I've been wearing an Apple Watch to track my runs ever since I ditched Fitbit a few years ago, and I've settled into a good rhythm with one of the best Apple Watches, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, since 2024.

However, before considering a potential upgrade to the rumored Apple Watch Ultra 4 (if it breaks cover), I wanted to see what Samsung's latest — the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 — had to offer. So I borrowed the press sample loaned to the Tom's Guide fitness team, strapped it to my right wrist (I wore the Apple Watch on my left) and clocked up my usual 10K (6-mile) run.

The watches are unerringly similar: both sport a rugged design, a shortcut button (Action Button on the Apple Watch, Quick Button on the Galaxy Watch) for starting an exercise quickly and dual-frequency GPS for accurate location tracking.

Of course, one run isn't enough to say whether one is better than the other, but there were a few things that immediately stood out about Samsung's effort. Before we get to them, here's the data each watch captured.

As you can see from the table above, there are some discrepancies in a few areas, which I can explain. I tend to mix running with calisthenics training and aim to complete 100 push-ups during each run.

On the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, I had auto-pause enabled, which kicked in every time I dropped down to rattle off some push-ups. That explains the difference in duration, distance, pace and cadence (since the Apple Watch Ultra 2 just kept rolling), but I'm not sure why the active calorie count is so different between the two.

Leaving the stats behind and progressing on to good old-fashioned subjectivity, here are three things I really liked about the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and one where my trusty Apple Watch Ultra 2 still wins out.

3 things Samsung did better

The bright screen

Samsung has given the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 a 1.52-inch Super AMOLED display with up to 5,000 nits of peak brightness. The company is known for making display tech, and over the course of the run I was constantly impressed with how legible the display was. It adjusted smoothly between sunlight and shade, and I never had to worry about glare on the screen.

Literally and figuratively, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 outshone the 3,000-nit LTPO OLED screen on my Apple Watch Ultra 2. When you couple this with the fact that Samsung's workout display shows fewer metrics in a larger font size, it means the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 wins the glance-ability contest.

I also like how your current heart rate zone is displayed with a rainbow color scale at the bottom, which pops on the AMOLED screen. While you get more pixels on the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 (502 × 410 vs 498 × 498 pixels on the Apple Watch Ultra 2), this didn't make as much of a difference to me as the brightness.

The strong haptics

Apple calls the haptic technology inside the Apple Watch (and iPhone) the "Taptic Engine". But based on my run with both watches, I'd rate the horsepower inside the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 as higher.

I haven't done a teardown of each model, so I can't say for certain which vibration motor is larger or stronger, but I felt that buzz on my right wrist plenty more than the one on my left. I think it's important too, since I rely on the haptics to alert me to each kilometer I cover. It's not as much of a necessity on a small run, but if you're getting to half-marathon or marathon territory, it becomes indispensable.

Even without haptics, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 called out my splits and pacing from the built-in speaker. It was loud enough (albeit a little robotic) to hear comfortably without ever having to raise my wrist. I disabled this same feature (called Voice Feedback) on my Apple Watch Ultra 2 a long while ago, so I don't have a comparison from this run. But I'll make sure to re-enable it again on my next one to see if the Apple Watch Ultra 2 can hold up in this regard.

The comfortable strap

It seems like a small thing to mention, especially since they're interchangeable, but the bundled Marine Band attached to the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 has caught my attention. Samsung sells this separately for $90, and in my experience, it's an extremely comfortable strap that sat snugly on my wrist during the run.

It didn't slide around when I started to sweat thanks to the channel on the underside that encourages airflow. My Apple Watch Ultra 2's Trail Loop band, by comparison, was drenched in sweat by the end of the run.

While I never wore Samsung's original Marine Band, this latest version reduces the weight by 10g (0.35oz) by, among other things, switching the keeper from titanium to rubber.

Overall, the band is slimmer and as a result more flexible on the wrist. Even if you don't plan on upgrading to the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 from the first generation, I'd encourage looking into this strap as a purchase. It uses Samsung’s Dynamic Lug band attachment system and fits the original Galaxy Watch Ultra just as well.

I have an affinity for chunky watches, so the Galaxy Watch Ultra's 47.4 x 47.4 x 12.1 mm dimensions don't bother me — but it's definitely a watch I'd rather wear for running than for sleeping.

1 thing it didn't like

Apple's Digital Crown still reigns

It's been hot this summer. Like, really hot. But I live in the U.K., where a lot of the time it's cold and/or rainy. This can often necessitate wearing gloves while out running, hiking, or cycling and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that physical controls always win out where gloves are concerned.

During a run, if I want to raise or lower the volume of my audio or scroll through my metrics, nothing beats the tactile feeling of Apple's Digital Crown. The tiny little grooves etched into the metal can be felt through running gloves, and you don't even need to look at the Apple Watch to use it.

Samsung has given the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 a Touch Bezel feature you can activate in the settings, letting you run your finger around the edge of the display to scroll through the watch's functions. There are some vibration haptics that accompany this, but it's just nowhere near as easy or as satisfying as Apple's solution.

Even a physical rotating bezel as you'd find on a dive watch would have been better. I haven't used this feature in the heavy rain or snow, but I can't see it faring as well as the Digital Crown when you need to interact with your smartwatch with cold, numb fingers.

Final thoughts

Coming away from a single run with the two watches, there's no question the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is the superior device. It's brighter and more performant with greater storage and a longer battery life.

It also undercut the Apple Watch Ultra 2 at launch with a price of $699 to Apple's $799 (the current price of the Apple Watch Ultra 3), so it wins out if you're on a budget, too. Of course, you can currently find the Ultra 2 at a reduced price since it's been usurped by the Ultra 3, but for the sake of comparing apples to...err...apples? Samsung wins on price.

But it's not a complete victory. For instance, I like that the summary of your run stays up longer on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 than it does on the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Also, while the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is a good-looking timepiece, I'm not entirely sold on the square-circle hybrid case design.

My final takeaway is to see what the Apple Watch Ultra 4 holds if and when it launches in a couple of months. Then I'll decide whether to keep my affinity with Apple going for another year or jump ship over to Samsung's side for future workouts.

What's your wearable of choice for recording your activity? Let me know if you prefer Apple or Samsung (or split the difference and go with Garmin) in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I trekked the Cascade Mountains with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Instinct 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 — this is the one I'd take on my next hike
• Garmin Cirqa vs Fitbit Air vs Whoop vs Oura Ring: Our fitness experts are helping you pick the perfect fitness tracker
• I walked 4,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 — and the winning margin was razor-thin

I just got back from a trip to North Cascade National Park where I experienced the grandeur of jagged mountain peaks, dynamic waterfalls, cerulean rivers, and breathtaking glaciers. Of course, I logged each day of my adventure using a menagerie of the best smartwatches.

To kick things off, my partner and I hiked to Blue Lake, a seriously stunning alpine lake accessible via a well-maintained out-and-back trail. I’m in the process of reviewing the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to test it against its direct competitor, the Apple Watch Ultra 3, and my current go-to smartwatch for adventure tracking, the Garmin Instinct 3.

With just two wrists of my own, I asked my partner to rock the Apple Watch Ultra 3 (worn on her left wrist), while I wore the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 on my left wrist and the Garmin Instinct 3 on my right wrist before embarking on our Cascadian trek. I also ran Strava from my iPhone 16 Plus.

Apple Watch vs Galaxy Watch vs Garmin: hike data compared

Three hours, five miles, roughly a thousand feet of climb, and one very chilly swim later, we returned to the car, where I carefully logged the results from each device. The outcome of the comparison was crystal clear; one wearable proved more capable and up to the task than the others. Read on to find out which.

Here are three reasons why I’d choose the Garmin Instinct 3 over the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 for my next hike.

1. Garmin's elevation data is the most accurate

According to the Washington Trail Association, Blue Lake Trail involves an estimated 1,050 feet of elevation gain, which is coincidentally the same exact amount of climb logged by the Garmin Instinct 3.

AllTrails lists the climb at a more modest 920 feet. Either way, Garmin was the closest of the bunch at accurately logging my uphill efforts for this hike. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 turned in a slightly elevated (some pun intended) metric, which is pretty much par for the course for even the best Apple Watches in 2026 from my experience.

Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 was notably and concerningly waaaaay off, calculating almost double the elevation of Strava and AllTrails.

2. The Instinct 3 used way less battery

With a lengthy pause taken at the top of Blue Lake Trail for a swim and snack, our total trek time took just over three hours. In that period, both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 burned through 18% of battery, suggesting that around 15 hours of continuous trekking is likely the limit for both when it comes to GPS power consumption.

The Garmin Instinct 3, meanwhile, used only 6% of battery tracking my three-ish-hour trek, making it the obvious choice of the bunch for multi-day outdoor adventurers where access to a charger isn't guaranteed.

3. The Garmin is lighter and comfier

Finally, on my 6.5-inch wrist, the Garmin Instinct 3 in 45mm feels way comfier than the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. This is because it's both smaller and lighter. Including the straps used for the hike, the Instinct 3 weighs 53.5 g, compared to 95.4 g for th the Apple Watch Ultra 3, and 85.8 g for the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2

The Instinct 3's rounded case also wears more comfortably than the rectangular case design of the Apple Watch and Samsung. Moreover, the Instinct 3 isn't nearly as tall as either of its rivals, and is noticeably narrower than the Samsung, with a similar width to the Apple Watch.

Which of these three smartwatches would you pick to log an epic outdoor mountain adventure? Let me know in the poll below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Can the $99 Fitbit Air beat the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 at fitness tracking? I manually counted 4,500 steps to find out
• I hiked 9 miles with the Apple Watch SE vs. Pixel Watch 3 vs. Garmin Forerunner 165 — 5 things I learned
• Samsung turned the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 into a fully-fledged dive computer — but there’s a catch

Today Apple announced its new leasing program, Apple Upgrade which is undergirded by Klarna for iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac and iPad.

The program lets customers sign up for a plan, similar to how you would lease a car, for fixed 12-, 24- and 36-month terms depending on the device. There are options to upgrade to a new device early or return it at the end of the lease.

Apple called the new plan a "more flexible way to pay for products."

It's possible this does offer some flexibility from paying an upfront lump sum or tying yourself to an onerous contract via a network carrier like Verizon or T-Mobile.

However, experts I spoke with think the Upgrade plan is meant to cover rising component costs.

"By shifting the focus to lower monthly payments, it helps mask the effect of rising hardware costs and makes premium devices feel more affordable and attainable for a broader range of consumers," Jitesh Ubrani, a director at IDC, said.

They added that it could entice people who don't want to pay the higher upfront costs, as even Apple has hiked prices recently. It also gives Apple a "steady stream of trade-ins" that the company can resell to expand its customer base.

"Many people are effectively leasing their phones already through carrier plans; leasing a watch or a Mac -- when you know that these are also devices that have upgrade cycles -- can make sense," Techsponential's Avi Greengart told Tom's Guide. "it's still a lease, so you won't be able to use it until it dies unless you buy out the lease, and it may not be the absolute most economical approach."

Beyond upfront prices, is Apple Upgrade better for you? Let's take a look at how the program works.

How Apple Upgrade works

Apple Upgrade offers 12- or 24-month lease terms for eligible iPhones and Apple Watches. For those seeking a Mac or iPad, there are 24- or 36-month options.

Prices start as low as $11.99 per month for the Apple Watch and iPad, depending on size and storage capacity. iPhones start at $17.99, while Macs can be leased starting at $24.99 a month.

You can sign up online or at an Apple Store, where you will be approved by Klarna, which does require a soft credit check that should not impact your credit score.

At the end of the lease term, you can return the device or upgrade to a newer generation or purchase it with a one-time payment.

Compared to the outgoing iPhone Upgrade program, the Apple Upgrade Program does not include AppleCare, which is a separate subscription price and varies in price depending on your device.

Per MacRumors, if you miss a payment, it will be rolled into the next month's payment with no late fees. However, if you miss three consecutive payments, the lease will end, and you will have to pay the full outstanding balance, minus the value of the device when returned. If Klarna can't collect, a debt collection agency will be sent your information.

Apple Upgrade prices

Apple is offering the entire iPhone 17 lineup, plus the iPhone Air, both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 and three iPad options, including the iPad Air, iPad Pro and iPad mini.

For Macs, you can lease the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Studio.

Apple defaults to the 24-month leasing option, so we'll share that. The other options can lower or raise your price. Additionally, higher storage capacity or chip versions will also increase the monthly price.

Finally, the price does not include taxes and fees.

Here's how much the base model of each device will cost you.

We've separated the iPads and Macs out because these devices can have the longer 36-month term. Again, the prices below are for the base model of each device and the 24-month term.

No leasing entry-level devices

You may have noticed several Apple devices aren't eligible for the upgrade program. It includes the vanilla iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, as well as the entry-level models of almost every device category.

Here's the full list of Apple products you can't lease:

• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• Apple Watch SE
• MacBook Neo
• Mac mini
• iPad (A16)
• Studio Display

Availability

Apple Upgrade is available now for all of the listed devices. Apple says that a security deposit is not required and that a trade-in device could reduce monthly payments.

I will note that if you end a lease early, you could see termination fees. Also, if you don't do anything at the end of the lease, you'll be charged the purchase fee.

Lastly, hidden in the fine print, upgrading a device could increase your monthly payments, which is true for both higher-capacity versions of devices and more expensive models when new generations launch in the coming years.

More from Tom's Guide

• We asked 368 people what they want from the Apple Watch Ultra 4. Here’s the resounding answer (and it’s not AI)
• iOS 27 finally fixes the most annoying iPhone workaround we all use
• New iPhone 20 video reveals the 8 biggest upgrades to expect from the 20th anniversary iPhone

Screen-free wearables like the Fitbit Air, Garmin Cirqa, Oura Ring 5 and Whoop 4 are having a moment, but is screen-free really the best way to be, especially when full-featured, hyper-connected devices like the Garmin Venu 4, Apple Watch 11 and Pixel Watch 4 exist?

That depends entirely on what you hope to get out of your wearable. I've already covered the five biggest things to consider before buying a screen-free wearable. Now, we're here to help you further understand the core differences between the best smartwatches and fitness trackers and the top no-screen trackers, including the best smart rings of 2026.

Howdy, I'm Dan Bracaglia, one of TG's resident experts on smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart rings. I'm here to help you make sense of today's wearables market and even choose between two devices.

Got a burning question about the difference between the Fitbit Air and Fitbit Inspire 3? Are you deciding between the new Apple Watch SE 3 and the new Garmin Cirqa, two devices surprisingly close in price? Not sure if the latest Oura Ring 5 is right for you?

Responding to your questions are myself, Dan Bracaglia, a senior writer at TG and expert in wearables with nearly two decades of experience covering consumer technology, and TG's U.K editor-in-chief, Jeff Parsons, who's not only an avid runner, but also an expert in consumer tech of all kinds.

Please make sure that all queries are related to wearable tech, specifically, screen vs screen-free trackers. We can't wait to answer your questions! You might also like to let us know your feelings about screen-free wearables in the poll below.

As a reminder, please keep all questions appropriate and on-topic. This is an open space where we hope to foster a positive, helpful environment for all readers, whether you're new to the world of fitness trackers or you're a hardcore athlete shopping for your fifth Garmin.

If you've never left a comment on our site before, then you may need to sign up to post your first question. It's free to sign up and will unlock a host of other Tom's Club member benefits, such as exclusive rewards and savings, the ability to earn badges and enter giveaways, join in with popular conversations and all Live Q&As, and reveal hints for our quizzes and puzzles.

We can't wait to hear from you — let us know what you'd like help with now.

More from Tom's Guide

• Can the $99 Fitbit Air beat the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 at fitness tracking? I manually counted 4,500 steps to find out
• The Samsung Galaxy Ring is about to be the world’s first FDA-cleared smart ring for sleep apnea
• I walked 7,000 steps with the Garmin Cirqa vs Fitbit Air — and there's a clear winner

Which rugged smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, is the better device for tracking outdoor workouts and adventures? I decided to find out by manually counting 4,000 steps with one on either wrist.

Aside from the obvious — the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is for iOS users, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is for the Android faithful — these two smartwatches are remarkably evenly matched. Of course, they also track a whole lot of other, more exciting activities, including scuba diving, but for the sake of our comparison, I’m going to stick with a good old-fashioned walk.

With my manual count as the primary control for this comparison, as a control for distance, climb, and pace, we’ll rely on ol’ reliable, the Strava app.

Read on to find out which smartwatch came out on top in this fitness tracking accuracy showdown with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3

Before diving into the results, here are the biggest differences between the Apple Watch Ultra 3, one of the best smartwatches in 2026, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 (review pending). For starters, the Apple Watch is $100 more than the Galaxy Watch, $799 vs $699.

The Galaxy Watch, meanwhile, boasts a brighter display, better battery life, and a genuinely useful onboard AI assistant that's backed by Gemini and accessible via a wrist raise.

Design-wise, I find the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to be a lot comfier than the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Not only is the Apple Watch thinner, but it's also narrower. That said, the two weigh roughly the same.

When it comes to logging workouts, Apple and Samsung's best are evenly matched. They each boast dual-band GPS for location tracking, barometric altimeters for elevation monitoring, accelerometers and gyroscopes for motion tracking, and tons of health sensors to monitor your heart rate, body temperature, calories burned, and more.

With that out of the way, on to the result of my 4,000-step walk test comparison with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2!

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Walk test results

I took exactly 4,000 steps during my ~35-minute walk, a tally that's backed up by Strava, which also logged precisely 4K. As always, any step count total within 100 steps of my actual tally is considered excellent and well within a reasonable margin for error.

Both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 performed exceptionally well in this test, not just in terms of accurately counting my steps, but also logging distance, elevation gain, pace, and even heart rate.

Of course, when it comes to steps, the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 beats the Apple Watch Ultra 3 by a modest margin compared to the control. The same goes for climb and pace. The Apple Watch, meanwhile, was a little bit closer to the control for distance.

Both devices registered roughly the same maximum and average heart rates, though the Apple Watch calculated more calories burned and used less battery to log my efforts.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Winner

By a teeny-tiny margin, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 gets a win versus its main competitor, the Apple Watch Ultra 3. Ultimately, though, both devices performed with impressive accuracy during this test, and I would not hesitate to use either to log my next workout, whether it's a walk around the neighborhood or a recreational dive in Puget Sound.

Stay tuned for my full Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 review, to be published soon. In the meantime, which smartwatches would you like to see me test the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 against next? Let me know below.

More from Tom's Guide

• 5 things to know about the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
• Can the $99 Fitbit Air beat the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 at fitness tracking? I manually counted 4,500 steps to find out
• The Samsung Galaxy Ring is about to be the world’s first FDA-cleared smart ring for sleep apnea

The Apple Watch is absolutely packed with features, and while that’s undoubtedly a good thing, it also means there are a lot of menus and apps on the watch, which can slow down your navigation and make it harder to get straight to the things you want to do.

Fortunately, there are a lot of clever shortcuts available on the watch to speed up your usage, and two I use all the time when wearing the watch make it faster to navigate the menus and fire up a workout.

I use these shortcuts on an Apple Watch Series 11 because one of them is essentially a replacement for the Action button on the Apple Watch Ultra 3, so it is only needed on Series watches, but the first hidden feature is one that applies to all of the best Apple watches.

Tip #1 — tap the time to jump to the top

If you’ve ever found yourself down at the bottom of a very long Apple Watch menu, knowing that you now need to scroll all the way back to the top to find the setting you need, this tip’s for you.

Simply tap the time in any native Apple Watch app, and it will teleport you back to the top of the menu instantly.

This works in apps like Mail, Workout and Settings, and I find it saves me time every day when I’m working my way around the various menus and options in those apps.

If you just want to head back to your watch face from wherever you are in an app, you can also cover the Apple Watch with your palm for a second, and it will transport you there.

Tip #2 — create one-tap shortcuts to your favorite workouts

I’m a keen runner and often use the Apple Watch Ultra 3 instead of the Series 11, partly because the Action button is a handy way to start a run quickly.

With this feature, you can create a similar feature on any Series Apple Watch, adding a shortcut to starting a run or any workout to your Control Center.

Here’s how to do it:

1. In the Shortcuts app on your iPhone, create a new shortcut to start a run (or any workout type)
2. Long-press this shortcut and tick "show on Apple Watch"
3. You can also customize the icon for the shortcut in the iPhone app and rename it
4. Press the side button on your Apple Watch to open the Control Center
5. Scroll down to edit, then hit the "+" icon to add your shortcut
6. Find your new shortcut and position it where you want in your Control Center

Now when you hit that shortcut in the Control Center, it will immediately open the Workout app and start your chosen training session, almost as quickly as if you’d used the Action button on an Ultra.

You can also add your shortcut directly to a watch face if you have one with complications, meaning you don’t even need to open the Control Center.

I have shortcuts for outdoor run and functional strength training workouts set up on my watch, so I can fire them up with just one or two taps.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a smartwatch reviewer, and here's my Apple Watch Series 12 wish list — three upgrades I want, and one I don't
• Leaked Apple Watch 12 design change is the opposite of an upgrade — and that has me worried
• Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 needs these 3 upgrades to convince me to switch from my Apple Watch Ultra 3

I test a lot of smartwatches and fitness trackers here at Tom’s Guide. I mean A LOT. If the device was released in the past three years, there’s a very good chance I’ve not only helped to review it but also tested it head-to-head against the competition.

The vast majority of name-brand wearables track heart rate, distance, and step count — assuming you're going for a walk or hike — with impressive consistency, in my experience. For example, I’ve performed dozens of walk tests where I wear a device on either wrist and manually count my steps to see which comes closer.

