The best smartwatch of 2023 – CNET

The Apple Watch Ultra is an upgraded Apple Watch Series 8, but it comes with a durable titanium build, a larger 49mm case size and a new action button to quickly launch workouts or launch apps. It has an incredibly bright screen, capable of a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits, which makes it incredibly easy to see when venturing into the great outdoors. It also has a built-in safety siren and dual-band GPS to accurately track your route. LTE is also on board so you can go without a phone and still stay connected.

While many of the key hardware and software features are aimed at adventurers and athletes, it’s still a great all-round smartwatch. Microphones help reduce wind noise during calls, and you get the same health and fitness tracking features found on other Apple Watches, including a blood oxygen sensor, electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) app, fall detection, and emergency distress. The battery also lasts at least twice as long as all other Apple Watch models. But it’s only compatible with the iPhone, so if you have an Android phone, you’ll want to take a look at another option on this list.

Read our Apple Watch Ultra review.

The Apple Watch Series 8 may not be as focused on adventure as the Apple Watch Ultra, but it still features a dust and crack resistant design, blood oxygen sensor and ECG, and comes in 41 and 45mm sizes. You can also choose the cellular or LTE model that lets you make calls and reply to messages from your wrist without your phone, though that costs extra.

It also has a new temperature sensor that can be used for apps like ovulation tracking. But battery life overall lasts 18 hours with typical use, less than many of its competitors.

Read our Apple Watch Series 8 review.

The Garmin name has long been synonymous with fitness tracking, but many of the company’s previous watches didn’t exactly look or feel “smart.” Venu 2 features a sleek, circular design with a bright screen that’s easy to see in direct sunlight. It’s also compatible with Android and iOS, and has great fitness features like comprehensive workout tracking, a body battery that tells you if you should push yourself for a workout or take a day off, plus women’s health tracking. It can also take your blood oxygen levels and the battery will last several days with moderate use.

The downside is that it doesn’t have as many smart features as the other watches on this list, including the lack of LTE or cellular connectivity. If you want an onboard speaker and microphone to talk to your voice assistant or answer quick calls on your wrist while your phone is in range, take a look at the latest $450 Garmin Venue 2 Plus. It comes in at just 43mm in size but shares all the same features with the original Venu 2 and 2S.

Read our review of the Garmin Venu 2.

Google’s first Pixel Watch wants to go head-to-head with the Apple Watch. It mostly succeeds thanks to a sleek, curved design and a suite of health sensors including an ECG app and blood oxygen tracking. It has a host of fitness tracking features, analysis through the Fitbit app, and accurate heart rate tracking.

Beware, however, that the battery isn’t as powerful as the other options on this list, and you’ll likely find yourself charging this watch every day, especially if you like to do GPS exercises outdoors and track your sleep. It is also available in a size of 41 mm only.

Read our Google Pixel Watch review.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro Among the best Wear OS watches you can get right now. They have longer lasting batteries than last year’s Galaxy Watch 4 models and plenty of great fitness tracking features. Google apps are available including YouTube Music, Google Assistant, and Google Maps, with many of the apps accessible through the Play Store. Samsung too Fetch session tracking to the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro through the partnership with Natural Cycles.

However, you need a Galaxy phone to use the ECG, but all other features work seamlessly with other Android phones. Both watches are missing the classic rotating physical bezel, which is a defining feature of Samsung Galaxy Watch and Gear watches from years past.

Read our Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 review.

If you’ve never owned an Apple Watch, this is the one you should get. The second-generation Apple Watch SE is a cheaper alternative to the Series 8 but has a lot of the same great features including collision detection, heart rate monitoring, and water resistance. It’s missing health sensors like the ECG, blood oxygen, and temperature sensors like the Series 8, but the most notable difference between the two is that the SE doesn’t have an always-on display. But you may not miss this feature if you did not have this smartwatch feature before.

Read our Apple Watch SE review.

Versa 3 is compatible with both iOS and Android phones and lets you choose between Alexa or Google Assistant as your preferred voice assistant. It doesn’t offer all the smart apps and features like some of its competitors, but it’s a well-rounded smartwatch with plenty of health and fitness features to keep you on track like onboard GPS and live heart rate zone notifications. It has the best sleep tracking feature on this list, and it gives you health features including an overnight SpO2 outbreak and body temperature data (Fitbit Premium users). There is a newer version, which is Fitbit Versa 4We haven’t fully reviewed that watch yet, so stay tuned.

Read our review of the Fitbit Versa 3.

The second generation Garmin Epix features a durable titanium build and a laundry list of features athletes want, including comprehensive mapping capabilities. It also has a bright AMOLED display that sets it apart from many other sport watches, including Garmin’s Fenix ​​line, which often use transflective screens. The Epix 2 also has great battery life for its size and feature set, lasting about a week under normal conditions.

But it doesn’t have LTE capabilities or an ECG app. Considering that this is the most expensive watch on this list at $1,000, that could be a huge drawback.

Read our Garmin Epix review.