00:00Looking for your first smart watch or thinking it's time for an upgrade, my
00:03team and I have tested the best smart watches that you can buy today to help
00:07you find your perfect match. So, whether you're after the best overall, the best
00:11value, or the best for fitness, we've got something for everyone here and then
00:15every smart watch on this list comes with a Tom's Guide Likes badge of
00:18approval. You'll find the best deals for everything I'm sharing link down below
00:21in case you want to check it out. So, let's get right into it.
00:28Let's kick things off with the best overall pick for iPhone owners, the Apple
00:32Watch Series 11. Pricing starts at $399 for the 42 millimeter case size or $429 for
00:38the 46 millimeter. That's far from the cheapest smart watch on our list, but
00:41it's arguably the most well-rounded choice if you're invested in Apple
00:45ecosystem and you prioritize phone notifications and health tracking. Pause
00:49to read the specs. The Series 11 lasts a full day with 24 hours of battery
00:54life and has a strong scratch-resistant display. And while not exclusive to the
00:58Series 11, it has introduced a few new features including alerting to
01:02hypertension, which is high blood pressure, based on a 30-day baseline and a new
01:06sleep score. The Series 11 also made the switch to 5G connectivity, which could
01:11mean better reliability on the go if you opt for the cellular model. But what if you
01:16don't have an iPhone?
01:20If you're on team green, the best Android smartwatch is the Google Pixel Watch 4
01:25thanks to best-in-class battery life and smart features. We average around 60
01:29hours on a single charge with the larger 45 millimeter model, which is bigger and
01:33brighter than its predecessor. Its display has a max brightness of 3000 nits, which is
01:38also one of the brightest smartwatches that you can get at this price point. Health and
01:42fitness tracking tools are expansive with detailed insights into sleep quality, rest,
01:46and recovery. It supports a number of Fitbit training metrics, including a daily
01:50readiness and sleep score for insights into heart variability and a user's
01:54training load. Now, as far as smarts go, the Pixel Watch 4 has the best AI voice
01:59assistant, Gemini, built right in. The Pixel Watch 4 is also one of only a small
02:04handful of smartwatches with an emergency SOS feature that can connect to you to get
02:08help via satellite when you're off the grid. The other is the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3.
02:14Just know you will have to step up to the pricier LTE model for this support, though you don't
02:18actually need to have a data plan active.
02:23The Garmin Venue 4 isn't just one of the best fitness tracking smartwatches, but it's
02:27also one of the best Apple Watch alternatives, too. This watch is packed with all the usual
02:32in-depth fitness features Garmin is known for, like accurate workout tracking, sleep coach,
02:37recovery time suggestion, training readiness, all in a very sleek design with a gorgeous AMOLED
02:42display. And unlike many other smartwatch picks, which are either going to work with Android or
02:48iOS, the Garmin works amazingly with both. The experience of pairing the Venue 4 with my iPhone
02:5417 Pro was also surprisingly smooth. All of my notifications, including native Apple ones like
02:59calls, messages, and even music playback get delivered instantly. There's also Garmin Pay
03:04for contactless payments, onboard storage for music playback. And if your phone is nearby,
03:09you can also make and receive calls directly from your wrist. The only limitation that I've
03:14found so far is that I can't reply to texts from my watch anymore. But the battery life,
03:19the Venue 4 lasts over 10 plus days on a single charge, and I never had battery anxiety with this.
03:25Side note, I also really love the watch face customization here, and you can find some
03:30really fun ones like Pokemon Sleep. Now, just because you're on a tighter budget doesn't mean
03:37you can't get a solid smartwatch. At $80, the Amazfit Bip is the best affordable smartwatch,
03:43and it is packed with a ton of features and up to two weeks of battery life. The Bip 6
03:48tracks over
03:49140 different types of workouts that rivals some of our other best picks here. Despite its budget price,
03:54you're still getting a very premium design with a fiber reinforced case and aluminum frame,
03:59which looks very similar to the Apple Watch SE. While you do receive your daily metrics for sleep
04:05and rightiness, if you want that personalized solution to improve sleep and stress management,
04:10you are going to have to pay the Zep Aura subscription. Other limitations that you should
04:15keep in mind is that while this is compatible with both iPhone and Android, you are unable to reply to
04:20messages or control media playback with either. That said, if you're after a health tracker,
04:26fitness first watch, and maybe don't mind paying an additional subscription for those deeper insights,
04:31this is a solid budget pick.
04:36Now, if you want the best smartwatch experience Apple offers on a budget,
04:40the Apple Watch SE is the best value smartwatch you can buy right now for iPhone users. You will have
04:46to give up a few features that are exclusive to the Series 11 and Ultra 3, such as a smaller
04:50and
04:50dimmer display and no ECG monitor, but you are getting a lot of value here. It has an always-on
04:56display, supports watchOS 26, and because it rocks the same S10 chip that you find in the Series 11 and
05:02Ultra 3, you can enable gesture controls like double tap and wrist flick to dismiss calls and
05:07notifications. And this budget Apple Watch is also available with 5G for on-the-go connectivity,
05:12and especially with its 40 millimeter case option, this is now also Apple's smallest watch available
05:18right now, which makes it a great pick if you have a smaller wrist or want a good smartwatch for
05:23kids.
05:25Now, we've already talked about sleep quite a bit, but if you want the best overall
05:29smartwatch for sleep tracking, it's the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8. Samsung's AI-powered health insights
05:35are among the most detailed and actionable of any smartwatch that we've tested, and its sleep reports
05:40in particular are super insightful. In addition to showing you how much time you spent in individual
05:45sleep cycles and total sleep, the Galaxy Watch 8 also tells you how much you may or may have not
05:51thrashed around, whether you snored, and if any signs of sleep apnea are detected. The Watch 8 also
05:57has the usual accurate fitness tracking tools. Runners will definitely appreciate its personalized
06:02training plans with Samsung's Run Coach, which is extremely beginner-friendly and surprisingly
06:07encouraging. And just so you know, if you opt for the larger Galaxy Watch 8's classic case, it ups the
06:13battery life up to around 40 to 49 hours and doubles the scratch resistance and onboard storage.
06:20Finally, if you want one of the best smartwatches for Runners, the Garmin Forerunner 570 is up there.
06:26The Forerunner 570 uses Garmin's Elevate Gen 5 heart rate sensors, which are the latest and best
06:31optical sensors in the brand's lineup. There's also the updated Garmin Coach for triathlon training,
06:36which you can use to help you prepare for a multi-sport event, and you can now create
06:41structured multi-sport workouts to follow along with. All the sports modes are customizable and
06:46show a wealth of data throughout activities, and the detailed training analysis you get afterwards
06:51can definitely help you ensure that you're working at the right level to get fitter and faster. If you
06:56want a running first watch, this is going to give you that competitive edge.
07:05So those are the best smartwatches that you can get today, but I'm curious which watch are you
07:09currently rocking and which of these picks are you planning to upgrade to? And remember,
07:13everything that you saw today officially has earned our Tom's Guide likes badge. And if there are any
07:18other watches that you want me to test out for next time, let me know in the comments too. Again,
07:22you can find the best deals for everything that I shared linked down below along with our full
07:25reviews. Stay subscribed for more videos, follow me to see what other cool tech I'm reviewing,
07:29and until the next one, I'll catch you later.
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