Your watch is no longer just for telling the time: it's an essential piece of tech that can track your steps, let you know when you’re receiving a call or message, monitor how well you’re sleeping and even make it easy to pay for a coffee with just a tap of your wrist. But how do you choose the best smart watch for you? You need to consider exactly what your daily needs will be:

Battery life: Are you planning on going for hours-long runs several times a week and need your watch to last the distance? Are you happy to give it a charge each night (particularly if you’re not using it for sleep tracking) or do you want something you can set and forget for a few days? How often you want to give the battery a boost will determine how long you need it to last.

Water resistance: If you’re a regular swimmer and want insights on how your laps are pacing, make sure to choose a watch that’s water resistant for up to 50 metres. Otherwise, a watch that's simply splash proof will ensure it is protected in a sudden storm.

GPS tracking: This feature will be useful if you’re tracking walks, runs or bike rides and want a clear record of where and how fast you’ve gone. Also handy if you’re buying a smart watch for your kids, and want to be able to check on their whereabouts at any given time.

Audio: Some smart watches feature inbuilt music apps such as Spotify Connect, so you can tap into your exercise playlist without having to take your phone along for the workout, too.

Sleep tracking: We’re all craving better sleep and a wearable can be a useful tool to gain an understanding of how much shut-eye you’re getting, and its quality. Sleep tracking often comes paired with other health insights (such as heart rate monitoring) so look closely at the health tracking the device offers if you want it to be a well-rounded wellbeing tool.

Phone pairing: Above all, make sure your smart watch’s operating system is compatible with your existing device (including your smartphone and earbuds or headphones). Otherwise, you won’t be alerted when calls or messages come through. 

This round-up of some of the latest and greatest wearables around will help make your choice easier, whatever you need.

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A Google Pixel smart watch in Polished Silver with Charcoal Active Band 

Best for Multitasking: Google Pixel Watch Polished Silver with Charcoal Active Band 

If you’re already a Google fan, this Pixel smart watch is for you. All the benefits of a Pixel phone, such as Google Maps, Google Assistant, Gmail and YouTube Music, are right there on your wrist. The circular face is designed to make messages easy to read, and you know that you’re covered with emergency SOS. Plus, Fitbit’s most popular features are ready to roll and there’s a free six-month trial of Fitbit Premium. 

Battery life: Up to 24 hours

Waterproof? Water-resistant to 50m

Health tracking features: Sleep, heart rate and activity tracking

Also available: Matte Black and Champagne Gold

A Fitbit Versa 3 smart watch in Pink/Gold

Best All-rounder: Fitbit Versa 3 Smart Watch Pink/Gold

If you’ve decided to take the fitness bull by the horns, the Versa 3, with built-in GPS, might be the best smart watch for you. With the six-month free Fitbit Premium membership, take full advantage of all the metrics. It’ll alert you as to whether you should be exercising or recovering, as well as when you enter your personalised target heart-rate zone. But it’s not all about exercise, with sleep and stress monitored and alerts for when you should do some guided breathing. The Versa also has voice assistant, call, text and app notifications, lets you make calls, has Fitbit Pay so you don’t need to carry your credit card, and allows you to control Spotify and stay motivated with curated workout playlists. 

Battery life: Up to 6 days

Waterproof? Swimproof

Health tracking features: Heart rate tracking, oxygen saturation monitoring, sleep monitoring, stress management, menstrual tracking, 20 exercise modes, cardio fitness score, all-day activity tracking

Also available: Blue/Gold, black

A Fitbit Sense 2 Smart Watch in Black

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Best for Monitoring Stress: Fitbit Sense 2 Smart Watch Black

The health functions on this Fitbit Sense 2 smart watch are top-notch, with advanced heart-rate and sleep tracking. It also helps you identify patterns of stress with all-day body-response monitoring. Of course, it’s great for fitness too, tracking more than 40 exercise modes with GPS, and allowing you to set active-minute goals. You can also access Google Maps and Google Wallet. 

Battery life: 6+ days

Waterproof? Water-resistant to 50m

Health tracking features: Steps, heart rate and activity, plus stress and sleep monitoring

Also available: blue/gold and white/platinum.

A Fitbit Versa 4 Smart Watch in Blue/Platinum

Best for the Gym: Fitbit Versa 4 Smart Watch Blue/Platinum 

Always on the go? This Fitbit Versa 4 only needs to be recharged once a week. Get your health in check, with heart rate and activity monitors, plus more than 40 exercise modes with GPS so you can log workout stats. You can also receive call and message alerts straight to your wrist when you’re on the move. And it comes with a six-month Fitbit Premium membership to supercharge your fitness and health. 

