"Top 15 Best Smartwatches of 2024: The Ultimate Guide to Cutting-Edge Wearables!"
"Top 15 Best Smartwatches of 2024: The Ultimate Guide to Cutting-Edge Wearables!"
### Description:
Discover the top 15 best smartwatches of 2024 that combine style, functionality, and advanced technology. From fitness tracking to seamless connectivity, these smartwatches offer features that cater to every need. Whether you're an athlete, a tech enthusiast, or someone looking to stay connected on the go, this guide has the perfect smartwatch for you. Explore the latest models and find out which wearables top the list this year.
Transcript
00:00You ever fancy chatting with your mates by talking directly into your watch like you're
00:04in some cheesy ropey old sci-fi show? Or maybe your life ambition is to play a flappy bird rip-off
00:10right there on your wrist? Well it sounds like you need a smartwatch. No matter your budget or taste
00:16there is a smartwatch out there just for you. And chances are I've had it strapped on my arm
00:21at some point and banged on at length about it in a video. But assuming you can't be arsed to
00:25sit there and spend an entire afternoon gorging on my smartwatches playlist, well here's my pick
00:30of the very best smartwatches right now that aren't the Apple Watch. And aye, this one here
00:35might look an awful lot like the Apple Watch but it's less than half the price and it's actually
00:40better. And for more on the latest and greatest tech please do plug, subscribe and ding that
00:43notifications bell. Cheers! Now one of my favourite smartwatches in 2024 is still Samsung's Galaxy
00:50Watch 5 Pro, even if it launched well over a year ago. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro comes with a wide
00:56choice of different bands so you can pick your favourite strap and slap it on there to change up
01:01the look and feel whenever you fancy. Samsung's design is sleek as usual with a super durable
01:07titanium frame and sapphire glass. Unlike the older Watch 4 Classic there's no rotated bezel
01:13here for effortlessly navigating through Wear OS but thankfully the AMOLED screen is perfectly
01:18responsive and a proper eye-pleaser too, pumping out crisp and clear text and visuals. Of course,
01:24as this is a Samsung smartwatch that does mean you get all of Samsung's own services slapped on
01:29there like Samsung Pay. And yes, that does also mean that our great mate Bixby is on here to
01:34assist your everyday life slash annoy the living piss out of you. As always you have comprehensive
01:42fitness tracking at your fingertips, over a hundred different types of sweat-inducing activities
01:48are supported here including some proper outlandish efforts. You've also got upgraded sleep tracking
01:53which identifies you as some kind of animal based on your kipping habits and then serves up
01:57personalised advice on how to get better at being unconscious. Battery life isn't stellar sadly but
02:03as you'll discover it is better than quite a lot of the smartwatches in this roundup. You'll generally
02:08get between two to three days of full-on use before it conks out. And while Samsung hasn't
02:13blessed us with an updated Pro in quite some time, they did at least spaff out a fresh new Galaxy
02:18Watch 6 Classic in 2023 which is absolutely still worth a squint. This sports a polished stainless
02:25steel body, once again with sapphire glass protecting that poppy OLED panel. On the software
02:30side the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is pretty much identical to the Watch 5 Pro. You've got Wear OS
02:35topped with a bugger load of Samsung's own apps and services. However, you've also got the benefit
02:40of that snazzy rotating bezel which makes navigating around the menus and apps even more
02:45satisfying. Samsung's nippy new Exynos W930 chipset means slightly smoother performance but
02:52the battery life is rather toilet. It'll just about stretch to two days if you don't go nuts
02:57basically. And if your budget happens to max out at £300 well no worries there is a regular Samsung
03:03Galaxy Watch 6 as well. This swaps out the stainless steel for more basic aluminium and
03:09ditches the snazzy rotating bezel. The bezel is a miss but as a result of the aluminium frame it's
03:15also a lighter watch and a bit more compact, not to mention less abusive to your wallet.
