Google’s Wear OS is one of the most widely used smartwatch operating systems. Its availability extends well beyond Google’s own Pixel Watch. Watches from Samsung, Mobvoi, Casio, and Xiaomi all utilize some version of Wear OS. There are even luxury watches that utilize Google’s smartwatch OS, including TAG Heuer, Kate Spade, and Montblanc. While not all watches use the latest version, Wear OS 4 offers plenty of new features to help it compete with the likes of Apple, Garmin, and Fitbit. The best Wear OS devices are highly capable, and each is impressive in its own way.
Best Wear OS watch overall
Google Pixel Watch 3
A worthy Apple Watch alternative
The Google Pixel Watch 3 builds on the previous model, introducing a new 45mm size along with the original 41mm watch. Both options feature a larger display with double the brightness. It offers plenty of runner-centric features along with more connectivity with Google’s ecosystem.
- Attractive design
- Smooth software
- Overall a very refined experience
- Wear OS 5 can sometimes be glitchy
- Pin-based charging can be finicky
There are a few reasons the Pixel Watch 3 makes it to the top of our list of the best Wear OS watches. However, the one feature that really stands out after testing is Fitbit integration. The way Fitbit collects your physical fitness and performance data, digests it, and then presents it in a way that’s easy to understand makes it one of our favorite fitness and health platforms. You can go digging down into data if you want to, but Fitbit offers a way to understand the data in a way that just makes sense. Of course, you’ll have to pay for a Fitbit Premium subscription ($9.99/month) to take full advantage of these features.
Like the previous Google Pixel models, the design sets it apart from the rest of the Wear OS market. The way the glass seamlessly curves into the aluminum case is gorgeous, and the small size means those with smaller wrists can easily wear it. Google did add a larger 45mm size in this third iteration, though, so if you want more room on the display, you can have it. Moreover, the user interface is clean, lightweight, customizable, and fluid. It gets a lot right.
That’s not to say it’s perfect. We’d still love to see longer battery life and support for wireless charging — which seems an unusual omission — but the rest of its benefits mean we can live with it.
Best Wear OS watch for traditional watch design
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
Advanced features with a classic watch look
The Watch 6 Classic has all the advanced software and fitness features of the Watch 6, but in a watch made from stainless steel and with a design that’s a lot more similar to a traditional watch than the basic model.
- The classic design looks good
- Rotating bezel means you’re not just limited to the touchscreen
- Lots of advanced fitness abilities
- Durable and water-resistant
- Big, bright display with skinny bezels
- Battery life could be better
- Lots of preloaded Samsung apps/features
- Not the cheapest
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is a fully-featured watch that looks like a more traditional analog watch. It features a rotating bezel that can be used to scroll through the software interfacing, giving you control without using the touchscreen. There are also two sizes to choose from — 43mm or 47mm — so you can choose one that fits your wrist best.
Beyond its looks, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is fully-featured and highly capable with decent battery life. Depending on your settings, it can last a full day or up to two days. The display looks excellent, and it’s also very responsive overall. The watch can take a beating, too, with 5ATM and IP68 ratings and a sapphire crystal lens to prevent scratches.
Best Wear OS watch for battery life
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5
Long battery life keeps you off the charger for longer
The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 offers unrivaled battery life thanks to its clever dual-layer display technology. It’s also the fastest option available, thanks to the inclusion of the latest Snapdragon W5+ chip.
- Excellent battery life
- Clever dual-display technology
- The latest Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip
- No Google Assistant
- Bloated app structure
- Lacking compelling fitness software
The biggest problem with Wear OS smartwatches is that the system is very battery-hungry, so options that will last for more than a day on a charge are few and far between. Mobvoi has solved this problem on the TicWatch Pro 5. It uses an ingenious ultra-low-power, always-on display layered over the top of the OLED panel. This solution gives you the benefits of an all-day display without the battery drain and means that this watch can easily go four days between charges with most smart features enabled.
If that wasn’t enough, it’s also the first watch to sport Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip, which means it’s one of the fastest and smoothest Wear OS experiences we’ve had to date.
The TicWatch Pro 5 isn’t perfect, though. It’s only available in black and in one (pretty chunky) size, so it won’t be the right watch for everyone. Plus, the fitness tracking platform isn’t as capable or well thought through as Fitbit on the Pixel Watch or Samsung Health on the Galaxy Watch. But it’s one of the best models available today for sheer performance and price.
Best basic Wear OS watch for Samsung users
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
An understated but capable watch
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 features a new an improved processor for new Galaxy AI features, but is otherwise exactly the same as last year’s model.
- Accurate health insights
- Responsive user interface
- Twice the storage of the previous version
- Slim, understated design
If you’re a Samsung phone user, few smartwatches will offer an ideal companion experience for your phone as the latest Galaxy Watch 7 does. It’s designed to tie in perfectly with your Samsung, including access to your Samsung account features. Of those, Samsung Health is the driver of the experience and offers many worthwhile fitness and health features.
