The 7 Best Android Smartwatches

If you love working out to your favorite playlist but hate carrying your phone to the gym, the Garmin Forerunner 945 Android smartwatch will be a gamechanger. You can sync it with your favorite music streaming apps such as Spotify and pair it with your Bluetooth headphones for your next workout. You may alternatively transfer an existing playlist since this triathlon watch can hold up to 1,000 songs. You can also make or receive calls and texts, check out social media and email updates, or even pay for stuff through this Android smartwatch.

It makes staying fit even easier thanks to the bunch of innovative fitness tracking features it packs. The training status automatically evaluates your exercise history and performance, allowing you to quickly determine whether that one last hour of HIT exercise is paying off. The recovery feature comes in handy when you take breaks at the gym by accurately predicting when you should start your next set of crunches. You can even track your VO2 max or evaluate the impact of your workouts on your speed and endurance, thanks to the training effect feedback feature.

The Garmin Forerunner 945 supports up to 30 activities, and you can always create a custom entry for sporting activities you think should be on the list. If you're getting into the fitness world, this Android smartwatch makes the transition seamless thanks to the Coach Adaptive Training feature, which offers free workout plans, and helpful tips from pro coaches.

This watch also boasts safety and tracking with incident detection, a feature that automatically sends your location to send real-time alerts to your emergency contacts should anything happen to you. Despite the countless features, the Garmin Forerunner is surprisingly compact. It looks pretty sporty thanks to the reinforced fiber polymer casing and a matte black wrist strap. You also don't have to worry about damaging or scratching it since it ships with a durable corning gorilla glass screen.

• Includes playlists from Amazon Music, Deezer, or Spotify
• Altitude and heat acclimation features for performance monitoring
• Garmin Pay which makes contactless payment easier
• Has tracking and safety features

• Brand: Garmin
• Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
• Color Screen: LCD
• Notification Support: Yes
• Battery Life: 336 hours
• Operating System: Wear OS
• Onboard GPS: Yes
• Offline Media Storage: Yes
• Customizable Strap: Yes
• SIM Support: No
• Lens Material: Corning Gorilla Glass
• Display Size : 30.4mm
• Case Material: Fiber-reinforiced Polymer
• Water Rating : 5 ATM
• Connected GPS: Yes
• Calendar: Yes
• Weather: Yes
• Smartphone Music Control: Yes

If you loved Samsung's 2018 Samsung Galaxy watch flagship model but hated its high price, the Galaxy Watch Active is for you. It's much simpler than the former but packs all the smart functionalities you need. For instance, it features NFC support for contactless payments, and Spotify comes pre-installed, meaning you can stream music directly from your watch. You can also receive texts, calls, emails, and even alerts.

It has the Samsung health app for fitness which includes customized workout plans. You can use the app to track your steps, breathing, and even stress management. Also, since it has good third-party app support, you can always download other fitness apps if need be. It's also one of the few smartwatches with a blood pressure monitoring function.

For voice assistance, the Galaxy Watch Active gives you Samsung's AI Bixby assistant, which can take ages to give you results, although easy to activate. As for the design, the Samsung Galaxy is more of a stripped-down version of Samsung's original flagship model. But, this is no deal-breaker as it feels lighter and more comfortable. It features a more sporty look and has a 40mm case with a stainless steel build and is available in a standard black color if you prefer to keep it simple, and blue, silver, and rose gold if you love showing off some personality.

The watch ships with two silicone straps in different sizes, so you can find the ideal fit. The catch? Samsung ditched the rotating bezel, which can make operating its small 1.1-inch AMOLED screen pretty tricky.

• Has Bixby voice assistant
• Has Samsung health app with a customized workout plan
• Has blood pressure monitoring function

• Brand: Samsung
• Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
• Color Screen: AMOLED
• Notification Support: Yes
• Battery Life: 45 hours
• Operating System: Tizen OS 5.5
• Onboard GPS: Yes
• Offline Media Storage: Yes
• Customizable Strap: Yes
• SIM Support: No
• Lens Material: Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Display Size : 1.1-inch
• Case Material: Thermoplastic polyurethane
• Water Rating : IP68
• Connected GPS: Yes
• Calendar: Yes
• Weather: Yes
• Smartphone Music Control: Yes

Looking for a WearOS smartwatch that's iPhone and Android phones compatible? Look no further because the Fossil Gen 5 is among the very few smartwatches with this functionality. You can sync it with your iPhone to make and receive calls and texts and skip spending thousands of dollars on the more expensive WatchOS smartwatches. Besides calls and texts, you can also listen to your playlist, get responses from your Google Assistant, and even hear alerts from your iPhone and Android smartphones, thanks to its high-quality speaker system.

The Fossil Gen 5 comes with plenty of apps and at the same time boasts superb third-party app support. It runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform, which combined with its 1GB RAM delivers buttery smooth performance at all times. Add in 8GB of onboard storage, and you can download pretty much any app you need. It has built-in GPS, so you never miss a route again, and features contactless payment support making checkouts a breeze.

