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I've been writing about smartwatches and fitness trackers for the past decade. Long enough to remember when cycle tracking was added to a device for the first time (the Fitbit Versa in 2018), and when devices started coming in two sizes to better fit the female wrist.
Right now, the best smartwatch for women is the Apple Watch Series 11. The newest Apple Watch boasts improved battery life over its predecessor and is available in two different sizes, making it one of Apple's most comfortable wearables. It only works with iPhone, though, so if you're an Android user, it's not your best pick.
Quick list
If you have an iPhone, this is easily the best smartwatch for women. Apple's wearable has become a style icon in its own right, but you don't have to compromise on features either. It has everything you could want from a smartwatch, except it only lasts up to a day between charges.
The Galaxy Watch 8 is Samsung's answer to the Apple Watch. It's also packed with features, including a load of new health tracking capabilities powered by Samsung AI. It works with any Android phone, but is optimized for Samsung's devices. Plus, it can keep tabs on your sleep and look for signs of sleep apnea.
Garmin's watches are usually quite bulky, but not the Venu 4. It packs some of the brand's most high-end features, has accurate GPS tracking and detailed fitness monitoring, into a more stylish package. You can switch out the straps, and it offers menstrual health and pregnancy tracking from your wrist.
Jane is our Senior Fitness Editor, and has been testing and writing about fitness tech for the past 10 years. Her go-to running watch right now is the new Garmin Forerunner 570, and she tracks just about everything there is to track on her Oura Ring 4.
The best smartwatches for women right now
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Best smartwatch for women overall
The Apple Watch 11 is the best Apple Watch yet. It’s not a major upgrade over the Apple Watch 10 in terms of features, but it does finally crack the 18-hour battery life mark.
While, on the surface, the Apple Watch 11 looks the same as the Apple Watch 10, the little watch is twice as tough. Apple has made the protective glass of the screen much tougher, meaning the Apple Watch 11 can withstand more knocks.
The Apple Watch 11 ships with watchOS 26, which means it features Apple's latest Workout Buddy, an AI workout coach, a sleep score, and the first-of-its-kind high blood pressure alert feature (hypertension).
On board, there's more workout modes than you can imagine, as well as the ability to track your sleep, vitals, and cycle from your wrist. The Series 11 also gets a bump from LTE to 5G, giving it better cellular range than ever before.
That's why it's the best smartwatch for women (and for most people) if you have an iPhone.
- Read our full Apple Watch 11 review
Best smartwatch for women for Android
The Galaxy Watch 8 is Samsung's newest smartwatch model, and it offers a handful of new features and wellness tools not currently found on the Galaxy Watch 7, the most notable being Google's Gemini AI voice assistant built in.
While the older model is slated to eventually get this feature via firmware (the Pixel Watch 3, too), at present, Samsung's latest and the Pixel Watch 4 are the only smartwatches that ships with Gemini preloaded.
Gemini is by far the most useful on-wrist AI assistant I've tested, capable of handling a range of tasks and reliable when it comes to providing useful responses to inquiries like, "Can my 20-pound chihuahua mix eat blueberries, and if so, how many?”
There are also a handful of new holistic and fitness features on the Galaxy Watch 8 of varying usefulness. Cardiovascular Load and Samsung's new personalized running coach both impressed me during testing. The former lets you know how your lifestyle may be impacting your overall heart health, and the latter builds a full-blown multi-week training plan based on a simple 12-minute run test and your running goals.
The Galaxy Watch 8 strikes the balance of sleek and sporty, while two display sizes and a large collection of interchangeable bands offer ample customization. But the reason it really stands out as one of the best smartwatches for women is its integration with the fertility-tracking app, Natural Cycles.
Famously, the Oura Ring works with Natural Cycles, but the data syncs from one app to the other and you need a subscription to both to make it work. Samsung's implementation is different.
Natural Cycles' algorithm powers the menstrual tracking and fertility data in the Samsung Health app. So, you buy the watch and get access to some of Natural Cycles' key features without taking an additional subscription.
- Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 review
Best smartwatch for women for fitness
The Garmin Venu 4 has received some huge upgrades, making it well worth considering if you’re looking to upgrade your smartwatch. It comes with a price hike compared to its predecessor, the Garmin Venu 3, but it has a redesigned case, more accurate GPS, and more advanced health and fitness tracking features on board.
he Venu 4 has some of Garmin’s most premium health and training features, as well as a bunch of new ones built in, including the new sleep consistency and sleep alignment features, lifestyle logging, and health status.
From a safety perspective, the Venu 4 has a flashlight, which can change color as you're running at night, adding visibility to your workouts. It can be turned on by holding the back button down for a couple of seconds, and you can change the brightness by swiping up and down on the watch.
