Best smartwatches for Must Have 2024

Keep your fitness on track and close tabs on your health with one of the best smartwatches. These nifty wearables go way beyond basic timekeeping — although they do that too! All the smartwatches that made this cut host a plethora of awesome features like premium activity tracking, fancy navigation systems, social media integration, instant emergency communication, and can even provide entertainment right on your wrist. These are the best smartwatches of the year, and why you'll love them.

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Staff Pick Apple Watch Series

Best overall: Apple Watch Series 9

Apple Watch Series 9 comes in five different color combinations and is outfitted with the powerful S9 chip to deliver all the premium health, fitness, and safety features Apple is renowned for. Some top features include anytime ECG, Sp02, sleep tracking, the workout app, fall/crash detection, emergency SOS, and optional built-in cellular so you can go phone-free. You'll get up to 18 hours of battery life with normal use, and up to 36 hours in low power mode.

$349 at Amazon
Apple Watch Ultra

Best for outdoors: Apple Watch Ultra 2

Apple Watch Ultra is rugged, capable, and built to meet the demands of endurance athletes, outdoor adventurers, and water sport enthusiasts. The S9 SiP powers this adventure watch, enabling a super bright display and a new way to quickly and easily interact with your Apple Watch without touching the display. It offers up to 36 hours of battery life with normal use, and up to 72 hours in low power mode.

$749 at Amazon
Coros Pace

Best for runners: Coros Pace 3

Coros Pace 3 is comfortable, durable, and ultra-lightweight! It weighs a mere 30 grams, so it will never slow you down. It features dual-frequency GPS and can deliver accurate GPS coordinates, even in high-rise cities. The built-in route planner allows you to build custom running routes and the extensive activity modes track all kinds of fitness modalities. It offers up to 38 hours of battery life with continuous GPS use and up to 24 days with regular daily use.

$229 at Amazon
Google Pixel Watch

Best for Android: Google Pixel Watch 2

The Google Pixel Watch 2 comes with three new advanced sensors for heart rate tracking, skin temperature, and stress management. It's made of 100% recycled aluminum making it super light and comfortable on the wrist. The new heart rate sensor and Google AI combine for Fitbit's most spot-on heart rate tracking yet. Plus, it offers Emergency SOS and fall detection if you ever find yourself in a bind. You get up to 24 hours of battery life.

$300 at Amazon
Fitbit Versa

Best value: Fitbit Versa 4

There's a lot to love about Fitbit Versa 4 making it a great value. It features built-in GPS, Active Zone Minutes, all-day activity tracking, 24/7 heart rate monitoring, 40+ exercise modes, auto-exercise recognition, and is water resistant up to 50 meters. It also provides serious insight into your nightly ZZZ's with a personalized sleep profile, sleep stages, and a sleep score. It includes a six-month Fitbit Premium membership, and you'll get around six days of battery life.

$150 at Amazon
Garmin Fenix 7x Pro Sapphire Solar

Solar powered: Garmin fēnix 7X Pro Sapphire Solar

Meet Garmin fēnix 7X Pro Sapphire Solar, a multisport GPS watch that features a scratch-resistant solar charging lens for weeks of sun-powered battery life. It's outfitted with a built-in LED flashlight and advanced navigation sensors. Plus, it offers new training hill and endurance features, HRV status, and Pulse Ox. Prioritize your rest and recovery with advanced sleep monitoring and hit the slopes or courses with the thousands of preloaded ski and golf maps.

$700 at Amazon
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic

Best classic design: Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

A smart watch with a classic style. The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic features a bezel that seamlessly rotates to give you easy access to all your apps. Stay on top of your daily activity with workout tracking, personalized heart rate zones, and advanced sleep coaching. This watch is outfitted with Samsung's largest display to date, and the durable crystal glass will keep it looking pristine. It offers up to 40 hours of battery life.

$329 at Amazon
Garmin Venu Sq

Best budget: Garmin Venu Sq

Garmin Venu Sq offers more than 20 preloaded sports apps that include walking, running, cycling, mindfulness, swimming, golf, and more! You'll never miss a call, text, or social media alert, and you can even leave your cash and cards at home! Garmin Pay allows you to make contactless payments for purchases on the go. It delivers up to six days of battery life in smartwatch mode, and up to 14 hours in GPS mode.

$120 at Amazon
Withings Scan Watch

Most sophisticated: Withings ScanWatch

The Withings ScanWatch is uber sleek looking. It features the sophisticated, classic design we all love in a watch, but underneath that OG aesthetic, it offers so much more! It delivers heart rate monitoring, ECG, sleep tracking, Sp02, round the clock activity tracking, dedicated workout metrics, VO2 max, and connected GPS. It's water resistant up to 50 meters and will give you up to 25 days of battery life on a single charge.

$300 at Amazon

Keep it smart

There's no doubt that investing in a smartwatch is a smart choice. Rocking one of these watches on your wrist ensures you'll stay on top of your health and fitness goals, find help in an emergency situation, and stay connected; in some cases — even without your phone!

We love Apple's flagship watch of the year — Apple Watch Series 9. You just can't do better than this one. It offers all the premium features we've come to love and expect from the largest tech giant in the world, and then some!

If you're looking for something a little more budget-friendly, the Fitbit Versa 4 and the Garmin Venu Sq will suit your needs well. Both smartwatches pack a lot of bang for your buck and have enough features to make them an excellent value.

If you're looking for a smartwatch that doesn't look like a smartwatch, you'll love the classic design of the Samsung Galaxy 6 or the sophisticated aesthetics of the Withings ScanWatch.

Whether you're a rugged adventurer or just want to up your steps every day, there's a smartwatch for you on this list of the best smartwatches of the year.

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