Best smartwatch 2024: The top wearables for iPhone and Android

If you’re sick and tired of reaching into your pocket for your smartphone every time your phone buzzes, you will probably find the convenience of a smartwatch that delivers notifications to your wrist appealing.

The best smartwatches come with a multitude of preinstalled apps for displaying calendar entries and other useful info, but more often than not, what attracts people to buy their first wrist wearable is the fitness features they offer. If you’re seriously into sports, you might better off looking at our list of best fitness trackers, but now that many smartwatches offer built-in GPS, along with features such as step counting and heart-rate monitoring, the lines between the two types of device have become increasingly blurred. You will find most of the devices below will accurately track your run or bike ride without it being tethered to your phone.

Without further ado, scroll down to read our pick of the best smartwatches you can currently buy. Below this, you will find our short guide on how to choose the right smartwatch for you.

Best smartwatch: At a glance

How we test smartwatches

In order to provide you with the best buying advice, we’ve got first-hand experience with all the smartwatches we’ve included in our best buy roundup. Where possible, we compare heart rate monitoring and GPS accuracy against a Stryd wind pod and ECG chest strap.

Other factors that we take into account during testing include value for money, battery life, performance and ease of use. But the most important thing we assess in testing smartwatches are its smart features: whether it has support for installable third party apps, how well it handles notifications, whether you get onboard maps, local music playback, voice assistant support and more. If a smartwatch isn’t smart enough, it won’t gain a good review, let alone a place in this roundup.

READ NEXT: Best cheap smartwatch

The best smartwatches you can buy in 2024

1. Apple Watch Series 9: Best smartwatch for iPhone owners

Price when reviewed: £349 | Check price at Amazon

• Great for… GPS accuracy and Siri fans
• Not so great for… battery life

With a tough, sapphire crystal glass screen and water resistance up to 50m, the Apple Watch Series 9 is a rugged smartwatch suitable for every daily activity. Physically, it’s the same as the Series 8 but inside it has an updated processor – the new S9 SiP. This delivers slightly faster performance than before and enables on-device Siri voice recognition, which lets you control certain features via your phone without the need for an internet connection. The Series 9 also has a brighter display, peaking at 2,000 nits – although we’ve never found brightness to be an issue with this smartwatch – and you can now navigate the UI using a series of gestures.

Otherwise, it’s business as usual. GPS accuracy is on point – our testing showed an average distance difference of only 0.72% compared to our Stryd foot pod. However, the optical heart rate monitor is as patchy as usual and battery life is pretty short – a day at most if you use the watch as intended. All that being said, the Series 9’s capabilities remain unrivalled among smartwatches, and without a doubt, it’s the best choice for Apple users.

Read our full Apple Watch Series 9 review

Key specs – Operating system: watchOS 10; Screen size and type: Always-on 35 x 41 (41mm), 38 x 45 (45mm), LTPO OLED display; Battery life: Up to 18 hours; Replaceable strap: Yes; GPS: Yes; Heart rate: Yes; NFC: Yes

2. Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: Best Samsung smartwatch

Price when reviewed: £319 | Check price at Amazon

• Great for… stylish design and fast performance
• Not so great for… those who don’t own a Galaxy smartphone

While the rugged Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra may have stolen some of its thunder, the Galaxy Watch 7 is the better option for the majority of people. It offers most of the same features as the premium model at a fraction of the cost and is more comfortable to wear, too.

Available in 40mm and 44m sizes, the Galaxy Watch 7 is very responsive and offers a great selection of features, some of which are exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy ecosystem. These include built-in GPS, a BioActive sensor to measure various health metrics, and sleep and workout tracking. Thanks to Galaxy AI, the watch can now provide you with an Energy Score based on your data, which is handy to see how ready you are for training.