Not only do most modern wearables come within a few hundred steps of my actual count — an impressive accomplishment when we're talking 5,000 or more steps per walk — but most also report similar distance data, down to a few tenths of a mile, and broadly the same heart rate data, give or take a handful of beats per minute.

That said, there are three workout stats that are consistently, well... inconsistent. And it's not just wallet-friendly models that struggle; even some of the best smartwatches and best fitness trackers occasionally have hiccups tracking these metrics.

The three fitness tracking stats I trust the least

1. Elevation gain

As an avid mountain sports enthusiast and someone who enjoys urban hiking and biking in a particularly hilly part of the U.S. (Seattle, WA), inconsistent elevation tracking seriously irks me. For example, it’s not unusual for a standard midday, two-mile walk to involve several hundred feet of climb.

Unfortunately, a lot of wearables come up short when it comes to assessing upward effort.

Not only that, some popular wearables don’t even offer a metric for elevation gain in the post-workout report, like the Fitbit Inspire 3. Others, like the newer Fitbit Air — a wearable I otherwise really like — measure elevation about as accurately as a newborn shooting pool.

Even the best Apple Watch models occasionally report inaccurate climb data. From my experience, the Ultra 3 is rock-solid, but both the Series 11 and SE 3 have been known to log slightly inflated elevation stats from time to time.

For what it’s worth, the brand I’ve found most consistent with elevation tracking is Garmin, that is, assuming you purchase one of the best Garmin watches, specifically, one with an onboard barometric altimeter. The new Forerunner 70, for example, lacks one.

2. Pace

Speaking of Garmin, it’s one of the few smartwatch brands that provides two pace metrics for outdoor activities like walks, hikes, runs, and bike rides: an average moving pace and an average elapsed (total) pace.

For most of us, the former is the more valuable metric, as it ignores long pauses — like waiting at a traffic light or stopping for a sip of water — thereby providing a more accurate measure of your actual moving effort.

Unfortunately, brands like Apple and Google only offer one pace metric in their respective workout reports. And though they don’t specify which pace metric it is, it's almost always slower than the competition’s moving pace stat, suggesting both are reporting elapsed pace, the less valuable one.

3. Calories

Post-workout calorie counts are perhaps the most all over the place in my testing. For example, it’s not uncommon for one device to log one hundred or more calories burned than another after the exact same workout.

In fact, this metric tends to be so inconsistent that I mostly ignore it completely. Not only are most manufacturers opaque about how the calorie counts are even calculated in the first place, but key factors like a user's metabolism or muscle mass are rarely taken into account when generating them.

Which fitness tracking stats do you think are bupkis? Let me know in the poll below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Can the $99 Fitbit Air beat the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 at fitness tracking? I manually counted 4,500 steps to find out
• I walked 5,500 steps with the Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70 — and the results surprised me
• I ran a 5K with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3, and although the pace data matched up perfectly across both devices, the Garmin’s exercise load metric and detailed vertical ratio analysis made it the clear winner

Can the $99 Fitbit Air beat the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3? I manually counted 4,500 steps to find out.

Steps are, of course, just one of the many metrics these high-tech wearables keep tally of, but for this head-to-head, it’s the primary figure I’ll be using to declare a winner.

I also tracked my Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 walk using the Strava app as a control for distance, climb, and pace.

Read on for the results!

Can a $99 Fitbit beat a $799 Apple Watch?

But first, if you’re thinking that this isn’t really a fair competition given the price difference between the Fitbit Air and Apple Watch Ultra 3, you’d be right! But who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned underdog showdown?

It is worth noting just a few of the key differences between these two trendy wearables before moving on to the outcome. The Fitbit Air is a discreet, screen-free health and fitness tracker with no buttons, notifications, or onboard GPS. While tracking a workout, the Air relies on a paired smartphone for location and elevation data.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 sports a sizable, ultra-bright display and is easily one of the most high-tech, feature-packed smartwatches on the market. It boasts a dual-frequency GPS antenna and dedicated altimeter for logging outdoor adventures.

With that out of the way, here are the results of my 4,500-step walk test between the $99 Fitbit Air and the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3.

Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Walk test results

Both wearables calculated my total steps with passable accuracy, but the Ultra 3 was closer. As a rule of thumb, I consider any step count total that's within ~150 steps of my actual count to be within a reasonable margin for error/impressive.

Strava, for what's worth, noted 4,496 total steps.

The Fitbit Air's distance measurement is a little further off from the control than the Apple Watch Ultra 3's, but not by a concerning amount.

What is a tad concerning is the fact that Google seemingly removed climb data from the post-workout report. Notably, because every other time I've logged a walking workout using the Air, the metric was there.

However, after some poking around, it appears the lack of climb data may be due to my inadvertently changing the Google Health app's location data setting on my paired phone from "always" to "while using the app" via an ill-timed pop-up.

Then again, I had the app open for the duration of my test, and it managed to pull all the other usual location-based metrics, so I'm not 100% convinced this caused the hiccup.

Coincidentally, as noted in my Fitbit Air vs Pixel Watch 4 and Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch 11 walk tests, accurate elevation tracking isn't exactly the Air's strong suit. Whether inconsistent or missing entirely, I'm hopeful this is something Google irons out with future firmware.

Moving on, the Fitbit Air noted a slower pace than the competition, which is a bit strange, given it measured less distance than Strava and the Ultra 3. More reassuringly, heart rate and calorie data from the Fitbit and Apple Watch pretty much align for this hilly, ~42-minute walk.

Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Winner

When pondering whether the $99 Fitbit Air can keep up with the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 at reliably tracking an outdoor workout, the answer is, well, not quite. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 proved more precise across the board, not just at tracking total steps, but pace and climb, too.

When it comes to the Fitbit Air, even though it didn't log my workout as accurately as its pricier rival, the results were still in the ballpark (missing elevation data aside). For most folks, myself included, that's more than good enough for my exercise logging needs.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 3,000 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Garmin Forerunner 70 — and I’m seriously amazed by the results
• The Fitbit Air is basically just a screen-less Fitbit Inspire 3 — and that’s a very good thing
• Oura vs Whoop vs Fitbit Air — 5 questions to ask yourself before buying a screen-free fitness tracker

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is one of the best smartwatches you can buy. And even though it’s less than a year old, Apple Watch Ultra 4 rumors are plentiful; some even hint at a fall 2026 release.

I test a lot of wearables here at Tom’s Guide, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is easily my favorite rugged, full-featured smartwatch; I’d also argue that it’s the most advanced smartwatch on the market today. However, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

From physical upgrades to battery life improvements to new AI features, here are the five biggest Apple Watch Ultra 4 upgrades I’m hoping for.

1. A brighter display

Without an increase in screen brightness, Apple risks falling behind the competition, namely, Samsung, Google, and Garmin. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 maxes out at 3,000 nits, the same brightness as the Apple Watch Ultra 2. This is bright enough to see in direct sunlight, in most cases, but not nearly as bright as the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro LED, which goes up to 4,500 nits.

The Google Pixel Watch 4 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, both significantly cheaper than the Apple Watch Ultra 3, also boast 3,000-nit max brightness, and there’s a good shot that the Galaxy Watch 9 and/or Pixel Watch 5 will push that spec another 1,000 nits.

So, without an equal or greater bump in display output, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 risks feeling dated on arrival.

2. A thinner, lighter case

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 case is reasonably lightweight and thin, but I think Apple can go even slimmer. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 already wears way more comfortably than the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, its Android-friendly equivalent, but Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 rumors hint that a slimmer case might be in the cards.

To keep the competitive advantage of a comfier design, I’d love to see the Apple Watch Ultra 3 boast a thickness under 10 mm (a reduction of ~2 mm). Given that the Apple Watch Series 11 is 9.7 mm, I have no doubt that the fine folks in Cupertino can get this done.

3. Three days of battery (or more)

Battery life is arguably Apple’s Achilles heel when it comes to wearables, and even though the Ultra 3 is Apple’s longest-lasting smartwatch, battery life is only good for about 42 hours per charge without power-saving options enabled.

By comparison, the Galaxy Watch Ultra lasts for closer to 48 hours. Meanwhile, the Google Pixel Watch 4 in 45mm, though not a “rugged-style” smartwatch, is good for about two days per charge. Moreover, I suspect the successors to both models will see a battery life bump.

This is all to say, Apple has its work cut out when it comes to power consumption in the Watch Ultra 4.

4. An easier way to unlock the screen

Passcodes never seemed like a great way to unlock an Apple Watch, which is why two separate Apple Watch 12/Ultra 4 rumors have me excited. One suggests that Apple's next-gen smartwatches will get forward-facing cameras for Face ID. The other hints that an under-the-display fingerprint scanner could make an appearance.

Either of these methods would be a welcome change to punching in a code every time you want to use your Apple Watch, though I ultimately think that Face ID is the better option of the two.

5. Siri AI assistant

Last but not least, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 needs to debut with a ready-to-use, no-excuses version of Siri AI that’s on par with or better than Google’s implementation of Gemini AI as a virtual assistant on the latest Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch models.

This not only means a Siri AI capable of answering complex, context-specific questions with ease, but also one that can be unlocked with a simple gesture control, similar to the Pixel Watch 4’s ‘raise wrist” gesture.

What upgrades or new features do you want to see come to the Apple Watch Ultra 4? Let me know below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a smartwatch reviewer, and here's my Apple Watch Series 12 wish list — three upgrades I want, and one I don't
• Leaked Apple Watch 12 design change is the opposite of an upgrade — and that has me worried
• Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 needs these 3 upgrades to convince me to switch from my Apple Watch Ultra 3

Samsung’s answer to the Apple Watch Ultra series, the uniquely named Galaxy Watch Ultra, debuted almost two years ago exactly, and if recent Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 rumors prove to be true, we should get our first look at its successor in just a few weeks; Samsung has a Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled for July 22nd.

The original Galaxy Watch Ultra remains one of the best smartwatches for Android users in 2026. It’s the leader of the pack in display size, battery life, and durability, but there is room for improvement.

I’ve tested both the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Ultra 3 extensively, including in a head-to-head fitness-tracking showdown. OS and holistic tech aside, I prefer the design of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 to the Galaxy Watch Ultra for several key reasons.

With that in mind, here are three improvements that would make the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 more competitive against — and even beat — the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

1. Slim down the case size

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is one chunky smartwatch. While the specs would lead you to believe it’s essentially the same thickness as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 (~12 mm), that official measurement isn’t telling the whole story.

Sure, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is about 12 mm thick at the very edge of the case; I just measured it using a caliper. However, at the center of the case, where the sensor array protrudes, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is closer to 16 mm thick. The Apple Watch Ultra 3, meanwhile, measures a little over 14 mm thick at the center of the case.

Both watches weigh about the same, but the Galaxy Watch Ultra wears significantly larger on my 6.5-inch wrist. This is not only due to the extra ~2 mm of thickness but also to its square case shape, which makes it roughly 3 mm wider than the Ultra 3. That said, the Apple is a little taller.

Ultimately, a slimmer, narrower case design would go a long way toward convincing me to consider the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 over the Apple Watch Ultra 3; shave off a little weight, and I’m even more sold.

2. Bump up battery life to three days or more

In full smartwatch mode (i.e., with no battery-saving options enabled), the Galaxy Watch Ultra lasts roughly two days per charge in our testing. The Apple Watch Ultra 3, on the other hand, lasts about 42 hours per charge, on average, just under the two-day mark.

For the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, Samsung would be wise to double down on its battery life advantage and push the advertised rating to three days or more per charge. After all, Apple Watch Ultra 4 rumors also hint at a potential battery life bump, though we don't know for certain if such a model will debut this fall or not.

3. Improve water resistance for diving

Whether you’re a hardcore watersport enthusiast or not, the fact that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is rated for scuba diving, with all sorts of tools to boot, definitely gives users some unique bragging rights.

Sadly, despite having the same 100-meter water-resistance rating, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is explicitly not designed for extended underwater use. This means deep-sea diving and even snorkeling are out of the question.

It also means that high-impact water sports, like water skiing or riding jet skis, are also ill-advised. Bummer!

There is, of course, only one way to correct course: Samsung needs the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 to be fully dive-ready, water-resistance-wise, while also including a set of comprehensive dive-friendly tools equal to or better than Apple's.

What are your thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2? Is there one feature or upgrade in particular you’re hoping for the most? Let me know in the poll or comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• 3 Apple Watch settings I always turn off to maximize battery life
• Leaked Apple Watch 12 design change is the opposite of an upgrade — and that has me worried
• I manually counted 5,000 steps to test the Apple Watch 11 vs Fitbit Air, and Apple wins the accuracy battle while offering superior elevation data

Most people buy an Apple Watch for two reasons: tracking exercise and checking notifications. But if that’s all you’re using it for, you’re only scratching the surface of what’s on your wrist.

Beneath the standard watchOS interface lies a powerhouse of hidden tools designed to save you time, streamline your daily routines, and even protect your peace of mind.

Here are five deeply underrated Apple Watch features that will fundamentally change how you use your wearable every single day.

More from Tom's Guide

• How to use Apple Watch hypertension alerts — the life-saving feature you need to turn on
• Get more from your Apple Watch — hidden Control Center features worth knowing
• 5 hidden settings that extend your Apple Watch's battery life

Google should capitalize on the recent success of the screen-free Fitbit Air fitness tracker and launch a Fitbit-branded smart ring to take on the Oura Ring 5, Samsung Galaxy Ring, and other major players in the space.

I review wearable tech for a living, and Google has never been in a more prime position to debut a finger-based holistic wearable to rival the best smart ring out there. Here are the three biggest reasons why.

1. Screen-free wearables are having a moment

The $99 Fitbit Air debuted just a few months ago to mostly positive reviews, including from me; I even picked it as one of the best fitness trackers in 2026. Not only that, I’m wearing one as I type this. That’s how much I dig Google’s latest tracker.

Moreover, Fitbit isn’t the only major tech brand doubling down on screenless wearables. Oura just refreshed its flagship model with the Oura Ring 5; Garmin is rumored to be imminently launching a Fitbit Air alternative, potentially called the Garmin Cirqa; and the Whoop 5.0 remains a super-popular tracker for hardcore and pro athletes.

IMHO, Google should take everything that makes the Fitbit Air great — the affordable price, comfortable design, solid battery life, easy-to-digest holistic insights, etc. — and reconfigure it into a smart ring.

The Fitbit Air already significantly undercuts the competition, Whoop, by a massive margin in terms of cost (an annual Whoop membership starts at $199). A Fitbit smart ring could potentially do the same versus Oura (the Oura Ring 5 starts at $499).

2. Google wearables are already subscription-optional, unlike the Oura Ring

Another major advantage Google has over both Oura and Whoop is a subscription-optional approach to health and fitness tracking. Take the Fitbit Air, for example: $99 gets you the device and access to all the tracker’s core holistic data via the Google Health app for no additional charge.

Want next-level AI-backed insights? Google Health Premium is optional at $9.99 per month or $99 per year. The premium service also includes access to “The Coach,” Google’s personalized AI trainer. Not sure if these insights/tools are right for you? Most Google wearables come with a free Premium subscription demo to try before you buy.

3. Fitbits work with Android and iOS, unlike the Galaxy Ring

This one applies less to the Oura Ring, which plays nicely with both Android and iOS devices. However, the Samsung Galaxy Ring — which is arguably the next-best smart ring to anything named Oura — is Android-only.

The fact that Fitbit wearables also work with both operating systems — and presumably, a Fitbit Ring would too — gives Google a potentially major advantage over Samsung in terms of acquiring new customers.

Then again, recent rumors suggest that a Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 is in the works, and that iPhone compatibility isn’t out of the question. That said, a refresh of the Galaxy Ring in 2026 seems unlikely, which is all the more reason for Google to roll out a Fitbit Ring sooner rather than later.

What do you think? Would you be interested in a Google/Fitbit Ring? Let me know in our poll below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Oura vs Whoop vs Fitbit Air — 5 questions to ask yourself before buying a screen-free fitness tracker
• Exclusive: Google design director says Fitbit Air reception proves they 'made the right decision' going screen-free
• I manually counted 5,000 steps to test the Apple Watch 11 vs Fitbit Air, and Apple wins the accuracy battle while offering superior elevation data

Apple makes some of the best smartwatches money can buy. However, battery life has never been the Apple Watch’s strong suit. The Series 11 lasts an average of 24 hours, the SE 3 lasts roughly 18 hours, and the Ultra 3 lasts about 42 hours per charge.

Looking to squeeze a little more juice? Apple’s low-power mode is one option. For example, on the Series 11, it can extend your battery life up to 38 hours per charge. The trade-off is that the handy features you paid for, like the always-on display and continuous heart rate monitoring, get disabled.

Rather than losing essential Apple Watch features, what follows are three settings you can change that won’t impact the user experience much but will noticeably improve your device’s battery life.

Best of all, you don’t need to own one of the best Apple Watches, i.e., the latest/greatest model. These battery life tips work for older models, too.

1. Turn off 'Background app refresh'

The apps on your Apple Watch are constantly updating and/or refreshing with new content behind the scenes, which can lead to faster-than-normal battery drain, especially if you have loads of third-party ones.

For example, an app like AP News pulls in updates throughout the day so that when you open it, you see the newest headlines. Switching off background app refresh means that you may need to wait a few seconds for the freshest news to appear, but that’s a worthwhile trade-off for improved battery performance as far as I'm concerned.

To switch background app refresh off, head to the settings menu > general, and scroll down.

2. Turn on 'Reduce motion'

Apple wants your experience operating the Apple Watch to be as smooth and seamless as possible. As a result, the user interface is chock-full of quick animations that make transitioning from one app to another, for example, a more visually appealing experience.

However, these animations are far from essential. Reduce motion switches them off, saving you battery. Moreover, I find the difference between motion on and off hardly noticeable, and I’m guessing you will too.

The reduced motion setting is located under the settings menu, followed by accessibility. Scroll about halfway down to toggle it.

3. Turn off 'Optimize charge limit'

Last but not least, to ensure I get the best possible battery life out of my Apple Watch, I always turn off the “optimize charge limit” setting. This feature is designed to prevent your smartwatch from overcharging, which should in turn extend its long-term battery life.

However, optimizing the charge limit also cuts off charging at 80%, which isn’t ideal. To turn off the optimize charge limit setting, head to the settings menu > battery > battery life.

One note of caution: If you take my advice and switch it off to get that extra 20% juice, get in the habit of keeping an eye on your Apple Watch while it recharges. Leaving it unattended on a charger, especially overnight, could result in the need for a premature battery replacement.

Moreover, while older smartwatches take a few hours to fully juice up, the latest generations recharge from 0% to 100% in about an hour... so no excuses.

What are your favorite Apple Watch battery-saving tips? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a smartwatch reviewer, and here's my Apple Watch Series 12 wish list — three upgrades I want, and one I don't
• Leaked Apple Watch 12 design change is the opposite of an upgrade — and that has me worried
• I manually counted 5,000 steps to test the Apple Watch 11 vs Fitbit Air, and Apple wins the accuracy battle while offering superior elevation data

Apple Watch Series 11 or Fitbit Air, which popular wearable is the more competent/reliable fitness tracker? I decided to find out by performing one of my renowned head-to-head walk tests.

For this showdown, I wore the Apple Watch 11 on my left wrist and the Fitbit Air on my right wrist for a 5,000-step walk around beautiful Seattle, Washington. How do I know it was 5,000 steps? I counted every darn one, with some assistance from my trusty tally counter (one click= 100 steps).

Now, if I were a betting man (I'm not), my money would be on the Series 11 to come out victorious. Not only is it one of the best smartwatches in 2026, but it's also four times the cost of the Fitbit Air: $399 vs $99.

Then again, the Fitbit Air may be affordable, but it's also one of the best fitness trackers in 2026. Not only that, when I pitted in a separate walk test versus the Apple Watch SE 3, the Air surprisingly came out victorious. Will this be a repeat win? Read on!

Apple Watch 11 vs Fitbit Air: tech compared

When it comes to wrist-based trackers, the Fitbit Air and Apple Watch 11 couldn't be more different. The former has no screens, buttons, or notifications, and lasts up to a week.

The Series 11, meanwhile, is a super-connected device, boasting a large, bright touchscreen, multiple physical buttons, and compatibility with a dizzying array of apps. That said, the Series 11 comes up short on battery life; 24 hours per charge is the norm.

Another major difference: the Fitbit Air has no onboard GPS for location tracking or altimeter for elevation data, so you need to carry a smartphone along when logging an outdoor workout. The Apple Watch 11, on the other wrist, has both GPS and an altimeter.

With that out of the way, let's move on to the results!

Apple Watch 11 vs Fitbit Air: Walk test results

Before we begin, it's worth noting that Strava appears to have had a "hiccup" while recording this walk test. How do I know? The app logged just 4,506 steps, which is a major red flag. Normally, Strava's step-count data is within 10-20 steps of my actual count. TLDR: Take Strava's distance, climb, and pace data with a grain of salt.

Anyhow, both the Apple Watch 11 and Fitbit Air performed admirably when it came to keeping an accurate tally of my steps — anything within ~150 steps of the control is considered excellent in my book — but the Apple Watch was just a little closer!

Distance data between the Apple Watch and Fitbit Air is similar enough for my liking. The Fitbit noted slightly more ground covered but also a faster pace, which checks out.

The Fitbit Air's elevation metric is concerningly inaccurate (this walk was particularly hill-heavy), which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, given the device can piggyback off of the iPhone 16 Plus's climb data. This also isn't the first time I experienced less-than-precise elevation tracking insights from the Fitbit Air; it was also way lower than expected versus the Apple Watch SE 3.

