The Android smartwatch market is heating up, with new models released every month. But which one is the best? We’ve tested dozens of models and narrowed it down to five finalists.

  1. Samsung Gear S3 Frontier: The Gear S3 Frontier is the most feature-rich Android smartwatch on the market. It has a rotating bezel, a built-in GPS, and a heart rate monitor. It also has a rotating crown for navigating menus and settings. The battery life is good, lasting up to two days on a full charge.
  2. Huawei Watch 2: The Huawei Watch 2 is another great option if you’re looking for an Android smartwatch with lots of features. It has a rotating bezel, a heart rate monitor, and NFC support for using payments and other apps. The battery life isn’t as good as the Gear S3 Frontier, but it still lasts up to three days on a full charge.
  3. Apple Watch Series 4: If you’re looking for an Apple product, the Apple Watch Series 4 is your best bet. It has an edge-to-edge display that’s beautiful and easy to read, plus built-in GPS and NFC support so you can use it with your iPhone without having to carry another device around with you. The battery life isn’t as good as some of the other models on this list (it lasts about four days), but it’s still one of the best smartwatches out there.
  4. Fitbit Ionic: If you’re looking for an affordable option that still offers features comparable to more expensive watches, the Fitbit Ionic should be at the top of your list. It has a rotating bezel, heart rate monitor, and NFC support so you can use it with your phone or other devices without having to carry around extra hardware。 And its battery life lasts up to five days on a full charge。 5th Place: Casio WSD- ..

As a smartwatch essentially acts as a companion to your smartphone, compatibility between two devices becomes very important. Fortunately for you, most smartwatches, except the Apple Watch, play well with Android phones.

That said, some watches provide better integration with phones from their manufacturer. So ensure that you are not missing out on a crucial feature because it’s exclusive to phones from a particular company.

Beyond that, you have to consider your needs and use case. For example, if you are a fitness enthusiast, a smartwatch focused on fitness (or a fitness tracker) will serve you the best. Similarly, a watch with built-in cellular radios and GPS makes the most sense if you want to use your watch as a standalone device. Otherwise, it won’t be of much use without a paired smartphone.

Of course, your budget and the aesthetics of a smartwatch will also factor in your decision. You want a watch that you find pleasing and comfortable, or it’ll end up sitting in a cupboard in your house.

Lastly, unless you are okay with charging your smartwatch daily, pay close attention to the battery life. It’s often a pain point for consumers as many feature-rich smartwatches cannot last more than a day or two.

Now that you know the essential details to look for in a smartwatch for Android phones, here are our recommendations.

Best Android Smartwatch Overall: Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

Samsung has long produced some of the best smartwatches on the market, and the Galaxy Watch 5 continues that. It’s simply the best smartwatch to pair with an Android phone. Since Samsung has switched to the Wear OS platform, you finally get the best of Samsung and Google on a smartwatch.

✓ Minimal design looks great in any situation✓ Sapphire display should improve long-term durability✓ Fitness features remain top-notch✓ Access to Google apps completes the experience

✗ Battery life is good, but not incredible✗ The size and shape is not great for wearing in bed

The Galaxy Watch 5 hardware is in line with Samsung’s previous smartwatches, which is great. You get a round OLED screen, an aluminum case, and a standard 20mm replaceable silicone strap. The watch is well-built, and you can pick from two sizes—40mm and 44mm.

In terms of performance, the Watch 5 is snappy, and the interface feels smooth. The Galaxy Watch 5 has a slightly bigger battery than last year’s Watch 4. People who use their watch for sleep tracking may notice more improvements than others. The larger 44mm model has a bigger battery than the 40mm model if that’s a factor for you.

Samsung’s excellent health and fitness features are also baked into the smartwatch. The Galaxy Watch 5 can track steps, workouts, sleep, and heart rate. It also has accurate workout detection, blood oxygen monitoring, a built-in GPS, and an ECG app. Additionally, you can measure body composition stats like body fat percentage, skeletal muscle, body water, and more.

Being a Samsung device, it’s deeply integrated with Samsung’s ecosystem, which is fine if you own a Samsung phone. But if you have a phone from another manufacturer, be ready to install a bunch of Samsung apps to use the smartwatch effectively. You miss out on some things by using a non-Samsung phone, but not enough to swap over if you’re not due for a smartphone upgrade.

Best Budget Android Smartwatch: Amazfit GTS 2 Mini

If you have a limited budget for your smartwatch purchase, the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini is an excellent option for under $100. It punches above its weight class and has some features typically found in more expensive wearables.

✓ Built-in GPS✓ Long battery life✓ Bright display✓ Comfortable to wear

✗ Limited smart features✗ No third-party app support

The smartwatch has a lightweight chassis, thanks to aluminum and plastic in its design. Plus, it looks elegant and has an OLED screen that gets sufficiently bright for comfortable viewing even on sunny days. The GTS 2 Mini is also rated 5 ATM water-resistant and has a built-in GPS.

In terms of features, the GTS 2 Mini can track steps, heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, stress, and around 70 physical activities. It also has a built-in PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence) health assessment system, which uses the health and activity data gathered by the smartwatch and an algorithm to assign a score. The goal is to achieve a weekly score of 100.

Like most other Amazfit watches, the GTS 2 Mini shines on the battery front and can easily last over five days with an always-on display. If you disable the feature, you can stretch the battery life to over a week.

