Right now, the best smartwatch for Android users is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2. It’s optimized for Samsung phones but runs well on all Android devices and has all the smartwatch and fitness features you’d expect. It’s compact and lightweight but still offers good battery life. But if you’re not into that one, the good news is that there are so many other amazing options from Fossil to Garmin to Fitbit and more.
Best Overall — Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
You don’t have to use a Samsung phone to enjoy the benefits of owning a Samsung smartwatch, and the Galaxy Watch Active 2 provides the most well-rounded wearables experience for Android users right now. It’s compact and lightweight but features an extremely sharp and vivid touch display that’s easy to navigate and fun to use thanks to the new capacitive bezel. The Tizen OS is smooth and battery-friendly, unlike Google’s own Wear OS, and while the app selection isn’t massive, the core tenets are there, like Spotify, Strava, and more.
The Galaxy Watch Active 2 contains its primary purpose in its name: exercise tracking. The watch comes with GPS built-in, and features automatic workout-tracking, along with sleep tracking, water, food and caffeine consumption tracking, and more. The Running Coach feature is improved, which now gives you real-time pace metrics and a rundown of what to expect from your workout before you start. You’ll receive audio cues that can be heard through the watch speaker or Bluetooth headphones.
If you mainly wear a smartwatch for notifications, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 delivers there, too, with excellent support for Android’s notification system, letting you reply using your voice, the built-in keyboard, or with one of the many quick answers.
Finally, battery life, while not quite as good as some of the other larger watches on the list, is still pretty excellent, and the watch can be topped up with select Qi wireless pads or with the Galaxy S10’s Wireless PowerShare feature.
Pros:
- Compact and well-designed
- 2-3 days of battery life
- Automatic workout tracking
- Water-resistant up to 5ATM
- Built-in GPS and NFC
- Capacitive bezel
- Optional LTE
Cons:
- Third-party app support could be better
- Tizen OS learning curve
Best Overall
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
$229 at Amazon
$230 at Best Buy
Smooth, elegant, and smart(watch).
The Active 2 offers a pretty display, onboard GPS, ample activity tracking, and a unique capacitive bezel for easy navigation.
Best Value — Mobvoi TicWatch E2
Without breaking the bank, Mobvoi’s TicWatch E2 is a killer smartwatch that doesn’t cost an arm (you’re not wearing your smartwatch around your leg, are you?). It’s got a big 1.4-inch display that looks way better than its price would suggest, along with all the fixings a smartwatch should have: great touch response, awesome battery life, waterproofing, a heart-rate monitor, automatic workout detection, and decent 1+ day battery life.
This smartwatch runs Google’s Wear OS, which is great for a lot of things, including notification support and Google Assistant. And while Wear OS doesn’t have amazing native fitness support, the TicWatch E2 supersedes Google here with its own TicMotion layer that automatically detects workouts and monitors swim performance and provides stroke analysis.
So why’s it cheap? Well, it’s not the most stylish or skinny smartwatch on the planet, so it’s more for the person who wants utility more than aesthetics.
Pros:
- Solid construction
- Waterproofing
- Automatic workout detection
- Excellent notification support
- Built-in GPS
Cons:
- Not exactly stylish
- Did we mention it was pretty chunky?
- Built-in watch strap is kind of gross (but easily replaceable)
- No navigation crown
Best Value
Mobvoi TicWatch E2
$160 at Amazon
$160 at Mobvoi
Gets the job done
This no-frills Wear OS-powered smartwatch does everything you need it to do — for a lot less than you’d expect to pay.
Most Stylish — Skagen Falster 3
Sometimes you just want a smartwatch to look like a … watch. Simple design, excellent quality strap, and a finish that doesn’t scream, “This is a piece of technology!” Well, the Falster 3 from well-known Danish watch brand Skagen is precisely that.
One of the Falster 3’s main benefits is its three-button layout, which includes a rotating crown that helps to scroll through Wear OS without having to touch the screen — an enormous benefit once you start using it. You also get a beautiful stainless steel body, well-constructed straps in either leather, metal, or silicone in a variety of colors, and all the essential features you’d expect, like water resistance, GPS, a heart rate monitor, NFC, and more.