Fortunately, the Fitbit Air finishes strong: Heart rate data is a perfect match with the Apple Watch Series 11, a result I love to see. Meanwhile, the Air logged slightly more calories burned, but used way less battery during my ~42-minute stroll.

Apple Watch 11 vs Fitbit Air: Winner

Ultimately, the Apple Watch Series 11 wins this showdown of fitness tracking accuracy against the Fitbit Air, with a more precise total step count and climb data.

Which fitness trackers or smartwatches should I pit head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below. Also, which do you prefer, the Apple Watch 11 or the Fitbit Air? Share your opinion in the poll below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 3,000 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Garmin Forerunner 70 — and I’m seriously amazed by the results
• The Fitbit Air is basically just a screen-less Fitbit Inspire 3 — and that’s a very good thing
• Oura vs Whoop vs Fitbit Air — 5 questions to ask yourself before buying a screen-free fitness tracker

July officially kicks off what I like to call “the summer of smartwatch launches.” Samsung tends to get things started with a new slate of Galaxy Watches toward the end of the month, then Google answers with fresh Pixel Watches sometime in August, before Apple closes things out in early September with the latest Apple Watch debuts.

This schedule is, of course, not set in stone, but based on the recent past, it seems likely that the summer of 2026 will look a lot like 2025 and 2024, in terms of launch timing.

While an Apple Watch Ultra 4 and/or a replacement for the budget-friendly Apple Watch SE 3 are far from certain, we’ll almost certainly lay eyes on the Apple Watch Series 12 in just over two months. After all, Cupertino has shown off a new flagship Apple Watch series every single year for the past 11 straight years.

As a smartwatch reviewer with no shortage of Apple Watch 12 rumors to go off of, these are the three upgrades — that actually have a chance of coming to fruition — I’m hoping for most, plus one I desperately don’t want to happen.

Apple Watch 12 upgrade no.1: Touch ID

Punching in a passcode on the Apple Watch 11’s modest-sized display is a pain in the butt, which is why I keep the security feature turned off, even though I know better. One way to improve things? Add Touch ID support.

Not only would Touch ID make unlocking the smartwatch a breeze, but it could also be used to confirm purchases via Apple Pay and/or app downloads.

According to a report in Macworld, Touch ID on the Apple Watch Series 12 is a real possibility. Then again, separate leaks suggest that Face ID could also be in the cards. Both of these upgrades would require additional onboard hardware, in the form of either an under-the-display fingerprint scanner or front-facing camera. I'd ultimately be pleased with either.

Apple Watch 12 upgrade no.2: A brighter display

The Apple Watch Series 11 display maxes out at a respectable 2,000 nits of brightness, which is enough output to view the screen in most lighting conditions. However, both the Google Pixel Watch 4 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 boast displays with 3,000 nits of max brightness, and their successors might push that output even further.

To both stay competitive and to ensure optimal viewability, even when lounging on white sand beaches under clear blue skies, I’m hoping the Series 12 at least matches the screen brightness of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the above-mentioned watches, 3,000 nits.

Apple Watch 12 upgrade no.3: AI-powered Siri

It’s not even close: Google’s Gemini AI voice assistant for Pixel Watches and select Samsung Galaxy Watches is a zillion times better than the same-old Siri that’s been offered in every Apple Watch for more than a decade.

When I reviewed the Pixel Watch 4, I was genuinely impressed by the onboard AI assistant’s ability to answer genuinely complex questions with helpful, accurate replies.

Of course, we know Apple has partnered with Google to power Siri 2.0 with Gemini, and we've already had a taste of what that looks like on iPhone. The question is, will this be ready in time for the fall? I sure hope so, particularly if it debuts alongside a new dedicated gesture control to wake it, similar to Google's "raise to wake" gesture for Pixel Watch 4.

Apple Watch 12 — what I don’t want: A redesigned band system

One Apple Watch 12 “upgrade” rumor I’m hoping doesn’t come to pass, though it's been widely reported on, is a redesigned case with a new system for attaching straps. Apple has used the same band system ever since the original Apple Watch debuted.

One of the nicest things about upgrading from an older Apple Watch to a newer model is the ability to bring your band along with you, assuming you're sticking with a similar case size.

For example, I’ve got four or five favorite Apple Watch bands, and I’d be seriously annoyed if none of them worked on the Series 12.

Apple Watch Series 12: What do you want?

So, now that you know my three biggest Apple Watch Series 12 wishes, I’m curious to hear your thoughts. What are you most hoping to see in the next flagship Apple Watch model? Let me know in the comments or survey below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Your Samsung Galaxy Watch now supports blood pressure tracking — but it’s not the same as Apple’s Hypertension Alerts
• 5 reasons why I sometimes still wear a 'dumb' watch
• Snapdragon Reality Elite is here, and I’ve already tested it without realizing in Xreal’s Project Aura — its a giant step towards the future of smart glasses

Apple Watch rumors are a dime a dozen, so getting bent out of shape about one in particular isn’t advisable. Then again, the vast majority of Apple Watch leaks suggest positive improvements to Cupertino’s range of wearables, not potentially negative changes.

This is why one particular Apple Watch 12 rumor has me a bit, shall we say, perturbed, particularly as someone who’s invested heavily over the years in accessories for the best Apple Watch models, namely, a large collection of Apple Watch straps.

A new case design could mark the end of an era

Ever since the first Apple Watch launched over a decade ago, Apple has consistently used the same strap attachment system. Sure, it's proprietary, and an old-fashioned spring bar works just as well, but now, nearly eleven years later, many of us have acquired a sizable array of compatible bands.

I know I have my favorite Apple Watch straps, which I frequently shift between the Apple Watch Series 11, SE 3 and Ultra 3, depending on what I’m testing/writing about (I’m quite partial to the Nike Sport Loop).

Well, if a recent report from the known leaker Instant Digital proves to be true, Apple could be moving away from the strap attachment system we’ve all come to know and, well, tolerate. Such a move would surely irritate Apple Watch owners everywhere, myself included.

Apple is already in hot water with some smartwatch owners

With the recent debut of watchOS 27 beta, Cupertino has already thoroughly irked a wide swath of the Apple Watch faithful. Why? The next-gen operating system for the watch — which fully launches this fall — will only support the very latest Apple Watch models.

That list includes the Series 11, Series 10, Series 9, Ultra 3, Ultra 2, and SE 3. Basically, unless you purchased your Apple Watch in the past two to three years, you’re out of luck, software-wise.

Now owners of the Series 8, SE 2, Ultra, etc., have to decide whether to upgrade to a newer Apple Watch model or bail on the form-factor/move to a competitor like Garmin. What better way to convince them to stay than by making their existing collection of straps obsolete? Heck, Apple might as well introduce a newer charger while it's at it (Dear Apple: Please, don't).

What are your thoughts on Apple potentially switching to a new band attachment system for the Apple Watch Series 12 or Ultra 4? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 4: All the design, health, and battery life rumors so far
• The end of an era: Apple is quietly ditching one of its iconic Apple Watch features with watchOS 27
• I tested the $79 Amazfit Bip 6 vs the $249 Apple Watch SE 3 — and the cheaper smartwatch is a lot better than I thought

Cast your mind back to 2018. The world was pre-COVID, offices were things we actually went to, and I sat on a health desk not all too dissimilar to the one I’m at now, surrounded by colleagues dressed head to toe in athleisurewear. Naturally, we spent our entire day frantically Walkie-Talkie-ing each other from our Apple Watches like we were Navy SEALs on a high-stakes tactical mission, rather than people just asking who wanted a coffee.

The Walkie Talkie feature on the Apple Watch is one of the things I was most excited about when I unboxed my first watch. And while it’s a feature I barely ever touch eight years later, I’m nostalgic for this far simpler time, and bummed that Apple is killing off the Walkie Talkie with watchOS 27.

End of an era. Over.

Sure, it was a feature that rarely worked all that well, but it was still pretty neat. One Reddit user compared the removal of Walkie Talkie to Blockbuster shutting down, and I feel the same — it’s not really going to change my life, but I feel sad all the same.

The first developer beta of watchOS 27, which will roll out this fall, shows that the Walkie Talkie app has disappeared from both the app list and control center. Walkie Talkie launched with watchOS 5 back in 2018, and allowed users to send push-to-talk voice messages to one another over Wi-Fi or cellular. Unlike Walkie Talkies you played with at school, there was no distance limitations to the feature.

The app’s removal hasn’t been officially confirmed by Apple, but users running the first watchOS 27 beta have reported that Walkie Talkie is nowhere to be found, and there is no option to redownload it.

Of course, this might change before watchOS 27 officially launches later this year, but seeing as though Apple haven’t really touched the feature since watchOS 5, it seems more likely that this is just one that will quietly be removed. Over and out, Walkie Talkie, thanks for the memories.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 4: All the design, health, and battery life rumors so far
• I walked 4,500 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3 — and I'm surprised by the winner
• I tested the $79 Amazfit Bip 6 vs the $249 Apple Watch SE 3 — and the cheaper smartwatch is a lot better than I thought

Perimenopause — the transition leading up to menopause — remains one of the most significant gaps in modern medicine. For years, clinical criteria have focused on a woman’s bleeding cycle, rather than symptom patterns, but research shows that hormonal fluctations and neurological symptoms like anxiety, brain fog, and sleep disruption can occur years before a woman’s period becomes irregular.

Apple is striving to change this, adding menopause and perimenopause tracking to the Health app. Sitting under Cycle Tracking, users can track their symptoms and monitor their cycles. Many women don’t recognize they are in perimenopause, so with iOS 27, users aged 40 and over can receive a notification if a deviation in their logged cycle is suggestive of perimenopause. Users don’t need an Apple Watch to do this — they can use the Cycle Tracking feature on iPhone or iPad. There’s also a new Strong Through Menopause Fitness+ program designed to build strength, improve balance and mobility, and reduce stress.

I’ve been writing about the Apple Watch since before it could even track periods (a feature that was added in September 2019 for anyone wondering), so I was keen to sit down with Dr Lauren Cheung (Clinician at Apple) and Julz Arney (Senior Director of Fitness Technologies), to find out more about its new Women’s Health features.

Why the focus on perimenopause and menopause now?

Through its Health app, Apple has strived to support women through every stage of life. "For us, it's been really important to help users turn their health information into meaningful insights they can better understand and act on", explains Dr Cheung. "We believe everyone deserves powerful personalized health tools, and so we have a track record of focusing on health needs that have often been overlooked and building thoughtful solutions, whether that's for fall risk to hearing health, to heart rhythm notifications, and as you know, cycle tracking and women's health has been long, long been one of those areas of health that's been underserved."

"Cycle tracking is a feature that we design to grow with you from logging a first period to family building, to pregnancy, to ongoing health awareness, and what makes this powerful is that continuity", Dr Cheung tells me as we chat. "It's a system that offers the right tool at the right moment. With our newest updates, we're extending that continuity into a life stage that, as you know, probably affects roughly half the world's population, but again has historically been underresearched, misunderstood, and very often stigmatized, and that's perimenopause and menopause."

What's changing in the Health app in iOS 27?

Users can now log whether they're in perimenopause or menopause, they can track symptoms, and they can monitor their cycles over time. If you're over 40 and the Cycle Tracking app spots irregular or missed periods, users will get an alert that they might be in perimenopause.

There will also be new educational articles to help users understand the new changes.

There's also a new Apple Fitness Plus program, Strong Through Menopause, which is a progressive three-week program featuring weekly Yoga and Strength workouts designed to help users navigating perimenopause and menopause build strength, improve balance and mobility, and reduce stress

Jules Arney, Senior Director of Fitness Technologies, told Tom's Guide, "Staying active, it's one of the most powerful things you can do for your body and mind, especially during this transition, and we just really wanted to make sure we were showing up for users in this moment specifically. We've always believed that fitness should be accessible and welcoming for everyone, and so we looked at what users going through perimenopause and menopause actually mean."

"And what we landed on is that it isn't about performance metrics necessarily in this stage of life. It's about resilience and finding ways to protect your health and feel strong and really feel more like yourself through the journey."

How many consecutive months of cycle data are required before the health app triggers a perimenopause alert?

"We use a six-month window, and we look for essentially more than one abnormal occurrence," explains Dr Cheung.

Anyone tracking their cycle will know it's not abnormal to have one or two cycles that look a little different for several reasons, so Apple explained that this longer six-month period allows them to be more certain when it is something a user actually needs to pay attention to.

When I asked how the tool would be able to differentiate between perimenopausal irregularities and other causes of erratic periods, such as PCOS, Dr Cheung explained, "We are using the FIGO guidelines — that’s the Federation of International Obstetrician-Gynecologists, and they have definitions for irregular and infrequent menses. Anyone at any age can get one of those deviations for an irregular or infrequent period, but once users are over the age of 40, it is more likely that one of those deviations is likely due to perimenopause."

Research suggests that perimenopause can start as early as your late 30s, but Apple has decided to restrict these alerts to users aged 40 or over. Why, I asked Dr Cheung? "Women in their late 30s can develop perimenopause, but it is less common. For anyone under the age of 40, we think it's really important that they still treat this as something that they need to go and talk to their physician about to confirm that it isn't something else that might be causing it," she tells me.

How much does the tracking rely on the Apple Watch's wrist temperature tool vs manual logging?

"It is all based on manual logging," explains Dr Cheung. "However, what the temperature and heart rate data on Apple Watch do is improve the accuracy of our predictions. When someone uses temperature to better track and understand retrospective ovulation and their cycles in general, it improves the period predictions as well as the fertile window predictions," she adds.

At the rollout, the temperature sensor on the Apple Watch won't be able to record symptoms like night sweats and hot flashes; users will have to manually log these. Night sweats also won't be linked to the sleep tracking feature just yet, explains Dr Cheung. "They're not linked at this point, but what users can do is they can track symptoms in the cycle tracking room, including sleep changes, and then through the PDF, they can actually understand the symptoms they've logged in conjunction with the rest of their cycle and things like sleep changes and other symptoms that they have."

What’s unique about Strong Through Menopause compared to other Fitness+ programmes?

"What's unique about this program, compared to others that you might find in a general fitness routine, is that the trainers are going to talk about that pelvic floor activation and help you feel confident in movement, which hopefully will scale to other things that you want to do after this program," explains Arney.

"The trainers themselves, you know, are in this stage of life, and so it's just really relatable. Some of the things that are built in that you are so important to talk about are things like incontinence, which is a big blocker for people doing any kind of movement. It's not that they are harping on the subject, but you just feel this real sense of like we're all in this together because they understand it as well."

• Apple Watch Ultra 4: All the design, health, and battery life rumors so far
• I walked 4,500 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3 — and I'm surprised by the winner
• watchOS 27: All the new features coming to Apple Watch later this year

Apple’s overhauled, AI-powered Siri experience debuted at WWDC 2026, and best of all, it will be available on Apple Watch via the forthcoming watchOS 27 software. However, there’s a catch: Not all Apple Watch users will be able to access the latest release.

As a refresher, Apple teamed up with Google to help power its latest Apple Intelligence features, including Siri AI. The upgraded personal assistant promises a more conversational experience, with the ability to pull relevant information from compatible apps and a database of broad, timely world knowledge, to deliver a richer and more useful experience.

Here’s everything you need to know about support for Siri AI on Apple Watch via watchOS 27.

watchOS 27 support is limited to six models

Apple watches that will support WatchOS 27

• Apple Watch Series 11
• Apple Watch SE 3
• Apple Watch Ultra 3
• Apple Watch Series 10
• Apple Watch Ultra 2
• Apple Watch Series 9

While last year’s watchOS 26 software was supported by smartwatch models as old as 2020’s Apple Watch Series 6, watchOS 27 is compatible with a far smaller selection of models.

All of the 2025 Apple Watch models will be eligible to upgrade to watchOS 27, including the Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, and Apple Watch Ultra 3. The Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 are additionally supported.

And… that’s it.

It's unclear whether AI features also require the latest iPhone

When Apple first announced watchOS 27, the marketing materials suggested that, in addition to owning one of the best Apple Watch models, you’ll also need to ensure your smartwatch is paired with an Apple Intelligent capable iPhone (15 Pro, Pro Max, or newer) to access the wrist-based AI features.

However, updates to the watchOS 27 page now suggest that Apple's latest smartwatch software will work with any paired iPhone running iOS 27, including models as old as the iPhone 11.

watchOS 27 also brings these AI enhancements

In addition to Siri AI, watchOS 27 also unlocks all sorts of other useful AI-powered features, like a new Dynamic App Grid that auto-populates with your most-used apps, Call Context to display relevant information when mentioned during a phone conversation, and a smarter Smart Stack that automatically populates the Stack with useful apps based on context.

Plus, a new single-tap gesture control makes it even easier to open an app or information via the Smart Stack.

watchOS 27: Outlook

While I’m genuinely excited to take Siri AI for a spin, I’m equally annoyed by the platform's super-limited compatibility with older Apple Watch models. After all, shouldn’t a smartwatch like the Apple Watch Series 8, which isn’t even four years old, be supported by the latest operating system? I sure think so.

Ultimately, I’m hopeful (though not optimistic) that Cupertino will eventually roll out a separate version of watchOS 27 without all the AI features for folks with slightly older, yet still relevant, Apple Watch models.

What are your thoughts on watchOS 27 and the new Apple Watch AI features? Let me know in the poll or comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 4: All the design, health, and battery life rumors so far
• Apple Watch Series 12 rumors — everything we know so far
• I walked 4,500 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3 — and I'm surprised by the winner

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) just kicked off, and there's a lot to unpack, including all sorts of new Apple Watch features coming later this year via watchOS 27.

Many of these new features and enhancements are powered by Apple Intelligence, including a new Siri AI personal assistant. However, there are some noteworthy limitations to watchOS 27.

Here's everything you need to know about Apple's forthcoming Apple Watch operating system, watchOS 27, including all the upgrades, launch timeframe, and compatibility.

watchOS 27: Key upgrades

• Only six Apple Watch models will support watchOS 27: Apple Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3
• watchOS 27 delivers a more powerful Siri AI voice assistant
• A dedicated Siri AI app in watchOS 27 lets you access all conversations, even those started on another device
• A new single-tap gesture lets you open Smart Stack widgets
• Improved motivational guidance in Workout Buddy based on past and present fitness data
• Support for tracking perimenopause and menopause in the Health app
• New Dynamic App Grid for quick access to most-used apps
• Wallet app now supports custom passes for anything with a QR code; users can pin a pass to the Smart Stack for quick access

watchOS 27: Apple Watch compatibility and release date

While the latest iOS 27 software will be supported by a record number of iPhone models, going as far back as the iPhone 11, the newest watchOS 27 release is one of Apple's least compatible.

The following Apple Watch models will support watchOS 27: Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3.

While developers can access watchOS 27 starting this week, the rest of us will need to wait at least a month for the beta to drop. The full release, meanwhile, is set for the fall, when we'll likely see a new Apple Watch Series 12 and possibly an Apple Watch Ultra 4.

watchOS 27: Apple Intelligence updates

The most noteworthy new features introduced in watchOS 27 revolve around Apple Intelligence, which is now partially powered by Google's Gemini AI.

For starters, watchOS 27 will support a custom-tailored version of Siri AI designed for smaller screens. This long-awaited update to Apple's much-maligned voice assistant should prove far more useful than today's Siri.

Siri AI will use personal context from supported apps, along with broad world knowledge, to answer questions and take actions. Better yet, all your Siri AI chats are saved to iCloud and accessible on any supported device.

AI processing in watchOS 27 is handled by private cloud computing rather than on-device. Apple is emphasizing the fact that search queries are completely private, inaccessible even to Apple, and especially to third parties.

Users can call upon Siri AI via voice or access the feature via a new standalone app in the watch's redesigned app grid.

As noted above, you'll need one of the latest/best Apple Watch models to access all of these Apple Intelligence features in watchOS 27, but will you also need an Apple Intelligent-compatible iPhone?

When watchOS 27 was first announced, Apple's marketing materials suggested the answer was yes. However, it now appears that smartphones as old as the iPhone 11 will do.

watchOS 27: New health and fitness features

Not a whole lot has changed in terms of health and fitness features in watchOS 27. The two biggest improvements are related to women's health tracking and Workout Buddy.

First, the Apple Watch Health app's period tracking function now alerts users to potential signs of perimenopause and menopause. It can also be used to log symptoms and monitor trends.

When it comes to working out, Apple's personalized fitness coach, Workout Buddy, has been tuned to deliver more useful/data-backed motivational insights and messages based on insights from current and past workouts.

watchOS 27 also promises improved distance accuracy when tracking indoor workouts, along with better step count syncing between your Apple Watch and iPhone.

watchOS 27: Design improvements

For quicker access to your five most-used apps, watchOS 27 features a new Dynamic App Grid that automatically populates.

watchOS 27 additionally brings a smarter Smart Stack that automatically populates relevant apps based on context. Lastly, for those taking calls from the wrist, Apple's new Call Context feature for Apple Watch can automatically display relevant info when mentioned, like flight times for an upcoming trip.

Meanwhile, the Find My app has been refined visually for a more straightforward, map-centric user experience.

Finally, last year's Liquid Glass update didn't have that much impact on the look and feel of the Apple Watch. Nevertheless, watchOS 27 delivers some tweaks, including better separation between current apps or content and the background.

watchOS 27: Other upgrades

In addition to all of the above, watchOS 27 unlocks faster open times for the Music app, quicker step count syncing between Apple Watch and iPhone, new battery optimization suggestions, and a promising new single-tap gesture control to open items saved to the Smart Stack.

