Best Smart Watches

A wristwatch that serves as a communication device was a futuristic prop in the iconic 1930s comic strip “Dick Tracy”.

But it has become an affordable device for everyone, even children--and can serve as a lot more than just a 2-way TV. Smart watches are a combination of two of the biggest fads nowadays: 1) wearable electronics giving you Internet connectivity, and 2) fitness trackers when walking, running, sleeping, and perhaps even swimming. If you’re jogging, the GPS and mapping features can tell you where you went, and how to get to your destination.

Some smart watches can give the functionality of a smartphone, locked up in a little box that you wear on your wrist. (They won’t have quite the memory or storage, understandably, but it’s still pretty impressive.) Others will have Bluetooth technology, to hook up to your other mobile devices, as well as Internet connectivity. And, with an Android or Wear OS operating system, they can also accept voice commands, and support a huge range of apps. They can be used to receive text messages--so that you can stay in touch if something urgent comes up.

We’ve composed this buyer’s guide to help you make the right decision when selecting a smart watch. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of smart watch,

• See useful tips about that type of smart watch,

• Read reviews of different smart watches, and what customers are saying, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

• Smart watches: Smart watches will have either a traditional watch face, with hands pointing to the hour and minute, or a digital display. But, since they have “smart” technology, they’re essentially a computer squeezed into a device with a screen that is less than 2” wide! For example, the Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch has a Tizen operating system (a mobile device operating system, which is used on smart TVs, smart cameras, smart watches, and more). It has a 1.15 GHz processor, and 4GB of memory--specs that you’d expect from a laptop computer! With Internet access, you can download games and apps to your heart’s desire.

• Smartbands: These are also known as fitness trackers, such as Fitbit or Garmin series. They’ll look more like a bracelet--until you see what they’re capable of doing! They can hook up to your smartphone. Besides telling you the time, they’ll include a pedometer, tracking the number of steps you have taken,  besides noting your heart rate and monitoring your sleep pattern. Smartbands will also track the number of calories burned, reminders about your exercise schedule, and a sedentary alert if you’re lagging behind. Some also provide instant messages or notifications about incoming phone calls.

• Fashionable: Smart watches will allow you to change the watch face, with a huge variety of possibilities. You can change the watch face to fit what you are wearing, or according to your mood. Some have a dual-layer display: they use an LCD display as the default, but change to an “AMOLED” (= Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display when you swipe the screen. The AMOLED display gives greater color accuracy and contrast, while the LCD display lasts longer.

• Can be used to make credit card payments: The Garmin Vivoactive 3 GPS Smart Watch allows you to make credit card payments by just swiping the screen. This frees you from having to access cash or credit cards.

• Suitable with cellular device: You should take note of the compatibility of your smart watch with your cellular device. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch is compatible with an Android or iOS smartphone, for additional capabilities (for example, most people can see instant messages on their smart watch, but would prefer responding on a smartphone or iPhone, where the keyboard is larger). The Amazfit Bit gives one-way notifications for emails and SMS messages, which prompts you to whip out your smartphone.

• Comfortable wristbands: The wristband on many smart watches can also be modified easily. Some are made from leather, and have a silicone material where the watch touches your skin, to prevent irritation. You can even change the wristband to fit your wardrobe!

• Many fitness tracking modes: Smart watches can have anywhere from 4 to even 15 different fitness tracking modes, such as running, treadmill, cycling, walking, and more. If you enjoy many types of exercise, look for one with many sports modes.

• Operating system: The operating system of a smart watch will determine how many apps you will have. For example, the Wear OS 2.0 (formerly Android Wear) is Google’s Android operating system for smart watches, which is installed in the TicWatch. It will give you many more apps by default than the competitors, such as Samsung’s Tizen Operating System.

• Battery life: Because they’re so small, the batteries inside a smart watch will typically have to be recharged every day. But, in some models, you can still get a lot of use out of a fully-charged battery. The Samsung Galaxy can be used in “essential mode”, where it’s just serving as a fitness tracker and clock. That way, it can run 30 days on a single charge! When you are using it for the different apps and the like, expect the battery life to be 1-2 days. Some need to be plugged into in order to recharge, while others sit in a recharging cradle. The Amazfit Bip has great battery life: It can go for 30 days on a single 2.5-hour charge!

• Waterproof capabilities: You’ll have to note the difference between waterproof and water resistant smart watches. Water resistant will mean that they can withstand a splash of water--but it doesn’t mean that you can go swimming with it! As a point of reference, you’ll see a rating such as “IP68” on some smart watches. “IP” stands for “Ingress Protection”--how resistant the device is versus dust and moisture penetrating into the device. The first number is the dust resistance--and the number “6” means that it can withstand dust, dirt, and sand. The second number is the water resistance-- here, “8” means that the device can be submerged in water up to a depth of 1.5 meters, and can be underwater for up to 30 minutes, at a depth of 3 meters. Some smart watches are meant to track swimming--so they’ll have even better waterproof capabilities.

• ROM and RAM: You’ll see ROM and RAM in smart watch specs. ROM is “read-only memory”, and is where the programming for the device is written. RAM is “random-access memory”, where programs are placed when you want to operate an app. When you turn the device off, the information in ROM remains, while the information in RAM is erased. Programs that you use are loaded in RAM, while apps, media such as pictures and music, and games are stored in ROM.

• Samsung is an electronics conglomerate with its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. They were established in 1938. They make electronics components and devices, including wearable technology. They presently have a selection of 15 smartwatches, with GPS, instant messaging, phone functionality, and much more.

• Garmin was founded in 1996 and has its headquarters in Kansas City, Kansas. They are makers of GPS navigation equipment and cameras for automobiles, planes, and ships, as well as outdoor and fitness equipment. They also make GPS watches for joggers, compasses, heart rate meters, altimeters and more.

• Amazfit, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, is a leader in wearable smart devices. Their smart watches are capable of GPS tracking, sending emails, making phone calls, voice commands, and can function as a fitness monitor as well.

• icWatch is a brand produced by the company Mobvoi. Mobvoi was founded in 2012, as innovators in voice recognition, natural language processing, and wearable electronics. Their products include wireless earbuds, besides smart watches that are both stylish and with lots of functions.