10 best smartwatches for iPhone – and Apple Watch alternatives

Because the Apple Watch is not proper for everybody

If you are an iPhone proprietor, and you are looking for a smartwatch, the Apple Watch is the pure selection.

But there are downsides. The Apple Watch is dearer than rivals – and the cheaper Series 3 is now dated and too arduous to advocate – and it’s been dropped from this checklist of advisable units.

 

Then there’s the only day battery life, which is an enormous turn-off for numerous folks.

Add to that reservations across the sq. design that many contemplate isn’t watch-like sufficient, and there are many causes for iPhone customers to look for an Apple Watch different.

We’ve examined all of them, so learn on for our information to the best smartwatches for iPhone customers.

Our prime smartwatch for iOS picks

Best smartwatch for iOS: Apple Watch Series 7

The undisputed champion for Apple Watch customers, it gives the best expertise, big app assortment, wrist-based funds and a killer display. For iOS customers, it’s a simple selection. But the only day battery life and price will delay many.

Best Apple Watch different: Garmin Venu 2

A improbable choice for iOS customers, the Venu 2 brings Garmin’s prowess for health monitoring, with GPS and tons of sports activities profiles. There’s a number of detailed well being monitoring too, with every week of battery life, AMOLED show and Garmin Pay.

Apple Watch different for runners: Huawei Watch GT3

The Huawei Watch GT3 is an outstanding smartwatch, particularly for runners – and at an awesome value too. However, the closed ecosystem and lack of apps is irritating. Also observe, there is not any official US availability.

 

3 key concerns when shopping for a smartwatch for iPhone:

1. Battery life

The Apple Watch’s Achilles heel is battery life, and Apple solely guarantees 18 hours between costs (though we often get 36). But you could be stunned to know that it’s a relative outlier. Most smartwatches now provide every week or extra away from the charger, which is a big draw away from Apple’s smartwatch.

2. Price

Discounting the aged Series 3, the Apple Watch begins at $269/£279 for the SE and $399/£379 for the Series 7. Alternatives can be found for lower than $99/£99 albeit with severe sacrifices when it comes to options and display tech. However, high quality choices can be found for below $200/£200, do you have to need to maintain prices down.

3. Apps and iOS

The Apple Watch is without doubt one of the few smartwatches with a burgeoning App Store, and there’s not a single different that may rival this facet. So by opting for an Apple Watch different you may miss out in your favourite third get together providers, akin to Spotify, Google Maps or your favourite exercise monitoring app. That additionally extends to options like Apple Pay or LTE, which Apple does higher than its rivals.

Best smartwatches for iPhone customers

Apple Watch Series 7

Key concerns:

• 18 hours of battery life
• Starts at $399/£379 for the 41mm and $429/£399 for 45mm
• Full App Store, Apple Pay, offline syncing of Spotify/Apple Music

The Apple Watch Series 7 was actually an interim replace, with no headline new options or wellness sensors added from the Apple Watch Series 6.

But Apple overhauled the display tech and tweaked the design, which make an enormous distinction to the texture and usability of the smartwatch.

The Series 7 grows to 41mm and 45mm sizes, to accommodate a show that is 20% bigger than the Series 6, and 50% larger than Series 3.

The display seems to be nearly bezel-less, with simply 1.7mm of black across the edges. It’s an enormous enchancment, and an aesthetic improve over the Apple Watch SE.

The bigger display dimension means you get 50% extra textual content on display, making it simpler and extra pleasing to make use of and work together with. Apple has additionally boosted the scale of buttons in watchOS, and there is a new choice of watch faces, too.

Sadly there’s no increase in battery life. It’s nonetheless single day, though Apple has improved quick charging on the Series 7.

