The first smart watch models had a pale color compared to the smart watch models available on the market today. Early smartwatches were bulky, unattractive, and non-functional.
What you can buy today is quite the opposite – extremely handy, thin and far from the “nerd” accessories they can get.
The health and safety features, convenience, and pure utility of smartwatches make them worth the investment, especially if you’re a heavy user or you enjoy working out and spending a lot of time outdoors . Here is a list of the best smartphones sorted by their value and overall usefulness.
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1. Apple Watch 4 (Amazon)
The latest Apple Watch model is as sleek, stylish, and powerful as many smartphones. It has a larger screen than its predecessors, with a speaker to match.
The Apple Watch 4 has the same features that Apple users know and love, but the one bit of technology that stands out from the pack is the ECG feature built into the heart rate monitor. An electrocardiogram is an electrocardiogram — a way for your doctor to tell if you’re in danger of heart problems.
The feature isn’t right for everyone, but it does take it one step closer to turning a smartwatch into a discreet, wearable fitness tracker. For the general public, the fitness features make the Apple Watch a serious contender for all but the highest-end fitness and fitness trackers. The downside of all these features is the price. The Apple Watch 4 runs around $400 on average.
2. Samsung Galaxy Watch (Amazon)
The Samsung Galaxy Watch is like the Apple Watch, the Galaxy is like the iPhone XR — but even though the watches are direct competitors, there are quite a few differences between them.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch has some of the best battery life of any smartwatch on the market. The battery is said to last up to four days even with heavy use. Navigation is also done differently. The Galaxy Watch has an outer bezel, which you can flip through the options to scroll through.
The downside of the Galaxy Watch is that the apps are much more limited. While it works great as a fitness tracker, it lacks the overall versatility that the Apple Watch offers. On the bright side, it’s significantly cheaper than the competition. You can find the Samsung Galaxy Watch for around $250.
3. Fitbit Versa (Amazon)
Fitbit has always been a big name in the fitness tracking world, but they didn’t break into the smartwatch market until recently. FitBit Versa is one of the more affordable options.
It starts around $200 on Amazon, but can often be found for less. While the Versa lacks a lot of the bells and whistles of other smartwatches, it works with FitBit Pay and has a small amount of storage for music.
The average battery life for the FitBit Versa is about three days. If you don’t need something with tons of crazy features, this is a great way to break into the smartwatch market without paying down debt.
4. TicWatch Pro (Amazon)
TicWatch Pro stands out because it is compatible with both Apple and Android phones. TicWatch is a lesser known smartwatch company, but they bring an interesting perspective to the market.
TicWatch uses a dual-layer display that allows the watch to work even when the battery is low. The top layer is a transparent LED screen that works when the battery is low, up to 30 days of use. It displays your time and heart rate, as well as some other information.
The TicWatch lasts about two days on a single charge outside of low battery mode. It has built-in GPS to track your runs, works with Google Pay, and even built-in Bluetooth for listening to music. For around $200, the TicWatch Pro combines some of the best features of the other smartwatches on this list into a single place.
Why do I need a smart watch?
Many people view smartwatches as a luxury accessory, but ask anyone who owns one and they’ll tell you it will become an integral part of everyday life. Many smartwatches allow users to reply to text messages directly from the watch, and almost everyone has seen Apple ads showing a range of apps available on the watch.
If you’re a sports person or enjoy being outdoors, the fitness tracking features of most of these watches are invaluable. Knowing your heart rate, estimated calories burned, your GPS location, and more can help you fine-tune your workouts to make the most of your time.
See what smartwatch options are available to you. You may find the versatility that smartwatches bring to your daily routine is something you didn’t know you needed.