03:20And if you're interested I've done a full comparison between the Galaxy Watch 6 and the
03:246 Classic which is live right now here on the Tech Spurts. Now one of the best Samsung alternatives
03:30is Google's Pixel Watch 2 which is a stunning and slender pebble style smartwatch that looks
03:36remarkably like the original Pixel Watch. Sadly however that shiny surface hasn't been upgraded
03:42to sapphire glass to really help protect that display. And yes those bezels are still a wee
03:47bit chunky but those grumbles aside the Pixel Watch 2 is one of the best smartwatches for Android
03:52users. You get a similar Wear OS experience as those Galaxy Watches but this time with dedicated
03:58Google Assistant support. That Fitbit integration means you get a whole bunch of tools to track
04:02your running, hiking, squat thrusting, whatever. And Google is also chucking in a free six month
04:08subscription to Fitbit Premium so you can make full use of those guided stress busting mental
04:13health sessions as well as the full-on fitness exercise stuff. The Pixel Watch 2 has been
04:18improved in a few ways including some slick new safety tools and even smoother performance thanks
04:23to the upgraded processor. Those watch faces are more customisable now although you certainly don't
04:29get as many jazzy animated efforts as what Samsung chucks in. But you can always download
04:33some fresh faces from the Play Store along with any other apps that you fancy. Sadly the battery
04:38life on the Pixel Watch 2 is for want of a better word absolute bollocks. You'll be charging this
04:44smartwatch every damn day and there's not even wireless charging support this time around.
04:49The Pixel Watch 2 costs around the same as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and just like that
04:55Sammy watch you've also got the choice of chucking even more cash at Google for an LTE version if
05:00you don't want to just rely on being tethered to your phone. Another favourite is the Fossil Gen 6
05:06which again has lacklustre battery life but impresses in other areas. This 44mm smartwatch
05:11is tough but light and boasts an incredible amount of customisation. You can even pimp it out with
05:16crystals if you're feeling a bit early 2000s hip-hop. The stunning AMOLED screen is bright
05:20enough to cope with serious shine while the SDWare 4100 Plus chipset offers simply smooth
05:25performance to the Samsung and Pixel watches. And once again you've got full access to all
05:30of Google's services including that assistant so bugger off Bixby. You get all the usual
05:36functionality here including fitness shiz, contactless payments, everything apart from
05:40the ability to stream music to Bluetooth headphones when you've left your phone at home.
05:44It might be getting on a bit but it's definitely still a snazzy smartwatch and you can check out
05:48my full review right here on Techspurt. If this dire battery life is really getting you down,
05:54no worries. Wear OS has a new champion in the TicWatch Pro 5 from Mobvoi. This clever strap-on
06:00boasts a unique dual display design so you can quickly check the time on your step count etc
06:06with a low-powered LCD. Only wake in the gorgeous OLED panel if you need to play with apps,
06:11check notifications and so on. And thanks to this smarty pants setup as well as the
06:16battery size that Mobvoi has crammed inside, the TicWatch can keep on going for around 4-5
06:21days between charges which is basically unheard of for Wear OS. And even if it's fully drained,
06:26just slap it back on its bundle charger for half an hour and you'll get a full weekend of play,
06:31no worries. All of the usual Wear OS smarts are on board including the Google Play Store
06:37and you've got a built-in mic and speaker for taking calls. Fitness tracking ain't the best
06:41in this roundup but it should suit most folk who occasionally slap on the Lycra and it all
06:46runs beautifully smoothly thanks to Qualcomm's beefy Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 chipset.
06:52And Mobvoi just launched a redesigned version of the TicWatch Pro 5 called the TicWatch Pro 5
06:58Enduro. It's practically the same besides a few updates including tougher sapphire glass
07:03for the screen so it can take a wee bit more punishment. Now a serious TicWatch rival is
07:10the OnePlus Watch 2, another Wear OS wrist rocket that boasts incredible battery life
07:15thanks to its smarty-pants dual chipset and dual OS design. You've got all those familiar Wear OS
07:22features wrapped up in yet another rugged metal body with sapphire glass to finish.
07:27That 1.43-inch OLED display is crisp, colourful and brighter than a room full of boffins,
07:33ideal for anyone who happens to reside in sunnier climes. Performance is suitably slick but like the
07:39TicWatch it is the battery life where this bad boy has its Google and Samsung rivals beat.
