Other smartwatches need to be considered
The number of smartwatches on the market is amazing. I’ve tested models from Tag Heuer, Citizen, Montblanc and many other fashion brands, but most of them are too expensive for what you get. These are some of the options I like.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra costs $650: The 47mm Galaxy Watch Ultra (7/10, wired review) is the company’s Apple Watch Ultra and Garmin competitor, and it’s a stable first entry to an expensive, feature-rich and powerful smartwatch designed for professional athletes. Technically, this is the 2025 model, which is the same as the 2024 version, but with 64 GB of storage and a new blue color. It can last more than two days for a fee, as it is a 47mm large watch that can pack a powerful battery. There is a titanium box and sapphire glass face, plus 10 ATMs and IP68 so you can dip it in underwater for 100 meters. The heart rate tracker is very consistent with the Apple Watch Ultra 2, with dual-band GPS providing accurate mapping. Compared to other performance smartwatches, the software is not that intuitive and lacks some features, but if you’re in the Android world, it’s a great start. If you don’t care about blue or extra storage, you can buy the 2024 model for hundreds of vehicles.
Samsung Galaxy Watch7 44mm, priced at $230: Samsung’s Galaxy Watch7 is a bit bland from 2024. The model debuted on Samsung’s energy rating and added an updated sleep tracking feature. You can also get the FDA cleared sleep apnea test, although that’s not a feature you keep on turning on – it takes two nights to track, and then, you’ll get a note saying whether you’re showing symptoms. This feature, along with ECG and irregular heart rhythm notifications, is available only when paired with a Samsung phone. Otherwise, this watch works well with any other Android. You can choose from two sizes, as well as Bluetooth or LTE only. I tested both sizes and found that battery life was frustrating compared to its predecessor. With the always-to-handle demonstration, I worked hard to do 24 hours of effort through two tracking activities and sleep tracking overnight. As it closed, things went a little better, but I still played almost all day. You will have to give the battery a baby and take advantage of the energy saving mode. If you don’t care about the latest and greatest people, you can save a lot of dough with Watch7.
Photo: Julian Chokkattu
The Casio G-Shock Master of Grangeman GPR-H1000, priced at $490: Not for Each Events, but the master of G-Land Rangeman (GPRH1000RY1A) looks great on the wrist, I like that I only need to charge once a week. This is G-shock first. It has a durable, thick strap and comfortable strap. It’s one Big watch. It also has six sensors and a built-in GPS. Connect your watch to your smartphone with Casio’s app, and you get simple notification alerts, heart rate tracking, activity tracking and sleep tracking. This requires no mention of other features such as blood oxygen monitoring, compass, world time, altimeter and barometer. I compared the results to the Apple Watch Series 10 and in most cases, core metrics such as heart rate, step tracking, and sleep are similar. A few days later, I’ve already shown some data in the Casio app and many of these features are slowly loading on the watch. If I want a fitness-centric wearable (using Garmin instead), this wouldn’t be my first choice, but I like the ability to view and track some of these metrics when needed. More importantly, I like to have G-Shock around my wrist.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Fe is priced at $230: The Galaxy Watch FE is a beautiful budget smartwatch. Compared to the Watch7 series, the 40mm Galaxy Watch Fe has a smaller screen and features a slower processor and a smaller battery. The health sensor is almost the same and I get accurate results with heart rate and sleep tracking. The battery lasts about a day, if not a little less.
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Photo: Julian Chokkattu
The OnePlus Watch 2 costs $245: This is the OnePlus smartwatch from last year, but it’s still available. Now that the price of the OnePlus 3 has risen, it seems like a better value. Avoid paying $300 for this (usually $250 on Amazon, although I would argue waiting for a better sale). The 46mm OnePlus Watch 2 (7/10, wired recommendation) runs the OS and lasts about three days on a single charge, a little more if you enable some energy-saving settings. Lack of health abilities (no fall tests or ECG images), but sleep tracking, and it’s very accurate. Certain features, such as heart rate tracking, distance travel and steps, have mixed precision in my tests, which means you shouldn’t buy this smartwatch if you’re primarily using these features. Also, consider the OnePlus Watch 2R, which you can snap up with less cash. The difference mainly revolves around building quality. The screen is not that bright, it has an aluminum housing instead of stainless steel, and there is no sapphire crystal that protects the screen, so it is less durable. However, this makes it lighter and more comfortable to wear.
