The best smartwatches for Android range greatly in terms of style, price and functionality. In other words, there’s something for everyone.
We tested popular models from Fitbit, Garmin, Google, Samsung and OnePlus assessing core features, wearability, build quality, battery, connectivity, compatibility and value to determine which are truly the best smartwatches for Android smartphone users.
After trying dozens of models while sleeping, working, exercising and running daily errands, we've settled on the Google Pixel Watch 2 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 as our favorite full-featured Android smartwatches and the Fitbit Versa 4 as the best budget-friendly option.
Of course, with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra set to debut later this week and the Google Pixel Watch 3 possibly right behind, there's a good chance you'll see this buying guide updated dramatically in the coming days. Until then, these are the best Android smartwatches you can buy right now.
The quick list
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is the best Android smartwatch we've tested. It has first-rate communication, fitness, health and safety features, making it the best smartwatch for most people.
The Fitbit Versa 4 is a more wallet-friendly alternative to the flagship Fitbit Sense 2. And though it doesn't have as advanced wellness tech, it still packs plenty of features for a smartwatch under $200 including basic fitness, stress and sleep tracking.
The Google Pixel Watch 2 is the first dedicated smartwatch for Pixel smartphone users, offering Google apps and the most Fitbit fitness tracking features. We like this watch's minimalistic design, too.
The Fitbit Sense 2 is one the most intuitive smartwatches thanks to a proactive stress-detection feature. It has robust fitness tracking and a handful of Google apps, even if it's not a true Wear OS watch.
The Garmin Venu 3 is a versatile Garmin watch with a bright AMOLED display, thorough fitness tracking and accurate GPS. It has a long-lasting battery life and Garmin Coach for custom training plans, too.
If you’re looking for a perfect companion to your OnePlus smartphone, the OnePlus Watch 2 is your best pick. It has a sharp design and solid fitness tracking.
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The Garmin Forerunner 265 is the best overall Garmin for most people. It has a bright AMOLED screen, comes in two different screen sizes, has accurate GPS, and advanced training metrics.
The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra is a rugged GPS watch with up to 45 days of battery life, making it perfect for people who need a smartwatch that goes the distance.
The Garmin Instinct 2 is an adventure-ready sports watch for the right price. With solar charging for ongoing battery life and waterproofing up to 100m, it's up for the outdoors.
My name is Kate and I oversee our guides to the best smartwatches, best Android smartwatches, best Apple Watches, best Samsung watches and more. This means I usually walk around like a cyborg with multiple devices on my wrists. I've been testing wearable tech for Tom's Guide for more than 5 years, documenting my experience on the site, on our YouTube channel and on my Instagram.
The best Android smartwatches you can buy today
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The best Android smartwatch overall
The Galaxy Watch 6 is the best Android smartwatch thanks to design improvements, refreshed built-in apps and added health features. While Samsung's smartwatch lineup has received mostly iterative updates in past years, the Galaxy Watch 6 presents some truly substantial upgrades.
Samsung continues to offer one of the most robust smartwatch collections on the market with not one, but two wearable devices. The Galaxy Watch 6 strikes a balance of sleek and sporty, while the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic elevates style with the fan-favorite physical rotating bezel. Larger displays and a new interchangeable band mechanism make for a more user-friendly design, too. Our comparison of Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Galaxy Watch 6 Classic can help you decide which is right for you.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 review.
The best Android smartwatch under $200
The Fitbit Versa 4 is the brand's midrange fitness-tracking smartwatch sporting the same basic design as the higher-end Fitbit Sense 2 including a large bright touch display and slim, comfortable-wearing case, but with less sophisticated wellness tracking tech.
Still, the Versa 4 keeps tabs on the basics like workouts, steps, sleep quality and stress. It even monitors for serious conditions like irregular heart rhythms. An onboard GPS allows you to track outdoor activities without carrying your phone, though there's no storage for offline music listening like on the previous-gen Versa 3.
The Versa 4 also features Amazon's Alexa voice assistant built-in, which lets you do such things as control smart home devices, look up the weather and news, and a lot more. Third-party apps are limited but the device does support Google Maps and Google Wallet for contactless payments. You also get mirrored smartphone notifications and up to six days of battery life, all for under $200.
Read our full Fitbit Versa 4 review.
The best Android smartwatch for Pixel
The Google Pixel Watch 2 is the best smartwatch for Pixel phone users. A full collection of Google apps and fitness tracking powered by Fitbit’s platform make for a compelling smartwatch. In many ways, the Pixel Watch is the best of both worlds, pairing a top-notch Wear OS experience with Fitbit’s holistic health-tracking (which is further enhanced with a Fitbit Premium membership.) There are plenty of tools on-board for staying connected and getting active.