Unfortunately, the Amazfit smartwatch only offers basic smart features, and there is no support for third-party apps. However, you can mirror notifications, control music playback on your phone, and use the Alexa voice assistant. The ability to use the watch as a remote for your phone’s camera is also available.

Best Android Smartwatch for Battery Life: Fitbit Versa 3

Battery life can be a big pain point on many smartwatches as they only last a day or two on a single charge, but that’s not the case with the Fitbit Versa 3. Instead, it can go on for around six days without the always-on display and moderate to heavy use. The watch also supports fast charging, which gives you a day’s worth of charge in just 12 minutes.

✓ Six-day battery life✓ Bright and crisp display✓ Lots of fitness and health features

✗ Some features need a paid subscription

Besides the battery life, the Versa 3 also excels in health and fitness and is generally an excellent all-around smartwatch. It has all the basics like other Fitbit wearables, so it can track steps, heart rate, sleep, and up to 20 exercises. This Fitbit smartwatch also comes with blood oxygen monitoring, a skim temperature sensor, built-in GPS, and much more.

The Fitbit watch has a squircle design with a metal frame and a 1.58-inch OLED screen. The bright display gives you enough real estate to check your workout metrics and other information without a problem.

Although the Versa 3 shines on many fronts, the need for a Fitbit Premium subscription to access advanced insights, your daily readiness score, or your sleep score breakdown is a downer. If you don’t need those particular features, though, the Versa 3 is a great purchase.

Best Android Smartwatch for Kids: TickTalk 4

Smartwatches for adults aren’t usually suitable for children, especially young kids. This is why there is a whole market segment for kids-focused smartwatches. A good kids’ smartwatch offers parental controls, safety features, and the ability to communicate with family members. Our pick for the best smartwatch for kids—the TickTalk 4—excels in all these categories.

✓ Built-in GPS for location tracking✓ Support for video and voice calls✓ Ability to block calls from unapproved contacts✓ Durable and water-resistant

✗ No geofencing✗ Big and bulky

It supports GPS tracking, has an SOS button, and allows children to communicate using several methods, including video or voice calls. There are also parental controls, and a Do Not Disturb Class Mode. You don’t get geofencing support, however.

In other safety features, the watch only allows communication from approved contacts. While the smartwatch has a dial pad to call unsaved numbers, parents can block calls outside the approved contacts.

TickTalk 4’s thick, water-resistant shell makes it durable and resistant to damage. But it’s also big and bulky, which may deter some children from wearing it. Make sure your child will like this watch before dropping the cash on it!

There are two 5MP cameras, which children can use to take photos and videos. Plus, the built-in iHeartRadio Family app is excellent for listening to music and podcasts.

While the watch uses a cellular connection to power most of its features, children won’t have access to the internet, games, or social media. So parents don’t have to worry about kids being exposed to inappropriate content using the TickTalk 4.

Regarding cellular providers, the TickTalk 4 comes with a Red Pocket Mobile SIM card that needs a $10 monthly subscription. But if you want, you can also go for AT&T and T-Mobile, but those will likely cost you more.

Best Android Fitness Tracker: Garmin Venu 2 Plus

If you want a smartwatch that is great at fitness tracking and also pairs with Android phones, you can’t go wrong with the Garmin Venu 2 Plus. It builds upon the already stellar Garmin Venu 2 by introducing an onboard microphone and speaker to use with voice assistants or voice calls.

✓ In-depth fitness tracking✓ Built-in voice assistant✓ Long battery life

✗ Limited app selection

The standard smartwatch features like third-party app support, basic notifications support, music playback, and customizable watch faces are also available. However, Garmin’s app selection is mostly fitness-focused and relatively limited compared to WearOS.

The Venu 2 Plus is also physically smaller than the Venu 2 as the company has reduced bezels around the 1.3-inch OLED screen. Speaking of the screen, it gets bright enough for comfortable visibility even in direct sunlight.

The watch allows you to track 25 activities out of the box, but the real highlight is its advanced features, such as body battery score and health snapshot. While Body Battery Score monitors your energy levels throughout the day to help you find the best time to workout or rest, Health Snapshot takes a two-minute reading of key health stats, so you know how you’re feeling at any time. Additionally, you get the usual tracking for heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, stress, sleep, and more.

We also appreciate the excellent battery backup of the smartwatch. It lasts around five days without the always-on mode. However, if you enable the always-on mode, the backup will drop to only two or three days.

Best Wear OS Smartwatch: Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

Unsurprisingly, the best Wear OS smartwatch is the same as our best overall pick. You might think a Samsung watch can’t be as Google-y as the Pixel Watch, but that’s not true. The Galaxy Watch 5 runs Wear OS 3, and includes access to many of Google’s smartwatch apps.

✓ Minimal design looks great in any situation✓ Sapphire display should improve long-term durability✓ Fitness features remain top-notch✓ Access to Google apps completes the experience

✗ Battery life is good, but not incredible✗ The size and shape is not great for wearing in bed

Google apps available on the Galaxy Watch 5 include Gboard, Google Assistant, Google Fit, Google Home, Google Maps, YouTube Music, and plenty more. You won’t miss out on Google apps by picking up the Galaxy Watch 5.

We prefer the Galaxy Watch 5 over the Google Pixel Watch for a few reasons. It’s more affordable, has a newer processor, has better battery life, and the display is more durable and uses standard watch bands.

Simply put, the Galaxy Watch 5 offers the best Android smartwatch experience, including how it utilizes Wear OS.