What do you think of the watchOS 27 announcements? Are you excited to upgrade, assuming you have a supported device? How do you feel about its limited compatibility? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 4: All the design, health, and battery life rumors so far
• I walked 4,500 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3 — and I'm surprised by the winner
• I tested the $79 Amazfit Bip 6 vs the $249 Apple Watch SE 3 — and the cheaper smartwatch is a lot better than I thought

Today is the day to lace up your best running shoes and get out for a run. Why? It's Global Running Day 2026, and if you happen to be wearing one of the best Apple Watches or best Garmin watches, you can earn yourself a special award.

This is a little extra incentive to notch up a run — whether it's outside or on one of the best treadmills at the gym — it all counts. And you get a nice digital souvenir to add to your collection. I personally love collecting Apple's limited edition badges, so if I can get out the door for a quick 5K today, I definitely will.

If you're a determined Apple or Garmin wearer (or you just want a little bit of extra motivation today), then you're going to want to know how to earn these limited edition trinkets.

The good news is that in both cases, it couldn't be any simpler.

An extra bonus from Strava and Runna

There's an added bonus up for grabs today if you happen to use Strava. Recording a run of 5K or more today will give you free access to Runna Premium for two weeks. Runna is our number one pick for the best running apps and a former Tom's Guide Fitness Awards winner.

The app offers a personalized training plan that uses AI to calibrate itself based on your workouts. As your performance increases, so does the plan. If you want to know more about how this works, check out our in-depth Runna review.

If you do decide to head out for a run, whether you want to attempt a PR or just grab one of the aforementioned awards, have fun. I'm coming back from an injury that prevented my marathon attempt this season, so it's slow going for me, but I still can't help wanting to earn those badges.

More from Tom's Guide

• The best treadmills I've tested with hundreds of indoor miles
• I tested the Garmin Forerunner 70 for two weeks — and it’s my favorite running watch for the money in 2026
• I'm a weightlifting coach — 3 exercises I prefer over lunges for building strong, stable legs and knees over 40

I tested the fitness tracking performance of the Apple Watch SE 3 vs the Fitbit Air while walking exactly 4,500 steps, and I'm surprised by the winner.

The Apple Watch SE 3 is Cupertino's latest entry-level, full-featured smartwatch and one of the best cheap smartwatches of 2026. The Fitbit Air, meanwhile, is a brand-new, diminutive, screen-free wearable and one of the best fitness trackers available right now.

Both devices track tons of workout types and deliver similarly detailed post-effort insights, but which one is more reliable? To find out, I walked 4,5000 steps while wearing the Apple Watch SE 3 on my left wrist and the Fitbit Air on my right. As a primary control for tracking accuracy, I manually counted my steps, noting every hundred taken with a click of my trusty tally counter.

I also logged my efforts using the Strava app on my iPhone 16 Plus as a control for distance, pace, and climb data. So, which wearable came out on top, the Fitbit Air or the Apple Watch SE 3? Read on.

Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3: fitness tracking accuracy compared

Before jumping into the results, it's worth noting some of the primary differences between these two popular wearables. For starters, the screen-less Fitbit Air is designed to be a distraction-free tracker with no notifications or smart features (except just one).

On the other hand, the Apple Watch SE 3 is essentially the opposite: an ultra-connected smartwatch that does much more, in terms of smart features, than just track health and fitness stats. The SE 3 is also considerably pricier than the Air, starting at $249 compared to $99 for the latest Fitbit.

Finally, the Apple Watch SE 3 sports onboard GPS for location tracking without a paired smartphone; the Fitbit Air does not. That said, when you do carry your smartphone while logging an outdoor workout with the Air, fitness tracking performance is excellent.

Now, on to the test results!

Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3: Walk test results

I logged exactly 4,500 steps (manual count) during my roughly 40-minute walk around a gloomy Seattle, Washington, including a climb up the city's steepest hill. And much to my delight, both wearables logged similar step counts that fall well within a reasonable margin of error; ultimately, any tally within 100 steps of my actual count is considered an impressive outcome.

However, while the Apple Watch SE 3 is just 37 steps of my actual total, the Fitbit Air is off by just 12 steps. Strava, meanwhile, bested them both, logging 4,502 steps.

Distance data is similarly enough across the board, with Fitbit Air proving slightly more in line with the control data. However, the Air's climb data leaves a lot to be desired. The SE 3, in contrast, noted just a bit more uphill effort than Strava.

Thanks to the gloom, I encountered little traffic, which meant that I didn't stop moving at any point during this walk. As a result, I expected my average pace to be pretty similar across the board, which it is. However, Apple's pace calculation is closer to the control than Fitbit's.

Similar to my prior walk test with the Fitbit Air vs Garmin Forerunner 70, the former's heart rate data is noticeably lower than the competition's. This is a somewhat odd result, given that the Fitbit Air's heart rate tracking performed admirably time and again during testing for the review, regardless of which wrist I wore it on.

One possible theory for the discrepancies: I didn't wear the Air tightly enough during my last two walk tests.

Fitbit Air vs Apple Watch SE 3: Winner

Despite the Apple Watch SE 3 costing 2.5x the Fitbit Air, Google's humble, screen-less fitness tracker wins this showdown. However, the SE 3 performed nearly as well when it comes to step count and was more accurate across the board for other key metrics.

Which fitness trackers, smartwatches, smart rings, etc. would you like me to test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 3,000 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Garmin Forerunner 70 — and I’m seriously amazed by the results
• The Fitbit Air is basically just a screen-less Fitbit Inspire 3 — and that’s a very good thing
• I spent one week with a wallet-friendly Garmin Forerunner 970 dupe — 5 things that stand out about the $300 cheaper Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro

When I started using my first Apple Watch to track my sleep, I thought I was doing everything I could to get the most accurate results possible; I always used the Apple Watch's vital settings for precise sleep data, for example. But I was completely oblivious to my bad Apple Watch habits that were secretly interfering with its accuracy.

As one of the best sleep trackers on the market, the Apple Watch offers key features that can boost your sleep. However, keeping your Apple Watch in top condition for optimal sleep tracking performance is all down to you.

I learned that the hard way, making little-known mistakes that I didn't realize were skewing my sleep tracker data — until I noticed some things that didn't add up. So, learn from my mistakes with this guide to avoiding bad lifestyle habits that get in the way of sleep tracking accuracy, plus how I'm keeping my Apple Watch in shape so it can live up to its potential.

• Read more: Experts explain why your Apple Watch tracks your wrist temperature during sleep — 5 key things it can tell you

5 Apple Watch habits to avoid for better sleep tracking accuracy

1. Not wearing your Apple Watch's band properly

Let's start with possibly the most common Apple Watch mistake: not checking the fit of the strap is right. Because while we all have comfort preferences, the wrong fit can impact your tracking data.

Your Apple Watch's strap should accommodate your wrist size, but an Apple Watch that fits too tight or too loose can impair the sensors' job.

According to Apple Support, you should wear the Apple Watch in a way that's "not too tight, not too loose, and with room for your skin to breathe."

Afraid that the watch would slip off in the night, I initially pulled my Apple Watch's strap so tight that it caused irritation. To fix this, I overcompensated by loosening the strap too much.

As a result of the loose fit, the Apple Watch's face (otherwise known as its monitor) started to slide down to my hand or to the bottom of my wrist — a huge problem as the sensors only work when it sits on the top of your wrist. Also, make sure your it's positioned above your wrist bone (towards your elbow rather than your hands).

Basically, the Apple Watch must maintain constant skin contact for accurate results, but not so tight that it causes discomfort or prevents your skin from breathing.

2. Charging my Apple Watch at the 11th hour

Now, it may seem obvious that your Apple Watch will need some juice to track sleep accurately (because it is obvious). But if you're anything like me, it's likely you have a habit of charging your devices at night while you sleep.

Nocturnal charging is all well and good for phones and laptops, but for accurate sleep tracking, it's not surprise you need your Apple Watch out of its charging nest and onto your wrist. The amount of times I've had to postpone my bedtime waiting for my Apple Watch to charge at the last minute is more than I care to admit.

To prevent the battery dying overnight, I've made charging the first step of my evening routine. Putting my Apple Watch on charge before I start my nighttime routine gives it enough time to gather the energy needed to track seven to nine hours of sleep.

Alternatively, set charging reminders on your phone to give you a nudge.

3. Forgetting to update

I allow my iPhone to automatically update while I sleep, as it's typically locked, connected to the WiFi and charging at this time. The Apple Watch needs the same settings to update — and I quickly discovered that it's not possible to automatically update overnight when it's strapped to your wrist.

I'm awful at remembering to update manually, and this can cause major issues. Software updates are important for accuracy: they improve the interpretation of sensor data, fix any bugs, and introduce new health metrics.

I now check my Apple Watch app's settings to see if there are any updates available and pay attention to my Apple Watch's reminders to install.

4. Forgetting to clean it after exercising

As it's more than just a sleep tracker, I often wear my Apple watch during the day; I love having it track my steps whenever I go for a walk.

However, daytime use can allow dirt, sweat, sun block, and natural body oils to accumulate on the back crystal, which Apple Support warns can impact sensor functionality.

When by chance I glanced at the back of my watch, I was surprised by how grubby it had become through everyday use.

To combat grime buildup, I follow Apple's cleaning advice: "Wipe your Apple Watch clean with a non-abrasive, lint-free cloth. If necessary, lightly dampen the cloth with fresh water."

5. Putting it on straight after showering or applying lotion

I'm a night shower-er — night showering is actually better for your sleep — and I often reach for my Apple Watch not long after stepping out of the shower.

But a build up of moisture and lotion can impact sensor readings, so putting my Apple Watch on a damp wrist covered in freshly-applied body lotion and lavender essential oil roll-on isn't a great idea.

I'm now in the habit of letting my skin absorb lotion for at least five to 10 minutes before donning my Apple Watch, to make sure my wrist is thoroughly dried. And I save my roll-on for my watch-free wrist.

3 good habits for Apple Watch sleep tracking accuracy

1. Cleaning weekly

You can make sure your sensors are clean enough to do their job properly by treating your Apple Watch to a once-a-week clean.

A quick wipe down with a lint-free cloth dipped in water is sufficient for day-to-day wear, but our guide on how to give your sleep tracker a 15-minute deep clean will have even the dirtiest Apple Watch performing better in no time.

2. Always keep it above a 30% battery

I mentioned before that forgetting to charge your Apple Watch is a major bad habit. However you may be wondering how much battery the Apple Watch needs to bring its sleep tracking a-game.

According to Apple Support, the bare minimum is 30%: "Make sure you charge your Apple Watch to at least 30% before bed with Sleep Tracking on Apple Watch enabled".

3. Try to wear it every night

And the most important Apple Watch habit of all? Consistency.

Wearing your Apple Watch every night (with a few skips when it's really not possible) helps your watch to establish a baseline for your normal metrics, allowing the watch to highlight any anomalies and to get to know your sleep patterns better.

As the first half of 2026 winds down, it feels as though Apple has been relatively quiet while we wait for the big Fall product releases. WWDC 2026 is right around the corner in June and as is often the case, it marks the shift between the barren Apple months and the fruitful ones.

With that in mind, based on rumors and leaks, I expect Apple to debut at least 15 new devices between now and the end of the year.

Some like the iPhone and Apple Watches are your typical annual updates (save the over-rumored iPhone Fold), and potential updates to the MacBook Pro lineup. Others, like Apple's long-awaited smart home lineup, all depend on whether Apple has finally figured out Siri 2.0.

All of these devices could give us an idea if the recently reported hardware shakeup is ready to bear fruit.

So, here are the 15 Apple devices we could see this year in order of potential release date.

iPhone 18 Pro models and iPhone Fold - September

On the whole, the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max probably won't be a big divergence from the iPhone 17 versions. A new color, a better chip, possibly a revamped Camera Control button and a smaller Dynamic Island are all on the table. Decent updates, but not terribly exciting.

The iPhone 18 is, we expect, a gap year until 2027's 20th anniversary iPhone, which could truly shake up the iPhone design.

However, the bigger news is that Apple is expected to split the iPhone 18 release with the Pro models this year and the iPhone 18, 18 Plus, and 18e launching in the new spring window next year.

If it launches, and there is debate about that, the iPhone Fold (or Ultra) will be the headline stealer as Apple finally steps into the foldable phones market.

The allegedly crease-free foldable could feature a squat 7.7-inch inner display that is reminiscent of an iPad mini. Apple is reportedly developing iOS 27 to be tailored for the folding iPhone. We'll most likely hear more about that at WWDC 2026, depending on how coy Apple wants to be.

Apple Watches - September

Unlike the iPhone 18 family, there has been a dearth of rumors regarding the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. They typically launch in September alongside the iPhone.

Here's what we know so far.

The Series 12 could feature new holistic sensor tech on the bottom of the watch, including a new eight-sensor array. If true, this could indicate that new health metrics might be coming to the Series 12, or at the very least, more accurate ones. The big change might be an overhauled Health app featuring an AI-powered, personalized wellness concierge.

Otherwise, it should be largely the same as the Series 11, though it might feature Touch ID, which has been disputed.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 may or may not launch this year, the rumors are unclear on this part. If not, we might see the Ultra 4 in 2027.

As for the design, rumors hint at a thinner case, fingerprint scanner and improved Hypertension Alerts. But that's about it for now.

iPads - September/October

The iPad mini is one of the best tablets available today and the eighth iteration could launch this year. Apple hasn't had a consistent release schedule for its tiny iPads, but most rumors suggest the iPad mini 8 could launch around October, maybe late September.

It's rumored to get the A20 Pro, the same chip as the iPhone 18 Pro series. It could also be the first iPad mini to feature an OLED display.

As for the larger entry-level iPad 12, it could launch this year with an A19 chipset. It's looking like it will be a simple refresh with Apple Intelligence features and possibly Apple's N1 wireless chip. Design-wise I expect it to look the same as its predecessor. Outside of that, I only have speculation on possible increases in RAM and storage but with the memory crisis, that may take a back seat.

OLED MacBook Pro M6 and other Macs - October

If they launch this year, I expect to see at least four Mac devices, most likely in October.

The most interesting one is the potential MacBook Pro M6 feature an OLED display.

• Mac Studio
• Mac mini
• iMac
• MacBook Pro M6

Beyond the MacBook, all of the other devices will likely just be chip upgrades going from their current versions to the M5 family.

The Pro model might get a new name the MacBook Ultra, which is meant to differentiate it from the MacBook Neo acting as an even higher-end counterpart to the Pro. It should feature an OLED display and the new M6 chipset.

The design should be similar to previous Pro models. The big upgrades will be the display with a touchscreen and the chipset.

Smart Home devices with a catch

Apple has been rumored to be developing its own suite of smart home devices, including the overhauled HomePod. This could come in the form of a new HomePod mini, a new HomePod 3 and the Home Hub.

The long-awaited Apple TV 4K set-top box update would be part of this update, with new features meant to connect it to your smart home. We're expecting Apple to kit out the next Apple TV with an upgraded chip, possibly an A17 Pro chip, though that rumor is nearly a year old now, so a potentially more powerful chip could be in the cards. The device could also get the N1 chip for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Here's the thing, though, this all depends on whether Apple has finally figured out Apple Intelligence and Siri. Using AI to control your smart home with your voice and other tools is supposed to be a main part of the experience. That promise could finally arrive with the Gemini-powered version of Siri that is supposed to launch this year.

Additionally, Apple may have a smart security camera and Face ID doorbell in the works. Apple was reportedly in the early stages of development of those at the end of 2024, but it's not clear where Apple is regarding that now.

If Apple finally reveals the new HomePod and other smart home devices, it likely won't happen until after Siri 2.0 actually launches this fall.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 5,500 steps with the Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70 — and the results surprised me
• Apple fixed the single most frustrating thing about browsing on iPhone — you just have to turn it on
• Oura Ring vs Apple Watch: I wore both to bed for over a year, but there's only one I rely on for sleep tracking

Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70: which is the better smartwatch for fitness tracking? Both devices start at $249, and even though the SE 3 has more smart features and the Forerunner 70 has more training tools for runners, when it comes to basic fitness tracking chops, the two are pretty evenly matched.

So, to determine which smartwatch is best, I tracked a 5,500-step walk with one device on either wrist while manually counting my steps as my primary control. As a control for climb, pace, and distance, I also logged the walk using the Strava app on my iPhone 16 Plus.

Which smartwatch, the Apple Watch SE 3 or Garmin Forerunner 70, aligned more closely with the control data? Read on.

I walked 5,000 steps with the Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70

While the Garmin Forerunner just arrived this month and is currently being reviewed, the SE 3 debuted last fall and is already considered one of the best budget smartwatches of 2026. Moreover, I’ve already had the chance to compare its fitness-tracking abilities head-to-head with the competition.

For example, and much to my surprise, when I tested the Apple Watch SE 3 vs the Series 11, a more premium device, the former proved (slightly) more accurate. Of course, that’s just one test. However, when I pitted the SE 3 vs the Amazfit Active Max, Apple’s entry-level watch again came out on top.

Does the trend continue when the Apple Watch SE 3 goes up against the newer Garmin Forerunner 70? Find the results of my 5,500-step walk test below.

Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70: Test results

Honestly, there's no real surprises here: Both the Apple Watch SE 3 and Garmin Forerunner 70 produced remarkably accurate totals, each within one hundred steps of my manual count. By comparison, Strava noted 5,518 total steps during the duration of my roughly 50-minute walk.

Distance data is consistent enough for my liking across the board. Apple's elevation gain data — this was on a hilly walk — appears slightly inflated compared to Strava, but it's still within the ballpark of acceptable.

The Garmin Forerunner 70, meanwhile, appears to have significantly undercounted my upward efforts. This is likely because the device lacks an onboard barometric altimeter for tracking changes in elevation with precision. The SE 3 sports this valuable piece of tech, as do most modern smartphones.

Strava and Garmin report your average moving pace (shown above) and average elapsed pace for outdoor workouts like walks, runs, and hikes. Apple, meanwhile, only offers one pace metric and doesn't specify which, though I suspect it's the latter. As a result, pace data from even the best Apple Watch models tends to be a tad more sluggish than the competition, as is the case here.

The SE 3 calculated a slightly higher average heart rate, but both smartwatches noted roughly the same maximum. Calorie data is also pretty similar, with the Apple Watch reporting a bit more effort; a sensible conclusion given its higher average heart rate.

Apple Watch SE 3 vs Garmin Forerunner 70: Winner

Going on step count alone, the Apple Watch SE 3 undercounted by 66 steps, while the Garmin Forerunner 70 overcounted by just 28 steps. This makes Garmin's new entry-level running watch the official winner of this Apple versus Garmin showdown.

That said, Apple's distance, and more notably, elevation data lines up better with the control data than Garmin's.

Ultimately, both watches performed remarkably well, but if you're choosing between the two and tend to run/walk/hike in hilly locations, then the SE 3 will almost certainly be a better choice than the Forerunner 70 thanks to its onboard altimeter.

More from Tom's Guide

• I’ve been wearing the new Fitbit Air all week — 3 reasons why I’m obsessed with this $99 tracker
• 7 hidden Apple Watch features I swear by
• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is easily one of the best smartwatch models in 2026 and Apple’s best smartwatch for battery life, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from churning out potential Apple Watch Ultra 4 upgrades. In fact, a new Ultra model could debut as soon as this fall.

I’ve been tracking all Apple Watch Ultra 4 rumors ever since the arrival of the Ultra 3 last fall, and there are quite a few juicy ones to chew on, including hints of a massive redesign, new health tech, and even better battery performance.

Here’s everything we think we know about the Apple Watch Ultra 4, so far.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Possible price and launch date

The lapse between Apple Watch Ultra refreshes varies from one to two years, which means an Ultra 4 could debut this fall… or it might not arrive until fall 2027.

In terms of price, Cupertino has kept the cost of the Ultra series consistent ever since the first model debuted in 2022. Unfortunately, given inflation — $799 in 2022 is roughly equivalent to $885 in 2026 dollars — there’s a good chance we will see some sort of price hike for the Ultra 4, in my humble opinion.

Pricier smartwatches aren't unprecedented either: Garmin sells numerous models that cost more than the Ultra 3, including the excellent Garmin Fenix 8.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Design rumors

The Apple Watch Ultra case design has remained essentially the same, going back to the first model. Could a major redesign be on the horizon? According to a report from Digitimes, it’s totally possible!

What might that entail? Rumors suggest a thinner case, at the very least, while a deep dive done by 9to5Mac hints at the possible addition of a fingerprint scanner on the Ultra 4 as an alternative to passcodes to lock your device.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Possible health upgrades

Significant health tracking upgrades are also rumored for the Apple Watch Ultra 4, including new and improved high blood pressure monitoring tech, according to a report in Digitimes.

Like Hypertension Alerts on the Ultra 3, this new bit of tech is rumored to use the optical heart rate sensor to track how your blood vessels react to individual heartbeats. Presumably, it will do so with better accuracy than currently available, but it’s unlikely that it will be able to provide a numeric blood pressure reading like a traditional cuff.

It also doesn’t seem likely that non-invasive blood glucose monitoring — a holy grail for the wearables industry — will be ready in time for the Ultra 4’s launch, but we know Apple is hard at work on such a feature.

Digitimes also reports that the number of sensors in the Ultra 4 will be double that of the Ultra 3, but we don’t know whether that refers to holistic sensors, fingerprint reading sensors, or both.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Battery life predictions

Battery consumption improvements are always welcomed. Unfortunately, the jump in battery life from the Apple Watch Ultra 2 to the Ultra 3 was pretty minimal: 36 hours vs 42 hours. Might the Ultra 4 boast even better longevity?

Here’s hoping. While little is known about the physical battery in the forthcoming watch, the Digitimes report suggests that the new device will see at least modest improvements in power efficiency, which could potentially lead to substantial longevity gains… or not.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Outlook

It’s worth reiterating that an Apple Watch Ultra 4 debut for 2026 is far from certain. However, when the watch does eventually debut, all signs point to it being a pretty significant upgrade over prior models, with potentially a new design, more health sensors, improved heart health tracking, a fingerprint reader, and better battery performance.

