Google’s Pixel Watch 3 offers one of the most elegant round-screen designs you’ll see on a smartwatch and now comes in two size options to suit more wrists. It also comes with a range of new tools, including AI-generated running workouts, the Morning Brief digest, and more applications for the Daily Readiness Score.

But the Pixel Watch 3 is still missing some features you might expect on a Google-branded smartwatch, including Gemini support. Overall, if you’re a runner and want a more robust smartwatch features than on a traditional running watch, the Pixel Watch 3 won’t disappoint.

Why we like it

The Pixel Watch 3 stands out with its minimalist design, and seamless Wear OS experience. While it may lack some of the advanced health features found in other flagship smartwatches, like sleep apnea detection, it makes up for it with more intuitive and actionable fitness tracking via the Fitbit app and its loss of pulse detection feature. 

Who it’s best for

Google and Fitbit fans who want a polished Wear OS watch with smart features and sleek design. It’s ideal for anyone looking for solid fitness tracking without the guesswork, plus the option to understand their metrics further with coaching via the Fitbit app (with a Premium subscription). Anyone heavily invested in the Google ecosystem, will also appreciate the seamless integration with devices like Nest Cam or Google TV.

The $350 OnePlus Watch 3 is a standout smartwatch that outshines other Wear OS contenders with its five-day battery life, sleek design and solid health features. It covers all the essential smartwatch functions while improving on health and fitness tracking by adding more metrics, boosting accuracy, and offering deeper workout analysis. Its one-stop wellness check feature measures blood oxygen levels, sleep quality, cardiovascular health and stress levels.

The OnePlus Watch 3 is a great choice if your main priority is battery life and durability, but it’s not without a few drawbacks. While its bulky stainless steel design makes it look premium and polished, the 1.5-inch AMOLED screen can easily overpower smaller wrists, and there’s no smaller size available. It also lacks an LTE option, and the ECG feature is currently disabled in the US and Canada. Read our OnePlus Watch 3 review.

Why we like it

While the five-day battery life may have been what wowed us most, its stainless steel and aluminum exterior, combined with solid fitness features, sealed the deal making it a well-rounded option for Android users.

Who it’s best for

Android users looking for a premium smartwatch beyond Samsung and Pixel options, or anyone tired of having to charge their Wear OS watch every day. With its oversized frame and 46mm screen (and no smaller size option yet), it’s best suited for people with larger wrists (likely male) as it also lacks period tracking.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 is the best Android watch for most people, but if you need a rugged design with better battery life and a few extra fitness tools, try the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Both the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra are essentially the same watch under the hood, with the same sensors, dual-frequency GPS and health features. The Galaxy Watch Ultra has a brighter screen at 3,000 nits versus 2,000 on the Galaxy Watch 7, plus a few more fitness tools, including a multisport mode and a cycling functional threshold power test.

All the flagship health tools you would expect are included: an ECG, blood oxygen, body composition and temperature sensors. Note you need a Galaxy phone to use the ECG, sleep apnea monitor and get the energy score, but all the other features work seamlessly with other Android phones. Read our Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and Ultra review.

Why we like it

The Galaxy Watch 7 is one of the best Wear OS watches for the price (starting at $300). It has a polished design, with a bright screen that’s easy to read even in direct sunlight, and robust health features like sleep apnea detection, and body composition analysis. Plus, a few other perks like one-handed gesture control, and music playback directly from your wrist (like the Apple Watch Series 10).

Who it’s best for

Who it’s best for: Samsung users who want the best smartwatch experience within the Galaxy ecosystem –there’s a tight integration between phone and watch and even features that are exclusive to Galaxy phone users. The Watch 7 should also appeal to Android phone users looking for robust sleep tracking.

The Garmin Venu 3’s stellar battery life, wide selection of health tracking features and workout types and comprehensive wellness metrics make it a top choice. According to CNET’s review, the battery life alone is enough to make the Garmin Venu 3 stand out, with it lasting for about a week on a single charge. 

