9 Best Smartwatches of 2026

For anyone who carries an iPhone, the Series 12 covers the three jobs on this list better than anything else we compared. Notifications, replies and calls run through the same system as the phone, and Apple Pay works at any contactless terminal, including subway gates. Health tracking is where it pulls ahead: Apple documents background heart rate readings every five seconds, HRV as often as every five minutes, an ECG app for signs of AFib, blood oxygen readings, and notifications for possible hypertension and sleep apnea. A morning readiness score and a nightly sleep score turn that data into one number each. For readers with hearing loss, Sound Recognition can flag sirens, alarms and doorbells on the wrist. The tradeoffs are clear. It only works with an iPhone 11 or later, and Apple rates the battery at up to 24 hours, so most owners will charge daily, although 15 minutes on the charger adds up to 12 hours. At $399 it is not cheap, but it is the most complete package here.

The Pixel Watch 5 is the closest Android equivalent to Apple's flagship and, at its sale price, a better value. Google rates the battery at up to 40 hours, long enough to wear it to bed for sleep tracking and still get through the next day, and the Quick Charge Dock adds 15 hours in 15 minutes. The domed Actua 360 display reaches 3000 nits, which helps when you glance at a notification in sunlight. On the LTE model you can take calls, receive texts, play music and pay with Google Wallet while your phone stays at home. Google also calls it the first smartwatch with SOS satellite communications, so you can reach emergency services in places without coverage. Gemini answers questions when you raise your wrist. It pairs with most Android phones on Android 12 or newer, but not with iPhone. Note that the $299.99 price was a $100 sale Google listed as ending November 8; at the regular $399.99 it still ranks near the top.

If your main reasons for a smartwatch are seeing notifications, paying with your wrist and tracking sleep, the SE 3 does those jobs for $249. Apple gives it an Always-On display, so the time, notifications and Live Activities stay visible without a flick of the wrist. Sleep score and sleep apnea notifications are included, along with alerts for high or low heart rate and irregular rhythm. Apple Pay, Crash Detection and Fall Detection are the same as on the pricier models, and a 5G cellular option lets you call and stream without the phone. What you give up is the advanced heart suite: there is no ECG app, no Blood Oxygen app and no hypertension notifications. Battery is the other compromise. Apple rates it at up to 18 hours, the shortest on this list, though Low Power Mode stretches that to 32 hours and a 15-minute charge adds 8 hours. For a first smartwatch, or a gift for a teen or parent with an iPhone, it is the sensible choice.

The Galaxy Watch9 is the most feature-dense watch for Samsung phone owners. Samsung Health on the watch adds an Energy Score each morning, Bedtime Guidance built from three nights of sleep data, sleep apnea features, a Heart Health Score and an Antioxidant index, and the Fitness Index combines VO2 max, body composition, heart rate and activity into a training score. Google Gemini is built in and listens when you raise your wrist, with no wake word. The sapphire crystal display reaches 3,000 nits, so notifications stay readable in sun, and Samsung moved to a 390 mAh battery, up from 300 mAh on the two previous generations. Because it runs Wear OS, the Google Play Store is available for extra apps. The catch is compatibility: many of these features need Android 13 or later, several need a Galaxy phone, and it does not work with iPhone. At $429.99 it also costs more than the Pixel Watch 5, which keeps it just behind on value.

The Active 3 Premium is the pick for buyers who want a smartwatch for notifications and health tracking without spending $250 or more. Amazfit rates the battery at up to 12 days of typical use, so it charges about twice a month instead of every night. You get a 1.32-inch AMOLED screen under sapphire glass with 3,000-nit brightness, GPS with downloadable offline maps, and a speaker and microphone for Bluetooth calls from the wrist. Call, text and app notifications are supported on both iPhone and Android, but quick replies are Android only. Sleep tracking covers sleep stages, sleep HRV, breathing quality and a sleep score, and Amazfit stresses that workout and recovery data in the Zepp App needs no subscription. The limits matter for this list's angle: the product page does not mention contactless payments, and you cannot install third-party music apps. If tap-to-pay is a must, spend more on an Apple, Google or Garmin pick.

The Ultra 4 is the Apple Watch for people who find the Series 12 battery too short or spend time out of cell range. Apple rates it at up to 50 hours of normal use and 84 hours in Low Power Mode, and up to 45 hours of Max Extended Workout tracking, which Apple pitches as enough for a 100-mile race. Built-in satellite communications let you message family and reach emergency services without cellular or Wi-Fi. The 49mm titanium case carries a wide-angle display up to 3000 nits, and adventurers get a full dive computer, a compass and waypoints. It keeps every health feature of the Series 12, including hypertension and sleep apnea notifications, the ECG app and blood oxygen. For a phone owner who mainly wants notifications and payments, though, that is a lot of watch: it costs $799, comes in a single large size and works only with iPhone. That price is why it ranks below the cheaper Apple models despite the top feature score.

The Venu 4 suits people who want a real smartwatch but not a nightly charging habit. Garmin rates the 41mm model at up to 10 days in smartwatch mode and the 45mm at up to 12 days, far beyond the Apple and Wear OS picks. It pairs with both iPhone and Android through the Garmin Connect app, shows emails, texts and alerts, and has a speaker and microphone for calls from the wrist. Garmin Pay handles contactless payments with participating providers, which makes it the only cross-platform pick here with tap-to-pay. Health tracking includes Body Battery energy monitoring, stress, Pulse Ox, sleep, HRV and the Garmin ECG App, and the new Garmin Fitness Coach builds workouts for more than 25 activities. A metal case, an LED flashlight and color-blindness display filters round it out. The downsides are price and messaging: at $549.99 it costs more than the Series 12, and typed replies work only on Android or through Garmin Messenger.

The OnePlus Watch 3 is for Android owners who like Wear OS but not the daily charging that usually comes with it. OnePlus rates the 46mm model at up to 5 days in Smart Mode and up to 16 days in Power Saver Mode, and says 10 minutes on the charger gives a full day. The 1.5-inch LTPO display sits under sapphire crystal inside a titanium alloy bezel, so it is built for daily knocks. Wear OS by Google brings watch faces, tiles, Google Maps and Google Wallet, though OnePlus notes that some Wallet features depend on country and device. Health tracking runs through the OHealth app, including a 60-second Health Check-In that gives insights into arterial stiffness, plus sleep tracking. The limits are compatibility and depth: it does not support iPhone, the app needs Android 9.0 or later with Google services, and it lacks the FDA-cleared heart features Apple documents. At $349.99 it costs more than the Pixel Watch 5 sale price.

The ScanWatch 2 looks like a traditional watch, with real hands and a 0.63-inch OLED window for data and alerts. That design gives it the longest battery on this list by a wide margin: Withings rates it at up to 35 days, and a full charge takes about 2 hours. Health tracking is serious for its size. Resting a finger on the bezel records a single-lead ECG in 30 seconds and checks for atrial fibrillation, and the watch tracks temperature around the clock, overnight HRV, REM sleep, blood oxygen and a Breathing Quality Index. It shows incoming calls and app and message notifications on both iPhone and Android. The tradeoff is that it is not a full smartwatch. You cannot reply to messages or install apps, and Withings does not list contactless payments. At $369.95 it costs more than several touchscreen picks, so it only makes sense if you want the look of a classic watch and rarely want to charge it.