty smartwatch – so, while there are loads of sports profiles, none offer the level of data you might expect from a Garmin. Running, for example, shows basic metrics on pace, distance, and heart rate only.
But the daily suite of wellness metrics, displayed via widgets, is much more complete. Body Battery (which tracks energy levels), stress, steps, HRV Status, activity minutes, breathing rate, sleep, sleep coach, and more, are all on display.
These widgets offer real-time feedback that makes them all feel more intuitive. Body Battery, in particular, has been overhauled to offer more nuanced insight and daytime recharging if the user naps or has a restful period.
We found heart rate and GPS accuracy top-notch during testing. So, while the Venu 3 isn’t a powerhouse of athletic performance analysis, it produces great data.
As a smartwatch, it does a good job of covering bases, with notifications, Garmin Pay (with patchy bank support), and offline Spotify syncing. It’s still not a patch on the smartwatch experience offered by Apple and Google, but, with two weeks of battery life, (7-10 days of heavy use in our testing) it’s a fantastic alternative.
The other downside is that the Venu 3 is expensive, and the Vivoactive 5 offers most of its core features at around half the price. It may also be usurped by a new model in 2025. Garmin typically keeps the Venu on a two-year update cycle, which will be up in the summer.
- Check out our full Garmin Venu 3 review
Pros
- Wellness features finally feel useful
- Top HR accuracy
- Lovely screen
Cons
- Really pricey
- Sports tracking offers basic metrics only
- Some sleep accuracy niggles
Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)
Best affordable Apple Watch (iOS only)
Over the past few months, we’ve considered dropping the Apple Watch SE 2 from our smartwatch recommendations list. It’s over two years old, and options such as the Huawei Watch Fit 3 are genuine alternatives at half the price.
But, as we wrote after re-testing the SE 2 in November 2024, it’s still a fantastic sports-tracking smartwatch capable of running the latest watchOS software and remains zippy thanks to the S8 chip.
First-timers looking for an introduction to the Apple Watch get all the essentials with this device: core fitness and wellness monitoring, accurate workout HR and GPS, a bustling App Store, Apple Pay, and even Fall Detection.
You can’t go wrong with the SE if you’re in the Apple ecosystem and want a solid starter smartwatch. The design is now dated, though. The thick border around the display ensures it feels significantly boxier than the Series 7-10 devices, and there’s also no always-on display or ECG.
We’re also expecting it to be replaced by a newer model in late 2025, and it likely won’t be able to access the latest software updates for much longer. So, if you have it on your shortlist, find a good deal.
- Check out our Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) review
Pros
- Tracking is very accurate
- S8 chip provides very smooth experience
- Superb value
Cons
- Battery life hasn't progressed
- Design is starting to look a little old
- No always-on display
How to choose the right smartwatch
Case size
A watch’s fit, comfort, and wearability are largely down to case size – and a few millimeters can make a huge difference. Those with small wrists should look in the 38-42mm range, while those who like chunky, oversized watches or have big wrists should look at anything above 45mm.
iOS vs Android
It’s paramount to think about what smartphone you use. Apple Watch is iOS only, and Wear OS watches, such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch lineup and Pixel Watch 3, are exclusive to Android.
Older Wear watches work on both, but the iOS experience is diminished and it’s not recommended.
Huawei, Fitbit, and Garmin smartwatches work on both, but some advanced calling from the wrist features are usually Android only.
Check out our guides to the best smartwatches for iPhone and the top Android watches for more information.
Apps and extra features
Buying into Apple Watch and Wear OS watches means you can access bustling app stores full of options from big-name brands, such as Spotify or Strava, and expand on the core features.
For example, platforms run by Garmin, Amazfit, and Huawei don’t have the developer support for many quality apps. This means you’re limited to basic functionality.
Heath and fitness features
Smartwatches are increasingly becoming health and fitness tools, so make sure yours has the sensors you want.
Nowadays, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a smartwatch without a heart rate sensor, and most are adept at 24/7 HR and resting heart rate.
However, brands like Apple, Google Fitbit, and Samsung now include ECG, a powerful health tool. If you’re curious, read our ECG explainer.
Runners will want accurate GPS on board to track outdoor workouts.
Battery life
The Apple Watch and Wear OS smartwatches generally only last a day or two away from the charger, which is one of the biggest turn-offs for people. There have been moves to extend that to 2-3 days, with the Apple Watch Ultra 2, Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, and TicWatch Pro 5.
Luckily, other smartwatches now last more than a week, with Fitbit, Huawei, Amazfit, and Garmin all pushing longer runtimes.
Cellular connectivity
A key consideration is whether you want your smartwatch to work away from your phone.
Many manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, offer LTE versions, which you’ll need to purchase a separate data plan. Most carriers and networks have plans for LTE smartwatches.
If you find this an important feature, check out our guide to the best LTE smartwatches.