The million-dollar question is, will the Apple Watch Ultra 4 cost more than the Ultra, Ultra 2, and Ultra 3? Only time will tell.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Series 12 rumors — everything we know so far
• 10 Apple Watch innovations that changed the game — from Fall Detection to Hypertension Alerts
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for

If you’re an Apple Watch wearer, the Health app on your iPhone holds an encyclopedia of (encrypted) data about your overall fitness and wellbeing. From predicting the exact day you ovulate and the time you spend in different stages of sleep, to allowing you to log your daily mood, spending five minutes a day in the Health app can help you spot patterns and trends in your health, and download anything unusual to send to your doctor.

I’ve worn an Apple Watch for the better part of the last decade, but like most people, a lot of the data my watch has been collecting has gone unnoticed. I recently spent some time diving into the Health app, and one big one that passed me by is my cardiovascular fitness level.

Cardiovascular fitness, measured as VO2 max, is widely considered to be the most important predictor of long-term health. Cardio fitness is often viewed as a clinical vital sign, much like your blood pressure or your heart rate, and if you’re an Apple Watch wearer, you can see at a glance how you’re tracking over time, and compared to your peers. Read on to learn more.

Why is cardiovascular fitness important?

Cardio fitness is a strong indicator of your overall health. Individuals who have “high” levels of aerobic fitness for their age group are found to have a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality than those in the “low” and “below average” groups.

Cardiovascular fitness is measured using a metric called VO2 Max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can consume during exercise. A higher VO2 max puts you at a lower risk of metabolic diseases, such as Type 2 Diabetes.

Many wearables track your cardiovascular fitness, including the best Garmin running watches and the Oura Ring 4. The Apple Watch gives you an estimate of your cardio fitness levels by looking at the data collected on outdoor walks, outdoor runs, or hiking workouts. Using the Apple Health app, you can then see if your cardio fitness levels are high or low for your age and sex, and how they are trending over time.

Even if you’re not training for a race, cardiovascular fitness is a great indicator of how well you’re aging. After the age of 30, your VO2 max typically declines at a rate of approximately 10% per decade. Keeping an eye on your cardiovascular fitness today can help you address how active and fit you are later in life.

How to find your cardiovascular fitness on the Apple Health app

Here’s how to find your cardiovascular fitness. Your Apple Watch gives you a cardio fitness estimate by measuring how hard your heart is working during outdoor workouts in the Workout app, such as: Outdoor Walk, Outdoor Run, Hiking. Indoor workouts, including ones that require gym equipment, do not count towards your cardio fitness estimate.

All Apple Watches can estimate your VO2 max using the heart and motion sensors during outdoor activities. It’ll also take into account your age, sex, weight, height, and medications that might affect your heart rate, so make sure all of this information is up to date in the app for the most accurate readings.

Your Health app will notify you if your cardio fitness levels are low for your age and sex. On the app, you can see your overall cardio fitness trends, as well as all of the workouts that Apple has used to collect the data.

Here’s how to do it:

• Open the Health app on your iPhone or iPad.
• If you’re on your iPhone, tap Search in the bottom right corner. If you’re on your iPad, tap sidebar to open the sidebar.
• Tap Heart, then tap Cardio Fitness.
• Tap D, W, M, 6M or Y to view your average for the day, week, month, 6 months or year.
• Tap Show All Cardio Fitness Levels.
• Tap a cardio fitness level to compare your results to other levels based on your age and sex
• You can also pin your Cardio Fitness to your Health home screen, so you can see your results without having to search.

To increase your cardio fitness, increase the intensity and frequency of cardiovascular workouts. This could be walking, running, swimming or cycling. Remember that certain conditions or medications that affect your heart rate may alter your VO2 max readings. If you are concerned, always seek advice from a doctor or medical professional.

More from Tom's Guide

• Not the Fenix 9 — this is the new Garmin watch I want to see in 2026
• Coros Pace 4 vs Coros Pace 3 vs Coros Pace Pro: Which is the best Coros watch for you?
• Garmin Fenix 8 vs. Garmin Fenix 8 Pro: should you upgrade?

Despite previous rumors don't expect Touch ID on any of the best Apple Watch models anytime soon. The latest rumor suggests Apple isn't even considering it as an option in favor of other features.

The leak comes from regular Apple tipster Instant Digital on Weibo where they claim that rumors about Apple adding "biometric authentication" on Watches and other wearables devices are "completely false" (machine translated).

"Apple's focus is on packing larger batteries and developing more advanced health sensors," Instant Digital wrote.

Touch ID would apparently take up too much space and would both increase costs and reduce the space available for the battery. This directly contradicts a rumor from last August.

At the time, code found by Macworld suggested that Touch ID was in the works for the Apple Watch Series 12 or Apple Watch Ultra 4. The fingerprint sensor would be underneath the display or integrated into a side button, ala the iPad mini or iPad Air.

At the moment, it's rumored that Apple won't introduce a big redesign for the Series 12. Instead, many of the latest rumors hint at a new suite of holistic sensor tech.

The big new feature may be a massive overhaul of the Health app. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that Apple is developing an AI-powered, personalized wellness concierge. It would presumably bring all of your health, fitness and medical data under a single app.

We won't know for sure until the Apple Watch Series 12 launches, likely in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro. However, new AI features might be announced at WWDC 2026 which kicks off in June.

More from Tom's Guide

• 'If you're an Apple fan, this is you in the future': iPhone Fold mockup gives us in-depth look at Apple's first foldable iPhone
• iPhone 20 leak reveals 7 ‘jaw-dropping’ features for the 20th anniversary model
• macOS 27 set to launch with three huge new features — and no, Apple’s not killing Liquid Glass at WWDC 2026

Can the $79 Amazfit Bip 6 smartwatch compete with the $249 Apple Watch SE 3, one of the best entry-level smartwatches available in 2026?

I've tested both models and, to answer that question, I've compared the Apple Watch SE 3 and the Amazfit Bip 6 across seven categories: price, design, display, fitness and health tracking, safety tools, smart features, and battery life. At the end, I declare an overall winner, and the Amazfit holds its own, especially when it comes to health and fitness features.

Specs compared

But first, let's compare specs...

1. Price

The Apple Watch SE 3 comes in two sizes, 40mm and 44mm, and with or without 5G connectivity (data plan required). The 40mm SE 3 starts at $249, while the 44mm starts at $279; add $50 to the cost of either for cellular.

The Amazfit Bip 6 comes in one size, 45mm, and without cellular connectivity for $79.

Winner: Amazfit Bip 6

2. Design

The Amazfit Bip 6 is a tad heavier than the 40mm Apple Watch SE 3 but a little lighter than the 44mm model; either way, both devices feel comfortable and and not burdensome on the wrist.

While the Amazfit Bip 6 case is made from a mix of aluminum alloy and plastic, the SE 3 is fully aluminum alloy, giving it a more premium and robust feel. That said, both watches boast a respectable 50 meters of water resistance.

You get two physical controls along the side of either mode. On the Bip 6, that's two buttons; on the SE 3, you get a button and Apple's digital crown, which can be both turned and pressed. Ultimately, I much prefer the tactile response and design of the SE 34's physical controls to that of the Bip 6.

Winner: Apple Watch SE 3.

3. Display

The 40mm SE 3 sports a 1.57-inch display while the 44mm model boasts a 1.78-inch screen, both OLED with a max brightness of 1,000 nits.

The display on the Amazfit Bip 6 is a slightly larger 1.97-inch AMOLED affair with twice the maximum brightness, 2,000 nits, making it easier to view in direct sunlight.

Winner: Amazfit Bip 6

4. Fitness and heath

The Amazfit Bip 6 boasts health tech you won't find on the Apple Watch SE 3, namely an onboard blood oxygen saturation sensor (SpO2), but aside from that, Apple's health and fitness tracking has consistently proven slightly more accurate than Amazfit's in my testing.

For example, though I haven't directly tested the SE 3 vs the Bip 6, Apple's entry-level watch proved more accurate than the newer, higher-end $169 Amazfit Active Max when I recently pitted the two head-to-head in a 7,500-step walk test.

Both the Bip 6 and SE 3 track sleep and present users with morning reports full of insights into total sleep time, sleep cycles, heart rate, and disturbances. The SE 3 provides users with a daily sleep score based on a scale from one to 100, while the Bip 6 offers a readiness score on the same scale.

You get workout auto-dection with continuous heart rate monitoring and GPS-based location tracking for outdoor workouts with either watch; you also get insights into your heart rate variability.

Similarly, the SE 3 and Bip 6 each track most common workout types, but the Amazfit takes things a step further, covering 140+ activities, including a whole bunch of nuanced ones, like shuttlecock, indoor surfing, frisbee, and even checkers, to name a few.

Winner: Draw

5. Smart features

This one isn't even close, assuming you're using an iPhone versus an Android device. While the Amazfit Bip 6 can mirror smartphone notifications from either smartphone type, the Apple Watch SE 3 is jam-packed with native smart features and apps that make the Amazfit feel downright rudimentary.

These include not only access to the world's largest third-party smartwatch app store but a wide selection of handy native apps, including Apple's Notes and Voice Memo apps, Apple Maps for navigation, Walkie-Talkie mode for quick communication, NFC for mobile payments, global tide tracking, on-wrist translations, and so much more.

The SE 3 also has an onboard microphone and speaker for taking calls from the wrist. And if you opt for the 5G-capable model, you can even take and receive calls sans smartphone

Winner: Apple Watch SE 3

6. Safety features

The Apple Watch SE 3 also beats the Amazfit Bip 6 handily when it comes to safety features. While the Bip 6 offers some health-related wellness monitoring tools, like irregular and high/low heart notifications, Apple's best budget smartwatch takes things a mega step forward.

Safety tools on the SE 3 include Apple's excellent Check In safety feature, which allows loved ones to keep tabs on your location in real time with just a few taps of the screen, fall and crash detection, emergency SOS, and compass backtrack to help you avoid getting lost.

Winner: Apple Watch SE 3

7. Battery life

Full-featured smartwatches rarely can compete with fitness/health-centric models, and when it comes to the Apple Watch SE 3 versus the Amazfit Bip 6, the former falls way short.

The Apple Watch SE 3 is Cupertino's poorest-performing smartwatch when it comes to battery life, lasting just 18 hours per charge in normal conditions (32 hours in low power mode). If you're using the onboard GPS to track an outdoor workout, the SE 3 gets between six and seven hours of battery per charge.

The Amazfit Bip 6, meanwhile, lasts for up to two weeks per charge, and can track an outdoor workout with onboard GPS for up to an impressive 32 hours per charge.

Winner: Amazfit Bip 6

Verdict

While the Apple Watch SE 3 starts at more than three times the cost of the Amazfit Bip 6, there's still a lot of solid reasons to choose it over its cheaper dopalganger. Even if you don't opt for the 5G-capable SE 3, the device still offers way more smart features and significantly better safety tools — all in a better-built package than the Bip 6.

On the flip side, if health and fitness tracking chops are your primary focus and you don't care about smarts beyond mirrored smartphone notifications, the Bip 6 is a reliable workout tracker with comparable post-effort insights to the SE 3. Precision may not be quite as good, but it does sport onboard GPS, allowing you to track outdoor adventures sans paired smartphone. Plus, the Bip 6's battery life blows the SE 3 out of the water, and its screen is brighter.

Overall winner: Apple Watch SE 3

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch SE 3 — 6 reasons to buy Apple's new entry-level watch (and 2 reasons to skip)
• 5 reasons why the Apple Watch SE 3 is the smartwatch I recommend most
• Garmin Forerunner 165 vs Apple Watch SE 3: Which entry-level smartwatch wins?

Apple has launched a new Apple Watch Sport Loop band and watch face to celebrate Pride Month, and if you’re signed up to get Beta updates on your watch, you can try the Pride Luminance face right now.

I’ve been using it on my Apple Watch Ultra 3, and it’s a great new watch face, both in terms of the design and the amount of customization available.

As you’d expect from a Pride watch face, it’s extremely bright and colorful, and if you’re a fan of the Luminance face, you can get matching wallpaper designs on your iPhone and iPad.

Apple Watch Pride Luminance face: what you need to know

The new Pride Luminance face is more customizable than you might expect, because you can pick the colors used to make up the pattern, rather than just selecting from a preset list.

Before you do that, though, you have to choose whether you want the pattern to be full screen or used in a circle in the center of the face, which then allows you to pick four complications to go in the corners around it.

If you go for the full-screen pattern, which I think does look better to me, you don’t get any complications.

Then you have to pick the style, opting for either a radial pattern or a vertical one with stripes of color.

Finally, you choose the colors used in the pattern, either selecting up to three yourself, or using one of the preset options, which include several rainbow patterns to celebrate Pride month.

Why the Pride Luminance face is my new go-to

I’m a sucker for a colorful Apple Watch face, and there are several rainbow options in the preset list I’d be happy to go for, but being able to choose three colors myself is even better, and I have a teal and blue setup for now.

I prefer the radial pattern for the watch face, especially because it then has lines indicating every five minutes, making it easier to get the exact time at a glance, but the vertical pattern is also very easy on the eye.

I’ve gone for the full screen face as my main option, but I also have a face set up with the circular option for when I do want easy access to info like battery life, weather, and my activity stats.

My usual watch faces up until now are the data-rich Modular Ultra and the simple Flux face, but the color Pride Luminance is definitely another I’ll be using regularly going forward.

The Pride Luminance watch face will be available to all when the final version of watchOS 26.5 rolls out in the coming weeks, but you can access it now if you’re signed up for Beta updates in the Watch app — you can do this in the Software Update section under General in Settings.

More from Tom's Guide

• Not the Fenix 9 — this is the new Garmin watch I want to see in 2026
• Coros Pace 4 vs Coros Pace 3 vs Coros Pace Pro: Which is the best Coros watch for you?
• Garmin Fenix 8 vs. Garmin Fenix 8 Pro: should you upgrade?

As an avid runner who’s used every model of the Apple Watch over the years, the day the Apple Watch Ultra launched was a very happy one, and there’s one big, orange reason for that.

The Action button meant it was finally easy to take laps, or 'mark segments', using the watch during runs, without having to use a tricky combination of two buttons or tapping the screen. I use the lap button regularly in my structured training, almost every day in fact, so the Apple Watch Ultra removed a minor but persistent frustration I had with the Series models.

However, I still had one problem with the Action button, which is that in the standard orientation of the Apple Watch Ultra, with the Action button on the left, it felt somehow… wrong.

All of the best running watches I’ve tested have the lap button on the right side, and so I’d automatically go to that side to take a lap.

With the Apple Watch Ultra, you go left, and the natural way to press the button involves putting your finger and thumb on the watch, with the result I sometimes pressed the side button at the same time and paused my workout at the exact moment I started to speed up for a fast segment.

That’s my fault, of course, and over time you can get used to any watch’s orientation, but the good thing with the Apple Watch Ultra is that you don’t have to!

I switched the orientation on my Apple Watch Ultra 3, and now the Action button is on the right, making it easier to press the button without also hitting the side button.

How to change the Apple Watch Ultra’s orientation

It takes seconds to switch up the Apple Watch Ultra’s orientation, which you can do in the settings section of the watch.

• Open the Settings app and go to General
• Select Orientation
• Tick the wrist you wear the watch on
• Tick Left for the position of the Digital Crown

Your screen will then flip upside down and you’ll have to switch your band around to wear the watch the right way up on your wrist, with the Action button now on the right side of the watch.

Why I prefer this orientation on the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Once you’ve made the shift, it takes a day or two to get used to having the crown on the left for general use of the watch, and I found I used the touchscreen a lot more with my index finger.

The main benefit is having the Action/lap button in the right place for me during workouts. No more errant pauses, and even when starting a workout with the Action button, it feels ‘right’ to have it on the right of the watch.

If you’re making the move to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 from a Garmin or other sports watch, this will also make life easier, since muscle memory will have you going to the right of the watch to take a lap.

One other benefit is that sometimes I would hit the digital crown of the watch with my wrist when it was on the right side of the watch, a problem that no longer exists with this new orientation.

Once you make the move, I doubt you'll go back to the classic Apple Watch Ultra orientation. It just makes life easier to have it set up this way.

More from Tom's Guide

• Not the Fenix 9 — this is the new Garmin watch I want to see in 2026
• Coros Pace 4 vs Coros Pace 3 vs Coros Pace Pro: Which is the best Coros watch for you?
• Garmin Fenix 8 vs. Garmin Fenix 8 Pro: should you upgrade?

If you’re a committed collector of Apple Watch badges, then you’ll know that there’s always a special award available on Earth Day, which you can only earn on the day itself.

Earth Day falls on Wednesday, 22 April this year, so if you want to get hold of the limited edition badge, you need to get moving today, or you’ll miss out.

The first Earth Day badge was made available in 2017, so if you’ve been diligently collecting them each year since then, you definitely don’t want to miss out on 2026’s award.

My own record with the badge is disappointingly spotty — I’ve earned 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023’s badges, but missed out on the others.

How to get the Apple Watch Earth Day 2026 badge

Earning the Earth Day badge is simple — you just have to get active for 30 minutes on the day and record it with your Apple Watch.

You can do this either in the native Workout app or using any app that syncs the workout over to Apple Health — my favorite Apple Watch running app is WorkOutDoors, for example.

Once you’ve recorded the workout, you’ll be rewarded with the Earth Day 2026 badge in the Fitness app, and you’ll also receive some special edition stickers to use in the iMessage app.

If you don’t see the badge and stickers after completing your workout, make sure you synced the info with your iPhone, then try restarting your watch and phone.

Dance your way to another limited edition badge on 29 April

Seven days after you get active on Earth Day, you have the chance to earn another limited edition Apple Watch badge, and this time you’ll have to dance to get it.

You can earn the International Dance Day 2026 award by recording a dance workout with your Apple Watch.

The workout must be 20 minutes long and can be recorded with any app that syncs with Apple Health. Just make sure you record it all in one workout – you can pause and resume, but don’t end the session before 20 minutes is up.

More from Tom's Guide

• Garmin Forerunner 165 vs Apple Watch SE 3: Which entry-level smartwatch wins?
• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for

The US International Trade Commission has ended the long-running dispute over blood oxygen monitoring on the Apple Watch. Apple has been in legal hot water with rival Masimo, which claimed to own the patents behind the tech, since it added blood oxygen monitoring to the Apple Watch Series 6 in 2020. The smaller company accused Apple of stealing trade secrets to build the health feature.

Apple managed to have all but two of the 17 patents invalidated in September 2023, but despite that, in December 2023, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) upheld a ruling stating that Apple violated Masimo’s patent, which partially halted sales of the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.

In January 2024, Apple began selling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 without the blood oxygen sensor, a policy that remained the norm until August 2025. Apple’s next workaround bypassed the ban by using devices sold in the US to track blood oxygen levels to collect raw data, but all calculations and reporting would be shifted to the iPhone. This meant devices sold in the US worked a little different to models sold in other countries, where the SpO2 readings can be displayed on the watch itself.

Masimo then sued US Customs for clearing the Apple Watch blood oxygen feature. In a ruling dated April 17, 2026, the ITC formally said that it will not review any further petitions from Masimo.

What does this mean for Apple Watch wearers?

The ruling terminates the case, which means Apple can now sell models with a redesigned blood oxygen sensor in the United States. It’s not clear whether Apple will roll out an update to allow existing Apple Watch wearers to see SpO2 readings on their devices themselves, or whether this ruling will only change future devices on sale in the US.

More from Tom's Guide

• "The next significant wave of consumer technology is not about the phone. It is about AI": industry reacts to John Ternus taking over as Apple CEO
• iPhone 18 Pro colors just leaked — here’s what to expect
• Reese Witherspoon is right — women can’t ignore AI anymore

I biked around Seattle’s most famous glacial lake this weekend, a roughly 11-mile ride past houseboats, seaplane docks, gleaming corporate tech offices, rusting industrial remains, and grunge-era strip malls. The big finish is a captivating yet challenging 200-foot ascent that twists and turns for 1.5 miles through a towering, emerald-encrusted innercity forest.

To log my journey, I recorded a biking workout on the Apple Watch Ultra 3 using Apple’s native Workout app and on my handlebar-mounted iPhone 16 Plus using the Strava app. After comparing the data from each post-workout report, these are the five biggest takeaways.

1. Both apps recorded similar distances

Give or take a tenth of a mile, both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 running the Apple Workout app and the iPhone 16 Plus running the Strava app noted similar total distances for my Sunday bike ride, just shy of 11 miles.

It's worth noting that the Apple Watch Ultra 3, unlike some older models, doesn't piggyback off your iPhone's location or elevation data while tracking a workout.

2. Strava noted faster speeds overall

This isn't the first time Strava calculated not just a faster maximum speed for a bike ride against Apple's Workout app, but also a faster average speed. When I biked 12 miles last fall with the Apple Watch Series 10 versus the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, using Strava as my control, the Apple Watch similarly had slower speed data than the other methods.

The results were also similar when I cycled 11 miles with the Apple Watch 10 versus the Garmin Forerunner 570 and Strava.

3. Apple and Strava measured nearly the same exact climb data

When it comes to elevation gain, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 running Apple's Workout app noted nearly the same exact total as Strava running on the iPhone 16 Plus.

This is a particularly refreshing result, as climb data is one of the primary metrics I use to assess the difficulties of my rides through Seattle, a notably hilly city.

To be honest, I somewhat expected the Ultra 3 to inflate my uphill efforts based on similar performance in recent walk test comparisons against the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and again versus the Garmin Forerunner 570. Then again, those examples were walking; this is cycling.

