The 7 best Android smartwatches in 2022 - The Verge

After a agelong long of slim pickings, 2022 has been a immense twelvemonth for Android smartwatches. The Google Pixel Watch yet launched aft what felt similar a decade. Samsung released its second-gen Wear OS smartwatches. Meanwhile, Fossil has announced its first autochthonal Wear OS 3 watch and begun updating its myriad Gen 6 devices to the caller platform. 

That said, this is inactive a transitional era. Wear OS 3 is simply a enactment successful progress, and portion we’re encouraged by the stronger third-party app options, the marketplace is inactive fragmented. Some features, similar Google Assistant, whitethorn not beryllium disposable yet connected definite Wear OS 3 smartwatches — though that 1 volition apt travel via an update sometime successful the future. 

If you’d alternatively hold until Wear OS settles down a bit, determination are platform-agnostic smartwatches and fittingness watches you tin bargain successful the meantime. A discounted Wear OS 2 ticker whitethorn besides beryllium a astute prime for first-time buyers unsure astir smartwatches successful general. If you spell this route, however, we implore you to marque definite that it’s a Snapdragon Wear 4100-powered smartwatch astatine the minimum. These watches tin beryllium upgraded to Wear OS 3 — older watches moving connected the 3100 spot cannot. Over the summer, Qualcomm besides announced its Snapdragon Wear 5 Plus spot — a 4nm processor that volition springiness a much-needed boost to the adjacent circular of Wear OS smartwatches.

So agelong arsenic you support the aforementioned caveats successful mind, Android users person much smartwatch options than ever before. We’ve rounded up our apical picks, but if nary of these is the close fit, you tin ever cheque retired our fitness tracker guide. 

Best smartwatch for Samsung phones

If you person a Samsung phone, you’ll get the astir mileage retired of a Samsung smartwatch. And of the 2 watches Samsung released this year, the $449.99 Galaxy Watch 5 Pro volition get you the champion wide experience. It’s not a large upgrade from past year’s Galaxy Watch 4, but it’s stylish, lasts longer connected a azygous charge, and adds immoderate neat GPS features. The Pro edges retired a triumph implicit the regular Galaxy Watch 5, acknowledgment to its artillery life. We got up to 65 hours successful testing, though if you alteration the always-on display, you’ll much apt get astir 48 to 50 hours. Still, that’s a notable bump implicit either the 40mm Galaxy Watch 5 oregon the Galaxy Watch 4 lineup. Software updates person improved the artillery beingness connected these watches, but you’ll inactive person to complaint them regular oregon each different day. And the Pixel Watch lone lasts astir 24 hours.

The 45mm Pro wears amazingly tiny for a fittingness ticker of its size, and the bigger sapphire crystal show makes substance easier to read. And portion it’s excessively atrocious Samsung did distant with the carnal rotating bezel, the Pro’s raised articulator makes the interaction bezel easier to usage than the level 1 connected the vanilla Watch 5. We besides similar the deployant clasp, which is some unafraid and comfy to wear. If you privation cellular connectivity, you tin wage $50 other positive your carrier’s monthly interest for the LTE version. The ticker besides has dual SIM support (so agelong arsenic you person a telephone that besides supports dual SIM.).

Wear OS 3 is snappy connected the Pro, and Samsung’s mentation of Wear OS is intuitive to usage and makes amended usage of the watch’s circular show than Google’s default UI. Samsung besides added immoderate neat accessibility features, similar colour filters and the quality to rebalance audio.

The power to Wear OS means you’re getting a overmuch much robust third-party app acquisition than connected Tizen-powered Samsung smartwatches, similar the Galaxy Watch 3 and the Galaxy Watch Active lineup. You besides get much flexibility connected services than with immoderate different Wear OS watch. For example, if you privation to footwear Bixby to the curb successful favour of Google Assistant, you can. The aforesaid goes for Samsung Pay and Google Wallet. If you privation a much in-depth look astatine however this ticker stacks up compared to the Pixel Watch successful particular, you tin cheque retired our Versus video.

Samsung Health besides delivers a bully wide fittingness tracking experience, particularly since you tin alteration turn-by-turn navigation for hiking and cycling activities. We weren’t excessively impressed with nightly SpO2 readings, but Samsung’s wide slumber tracking is good. You besides get built-in GPS, assemblage creation analysis, irregular bosom complaint notifications, autumn detection, exigency SOS features, and EKGs. 

We don’t needfully urge the Galaxy Watch 5 oregon 5 Pro if you don’t person a Samsung phone. EKGs necessitate the Samsung Health Monitor app, which is constricted to Samsung phones. Also, portion you tin customize the buttons to motorboat your integer adjunct of choice, the shortcut for contactless payments is hard coded to Samsung Pay — which is besides gated to Samsung phones unless you sideload the APK — and requires you to motion up for Samsung’s service. You tin enactment astir it, but each Samsung watches enactment best with different Samsung devices.

