Top 5 best smart watches 2016/2017
Best overall smartwatch:Apple Watch Series 2
With the Series 2 Apple has shifted the focus to health and fitness, adding GPS to the mix for accurate run tracking without needing to carry your iPhone around. The Series 2 is also waterproof and offers an array of swim tracking and metrics. Apple has also introduced a new Breathe app to help you relax. The objective is clear: Apple is making a big play for sports watch owners.
With watchOS 3, Apple is also looking to right the wrongs of its predecessor, improving the way you interact with the Series 2 on a daily basis, offering better third-party app support and more.
Is the Apple Watch Series 2 the perfect smartwatch? No. But it makes a much more compelling argument than any that have come before it.
Best Android Wear smartwatch
The stunning AMOLED display on Huawei's Android Wear debutant is a 1.4-inch, 400 x 400, one with a 286ppi count – the highest density on an Android Wear smartwatch so far – and there's no annoying flat tyre either. The screen is made all the more impressive thanks to a 10,000:1 contrast ratio.
When we first reviewed the Huawei Watch, we called it the slickest looking Android Wear smartwatch but lamented that those looks came at a premium. Fast forward a few months and the price has tumbled and, given it plays nicely with the new Mode interchangeable bands and can run the preview of Wear 2.0, it's now our top pick from Google's stable.
Best for Samsung smartphone users
It's been just over a year since the Samsung Gear S2 went live, intriguing everyone with its rotating bezel and sporty looking design. And now, Samsung has come up with a duo of sequels in the form of the Samsung Gear S3 Classic and Samsung Gear S3 Frontier. Aside from the obvious differences in design, there's not a great deal of difference between the Gear S3 options, aside from the LTE offering and a small weight difference.
The bezel, the big winner on the S2, has evolved, allowing more functionality than before. Using Nest, for example, you can control the fan, temperature zones and more in different rooms, simply by twisting the bezel. There's also a much larger battery sitting behind the bigger screen, meaning you get about 3-4 days of usage, compared to the usual two days the majority of smartwatches can muster.
Best For Sports
This second-gen Garmin smartwatch has the same 24/7 activity tracking and support for smartphone alerts as its predecessor, the Vivoactive. What it adds is Garmin's own Elevate heart rate tracking technology which monitors your HR continuously and gives accurate indications of calorie burn through the day and night. And it's better looking.
There's GPS and dedicated apps for cycling, swimming, running and golf plus support for skiing and paddle boarding too. Connect IQ adds apps while battery life is eight days, 13 hours with GPS.
You can check out our full, in-depth Garmin Vivoactive HR review to see what we made of it.
Best For Running
The Polar M600 is very much a Polar running watch first and an Android Wear smartwatch second. Not just because it has the familiar Polar watch faces already loaded but because it strong-arms you into getting Polar Flow up and running on your smartphone almost instantly. There's a physical button that's dedicated to Polar Flow. Your first ever push of it will fire up the app on your phone and, from thereon in, it's your speedy gateway to tracking your runs and workouts.
The GPS run tracking is on the money and the stats and metrics the excellent Flow app provides post-run make it the top smartwatch for runners.
With the Series 2 Apple has shifted the focus to health and fitness, adding GPS to the mix for accurate run tracking without needing to carry your iPhone around. The Series 2 is also waterproof and offers an array of swim tracking and metrics. Apple has also introduced a new Breathe app to help you relax. The objective is clear: Apple is making a big play for sports watch owners.
With watchOS 3, Apple is also looking to right the wrongs of its predecessor, improving the way you interact with the Series 2 on a daily basis, offering better third-party app support and more.
Is the Apple Watch Series 2 the perfect smartwatch? No. But it makes a much more compelling argument than any that have come before it.
Best Android Wear smartwatch
The stunning AMOLED display on Huawei's Android Wear debutant is a 1.4-inch, 400 x 400, one with a 286ppi count – the highest density on an Android Wear smartwatch so far – and there's no annoying flat tyre either. The screen is made all the more impressive thanks to a 10,000:1 contrast ratio.
When we first reviewed the Huawei Watch, we called it the slickest looking Android Wear smartwatch but lamented that those looks came at a premium. Fast forward a few months and the price has tumbled and, given it plays nicely with the new Mode interchangeable bands and can run the preview of Wear 2.0, it's now our top pick from Google's stable.
Best for Samsung smartphone users
It's been just over a year since the Samsung Gear S2 went live, intriguing everyone with its rotating bezel and sporty looking design. And now, Samsung has come up with a duo of sequels in the form of the Samsung Gear S3 Classic and Samsung Gear S3 Frontier. Aside from the obvious differences in design, there's not a great deal of difference between the Gear S3 options, aside from the LTE offering and a small weight difference.
The bezel, the big winner on the S2, has evolved, allowing more functionality than before. Using Nest, for example, you can control the fan, temperature zones and more in different rooms, simply by twisting the bezel. There's also a much larger battery sitting behind the bigger screen, meaning you get about 3-4 days of usage, compared to the usual two days the majority of smartwatches can muster.
Best For Sports
This second-gen Garmin smartwatch has the same 24/7 activity tracking and support for smartphone alerts as its predecessor, the Vivoactive. What it adds is Garmin's own Elevate heart rate tracking technology which monitors your HR continuously and gives accurate indications of calorie burn through the day and night. And it's better looking.
There's GPS and dedicated apps for cycling, swimming, running and golf plus support for skiing and paddle boarding too. Connect IQ adds apps while battery life is eight days, 13 hours with GPS.
You can check out our full, in-depth Garmin Vivoactive HR review to see what we made of it.
Best For Running
The Polar M600 is very much a Polar running watch first and an Android Wear smartwatch second. Not just because it has the familiar Polar watch faces already loaded but because it strong-arms you into getting Polar Flow up and running on your smartphone almost instantly. There's a physical button that's dedicated to Polar Flow. Your first ever push of it will fire up the app on your phone and, from thereon in, it's your speedy gateway to tracking your runs and workouts.
The GPS run tracking is on the money and the stats and metrics the excellent Flow app provides post-run make it the top smartwatch for runners.