The Falster 3 is the 2020 update to Skagen’s smartwatch line, and is improved in every way — you get more RAM for smoother performance, a speaker for making and taking calls, and much-improved battery life thanks to Skagen’s new Extended Battery modes.
Pros:
- Attractive, classic design
- Digital crown is fantastic
- GPS, NFC, speaker, water-resistance and heart-rate tracking
- Excellent quality display
- Built-in GPS and NFC
Cons:
- Expensive
- 22mm bands not compatible with previous Falster watches
Most Stylish
Skagen Falster 3
$295 at Amazon
$295 at Skagen
Day and night ready
The Skagen 3 is a perfect blend of style and sophistication in a smartwatch. It’s one of our favorite versatile Wear OS watches.
Best for LTE — TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE
If you prefer big things in big packages, you’ll appreciate what the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is bringing to the table. This giant smartwatch comes with a dual-layer display, which helps prolong battery life. You can expect it to last between 2 to 5 days in Smart mode depending on usage. You’ll also enjoy built-in GPS, activity tracking, heart-rate monitoring, and Google Pay. Of course, the most important feature here is the LTE connectivity. You’ll never have to worry about leaving your phone behind with this watch on your wrist. Take calls, send texts, and use data anywhere with Verizon NumberShare.
As long as you don’t mind spending a pretty penny on a smartwatch with LTE, you won’t find too many issues with the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE. At just over 45 mm, it’s just large enough to feel bulky on small wrists. It’s also running on the old Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, so you can expect some lag when it comes to performance, The good news is that you do get 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage, which should help even things out a bit.
Pros:
- LTE connectivity
- Dual-layer display
- Good battery life
- Google Pay
- MIL-STD-810G durability
Cons:
- Expensive
- Outdated processor
- Bulky on small wrists
Best LTE
TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE
$299 at Amazon
$299 at Mobvoi
Always connected
Want heart-rate monitoring, activity tracking, and LTE connectivity? You’ll have met your match with the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE.
Best for Long-Distance Runners — Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
There’s a smartwatch for every type of Android user, and the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music is an outstanding choice for anyone who runs, bikes, or swims. It’s not the best smartwatch, but it does receive notifications from your phone. If you don’t need much more than that — and who does these days? — the Forerunner 245 makes up for it with incredible 7+ day battery life, or 6 hours with GPS enabled, which is more than enough for a marathon (or two if you’re really good).
Better yet, the transflective screen means that the Forerunner 245 is easily visible in direct sunlight, making it perfect for extended outdoor excursions. There’s also music storage and the option to stream from Spotify or Deezer, which is seriously great if you’re trying to hit those personal bests. Add in 24/7 heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, advanced workout capture and advanced features like VO2 max estimation, a recovery advisor, and more, this is an excellent option.
Pros:
- Advanced workout tracking and guidance
- Incredible battery life
- Sunlight-friendly transflective display
- Music streaming
- Extremely comfortable strap
Cons:
- Limited smartwatch features
- Basic design may not be for everyone
Best for Long-Distance Runners
Garmin Forerunner 245 Music
$297 at Amazon
$300 at Best Buy
A solid, slim GPS tracker.
Garmin’s GPS tech is paired with a reliable heart-rate tracker in a slim watch that syncs to its own app and other popular apps.
Best Lifestyle Smartwatch — Garmin Venu
Garmin has a whole line of smartwatches focused on running, but there are also plenty of broader options that are great lifestyle wearables. The Venu is one of the most recent examples. It’s one of the first devices from the company with a crisp AMOLED touchscreen. You get a generous five days of battery life along with built-in GPS, heart-rate monitoring, activity and sleep tracking, 20+ sport modes, music storage for up to 500 songs, and mobile payments with Garmin Pay. It also has a Pulse Ox sensor, which monitors your blood oxygen saturation levels.