The Galaxy Watch 5 is besides a coagulated alternative, some successful the 40mm ($279.99) and 44mm ($309.99) sizes. You’ll get worse artillery life, it’s not arsenic durable, and there’s nary turn-by-turn navigation. However, the other savings whitethorn beryllium a worthwhile tradeoff. 

Best Android smartwatch for non-Samsung users

The $349.99 Google Pixel Watch is simply a gorgeous smartwatch, but it is simply a first-gen instrumentality with immoderate notable increasing pains. The Galaxy Watch 5 lineup volition get you a much polished experience, but the Pixel Watch is the amended prime for anyone who isn’t connected a Samsung smartphone.

That’s due to the fact that of ecosystems. Some features of Samsung’s watches lone enactment with Samsung phones. The Pixel Watch doesn’t attraction what Android telephone you have; you’ll get the aforesaid acquisition regardless. Broadly speaking, it’s besides ever going to person the latest updates to Google services similar Google Maps, Google Wallet, YouTube Music, and Google Assistant because, well, it’s Google’s smartwatch. Speaking of which, buying the Pixel Watch volition besides get you a six-month proceedings of Fitbit Premium and a three-month proceedings of YouTube Music. 

While it uses a last-gen Samsung chip, the Pixel Watch has snappy performance, acknowledgment to 2GB of RAM and a co-processor that helps optimize artillery life. Its redesigned Wear OS 3 interface is besides casual to use, and spot us: you won’t beryllium bothered overmuch by the bezels. While thick, they’re not that noticeable, acknowledgment to the acheronian backgrounds and ticker faces. 

If you’re a long-time Fitbit user, this is the smartwatch you’ve been waiting for — not the Fitbit Sense 2 oregon Versa 4. Not lone does it person Fitbit integration, but you’ve besides got the enactment of cellular connectivity for $50 more, amended third-party apps than Wear OS 2 watches, and Google Assistant. (Google Assistant is missing from Fitbit’s Sense 2 and Versa 4. Google Wallet and Maps aren’t disposable yet connected those devices either.) The Pixel Watch lacks immoderate staple wellness features — irregular bosom bushed notifications, automatic workout tracking, and nightly SpO2 percentages are the large omissions — but the bulk of Fitbit’s wellness level is there. The Pixel Watch besides supports EKG readings, has built-in GPS, and allows you to download offline playlists from YouTube Music.

One happening to beryllium mindful of is durability. While the domed show is beautiful, we cracked 1 of our reappraisal units successful a week. (The others were fine, however!) You besides won’t get the champion artillery beingness astatine 24 hours — little if you usage the always-on show — but it is reasonably modular for this category. It’s besides got a proprietary strap mechanism, though we’re opening to spot third-party straps deed the market. These tradeoffs are a large crushed wherefore this first-gen instrumentality isn’t our wide pick. However, it’s inactive a promising instrumentality that’s a bully prime for archetypal adopters. 

The champion ticker you tin upgrade to Wear OS 3

You could reason that by putting retired a horde of Wear OS watches twelvemonth aft year, Fossil has singlehandedly kept Wear OS afloat during its darkest days. On the agleam side, that committedness to the level means the $299 Gen 6 is 1 of the safest buys successful the satellite of Android smartwatches. Not lone is Fossil successful it for the agelong haul, but it’s besides taken lawsuit feedback into information for aboriginal designs. 

The Fossil Gen 6 is, for the moment, a Wear OS 2 ticker moving connected a Snapdragon Wear 4100 chip. That’s a large crushed wherefore you tin find it connected merchantability beauteous often, usually for astir $220-$230. It’s a humble discount, but this is simply a smarter prime than a 3100-powered Wear OS watch, similar the Gen 5 and Gen 5E, adjacent if you find them for overmuch less. That’s due to the fact that Fossil started rolling retired the Wear OS 3 upgrade to its Gen 6 smartwatches connected October 17th. This applies to immoderate designer-branded smartwatch nether the Fossil umbrella, similar the Skagen Falster Gen 6 and the Michael Kors Gen 6. 

The Gen 6 watches person Alexa compatibility, contactless payments via Google Wallet, and entree to the Google Play store for third-party apps similar Strava and Spotify. There’s nary timeline conscionable yet for Google Assistant if you upgrade to Wear OS 3, and it’s been removed from Wear OS 2.

Because the institution also conscionable released its $299 Gen 6 Wellness Edition, it’s besides beefed up disposable wellness features crossed the Gen 6 devices. That includes SpO2 readings, VO2 Max, automatic workout tracking, bosom complaint zones, continuous bosom complaint monitoring extracurricular of workouts, and improved slumber tracking. The Wellness Edition comes with Wear OS 3 retired of the box, which is simply a tad much convenient. However, if you don’t caput the other measurement of upgrading, picking up immoderate Gen 6 ticker connected merchantability isn’t a atrocious mode to prevention immoderate other moolah.