A forty five-minute cost will get you 85% battery, and 8 minutes will get you thru an evening’s sleep monitoring or a run, which we discovered a game-changer when it comes to maintaining it on our wrists. It helps you get by with out discovering charging a ache level – though let’s face it, single day battery life is fairly poor by the usual of rivals

In brief, we discovered residing with the Series 7 higher than the Series 6 – and it solved a couple of of our gripes. It’s now, clearly, the simplest Apple Watch to advocate as soon as once more. But if the battery life or value are nonetheless a difficulty, then learn on for alternatives.

Pros:

• Great design and display
• So many options – and loaded App Store

Cons:

• Single day battery
• Expensive

Apple Watch SE

Key concerns:

• 18 hours of battery life
• Starts at $279/£249 for the 40mm and $310/£299 for 44mm
• Full App Store, Apple Pay, offline syncing of Spotify/Apple Music

It’s not the best Apple Watch, but it surely gives the core options for considerably much less money than the Series 7.

But don’t consider it as an inexpensive Apple Watch. It nonetheless prices $279/£249 for the 40mm model, which makes it on the expensive facet given the competitors on the market from Huawei and Amazfit.

 

But with the launch of the Series 7, the SE’s inferiorities now mount up.

The Series 7’s bigger, brighter, edge-to-edge display is way superior – and the design of the SE is a bit more boxy. You additionally don’t get the always-on show, so you continue to have to boost your wrist to see the time.

And there is not any ECG and SpO2 sensors, so it does not have the in-depth well being monitoring options.

But you get GPS, sports activities and health monitoring, a swim-proof design, optionally available LTE variations and Apple Pay. So, all of the stuff that makes the Apple Watch our favourite smartwatch is right here on the SE.

It additionally will get the always-on altimeter from the Series 6, all the brand new watchOS 8 options, and the S5 chip ought to imply loads of software program updates for a couple of years but.

However, the only day battery life (we obtained as much as round 36 hours) is the most important draw back in comparison with rivals.

If you’re not bothered in regards to the high-end severe well being options of the Series 7, then the Apple Watch SE comes very extremely advisable.

 

Pros:

• Best Apple Watch options for much less
• Great smartwatch

Cons:

• No at all times on show
• Still dearer than rivals

Best Apple Watch alternatives

Garmin Venu 2

Key concerns:

• 10 days battery life
• Starts at $399
• Limited App Store on Connect IQ, Garmin Pay (verify in case your financial institution helps)

The Venu 2 is Garmin’s most smartwatch-like machine in its in depth assortment of wearables. The follow-up to the unique Venu gives an improved display, new exercise modes and higher battery life in comparison with the Apple Watch.

You’ll get a 416 x 416 decision display AMOLED display on the 45mm model, or a 360 x 360 decision on on the smaller 42mm Venu 2S.

It’s waterproof as much as 50 metres making it protected for swimming and contains Garmin’s newest technology Elevate coronary heart fee sensor know-how and can monitor blood oxygen ranges all day and throughout sleep.

Unsurprisingly, there’s sports activities aplenty, together with Garmin staples for operating, biking, golf and indoor exercises like rowing. There’s additionally a brand new devoted HIIT mode that covers devoted modes for EMOM and AMRAP classes. There’s no ECG or temperature sensors right here, however you do get well being options like stress monitoring and improved sleep monitoring.

As a smartwatch, it handles notifications with aplomb, there is a music participant with Spotify compatibility, Garmin Pay and entry to Garmin’s Connect IQ retailer, though this pales compared to Apple’s App Store for large identify apps.

Battery life on the Venu 2 will go to 10 days with regular use (primarily based on our testing) and you will nonetheless get round 3-4 days when the always-on show mode is enabled. Garmin additionally features a speedy charging function to present you a day’s play from a 20 minute cost.

If you need extra in the way in which of smartwatch options, there’s now the Garmin Venu 2 Plus, which provides in a speaker and microphone letting you entry your telephone’s voice assistant and make calls by way of Bluetooth. It reduces the case all the way down to 43mm and swaps a plastic again for metallic – though we questioned the worth of those additions for the additional price.