Many smartwatches come in more than one size these days, but the Venu is only available in 43mm. This results in a 1.2-inch display, which will probably be large enough for most users. If you wanted to go bigger or smaller than that, you’ll have to find another smartwatch. While app support could be better on the Venu, it does what you need it to do. Android users can also review and reply to notifications, which is always a great perk to have.
Pros:
- Built-in GPS
- Crisp AMOLED display
- 5-day battery life
- Activity/sleep tracking
- 5 ATM water resistance
- Music Storage & Garmin Pay
Cons:
- App support is limited
- Only comes in one size
Best Lifestyle Smartwatch
Garmin Venu
$297 at Amazon
$300 at Best Buy
Everything you need
Garmin has done it again with the Venu. This solid lifestyle smartwatch comes with GPS, music storage, and mobile payments.
Best for Casual Athletes — Fitbit Versa 2
Fitbit has gone to great lengths to convince the world that it’s more than just a fitness tracker company. The Versa 2 is a fantastic, colorful product that combines the best of the company’s athletic DNA with solid smartwatch features, a bevy of useful apps, and nearly a week of battery life. The new Versa 2 also has a sleek modern design, a faster processor for smoother performance, a microphone so Android users can dictate replies to incoming notifications, and built-in Alexa support for when you need to know the weather or who won last night’s game.
The best part of Fitbit is how seamlessly it interacts with your Android phone. You just wear it — to work, to bed, in the shower — and it uploads your results in the background, syncing with your phone and, potentially, your group of friends who are constantly keeping you challenged. Yes, that’s the other best part of Fitbit: its social network. Enjoy weekly challenges, or compete with the company’s many experts in pre-made discovery challenges and adventures.
While the Versa 2 lacks GPS, it makes up for it by including on-screen workouts and collecting plenty of useful data. Plus, if you’re into sleep tracking, no one beats Fitbit for insights and accuracy.
Pros:
- Low-profile, attractive design
- Excellent battery life
- Solid smartwatch features
- Lots of different colors
- Built-in Alexa support
Cons:
- Limited app selection
- Installing new bands can be tricky
Best for Casual Athletes
Fitbit Versa 2
$194 at Amazon
$200 at Fitbit
A fitness tracker that’s good at everything
The Versa 2 improves on everything over the original, including a sleeker design, better battery life, and built-in Amazon Alexa.
Best Basic Smartwatch— Fitbit Charge 4
When a predecessor finally hits the market, it’s often a hit-or-miss situation. Fortunately for Fitbit’s Charge lineup, the fourth Charge is a major success. It’s no big secret that one of the most demanded features on any tracker or smartwatch is onboard GPS. It just makes for an easier and more seamless tracking experience, especially for those who want to map their route without bringing their phone along. The Fitbit Charge 4 delivers on that, along with some other new perks.
You’ll still enjoy a full week of battery life and 5 ATM water resistance. Aside from that, there’s a new Spotify app so you can connect your phone and control your music. Mobile payments are now a standard feature, so you’ll be able to use Fitbit Pay rather than having to lug your wallet. The new Active Zone Minutes feature gathers data from your fat burn, cardio, and heart rate zones. You’ll earn credit for when you’re having an optimal workout and your heart rate reaches 120 bpm or higher. This gives you a more in-depth exercise tracking and a personalized number to work toward.
The price tag might feel a bit steep for a basic smartwatch with a tiny 1-inch grayscale OLED display, but the Fitbit Charge 4 delivers on various other points. As long as you don’t mind a smaller device that requires you to do much of your navigating via the app, this is an excellent choice for tracking the basics.
Pros:
- Built-in GPS
- 7 days of battery life
- 5 ATM water resistance
- Spotify & Fitbit Pay
- Activity/sleep tracking
- Active Zone Minutes
Cons:
- Larger body than predecessor
- Expensive for a basic wearable
Best Basic Smartwatch
Fitbit Charge 4
$149 at Amazon
$150 at Fitbit
All about the basics
The Fitbit Charge 4 is small but it sure is mighty. You have GPS, Fitbit Pay, Active Zone Minutes, and Spotify music controls.