We were impressed by the accuracy of most of the Galaxy Watch 7’s tracking but had some reservations about some of its health tools. The body composition analysis returned a very different result to dedicated body fat scales, while the advanced glycation end products (AGEs) index analysis measurements were rather vague. Despite this, the Galaxy Watch 7 stands out as one of the best Wear OS smartwatches around.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 review

Key specs – Operating system: Wear OS 5; Screen size and type: 44mm (1.5in 480 x 480 Super AMOLED) 40mm (1.3in 432 x 432 Super AMOLED); Battery life: Up to 30 hours; Replaceable strap: Yes; GPS: Yes; Heart rate: Yes; NFC: Yes

3. Garmin Venu 2 Plus: Best Garmin smartwatch for everyday use

Price when reviewed: £400 | Check price at John Lewis

• Great for… fitness tracking and battery life
• Not so great for… paying for things

The Venu 2 Plus is a bit of a landmark wearable for Garmin. It’s the first of the brand’s smartwatches to feature a speaker and a microphone, allowing you to make and receive calls as well as interact with your phone’s voice assistant (provided you have your phone within Bluetooth range, as there’s no cellular option). This makes it a worthy competitor for its Apple and Samsung rivals.

Elsewhere, you get the same great fitness tracking features we’ve come to expect from Garmin’s wearables, including accurate GPS plus sleep, heart rate and blood-oxygen level monitoring. The battery life is commendable too, lasting over a week in smartwatch mode. It’s a pretty pricey option, and Garmin Pay isn’t as widely supported as some other alternatives, but if you have the money, and being able to make and take calls on your wrist is a priority, then the Venu 2 Plus is well worth considering.

Read our full Garmin Venu 2 Plus review

Key specs – Operating system: Proprietary OS; Screen size and type: 1.3in 416 x 416 AMOLED; Battery life: Up to nine days (in smartwatch mode); Replaceable strap: Yes; GPS: Yes; Heart rate: Yes; NFC: No

4. Huawei Watch Fit 3: Best budget smartwatch

Price when reviewed: £139 | Check price at Amazon

• Great for… comfort and accurate heart rate measurements
• Not so great for… sleep tracking and easy app navigation

The Watch Fit 3 is packed with features you’d typically associate with proper fitness watches that come with much larger price tags. In addition to being able to track your steps, sleep and general activity, it offers training plans via the Huawei companion app and access to an impressive range of analytical tools such as load analysis and load monitoring.

We were taken by the Watch Fit 3’s lengthy battery life and the accuracy of its GPS and heart rate monitor but also felt it looked great on our wrist. It’s very comfortable to wear, too, particularly if you have slender wrists.

The aforementioned companion app can be confusing to navigate and sleep tracking could be more accurate, but you won’t find a better or more attractive smartwatch for the money.

Read our full Huawei Watch Fit 3 review

Key specs – Operating system: Harmony OS; Screen size and type: 1.82in 480 x 408 AMOLED; Battery life: Up to ten days; Replaceable strap: Yes; GPS: Yes; Heart rate: Yes; NFC: Yes

5. Garmin Fenix 7: Best multi-sports wearable

Price when reviewed: £520 | Check price at John Lewis

• Great for… sports fans and map support
• Not so great for… those on a budget

It’s not the cheapest smartwatch on the market, but the Garmin Fenix 7 offers a winning mix of features for sports fanatics. Quite simply, it has lapped the similarly priced competition. Alongside a touchscreen, a sleeker design than its predecessor and a longer battery life, the Fenix 7 uses the company’s latest optical sensor for more accurate monitoring of your blood oxygen level and heart rate. The GPS has also been improved and there are three sizes and plenty of colour choices, too.

Most importantly, however, there’s tracking for pretty much every sport we can think of, as well as plenty of advice and features that will help you make the most of your workout. You will stay entertained too: the Fenix 7 lets you download tracks from Spotify, Deezer or Amazon Music straight to the device. If you’re serious about sport and your budget allows it, the Fenix 7 is a brilliant choice.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 7 review

Key specs – Operating system: Proprietary OS; Screen size and type: 1.3in 250 x 260 MIP touchscreen; Battery life: Up to 14 days (solar model); Replaceable strap: Yes; GPS: Yes; Heart rate: Yes

6. Apple Watch Ultra 2: Best premium smartwatch

Price when reviewed: £799 | Check price at Amazon

• Great for… performance, features and accuracy
• Not so great for… cash-conscious consumers and battery life

If you’re after the best watch Apple has to offer, and the number one premium smartwatch on the market, look no further than the Apple Watch Ultra 2. In physical terms, it’s exactly the same as the original Watch Ultra but it houses a faster processing chip, has a brighter display and can be controlled by using gestures rather than touching the screen or pressing any buttons.