The Venu 2 actually is not as slick as an Apple Watch to make use of, however you get a very good mixture of sport and smartwatch options, and battery life that surpasses Apple with the display on 24/7 or not.

Pros:

• Great sports activities monitoring
• Plenty of well being metrics

Cons

• Expensive
• No-where close to as slick as Apple Watch

Fitbit Sense

Key concerns

• 6 days battery life
• Now often on sale at $199/£199
• Extremely primary apps, Fitbit Pay (verify in case your financial institution helps)

Apowerful well being watch (however a median smartwatch), the Fitbit Sense is without doubt one of the solely smartwatches that beats the Apple Watch Series 7 as a medical machine.

It excels as a sleep tracker and coronary heart fee monitor, and it boasts ECG for detection of Afib, SpO2, which is linked to sleep monitoring for detection of sleep issues.

Add in an electrodermal exercise sensor (EDA) for stress detection, and even a temperature sensor to place you in tune along with your physique and well being, and there’s loads to love.

And it is no slouch in terms of health both, with GPS and assist for Strava.

There are few units that put you in charge of this a lot information about your physique, and it’s maybe the proper machine for these pandemic occasions – however there are caveats.

The Fitbit Sense is not an incredible smartwatch. Fitbit Pay assist is patchy, whereas the watch face gallery is clunky and stuffed with paid-for choices with a weird fee course of. There’s not that many on watch options, and there’s apps to talk of – it is a very primary smartwatch to make use of exterior of exercise monitoring options.

But you do get round six days of battery life, and a critically speedy quick cost.

If you are seeking to get the utmost quantity of well being information out of your smartwatch, the Fitbit Sense is a good selection.

Pros

• An incredible well being watch
• Fitbit app is excellent for health and wellness monitoring
• Week of battery life

Cons

• Clunky and primary smartwatch to make use of

 

Fitbit Versa 3

 

 

Key concerns:

• 6 days battery life
• Now often discovered at $179/£149
• Extremely primary apps, Fitbit Pay (verify in case your financial institution helps)

The Versa 3 now performs second fiddle to the Fitbit Sense well being watch (above), but it surely’s nonetheless a really succesful smartwatch and an alternative choice to the Apple Watch SE.

You do not get the ECG and Afib, stress sensors or physique temperature you will discover on the Fitbit Sense, however the Versa 3 has GPS added for the correct monitoring of outside exercises. It additionally will get the wonderful quick charging, which might add a day’s value of battery life in simply 10 minutes.

 

And battery life is without doubt one of the greatest success tales, with six days on provide, which is actually glorious in comparison with the only day promised on all Apple Watch fashions.

Of course, a Fitbit smartwatch is at all times going to be a health monitoring powerhouse. That means top-notch sleep monitoring with a single sleep rating, exercise detection and heaps of sport profiles. That’s on prime of the usual step, elevation and Active Zone Minutes.

And there’s nonetheless an SpO2 sensor on board that can maintain tabs on blood oxygen as you sleep and provide extra insights by means of Fitbit’s Premium subscription service.

As a smartwatch it delivers notifications with aplomb, however you’re not getting the breadth of apps you’ll discover on Apple Watch. And the overall smartwatch expertise is certainly inferior.

But there’s Fitbit Pay and you possibly can select between Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls from the wrist. We didn’t discover the expertise that helpful, however if you happen to’re a daily with sensible house management then it would enchantment.

Pros:

• Good battery life
• Fitbit app is excellent for health and wellness monitoring

Cons:

• Clunky and primary smartwatch to make use of

 

Huawei Watch GT 3

 

Key concerns:

• 10 days battery life
• £229 (46mm) – no official US launch
• No apps of observe, no fee

The Huawei Watch GT3 sits across the value of the Apple Watch SE, and shares lots of the options discovered on the dearer Huawei Watch 3.

There’s 46mm and 42mm spherical design choices, with crisp AMOLED screens, always-on modes, and it inherits the crown dial from the Huawei Watch 3.