07:45OnePlus has crammed in a pair of chipsets including a low-powered effort that's used
07:49to track your health stats and power the always-on display etc etc. And likewise there's
07:54a simple low-powered UI that's sat on top of Wear OS which is used for basic stuff like checking
08:00what the time is. And as a result I tend to get at least a solid three days of battery life from
08:06every charge even with heavy use so yeah cracking stuff. And if battery life happens to be your
08:11priority I'll definitely give a shout out to the OPPO Watch Wi-Fi. This thing is pretty sleek and
08:17stylish as long as you don't mind that Apple Watch style square design with the choice of 41 or 46
08:23mil sizes. The near 2-inch AMOLED screen is big, bright and punchy while the performance is
08:29perfectly respectable thanks to that Snapdragon Wear 3100 chip. Not as smooth as some rivals
08:34here but good enough. Pro features like a mic and speaker and GPS tracking are present and correct
08:39and offer less cash than many rivals. But best of all that VOOC charge support means that the
08:44OPPO Watch charges up just as fast as the TicWatch. It can keep on going for around two to three days
08:50between charges which ain't too arse. Now if you happen to have more money stuffed under your
08:55mattress than Elon Musk and you're after one of the most premium smartwatches of 2023 you might
09:00want to ponder over this expensive and hefty slab right here, the Huawei Watch Ultimate. They really
09:06weren't f***ing around when they called it the Ultimate. It's ultimate in every way including
09:11the asking price which starts off at a trouser tingling £700. You can bump that up to £800
09:17if you fancy this here blue model. Now this thing is built for lovers of the great outdoors with its
09:22uber tough design and impressive diving creds. It's constructed from ceramic and metal alloy and
09:28you've also got sapphire glass protecting that LTPO AMOLED display so good bloody luck breaking
09:34this thing. And while Huawei's smartwatch UI doesn't offer the same level of app and notification
09:39support as Wear OS, you do still have impressive fitness features packed on board. Plus the Huawei
09:45Watch Ultimate boasts around five to six days of battery life even with intensive use. But of course
09:50not all of us have the best part of a grand to spunk out on our next smartwatch in which case
09:55maybe check out the Huawei Watch GT4 instead. This gorgeous connected timepiece comes in a more
10:01compact 41mm size as well as 46mm so for people like me with spindly wee wrists it is a better
10:08choice than that Ultimate. It doesn't dangle off you like you're eight years old again and borrowing
10:13your dad's watch to play dress up. And Huawei is offering a selection of tantalising designs to
10:19suit all tastes not to mention budgets. If you grab one of the larger 46mm models you will enjoy
10:25fortnight of use on a single charge. And yeah even if you knock on all of the features including
10:30that always on display you can still expect a full week of use before it's finally drained.
10:36Like that Ultimate model the Huawei Watch GT4 supports dozens of exercises even dubious ones
10:41like board games with dual band 5 system GNSS tracking for outdoor shenanigans. And if you
10:48happen to find yourself lost in the wilderness well the handy route retracing feature will get
10:52you back to civilisation before you find yourself adopted by a family of friendly wolves.
