This year was a big one for wearables as several smartwatches from various manufacturers and across different price categories were announced. We also had new players such as OPPO and Vivo make their entry into the wearables market with the OPPO Watch and Vivo Watch respectively. If you are on the search for a new smartwatch, then our list of the best smartwatches of the year should help you.
1Best Apple Watch – Apple Watch Series 6
If you want to grab an Apple Watch, it makes sense that you pick the best, and currently, that is the Apple Watch Series 6. It has a great display, new health features including blood oxygen level detection, ECG, and lots of sports functions. With a starting price of $399, you can’t go wrong with Apple’s latest offering.
Honorable Mention: Apple Watch SE
The Apple Watch SE is an alternative if your budget is under $300. It packs a lot of important features such as a retina display, fall detection, sleep tracking, and heart rate measurement but it drops others such as ECG and Blood Oxygen level detection to keep the price tag low. It starts at $279.
2Best non-Wear OS Smartwatches – Samsung Galaxy Watch3 and Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro
If you want a smartwatch that doesn’t run Wear OS, then you can choose between Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 3 and Huawei’s Watch GT 2 Pro. Both watches run their own proprietary operating systems – LiteOS on the Huawei watch and Tizen OS on the Samsung watch.
These two watches combine style and functionality and are made from premium materials including titanium. Both watches have ECG*, blood oxygen level measurement, sleep monitoring, and support for professional sports. The Galaxy Watch 3 starts at $399 while the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro starts at €299.
Honorable Mention – Amazfit GTR 2
If you want something much more affordable than the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, the Huami’s Amazfit GTR 2 is a great choice. This round-faced watch has an AMOLED display, SpO2 sensor, heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, Amazon Alexa, support for Bluetooth calls, in-built storage, GPS, support for 90 sports modes, and 14-day battery life. It is priced at $179.99.
3Best Rugged Smartwatch – Garmin Fenix 6 Pro
If you want an outdoor/rugged watch that does it all, then the $699.99 Garmin Fenix 6 Pro is the watch for you. It packs a 1.3-inch transflective display with a 260 x 260 resolution and Gorilla Glass DX or Sapphire Crystal. Alongside all you will expect from a standard smartwatch, the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro justifies its price tag with a lot of premium features you won’t find on most of the other watches on this list.
It allows you to add maps; store up to 2000 songs on its 32GB of built-in storage; provides support for pre-loaded activities such as skiing, trail running, rowing, and golfing; and provides access to CourseView maps for more than 41,000 golf courses across the world. It also has hydration tracking, body energy monitor, and advanced sleep monitoring that includes respiration data. Its battery life varies but in smartwatch mode, it goes up to 14 days on a single charge.
Honorable Mention – Amazfit T-Rex
At $699.99, the Fenix 6 Pro will definitely be out of the range of several folks, but you can pick up the Amazfit T-Rex rugged smartwatch for a fraction of that price, $139.99 to be precise. It misses out on several features of the Garmin watch but if all you want is a watch that will survive outdoors, then it will do.
It has 12 military-grade certifications and will handle extreme temperatures and weather. The AMOLED screen is 1.3 inches in size just like that of the Fenix 6 Pro but it is sharper as its resolution is higher. There are fourteen supported professional sports modes, built-in GPS, and it has heart rate monitoring, a 20-day battery life, and a 5ATM water-resistant rating.
EDITOR’S PICK: OnePlus’ CEO says OnePlus Watch is coming early next year
4Best Budget Smartwatches – Amazfit GTS 2 Mini and Huawei Watch Fit
The Amazfit GTS 2 Mini is a cheaper version of the Amazfit GTS 2 but if you are on a budget, this is probably the smartwatch for you. At $99, this watch has a 1.55-inch AMOLED screen, 70 sports modes, SpO2 monitor, women’s health tracking, Amazon Alexa, GPS, and a battery life that lasts up to 14 days.
The Huawei Watch Fit is also another option. Its elongated 1.64-inch AMOLED screen will definitely draw attention but that is not all it has got. It boasts more than 90 sports modes along with a built-in trainer and animated workouts. It also has a SpO2 sensor, GPS, 5 ATM water resistance, and a 10-day battery life. While it launched for €129, the watch can be purchased for €99 in a number of European countries.
Honorable Mention – Mi Watch Lite
The Mi Watch Lite makes for an honorable mention. With a price tag of around $60, this is for those who want to save even more money. It doesn’t have SpO2 measurement and its sports modes are fewer at just 11. Nevertheless, you get a square 1.4-inch dial with more than 120 watch faces to choose from, heart rate measurement, a barometer, GPS, and a battery life of about 9 days.
5Best Fitness Tracker – Amazfit Band 5
If you want a fitness tracker, then the $49.99 Amazfit Band 5 is our pick for the best fitness tracker. It packs a 1.1-inch AMOLED display; can measure blood oxygen level saturation alongside heart rate, sleep, and stress level. It also has Amazon Alexa, support for 11 sports modes, women’s health tracking, and a battery life that lasts up to 15 days in typical usage and up to 25 days in basic mode.
Honorable Mentions – Xiaomi Mi Band 5 and Honor Band 6
The Mi Band 5 is a cheaper alternative to the Amazfit Band 5. Both can pass for the same as they are made by the same manufacturer, Huami. However, Xiaomi’s own doesn’t have blood oxygen level detection, Amazon Alexa, and women’s health tracking. It currently goes for between $30 and $35.
Priced at about ~$40 Honor Band 6 packs a much bigger display than the other two fitness trackers. It is a 1.47-inch AMOLED display with a 368 x 194 resolution. The fitness tracker has support for 10 sports modes, automatic workout detection, SpO2 measurement, 5 ATM water resistance rating, and 14-day battery life. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have GPS.
So these were our picks for the BEST Smartwatches and smartbands in 2020. Do you think any other watch deserves a mention in this list? Let us know in the comments down below!
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