Best Hybrid — Fossil Hybrid HR
Hybrid smartwatches are unique in many ways. Most importantly, you often can’t tell it’s a smartwatch at all. It comes with just enough features to claim the ‘smart’ title but it’s not identical to some of the other picks on this list. For instance, you won’t have a touchscreen, so all of your navigating will be done with the three side buttons. It also doesn’t have a colorful display, but at least you get a solid 2 weeks of battery life in return.
You can customize the display to your liking, which will include at-a-glance info of your choosing, such as weather, steps, and notifications. Other than basic activity/sleep tracking and heart-rate monitoring, don’t expect a well-rounded smartwatch experience from the Fossil Hybrid HR. It’s only a hybrid, after all. You’ll miss out on GPS, NFC payments, music storage, and other premium features.
Pros
- Lovely design
- Customizable display
- Activity/sleep tracking
- Heart-rate monitoring
- 2+ weeks of battery
Cons
- Lacks GPS options
- Limited features
- Not the best for serious tracking
Best Hybrid
Fossil Hybrid HR
$195 at Amazon
$195 at Fossil
A hybrid lifestyle
Want to enjoy some great smartwatch features without sacrificing battery life or style? The Fossil Hybrid HR is an ideal pick.
Best for Beginners — Huawei Watch GT 2
Perhaps you’re buying a smartwatch for the first time and prefer a basic but enjoyable wearable experience. If so, you should consider the Huawei Watch GT 2. Your fitness tracking bases will be covered with heart-rate monitoring, onboard GPS, and 15 sport modes, including running, walking, rowing, swimming, hiking, and more. This watch comes in 42mm and 46mm. The smaller model promises one week of battery life and the larger one will double that. Your watch will give you notifications, but you won’t be able to interact with them.
Considering that it runs on Huawei’s Lite OS, you’ll have some limitations. There’s no third-party app support, so you won’t be able to download your favorite fitness apps. You can, however, share your data from your watch to Google Fit and MyFitnessPal. Another missing feature is NFC payments, which are only supported on the Chinese version of the watch. If you’re content with solid fitness tracking in the form of a basic smartwatch the Huawei Watch GT 2 won’t let you down.
Pros
- Built-in GPS
- Stunning display
- Activity/sleep/stress tracking
- Heart-rate monitoring
- One week of battery life
- Affordable price tag
Cons
- Lacks third-party app support
- Lacks NFC support outside of China
- Lite OS needs work
Best for Beginners
Huawei Watch GT 2
$200 at Amazon
Beginner’s delight
Whether you’re a beginner or want to keep things simple, you’ll have all the basics with the Huawei Watch GT 2.
Simply Great — Samsung Galaxy Watch Active
The Galaxy Watch Active has already been replaced by the Watch Active 2, but the original came out in early 2019 and is still a great choice for anyone who wants a compact Android smartwatch with amazing capabilities and a reduced price tag.
The main draw here is the beautiful AMOLED display which is readable in all lighting conditions including bright sunshine. The watch is light and comfortable to wear all day — which is good because the battery lasts that and then some. While it lacks the capacitive “rotating” bezel of its more expensive counterpart, the original Watch Active has everything you’d need to stay, well, active: GPS, NFC, storage for music, and wireless Qi charging through Samsung’s Wireless PowerShare feature.
Best of all, it’s been heavily discounted since the sequel was released, so you can get it for much less than its original price.
Pros:
- Compact and well-designed
- 2 to 3 days of battery life
- Automatic workout tracking
- Water-resistant up to 5ATM
- Built-in GPS and NFC
- Relatively inexpensive
Cons:
- Third-party app support could be better
- Tizen OS learning curve
Simply Great
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active
$130 at Amazon
$200 at Samsung
Smaller, cheaper, and nearly as good
If you don’t need the capacitive “rotating” bezel of the Galaxy Watch Active 2, the original Watch Active is a great choice.