Battery life: 6+ days

Waterproof? Water-resistant to 50m

Health tracking features: Steps, activity, heart rate and sleep

Also available: Black and pink

The brand new Samsung Galaxy smart watch 6 in 40mm Gold.

Best for Deep Data: Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 40mm Gold

Consider this Samsung smart watch a wellness coach on your wrist. You’ll get a clear understanding of your wellbeing with close analysis of your activity when you’re on the move (including personalised heart rate zone workouts) and when you’re at rest, thanks to sleep analysis and coaching. The extra-large screen makes it easy to toggle between apps, too, and syncing with your other devices is a cinch. 

Battery life: Up to 40 hours

Waterproof? Water-resistant to 50m

Health tracking features: Sleep, heart rate, activity, ECG and blood pressure

Also available: The range of Galaxy Watch 6 includes cellular smart watches as well as Bluetooth ones and comes in 44mm and 47mm options

The Samsung smart watch Galaxy 4 in 40mm Gold

Best for Setting Goals: Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 40mm Gold

Measure your body composition, get more shut-eye with the help of the inbuilt sleep coach and track routines for more than 90 types of exercise with this Samsung smart watch – all without compromising on style. All that easy-to-access data makes it simple to set goals and monitor progress. It’s integrated with Google, too, for access to your favourite apps (Strava, Spotify, Maps, etc) on the go. 

Battery life: Up to 40 hours

Waterproof? Water-resistant to 50m for 10 mins

Health tracking features: Steps, blood pressure, heart rate, ECG and sleep

Also available: Black

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The Garmin Vivosmart 5 smart watch in Small/Medium Black 

‍Best Fitness All-Rounder: Garmin Vivosmart 5 Smartwatch Small/Medium Black 

If you’re looking for no-fuss fitness, strap on the Garmin Vivosmart. It keeps track of your steps, heart rate and activities, while the preloaded sports apps lead you through walk, run, yoga or cycling programs. It’s easy to read, too, with a bright display of large text. Plus, you can pair it with your phone to receive call and message notifications and download music from your Spotify account. 

Battery life: Up to 7 days

Waterproof? Swim-proof

Health tracking features: Steps, activity time, distance, heart rate and sleep

The Garmin Forerunner 55 smart watch in White

Best for Running: Garmin Forerunner 55 White

If you love to run, the Garmin Forerunner acts as your always-ready training partner. You can use GPS to record your running distance, pace and intervals, and it also monitors heart rate and sleep. This watch can even offer personalised guidance and daily workouts based on your training history and fitness levels, as well as tell you how long to rest after every exercise set. 

Battery life: Up to 2 weeks

Waterproof? Water-resistant to 50m

Health tracking features: Steps, fitness, respiration, heart rate, distance and sleep

Also available: Black and aqua

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The Garmin Vivomove Sport Hybrid smart watch in Cool Mint

Best for Sporty style: Garmin Vivomove Sport Hybrid Smart Watch Cool Mint

The Garmin Vivomove is the perfect blend of analogue style and digital ease, combining a timeless look with the most up-to-date smart features. When you hit the gym, pool, running track or yoga studio you’ll be able to switch up your routines and track all your progress. In fact, you can enter your chronological age and it will calculate your vigorous activity, resting heart rate and body fat percentage to estimate if your body is younger or older than you are – then give you tips to lower your fitness age. It also has smart notifications, calendar view, and safety and tracking features like incident detection. Just touch the hands of the analogue feature to reveal the hidden touchscreen display.

Battery life: Up to 5 days

Waterproof? Swimproof

Health tracking features: Energy and sleep monitoring, hydration, respiration and stress tracking, preloaded workout routines, fitness tracking

Also available: Ivory, black

The Fossil 44mm Gen 6 smart watch in Smoke Stainless Steel Grey

Best for Total Wellbeing: Fossil 44mm Gen 6 Smartwatch Smoke Stainless Steel Grey

The Fossil Gen 6 comes with Wear OS, meaning it’s compatible with both Android and iOS. The chunky 3.25cm touchscreen display makes for easy operation, while you can take and make calls, listen to tunes from your music accounts and buy things using Google Pay. It’s also a pedometer and GPS tracker, and can monitor your heart rate and assess sleep quality. 

Battery life: 1+ day

Waterproof? Splash-proof

Health tracking features: Steps, heart rate, activity time, distance and sleep

Also available: Black, leather brown and stainless steel silver

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The Fitbit Charge 6 Advanced Fitness Tracker in Coral/Champagne Gold.