4. Apple doesn’t provide a ‘moving time’ metric

Apple's Workout app doesn't provide a 'moving time' metric like the Strava app does for bike rides, which is a bit of a bummer. I find moving time to be a more useful metric, especially when you get stuck halfway through the ride at a raised drawbridge. Suddenly, your 55-minute adventure is closer to 75 minutes.

That scenario didn't play out this time around, but it's all too common when cruising around Seattle's Lake Union in the warmer months.

For what it's worth, Strava's elapsed or total time calculation for the ride was 54 minutes, 36 seconds, which is a little closer to Apple's measure. Note: I tried my best to synchronize each app's start and stop.

5. Strava remains my overall choice for biking

Ultimately, I'll continue to rely on Strava from the comfort of my handlebar-mounted phone as my primary bike workout tracking method. Not only does Strava provide more nuanced workout duration data, but I trust its speed data over that of the Apple Workout app, which consistently claims I'm moving slower than most other means of tracking.

Another notable reason I prefer Strava on the iPhone has nothing to do with data accuracy; rather, I simply find it easier to view my ride progress when it's displayed on a large screen almost directly in front of me, versus on a smaller, wrist-based one.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm obsessed with hiking — 3 Apple Watch apps I use to keep from getting lost
• Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Pixel Watch 4 XL — I walked 6,000 steps, and the winner is clear
• 10 Apple Watch innovations that changed the game — from Fall Detection to Hypertension Alerts

I've been wearing my new Apple Watch to bed for a week now, and I must say I'm impressed. From accurately tracking my sleep stages to giving me gentle nudges to start winding down, the Apple Watch has helped me understand my sleep while showing me key ways to improve it.

Still, as with every time I try out one of the best sleep trackers, I feel there are modes and settings that I'm completely oblivious to — and it could be standing in my way of seeing lab-accurate results.

So, to find out, I've called on Dr. Audrey Wells, Chief Medical Officer at SLIIIP.com and Dr. Joshua Roland, Medical Director at Dreem Health, to give me some helpful pointers. Here, the two board-certified sleep doctors reveal the five Apple Watch settings that increase the accuracy of my sleep tracking.

Key takeaways: At a glance

• The Apple Watch can track your sleep duration and sleep stages, but there are key hidden settings that need to be activated for more accurate results.
• Activating Wrist Detection and Sleep Focus are vital for accurate results, as they allow your Apple Watch to know when you're wearing your device and are intending to sleep.
• Other settings, such as Wrist Temperature and Sleep Apnea notifications, can give you invaluable insights into your health, such as sleep disorders, medical conditions, or illness.
• While research shows that consumer sleep-tracking wearables are improving in accuracy and can give you useful data on your sleep duration and patterns, board-certified sleep physician Dr Wells notes that an Apple Watch won't give you data as accurate as a clinical sleep study's data.

The 5 vital Apple Watch settings for accurate sleep data

1. Sleep Focus

Let's begin with one of the most important Apple Watch settings for your sleep: Sleep Focus mode. In fact, it was the first setting I learned about when I set up my Apple Watch, and while it prepares you for rest by reducing distracting notifications, it's also needed for accurate tracking.

"Sleep Focus mode signals to the watch that you’re intending to sleep, and this allows it to more accurately detect when you fall asleep and stay asleep, rather than misinterpreting late-night phone use or movement as wakefulness," says Dr. Roland, a board-certified sleep medicine physician.

"Without it, the watch may confuse quiet rest, like lying in bed scrolling your phone, with sleep," agrees board-certified sleep medicine physician Dr Wells.

• Read more: Experts explain why your Apple Watch tracks your wrist temperature during sleep — 5 key things it can tell you

2. Wrist detection 

Wrist Detection is another important one as it lets the Apple Watch know you're wearing it and, according to Dr Roland, it's "essentially what allows all the sensors to function properly" when you're wearing the watch to bed.

"Without it, the watch can’t reliably track movement, heart rate, or sleep stages, which means your sleep data may be incomplete or inaccurate," the sleep expert warns.

Dr Wells also agrees that Wrist Detection needs to be on so the Apple Watch can track the "main signals" it uses for sleep. The doctor also reminded me of another essential thing you should do that's outside your Apple Watch settings: wear the Watch correctly.

"If it's too loose or not positioned correctly, the device can’t reliably track movement even with Wrist Detection," she reminds me.

3. Sleep apnea notifications

Okay, so the Sleep Apnea notifications tool is the one setting that I actually can't activate as, according to Apple Support, it's only available on the Apple Watch Series 9 or later, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, or Apple Watch SE 3.

However, sleep tech writer Eve Davies swears it's an essential hidden Apple Watch sleep tracking feature if you or your partner are prone to snoring.

This sleep apnea tool flags potential breathing disturbances during sleep, which Dr Roland emphasizes is important, as you probably don't notice these disturbances yourself.

"Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed, but it can seriously impact sleep quality and overall health," he explains.

"Having a tool that monitors for irregular breathing patterns can prompt you to seek medical evaluation if something seems off," he adds.

4. Wrist temperature

One of the health metrics (or vitals, as Apple calls them) I was eager to see was the Wrist Temperature measurement. Dr. Roland told me the Wrist Temperature setting was important for assessing my "body's overnight physiology".

"Changes in skin temperature while you sleep can reflect things like illness, hormonal shifts, including menstrual cycle phases, or recovery status," notes the physician.

I was a little disappointed to wake up after the first couple of night and seeing no Wrist Temperature data, but Dr Wells assures me this was normal.

"Wrist temperature doesn’t measure sleep quality or diagnose sleep problems, so think of it as a trend over time, not a single-night insight," she tells me.

Dr Wells says that, as wrist temperature can give you helpful context about you nocturnal patterns (including changes to your overall health and circadian rhythm), "it may be worth paying attention if you notice consistent changes."

5. Charging reminders 

Charging Reminders are a setting you may not even associate with sleep tracking, but it's important for accuracy because, as Dr Wells puts it, "If your watch runs out of battery overnight, you won’t get sleep data."

"The real value of wearables comes from consistent trends over time, not one or two nights of data," says the sleep expert. "So charging reminders help you build that consistency so you get to know your own patterns and the information is actually useful."

3 things my Apple Watch data has revealed about my sleep

1. My average sleep duration is way less than the recommended 7-9 hours

The main draw of the Apple Watch's sleep tracking is seeing how much sleep you managed to get each night, along with amount of time you spent in each sleep stage.

After I started building enough sleep data, the Health app gave me overview of how much sleep I get on average. Today's weekly average? 6 hours and 11 minutes.

Now, some people may be tugging on my neck collar, wondering how on earth I can function on so little sleep. After all, the recommended sleep duration for adults is seven to nine hours. But...

2. ...but my high sleep scores say it's not a huge problem

...I'm scoring pretty high sleep scores on less than seven hours of sleep. Apple Watch sleep scores are basically marks out of 100, categorised into four scoring groups: very low, low, high, and very high. On average, I'm achieving a 'high' score — sometimes even in the 90s.

Of course, your sleep score isn't only calculated on duration. It also takes into account your sleep regularity (for example, going to bed within the same window every night) and how many times you experience nighttime awakenings.

3. Health metrics rule out any sleep disorder

As I mentioned above, there are some tools I can't access (most importantly the Sleep Apnea Notifications), but I still get to see important health metrics on the Vitals app, an Apple Watch app that gives me a daily snapshot of key measurements.

These include respiratory and heart rates and blood oxygen levels, which can provide data used to suggest sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, dehydration, or overconsumption of caffeine or alcohol.

Luckily, my health metrics indicate that I'm not experiencing any sleep disorders, but I know that if I spot any changes outside my typical range, I can use these patterns to identify any problems.

Is Apple watch sleep tracking accurate?

If you're wondering how to make your sleep tracking more accurate, you're probably also questioning how accurate an Apple Watch's sleep trackers are (or how accurate wearable sleep trackers are in general).

Luckily, a study has proven the value of consumer sleep-tracking devices, concluding that at-home trackers have a similar accuracy to research-grade actigraphy when estimating total sleep duration.

Other research even predicts that consumer wearables will "likely provide sleep information on par with actigraphy."

But are we there yet? According to Dr Wells, not quite. "The data should be viewed as an approximation of sleep patterns, not a precise measurement of sleep stages or quality," says the sleep expert.

"Remember that the Apple Watch is estimating sleep based on patterns, not directly measuring brain activity like a clinical sleep study would," she adds.

Ultra versus Ultra: Which is the more accurate device for tracking basic outdoor workouts, like walks, runs, and hikes, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra? I tossed one on either wrist and hit the pavement to find out. Spoiler: Ultimately, one came out on top.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra are the longest-lasting, toughest-built premium smartwatch models from two industry titans. Not only are these two of the best smartwatches you can buy today, but both models have proven themselves to be accurate fitness trackers in numerous prior tests.

Yet somehow, I've never directly compared the fitness-tracking performance of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 against the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. So, let's change that. Read on to find out which Ultra is the ultimate Ultra in today's step-count showdown.

Walk test ground rules

Before jumping into the walk test results, let's cover some ground rules for this comparison. The primary metric we're going to use to determine a winner today is step count. While step count isn't necessarily the most crucial metric for measuring the intensity of a walking workout, it's the easiest one to manually track as a control.

To help keep a precise tally, I only took odd-numbered steps with my left foot and even-numbered ones with my right. I also recorded every hundred steps taken with a click of my ol' reliable manual tally counter. A pair of the best noise-cancelling headphones keeps things distraction-free (don't worry, I'm extra careful crossing streets).

When analyzing step count data from any smartwatch or fitness tracker, for a roughly one-hour walk, my golden rule is that any tally within roughly one hundred steps of my actual manual count is considered to be outstanding and well within a reasonable margin for error.

Tallies that are within 200 steps of my actual count are still considered acceptably accurate. However, if the device is more than 300 steps off from my actual step count, we may have an issue.

In addition to step count, we'll also compare distance, pace, and elevation gain data against Strava (running on my iPhone 16 Plus), which has proven itself to be a remarkably reliable fitness tracking tool, even if you opt for the free version (like me).

With that cleared, on to the walk test!

I walked 6,500 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra

With the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra on my left wrist and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on my right wrist, I embarked on my 6,500-step walk, determined to enjoy the lovely Seattle spring day as I strolled. With flowers popping off and azure skies overhead, my mission was ultimately successful.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: Walk test results

Before getting into specifics, it's worth calling out that both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra noted step count totals that are well within 100 steps of my actual count, which is to say, performance here is outstanding.

However, with a tally that's 45 steps under versus 65 steps over, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 beats the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra by a teeny, tiny margin.

That said, the Galaxy Watch Ultra proved more accurate at tracking my elevation gain — Apple Watches across the board have a tendency to inflate this metric — and distance.

Apple's pace data is a little closer to Strava's, but Samsung's isn't too far off either. Reassuringly, both wearables recorded nearly the same average and max heart rate for my walk, while the Ultra 3 noted a greater calorie burn during my roughly one-hour walk.

Finally, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 was still showing 100% battery at the end of the test, while the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra burned through 8% battery.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: And the winner is...

This is another super-close comparison where both devices performed admirably and well within an acceptable margin of accuracy across the board.

But a winner must be declared, dear reader. So, with a step count total that's 20 steps nearer to my actual count, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 wins this showdown against the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Which smartwatches should I test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Pixel Watch 4 XL — I walked 6,000 steps, and the winner is clear
• 10 Apple Watch innovations that changed the game — from Fall Detection to Hypertension Alerts
• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call

I recently got my first ever Apple Watch, and while it has a multitude of functions, I've primarily been using it as a sleep tracker. Each night, it's given me high sleep scores (even up to 92 out of 100), despite the fact that I average around six hours of slumber a night.

However, the expert-backed 7:1 sleep rule has shown that sleeping for at least seven hours a night and following a consistent sleep schedule can decrease mortality risk by 24%— which could add up to four years to your life.

That's why I've decided to use one of the best sleep trackers to help me stick to a regular nighttime routine and increase my average sleep duration from six to seven hours. Here's a breakdown of how I'm using the Apple Watch's sleep tracking to meet the 7:1 sleep rule...

• Read more: These 5 overlooked Google Clock app features helped me quit bedtime doomscrolling to get more sleep

Key takeaways: At a glance

• Recent research shows that that getting 7 hours of sleep and falling asleep within the same 1-hour window — dubbed the "7:1 sleep rule" — can lower mortality risk by 24%.
• While my Apple Watch has awarded me sleep scores of up to 92 for less than seven hours of sleep, I'm using its key features to follow the 7:1 sleep rule.
• Functions such as its Sleep Focus mode, Sleep Schedule and Wind-Down Feature help me maintain a consistent sleep schedule and build a calming nighttime routine.
• The Vitals App offers a panoramic view of my overall health, informing me of any sleep issues and their causes, while also illustrating how the 7:1 sleep can improve health and wellbeing.

What is the 7:1 Sleep Rule?

Experts have long recommended that adults should sleep between seven and nine hours a night for optimal health and wellbeing, and a groundbreaking study has recently echoed this advice.

The research, conducted by the the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and insurance company Vitality, found that getting 7 hours of sleep and going to bed within the same 1-hour window can lower mortality risk by 24% if practiced at least five nights a week, .

And it's not the only research that shows how important getting at least seven hours of sleep is to our lifespan. Last year, research conducted by the Oregon and Health and Science University found that getting less than seven hours of sleep can have a worse effect on longevity than a poor diet or lack of exercise.

The 3 key Apple Watch features I'm using to follow the 7:1 Sleep Rule

The Apple Watch's sleep tracker can give you a detailed breakdown of your four sleep stages each night: the N1 and N2 light sleep stages (lumped together as 'core sleep' on the Apple watch), deep sleep, and REM sleep.

However, it's not simply a sleep tracker, it's also a sleep-boosting device that can help you maintain good sleep hygiene.

For instance, Sleep Focus and Schedules on watchOS (the Apple Watch's operating system) can help you keep to a consistent sleep schedule; going to bed within a 1-hour window.

Then there's the Wind Down feature, which can help you stay away from sleep-disrupting habits and distracting iPhone features to reduce revenge bedtime procrastination and help you fall asleep by your chosen time.

However, if sticking to a consistent sleep routine isn't giving you the sleep duration you want, you can identify how long it takes you to fall asleep by using the Health App, which can distinguish between the time you spent in bed vs the time you actually spent asleep.

With all Apple Watches that operate on the watchOS 11 (such as the Apple Watch Ultra that I'm using), you can access the Vitals app only on your Apple watch.

The app, which acts as a snapshot of all your health metrics (it condenses all the vital health data from your iPhone's Health app into a daily health summary), validates the rule as I notice it shows improved Heart Rate and Respiratory data whenever I edge closer to meeting the 7:1 rule.

1. Sleep Focus and Schedules

One of the most important things you should do before tracking your sleep (besides enabling sleep tracking and, y'know, remembering to put your Apple Watch on) is to make sure your watch and phone is in Sleep Focus mode.

This mode prepares your watch for tracking, can silence distracting notifications from your chosen apps (from social media to work emails), and dims and simplifies your watch face and phone lock screen. (My phone's lock screen wallpaper is covered in snoozing emoji faces when Sleep Focus mode).

You can manually activate the Sleep Focus mode via the Control Center of your watch or iPhone, but my Focus mode turns on automatically thanks to the Sleep Schedules function.

This function allows you to set your preferred bedtime and wake-up time, which then creates bedtime reminders and morning alarms.

Both the Sleep Focus mode and Sleep Schedules are helping me to stick to 7:1 sleep by encouraging me to go to bed and wake up within a 1-hour window. This sleep regularity is resetting my circadian rhythm, preparing my body clock for sleep at the right time.

2. Wind Down feature

While the Apple Watch's sleep schedule creates a sleep plan for you, the Wind Down feature helps you stick to the plan by limiting distractions (in a similar way to the Sleep Focus mode) and preparing you for sleep by launching relaxing activities like mediation for calming music.

The great thing about this feature is that you can turn it on just minutes or even hours before your bedtime, and it also activates the Sleep Focus mode outside your sleep schedule.

Mine is set 30 minutes before bed, but a one or two hour wind down is great if you want to stick to the 10-3-2-1-0 rule for longer sleep and consistent routines.

3. Vitals app

Launched in 2024 as part of the watchOS 11 update, the Vitals App provides a condensed view of your health metrics (a.k.a. vitals), such as respiratory rate and blood oxygen levels, as well as your sleep duration.

These metrics give me key insights into my sleep and potential sleep disorders. For example, my blood-oxygen levels are consistently high, meaning I can rule out sleep conditions such as sleep apnea as a cause if my sleep data shows frequent awakenings.

The Vitals App can show you when your metrics are "within typical range" or when your health metrics are higher or lower than usual. The Vitals App can also suggest reasons behind the change. For example, if your heart rate becomes more elevated, the app suggests it could be caused by consuming too much caffeine.

On the flip side, when you follow the 7:1 sleep rule and improve your sleep, your health metrics may improve, such as a lowered heart or respiratory rate.

Why I’m not chasing perfect sleep

It would be remiss of me not to mention one important thing to remember when tracking your sleep with an Apple Watch: Don't use it to chase the perfect sleep because the perfect sleep doesn't not exist.

Becoming fixated with your sleep data will likely exacerbate any sleep issues you're experiencing — this phenomenon even has a name: orthosomnia.

The study behind the 7:1 sleep rule emphasised focusing on the rule for five days a week to help you reap the longevity-boosting benefits, so don't beat yourself up if you sleep in on a Saturday morning or experience a bout of the Sunday scaries. It's all about trying to improve your sleep when you're able (and willing) to.

Besides, tracking my sleep has actually made me feel less worried about my sleep.

Despite an average sleep duration of less than seven hours a night, I'm consistently achieving high sleep scores (sometimes in the 90s), experiencing a normal amount of short nighttime wake-ups, and seeing health metrics that indicate I'm not experiencing any sleep disorders.

Science has even shown that some people are just "short sleepers", thriving on six hours a night without any health drawbacks.

All in all, I'm happy with my sleep, but I'm more than happy to improve it, too.

Circle or square? Garmin or Apple Watch? I review smartwatches for a living, and I frequently get asked about the differences between these two smartwatch powerhouses. So, let’s break it down.

Compared across six categories, here's how the popular, entry-level Garmin Forerunner 165 compares to the beloved, also entry-level Apple Watch SE 3. Short on time? Skip to my verdict at the end for the TLDR.

Specs compared

1. Price

Both smartwatches start at $249. When it comes to the SE 3, that price reflects the smaller 40mm model without cellular; the 44mm non-cellular SE 3 is $279. Add $50 to the cost of either for 5G connectivity capabilities.

The Garmin Forerunner 165 additionally comes in a ‘Music’ edition with extra onboard storage to save tunes for offline listening for $299.

Winner: draw

2. Design and durability

Both watches boast 50 meters of water resistance, enough for short, surface-level swims. Durability is also pretty similar, though the Garmin has a slightly raised bezel that protects the screen, while the Apple Watch does not.

Speaking of screens, the Forerunner 165 sports a 1.2-inch AMOLED panel with a max screen brightness of roughly 1,000 nits. The Apple Watch SE 3, meanwhile, sports either a 1.57-inch or 1.78-inch LTPO OLED screen, depending on which size you choose. It also maxes out at 1,000 nits.

The Forerunner 165 weighs a little more than the SE 3, but both wear quite comfortably on my 6.5-inch wrist. The Garmin offers more physical buttons on the side of the case, five in total, compared to two on the Apple Watch. Both devices are also touch-sensitive and quite responsive in use.

Winner: draw

3. Fitness tracking and training

While the Apple Watch SE 3 offers a decent amount of fitness-tracking and training tools, they aren’t as vast as what you get from the Forerunner 165, especially if you are a runner.

Apple’s Workout Buddy feature, for example, is designed to provide custom-tailored plans for folks prepping for a race or event. We found it useful from a motivational standpoint, but far less impressive than Garmin Coach, which similarly helps you prep for a running event, just way more effectively.

Overall, whether you’re a runner or not, Garmin’s training tools are a lot more extensive than Apple’s. For example, the Foreunner 165 provides adaptive training tips, completion time predictions (for runners), recovery time recommendations, daily workout suggestions, insights into heart rate variability (HRV), ‘training effect’ insights or how your workouts are impacting your overall performance, fitness age predictions, and more.

I also prefer the level of detail you get from Garmin’s nightly sleep tracking compared to Apple’s. Garmin’s Morning Reports tell you more than sleep time and how long you spent in each of the sleep cycles. It additionally provides a training outlook based on your quality of rest and recent workouts, along with your HRV status.

When it comes to tracking accuracy, both watches have onboard GPS and altimeters for location and elevation data, without a paired smartphone. In my testing, the Apple Watch SE 3 and Garmin Forerunner 165 have each proven reliable fitness trackers, though the former occasionally spits out inflated elevation data after outdoor workouts, like runs, walks, and hikes. You can also expect highly accurate heart rate data from each.

Both watches track a wide range of workout types from indoor, gym-based exercises to more extreme outdoor activities like mountain climbing and snowboarding.

Ultimately, for casual athletes wishing to keep tabs on their physical fitness, the Apple Watch SE 3 should serve you fine. However, if fitness and training are your primary focus, the Garmin Forerunner 165 is going to be a better choice.

Winner: Garmin Forerunner 165

4. Smarts and connectivity

While the Forerunner 165 has the SE 3 beat with physical fitness tools, the Apple Watch smokes the Garmin at smart features and connectivity.