Features-wise, there’s an improved coronary heart fee monitor in comparison with the Huawei Watch 3, and it is grabbed the dual-band five-system GNSS know-how from the Huawei Watch 3 Pro to enhance out of doors monitoring accuracy.

If GPS is your bag then the running-focused coaching and teaching modes are value a glance – and the two weeks of battery life is 2 fingers as much as the Apple Watch.

It runs on Harmony OS and there’s an app retailer, though there’s slim pickings to obtain.

As a smartwatch, you possibly can view notifications (however not reply to them), there’s entry to a wholesome watch face library, and deal with calls by way of Bluetooth. iOS customers miss out on the power to sync over music and obtain paid watch faces. So you are not getting the identical smartwatch expertise as you’ll with an Android telephone.

Putting that apart, the GT 3 is a gorgeous smartwatch for the value, with strong sports activities monitoring, good core smartwatch options and weeks versus days of battery life.

If you possibly can reside with out the apps and the music participant, the Watch GT 3 is a strong choice.

 

Pros:

• 10 days actual world battery life
• Great operating and health options

Cons:

• Almost no entry to 3rd get together platforms

Amazfit GTR 3 Pro

 

Key concerns:

• 24 days quoted battery life (10 days below testing)
• $229/£199 is costly for an Amazfit watch
• No apps, some integrations together with Apple Health/Strava, no funds

The GTR Pro 3 was certainly one of a trio of latest smartwatches launched in 2021 by Zepp Health below the Amazfit model – joined by the GTS 3 and GTR 3.

It crams a 1.44-inch AMOLED, “Ultra HD” 480 x 480 show, right into a 46mm case – which is actually ok to rival the Series 7.

The new technology BioTracker 3.0 is accountable for coronary heart fee, blood oxygen, respiratory fee and stress degree detection. You can even carry out a one-tap measure of key biometric information, which can document your coronary heart fee, respiratory fee and SpO2 in a single scan.

The Pro model provides a speaker, Wi-Fi, music storage and Bluetooth calls for the primary time – and these options aren’t accessible on the GTR 3 or GTS 3. It additionally introduces an app retailer, although it is nowhere close to the extent of Apple’s App Store and at the moment lacks large third get together apps.

At $229/£199, it is a rise from Amazfit’s typical pricing, however undercuts the Apple Watch SE and Series 7 significantly. And the 12-day battery life additionally gives an enormous purpose to decide for it over the Apple Watch.

If you need to avoid wasting cash, the GTS 3 (the sq. model) includes a 1.75-inch AMOLED show, with a 72% display/case ratio and whopping 341ppi. It’s additionally the lightest at 24g.

The round-faced GTR 3 gives the identical 450mAh battery because the Pro model, however can final 24 days between costs, in response to Amazfit. It’s smaller at 1.39-inch, and has decrease display-case ratio, so there’s extra bezel and a smaller show.

We discovered it a smooth smartwatch performer that is straightforward to make use of and comes function packed. That removed from brimming app retailer although together with some software program bugginess and accuracy gripes on the monitoring entrance are the important thing weaknesses right here. It gives good worth for cash, and you will discover a higher smartwatch elsewhere round this value, however there’s nonetheless a good quantity to love right here.

Pros:

• 10 days actual world battery life

Cons:

• Price has escalated – and that makes it tougher to advocate

Amazfit GTS 2 Mini

 

Key concerns:

• 9 day battery life
• Cheap price ticket
• No apps, no funds, integrations with Apple Health/Strava

While the Amazfit GTS 3 Pro (above) is now accessible, the newer vary by no means expanded to incorporate a Mini – our favourite member of the GTS 2 vary due to its nice worth and function set. And given the GTS 2 Mini continues to be broadly accessible, it will get the mod right here as a Apple Watch different.

For a sub $100/£100 smartwatch you get a shiny 1.55-inch 354 x 306 AMOLED display, though it misses out on the extra excessive grade supplies of the pricier GTS 2 watches.

