Health enthusiasts, workout buffs, and athletes all need a way to monitor their health conditions before, during, and after physical activity.
An ordinary analog watch can’t fulfil this need, not even one with chronograph functions.
What you need is a fitness smartwatch with health monitoring features and activity tracking functions.
The best fitness smartwatches do more than just tell your heart rate or the number of steps you’ve taken.
Most of them usually offer ways to measure your current VO2 max, the calories you’ve burned, and the number of reps you still have to do to complete your daily exercise goal.
They can also be used to play music, navigate a terrain, or even purchase goods through contactless payment features.
The 13 Best Fitness Smartwatches
So which of them are best suited to your daily needs?
Here are the best fitness smartwatches you can find in the market:
Fitbit Alta HR
The Alta HR is one of the best fitness smartwatches that has an OLED display, an interchangeable rubber band, and Bluetooth connectivity.
It features a heart rate sensor, a sleep tracker, an alarm, an odometer, and a gyroscope.
It can be connected to your smartphone for mobile notifications.
Pros:
- Slim, stylish, and very comfortable to wear
- Interchangeable strap with colorful designs
- Accurate heart rate monitor
- Battery lasts up to 7 days
Cons:
- Vibration is too soft
- Splash resistant only
- Display is unreadable under bright light conditions
Fitbit Versa
The 50mm Fitbit Versa has a tempered glass window and interchangeable straps available in different kinds and colors.
It’s one of the best fitness smartwatches as it has an activity tracker, a heart rate monitor, a sleep sensor, an on-screen coaching function, and a phone-free music player.
It can also be connected to your smartphone for real-time monitoring of distance and pace via GPS and for quick access to your favorite apps.
Pros:
- Sleek and stylish design
- Battery life of up to 4 days
- Water resistant up to 50m
Cons:
- Bands are hard to change
- Some activity tracking features record inaccurate data
- Limited app functionality
Polar M430
The M430 features a wrist-based heart rate monitor, a sleep sensor, GPS connectivity, an accelerometer, various sports profiles, an alarm, a stopwatch, an interval timer, Bluetooth connectivity for smartphone linking, and a Smart Coaching function which can help you track and achieve daily goals fitness goals with precision.
It also has the Polar Flow app that lets you easily record and analyze various sports activities, making the M430 one of the best fitness smartwatches out there.
Pros:
- Easy to operate and comfortable to wear
- Accurate measurements of heart rate and other activities
- Polar Flow app is very useful in various sports activities
- Battery life of up to 30 hours
- Water resistant
Cons:
- It doesn’t look that stylish compared to other fitness smartwatches
- Unstable wireless connection
- It doesn’t have a touchscreen display
Withings Steel HR
The Steel HR is a hybrid smartwatch available in 36mm and 40mm sizes.
It has a stainless steel case, an analog watch display, and a small subdial with digital display.
It features a heart rate sensor, an accelerometer, a sleep tracking function, an alarm, a vibrate function, various workout modes, and smartphone notifications.
It also has both GPS and Bluetooth connectivity options.
Pros:
- Looks very stylish and elegant
- It has a wide range of fitness monitoring functions
- Multi-functional, making it one of the best fitness smartwatches you can find
- Battery lasts up to 25 days
- Water resistant up to 50m
Cons:
- Band is of cheap quality
- Glass may get foggy and show signs of condensation
- Analog hands don’t have lume, meaning you can’t read the time in the dark
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier
The 46mm Gear S3 Frontier features a Gorilla Glass crystal, an active silicon strap, a Super AMOLED display, a 1GHz dual-core processor, 4GB internal memory, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and a rotating bezel for navigating menus.
It has an alarm, a GPS navigation function, an accelerometer, a barometer, an altimeter, a compass, a gyroscope, a heart rate sensor, and a light sensor.
It can be used to receive texts and calls and make payments using Samsung Pay.
Pros:
- Looks both sporty and elegant
- Rotating bezel makes navigating the menus intuitive
- Display is very vibrant and easy to read
- Sturdy build despite being lightweight and comfortable to wear
- Highly customizable watch face and straps
- Battery life of up to 3 days
Cons:
- Splash-resistant up to 1.5m only
- Lack of integration with Google apps, giving it a limited app selection
- Some readings can be inaccurate in certain situations
Suunto 3 Fitness
The 43mm Fitness has a sleep tracking feature, a 3-axis accelerometer, a heart rate sensor, an activity tracker, an alarm, a stopwatch, an altimeter, a smartphone notification function, a stress tracker, and multiple sports mode functions.
Pros:
- Lightweight and very comfortable to wear
- Perfect size even for those who have small wrists
- Minimalistic design suitable for any fashion wear
- Crisp and readable display
- Battery life of up to 5 days
- Water resistant up to 30m
Cons:
- No built-in GPS sensor
- Window is not touch-screen
- Features can be challenging to set up
Apple Watch Series 3
The 38mm Apple Watch Series 3 has a 563 sq.
mm digital display, an Ion-x strengthened glass case, and a dual-core S3 processor.
It features a GPS/GLONASS sensor, a barometer, an altimeter, a heart sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.