10:57The Huawei Watch GT4 also boasts an upgraded true scene heart rate sensor and loads of
11:02fantastic health related tools to keep tabs on your stress levels, periods, calorie consumption,
11:08pretty much everything that's going on with that fleshy prison you call a body. Alternatively the
11:13Huawei Watch 4 Pro is another chunky beast that'll test your biceps whenever you lift your arm to
11:18check the time. Battery life isn't quite as good as the Ultimate but you've got pretty much the
11:23same set of features here even a bit of eSIM action and it only costs half a grand. And Huawei
11:29just launched an even more spangly space edition version of the Watch 4 Pro which I've had a bit
11:34of a play about with and you can find out more about that in my shorts video or on my TikTok
11:40channel if I actually manage to upload it all right and everything. Like Danny Glover says I'm
11:45too old for this and for even less cash you could have yourself a Huawei Watch Fit 3 dangling off
11:51your wrist. It's an actually affordable Apple Watch style timepiece with a square finish and
11:56plenty of health track and smarts. That AMOLED screen doesn't quite stretch edge to edge but it
12:01is powerfully bright so you won't be squinting outdoors and once again you'll enjoy comprehensive
12:07support for lots of outdoorsy activity type exercise stuff including guided warm-ups,
12:14running court shenanigans, calorie tracking, the works. And battery life is better than that Apple
12:19Watch as well offering almost a full week of playtime in between charges. For just over 100
12:25quid you get a lot stuffed in here so definitely give my review of the Huawei Watch Fit 3 a proper
12:30squint. Now Xiaomi is one of Huawei's biggest rivals in this department also offering premium
12:36smartwatches packed with great features at an affordable price point and one of its spangliest
12:42smartwatch offerings is the Watch 2 Pro. The big upgrade here is the Wear OS software which means
12:48you'll have full dedicated notification support and Play Store access for downloading fresh apps,
12:53something you don't get with those Harmony OS Huawei watches. This stainless steel smartwatch
12:59is again a bit of a chunkster with a bright and punchy AMOLED display. It's powered by the
13:04Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 so it's rare to see any judders although battery life is about on par with
13:10those Galaxy Watch 6 smartwatches i.e. a bit cack so expect no more than a couple of days of play
13:16before you'll need to slap it back on the charger. The Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro like most modern smartwatches
13:21supports a built-in mic and speaker so you can once again make full use of that Google Assistant or
13:26take calls on your wrist if you can't be arsed to pull your phone out your pocket. And Xiaomi has
13:31also crammed in a solid selection of fitness features including auto tracking for stuff like
13:35walking and jogging plus accurate GPS tracking. Overall it's a tasty package with a pleasing price
13:42tag if once again the battery life is poo. And a more recent addition to Xiaomi's range of clever
13:48arm jobbies is the Watch S3, another big boy that this time boasts a selection of coloured bezels
13:54which can be popped off and swapped around. This time it runs Xiaomi's own Hyper OS software and
14:00the result is around a week of full-on battery life even if you've got all of the features
14:05including that always-on display switched on. On the downside however I have seen the occasional
14:10shonky bit of behaviour shall we say and also there's no support for contactless payments here
14:15in Blighty. But the Xiaomi Watch S3 packs in all the other features you'd expect including in-depth
14:21tracking for well over a hundred types of exercise, you've got some serious full-on sleep tracking
14:26support and even a bit of Alexa action. And if you're on an extremely tight budget well never
14:32fear the Nothing Watch Pro can be yours for just 69 pounds. 69 nice. Despite that ridiculously weenie
14:40asking price the Watch Pro still rocks an AMOLED screen that absolutely slaps even if there is a
14:46distinct lack of auto brightness action. There's no contactless payments and notification support
14:51is basic but if you want to keep tabs on your step count or heart rate or track your sweaty gym
14:56session well the Nothing Watch Pro can handle it all no worries. Complete with some surprising
15:02premium features like five system position and support to track your outdoor-y, running, jogging,
15:08cycling type situations. At this sort of price the Nothing Watch Pro is a proper banger and one of
15:14the cheapest options around. Some more booze money when you hit that pub, huzzah. And last up if you
15:19fancy a smartwatch that doesn't actually look anything like a smartwatch well definitely check
15:24out the fresh new Withins ScanWatch 2. I haven't personally reviewed the latest model but I'm still
15:29a big fan of the original ScanWatch whose weenie display serves as basic notification support and
15:35a bunch of health tracking tools while still looking proper smart. Plus you get roughly a
15:40month of use from a single battery charge. Woof. Love it. And that right there is my full-on roundup
15:46of the best smartwatches that I've personally tested and reviewed. Now there are lots of
15:52smartwatches kiddies and sadly only one uncle spurt so I may have missed off your own personal
15:57favorite. If so definitely feel free to express your opinions using your favorite expletives down
16:03in the comments below. Now die-hard fitness fanatics for instance should apparently check
16:07out the Garmin Watches. They get absolutely rave reviews from all of my mates who are considerably
16:12more buff and considerably less alcoholic than myself. Yeah if you prefer a quick 5k to a quick
16:18five pints then I highly recommend the Run Testers. Crack a bunch of lads and they review all of the
16:23latest fitness gear. That's all from me anyway. Please do poke subscribe, ding that notifications
16:28bell for more on the latest and greatest tech and have yourselves a ruddy fantastic
16:32rest of the week. Cheers everyone. Love you.
16:53you