The best smartwatches for Android range greatly in terms of style, price and functionality. In other words, there’s something for everyone.
Whether you have a handset from Samsung, Google or OnePlus, or any of the best Android phones, you’ll want to consider the smartwatches below. Some are optimized to work with specific smartphones, but all are among the best smartwatches for Android you can buy now.
Not all of the best smartwatches for Android are made the same, though. Some are sophisticated fitness trackers, while others are designed to make the ultimate fashion statement. A few of these smartwatches even support LTE, so you can communicate from your wrist untethered from your smartphone.
For brand-specific buying advice, see our guides to the best Fitbit and best Garmin watch models. Otherwise, see all the best smartwatches for Android below.
What are the best smartwatches for Android?
We’ve tested dozens of Android-compatible smartwatches in all shapes, sizes and prices here at Tom’s Guide, and our current top pick is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4. It offers a versatile design, complete with a sporty-looking model starting at $249.99 and an elevated ‘Classic’ model version starting at $349.99. The Galaxy Watch 4 is notably the first smartwatch with the new unified version of Wear OS, called Wear OS 3. However, you’ll need a Samsung smartphone to use all its features.
Note there aren’t any Fossil smartwatches on this list. We’re waiting to test the Fossil Gen 6, which is technically available now, but worth waiting for until it gets the new Wear OS in 2022.
The $299.95 Fitbit Sense, another excellent premium smartwatch for Android, is a close second. Of course, Fitbit is owned by Google, so future launches should also run Wear OS based on what both companies have said. But for now, the Sense is built on Fitbit’s reliable platform complete with popular apps and voice assistants. The Fitbit Sense provides the most holistic look at your health of any of the best smartwatches we’ve ever used.
For about $100 less, you can get the Fitbit Versa 3 instead. It launched at the same time as the Fitbit Sense, and gets the same 6-day battery life along with a capable collection of fitness tracking features. There are a few even more budget-friendly smartwatches for Android, so read on for all our recommendations.
The best smartwatches you can buy today
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is our top choice among the best smartwatches for Android. Samsung ditched the ‘Active’ branding for its latest lineup, instead pitching a sporty-looking Galaxy Watch 4 as the company’s flagship and a ‘Classic’ version that carries on the luxurious characteristics like the physical rotating bezel.
Thanks to a 3-in-1 health sensor, the Galaxy Watch 4 measures heart rate, takes ECGs and reads body composition. And while it gets appealing Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Wear OS features, it still pays homage to Tizen, making it the ideal accessory for the best Samsung phones. In fact, a number of features are exclusive to Samsung phones, like ECG and blood pressure monitoring if you’re in a country it’s available. Otherwise, the one Galaxy Watch 4 setback is inconsistent battery life, but as long as you don’t mind a daily charge, you’ll benefit from on-board GPS, an always-on display, excellent sleep tracking and more.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 review.
The Fitbit Sense is the company's most ambitious smartwatch yet. It comes with more advanced health and wellness features than any of the best Android smartwatches. Not only does it have an FDA-approved ECG sensor and blood oxygen reading, but the Sense has the ability to measure electrodermal activity and skin temperature, too.
Aside from it being a premium health tracking device, the Sense can answer and make phone calls when tethered to your Android phone. It also has on-board GPS, a native app store, Alexa, Google Assistant and other tools you’ll find useful on your wrist. The Google-owned Fitbit isn’t just a brand with products for tracking our steps: Fitbit devices like the Fitbit Sense show what it means to take a holistic look at our health.
Read our full Fitbit Sense review.
The best smartwatch for Android for those interested in advanced sleep tracking is the Fitbit Versa 3, the next-generation of the popular Fitbit Versa 2. The Versa 3’s standout upgrade is on-board GPS. Even when you leave your phone at home, the Versa can track your location during outdoor exercise. A curvier, larger display is welcome, too.
Plus the Versa 3 has gained a great motivational workout feature, Active Zone Minutes. Introduced with the Fitbit Charge 4 and now a staple of Fitbit devices, Active Zone Minutes monitors the time you spend in the fat burn, cardio or peak heart-rate zones while exercising. Your goal is to earn the AHA’s and WHO’s recommended 150 Active Zone Minutes each week. Again you can use your Fitbit Versa 3 for phone calls and speak to voice assistants for queries, but note you can only enable one voice assistant at once. Torn between the Sense and Versa? See our Fitbit Sense vs. Fitbit Versa 3 face-off.
Read our full Fitbit Versa 3 review.
With an accurate GPS, a long-lasting battery, and the ability to track many types of workouts, the Garmin Forerunner 245 is one of the best sports watches. When synced with your Android phone, the Forerunner 245 can send (or cancel) emergency notifications at the push of a button, so you’ll have peace of mind wherever your next workout takes you.
The Garmin Forerunner 245 is small and light, so it won’t weigh down your wrist during runs or feel uncomfortable during everyday wear or while you’re sleeping. And it gets the same fitness metrics as Garmin’s latest higher-end GPS watches: Training Status to track progress, Training Load to see workouts over a seven-day period, and Training Effect to measure anaerobic and aerobic. It also supports sleep, stress, blood oxygen saturation, and menstrual cycle tracking. Garmin even offers a Forerunner 245 Music edition, which comes with onboard storage for up to 500 songs and syncs with Spotify and Deezer accounts.