‍Best Healthy Upgrade: Fitbit Charge 6

It’s hard to believe so many features can be packed into such a stylish, slimline design. When paired with your mobile, the Fitbit Charge 6 has all the bells and whistles you’d expect to make life easier, including many new additions like Google Maps, which offers turn-by-turn directions when your phone is within range. Another helpful feature is the ability to broadcast your heart rate by Bluetooth to any compatible fitness equipment. The number of sport and exercise modes has been doubled, plus there’s a physical navigation button so you can quickly go back to the home page or check your activity stats. You get six months of Fitbit Premium for free with the Charge 6, which adds many handy health benefits, like meditation and yoga sessions.

Battery life: Up to 7 days

Waterproof? Water resistant to 50m

Health tracking features: ECG app, blood oxygen tracking, advanced heart rate tracking, menstrual tracking, health and wellness reminders, stress management score, sleep monitoring, smart wake alarm, 40+ exercise modes

Also available: Black, Silver

Google Pixel Watch 2 smart watch in Polished Silver with Bay Band.

‍Best for Those on the Go: Google Pixel Watch 2

If you love all the new health and wellbeing features on fitness trackers but you’ve got a lot more going on in your life and you need to access all the details wherever you are, the Google Pixel Watch 2 might be the device for you. It’s sleek, with housing made from recycled aluminium, making it 10% lighter than the original Pixel Watch. On the inside, there’s a new quad-core CPU for smoother and stronger performance. There’s a whole new suite of safety features too, including the ability to share medical info even when the watch is locked. Plus, new sensors mean the heart rate monitor is more accurate than ever before. This is a serious piece of kit for those who want to wear their life on their wrist

Battery life: 24 hours

Waterproof? Water resistant to 50m

Health tracking features: Advanced heart rate tracking, ECG app, stress tracking, skin temperature sensing, sleep tracking, menstrual health tracking, exercise modes, built-in GPS, 6 months of Fitbit Premium

Also available: Polished Silver with Porcelain Band, Champagne Gold with Hazel Band, Matte Black with Obsidian Band

What To Try:

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Best Kids Smart Watches

If the little people in your life want to get in on the wearable tech action, consider these great options.

The Garmin Vivofit Jr 3 Activity fitness tracker in Peach 

Best for Active Kids: Garmin Vivofit Jr 3 Activity Tracker Peach 

This Garmin Vivofit encourages kids to move and to rest by logging their steps and sleep, then unlocks quizzes and games when they hit targets, and it can be adjusted to fit even the smallest wrist. Load the Garmin Jr app onto your phone and set them challenges and chores, which they’ll get digital rewards for. There’s no need for recharging either, because this watch takes a button battery.

Battery life: Up to 1 year

Waterproof? Swim-friendly up to 50m for 10 mins

Best features: Steps, activity tracking and sleep

Also available: Black, Star Wars Mandalorian, Grogu

The Moochies Odyssey 4G smart watch Phone for Kids in white 

Best for School: Moochies Odyssey 4G Smartwatch Phone for Kids White 

Keep track of the smallest members of the family with a Moochies Odyssey. You control it via the MyMoochies app, allowing you to track them via GPS and set safe zones, as well as setting alarms for waking up, doing homework or taking medication. Using 4G, you can make calls or message kids from your own smartphone. Plus, you can set the watch to school mode to avoid interruptions  or distractions when they’re in the classroom.

Battery life: Up to 2 days

Waterproof? Up to 1 metre for 30 mins

Best features: Steps, temperature and heart rate 

Also available: Black

The SPACETALK Adventurer 2 smart watch 4G in Dusk

Best for Safety: SPACETALK Adventurer 2 Smart Watch 4G Dusk

If you’re looking for a way to give your kids a taste of independence while still maintaining a level of oversight, this SPACETALK model could be the best smart watch for you and your family. They can stay in touch using video, talk and text, but only with people you’ve added to an approved contact list, and when paired with the SPACETALK app, you can control all the features of their watch remotely. There’s no connection to the internet nor ability to add apps, so they won’t be distracted when they’re supposed to be studying. 

Battery life: Up to 36 hours

Waterproof? Splash-proof, not recommended for swimming

Best features: Heart rate monitor, step counter

Also available: Frost

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What To Try:

Accessories to Pair with Your Smart Fitness Watch

To really upgrade your new-and-improved outlook on health and wellness, consider what other accessories might motivate you to get active, such as a smartphone that pairs perfectly with your new smart watch or a bluetooth or wireless speaker, a set of headphones or pair of earbuds to play that music that motivates you. And if you’re using the Fitbit app, you can pair it with Fitbit digital scales to keep track of your vitals. It’s also important to protect your tech while on the move. No matter the device, old or new, custom screen protectors can be made-to-order to safeguard your gadgets with invisible protection using cutting-edge ZAGG ISOD Technology.

What To Try:

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