![Apple Watch Series 3 [GPS 38mm] Smart Watch w/Space Gray Aluminum Case & Black Sport Band. Fitness & Activity Tracker, Heart Rate Monitor, Retina Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41XnTnpJd-L._SL160_.jpg)
Pros:
- Easy to operate
- Lightweight and comfortable to wear
- Alerts you when a message arrives or a social media notification pops up
- Battery life of up to 18 hours
- Water resistant up to 50m
Cons:
- Short battery life when features are fully utilized
- Limited features for a fitness watch
- Ringing sound has a low volume
Apple Watch Series 2
The 42mm Apple Watch Series 2 has a 1.5in OLED Retina display covered with Ion-X glass, a ceramic back, and a dual-core processor.
It features a heart rate sensor, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a GPS/GLONASS sensor, Wi-Fi connectivity, and apps for tracking other sports activities.
Pros:
- Accurate GPS data
- Crisp and bright display
- Battery life of up to 18 hours
- Water resistant up to 50m
Cons:
- Inaccurate heart rate info
- Product has been discontinued, so it’s hard to find nowadays
- Some apps are useless
- Expensive for its basic features
Huawei Watch 2
The Huawei Watch 2 is one of the best fitness smartwatches for its price and its wide range of features.
It has a GPS/GLONASS sensor, a barometric altimeter, an accelerometer, a BMI calculator, a heart rate monitor, a sleep tracking feature, an offline music player, and a Workout Coach function.
It also has a number of apps designed for monitoring a wide range of workout activities.
It can also be connected with Google Pay and allows you to receive and make phone calls.
Pros:
- Interchangeable bands allow you to make the watch look elegant or sporty
- Ceramic case is scratch-resistant and sturdy
- User-friendly interface makes it easy to navigate the menus
- Highly customizable and multi-functional
- Battery life of up to 3 weeks
Cons:
- Splash resistant only
- Heart rate monitor can give inaccurate measurements
- Charging device can be challenging to set up
LG Watch Sport
The 45mm Watch Sport has a stainless steel case, a P-OLED display, a rubber strap, and a quad-core processor.
It features a timer, a stopwatch, an alarm, multilingual support, and smartphone connectivity via Bluetooth.
It’s compatible with apps like the Android Pay, Google Fit for activity tracking, Google Maps for GPS connection, and Google Play Music for music streaming.
It supports Wi-Fi connectivity and a 4G LTE carrier data plan.
Pros:
- Watch face can be read even under bright conditions
- Comes with a charging cradle for wireless charging
- Has all the needed apps for fitness tracking
- Comfortable to wear
Cons:
- Short battery life with a standby time of only 1.45 days
- Water resistant up to 1.5m only
- Band can’t be changed
- Watch is large and bulky
Garmin Forerunner 645
The 43mm Forerunner 645 has a GPS/GLONASS sensor, a heart rate monitor, an activity tracker, a training performance monitor, a stress monitor, and an activity profile selector.
It’s multi-functional since you can use it for contactless payment.
This is the best fitness smartwatch for music lovers since it allows you to store over 500 songs and listen to them using Bluetooth earphones.
Pros:
- Compact and comfortable to wear
- Provides accurate measurements
- Has intuitive controls
- Battery life of up to 7 days
- Water resistant up to 50m
Cons:
- It’s expensive for a fitness smartwatch
- Wrist band easily gets dirty
- There are still some bugs in the software used
Garmin Forerunner 935
The 30.5mm Forerunner 935 has a GPS/GLONASS receiver, a barometric altimeter sensor, an accelerometer, a sleep monitoring sensor, date and alarm functions, music controls, and Smart Notifications.
It’s the best fitness smartwatch for tracking activities like cycling, swimming, and running.
It can be connected to your smartphone via Bluetooth and is compatible with Android, iPhone, and Windows systems.
Pros:
- Lightweight and comfortable to wear
- Accurate monitoring features, especially the heart rate sensor
- Analyzing activity performance is made easier with the apps included in the smartwatch
- Menus are easy to navigate
- Battery life of up to 2 weeks
- Water resistant up to 50m
Cons:
- Watch face gets scratched easily
- It’s expensive for a fitness smartwatch
- UI is a bit outdated
Garmin Fenix 5X
The 51mm Fenix 5X has a PVD-coated stainless steel case, a sapphire crystal, and a digital display with a backlight feature.
The watch has a GPS/GLONASS sensor, a full-color map feature, a compass, a gyroscope, a barometric altimeter, a heart rate monitor, Bluetooth connectivity, and smartphone notifications.
Pros:
- Highly customizable watch face
- Fast GPS synchronization
- Excellent battery life
- Water resistant up to 100m
Cons:
- Watch is large and bulky to wear
- It’s quite expensive compared to other fitness smartwatches
- Resolution isn’t that sharp and bright
Conclusion
If you’re a workout buff or an athlete, you want a watch that tells more than just the time.
An ordinary analog watch just won’t make the cut.
What you need is the best fitness smartwatch which boasts a dozen features reliable in keeping track of physical activities.
A heart rate sensor, a sleep tracking feature, and various sports modes should be the minimum requirements you look for in a fitness smartwatch.
Our list shows the best fitness smartwatches you can find in the market.
All the watches we’ve discussed have all the minimum features you should look for in a sports timepiece.
Take a look again at the list we’ve come up and you’ll surely find a sports accessory to your liking.