The Fossil Gen 5 smartwatch brings you Google Fit for fitness and health monitoring, allowing you to track your steps, monitor your heart rate, and set sleep goals. However, the Google Fit app is quite lacking, but this is no deal-breaker as you can always download other third-party fitness apps. This watch offers you 24 hours of battery life which you can extend through the various battery-saving modes. With the Time-Only mode, the Fossil Gen 5 displays time only, allowing you to extend the battery life up to seven days. The custom mode lets you turn any feature you're not actively using off, increasing your battery runtime by up to a day.

The Fossil Gen 5 design is quite impressive, which is no surprise considering Fossil is a brand renowned for making aesthetically pleasing watches. This particular model comes in two versions; both options feature a removable band, and a 44m case, with a 1.28-inch round AMOLED display.

In addition to a touchscreen, the Fossil Gen 5 also features three control buttons on the right which you can easily program to perform specific functions. Since the display is always on, Fossil offers you plenty of watch faces so you can customize your display to your liking. In a nutshell, the Fossil Gen 5 pulls out all the stops for an Android smartwatch.

• Has Google Fit, which makes monitoring health and fitness easy
• Features built-in GPS
• Supports contactless payments
• Has battery saving modes which come in handy at increasing battery runtime

• Brand: Fossil
• Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
• Color Screen: AMOLED
• Notification Support: Yes
• Battery Life: 24 hours
• Operating System: Wear OS
• Onboard GPS: Yes
• Offline Media Storage: Yes
• Customizable Strap: Yes
• SIM Support: No
• Lens Material: Corning Gorilla glass
• Display Size : 1.28-inch
• Case Material: Stainless steel
• Water Rating : 3ATM
• Connected GPS: Yes
• Calendar: Yes
• Weather: Yes
• Smartphone Music Control: Yes

Want a health-focused smartwatch from the Samsung Galaxy watch lineup? Then the Samsung Galaxy 4 might be the best Android smartwatch for you. It boasts a BioActive sensor that tracks your heart rate and even offers ECG monitoring to help you monitor heart health by alerting you of irregular heartbeat rhythms. For fitness gurus, the Galaxy Watch 4 automatically tracks and logs data on up to six activities, including running and swimming, so you no longer have to stop mid-run to activate this feature.

The sensor can also assess your body composition, allowing you to easily monitor important health metrics such as BMI, BMR, and fat percentage. What's more, you can easily share this information with your physician through the Samsung Health app on your phone should you find any metric worrying.

The Galaxy Watch 4 also tracks your VO2 max allowing you to evaluate your endurance easily and has a sleep tracker feature for sleep monitoring. It also has smart functionality, and you can make contactless payments, make calls, send texts, get directions and even stream music from your favorite streaming apps. With offline storage, Samsung went out of their way since the Galaxy Watch 4 offers you a whopping 16GB.

In terms of design, the Galaxy 4 still sports Samsung's classic round watch face and has a rotating bezel, making navigation pretty seamless. It has an aluminum construction and a comfortably fitting, durable leather strap. The display is AMOLED and has an impressive 396x396 resolution meaning it'll be easy to use even under direct sunlight.

• Has Bixby voice assistant and Google assistant
• Has Samsung Health Monitor app that can share personalized readings with your doctor
• Features advanced running technology to improve your runs

• Brand: Samsung
• Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
• Color Screen: AMOLED
• Notification Support: Yes
• Battery Life: 40 hours
• Operating System: Android Wear OS
• Onboard GPS: Yes
• Offline Media Storage: Yes
• Customizable Strap: Yes (Sold separately)
• SIM Support: Np
• Lens Material: Corning Gorilla Glass DX+
• Display Size : 1.4-inch
• Case Material: Aluminum frame
• Water Rating : IP68
• Connected GPS: Yes
• Calendar: Yes
• Weather: Yes
• Smartphone Music Control: Yes

Available in stunning shades such as rose gold with a white band and silver with a gray band, the Garmin Vivoactive smartwatch strikes the perfect balance between aesthetics and functionality. It has a 1.1-inch round gorilla glass screen, a durable side and rear polymer construction, and a comfortably fitting textured silicone strap. The strap is removable, meaning you can always swap it with your favorite or fancier options.

The touch-sensitive screen and the two pushbuttons on the side allow you to easily view the control menu, access apps such as the music player, and tweak the various device settings. The interface is always on display and has a sleek look with a dark background which you can personalize using the free widgets and watch faces available on Garmin's Connect IQ store. You get up to seven days of battery charge in smartwatch mode, but this reduces to 15 hours on GPS mode without music and five hours on GPS mode with music.

Speaking of GPS, the Garmin Vivoactive 4 smartwatch boasts multi-satellite capabilities as it's equipped with GPS and GLONASS and Galileo system sensors for enhanced onboard map functionality. It's also equipped with sensors to track your heart rate, oxygen saturation levels, respiration, hydration, and even your menstrual cycle. Most of these health metrics can be easily viewed through the Garmin Connect App.

The stress tracking function is particularly impressive since it gauges your heart rate variability and gives a score between zero and 100 to help you determine how stressed you were at particular moments. When your stress levels are too high, the Vivoactive 4 will even send you relaxation reminders.