But there’s some room for improvement: the thick bezels and singular size option will still deter some users in terms of design. Luckily, an improved battery life compared to the original Pixel Watch makes up for it. Plus, we love the reassurance offered by the new Safety Check feature that shares your location with emergency contacts when you might need their help most.
Read our full Google Pixel Watch 2 review.
The best Android smartwatch for wellness
Compared to the original Fitbit Sense, the Sense 2 features an upgraded design, interface and EDA sensor, making for Fitbit's most holistic smartwatch yet. Thanks to advanced health analysis and deep integration with Fitbit Premium, the Sense 2 also sustains an edge in fitness-tracking over many of the best smartwatches for Android on this list.
An update to the stress-detecting EDA (electrodermal activity) sensor plays a large role in the device’s success: now called cEDA ('c' for continuous,) the sensor monitors stress levels or heightened responses throughout the day, prompting the user to take action on mood monitoring with Body Response notifications. However, added support for Google Wallet and Google Maps, while useful upgrades, won’t be available for the Fitbit Sense 2 at launch. There’s oddly no third-party app support, either. Still, for a smartwatch that helps you get in touch with how you feel, the Sense 2 succeeds.
Read our full Fitbit Sense 2 review.
The best Android smartwatch for fitness
The Garmin Venu 3 is one of the best Garmin watches that’s both a capable workout companion and stylish lifestyle device. The $449 Garmin Venu 3 maintains Garmin’s reputation for thorough fitness tracking and accurate GPS, while having the smarts of mirrored notifications and an on-wrist voice assistant.
Though Garmin still lacks a large third-party app store and continues to steer clear of LTE support, nap-tracking and a new sleep coach work on tracking your rest while daily summaries offer behavioral insights. An abundance of sport profiles, added Recovery Time suggestions, and on-watch interval creation keep you tuned into your activity, too. What's more with a 14-hour battery life, you rarely need to stress about keeping the Garmin Venu 3 charged.
Read our full Garmin Venu 3 review.
The best Android smartwatch for OnePlus
The OnePlus Watch 2 is the ultimate accessory for those with OnePlus smartphones, although it is compatible with any Android smartphone. The combination of elegant design and durability rivals pricier alternatives. OnePlus has also integrated its RTOS (real-time operating system) with Wear OS 4, the software powering popular flagships you'll find on this list of the best Android smartwatches.
Loaded with a thorough suite of accurate health sensors, the OnePlus Watch 2 makes a strong pitch as a fitness tracker, too. In addition to sleep- and stress-tracking, the watch supports activity tracking for dozens of sports types. Plus there are perks for select sports modes such as running. The dual-frequency GPS makes sure your movement is monitored precisely all the while. The only things to note is that it lacks some modern smartwatch features like LTE support and fall detection, so keep that in mind while shopping.
Read our full OnePlus Watch 2 review.
The best Android smartwatch for running
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.
The best Android smartwatch for battery life
The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS might not be the most noteworthy Android smartwatch on the market, but it impresses where some of its competitors lack: battery life. Smart design, bright display and solid fitness tracking help round-out the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS to be one of the best smartwatches for Android you can buy. At $299, the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS is also more affordable than many of the outdoor sector-centered smartwatches you’ll find on the market now.
Again, it puts an emphasis on endurance — this smartwatch lasts up to 45 days with certain settings enabled. Regrettably, the software doesn’t run as smoothly as you might see on Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 or the Google Pixel Watch, which both have the latest version of Wear OS 3 (this TicWatch is eligible, but hasn’t yet been updated.) Though if you're looking for something that's durable and goes the distance, we think there's a lot to like about the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS.
Read our full TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS review.
The best Android smartwatch for outdoors
The Garmin Instinct 2 boasts an infinite battery life — yep, it has the power to last forever, charging with the sunlight. There are a few catches, from which features work on solar power, to which versions of the Garmin Instinct 2 even pack a solar panel, to how many hours a day the watch needs to be exposed to sunlight. But beyond that, the Instinct 2 is better than the first Garmin Instinct in almost every way.
It retains it's rugged feel, while borrowing features from some of Garmin's more expensive watches. It also now comes in a smaller 40mm size — the 2S, designed for smaller wrists. Unlike the new Garmin Fenix 7 range, there's no touchscreen, but the five-button functionality is easy to figure out, and use on the move.
Read our full Garmin Instinct 2 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.