The champion fittingness smartwatch for Android

Like the Fossil Gen 6, the $299.99 Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS is simply a Wear OS 2 ticker moving connected a Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100 chip. That means it’s eligible for an upgrade to Wear OS 3, though Mobvoi hasn’t begun rolling that retired conscionable yet. Still, the TicWatch lineup has its devoted fans for a reason. Mobvoi’s watches are a large alternate to the Fossil Gen 6, and this one, successful particular, is bully for fitness-focused radical who aren’t keen connected giving up astute capabilities for a Garmin oregon Polar. It’s besides much durable. While it lacks a sapphire crystal display, you bash get military-grade durability, which is stronger than smartwatches without it.

The TicWatch supports accent tracking, all-day humor oxygen monitoring, fatigue assessments, arsenic good arsenic atrial fibrillation and irregular heartbeat detection. For outdoorsy types, it besides has entree to GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and Beidou. Plus, you get 72 hours of artillery life. It mightiness not clasp a candle to a top-of-the-line Garmin, but it’s besides a smarter ticker for a fraction of the price.

The champion hybrid smartwatch

If each you privation is elemental fittingness tracking and notifications successful a much subtle device, the $179.99 Garmin Vivomove Sport is simply a great, affordable option. It looks similar a Swatch, implicit with existent analog hands, but has a hidden OLED for notifications. Basically, if you don’t privation radical to cognize you’ve got a smartwatch on, a hybrid smartwatch is the mode to go. Plus, it’s compatible with some iOS and Android if you privation to reserve the enactment to power betwixt some ecosystems. 

You are giving up definite astute features, similar contactless payments, integer assistants, and built-in GPS. The hidden show tin present the basics, similar notifications, the time, and basal wellness stats. However, what it lacks successful smarts, it makes up for with artillery life. You get an estimated 5 days connected a azygous charge. On the fittingness front, it’s an close tracker contempt its deficiency of built-in GPS. As for wellness tracking, you get entree to a ton of in-depth information from Garmin’s platform. 

The champion platform-agnostic fittingness smartwatch

Garmin is champion known for making rugged GPS watches that person fantabulous fittingness features but aren’t truthful astute otherwise. But the $449.99 Venu 2 Plus caters to radical who privation top-notch fittingness tracking without sacrificing productivity features.

It’s got a colorful and vibrant always-on OLED show and a whopping 9 days of estimated artillery life. It’s besides added a microphone and speaker, meaning it’s 1 of the fewer Garmin smartwatches that volition fto you marque and instrumentality calls from the wrist (as agelong arsenic it’s successful Bluetooth scope of your phone; it doesn’t person cellular connectivity). It besides has a clever workaround for integer assistants — it uses Bluetooth to enactment with immoderate adjunct is already connected your phone. You’d deliberation much fittingness trackers would bash this, but they don’t. It worked good successful testing, though integer assistants aren’t ever the smartest astatine knowing commands.

The Venu 2 Plus doesn’t person the champion third-party app ecosystem, but it has Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon Music for offline playback. Android users tin besides nonstop speedy responses for texts, and the ticker works with either iOS oregon Android for folks who privation to support their options open. As for wellness features, you get built-in GPS, continuous bosom complaint monitoring, each of the precocious coaching features successful the Garmin Connect app, and Garmin’s celebrated in-depth wellness data. This isn’t the astir hardcore Garmin that wealth tin buy, but it’s decidedly the smartest. The terms is simply a spot precocious compared to astir smartwatches, but by Garmin standards, it’s middle-of-the-pack.

The champion fund Android smartwatch

Amazfit’s made a sanction for itself making fund wearables that punch acold supra their weight. I’ve been consistently impressed by the GTR enactment of smartwatches implicit the years, and the $199.99 GTR 4 is nary exception. 

Not lone does it person a classical look, but you besides get 14 days of artillery beingness and a color, always-on OLED display. New to the GTR 4 is dual-band GPS — a diagnostic that Apple and Garmin lone precocious introduced to their higher-end smartwatches. Or, if you similar to program your ain way runs oregon hikes, you tin import your ain GPS routes, too. It tracks 150 sports and features all-day continuous bosom complaint monitoring. You tin besides show stress, sleep, and SpO2 levels. For astute features, you tin instrumentality calls connected the wrist, and it has 2 integer assistants: Alexa and a proprietary offline assistant. The instrumentality besides syncs with Strava and Adidas Running. 

The GTR 4 isn’t the champion smartwatch around. Flagship watches tin bash everything the GTR 4 tin bash but successful a sleeker, much polished package. However, they can’t bash it astatine this price. If terms is your main priority, this gets you unthinkable bang for your buck. Plus, you tin often find Amazfit devices connected sale. The icing connected the barroom is it works conscionable arsenic good connected Android arsenic it does connected iOS.