You get in-depth sleep insights and coaching, plus advanced health metrics like the body composition tool that can tell you how much of your mass is skeletal muscle, fat, or water. Add that to accurate heart rate during workouts, advanced running insight, and the usual selection of SpO2, stress, and ECG sensors, and you get pretty much all you could ask for in a watch.
It’s not a massive improvement on the Galaxy Watch 6, but it does feature an improved processor, twice the storage, and new AI tools, including Wellness tips, Energy Score, and Smart Reply for quick messaging responses. It comes in two sizes — 40mm and 44mm — and features a Super AMOLED display. Looks-wise, it doesn’t differ much from the Galaxy Watch 6, but we like the understated, slim design and aren’t upset that Samsung kept that around.
Best Wear OS watch feature set
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
A rugged, feature-rich option
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a rugged, titanium smartwatch with a new Quick Action button that you can assign to a shortcut of your choice.
- Bright, beautiful, and responsive display
- Durable build
- Lots of useful health features
- Highly customizable
- Buttons can’t be used to scroll
- Battery life is only okay
- Bulky
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra strikes the right balance between features, performance, and value. Its 100-hour promised battery life is the longest-lasting of any Galaxy Watch and extensive for smartwatches in general. You will have to sacrifice some settings to reach that promised number, though, and I typically got about two days with the always-on display in use and constant heart rate measurements. Still, two days is better than most watches on this list.
Samsung upgraded the Galaxy Watch Ultra (as well as the Galaxy Watch 7) with dual-frequency GPS, which results in highly accurate location data during GPS-tracked workouts. Its heart rate monitor is very accurate for most activities, making it a worthy training tool. It also provides access to Samsung Health, which provides extensive and well-rounded health tools for overall wellness.
With its durable titanium case, raised bezel, and sapphire crystal display, it can take a beating, too. Plus, with the built-in mic and speaker, range of connectivity options, and gesture-based controls, it’s a very capable smartwatch. All this in a device that — while not cheap — is not grossly expensive either. The only real downside is that Samsung only offers it in one massive, heavy size and three different case colors.
The bottom line: The best Wear OS smartwatch
As each Wear OS smartwatch offers a different range of features and designs, the best option depends on your needs and wants. Many of the watches above offer a good mix of features, looks, and price, though each has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, if battery life is most important to you, the TicWatch Pro 5 is the way to go, while performance and advanced fitness tracking features are better on the Google Pixel Watch 3. At the end of the day, you’ll need to decide what is most important to you on a day-to-day basis and select based on that.
Editor’s Choice
Google Pixel Watch 3
The Google Pixel Watch 3 builds on the previous model, introducing a new 45mm size along with the original 41mm watch. Both options feature a larger display with double the brightness. It offers plenty of runner-centric features along with more connectivity with Google’s ecosystem.
How we chose the best Wear OS smartwatches
Pocket-lint has been reviewing smartwatches as a company for two decades, exposing us to most smartwatches on the market, including Wear OS devices. In fact, we’ve reviewed nearly every watch on this list. When selecting the watches here, we prioritized overall performance, battery life, and fitness features. We also aimed to select watches at different price points to suit the needs of more individuals.
FAQ
Q: Wear OS v Apple Watch – which is best?
Historically, the Apple Watch has far outperformed the capabilities of Wear OS. However, with the arrival of Wear OS 4, that gap is closing. That’s especially true with the arrival of the Pixel Watch 2. Likewise, the latest Samsung watches are, as we’ve said, a great example of what the platform is capable of.
For a full ranking of devices from across different ecosystems, check out our complete best smartwatch guide.
Q: How much do you need to spend on a Wear OS smartwatch?
Price is always a very important factor, which is why our list features a varied range. However, this is made pretty simple, too, by the fact that Wear OS smartwatches are, in our view, very reasonably priced compared to rival models from Apple.
The truth is, unlike with Apple Watch devices, spending more doesn’t necessarily grant you a better Wear OS experience. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is an outstanding watch, but it also doesn’t break the bank. The Tag Heuer Connected, meanwhile, is more basic on the software front but costs a four-figure sum.
As we’ve outlined, it’s more important to pick a watch that’s future-proofed and fits your lifestyle.
Q: Does your smartwatch need Wear OS 4?
Google announced Wear OS 4 in the summer of 2023. The latest version of Google’s smartwatch operating system improved battery life and general performance for some watch models. Additionally, new versions of Gmail and Google Calendar were introduced, as was the ability to make custom watchfaces. Beyond performance upgrades, the updates were minimal.
Not all watches received the Wear OS 4 upgrade, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t buy a watch with a lower OS version. It comes down to which features are most important to you. Wear OS 3 did bring much more substantial upgrades, so we would recommend a watch with at least Wear OS 3.
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