Best Wear OS for Serious Athletes — Suunto 7
If you’re partial to Wear OS and looking for the perfect Android smartwatch to handle your activity tracking, you can’t go wrong with the Suunto 7. This wearable is fairly new to the market but it’s got potential to be great — especially if you’re a serious athlete who is focused on detailed tracking. In addition to built-in GPS and full-color accurate mapping software, it also boasts over 70 sport modes. Thanks to Suunto’s apps, you’ll have access to helpful metrics that go above and beyond what’s available on Google Fit, including training load, training recovery, and more.
When you combine all that Suunto 7 has to offer with Wear OS, it should be a match made in heaven, right? That depends on what type of experience you want. If you can live with a mere 2 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and the likelihood of laggy performance due to the work-in-progress nature of Wear OS, then it’s a solid choice for serious athletes who need all the tracking perks they can get.
As you might’ve noticed, this thing is ginormous. This is a bonus for some users, but dainty wrists may shy away from this 50 mm juggernaut. If you’re on a budget, this pricey smartwatch might not be the best choice.
Pros:
- Built-in GPS and offline outdoor maps
- Attractive, sporty design
- Various color options
- Excellent activity tracking
- Water-resistant up to 5ATM
- Google Pay
Cons:
- A bit too huge for some
- Battery life is mediocre
- Extremely pricey
Best Wear OS for Serious Athletes
Suunto 7
$488 at Amazon
$489 at Amazon
A truly sporty smartwatch
Those who want in-depth tracking in the form of an attractive but sporty smartwatch will love everything about the Suunto 7.
Best for Women’s Fashion — Fossil Gen 5 Julianna
Fossil has always been about fashion watches, which makes the Julianna, its latest smartwatch aimed at women, one of the most fashionable yet. Fortunately, the Julianna stands out for more than looks. It’s built on the same modern platform as the Fossil Sport but has even more features. In addition to being waterproof and supporting 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, there’s also GPS for tracking runs and a versatile digital crown for easy scrolling.
Then there are the features you’ll barely see anywhere else in the Wear OS ecosystem: a built-in speaker for taking phone calls when connected to an Android device or iPhone, as well as an improved battery that provides up to three days of moderate usage. Finally, the 1GB of RAM ensures the fastest performance in the Wear OS ecosystem. (Fossil also has a Gen 5 smartwatch aimed at men called the Carlyle.)
It’s not cheap, but the Julianna is one of the best Android smartwatch options out there.
Pros:
- Fashionable and functional
- Excellent performance thanks to 1GB of RAM onboard
- Able to take phone calls with built-in speaker
- Supports any 22mm watch band
- Outstanding battery life for a Wear OS watch
Cons:
- Expensive
Best for Women’s Fashion
Fossil Gen 5 Julianna
$199 at Amazon
$199 at Best Buy
Does it all
Fossil’s latest smartwatch for women does it all, from fitness tracking to taking calls to using apps — and looks good doing it.
Best for Men’s Fashion — Michael Kors Access Bradshaw 2
Michael Kors continues to be one of the leaders when it comes to fashion smartwatches. The new Access Bradshaw 2 is no exception. It comes in a generous 44mm case and is available in silver, gold, gunmetal, and rose gold variants. It might be hard to believe that a watch this beautiful does more than look pretty, but it does. This Wear OS smartwatch is running the new Snapdragon Wear 3100. When you combine that with 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM, you can expect ultra-smooth performance.
There are many features to love here, including music storage and controls, Google Fit, voice-activated Google Assistant, Google Pay, onboard GPS, heart-rate tracking, and more. It has both a microphone and speaker, enabling you to take calls from your wrist. While the battery will last for a day at best, it comes with rapid charging that’ll reach 80% battery in under an hour.
Given all of these updates, the Michael Kors Access Bradshaw 2 certainly isn’t cheap. The price tag makes sense given the superior performance, new features, and premium design.
Pros:
- Sleek, stylish design
- Voice-activated Google Assistant
- 3 ATM water resistance
- Heart-rate tracking
- Onboard GPS
- Google Pay
Cons:
- Very pricey
- Only one day of battery
Best for Men’s Fashion
Michael Kors Access Bradshaw 2
$235 at Amazon
$249 at Best Buy
Pretty and smart
Men can be fashionable, too. The Access Bradshaw 2 is looks and smarts, from taking calls to fitness tracking to payments.