For example, the Forerunner 165’s list of smart features is rather short: NFC for mobile payments, onboard music storage (Forerunner 165 Music only), access to a small selection of apps via the Garmin Connect I.Q. store (watch faces, too), and… not much more.

While you can view mirror notifications, including texts, from your smartphone on the Forerunner 165, you can’t reply to them. It also doesn’t have a microphone or speaker for taking calls.

On the flip side, the Apple Watch SE 3 is absolutely brimming with smarts, including access to the world’s largest smartwatch app store, where you’ll find a dizzying array of third-party options. There are also loads of useful smart apps built in, from the Notes app and Voice Memo app, to Apple Maps for navigation and Walkie-Talkie mode for quick communication.

The SE 3 also sports an onboard microphone and speaker for taking calls from the wrist. And if you opt for the 5G-capable model, you can even take and receive calls sans smartphone.

Winner: Apple Watch SE 3

5. Safety features

Apple and Garmin both take safety seriously. The Forerunner 165, for example, has Garmin’s LiveTrack tool, which lets friends and loved ones track your location from afar while you’re, say, running a marathon or taking on an epic hike. It also has Incident Detection, which can alert rescuers and/or loved ones to your location if a fall or crash is detected.

The SE 3 similarly has a crash/fall detection feature, as well as Apple’s Check In safety feature, which, like LiveTrack, keeps loved ones informed of your location. One safety tool that’s unique to the SE 3 is emergency SOS, which lets users contact 911 by holding the side button.

Ultimately, while this one is pretty close, the Apple Watch SE 3 offers slightly more ways to stay safe than the Garmin Forerunner 165.

Winner: Apple Watch SE 3

6. Battery life

When it comes to battery life, there’s really no comparison. Even with low-power mode switched on, the Apple Watch SE 3 is only good for roughly 32 hours (18 hours in standard mode). With GPS tracking enabled, you can expect about 7 hours of use.

On the other hand, the Garmin Forerunner 165 lasts for up to 11 days per charge or 20 days in battery saver mode. When tracking a workout with GPS, battery life is good for between 17 and 19 hours.

Winner: Garmin Forerunner 165

Verdict

Which is the better smartwatch, the Apple Watch SE 3 or the Garmin Forerunner 165? If you’re a runner or primarily looking to track your fitness journey, the Garmin is a better choice than the Apple Watch, thanks to its comprehensive set of training and recovery tools. It’s also the superior option for battery life.

Alternatively, if you’re after a well-rounded smartwatch that can track your workout, plays nicely with a seemingly endless number of third-party apps, keeps you connected to loved ones, and works seamlessly with your smartphone, the Apple Watch SE 3 will likely be a better choice than the Garmin Forerunner 165.

What do you think, which smartwatch do you prefer, the Garmin Forerunner 165 or the Apple Watch SE 3? Let me know your favorite and why in the comments below.

Overall winner: draw

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 7,500 steps with the Apple Watch SE 3 vs Amazfit Active Max — and there's a clear winner
• I review smartwatches for a living, but these are 5 reasons why I sometimes still wear a 'dumb' watch
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for

As a daily Apple Watch wearer, I’m forever on the hunt for the perfect watch strap. While the Nike Sports Loop has been my go-to on the Apple Watch SE 3, and before that, the Series 10, over the past few weeks, a new strap has climbed the ranks, knocking the Sports Loop out of the top spot.

And for good reason. The Solace Imperium Adapt strap for Apple Watch has a lot going for it, including a comfortable, PFA-free design made of stretchy, sweat-wicking nylon. It’s also available in a huge selection of stylish colors and patterns, and costs less than the Nike Sports Loop.

But that's not all! Below are the five biggest reasons I recommend the Solace Adapt as your next Apple Watch strap.

1. Comfortable and adjustable

Few things bother me more than an itchy or abrasive watch band, which is to say, I have zero tolerance for crappy, low-grade silicon or rubber straps. Fortunately, this strap is anything but scratchy.

That said, right out of the box, the Solance Imperium Adapt is a tad stiff, but things start softening up after a day or two of wear. Made from stretchy nylon knitted in a Chevron-style pattern, the Adapt is plush without feeling thick.

It can also fit wrists as large as ~9 inches or as slender as ~4 inches. The magnetic clasp slides up and down the strap, letting you dial in just the right fit for maximum comfort, whether you like to wear your smartwatch loosey-goosy or nice and tight.

2. Breathable, sweat-wicking, and fast drying

The knitted nylon is highly breathable. I get pretty sweaty when I work out, and I found the Solace strap just as comfortable, if not more so, than the Nike Sports Loop.

The thick knitted pattern also allows the straps to dry really quickly. I ran my Apple Watch SE 3 + Solace strap on the sink for about thirty seconds to see how long it would retain moisture for. Afterwards, I gave the strap a quick blot with a paper towel and put it back on my wrist. Less than an hour later, there was no dampness to speak of.

3. Machine washable

With so much contact time with the body, your smartwatch and strap are probably filthy. While it’s recommended that you wash your Nike Sports Loop by hand, the Solace Imperium Adapt strap for Apple Watch is machine washable.

Better yet, it comes with a lifetime warranty, so feel free to toss it in with your other stinky workout gear.

4. Tons of stylish designs to choose from

As of publishing, the Solace Imperium Adapt strap for Apple Watch is available in no fewer than 24 styles, including my favorite, ‘Calypso,’ shown here. They should also accommodate nearly any Apple Watch model ever made, with one size for 38, 40, 41, and 42mm watches and another for 44, 45, 46, and 49mm models.

I opted for the larger, which means that my Calypso Solace strap not only fits my 44mm Apple Watch SE 3, but also the Apple Watch Series 11 (46mm) and Apple Watch Ultra 3 review units I have in for testing.

5. Nifty magnetic clasp closure

Last but not least, I’m a huge fan of the magnetic buckle system on the Solace Imperium Adapt strap. As noted above, the receiving half of the buckle can be slid up and down, allowing the strap to accommodate an enormous range of wrist sizes.

When the top of the buckle, with the logo, is placed over the bottom, the two lock together with a satisfyingly audible ‘click.’ More importantly, the magnets are strong enough to ensure a secure closure

Priced at $39.99 via Amazon— $10 less than the Nike Sports Loop — the Solance Imperium Adapt strap is my new go-to for the Apple Watch for the foreseeable future. Stay tuned for a long-term review.

More from Tom's Guide

• I review smartwatches for a living, but these are 5 reasons why I sometimes still wear a 'dumb' watch
• Apple Watch Series 12 rumors — everything we know so far
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for

Lately, I’ve started running again, using my Apple Watch Series 9 to keep track of my workouts. While it’s been phenomenal at showing me the week-over-week improvements I’ve been making, I’m still forced to bring my iPhone 17 Pro on all of my runs.

It’s annoying because the whole point of wearing the best smartwatch around my wrist is to free myself from my iPhone when I exercise, so it’s one less thing I have to worry about. The problem is partly due to how the YouTube Music app doesn’t let me download music locally to my Apple Watch. Instead, it simply functions as a glorified Bluetooth controller to access the app's functions on my iPhone — and that’s not helpful at all.

That’s why I’ve started wearing a Google Pixel Watch 3 on my other wrist, simply to allow me to listen to my music without my phone. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Apple Watch, but it desperately needs to fix this. Here’s why.

YouTube Music app for watchOS is just a controller

Obviously, I like the convenience of using my Apple Watch to control the music I’m listening to on my AirPods Pro 3. At first, it wasn’t a problem because I was carrying my iPhone whenever I went for a run. However, the moment I left my home without my phone, the music immediately stopped.

I soon realized that I needed my iPhone on me to use the YouTube Music app on my Apple Watch. I thought it might work if my watch were connected to Wi-Fi — and it did, even when I put my phone into airplane mode. But the moment I stepped out to run without my iPhone, it stopped working.

You can imagine my frustration by this point, but it’s apparent that the app is nothing more than a controller. I verified this by shutting down my iPhone completely, at which point I was finally given a message that my phone was disconnected and out of range.

Standalone streaming on Pixel Watch

After a couple of days trying to figure out what to do, I decided to set up an old Pixel Watch 3 I previously used — and not surprisingly, it works like a charm. For context, both my Apple Watch and Pixel Watch are LTE versions with active cellular data plans. These plans allow them to operate independently, but the Pixel Watch is the only one that truly severs the tether to a phone.

I’ve paired my Pixel Buds Pro 2 with my Pixel Watch 3, which lets me stream my entire library while I’m running. Beyond that, it also stores songs from my Downloads playlist locally, so I’m not forced to constantly stream and eat up my data.

It’s honestly the only fix I have until Google addresses this. You read that right: it’s actually Google that needs to fix this, not Apple.

Apple has the door open, but Google hasn’t walked through

This is more of a Google problem than anything else, as Apple has provided the necessary APIs for developers to stream and locally store songs on the Apple Watch. In fact, I can already stream via LTE using apps like Spotify and Pandora.

Yet, the YouTube Music app for watchOS remains reluctant to offer this simple functionality — which serves as a massive incentive to choose a Pixel Watch over an Apple Watch. You could argue that I should just subscribe to another music streaming service, but that’s just throwing money away.

I might look weird wearing two smartwatches for now, but I’m going to have to do it until Google decides to stop gatekeeping its best features and actually support the platforms its customers are using.

More from Tom's Guide

• I review smartwatches for a living, but these are 5 reasons why I sometimes still wear a 'dumb' watch
• Apple Watch Series 12 rumors — everything we know so far
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for

I review smartwatches and other wearable tech for a living, but sometimes, I swap out my Apple Watch (or Garmin, Samsung, Google, etc.) for a good-old-fashioned ‘dumb’ watch. And you know what? You should, too.

Beyond telling the time, a traditional watch also allows you to better disconnect from an often overwhelming digital world, while showing off your personal style, and/or accessorizing your outfit. Below are the five biggest reasons why I recommend placing your smartwatch on sabbatical from time to time in favor of something a bit less fussy.

1. You're in formal wear

Say it with me now, “No smartwatches with formal wear.” And one more time for the folks in the back, “NO SMARTWATCHES WITH FORMAL WEAR.”

Just imagine if James Bond wore an Apple Watch Ultra 3 instead of his classic Omega Seamaster or Rolex Submariner (depending on the era of 007). Rather than being the smooth-talking, immaculately-dressed spy we’ve all come to know and love, suddenly, he’s more finance bro than action hero.

Smartwatches are incredibly amazing devices, with serious benefits from health and fitness tracking tools to safety and communication features. However, nothing makes a finely tailored suit or an elegant evening dress look tackier than a glowing mini-computer on the wrist.

So, next time you’re dressing up, whether for a wedding, a fancy date night, the opera, a funeral, etc., skip the Apple Watch and opt for a dressy dumb watch instead.

2. To take a break from the health stats

The best smartwatches are brimming with features to encourage a healthy, active lifestyle. Moreover, attempting to keep a healthy streak going, whether it's hitting a certain daily step count or getting eight hours of sleep every night, is a great way to develop and maintain new habits.

Sometimes, though, you just need a break, and that’s okay! After all, all those metrics and physical health tracking insights can at times be a detriment to one’s mental health. I certainly feel this way occasionally, which is why I make a point of going for walks and workouts sans smartwatch every so often.

Thankfully, most smartwatches make it easy to skip a day or two without affecting your physical fitness achievements. Apple, for example, lets users pause their Activity Rings at any time without penalty, i.e., you won’t ruin a hard-earned Ring-closing streak.

3. You appreciate vintage charm

There’s no such thing as a vintage smartwatch, unless you want to count some of Garmin’s earliest Forerunner models, which look more like digital kitchen timers on a strap than actual smartwatches.

On the flip side, you can spend the rest of your life combing through the seemingly endless and complex back catalogue that is 100+ years of mechanical and battery-powered quartz watches.

Whether we’re talking the fun, color-splashed plastic Swatches and retro-futuristic Casios of the 1980s and 90s, or older all-metal mechanical wonders from legendary brands like Cartier, Longines, and IWC, vintage watches offer infinitely more personality than any modern smartwatch.

And while the aforementioned big-name mechanical brands are often quite spendy, wallet-friendly, vintage-inspired alternatives from companies like Timex, Orient, and Seiko offer all the fun of an actual heirloom timepiece, without breaking the bank.

4. Durability and water resistance are paramount

Most smartwatches offer just 50 meters of water resistance, which is enough to keep your watch protected for short periods of surface-level swimming, but not snorkeling, diving, or high-impact water sports.

Smartwatches also don’t mix well with salt water, unless you thoroughly rinse the device after every swim with fresh water. Similarly, you should never wear your smartwatch in a hot tub, sauna, or similar environments.

So, what’s a guy to do when he’s looking to take the soak of the century, but still wants to know the time? I grab my trusty $99 G-Shock and a towel, without a second thought.

Offering a whopping 200 meters of water resistance, a shockproof case, and an overall design that's basically indestructible, it just might be the toughest bang-for-your-buck dumb watch in existence; mine has survived years of hot tub soaks and still works like a charm.

5. You need a digital detox

Last but not least, occasionally, a digital detox is in order. And frankly, I highly recommend taking at least one day off a month from all your tech gadgets. That’s right, leave your smartphone, earbuds, and smartwatch at home.

Need to tell the time? Look at a dumb watch. Want to look up somewhere to eat? Ask an actual human for advice! Bored without music or podcasts trumpeting in your ears? Try enjoying the sounds of the city or nature instead.

More from Tom's Guide

• Forget the Apple Watch — 5 reasons I’ll be wearing the new Casio G-Shock this summer instead
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for
• 10 Apple Watch innovations that changed the game — from Fall Detection to Hypertension Alerts

While it remains unlikely that 2026 will deliver a replacement for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or SE 3, a flagship Apple Watch Series 12 debut is all but certain. Apple has added a new model to the lineup every year ever since the very first Apple Watch launched.

With plenty of leaks and rumors to go off of, we already have a general idea of what the Series 12 could deliver, from health and fitness tech upgrades to design tweaks and display improvements. Read on for everything we know about the Apple Watch Series 12 so far.

Apple Watch 12: Price and release date predictions

Apple tends to hold an annual launch event in the second week of September, and this year is likely no exception. The Apple Watch Series 12 will likely debut alongside the new iPhone 18 lineup, with a starting price of $399, the same starting cost as the Series 11.

Apple usually opens up preorders on the Friday following a Tuesday product announcement, with units hitting store shelves in the weeks that follow. Again, I suspect this will be the case for the Series 12.

Apple Watch 12: Health and fitness tech rumors

One of the juiciest Apple Watch 12 rumors hints at a new holistic sensor tech on the bottom of the device. According to DigiTimes (via Wccftech), the Series 12 could feature a brand-new eight-sensor array arranged in a ring pattern (similar to the Series 11). This might mean that new health metrics are coming to the Series 12, or, at the very least, improved accuracy for existing metrics.

We may additionally see an expansion of Apple’s groundbreaking Hypertension Alerts feature. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple’s most prolific insider for hints at murmurs about future products, Cupertino is hard at work on a wrist-based blood pressure monitor. However, there seems to be considerable doubt that the technology is ready for a primetime debut this year.

On-wrist blood glucose monitoring is another focus for the Apple Watch team, but according to Gurman, that tech is even further out than blood pressure monitoring.

Apple is additionally working on a massive overhaul of the Health app, according to Bloomberg's Gurman, featuring an AI-powered, personalized wellness concierge. The concept is apparently code-named Project Mulberry, and in theory, could bring all of a user’s health, fitness, and medical data under the roof of a singular app.

That said, like blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring, we have no confirmation that an overhauled Health app will be launch-ready by September.

Apple Watch 12: Design and display rumors

The Apple Watch 12 will almost certainly be more power-efficient than its predecessor thanks to an upgraded S12 chip. It could also deliver a less power-hungry LTPO display. I’d personally like to see Apple increase the screen brightness on the Series 12 to 3,000 nits (from 2,000 nits) to better match competition from Samsung and Google.

While some rumors hint at a massive design overhaul for the case, that seems somewhat unlikely, given that 2024’s Series 10 ushered in an updated design and Apple only tends to switch things up every four-ish launch cycles. Moreover, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says a major design shift is unlikely for the Series 12.

One of the more interesting rumors that has been around for a while is the addition of a front-facing camera to the Apple Watch Series 12. This likely wouldn’t be for taking pictures, but rather for unlocking the screen with Face ID or for AI-backed visual scene and object recognition. The best iPhone models already have a similar Visual Search tool that uses the camera. Perhaps Cupertino is bringing the tech to the Apple Watch next.

Finally, according to a report from Macworld, the Apple Watch Series 12 could introduce a long-retired iPhone feature to the Apple Watch: Touch ID. Of course, it makes little sense for the device to offer both Touch ID and Face ID to unlock the watch, so probably only one of these rumors is true.

Apple Watch 12: Outlook

Last year’s Apple Watch Series 11 represented a fairly minor upgrade over the Series 10, with the primary benefit being better battery performance. This makes me hopeful that the Series 12 will be an even bigger jump in performance and features.

A redesigned holistic sensor array would definitely be a big deal, especially if it unlocks new wellness insights. The same can be said for blood pressure monitoring. I’m additionally intrigued by the concept of an onboard camera as a real-world visual search tool.

What do you think? Is the Apple Watch Series 12 something you're excited for, and if so, what features are you hoping for the most? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• 10 Apple Watch innovations that changed the game — from Fall Detection to Hypertension Alerts
• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call
• Garmin’s rumored screen-less wearable just might be the subscription-free Whoop rival I’ve been waiting for

If you have an Apple ecosystem at home, you probably already know the rarity of finding a good deal from the iPhone maker. With the most affordable Apple products still costing upwards of AU$800, it's safe to say that an Apple purchase is a certified investment.

That said, any discounts that undercut Apple devices by 10% or more are worth cheering for, and these killer prices I've just found are no exception.

Now celebrating its fiftieth year, Apple has cheekily discounted a range of its best-sellers on Amazon. With up to 40% off Apple Watches, MacBooks, iPhones, iPads, and accompanying accessories, Apple's Amazon storefront has a complete list of discounted items.

To get you started on finding your next Apple product, I've handpicked my favourite nine deals below. With hot prices across the latest Apple Watch 11, AirPods 4 and iPhone Air, these discounts aren't exclusive to older products, which is a big win in my book.

You'll need to act fast to secure an Apple bargain, though — these Amazon prices won't stick around too long!

I’m a fitness editor and marathon runner, and I’ve been wearing the Apple Watch for the past decade and I’m here to tell you about the simple feature you’re probably not using — Heart Rate Zones. When used correctly, they can transform your watch from a simple heart rate monitor, to a far more sophisticated tool that can help you train smarter, and avoid injuries.

Apple introduced heart rate zones onto its watches in September 2022, giving wearers the option to track exercise intensity in real-time across five different zones. These zones are calculated automatically based on health data, or you can adjust them manually — read on to find out how.

How to adjust your heart rate zones

If you’re already wearing one of the best Apple Watches, your watch will already have been collecting data to estimate your heart rate zones, based on your current fitness level. This is generally more accurate than the “220-age” formula, but if you’ve done tests to find your specific Max Heart Rate, you can enter your own data to make your data more reliable.

To find your heart rate zones during a cardio workout, use the digital crown to scroll upward, and the heart rate zones will appear. You’ll see your current BPM, your current color-coded zone, and how much time you’ve spent in each zone so far.

To manually adjust your heart rate zones, head to the Watch App on your iPhone, click My Watch in the bottom left, then scroll to Workout, then Heart Rate Zones. From here, switch from Automatic to Manual, and tap on each zone to enter your specific BPM ranges.

What are the benefits of using the Heart Rate Zones when training?

‘Zone 2’ training

You’ve probably heard about the magic zone 2, but it is not just another fitness fad, it's a scientifically proven method utilized by athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike to enhance cardiovascular fitness and endurance. For example, one study published in the Healthcare journal demonstrates how a group of cross-country ski athletes improved their athletic performance by taking up zone two training. It’s not limited to skiing, it's a popular training method used frequently in endurance sports like running, cycling and swimming.

Training in zone 2 can improve the body’s mitochondrial efficiency, meaning your body is more efficient at burning fat for fuel. By keeping an eye on your Apple Watch during your training you can ensure you’re not pushing yourself too hard during ‘easy’ runs.

Prevents overtraining

It’s a common pitfall many runners fall into — pushing too hard on days that are supposed to be ‘easy’. The Apple Watch color-codes the different zones, so if you see yourself pushing into the red zone 5 on a recovery cycling session, it’s a signal to slow down. This helps prevent injuries in training blocks.

Teaches you about effort awareness

If you’re run down, exhausted or getting ill, your heart rate will tell you. Training to your heart rate will help give you a better idea of how to “feel” your intensity. Most running coaches will stress the importance of being able to hold a conversation in a Zone 2 jog, but if you’re running alone, it can be tricky to gage how to pace your run. Using your heart rate is a great indicator.

What’s more, as you get fitter and stronger, your heart rate zones will change as your resting heart rate will drop, and your heart will become more efficient at clearing lactic acid. The Apple Watch will update your zones automatically, helping you to increase your pace, while still ensuring you’re not pushing yourself too hard.

More from Tom's Guide

• 5 Apple Watch settings you should change right now for more accurate heart rate tracking
• 7 hidden Apple Watch features I swear by
• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call

The first Apple Watch debuted almost 11 years ago on April 24, 2015, and while Cupertino didn’t invent the smartwatch, Apple’s square-shaped wearable is easily the most popular and recognizable smartwatch in the world today.

2026 marks 50 years of Apple, and to celebrate the brand’s history, I’ve taken a look back through the brand’s entire catalog of smartwatches — from the original ‘Series 0’ to the current Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3 — to narrow down the ten most significant Apple Watch innovations that revolutionized wearable tech.

