The best smartwatches you can buy at every budget

After testing it out for our Apple Watch Series 10 review, we can confirm that the latest wearable introduces several meaningful and noticeable upgrades, and the newest variant is, unsurprisingly, the best pick for anybody using an iPhone.

It now has a refined, thinner design and a slightly larger screen. It feels a bit more comfortable and is easier to read from different angles. Its almost bezel-less display shows off the new watch faces, and if you want it to feel more luxurious, it’s available in polished titanium alongside the standard aluminium finishes (including Jet Black, a shade reintroduced from the iPhone 7 lineup). It’s also worth mentioning the huge number of Apple Watch straps available – if it’s personalisation you want, the options feel almost endless.

It offers more health tracking features, like sleep apnoea detection, which identifies breathing disruptions overnight. It otherwise has all the same great features as the Series 9, including ECG, heart rate monitoring, and blood oxygen sensing. It has an upgraded chip and remains smooth and speedy to use, with impressive on-device Siri voice control and the "double-tap" gesture.

Rounding out the upgrades are voice isolation for clearer calls, faster charging, and a water temperature sensor for water sports fans – that makes this ideal for open water and pool swimming.

Those with a Series 8 or 9 should hold onto their current watch, but this is a fantastic buy if you want your first Apple Watch to be a premium one or are upgrading from the SE, Series 6 or 7. Yes, Apple’s Ultra 2 is still available for anyone focused on extreme sports and durability, but it's bulkier, so we think the Series 10 strikes the ideal balance.

In its third iteration, the Google Pixel Watch is now our top pick if you're after a great WearOS smartwatch as an Android user. It retains the rounded look, but its OLED display is now both brighter and smoother than before, while finally coming in two different sizes: the existing 41mm and the slightly larger 45mm option. That’s ideal if you'd looked at the old Pixel Watch generations and felt they were too small.

In terms of functionality, Google has expanded the Pixel Watch 3’s health and fitness capabilities with advanced features for running and cardio tracking, including workout recommendations and a detailed post-run analysis.

The Fitbit integration is improved and offers personalised guidance for cardio load and a “Morning Brief” for quick health insights. Users can also now control Nest smart devices, Google TV, and access offline maps too. You can read more about the upgrades in our Google Pixel Watch 3 review.

The battery life has also seen improvement, lasting up to 40 hours in real-world use, even with the always-on display in use, and it can stretch further with the battery-saver mode.

Overall, the Pixel Watch 3 is the top choice for Android users after a premium watch that's stylish, comfortable and well-integrated into the Google and Android ecosystem.

Samsung fans will find that it’s better to pair a watch from the brand with its smartphones, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is the latest top option for most people. It brings in a few thoughtful updates and remains a sleek, comfortable and stylish pick.

It’s an excellent choice for anyone on Android looking for a high-performing smartwatch (and it lacks support for iPhones, unsurprisingly), but keeps a few of its perks just for Samsung smartphone owners.

Much like the Apple Watch, it’s made of lightweight aluminium and has a soft strap that makes it easy to wear all day, whether you’re commuting, working out, or tracking sleep. The design retains a classic round look while offering slimmer bezels and a bright display that holds up well in sunlight.

Samsung has powered the Galaxy Watch 7 with a faster processor for speedy app performance, while its battery life should last for around 30 hours (though it may vary with more intensive use). Health and fitness features are abundant, with heart rate tracking, GPS for outdoor activities, and tracking options for over 100 exercises.

It also features Samsung’s proprietary “Energy Score” and “Sleep Score”, which compile metrics on sleep, heart rate, and recent activity to gauge overall energy levels. On test for our Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 review, we found this addition great for manageable analysis and motivation.

Ultimately, the Galaxy Watch 7 is a versatile, stylish option that delivers a good balance between smart functionality and fitness tracking. It offers a great user experience for Android users, especially those using other Samsung devices.

If you’re prioritising fitness features, going with Fitbit is well worth it, especially as these models are more affordable than a lot of the other smartwatches on the market and deliver more battery life.

In the case of the Versa 4, you’re getting up to six days of life from one charge, and a water-resistant and swimproof watch that can log a wide variety of different exercises. It automatically detects many of them without you needing to tap the screen. It tracks your heart rate, blood oxygen and stress levels and we like how it works whether you’ve got an iPhone or an Android handset, so you’re not tied to one brand.