During testing, I was blown away by the design of this watch. It looks beautiful. The all-metal casing, rather than just the metal bezel on the Venu 3, gives the newer watch a more premium feel on the wrist. The watch has a bright, AMOLED touchscreen, as well as two physical buttons to allow you to navigate around the watch while wearing gloves or with sweaty hands.
If you're looking for a smartwatch that'll help you keep track of your fitness goals, you can't go wrong with the Venu 4.
- Read our full Garmin Venu 4 review
Best smartwatch for women for health tracking
The Fitbit Sense 2 is the company's premium smartwatch that comes with more advanced health and wellness features than the Versa line. Not only does it have an FDA-cleared ECG sensor and blood oxygen reading, but the Sense has the ability to measure electrodermal activity and skin temperature, too.
An update to the stress-detecting EDA (electrodermal activity) sensor plays a large role in the device’s success: now called cEDA ('c' for continuous,) the sensor monitors stress levels or heightened responses throughout the day, prompting the user to take action on mood monitoring with Body Response notifications.
During testing, we were impressed by the Sense 2's long battery life and attractive design, as well as the huge number of health tracking options. The Sense 2 works with both iOS and Android, and comes with onboard GPS, Alexa, and more.
- Read our full Fitbit Sense 2 review
Best budget smartwatch for women
The Apple Watch SE 3 is the best smartwatch to buy if you're on a budget. The $249 smartwatch doesn't have all the Series 11's features, but still stands out for its great fitness tracking and safety features.
When choosing between the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch SE 3, your ultimate decision will be if you want to spend an extra $150 for an ECG monitor and a slightly longer battery life. Other than that, the two watches are pretty similar.
The SE 3 also has a skin temperature sensor for the first time, which means you can now use the watch for better cycle tracking and ovulation predictions.
If those tools aren't deal-breakers for you, the SE is a highly capable option for iPhone users. It even gets watchOS 26, the most up-to-date Apple Watch software, so the main difference between this and the Watch Series 11 is you can't access the flagship model's hypertension alerts.
- Read our full Apple Watch SE 3 review
Ok, I know this isn't a smartwatch, but I'd be remiss to speak about female health tracking tech without mentioning the Oura ring. It's one of the best when it comes to tracking your cycle (it worked out I was pregnant before I did), and it looks like a piece of jewellery, so you won't be tempted to remove it when you're going out with friends.
From a tracking perspective, Oura helps you keep an eye on your recovery and sleep, but also the impact of the day's stress on your body. But Oura's real edge over the competition is the companion smartphone app. Alongside the new ring, the app was redesigned to make it easier to see daily insights, long-term trends and an overall picture of your health. But it keeps the impressive analysis that made it the top smart ring in our best smart rings guide.
While the overall experience with the Oura Ring 4 is still miles ahead of its competitors, there's one major downside; the monthly subscription. You need to pay $5.99 to use the ring, which is a substantial ask when you've already paid at least $350 for the hardware. It's definitely a commitment, but if you're looking to get a better understanding of your overall health, it's my top pick.
Read our Oura Ring 4 review
How to choose the best smartwatch for women
Among the best smartwatches for women, you have a bounty of options to match your needs and style. That said, if you have an iPhone, you’ll probably appreciate the ecosystem experience of the Apple Watch 10 or Apple Watch SE.
The same goes those with Samsung smartphones, your best choice is a Samsung-made Galaxy Watch, But if fitness tracking or working out is your priority, a Fitbit or Garmin wearable might be better for reaching your goals. Plus both those companies offer diverse design options.
When picking any smartwatch, you’ll also want to get one that fits your wrist comfortably. Those with smaller wrists may find larger smartwatches bulky and cumbersome. All of the smartwatches above have 40mm or smaller size options, though the 38mm Garmin Lily is by far the more compact.
Some of the best smartwatches for women look like high-tech fitness trackers while others look like traditional timepieces, too. If you want something sporty, stick to sleek materials with fewer embellishments. If you want something you can wear on nicer occasions, look for bezels or other eye-catching accents.
How we test the best smartwatches for women
Whenever an attractive smartwatch for women is released, we fully charge it up, then strap it on our wrist for about a week or so to test out all the features.
We gauge how it feels on our wrist throughout our day-to-day, as well as how easy (or not) the interface is to navigate when we need to read notifications, set timers or change other settings.
Next, we look at its fitness features, such as heart rate readings, blood oxygen readings, step counts and, when applicable, GPS. How accurate are all these readings? Does the smartwatch offer female-specific features for menstrual cycle or pregnancy tracking?
Finally we consider battery life claims and compare it to our actual use. Some features like continuous GPS use, playing music or enabling an always-on display chew up juice faster than others. We understand that not all smartwatches last two weeks — we just want our experience to match up with the expectations set by the company.
