The 8 Best Smartwatches for Health and Fitness

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 comes out of the gate swinging with a sleeker design and the biggest display screen (49 millimeters) of any Apple Watch. With Apple’s most advanced display technology, the Ultra 3 is now 24 percent thinner while being brighter and easier to read — even in blazing sunshine.

The Ultra 3 offers advanced health-tracking capabilities, including electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring, sleep tracking, body temperature sensing, hypertension alerts, and blood oxygen measurements. Fitness enthusiasts will appreciate the Workout Buddy app (an AI-powered personal fitness coach), the customizable “Action” button for precise starts, and the automatic swim-stroke detection and SWOLF score (a stroke count combined with the time it takes to swim one length of the pool). It’s also water-resistant to 100 meters.

The battery lasts up to 42 hours (72 hours in Low Power Mode). It also has satellite communication capabilities and crash and fall detection that will send emergency messages if it senses either. Note that this is only compatible with other Apple devices and may feel a bit bulky on daintier wrists.

The Google Pixel Watch 5 offers the best smartwatch experience on Android. Thanks to its Actua 360 domed display, the Pixel Watch 5 has an edgeless appearance that’s easy to see even in direct sunlight, with a peak brightness of 3,000 nits (a ‘nit’ is how bright a screen is perceived to be by the human eye). It monitors your vitals via the health metrics dashboard, including blood pressure and insulin resistance trends over time, and improved sleep tracking accuracy. It features customizable workout plans and automatic activity detection if you forget to start the tracker at the beginning of a workout.

You can access a personal AI health coach with Gemini, but after the free trial, it requires a paid subscription to Google Health Premium. The battery lasts up to 40 hours. With the quick-charge dock, it charges 15 hours in 15 minutes. Choose from a 41 or 44 millimeter screen. The screen is scratch-resistant gorilla glass, and the watch is water and dust-resistant. It’s also fully repairable, allowing users to replace the screen or battery without swapping out the entire watch if something breaks. Finally, to speak to Gemini, you can just lift your wrist (“raise-to-talk”) and ask a question, and in case of an emergency, it can even connect the wearer to a satellite for assistance.

Not only does the Apple Watch Series 11 include ECG, heart and respiratory rate, cycle tracking, wrist temperature, sleep apnea notifications, blood oxygen sensors, and more, it also has new health features like hypertension alerts — which can warn users if signs of chronic high blood pressure (hypertension) are detected. “This is massive for older populations and anyone with a heart condition they might not know about,” says Brewer. Thanks to its Liquid Glass display, the screen is crisp, bright, and thinner than earlier Apple watches.

The Series 11 has also added a sleep score that helps people easily understand the quality of their sleep as it relates to a variety of tracked sleep metrics, including duration, bedtime consistency, how often a person wakes up, and how much time is spent in each sleep stage. And because the Series 11 now has a 24-hour battery life and quick-charge features, it’s easier for users to actually keep their Apple Watch on overnight. 

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 streamlines health data tracking by providing a single Heart Health Score based on your sleep, BMI, activity, and vascular load stats. In addition to tracking all the usual health and fitness metrics like heart rate and step count, the watch’s Enhanced Bioactive Sensor also tracks several more advanced data points. It can track antioxidant levels and blood pressure (once calibrated), while its bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor gauges body composition metrics such as body fat percentage, fat mass, and skeletal weight.

Built-in Google Gemini and Galaxy AI features include AI running and sleep coaches. You can track sleep patterns with Vitals, while Advanced Sleep Coaching offers personalized recommendations and habit-building guidance to cultivate better sleep hygiene for optimal health. Choose between a 40 or 44 mm screen size with a 3,000-nit display. However,it’s worth noting that the screen is slightly raised above the bezel, which has prompted many to recommend purchasing an additional screen protector to prevent damage.

Galaxy watches get mixed reviews for their battery life. Though the company says it can last up to 40 hours, that cuts to 30 hours if a user activates the “always on device” (AOD) feature. Most users say they have to charge it daily.

For people who are interested in a smartwatch but don’t yet want to invest beaucoup bucks, the CMF Watch 3 Pro is a banner budget option. “This watch has a lot of features at an inexpensive price point,” says Dr. Brewer. After a workout, it will send an AI-powered performance summary with recovery suggestions. “This is a great option for someone who is just starting to exercise or make fitness-related goals, since reminders and nudges from a smartwatch like this can help you create habits and learn more about physical activity,” she adds.

The CMF Watch 3 Pro also incorporates health-tracking features like blood oxygen (SpO2), heart rate, sleep detection, and women’s physiological health records. This version now offers a daily Active Score that helps you understand the collected data as it relates to your overall well-being. When it comes to battery life, this watch knocks it out of the park: It can last up to 13 days on a single 99-minute charge, or 60 days in Power Saver Mode, though heavy use may cut it down to four or five days.

Though the Watch 3 Pro only has three style options (orange, light gray, or gray), and a one-size-fits-all 1.43-inch (36 millimeter) display screen housed in a 47 millimeter case, it does have more than 120 watch face options, so users can still personalize it that way. However, the screen display only reaches 650 nits of brightness, and the watch is only water-resistant to 3.6 feet for 30 minutes, max.