But it isn’t perfect. It doesn’t feel as premium as other watches of the same price, it doesn’t have as many apps as the Apple Watch, and the software may not feel as intuitive as alternative watches from Google, Samsung or Apple. But the Garmin Venu 3 makes up for that with useful wellness tools like the Body Battery, which tells you how “recharged” you are based on activity, sleep and other factors. And best of all, Garmin doesn’t require a subscription to access such features.

Why we like it

The Venu 3 is one of our favorite Garmin watches thanks to its broad appeal and compatibility with both Android and iOS devices. It delivers on all the features we like about Garmin’s sport watches; durable design, physical action buttons, and advanced fitness metrics, minus the added bulk and higher price tag of other models like the Fenix or Tactix. Best of all, it’ll outlast most other smartwatches with a battery that can go up to a week on a charge.

Who it’s best for

Serious athletes or anyone seeking a fitness-first smartwatch that offers deeper insights and actionable coaching features, like Body Battery and Morning Report that can help you optimize your workouts. Its sleeker design and smaller 41mm option also make it a strong fit for women athletes. 

Here are a few key factors to consider to help you filter out the noise and narrow down your search.

Budget: If you’re looking to score a deal, it might be worth waiting for major discount days like Black Friday or Labor Day in the US when most retailers, including the original manufacturers, offer sales or cash-back incentives. You can also save by waiting for the next update cycle and considering the previous-generation model, which often goes on sale once a newer version is released. While newer models typically bring modest improvements in battery life, processing power, and design, the updates are often iterative. Previous models still hold up well in terms of performance and features. You should still consider all the other factors—especially software and operating system updates — when making your final decision.

Battery: Most Android smartwatches on this list offer between 24 to 72 hours of battery life on a single charge, depending on how often you use power-hungry features like GPS or the always-on display. But a few stand out from the pack. If battery life is your top priority, the OnePlus Watch 3 is your best bet; it can last up to five days on a charge with raise-to-wake enabled, or about three days with the always-on display active. For Samsung phone users, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is worth the splurge, offering at least a full day more than other Galaxy models (though still no match the OnePlus). The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 and Enduro models are also solid alternatives if you’re looking for longer battery life at a lower price.

Wear OS updates: One of the caveats with Android smartwatches is that most manufacturers aren’t in control of the operating system’s update cycle. Google manages Wear OS updates, and there’s no guarantee that every watch will receive them. That’s why it’s important to research how many updates a watch is expected to get. This information is often listed on the manufacturer’s website or in our reviews. Without this research you might wait a year for an update or find your model isn’t eligible. Samsung leads the pack, promising at least four years of updates for its Galaxy Watch models with the Pixel Watch 3 and OnePlus Watch 3 following closely behind with up to three years of support. Others, like Mobvoi, have been notoriously slow in rolling out updates, and while these older models may save you money upfront, they may not be as future-proofed and may end up spending more on a replacement in the long run. 

Design: The upside of having so many android watches is the sheer breadth of design options available to you; different screen shapes, cover materials, sizing options, etc. You can choose a more traditional watch design with a stainless steel finish and a bulkier frame, like the OnePlus Watch, or opt for the sleek, minimalist design of the Pixel Watch 3 with its barely there bezels. Sizing is another important factor to consider. If you have smaller wrists and prefer a watch that won’t overpower your arm, you must avoid the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the OnePlus Watch 3, as they only come in one size — giant and massive, respectively.

Wi-Fi Only vs. Cellular: Your choice of smartwatch may depend on whether it even offers the option of LTE or Wi-Fi only, so it’s worth researching early on to avoid going too far down the wrong path. The OnePlus Watch 3, for example, is only available in a Wi-Fi model, while the Galaxy Watch Ultra is cellular-only. Most users will find Wi-Fi models sufficient to track workouts and make mobile payments without the phone nearby. However, features like notifications, messaging, and calls still require your phone to be in range, and if you’re planning on leaving your phone behind from time to time and want full smartwatch functionality on the go, it may be worth splurging on an LTE version, which can add anywhere from $50 to $100 to the price tag and may require a monthly carrier fee.