The Versa 4 comes with Alexa, allowing you to ask the voice assistant to set timers, check the weather forecast, start exercise sessions for you and control your smart home devices.

The watch alerts you to calls, texts and emails on your smartphone, but you can't take calls from your wrist. You can make contactless payments via the Google Wallet app, too. You’ll find that Fitbit OS lacks certain smart apps, and despite Google owning Fitbit, there’s no Google Assistant here. However, with built-in GPS and a sleek, lightweight design, this is one of our favourite fitness-focused wearables.

You don’t need a Huawei phone to get an affordable Huawei smartwatch. The Fit 4 Pro starts at £249.99 and works with Apple and Android devices.

If battery life is one of your key considerations, it lasts seven to 10 days on a charge and can fully refuel in about an hour. This was true in our testing, too. It’s a good pick if you’d prefer a model where you won’t have to worry about daily charging.

The Watch Fit 4’s health and fitness features include workout tracking, sleep analysis, electrocardiogram, heart rate, skin temperature, stress levels, blood oxygen, sleep apnoea detection and more.

It also offers guided fitness animations, running form analysis and an improved positioning system for runs and hikes. Using the Huawei Health app can sometimes feel like information overload, but there’s a lot of handy data, and the motivation of activity rings, too.

Build-wise, this has a premium-feeling titanium alloy bezel and aluminium frame, and a light weight of 27g for the Fit 4 or 32g for the Fit 4 Pro. We’re impressed by the screen's brightness, which is easy to read in any lighting conditions, and the included fluoroelastomer strap feels comfortable all day long.

On test, we found the support for notifications from our phone a little lacklustre, and the omission of contactless payments is a big downside. However, it’s a great upgrade from the Watch Fit 3 and more of a smartwatch than a fitness-only watch – and it’s worth noting the regular Fit 4 is also even more affordable, at £149.99.

Looking for a premium smartwatch with a classic look and high-end design? The Huawei Watch 5 is one of the models we’d check out first. Starting at £399.99, it’s a bit more expensive than the Watch GT5 (also on this list), but it builds on that model with a new health sensor, premium materials, and a much brighter display.

On test, we’ve been impressed by how immersive the screen feels, along with the sleek, luxe design that’s surprisingly lightweight. While we’ve been using the pricey titanium version, it also comes in a tough stainless steel at a lower price. We like how it comes in 42mm or 46mm sizes and a range of colours, so you can find a style that suits you.

Beyond the sophisticated look, it has excellent health features, including a new “X-TAP” sensor that we found easy to use. You hold your fingertip on the sensor, and it takes a series of readings in one go for quick and smart analysis. Like the other Huawei watches, it’s compatible with both Apple and Android phones, and it has a long battery life of up to 11 days. On test, this dropped to around 2.5 days when using all the features, like the always-on display. We also liked controlling the watch with intuitive “double tap” and “double slide” fingertip gestures.

It’s a shame there’s no contactless payment support, the watch looked a bit large on our wrist, and it doesn’t have many apps, but these niggles are minor given that it has all the core features, impressive health features and such a stylish design.

We’d suggest going for the latest Apple Watch SE if you want almost all the functions you get on the more expensive Apple Watch model but in a more affordable package.

This one lacks some of the complex health features and the fully edge-to-edge screen, but it’s still an Apple Watch and packs in loads of convenience for any iPhone owner. Despite the price difference, the SE has more in common with the flagship than you might expect. You’re still getting a bright display, a “swimproof” body, heart rate monitoring and 18-hour battery life (although it can last much longer with the “low power” mode enabled).

It lacks that larger “always-on” display along with the blood oxygen, temperature sensing, and ECG functionalities, but both models have the same car crash detection.

The latest update added fresh new colours and an upgraded faster processor. As it starts at £219, we think the SE should be the go-to option for most iPhone users, especially those on a budget who don’t think they’ll need the additional features of the Series 9 or the latest Series 10.

Overall, it’s an excellent smartwatch for staying on top of fitness tracking and accessing notifications, contactless payments and Siri right from your wrist (and, as with other Apple Watch models, there’s a cellular version too).

With the Watch GT5, Huawei has delivered a sensibly priced and good-looking smartwatch with impressive all-around fitness and lifestyle capabilities. It’s the one we’d recommend if you’re prioritising style but want to keep the cost under £250.