Its tracking performance and GPS accuracy are excellent, the app ecosystem it operates within is extensive and it straddles the worlds of sports and everyday use wonderfully. The heart rate monitor could still do with some work – we found it occasionally stopped recording in the middle of workouts – and battery life remains disappointing when compared to a lot of non-Apple rivals. These niggles are easy enough to overlook, however, when you consider the Watch Ultra 2’s general performance and stylish aesthetic. Unless you’re an Android diehard, this is the smartwatch to buy.

Read our full Apple Watch Ultra 2 review

Key specs – Operating system: Watch OS 10; Screen size and type: 1.92in LTPO OLED touch screen; Battery life: Up to 36 hours (normal mode); Replaceable strap: Yes; GPS: Yes; Heart rate: Yes

7. Garmin Epix (Gen 2): Best high-end sports watch

Price when reviewed: £650 | Check price at John Lewis

• Great for… sports-related features and battery life
• Not so great for… those on a budget

It’s even more expensive than the Garmin Fenix 7 above, but the second-generation Garmin Epix does everything you could need from a sports watch. It’s stuffed to the gills with handy features and the super-sharp 1.3in AMOLED touchscreen is a pleasure to use. There’s not enough space to cover all of the features here, but the most eye-catching inclusions are topographic maps from around the world, incredible GPS accuracy, a real-time stamina tool that estimates how much energy you have left and Wi-Fi connectivity. You can also store music from the major streaming services (Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music) and there are dedicated modes for pretty much every form of exercise, both on dry land and in the water.

Battery life is a respectable 16 days if you set the screen to only switch on when you lift your wrist, with this figure plummeting to six days if the display is always on. Its price is always going to be a sticking point, but there’s no denying that the Garmin Epix is simply the best sports watch money can buy.

Read our full Garmin Epix (Gen 2) review

Key specs – Operating system: Proprietary OS; Screen size and type: 1.3in 416 x 416 AMOLED; Battery life: Six days (screen always on), 16 days (when you lift your wrist); Replaceable strap: Yes; GPS: Yes; Heart rate: Yes; Waterproof: Yes; NFC: Yes

How to choose the best smartwatch for you

Below, we’ve outlined the most important criteria to consider when picking which smartwatch is right for you. Of course, we consider all these points in our reviews, so you should be happy with the majority of the smartwatches we’ve picked out.

Compatibility

The first thing to consider when buying a smartwatch is what type of smartphone it’s compatible with. In most cases, you shouldn’t run into any problems here, but if you’re eyeing up the new Apple Watch Series 5, for example, you will need an iPhone to pair it with – sorry, Android users. The majority of other devices from manufacturers including Huawei, Samsung, Fitbit and Garmin should pair with both iOS and Android phones.

Apps

Most smartwatches offer a range of basic apps for displaying calendar entries, checking weather forecasts and monitoring your step count throughout the day. However, if you’re looking for the best selection of third-party apps, for now you’re best off with an Apple Watch (which runs Apple’s watchOS) or something that runs Wear OS (formerly known as Android Wear).

Samsung smartwatches, which run Tizen, and the Fitbit OS both fall considerably behind in this department. Garmin watches, too, predominantly stick to the essentials. Another boon for watchOS and Wear OS devices is their respective voice assistants, Siri and Google Assistant, which let you send messages and make other basic commands without touching the screen.

Sensors

The next important consideration is hardware. Does it have a heart-rate sensor? Is there an altimeter for tracking how many flights of stairs you’ve climbed? Is there a compass for checking your direction? These are the kind of questions you will need to ask of your shiny, new wristwatch, depending on how you want to use it.

Built-in GPS is essential if you want to be able to track runs and bike rides accurately, and NFC is required if you want to make contactless payments (you will also need to check if your bank is supported). Although most watches have the sensors required for swim and sleep tracking, these features are not universally offered.

Battery life

The single most important thing to look out for when buying a new watch is battery life, which varies enormously among the current crop of wrist-borne devices. The Fossil Sport, for example, will barely stretch past a day, while the new Fitbit Versa 2 offers closer to five days between charges. If you need a watch that’s truly dependable, you’re better off buying something with excellent battery life.

Music playback

The last thing to check is whether it offers music playback, and the streaming services it supports, if any. This won’t matter if you always have your phone with you (in which case, you should still check that it has a music remote app), but if you want to leave your phone and listen to music while exercising, it’s a great feature to have.

↑ Return to top