I'm tracking the best Black Friday smartwatches deals LIVE — Apple, Garmin, Samsung and more

Should you buy the Garmin Forerunner 570 or Garmin Venu 4 today?

This is a tricky one to answer, as the two watches are extremely similar, and with the Forerunner 570 ever so slightly cheaper today, it might be even more difficult to decide.

Luckily for you, our resident Garmin-expert (and 2:25 marathon runner) Nick Harris-Fry has put the Garmin Forerunner 570 vs Garmin Venu 4 head-to-head. Here's his verdict: "While the Forerunner name and five-button design will ensure the 570 still has a lot of appeal for keen athletes, I do think the Venu 4 is the better buy of these two watches, even as a marathoner myself.

I love having a flashlight on my watch, and while having to use a touchscreen instead of buttons was an occasional annoyance for me during workouts, it’s worth it for the flashlight.

The other key deciding factor will be which design you prefer in terms of aesthetics. I’m undecided on this one because I like the bright colors you get on the Forerunner 570 range, but the Venu 4 does have a more premium look, and is slightly smaller and lighter."

• Garmin Forerunner 570: was $549 now $449 @ Amazon
• Garmin Venu 4 41mm: was $549 now $499 @ Amazon

At $69, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is still my favorite cheap fitness tracker

If you're not worried about checking your emails on the go, or making calls from your wrist, the Fitbit Inspire 3 is a pretty-perfect fitness tracker. It's perfect for beginners, or those returning to fitness after a break, and right now, it's cheaper than ever.

The Inspire 3 is small, lightweight and comfortable. Don’t let the small footprint fool you, the Inspire 3 is jam-packed with sensors and can capture a bevy of health data, including distance, steps, active minutes, heart rate, calories burned, Sp02, stress, and sleep quality. That’s a lot of bang for not too much buck.

• Fitbit Inspire 3: was $99 now $69 @ Amazon

Save up to 25% off Garmin's longest-lasting smartwatch

Our resident smartwatch tester and adventurer, Dan Bracaglia hails the Garmin Instinct 3 Solar as his top Garmin of 2025. It's also impressively well-built, with 100 meters of water resistance, a metal-reinforced bezel, and a shock-resistant design. Fitness and adventure tracking tools are plentiful, GPS and elevation data are precise, and an onboard LED flashlight proves extremely handy.

Dan says, "I’ve worn my Garmin Instinct 3 to track my adventures snowboarding in the U.S. Pacific Northwest Cascade Mountains and British Columbia’s Fitzsimmons Range. It's also joined me on backcountry snowmobile missions in the same regions, dozens of urban and forested bike rides, and countless hikes, including an epic trek to New York's highest waterfall."

Right now, it has $100 off!

• Garmin Instinct 3 Solar: was $399 now $299 @ Amazon

Not a smartwatch, but still a great deal!

I've tested a ton of fitness trackers at Tom's Guide, and the Oura Ring 4 is the best smart ring yet. It gives you a slim and sleek alternative to bulky smartwatches, letting you track your sleep, exercise, recovery and more from your finger. Thanks to Black Friday deals, you can scoop up one for a heck of a discount.

Right now you can grab the silver and black versions of the Oura Ring 4 for just $249 on Amazon. That's $100 off and the lowest price ever for this smart ring.

What is the Oura Ring 4? The Oura Ring 4 is a smart ring packed with small health-tracking sensors and an accelerometer. It can count steps, read your heart rate, track your sleep, predict your cycle, gauge your stress, and offer actionable insights based on your body's readiness and resilience.

Who is the Oura Ring 4 for? The Oura Ring 4 is for people who want to be better informed about their health and wellness, but don't necessarily want to wear a traditional smartwatch or activity band. It's screen-free and discreet.

• Oura Ring 4: was $349 now $249 @ Amazon

Save on the Galaxy Watch 8 today, but which should you buy?

The Galaxy Watch 8 is one of our favorite smartwatches for Android. It features Google's Gemini voice assistant built in, which blows the Siri experience on the Apple Watch out of the water.

If you want a premium experience, the Galaxy 8 Watch Classic is the way to go. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is our favorite Android smartwatch, thanks to more detailed/actionable holistic insights and a more engaging tactile interface. It also adds ten hours to the overall battery life performance, along with a rotating bezel and an extra custom button.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch 8 is a great smartwatch of you're on a budget. We like that it offers a small smattering of new wellness tools, a brighter screen, and Google’s Gemini AI assistant built in. Make sure to read our Galaxy Watch 8 review for our full thoughts on Samsung's watches.

• Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: was $349 now $279 @ Amazon
• Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic: was $499 now $399 @ Amazon

This is the best Apple Watch deal for most people today

The Apple Watch SE 3 sometimes flies under the radar compared to its pricier siblings, the Apple Watch 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, but we rate it as the best affordable smartwatch and right now it’s certainly better value than the other Apple Watches thanks to a Black Friday discount.

You can currently get the Apple Watch SE 3 for just $199 at Amazon, which is a $50 saving on its full price and the cheapest it’s ever been.

For the first time on an SE model, the SE 3 has an always-on screen, and it also has a more durable design and a much faster processor than its predecessor. In fact the SE 3 uses the same S10 chip that powers the pricier Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 watches.