Similar to most Garmin watches, the Garmin Vivoactive 4 is also designed to help fitness and wellness enthusiasts make the most of their workout sessions. It comes preloaded with a bunch of indoor sports apps, including options such as yoga and swimming. You also get animated workout guides and a personal running coach to help you stay on top of your fitness goals. Thanks to the Garmin Pay feature, you can stream music directly from apps like Deezer and Spotify and make contactless payments.

• Has safety and tracking functions
• Garmin Pay feature helps make contactless payments easy

• Brand: Garmin
• Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
• Color Screen: AMOLED
• Notification Support: Yes
• Battery Life: 8 Days
• Operating System: Wear OS
• Onboard GPS: Yes
• Offline Media Storage: No
• Customizable Strap: Yes
• SIM Support: No
• Lens Material: Corning Gorilla Glass
• Display Size : 1.3-inch
• Case Material: Fiber-reinforced polymer
• Water Rating : 5ATM
• Connected GPS: Yes
• Calendar: Yes
• Weather: Yes
• Smartphone Music Control: Yes

The Galaxy Watch3 LTE is the sweet spot for anyone looking for an Android smartwatch with a better feature set than the Galaxy Watch Active but affordable than the Watch 4. It has multiple color options, including a stunning rose gold color and silver with a black leather strap. As with most Samsung smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch3 LTE also sports a classic round AMOLED display and up to 50,000 watch faces to personalize your display.

Like the Galaxy Active, this watch is much thinner and lighter than the flagship model, meaning it offers a snug, comfortable fit. However, the watch still has a rotating bezel for easier operation. It doesn't skimp on fitness tracking and monitors up to 40 fitness activities, some of which are automatically tracked.

The onboard GPS is pretty accurate, and the VO2 max tracking feature means you can now measure the total amount of oxygen you use during training. Besides oxygen, the Galaxy Watch3 LTE also monitors heart rate, sleep, and stress. It also detects when you fall in dynamic motion and shares your location with your emergency contacts should you have a hard fall. The battery runtimes are pretty good too. The 45mm version gives you 56 hours, while the 41mm offers 43 hours.

• It is water-resistant
• Has up to 50,000 watch faces
• The Samsung Health Monitor app enables sharing your ECG recording with your doctor
• Has Bixby voice assistant

• Brand: Samsung
• Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
• Color Screen: AMOLED
• Notification Support: Yes
• Battery Life: 24 hours
• Operating System: Tizen OS 5.5
• Onboard GPS: Yes
• Offline Media Storage: Yes
• Customizable Strap: Yes
• SIM Support: No
• Lens Material: Gorilla Glass DX
• Display Size : 1.4-inch
• Case Material: Stainless steel frame
• Water Rating : IP68
• Connected GPS: Yes
• Calendar: Yes
• Weather: Yes
• Smartphone Music Control: Yes

If you are in the market for a quality Android smartwatch but working on a tight budget, the Huawei Watch GT 2e might be just what you need. It comes in black, lava red, icy white, and mint green and sports a 1.39-inch round AMOLED touchscreen with an impressive 454x454 resolution display, meaning you should have no problem using it even in lowly lit indoor settings.

It has a plastic and stainless steel body and a removable fluoroelastomer watch strap. It is thicker and marries into the watch body for a snug, comfortable fit, unlike its predecessor. The strap is also perforated to allow breathability. Note, the red and green versions of this watch feature TPU instead of fluoro rubber straps. Also, instead of round buttons as with the predecessor, the Huawei GT 2e watch features flat push buttons.

Since it's designed as a fitness tracker, the GT 2e does shine when it comes to health monitoring features. It includes a heart rate monitoring sensor and many other sensors that allow you to easily track your stress levels, steps taken in a day, the distance you've traveled, and even the calories burnt during your workouts. The watch automatically detects and logs data on activities such as cycling and running making it easier for users to track their active minutes. It also includes 85 custom workout modes and 15 professional workouts, making things easier at the gym, even for the novice.

The most outstanding feature of the Huawei GT 2e is its impressive battery life. While most smartwatches offer you a day, the GT 2e gives you up to two weeks on a single charge with minimal use and up to six days with heavy health monitoring and GPS on. Even when it does run out of charge, it recharges in about two hours thanks to its fast-charging magnetic recharge thimble. You'll also appreciate the camera shutter control, inbuilt stopwatch, and alarm functions that it offers.

• 5ATM Water resistance
• Has fast-charging magnetic recharge thimble
• Features 85 custom workout modes and 15 professional workout modes

• Brand: Huawei
• Heart Rate Monitor: Yes
• Color Screen: AMOLED
• Notification Support: Yes
• Battery Life: 14 days
• Operating System: Proprietary OS
• Onboard GPS: Yes
• Offline Media Storage: Yes
• Customizable Strap: Yes
• SIM Support: No
• Lens Material: Corning gorilla glass
• Display Size : 1.39-inch
• Case Material: Stainless steel frame
• Water Rating : 50m
• Connected GPS: Yes
• Calendar: Yes
• Weather: Yes
• Smartphone Music Control: Yes

Alan Blake (16 Articles Published)

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