Best Battery Life — Amazfit GTR
Great smartwatches often come from companies you’ve never heard of. The Amazfit GTR is one of those incredible smartwatches that defies all expectations — especially when it comes to battery life. The Xiaomi-backed startup has fashioned a beautiful, classically modern smartwatch with a stunning high-resolution 1.39-inch AMOLED display and an incredible 24-day battery life.
While you’re using the GTR, you can receive notifications from your smartphone, track steps and workouts, and even go swimming with its 5 ATM-rated waterproofing.
So what’s the catch? Well, there are a few things the Amazfit GTR can’t do. To maintain such astonishing battery life, it doesn’t support advanced sleep tracking, and its app ecosystem is sparse, to say the least. And because Amazfit is a pretty young company, its Android app needs a bit of polish.
But overall, if you’re just looking to wear a watch that keeps you in the loop about what’s going on, and tracks your steps and workouts with ease without needing daily charging, the Amazfit GTR is your top pick.
Pros
- Beautiful, timeless design
- 24-day battery life
- Easy-to-navigate user interface
- 5 ATM waterproofing
- All-day heart rate tracking
Cons
- App is unpolished
- No on-board GPS
- App support is limited
Best Battery Life
Amazfit GTR
$140 at Amazon
$140 at Best Buy
Keeps going and going.
The Amazfit GTR does more than you expect for less money than you’d think. Great design, long battery, and plenty of features.
Best Cheap Hybrid — Withings Move
Sometimes you don’t need a screen — you just want to tell the time, track steps and sleep, and not charge your watch every night. The Withings Move is an outstanding value product — it offers a battery that lasts nine months while tracking steps, swims, and sleep in a fun, lightweight body. Given that it’s so cheap, it’s made of plastic, but the materials are hardy enough to withstand everyday life. The Android app that it syncs to is also excellent.
You should come for its simplicity but stay for one of the five color combinations.
Pros:
- Lots of fun colors options
- Inexpensive
- Simple, practical step and sleep tracking
- Months-long battery life
Cons:
- Lacks a screen
- Doesn’t support notifications or apps
Best Cheap Hybrid
Withings Move
$56 at Amazon $56 at Best Buy
Cheap and cheerful
If you want a regular watch that can take a beating while also offering activity tracking, the Withings Move is your best bet.
Bottom Line
The good news about wearing a smartwatch in 2020 is that while there are plenty of options on the Wear OS side of things, you have fantastic options from companies like Samsung, Fitbit, and Garmin, too.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is an outstanding choice for most people and has received our most coveted Best Overall recommendation. You can even enjoy it if you don’t own a Samsung device. You’ll have built-in GPS, activity, sleep, and heart-rate tracking, music storage, smartphone notifications, Samsung Pay, and more. It doesn’t get much better than this.
Of course, everyone has their preferences. If you’re not a fan of Tizen OS or Samsung Health, your choices don’t stop there. You’ll have your pick of many other wearables, whether it be from Fitbit, Garmin, Fossil, or any other brand that has captured your attention.
There are plenty of factors to consider when you’re shopping for a smartwatch. First and perhaps most importantly, you’ll need to figure out what size of watch you’re after. Smaller watches are often a bit cheaper than their larger counterparts, and some watches may be too large or small for your wrist, which will quickly thin out the herd. You’ll also need to weigh the importance of features like fitness and sleep tracking, cellular connectivity, and of course, aesthetics — you’re still shopping for a watch, after all, and it should be compatible with your style!
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Daniel Bader is the Managing Editor of Android Central. As he’s writing this, a mountain of old Android phones is about to fall on his head, but his Great Dane will protect him. He drinks way too much coffee and sleeps too little. He wonders if there’s a correlation.
Courtney Lynch is a freelance writer at Android Central. She’s obsessed with all things health, fitness, and music. At any given time she can be found checking out the latest and greatest gadgets while simultaneously petting her dog and sipping iced coffee.