It also offers 5G connectivity and on-device Siri and while there are some reasons people might want to upgrade to the Apple Watch Series 11, such as ECG measurements and its larger, brighter display, the Apple Watch SE 3 is so packed with features it’s the best Apple option for most people even at its full price, so it’s certainly worth looking at in the sales.

• Apple Watch SE 3 (40mm): was $249 now $199 @ Amazon

Should you buy the Apple Watch 11 or Garmin Venu 4 this Black Friday?

Right now, there are deals on the Apple Watch 11 and Garmin Venu 4, but which should you buy? Both watches are packed with sensors and trackers to help you live a healthier life. Both have HRM, ECG, SpO2 and Skin Temperature sensors.

Both have multiple sports modes, as well as sleep tracking features. I’d say the Garmin Venu 4 is more advanced than the Apple Watch when it comes to tracking your training; however, the Apple Watch 11 is streets ahead in terms of smartwatch capabilities.

Both also have very similar bright displays, although the Garmin Venu 4’s is circular — which you prefer will be a personal preference. That said, if you are considering the two, the battery life of the Venu 4 is better than the Apple Watch 11 — with Garmin, we’re talking about 10 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, not 24 hours.

Buy the Garmin Venu 4 if: you want all of Garmin's best health and fitness features, and care about battery life.

Buy the Apple Watch 11 if: you're on a budget, you're already used to Apple's ecosystem, or you want an extension of your iPhone on your wrist.

• Apple Watch 11: was $399 now $339 @ Amazon
• Garmin Venu 4: was $549 now $499 @ Amazon

Don't wait for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 discount, buy the Ultra 2 instead

While it's always tempting to wait for the newest watches to go on sale, it's not always the best deal. Right now, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a whopping $180 discount in the Black Friday deals, making it a great option for those looking to upgrade to the top-of-the-line adventure watch.

Apple didn't change all that much between the two watches, and side-by-side, you'd probably struggle to tell them apart. Sure, the screen on the Ultra 3 is slightly larger, and the chip means the watch runs a little faster, but thanks to the watchOS 26 updates that Apple rolls out to all its older watches, the Ultra 2 gets the same hypertension alerts and Sleep Score as the newer model.

• Apple Watch Ultra 2: was $779 now $599 @ Amazon

I test Garmin's for a living, and my favorite Garmin Watch of 2025 just dropped in the Black Friday sales

I'm Jane McGuire, Tom's Guide's fitness editor, and I review Garmin watches for a living. My favorite watch of 2025 is the Garmin Venu 4, and for good reason: This feels like a premium smartwatch, but it’s packed with Garmin’s most advanced health and training features. If you’re upgrading from an older model, you’re getting a lot for your money here. Sure, it’s more expensive than the Venu 3, but it has the newest features built into the watch, as well as the ability to take ECG readings and use the flashlight.

Considering the watch only launched months ago, I'm surprised to see it in the Black Friday sales already. It's not a huge saving, but it's easily Garmin's best smartwatch, so grab it while you can.

• Garmin Venu 4 41mm: was $549 now $499 @ Amazon
• Garmin Venu 4 45mm: was $549 now $499 @ Amazon

Save $100 on the Google Pixel Watch 4

The Google Pixel Watch 4 has dropped in the Black Friday sales! The LTE model of Google’s flagship smartwatch is reduced by $100 in the Black Friday sale, with both sizes and all colors included in the deal. We rate the Pixel Watch 4 as the best Android smartwatch available, with a sleek design, boosted battery life, and genuinely useful AI features.

If you don’t need LTE connectivity on your watch, then both sizes of the cheaper Wi-Fi model are also included in the sale, with the price dropping below $300 on the 41mm watch for the first time. Note that you lose the satellite messaging feature if you don’t have an LTE version of the watch, and with both models, you pay $50 more for the larger 45mm watch.

• Google Pixel Watch 4 LTE: was $449 now $349 @ Amazon
• Google Pixel Watch 4 WiFi: was $349 now $299 @ Amazon

Two top Garmins get their biggest discounts ever

There have been discounts available on almost all of Garmin's smartwatches for the last couple of weeks, but two new deals have just hit the sales, and I'm extremely excited about them.

That's because this is the first time the Garmin Forerunner 970 and Garmin Forerunner 570 have been reduced, and since they're new models I wasn't sure they'd be reduced this year at all. The Garmin Forerunner 970 is my favorite sports watch overall and brilliant option for runners and triathletes. You can get the Forerunner 970 for $649 at Amazon right now.

• Garmin Forerunner 570: was $549 now $449 @ Amazon
• Garmin Forerunner 970: was $749 now $649 @ Amazon

The best Apple Watch to buy this Black Friday

Apple launched a trio of new smartwatches in September and two of them are already reduced in the sales, with the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch SE 3 both at their lowest ever price.

It's the Apple Watch SE 3 I want to highlight in particular though, because even at full price its the best value smartwatch out there, so to get the 40mm model for just $199 at Amazon right now is an incredible deal.

• Apple Watch SE 3 (40mm): was $249 now $199 @ Amazon