The Best Smartwatches of 2020

Apple Watch Series 5 on wrist 3

Credit: Reviewed/Simon Hill

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 photo 5

Credit: Reviewed/Simon Hill

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 has an understated style

How We Tested

The Testers

Hey, I’m Simon Hill, a freelance technology journalist with more than a decade of writing experience covering consumer technology, including wearables. I find smartwatches are a useful extension of smartphones, and I like to wear one to help me stay fit. I’ve been testing and reviewing smartwatches for years now, and they have improved enormously in that time. This guide highlights the absolute cream of the crop, and only the very best smartwatches you can buy today made the list.

My name’s Seamus Bellamy. I’m Reviewed’s Updates Editor and I have a terrible memory. To help me navigate all of the things I’m doomed to forget, I’ve worn a smartwatch every day for the past six years. I don’t think it’d be hyperbole to say that smartwatches allow me to be a mostly functional human being. I understand the value of a smartwatch and what goes into making a good one.

The Tests

The Best Smartwatches

Credit: Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser

The only way to test smartwatches is to wear them.

Distilling the list of smartwatches to consider for this guide was a tricky process. We drew on experience combined with the consensus among professional reviewers to identify smartwatches in multiple categories.

Like the smartphones they’re designed to tether with, smartwatches are becoming more competent and, consequently, more complicated. Many allow folks to customize their user experience with downloadable apps and watch faces. Some come packing perks like onboard GPS navigation and cellular hardware that’ll allow you to find your way and stay in touch via text message and phone calls, without a smartphone.

In order for us to recommend a smartwatch, it needs to do a few basic things well:

It should be built well and capable of standing up to casual abuse.
It should be fashionable and comfortable enough that you’ll actually want to wear it
Its user interface should be easy to navigate
Its display should be visible in direct sunlight
It needs to provide enough battery power to get you through the day
It shouldn’t cost more than your smartphone

Beyond these basics, we also paid attention to whether or not each smartwatch in our guide had access to downloadable apps and, where they did, if the apps were actually useful. We paid attention to how quickly each smartwatch responded to my commands, whether its speakers and microphone worked for a hands-free conversation (where applicable), and if the watches provided the at-a-glance information we needed quickly enough to make leaving your smartphone in your pocket worthwhile.

Finally, what a smartwatch doesn’t do is just as important as what it does: We took note of how much unnecessary information each wearable pumped and how easy it was to decide which notifications we wanted to see and which we’d be happier not hearing about until we checked our smartphones.

Each smartwatch on our list was worn for at least four days. We tried out the full range of functionality, from fitness tracking to messaging to third-party apps, and scored every aspect. We also examined ease of setup, functionality, and how each watch looks and feels. We then weighted and compared the results to determine precisely how they measure up.

Smartwatches vs. Fitness Trackers

The line between the best smartwatches and the best fitness trackers isn’t always clear. Just like fitness trackers, smartwatches include health and fitness tracking features, alongside GPS and heart rate monitoring, but they also tend to offer better smartphone notifications and larger touchscreens.

Smartwatches are also more likely to support third-party apps, have microphones and speakers, and boast extra functionality like mobile payments, voice assistants, and customizability.

Terms You Should Know

You don’t necessarily need to know what goes on under the hood of your smartwatch to enjoy it. However, understanding a few names and definitions will help you better decide which smartwatch is best for you.

Android: Google’s open-source Android operating system runs the majority of the smartphone handsets in the world (although you can also find it used to operate some tablets and laptops, too.) Popular phone models such as the Google Pixel, the Samsung Galaxy and OnePlus use Android.

iOS: Apple’s iOS operating system is the backbone of what makes Apple’s mobile devices tick. Without it, all those apps that you use to stay productive and, sometimes, fritter away your time with, wouldn’t be able to work.

Wear OS: When Google first offered an operating system for wearable devices, it was called Android Wear. This made sense, as it was an iteration of the company’s Android operating system, designed specifically for wearable devices. However, to differentiate between smartwatches and other mobile gear, Google changed its wearables operating system’s name to Wear OS. You’ll find it running on a number of the smartwatches featured in this guide.

Watch OS: Apple’s operating system for the Apple Watch, Watch OS is based on the company’s iOS operating system, sharing many of the same features and visual elements. For Apple Watches t’s been optimized for use on the small display and to leverage health monitoring, notification and other features.

Tizen OS: Developed and primarily used by Samsung, Tizen OS was designed to reduce its dependence on Google’s Android OS. When used in Samsung’s Galaxy Watch, Tizen OS is a powerful, easy-to-navigate operating system. Unfortunately, at the time that this guide was written, both Watch OS and Wear OS offered significantly more apps than Tizen OS does.

How to Choose a Smartwatch

Smartwatches vary wildly in price and feature sets, but there are several elements beyond budget that can help you narrow down your choice.

What smartphone do you use? Even smartwatches that can be used as standalone devices with their own mobile data connection are designed to be tethered to a smartphone. The Apple Watch runs Watch OS and will only work with an iPhone. Our runner-up, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, runs Tizen OS and works with Android phones or iPhones. Wear OS smartwatches will also work with Android or iOS, but there are limits on the functionality with iOS. Before you pick a smartwatch, check up on the compatibility.

What features do you need? If fitness tracking is important, look for heart rate sensors and GPS support. If you want to pay from your wrist, check up on the mobile payment system and make sure your bank is supported. If you want to leave the smartphone at home, look for a smartwatch with onboard storage and cellular data support, but bear in mind that you’ll need a mobile plan for it.

What style do you want? Watches are also fashion accessories, so you’ll want to choose a smartwatch that looks good on. While we are starting to see smaller and more elegant designs, with some smartwatches offered in two sizes, many are still chunky. One of the best things about smartwatches, however, is the ability to customize the watch face. You may also want to consider how easy it is to change bands and how many kinds are available.

What kind of battery life do you need? Battery life is still a big problem for smartwatches, with the most full-featured devices requiring daily charging. If you’re happy with a routine that involves placing your smartwatch on the charger every night alongside your phone, take your pick. If you want to go several days between charges, you need to look beyond our top choices.

Other Smartwatches We Tested

Older Smartwatches We Tested

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch is our previous winner for the best Android smartwatch for good reason. It offers a gorgeous design, comes in multiple sizes, and it’s water-resistant up to 170 feet. While it doesn’t have a wealth of apps, it does offer great functionality and an intuitive design that makes it a real bargain.
The Garmin Vivomove HR Sport offers a minimalist design that is more elegant than utilitarian. That said, if you’re looking for a great hybrid smartwatch to use with either Android or iOS, and you don’t need a watch for calls or leaving your phone at home, this is a great choice.
The Withings Steel HR is more fitness tracker than smartwatch, and its notification window is so small it can’t even fit a single word. That said, if you’re looking for something that looks good, offers basic fitness functionality, and will even take a 50 meter dive, it’s a solid choice for the money.
The Amazfit Bip, like its newer generation above, comes at a crazy low price, but you’ll understand why if you purchase it. While it offers some basic fitness tracking and great battery life is great, it offers spotty notifications and the interface isn’t very intuitive.