Read our full Garmin Forerunner 245 review.
Though it’s been replaced by the Galaxy Watch 4, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is still available to purchase and remains one of the most stylish smartwatches around. It's available in two sizes, as well as in LTE variants, so you can leave your Android smartphone at home. The Galaxy Watch 3's rotating bezel makes navigating the watch's interface easy, while access to thousands of watch faces lets you customize the display to your liking.
Although the Galaxy Watch 3 has a shorter, 2-day battery life compared to the original Samsung Galaxy Watch, it introduces more music storage, FDA-approved ECG tracking and trip detection. Of course, you'll get Samsung Pay for contactless payments, and some good fitness features too. Like the first Galaxy Watch, the Galaxy Watch 3's biggest setback is that Samsung's app store is limited, but Tizen is good. If you’re not sure whether you should get this model or the newer one, see our guide to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs. Galaxy Watch 3.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 review.
While probably better known for its budget smartwatches, Mobvoi has branched into higher-end devices such as the TicWatch Pro 3. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform, which makes it eligible for the new Wear OS platform and delivers better overall performance than previous TicWatch offerings.
As a smartwatch, the TicWatch Pro 3 works quite well, with easy Wear OS integration and notifications that are prompt but unobtrusive. The activity tracking features seem sub-par, especially compared to some of the other best smartwatches for Android on this list, but they’ll suffice for basic step counting and sleep tracking. In terms of style, the TicWatch Pro 3 feels like a traditional timepiece. But with a large 1.4-inch display, the TicWatch Pro 3 is sharp and easy to read at a glance.
Read our full TicWatch Pro 3 review.
As our Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs. Galaxy Watch Active 2 face-off explains, the Watch Active 2 is still worth buying, especially when you find it on sale. Samsung's watch works with any Android smartphone and features GPS, a heart rate monitor and the option to enable LTE. It also can automatically track your activity and sleep. (It's much better at the former task than the latter.)
As for looks, Galaxy Watch Active 2's circular design is visually appealing, whether you get the 40mm or 44mm model. Based on Samsung's Tizen operating system, this Galaxy Watch boasts other useful features such as Samsung Pay, onboard music via Spotify and heart health features. That includes an ECG feature, which is usually reserved for pricer models.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 review.
Another previous-gen model on this list, the Fitbit Versa 2 is a highly capable smartwatch. It has Amazon's assistant built in, which lets you do such things as control smart home devices, look up the weather and news, and a lot more. It comes with advanced sleep-tracking features, which, when combined with the Versa 2's ability to monitor blood oxygen saturation levels, could help alert you to conditions such as sleep apnea.
You can also download up to 300 songs to the Versa 2 itself, as well as from Pandora and Deezer, so you can leave your phone at home if you want to listen to some tunes. Sadly, the Versa 2 lacks on-board GPS, so you will need to tote your phone if you want that feature.
Read our full Fitbit Versa 2 review.
It’s difficult to beat the Amazfit GTR 2’s value. You might not know Amazfit as well as you do Samsung or Fitbit, but the company makes some of the most affordable wearable products on the market. The GTR 2 might not be the most attractive piece of wrist candy around, but it comes with capable activity and sleep tracking capabilities, and an impressive battery life of up to two weeks.
The Amazfit 2 GTR is worth the money if you like voice control and need a no-frills, Android-compatible smartwatch for tracking activity and receiving notifications. Note that you won’t be able to add third-party apps — the GTR 2 runs a proprietary software that doesn’t connect to the Google Play store, so you’re limited to the on-board programs.
Read our full Amazfit GTR 2 review.
The $159 OnePlus Watch finally offers OnePlus customers an optimized wearable accessory for their smartphones. On paper it looks great, loaded with features we've come to expect on many of the best smartwatches for Android, including fitness tracking and blood oxygen monitoring, plus a 14-day battery life. It also can be used to answer phone calls as long as your smartphone is nearby.
Compared to the smartwatches made by OnePlus’s mobile competitors, the OnePlus Watch’s alluring price makes it a curious option. We'd say a Fitbit is better, but if you have one of the best OnePlus phones, why not complete your ecosystem? Of course, buying the OnePlus Watch comes with some caveats. The performance is inconsistent, and the proprietary Real TIme Operating System (RTOS) lacks compared to Wear OS, despite looking similar to Google’s platform.
Read our full OnePlus Watch review.
How to choose the best smartwatch for Android for you
When looking at the best smartwatches for Android, you have plenty of options, no matter the connected smartphone brand (as long it’s not an iPhone, obviously.) That said, if you have a Samsung smartphone, you’ll probably enjoy the ecosystem experience of a Samsung-made Galaxy Watch more than a smartwatch from Fitbit or other third-party maker. But if fitness tracking or working out is your priority, a Fitbit or Garmin wearable might be better for reaching your goals.
After that, when picking any smartwatch, you want to get one that fits your wrist comfortably. Those with smaller wrists may find larger smartwatches — ones with case sizes larger than 44mm — bulky and cumbersome. Many of the watches listed above are large, which might make them awkward to wear overnight. On the other hand, the larger displays make whatever is on your screen easier to read.
Lastly, consider style. Some of the best smartwatches for Android look like high-tech fitness trackers while others look like traditional timepieces. 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 Android
Whenever an attractive, Android-compatible smartwatch 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?
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 put forth by the company.
