Smartwatch buying guide

When you wear a smartwatch, you have the ability to stay connected and multitask conveniently and efficiently. Smartwatches sync with your smartphone, passing on information to your wrist that is noteworthy to you. Common notifications can be incoming calls, messages, emails, and more. That means you have the chance to keep your phone out of your hands, without missing out on what’s important. And that’s all on top of how smartwatches track activity and exercise. This guide can help you learn about how a smartwatch can suit your lifestyle.

Benefits of wearing a smartwatch

Like any watch, a smartwatch will tell you the time, but the “smart” in smartwatch comes with all the other features you get with it. For the most part, wearing a smartwatch is like extending your smartphone to your wrist because even when you don’t feel like you’re doing much, a smartwatch is always doing something. While paired with your smartphone, many smartwatches can see the same notifications your phone can, so it’s a convenient way to see pertinent and timely information, like a reminder, alerts, alarms, or notifications from your favourite apps.

Activity tracking works in much the same way. Whether you’re out for a long walk, or just strolling through to shop somewhere, a smartwatch will track all those steps and gauge how many calories you lose. The same is true while going for a run, no matter how vigorous or leisurely it might be. Some also have deeper exercise tracking for working out at the gym, cycling, hiking, swimming, and dozens of other activities.

Passive tracking also applies when wearing a smartwatch. Health rate monitoring and accuracy grew considerably over the years, which has since led to additional features where onboard sensors can measure blood oxygen, skin temperature, electrocardiogram (ECG), blood pressure, and more. Sleep tracking has also greatly improved to help gain insight into how well you slept on any given night.

Smartwatches generally connect via Bluetooth to maintain constant connectivity when paired with an Android or iOS handset or tablet. Some also support Wi-Fi, which you can utilize for certain features where necessary. Others take it further with LTE support, letting them operate independently of the phone itself.

Style and display choices

OLED and AMOLED

OLED (organic light emitting diode) and AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) displays are common in smartphones, and make up the glass on many smartwatches as well. These displays produce deeper blacks and higher contrast ratios, with the added benefit of being thinner with lower power consumption than other types of smartwatch displays. One difference between them is that OLED screens can come in single or full-colour variants, whereas AMOLED screens are always available in full colour.

LCD

LCD (liquid-crystal display) is also a common display technology. They require a backlight to illuminate the display, which often means there will be an additional layer of thickness. While the additional light can’t replicate the deep black levels and a contrast ratio of OLED and AMOLED, they are easier to see in bright sunlight and other similar settings.

Black and white

These screens lack the colour that makes others look dynamic, but they have an advantage in improving battery life considerably. Some black and white displays are OLED, though there may be others that use E-Ink displays typically used in eReaders. These are legible in bright environments without glare but would need a light source to be visible in the dark.

Display

Smartwatches will often offer always-on displays, where you can keep the screen active at all times. Other times, they can only light up when activated by motion, like flicking your wrist up to light up the screen for a quick glance, to preserve battery life. Most smartwatches also use touchscreen displays, letting you tap and swipe for easy, intuitive navigation.

Stronger glass

Smartwatches will sometimes use the same type of fortified glass smartphones do. Corning Gorilla Glass is renowned for its ability to handle daily wear and tear and reduce instances of scratches and blemishes. It’s still susceptible to cracks if hit with a very hard impact, but is quite durable in its own right. Sapphire glass is even tougher and able to withstand If you plan to use your smartwatch in rigorous conditions, it could be good to have that added protection.

Water-resistant/Waterproof

Smartwatches will offer varying degrees of water resistance and waterproofing to ensure they can still function when exposed or submerged. That additional protection is great for engaging in outdoor activities where rain or snow might be in the mix. A waterproof smartwatch can help you track swimming without worrying about a malfunction. Just be sure that the watch specifications allow for use in both clear and saltwater.

Watch bands

One of the great things about smartwatches is that they come in a variety of styles and designs for bands and straps. Certain watches may use standard lugs common with regular watches, making it possible to use bands from existing watches. Others may use proprietary latches that only work with compatible straps. There’s an active market supporting either type with various styles made of different materials.