2015: First Apple Watch debuts

The year is 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ is booming on the car stereo, ‘Pizza Rat’ is trending on Instagram (TikTok has yet to launch in the U.S), selfie sticks have invaded public space en masse, and Apple has a shiny new wearable computer called the Apple Watch.

The original Apple Watch lacked the health, fitness, and safety features found in the best Apple Watch models in 2026. It also lacked waterproofing, cellular connectivity, and onboard GPS, relying on a paired phone for location data. The device was groundbreaking and hugely popular, nonetheless.

A status symbol for techies, Apple moved over eight million smartwatches in the first year it went on sale. Like today’s flagship, the original model came in two sizes, with a starting price of $349 for the 38mm model and $399 for the 42mm option. Key features included support for Apple Pay, an onboard heart rate monitor, and Apple’s nifty digital crown.

The first Apple Watch also debuted alongside the official Apple Watch App Store, which offered roughly 3,000 apps at launch.

2016: Onboard GPS

The following year, Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple Watch Series 2, beginning an annual September release schedule that the brand still sticks to today. These upgraded models had the same basic design as the original, but now with splash-resistance, and perhaps more notably, onboard GPS.

This meant that users could now track an outdoor workout on their watch without having to carry along a phone for location data, a huge perk for runners, walkers, hikers, and cyclists.

2017: Apple Watch goes cellular

Apple wasn’t the first brand to offer a cellular-capable smartwatch — that was Samsung — but 2017’s Apple Watch Series 3 certainly popularized the concept of on-wrist connectivity, sans-smartphone. For the first time, Apple Watch wearers could receive calls and messages on their watch with no phone in sight.

The LTE-capable Apple Watch Series 3 model used eSIM to connect to mobile internet, with the watch’s display serving as the cellular antenna.

2018: Fall Detection

One of Apple’s most well-known safety features, Fall Detection, officially made its debut in 2018 alongside the Apple Watch Series 4. Now a mainstay on all Apple Watch models, Fall Detection uses the device’s onboard gyroscope and accelerometer to determine when a user takes a tumble and how hard they fell.

In 2022, Apple expanded on this useful bit of safety tech by adding car Crash Detection via the Apple Watch Series 8. Like Fall Detection, it can automatically call for help in an emergency and share location data with loved ones and rescuers if you’re unresponsive.

2018: FDA-approved ECG readings

2018's Apple Watch Series 4 was also the first smartwatch on the market with FDA-approved electrocardiogram (ECG) functionality capable of detecting Atrial fibrillation (AFib).

This was the exact moment, in my mind, that the Apple Watch began to shift away from being a companion device to the iPhone, focused on connectivity features, and more of a standalone device centered around a user’s health, fitness, and safety.

ECG reading took just 30 seconds and required you to simply press your thumb and finger against the digital crown and back of the device. Two years later, Samsung would add a similar FDA-approved ECG functionality via the Galaxy Watch 3.

2019: Always-on display

The Apple Watch Series 5 in 2019 ushered in the era of always-on displays. The watch’s innovative LTPO panel allowed the screen to remain active at all times, using a low refresh rate to save battery.

This meant that your Apple Watch could now display the time and your choice of complications without the need to raise your wrist, tap the screen, or press a button to wake it. It’s worth noting that Apple was far from the first smartwatch maker to introduce an always-on display, but the brand no doubt popularized the feature.

2020: Blood oxygen monitoring

2020’s Apple Watch Series 6 saw the introduction of another marquee health feature: blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring. While the Series 6 was one of the world’s first mainstream smartwatches with the feature, its debut would ultimately land Apple in hot legal water with rival, Masimo, which claimed to own the patents behind the tech.

The Apple vs Masimo debacle would ultimately result in a U.S. import ban on later Apple Watch models (the Series 9 and Ultra 2) and years of back-and-forth litigation.

Nevertheless, the feature launched just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic. By monitoring the percentage of oxygen in a user’s bloodstream (anything 95% and up is considered ‘normal'), the feature could potentially indicate early signs of a viral infection based on consistently low readings. Of course, it was no substitute for an actual COVID-19 test.

2022: Apple Watch Ultra debuts

2020 also gave us the debut of the more wallet-friendly Apple Watch SE, with a starting price of $279. However, it would be another two years before Apple’s tough-built Apple Watch Ultra arrived.

Arguably the most groundbreaking model since the debut of the very first Apple Watch Series 0, the $799 Ultra promised far better battery, a tougher build quality with a sapphire crystal display and titanium alloy case, an additional, programmable ‘Action Button,’ and double the water resistance of the standard and SE models. It also offered a massive, ultra-bright screen packed into a larger-than-life 49mm case.

Designed with outdoor enthusiasts and endurance athletes in mind, the Apple Watch Ultra found a curious fanbase amongst tech and finance bros eager to swap out their Rolex Submariner for something even cooler.

2024: Sleep apnea detection

Apple was a little late to the sleep apnea detection train, but 2024 was when Cupertino officially started taking sleep tracking seriously. While prior models monitored your sleep patterns and total time spent resting, this was the first time the Apple Watch could inform you whether signs of the deadly condition, which often goes unnoticed, are present in your sleep data.

For sleep apnea detection to work, users need to wear their Apple Watch Series 9 or newer for at least ten nights in 30 days.

2025: Hypertension alerts

As of writing, hypertension alerts remain unique to only Apple Watches. Offered on the Series 9 and newer, along with the Ultra 2 and 3, the device needs 30 days of wrist data to predict whether or not the user shows potential signs of high blood pressure.

To do this, the watch uses the onboard heart rate sensor to monitor how your blood vessels respond to your heartbeat. That data gets fed through an algorithm to determine whether or not the user is at risk of hypertension.

(Honorable mention) 2025: Satellite SOS messaging

Currently only available on the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the new emergency SOS messaging feature is designed to let users connect to rescuers and/or loved ones from off-the-grid via satellite with the ability to share location data and a text-based message.

More from Tom's Guide

• The Apple Watch turns 10 — 5 reasons the OG smartwatch is still my favorite
• 7 hidden Apple Watch features I swear by
• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call

Apple versus Google: Which brand makes the better smartwatch for tracking fitness? To find out, I strapped the best smartwatch model from each to opposite wrists and embarked on a 6,000-step walk around my neighborhood.

As a control for step count data — the primary metric we'll use to determine our fitness tracking accuracy champion — I manually counted my paces; a click of my trusty, old-school tally counter marked every hundred taken.

So, which top-shelf smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Google Pixel Watch 4 XL, proved victorious in my comparison? Read on.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Google Pixel Watch 4 XL

Unlike Apple and Samsung, Google doesn't offer an 'Ultra' model in the brand's current smartwatch lineup. This means that the Pixel Watch 4 XL (45mm), with superior battery life but a higher price tag than its smaller (41mm) sibling, is Google's most capable and exspensive model.

Starting at $399 for the non-cellular model or $449 for LTE connectivity, the Pixel Watch 4 is notably cheaper than the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3. Despite this, you get better battery performance from the Google option, along with support for Google's AI-powered virtual assistant Gemini, while Ultra 3 owners are stuck with a dated, non-AI version of Siri.

That said, the Ultra 3 is a tougher-built device, with 100 meters of water resistance and a titanium case, compared to 50 meters and aluminum. Ultimately, though, none of these differences should impact either model's ability to count my steps accurately.

With that, on to the walk test!

I walked 6,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Google Pixel Watch 4 XL

For this walk test, I wore the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on my right wrist and the Google Pixel Watch 4 on my left wrist. For additional data to compare the results to, I ran Strava on my iPhone 16 Plus.

With Seattle's cherry blossoms in full bloom and cheery blue skies overhead, I made my way up and down steep hills, past perfectly manicured lawns, quaint bakeries, and no fewer than a dozen 'Little Free Libraries. '

At exactly 6,000 steps, I parked myself on a park bench, ended tracking on all three devices, and catalogued the data. Find the results of my Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs. Pixel Watch 4 XL walk test below.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Google Pixel Watch 4 XL: Walk test results

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 undercounted my efforts by a mere 104 steps, an impressive result and certainly within a reasonable margin for error. However, the Pixel Watch 4 was even closer, with a tally that's just 16 steps over my actual count. Strava, for what it's worth, noted an even closer total of 6,012 steps.

All three tracking methods measure a distance of roughly 3.2 miles, but both Apple and Google noted greater elevation gain than Strava. Assuming, for a moment, that Strava's climb data is correct (the app tends to be on the money in this regard), Apple overcalculated by 51 feet, and Google inflated the climb by 65 feet; neither being an insignificant amount.

Moving on to pace, Strava registered a faster overall speed, but this is likely due to the app's aggressive tendency to pause tracking during even very short breaks in movement. Apple and Google also autopause during stoppages, just less often than Strava.

In terms of heart rate, Apple measured a slightly more elevated average and max compared to Google, but the Pixel Watch 4 noted a tad more calories burned than the Ultra 3. Finally, the Apple Watch used 2% battery to track my roughly 55-minute walk compared to 1% for the Pixel Watch.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Google Pixel Watch 4 XL: And the winner is...

As is often the case with these walk tests, this showdown was a close one. Ultimately, I'm impressed anytime a watch's step count is within a few hundred steps of my actual count, as was the case for both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Pixel Watch 4 XL here.

However, let's give credit where due: With a step count total of 6,016 — well within a reasonable margin for error — the Google Pixel Watch 4 wins this fitness tracking accuracy showdown.

Does this make the Pixel Watch 4 a better fitness tracker than the Apple Watch Ultra 3? Certainly not! I've tested both of these devices countless times against their peers, and can say with confidence that both are extremely accurate and dependable at monitoring not just your workouts, but your sleep and fitness recovery, too.

Which smartwatches should I test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• Your Google Pixel Watch now has earthquake alerts — here’s why they could be an actual lifesaver
• 7 hidden Apple Watch features I swear by
• I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and the winner was nearly too close to call

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Forerunner 970 are two of the best sports watches available, and two of my favorites to wear as a marathoner. I rate the Forerunner 970 as the best running watch money can buy, while the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the best sporty smartwatch.

I wore both watches to run the Surrey Half Marathon at the weekend, testing their GPS against each other and their heart rate tracking against a chest strap, which I paired to a Coros Pace 4 watch in my pocket.

I had a good day myself, running 1:09:06 for a PR, and both watches were strong on GPS accuracy, but one had a bit of a meltdown with heart rate tracking.

GPS Accuracy

The Surrey Half Marathon mostly takes place on country roads, with the start and finish in the town of Woking. It’s a pretty easy course for GPS accuracy as a result, with no tall buildings and minimal tree cover to stymie satellite signals.

Both watches were close to the official half marathon distance of 13.1 miles, with the Garmin clocking 13.15 miles and the Apple Watch 13.22 miles, so the Forerunner 970 was a little closer to the right distance.

During the race, I was rarely in a big crowd of runners, so I was able to take the most direct racing line throughout and probably only ran a little over the official distance. I think both watches were in the right ballpark.

I also looked at the GPS tracks from the race afterward, and they matched very closely throughout, to the point where I’m not sure how they ended up with even a 0.07-mile disparity. Both are reliable GPS watches for sure.

HR Accuracy

The optical sensors on watches aren't as reliable as a chest strap sensor, which measures electrical signals directly from the heart. I compared the Garmin and Apple readings with the Garmin HRM 600 chest strap for average and maximum heart rate.

Unlike with the GPS accuracy, there was a big difference in the accuracy here, with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 often reading far too high a heart rate, as well as frequently being unable to read my heart rate at all.

Meanwhile, the Forerunner 970 was very close to the reading from the chest strap throughout. It took longer to reach the correct heart rate at the start of the race and had a couple of erroneous dips, but overall, its accuracy was impressive.

Design

This is a small point, but I did notice the extra size and weight of the Apple Watch Ultra 3 compared with the lightweight, slim Forerunner 970. As someone with thin wrists, I prefer the feel of the Garmin on my wrist.

That said, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 has a more premium design and should be more durable thanks to the titanium case.

Verdict

On this occasion, the Garmin Forerunner 970 proved to be the more reliable running watch, with slightly better GPS accuracy and considerably better heart rate accuracy than the Apple Watch Ultra 3. The Forerunner 970 is my go-to watch, so it’s great to see it prove so reliable on race day.

However, I have run many races with both watches and each has proved very reliable for the most part — the Apple Watch Ultra 3 was very good for a marathon test last year, for example — so you can shop either watch with confidence you’re getting a strong option for running.

Running essentials we love

More from Tom's Guide

• Not the Fenix 9 — this is the new Garmin watch I want to see in 2026
• Coros Pace 4 vs Coros Pace 3 vs Coros Pace Pro: Which is the best Coros watch for you?
• Garmin Fenix 8 vs. Garmin Fenix 8 Pro: should you upgrade?

I walked exactly 5,000 steps with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on my left wrist and the Garmin Forerunner 570 on my right wrist to find out which is the more accurate step-counter when tracking a walking workout.

As a control for pace, elevation gain, and distance data, I ran ol'reliable, Strava, on an iPhone 16 Plus. Which of these popular, premium smartwatches, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or Garmin Forerunner 570, came out on top? Read on.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3

While the Garmin Forerunner 570 is one of the best running watches on the market today, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the brand's highest-end, toughest-built model and the best Apple Watch for battery life.

We already tested the Apple Watch Ultra 3 versus the Garmin Forerunner 970, the latter of which is nearly the same price as the former. Cupertino won that showdown (by a very small margin). Will Tim Cook and Co. pull off a repeat win? Find out below.

I walked 5,000 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3

Despite the emo Seattle skies, today's walk test coincided with the Spring Equinox, and the flowers were out in full bloom, adding a cheerful splash of color and perfume to an otherwise gloomy day.

As noted above, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 adorned my left wrist and the Garmin Forerunner 570 accesorized my right wrist. Note: Both the Garmin and Apple Watch apps allow you to toggle wrist preference. For this test, preferences were correctly set.

To keep an accurate manual count of my steps, I mentally assigned my left foot even steps and my right foot odds. As always, for every hundred steps counted, I clicked my trusty manual tally counter before beginning the count over at one.

It might sound involved, but after a few hundred steps, the process of counting feels like second nature. A high-quality pair of noise-canceling headphones also helps to limit distractions.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Walk test results

The last half dozen smartwatch step count tests I've performed have all been absolute nail-biters when it comes to declaring a winner. The same can be said for this one. It's also worth repeating that being within 100 steps of the actual manual count is considered an excellent result and well within a reasonable margin for error.

While the Apple Watch Ultra 3 ultimately edged out the Garmin Forerunner 570 with a total just 11 steps greater than my actual count, Strava was somehow even closer with a step count total of 5,004.

All three tracking methods measured roughly the same amount of distance covered. Meanwhile, Garmin and Strava pretty much agree on how much elevation gain the walk entailed, while Apple seems to think I climbed 40+ feet more than the competition.

This isn't the first time an Apple Watch has apparently inflated elevation data. I had similar results when I recently tested the Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs. the Garmin Venu 4.

Strava noted a quicker pace than Garmin and Apple, which is par for the course based on numerous previous walk test results. Meanwhile, Apple's average pace proved slowest.

It's always reassuring to see two popular smartwatch models record similar heart rate data for a workout, as is the case here. The same goes for calories burned. Lastly, each device drained about 2% battery during this ~46-minute walk.

Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: And the winner is...

By a margin oh-so-slim, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 proved ever so slightly more accurate at tracking my steps than the Garmin Forerunner 570. So, does this mean you should definitely buy the Apple Watch over the Garmin? Certainly not.

Both devices proved more than accurate enough in this challenge. Ultimately, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Forerunner 570 are designed with different customers in mind. The former is a full-featured, rugged smartwatch packed with not just health and fitness tools, but loads of smart functions too.

The Forerunner, on the other hand, is all about helping you train and improve your running. It has far fewer smart features than the Ultra 3, but much better battery life and personalized workout tools.

Which wearables should I test head-to-head next? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• 5 reasons why the Apple Watch SE 3 is the smartwatch I recommend most
• 7 hidden Apple Watch features I swear by
• I walked 5,500 steps with the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Amazfit Active Max — and it's not even close

The best running watches go beyond simply tracking your training; they provide active guidance to help you get fitter and perform at your best. Fueling reminders are a great example of this — your watch can help you stay on top of your nutrition so you don’t run out of energy during long workouts and races.

It’s a feature that I think is especially useful for marathoners, because you need to take on carbs throughout your longest training runs and the race itself to avoid hitting the wall and even with a strict nutrition plan in place it’s easy to forget when you’re 15-20 miles into a run.

All of the best sports watches now offer fueling reminders as a standard feature you can set up, but it’s sometimes buried deep within the menus on the watch, while with some smartwatches you need to download a separate app to get fueling alerts.

I’ve explained how to set up fueling alerts on Apple, Garmin, Coros, and Polar watches below, so if you have one of those strapped to your wrist use this guide to plan your nutrition for your longest runs.

How to set up fuelling alerts on a Garmin watch

You can set alerts based on time or distance in the run activity with the best Garmin watches, here’s how.

1. Open up the run activity and scroll down to run settings.
2. Select ‘Alerts’ and then ‘Add New’
3. Choose ‘Custom’ and then select ‘Eat’
4. Choose either ‘Time’ or ‘Distance’ and set how often you want to get an alert

You can then customize the alert to say whether you want it to repeat or not and also the message that appears — you could set up several alerts and name them to the exact gel or drink you should take at that point.

How to set up fuelling alerts on an Apple Watch

While there’s no explicit nutrition alert option available natively on the Apple Watch or Apple Watch Ultra, you can set recurring time alerts for an activity in the Workout app, which you can use to remind you to eat.

1. Open the ‘Workout’ app and select the running activity you want to use
2. Select the bell icon in the bottom left corner of the screen
3. Scroll down to’ Time’, turn the alert on and select the time interval you want to use

You can get dedicated nutrition alerts by using third-party apps on the Apple Watch, including my favorite run tracking app WorkOutDoors, which has an eat reminder option in its settings screen under ‘Alerts’.

How to set up fuelling alerts on a Coros watch

It’s quick and easy to set up alerts on a Coros watch, but you can only do them based on time, not distance.

1. Open up the run activity and scroll down to ‘Activity Alerts’
2. Scroll down and select ‘Nutrition Alerts’
3. Choose how often you want to get the alerts and turn them on

How to set up fuelling alerts on a Polar watch

Polar’s FuelWise feature is more advanced than the basic alerts you get on other watches, because the smart carbs reminder it offers can suggest when you need more fuel based on the time and intensity of your run.

You can also set manual alerts based on time if you prefer, as well as setting up a separate drinks reminder.

For the smart carbs reminders:

1. Open up the run activity and select ‘Fueling’
2. Choose ‘Smart Carbs Reminder’ and set how long your activity will be — the minimum is 30 minutes
3. Select the expected intensity of your session based on heart rate zones
4. Set the carbs per serving of your fuel — you’ll find this in the nutritional info of a gel or drink
5. Hit ‘Next’ to see an overview of your fueling then start your run
6. Throughout the run you’ll get alerts to take carbs based on the intensity of your workout

For the manual carbs reminder:

1. Open up the run activity and select ‘Fueling’
2. Choose ‘Manual Carbs Reminder’ and set the time interval you want between reminders

Running essentials we love

More from Tom's Guide

• Not the Fenix 9 — this is the new Garmin watch I want to see in 2026
• Coros Pace 4 vs Coros Pace 3 vs Coros Pace Pro: Which is the best Coros watch for you?
• Garmin Fenix 8 vs. Garmin Fenix 8 Pro: should you upgrade?

The London Marathon is one of the most iconic races in the world — trust me, I’m running it for the fifth time this April. Yesterday, Apple announced it was now an official partner of the TCS London Marathon, and it could hint at bigger future announcements for the Apple Watch.

The partnership places Apple amongst some of the biggest names in running, as a sponsor of one of the biggest races in the world. More than 1.13 million people entered the ballot to run the 2026 London Marathon, with this year’s race taking place on Sunday, April 26.

For Apple, this looks to be the next move in its pursuit to be taken seriously as a running wearable, not ‘just’ a lifestyle watch.

Apple has always been more than capable of tracking your runs, but with recent updates, the watch has gotten smarter, especially with the launch of the Apple Watch Ultra 3, with a 42-hour battery life, dual-band GPS, and it’s lap button, which is a massive win for runners.

You can read what happened when our resident 2:25 marathon runner, Nick Harris-Fry, raced a marathon with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Fenix 8 Pro here.

Partnering with a global event like the London Marathon further signifies this commitment to running. Personally, as a female runner, I’d love the opportunity to choose a smaller Apple Watch Ultra 3 that would sit more comfortably on my wrist as I clocked up the miles.

What’s more, when comparing the Ultra 3 to any Garmin, it always falls short on battery life.

Of course, as always, Apple remains tight-lipped about future plans and announcement but what Jay Blahnik, Apple’s vice president of Fitness Technologies has said is: “The London Marathon is one of the world’s greatest sporting events and a powerful celebration of the global running community. Apple’s technologies support runners at every level with powerful tools and insights that help them stay motivated, track their progress, and better understand their health and fitness. We couldn’t be more excited to be a partner of the 2026 TCS London Marathon.”

More from Tom's Guide

• Not sit-ups, planks, or crunches: I do this simple Pilates exercise every single day to build a strong and stable core and work on my hip flexor mobility
• Not sit-ups or lunges — I use this simple Pilates exercise to sculpt strong obliques, inner thighs and hip stabilizers
• 'I’m a Pilates instructor, and I recommend these 5 core exercises to help older clients build strength and improve posture'