A great smartphone needs a great companion, and that’s why smartwatches are such compelling devices. Some smartwatches run Android Wear, and some use e-Ink displays to give you immaculate battery life. Some smartwatches let you keep your phone in your pocket, while others have enough on their own to let you keep your phone at home.
So, what’s the best? That’s what we’re here to figure out. We’re presenting our list of the best smartwatches to use with your Android phone!
1. Samsung Gear S3
The Samsung Gear S3 earns a spot atop our list thanks to its very apparent refinement. While the base model may not be the most fashionable in the world, it does provide a very clean and polished user experience, including the use of a rotary dial bezel for navigating its UI if you don’t want to touch the display.
The Samsung Gear S3 gains recognition mostly from its combination of performance, features, and — perhaps most importantly — battery life, with Tizen proving to be more efficient on Samsung’s set of hardware than most Android Wear watches we’ve seen.
Key Features:
- Rotary Dial Bezel
- Fully Circular Display
- Above Average Battery Life
- Comprehensive fitness suite
Buy at Amazon
2. LG Watch Sport
LG took back the Android Wear crown with this one. The LG Watch Sport is a champion device for Android Wear 2.0, but aside from having the latest software it also boasts a delicate balance between style and form. It’s rocking an LTE chip, a fully circular OLED display, a heart rate sensor, IP68 water resistance, and more.
Key Features:
- Circular OLED Display
- LTE Connectivity, NFC, and GPS
- Heart Rate Sensor
Buy from Google
3. LG Watch Style
The LG Watch Style reads out like a lesser LG Watch Sport on paper, but perhaps thats its best benefit. It has no LTE, no heart rate sensor, no GPS, and no NFC chip for Android Pay compatibility. But it does offer an all-purpose watch meant to accompany any outfit, and at a much cheaper asking price than loftier options.
Key Features:
- Circular OLED Display
- Android Wear 2.0
- Slim Profile
- Affordable Price
Buy from Google
4. Huawei Watch
While many have tried to push the prospect of fashion when it comes to smartwatches, it was Huawei who first achieved a nice balance of acceptable prices and great looks. The Huawei Watch’s stainless steel design looks good enough to go with even the most sophisticated of outfits with the standard leather band models, and with more stylish watch bands and models available it puts itself over the top in that regard.
Beyond looks, Huawei was also able to figure out a fully circular display without the need for flat tires and extreme bezels to back internals. Couple that with a great fitness suite (complete with a built-in heart rate sensor) and it’s hard not to recommend.
Key Features:
- Fully circular display
- Great design and construction
- Comprehensive fitness suite
- Great variety of options
Buy at Amazon
5. Moto 360 2nd Gen
Motorola was the first to introduce circular displays, and while they caught some flak for the flat tire display it didn’t overshadow the natural look and feel of the watch. For the Moto 360 2nd Gen, that design was refined to look as sleek and slim as possible. It’s simple and clean, and the fact that it doesn’t jump off your wrist in braggadocious fashion might be its biggest draw. The latest rendition also added a slug connection for wristbands to make it easier to customize its look.
Key Features:
- Low-key design
- Great Fitness suite
- Slim bezel
Buy at Amazon
Honorable Mentions
These smartwatches are great in their own light but weren’t able to find a place among the elite for reasons of being too niche or simply outclassed by other options. Be sure to consider these smartwatches if you are in need of something different.
Casio WSD-F10 (Buy from Google)
This is the only smartwatch on our list with MIL STD-810 construction, meaning it can be submerged in water, hit the pavement without damage, and maybe even survive extreme weather for extended periods of time. It also has an innovative dual-display that changes between a full-colored LCD and monochrome limited mode to deliver maximum visibility outdoors and extended battery life.
All that said, its $500 price tag and intimidating looks makes it an option only for those who are truly in need of a wrist-dwelling tank.
Tag Hauer Connected (Buy from Tag Heuer)
Tag Hauer has perhaps the most stylish and solidly-built smartwatch on the market, but its $1,500 price tag makes it a possibility for only the most wealthy enthusiasts. It may even be little more than a novelty as Tag Hauer has plans to offer actual mechanical watches in exchange for the Android Wear watch whenever they reach end-of-life status.
ASUS ZenWatch 2 (Buy from Amazon)
It doesn’t have the looks or the unique features to stand tall against the rest of the field. That said, it does have one thing which keeps its name in any conversation about the best smartwatches: a very affordable price tag.