Many are inspired by traditional watches, which is why you will find bands with classic looks made of leather or stainless steel. Others are made of fabrics for a nice, casual feel that can fit in a variety of situations. Then you get some made of silicone offering maximum flexibility and durability—great options for being outdoors or working out.

Special features

What makes a smartwatch versatile is how extra features figure into the wider feature set, and that list is only getting longer. Here are some that are usually available:

Notifications

Smartwatches can simplify your phone usage by displaying notifications in a convenient way. These can include calls, messages, emails, social media posts, reminders, alarms, and much more.

They are customizable, so you decide which notifications you ultimately want to see pop up on your watch.

If you prefer to maintain some privacy, you could have notifications alert you without showing anything, or keep them quiet altogether for a certain period of time. You can also decide whether you want the watch to beep or vibrate, depending on your preference.

Voice control

You can talk to your smartwatch the same way you would from your phone. Popular voice assistants, like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa, may be embedded and active on your wrist, depending on the watch and associated brand.

Smartwatches with built-in speakers may offer the option to make and receive calls directly without having to pick up the phone. So long as the watch is within Bluetooth range when paired with your phone, or has its own cellular data connection, it’s an easy task.

Music

You may have the option to store your own music on your watch’s internal memory for playback without a data or Wi-Fi connection. In some cases, you can pair Bluetooth headphones directly with the smartwatch and listen to music without the phone. There may also be tighter integration or support for popular music streaming services that let you control music playing on your phone through your watch.

Payments

Have you ever used your phone to pay for something at a store or restaurant? Some smartwatches will let you do that straight from your wrist, provided your watch, bank, or credit card company support that feature.

Link alarm

If you venture too far away from the wireless range of your paired phone, the watch may trigger an audible or vibrating alert.

Latest and greatest smartwatches

There are abundant choices to make when it comes to which smartwatch you should strap on your wrist. The best options are those that will do the most for your lifestyle and activity goals, not to mention making sure the watch will integrate and be compatible with the phone you’re using. For example, the Apple Watch will only work with iOS devices, as it’s not compatible with Android. The same is true in reverse for Samsung Galaxy Watches, which are no longer compatible with iPhones. With that in mind, here are some smartwatches to look out for:

Fitbit

Fitbit’s smartwatch lineup comes in two particular lines: Versa and Sense. While they share many of the same design traits inside and out, they differ in that the Sense features more of the latest health and wellness tracking sensors and technologies, whereas the Versa concentrates more on exercise tracking. Both watches can track the same exercises in the same way, and have the same access to the same services. It just all depends on what sensors and hardware are embedded in each watch. That’s why Sense 2 can track skin temperature (electrodermal activity) and ECG (electrocardiogram) while Versa 4 can’t, for example.

Garmin

Garmin smartwatches come in different series that looks a little different and may focus on different things. MarQ is the luxury line that features the most elaborate mix of design and functionality. Fenix is the high-end line, where there’s less of a focus on using apps onscreen, and more on multisport activity with excellent tracking and location data aimed at those who are serious about getting fit. Forerunner has the clue in its name, which caters to runners but also offers plenty of other exercises to track as well. Vivoactive and Venu both lean more towards fashionable designs, with touchscreens and vivid screens to go with all the tracking features Garmin is known for. The Instinct removes colour from the screen, along with music and apps, to keep things simple and focused on staying active. Lily goes with a slender design for women who prefer something smaller. Golf fans can also look for golf-focused Garmin watches that are among the best available.

Samsung

Samsung Galaxy smartwatches have evolved to now run on Google’s Wear OS wearable operating system. It resembles Samsung’s own Tizen platform from previous Galaxy Watches, only works differently because they better integrate with apps available on the Google Play Store. They offer a mix of exercise tracking and smart features that extend from your smartphone, with tighter integration for Samsung phones and tablets. That integration isn’t exclusive to them because you can still use a Galaxy Watch with other Android devices and get many of the same features.