The Apple Watch Series 9 costs $399: The Series 9 (7/10, Wired recommended) is a great smartwatch, but avoid buying on MSRP. Try waiting for sale and spending less than $300. It has all the usual health and fitness features, as well as extras like dual faucets. (You can click on two fingers on the watch hand to accept or reject calls, reply to messages, start or end timer, etc. This is very convenient.)
CMF Watch Pro 2 priced at $69: CMF is a sub-brand with nothing, and the company recently announced the CMF Watch 3 Pro, which I will test as soon as possible. But last year’s Watch Pro 2 was a shockingly good value. It looks attractive (very minimalist!), and you can switch to a strap if you want, or even shift the gear shape. This is one of the rare smartwatches I like to wear on my wrist for less than $100. Many of them look so bland and lack personality. It runs a proprietary operating system, but works with iPhone and Android devices via Bluetooth. I’ve been able to view notifications via my phone (you can only respond to some with can response), and for budget devices, heart rate and sleep tracking are accurate, even if it takes longer to process and show you the results. However, my step count has stopped compared to the high-end smartwatch. You can track exercises and even have GPS provide mapping data, although the details are basic and the numbers have no other context. You can control music playback, change hand surfaces (they are all beautiful on the AMOLED display), and check the weather. The app is sleek, although I noticed that watches tend to disconnect, so some notifications don’t always appear. Sometimes the screen on the watch is stuck on one screen and I have to press the crown to return to the home screen. These are pretty minor issues, especially considering the 10-day battery life I was able to achieve. I went to Paris for a few days and came back without even bringing a charger.
Withings Scanwatch 2 for $370: The Scanwatch 2 (7/10, wired recommendation) can be passed through the analog watch. Its health tracking feature set is comprehensive – you get heart rate monitoring, electrocardiogram, blood oxygen measurement and sleep tracking. The battery life is also excellent as it lasts up to 30 days of light. (The heavier usage will be seen about 22 days before you need to charge.) The main problem is the tiny display on this watch, which is too small to read some notifications. The GPS is also connected, which means you need to tie your phone around. There is an optional Health+ subscription, but we recommend not offering too many utilities. The ScanWatch 2 has a 42mm or 38mm case size and doesn’t have a wealth of features and apps like the Apple Watch, but if you want to monitor health data and you don’t want your watch to look too skilled, then this will do the job.
Mobvoi ticwatch Pro 5 Enduro is priced at $175: The design of the smart watch is Important. You have to like wearing it! Unfortunately, I definitely don’t feel anything about Mobvoi’s latest watch. Enduro is simply boring. Unfortunately, this is a solid OS watch that is lively and can be used to charge four days of battery life with the company’s clever dual-play technology (it uses a low-power panel for an always-on screen, as well as OLEDs when interacting with it). Another question? Mobvoi is poor at providing timely software updates, and who knows if this watch will get the current Wear OS 5 version.
Huawei watches D2 for £215: At first glance, this smartwatch looks like a chunky Apple Watch copy. It is not sold in the United States, but the reason for buying it, if yes Available in your area, is a fairly firm inflatable blood pressure cuff in the belt. Huawei’s watch D2 is the only smartwatch that offers bedridden blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), which can be measured in 24 hours, which is essential for an accurate understanding of your health due to changes in blood pressure throughout the day. This smartwatch is also good at fitness and sleep tracking, but unless you have a Huawei phone, there is no voice assistant, and the app lacks a polish and makes it easy to understand insights (you can get data but rarely explain what it means). The watch D2 hasn’t done anything to dispel my first impression and it won’t match our other drafts in most ways, but it might be worth a look if you’re advised to keep an eye on your blood pressure. –Simon Hill
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