Best smartwatch for Android 2022: Top watches for those who use an Android phone
(Pocket-lint) - Uncovering the best smartwatch for Android users is easier said than done, with increasingly stronger offerings from Samsung, Huawei, Garmin and Fitbit.
With so many styles, operating systems and features on the market today, this is enough to make your head spin. Since Android users still can't pair with the Apple Watch either, you'll have to look a little further and cross this one off your list.
To really help you narrow things down, we've tested and compiled a list of all the smartwatches you need to know if you have an Android phone.
Read on to find the perfect fit for your wrist and see our tips for a quick guide on what to consider before you decide.
What is the best smart watch for Android?
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
- Garmin Venus 2
- Huawei Watch 3 Pro
- Fossil gene 6
- Xiaomi Mi Watch.
Our top picks: Best Android Smartwatch
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
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for
- Smooth customizable user interface
- Wireless charging support
- Accurate fitness tracking
Against
- Touch surface could be more intuitive
We think the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is probably the best smartwatch out there for Android users. It features customizable faces, robust fitness tracking, interactive notifications, music controls, and support for payments via Google or Samsung Pay.
And while it's slimmer and more powerful than previous generations, what more could you ask for?
The Galaxy Watch 4 is the first smartwatch and currently the only one to feature Wear OS 3, the latest version of Google's smartwatch operating system. So if you want the latest and greatest from Google, this is the way to get it.
We also recommend smartwatches for Android
While we think the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is a good choice for most people, a smartwatch is a very personal item and there are many styles to choose from. Here are some other top smartwatch options that we also recommend.
Garmin Venus 2
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for
- Great AMOLED display
- Graphical user interface improvements
- Great fitness features
Against
- Brightness adjustment too easy to trigger
The Garmin Venu 2 is a solid all-rounder that takes Garmin's GPS fitness prowess and combines it with a beautiful AMOLED display and all the modern smartwatch conveniences you could want.
It comes in multiple sizes to fit larger and smaller wrists and is compatible with traditional watch straps, so you can customize it to your heart's content.
It doesn't have the battery life or detailed mapping of Garmin's more sports-oriented devices, but it offers a happy medium that's likely to appeal to most people.
Huawei Watch 3 Pro
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for
- Super premium build quality
- Great battery life
- Waterproof and robust
Against
- It's lacking when it comes to third-party app support
The Huawei Watch 3 Pro is an extremely well-made smartwatch that is made of high-quality materials and offers extensive and insightful fitness tracking data. It's a compelling balance between fashion and fitness.
The Watch 3 Pro has a really impressive battery life. Despite all of its features and bright color display, it can still get you through the work week on a single charge. We just wish there was better support for third-party apps and support for contactless payments.
Fossil gene 6
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for
- Faster and faster than Gen 5
- Well designed
- Relatively affordable
Against
- Doesn't have the latest Wear OS
The Fossil Gen 6 is a great looking watch that's now much faster and more responsive thanks to the latest Qualcomm hardware. It has fantastic hardware all round, including a beautiful AMOLED display and built-in GPS.
The big shame here is that the latest Wear OS doesn't come installed out of the box, although an update is promised in the future. We also found GPS accuracy to be slightly lower than the competition.
Still, it's a really well-designed watch and it comes at a decent price, so it's definitely worth a look.
Xiaomi Mi Watch
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for
- Lightweight sporty styling
- Great touchscreen display
- Super cheap
Against
- Doesn't work with third party apps
The Xiaomi Mi Watch has a very attractive price and is certainly the most accessible on our list. Despite its price, the Mi Watch looks and feels premium, with great aesthetics, an intuitive interface, and a beautiful display.
The Mi Watch mainly focuses on fitness. So if this is one of your main reasons for owning a smartwatch, then this watch will make you really happy. However, it lacks some of the more advanced features of other smartwatches and there isn't much support for third-party apps.
Other smartwatches we considered
We spent hours of testing and research deciding what we think are the best smartwatches for Android available today. Regardless of the topic, we always consider a number of factors when it comes to recommending devices - and follow the same process before adding a new device to our top 5 picks. We consider not only our own tests, but also consumer ratings, brand quality and value.
Across all of our roundups, there are also many products we test that don't make the final cut. However, since they might be the right fit for some people, we've listed them below.
How to choose a smart watch for Android
There is no easy way to choose a smartwatch as there is so much to consider, from features and performance to styling and size. Hopefully some of our tips have piqued your interest, but to help you narrow down your choices further, here are some things to think about when buying a smartwatch for Android.
Choosing the right size
Let's start with the simplest because if you don't get this right, you're never going to want to wear this thing. An oversized watch can look ridiculous on a petite wrist and vice versa.
A good option is to measure one of your favorite watches and look for a smartwatch that comes in a similar size range. Typically, smartwatch sizes range from around 38mm to 46mm, but focusing on your preferred size narrows the field considerably.
A word on battery life
In an ideal world, you'd rarely need to charge your smartwatch, but the fact of the matter is, the more features you cram into a device, the shorter the battery life becomes. It's all about balance here, at least a smartwatch needs to last a full day, but if it's packed with tons of useful features then it might be worth charging every night.
Conversely, if you spend a lot of time in the wilderness away from outlets, you might want to opt for a more basic watch that will last a week or more on a single charge.
It's also worth thinking about charging options, as decent fast-charging support can make top-ups that much easier.
What about operating systems?
This guide is all about smartwatches that work with Android, but a smartwatch still needs to run its own operating system on board. Many would agree that Google's Wear OS is one of the best smartwatch operating systems out there - but the number of devices it runs on is surprisingly small, and when it comes to the latest version it's only the Galaxy Watch 4 right now .
Wear OS is feature-rich and highly configurable, but it also has drawbacks, mainly around battery life. Vendor-specific operating systems like Huawei's HarmonyOS, on the other hand, can achieve much more impressive battery life, but tend to come at the expense of third-party app support and integration.
Which functions are important to you?
Everyone is different and smartwatches also meet different needs. For some, it's all about fitness tracking, and you might want to be keen on getting rid of the smartphone crowd while you're on the go. In this case, an integrated and accurate GPS would be high on the priority list for precision metrics.
For some users, it's all about the convenience of reading messages or answering calls without having to take the phone out of your pocket. Some fitness-first devices don't put any emphasis on the notifications features at all and may not even have a built-in microphone. So pay attention to the features on offer.
More about this story
Every product in this list has been tested in real situations, just as you would use them in your daily life.
This applies even more than usual to smartwatches, because they really accompany you throughout the day. We wore all the watches we chose and those that didn't make the final cut for weeks at a time. We don't just wear them to the office either, we use them for sports and even take them with us for diving underwater since so many watches now revolve around fitness metrics and health tracking.
This helps us get a full picture of the pros and cons of each watch and where they stand. It's not just about performance either, we consider each device's design, how it looks on your wrist and how much creative control you have to make it look and feel the way you want it to.
As with any summary, it's not possible to provide a list that works for every type of user, but we draw on the experiences and opinions of the broader Pocket-lint team - and thoroughly assess the areas above - to guide our work do best in this regard.
What we always avoid when compiling these tips are unnecessary spec comparisons and marketing lines; We just want to provide an easy to understand summary that will give you an idea of how each watch is used. Our judgments are brief, but this is for brevity only.
Written by Luke Baker.
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