On the smartwatch entrance, you are getting primary notification assist, music controls, a wealthy assortment of watch faces and the brand new helpful Pomodoro face to help productiveness.

When it is time to flip to health and sports activities monitoring, the GTS 2 Mini nonetheless impresses. There’s loads right here with GPS, 70 sports activities modes, a coronary heart fee monitor an 24/7 health monitoring and sleep monitoring. It’s a extremely strong performer, and it is a good bonus that you could hearth exercise information to Strava as nicely.

You can count on every week’s value of battery life, so it beats the Apple Watch Series 7 and SE palms each on longevity and value – which ought to give smartwatch buyers pause for thought.

Pros:

• Good battery life
• Lots of options together with GPS

Cons:

• Some winky sleep monitoring
• Cheap strap

Garmin Epix Gen 2 / Fenix 7

 

Key concerns:

• 9 day battery life
• Cheap price ticket
• No apps, no funds, integrations with Apple Health/Strava

The Garmin Epix burst into the sports activities watch vary in 2022 – as a Fenix 7 with out compromises. The headline function is that touchscreen 1.3-inch, 416 x 416 pixel decision AMOLED show, providing the best of Garmin’s sports activities watch vary, with a extra pleasing, excessive finish expertise.

We’re additionally bigging up the Fenix 7 right here too, though its transflective show pales (actually) compared to full AMOLED rivals such because the Apple Watch.

The 47mm case will probably be too large for some, and there’s no Epix S 42mm dimension but – so it’s probably not a unisex machine. If you’ve got skinny wrists, it’s a little bit of bulk to hold, with a 22mm strap and tipping the scales at 78g. It’s a very completely different prospect to the Apple Watch.

But with that compromise comes severe pay-offs. There’s an insane array of sports activities monitoring modes, prime notch analytics, mapping on the wrist, Firstbeat VO2 Max and coaching insights, and the brand new Stamina monitoring. However, in testing we discovered that enhancements could possibly be made to sleep monitoring and the usefulness of components akin to stress monitoring and Body Battery.

The Fenix has shunned an AMOLED show due to the influence on battery life – however the Epix nonetheless musters a surprisingly lengthy interval away from the charger. Especially in comparison with the Apple Watch. Garmin says it’s best to stand up to 16 days battery life in smartwatch mode with 6 days if you happen to use the display in always-on mode.

You get to 42 hours in GPS mode (30 hours in always-on mode) and 21 days in battery saver mode. So it’s in a distinct league in comparison with the Apple Watch,.

In brief, the Garmin Epix is the closest we’ve seen to a no-compromise Garmin sports activities watch – however with a price ticket that eclipses most rivals.

Pros:

• Huge battery life
• Sports monitoring powerhouse

Cons:

• So costly
• Massive on the wrist

Withings ScanWatch

 

Key concerns:

• 30 days battery life
• $329/£279
• No apps, no funds, ECG

If you’re trying for a real Apple Watch different, the ScanWatch ticks all of the bins.

You nonetheless get glorious health monitoring, 24/7 coronary heart fee, evaluation of core coronary heart and well being metrics, 50m water resistance and even ECG – however inside an analogue watch.

There’s a small OLED display that can show metrics akin to steps and coronary heart fee, in addition to ping for messages, notifications and provide you with a warning to calls – and you possibly can set alarms and timers.

Obviously, the design means the ScanWatch can’t lengthen to issues like wealthy apps, and there’s no wrist-based funds or GPS – though you possibly can observe runs with linked GPS. However, there’s zero suggestions on the watch as you run, so that you may as nicely simply use a smartphone app.

But for these irked by the Apple Watch battery life, the ScanWatch gives 30 days of battery life with all of the sensors and monitoring turned on – making it a wonderful different.

Pros:

• 30 days battery life
• ECG
• Sleek design

Cons:

• Very few sensible options