Smartwatches are the latest rage thanks to a push led by Apple. They increasingly concentrate on fitness as one of their core design tenets, making sure the technology stays relevant as people find new ways to monitor their health. They offer the ability to control music, receive notifications, make and receive calls, communicate with a voice assistant, and make payments, among other things, while also doing their most basic function, which is keeping time.

Some smartwatches focus on fitness and athletics and tracking, others focus on functionality that allows a wide range of applications to support them while helping to make tasks simpler, and some simply concentrate on looking as impressive as possible with premium design features and materials being used to compete directly with luxury watches that currently do make up a sizable piece of the timekeeping market.

When looking for a new smartwatch, be sure to keep these factors in mind to find the perfect smartwatch for you:

• Compatibility: Make sure the device you plan to use the smartwatch with is compatible.
• Aesthetics: What style of watch do you want? It is an accessory, after all.
• Fitness Features: What fitness features do you want to have on the watch? Like GPS tracking or being able to wear it swimming.
• Battery Life: What length of battery life works best for you? Keep in mind that some watches with the longest battery life might not offer the most features.

The Apple Watch Series 8 builds on the success of both its predecessors and a very mature WatchOS platform while adding key features such as temperature sensing, crash detection, and fertility cycle tracking for women. It also offers a low power mode out of the box thanks to WatchOS 9 and offers extremely tight-knit integration with the Apple ecosystem, making it an essential smartwatch to consider if you have an iPhone. All this comes with one of the best and brightest smartwatch displays in the business, making the Apple Watch Series 8 truly the smartwatch to beat in 2023.

While the upgrades might not warrant an upgrade for most Series 7 users while people with older generation Apple Watches might still be tempted, if you must have the latest and greatest Apple Watch in the market, you can only turn to the Apple Watch Series 8, or it's much more expensive sibling, the Apple Watch Ultra to meet your needs.

The Amazfit GTR Mini Smartwatch has big shoes to fill in an industry that is extremely competitive at the budget segment thanks to the influx of multiple low-end smartwatch manufacturers competing at the same price point and often with similar features in tow. It does so by ticking all the right boxes when it comes to fitness and wellness while offering stellar battery life in tow. The fact that it comes with an excellent stainless steel case which gives it a more premium-like touch than most of its competing smartwatches goes a long way to bat for the budget smartwatch.

It does make a few tradeoffs which could be deal breakers for users wanting a smartwatch that does it all. The lack of a speaker and microphone on the smartwatch means that it can not accept voice commands or make or receive voice calls or send voice notes to people, forcing you to whip out your phone to deal with this which can be counted as an inconvenience. It also skips Wear OS, opting for an in-house OS called Zepp OS. While this is not any judgment on Zepp OS'es capabilities (it seems to handle quite well), it does result in you having to limit yourself to very limited 3rd party app support at times.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, which also happens to be the mainstream Android-based smartwatch choice is also the contender for the best of them. It has a significantly modest battery upgrade from the Watch 4, and even if Samsung is being optimistic about its battery life, it should power through a day of heavy use with ease. If you need an even bigger battery or a more premium dial you can move up to the more costly Galaxy Watch 5 Pro instead.

All in, the Galaxy Watch 5 is a minor upgrade on the already excellent Watch 4, but it does add a temperature sensor, a stronger screen, and bigger battery life to make the Watch 5 a compelling purchase or upgrade for users unsure about splurging on the latest Galaxy Watch. With Android's Wear OS in tow, it has better software support and 3rd party app support than most of its competition and tends to be the face of Android-based smartwatches more often than not.

The Fitbit Charge 5 is a different tier of smartwatch. It simply isn't marketed as one and with good reason. It is a very capable fitness tracker that does do the basics when it comes to telling the time and while it lacks some of the more taken-for-granted features of smartwatches such as being able to control music (there are limited workarounds, but they are simply too time-consuming), it doubles down on extremely-good value, detailed statistics as well as excellent battery life under the hood. It also can make contactless payments thanks to its NFC connectivity (using Fitbit Pay).

There are some concerns about the future of the Charge 5 after Google's acquisition of Fitbit and the underlying software the fitness tracker runs on. If a Wear OS upgrade is available down the line, it could effectively become a much more capable device altogether, but even in its current state, it functions as a basic smartwatch while maintaining an array of sensors that enable it to be called (even if begrudgingly) the best fitness-centric smartwatch.

If you want the extra features of a smartwatch, but you don't want the look of a smartwatch, hybrid watches are the way to go. The Withings Steel HR combines a classic look and smart features perfectly. There is a small digital display controlled by the dial on the side of the watch. This display shows you stats like heart rate, steps, and even phone notifications. If you are looking for a comprehensive fitness tracker, you might find some of its features lacking. But for people that like to keep count of their steps and track their heart rate, this watch offers just the right amount without being overkill.

Because the digital display draws such little power, this watch can last off one charge for up to 25 days, which is absolutely insane. Additionally, Withings has a ton of customization options for this watch to make it match your style, and the bands can be easily changed.

How To Choose The Perfect Smartwatch For You?

Compatibility

The first thing you should look for with any smartwatch is if it is compatible with the device you plan to use it with. Because if not, even the most advanced smartwatch will just be a watch if it cannot connect to your device.

Keep in mind, if you are an Android user and absolutely want to use an Apple Watch, it is possible, but we would not recommend it because the features are severely limited.

Aesthetics

The look of the watch, while not entirely vital to the watch's performance, plays a pretty important role in choosing a smartwatch. Even the most utilitarian of us care about how devices look and especially a device like a watch. Traditional watches are usually worn as fashion accessories as well as tools, so there is no reason that a smartwatch should be different.

There are tons of different styles to choose so picking out one that best fits your style is well worth it.

Fitness Features

Pretty much every smartwatch has the ability to track steps and your heart rate, but for some people, that is not enough. For example, if you are a swimmer and want to track your swims, make sure that the watch you are looking at is waterproof and is able to track different kinds of exercises.

GPS tracking is a great fitness feature for runners that want to share their runs with friends or for walkers that just like to see where they walked in the day rather than just the number of steps. If you are getting a smartwatch with the primary purpose of tracking workouts, make sure the watch supports what you want to track, and it will be a much better experience.

Battery Life

Last but not least is the battery life of a watch. For the most part, this comes down to personal preference. If you don't mind charging all of your devices every night, a smartwatch with long battery life will not matter as much. But for those users that want to go a month without worrying about charging their watch, this is an essential thing to pay attention to.

Deciding that number that makes a battery life perfect for you can take some analyzing of your device habits. But we find it is better to shoot for a longer battery life device, so you don't have to worry about it dying in the middle of the day.

FAQ

Are smartwatches worth it?

Smartwatches are totally worth it. Being able to check phone notifications without pulling out your phone is incredibly convenient, and being able to track fitness stats makes it so much better. Plus, with features like AFIB tracking and fall alerts, smartwatches can become a safety device as well as a convenience.

Do you need a phone if you have a smartwatch?

Pretty much every smartphone on the market must be connected to a phone to access the full set of features. There are some with 3G/LTE capabilities and can operate without a connection to another device.