When it comes to hardcore training (or even just consistent fitness planning), the Garmin Venu 4 has everything both professional athletes and weekend warriors could need or want. With more than 80 sport-specific apps, downloadable workouts, and an AI-powered Garmin Coach (from which users can select Fitness, Run, Triathlon, or Cycling), it’s like having an athletic trainer following you around on your wrist. Also new with the Venu 4, the Garmin Fitness Coach can create workout plans for users featuring 25 different types of workouts — ideal for cross-training athletes who balance outdoor activities with a variety of indoor and gym-based workouts.

A unique feature is the wheelchair mode, which allows wheelchair users to partake in a more personalized health and fitness experience. The Venu 4 also introduces other new accessibility features, like color filters for colorblind athletes and a “spoken” watch face for the visually impaired.

As far as health tracking, it covers all the bases and then some: Not only does it have heart rate, ECG, Pulse Ox (oxygen saturation), and sleep tracking (including nap detection) — it also has a Body Battery energy monitoring feature and offers Fitness Age estimates. Another fun new metric is Lifestyle Logging, where users can record things like when they’ve had a few drinks or too much coffee — this allows the Garmin algorithm to note how alcohol or caffeine may affect a person’s performance and health measurements.

On a tech level, the recently debuted Venu 4 sports substantial spec upgrades from the Venu 3, including a built-in LED flashlight as well as a brighter, adjustable screen. The battery life is strong, and it can be stretched to 10 days in smartwatch mode, though that cuts to three days if Always On Display is left active. Better integrated GPS accuracy will also help keep users on the right track — literally and physically.

Curious how your z’s (or lack thereof) are affecting your daily life? Then getting a smartwatch with a strong sleep tracking game like the Polar Ignite 3 may help illuminate your bedtime habits. “When patients come to my sleep clinic armed with their wearable data, I like a well-designed app that allows a rapid longitudinal review of the trends,” says Brandon R. Peters, MD, a board-certified neurologist and sleep medicine physician at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle. “Truly innovative wearables will provide personalized guidance to improve sleep.”

Enter the Polar Ignite 3, which includes just the kind of insight and coaching that sleep experts like Dr. Peters love. This smartwatch takes sleepy time seriously by recording multiple metrics around sleep duration and quality. Not only does it include Sleep Plus Stages sleep tracking, which shows how long a person spends overnight in each sleep stage (light, REM, and deep sleep) — it then uses that information to assign a sleep score by comparing an individual’s numbers to current sleep science indicators of a good night’s sleep.

From there, the Polar SleepWise metric will illustrate how a user’s recent sleep boosts their daytime alertness level and readiness to perform, while the Nightly Recharge recovery measurement calculates how well the body recovers from training and stress.

Knowing these insights can help you learn how the effects of your sleep habits accumulate over time, and how they can improve your snoozable hours. This watch will also make personalized suggestions about what bedtime works best for optimal rest. For people who struggle to fall asleep, the Polar Ignite 3 even includes Serene guided breathing exercises to help relax the body and calm the mind. The Ignite 3 is comfortable and lightweight (only 35 grams), which makes it less obtrusive while wearing it to bed.

When you’re not snoozing, Polar Ignite 3 also offers 150 activities for fitness tracking, and it’s compatible with more than 70 external apps, including Strava and Relive. Additionally, it includes solid optical heart rate tracking with its Precision Prime light wavelength sensor. And it includes advanced GPS with multiple satellite support, so users should have good connectivity whether they stay in bed or take it outside. A bright touchscreen makes it easy to see in the dark.

Ready to take it off-road? The rugged Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro may just be the perfect companion for your next outdoor adventure. This military-grade smartwatch is built tough with premium-grade materials like titanium for the bezel and buttons, and a scratch-resistant sapphire glass face. It’s a big watch, with 44 and 48 millimeter case options, with similarly large (1.23 and 1.5 inches respectively) displays. Thanks to that size and a brightness upgrade to 3,000 nits, this is a screen you can easily see while hiking, cycling, skiing, diving, or whatever combo of those activities you can imagine — with 180-plus workout modes, there are endless options.

Thanks to GPS with support from a six-satellite system, the T-Rex 3 Pro delivers a reliable connection even in more remote locations. It offers offline maps, route planning, and points of interest searches, — though it gets its mapping data from OpenStreetMap, which is created by everyday people (think crowd-sourcing for maps), so occasionally the info might take you off course.

The battery life is extensive, lasting anywhere from 17 to 25 days, depending on the size of the watch, though that number shortens with heavy use. T-Rex 3 Pro comes with the free Zepp app that shows how long it’s been since the last charge, so you won’t forget to give it more juice when needed. The T-Rex 3 Pro also has a two-color flashlight with a power boost built into it — not in the software but in the actual frame.

For health metrics, the BioSensor tracker built into the T-Rex 3 Pro gives a wide range of readings from heart rate to skin temperature to stress level. It also gives “high altitude” prompts to remind users to check their blood-oxygen saturation when at peak heights. This watch can handle extremes, including temperatures ranging from -30 degrees C (-22 degrees F) to 70 degrees C (158 degrees F). It’s also water-resistant to 100 meters and to 45 meters for free diving and scuba.

Though some users say this watch is a little rough around the edges, compared with the more well-known smartwatch brands, the T-Rex 3 Pro has firmly put itself on the map for outdoor and adventure enthusiasts because it actually goes the distance.