It has a beautiful, chiselled-looking stainless steel watch face and sapphire glass screen, which makes this a great choice for both the office and the gym. While it does pretty much everything your favourite fitness tracker can do, it isn’t just a sports watch.

It’s compatible with both iOS and Android, and it has great all-around lifestyle functionality, with a high-performing positioning system, message notifications, Bluetooth call apps, sleep monitoring and more, all navigable via a simple swipe-based interface.

The watch’s comprehensive health and fitness features are facilitated by TruSense, a new tracking system that provides incredibly accurate, up-to-the-millisecond metrics including your heart rate, blood oxygen levels and sleep. All that vital data is wrapped up conveniently in the Huawei Stay Fit and Huawei Health apps.

One minor downside worth noting is that the Huawei Watch GT5 does not support contactless payments in the UK. It’s a minor downside given the refinement of the tech and style with this watch, but we think it’s worth keeping in mind. The interface of the health app can also be a bit intimidating, and the materials feel more premium on Huawei’s flagship watch lineup.

The Doro Watch simplifies every aspect of the smartwatch experience, increasing the size of the display, buttons and icons while keeping the menus uncluttered and easy to read.

This is made for older users who want simplicity. The strap is comfy to wear for a full day and we like the uncomplicated design of both the watch and the Doro companion app, plus navigation is easy for those who may not be familiar with tapping and scrolling. Battery is very good, too, with a week of use from a charge and taking less than two hours to fuel back up.

Clicking the top right button opens up the main menu, and from there you use finger scrolls to swipe down through the modes: exercise, activity, heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen, find phone, and the settings. Each icon is brightly coloured and the font is large enough to see at a quick glance.

Pressing and holding the home screen lets you choose from a variety of clock faces – they are all in black and white, and very easy to read. Data is fed into the Doro app, which uses large icons and fonts, and clearly shows health and fitness records.

We paired the watch to a Google Pixel 7 Pro, and found our notifications quickly appeared on the display when we received text messages and emails. However, this is a wearable that works best when paired to the Doro 8100 smartphone.

Doing so lets you make use of the second button to launch a special Response mode. As long as you are within 10 metres of the phone, tapping the button triggers alerts to chosen family and friends to get help. When the person accepts the alert, the wearer is then automatically placed on a loudspeaker voice call.

Google’s second-generation Pixel Watch is everything we wish the first would have been on its release – it keeps the same sleek circular design but now has a better processor that delivers smoother performance and a battery life that actually lasts for a full day between charges. Sure, the wearable lacks the power of the newest Pixel Watch 3, Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy models, but it’s ideal for anyone searching for a smartwatch that’s small and easy to use.

The 1.2-inch OLED panel feels responsive, and even though the borders around the screen are big compared to its rivals, Google does a commendable job of hiding them by using dark backgrounds that blend into the sides. It’s one of the best-looking watches you can buy, but it’s still a shame you need to get the newest version for a larger size option to fit anyone with bigger wrists.

This peddle-shaped device is at its best when used as an extension of your Android phone (we used ours with a Pixel 8 Pro), and it works well for getting real-time notifications, checking your heart rate or tracking your workouts and daily step count via the companion Fitbit app.

This also lets you access sleep, weight, nutrition, exercise and fitness metrics. You’ll get six months of the Fitbit Premium tier for free, but enhanced stress and sleep analysis – plus mindfulness sessions – are eventually paywalled, costing £7.99 per month once the trial ends.

After testing for multiple weeks, we think the Pixel Watch 2 is ideal for anyone who wants a balance between a Galaxy Watch and a wearable like the Fitbit Sense. It gives you all of the usual Fitbit goodness, plus more than enough smartwatch features for casual users.

Fitbit’s top-of-the-range wearable builds on its Versa models with some great additional health features. As well as being able to track the same 20 exercises (including seven automatically) and monitor how much light, deep, and REM sleep you get each night, it can also monitor your blood oxygen level, take an ECG, and flag if your heart rate is too high or low.

When you buy the watch, you also get a membership to Fitbit Premium for six months, which gives you some seriously impressive health features.

You’ll get more information on all the key metrics and access to guided programmes, including meditation and workouts. You can download music to the device and listen to it through Bluetooth headphones, while Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant is built in too.

When we tried it out, we found Alexa was efficient at setting timers, showing the weather forecast and starting exercise sessions. The watch also lets you talk with callers on your smartphone straight from your wrist, and it alerts you to texts and emails.