As even a cursory glance at the wrists of your fellow humans will surely confirm, the wearable revolution is in full swing. What began as just a small pool of primitive, rather unsightly options has blossomed into an entire industry unto itself, with smart watches and fitness trackers of all shapes, sizes and functionality. From high-end wristwatches with powerful processors to simple, sporty fitness trackers, we’ve gathered together some of the newest and most compelling options on the market.
Withings ScanWatch
Withings’ Scanwatch is unique for a number of reasons, not least of which being its looks: unlike most of its chunky, screen-forward competition, the ScanWatch looks like an analog watch. A side benefit of this small screen is that it can also last far longer than most of said competition— up to 30 days. It comes with full access to the Withings Health Mate app, and has a key feature for those worried about heart issues: namely, its ability to detect atrial fibrillation and measure blood oxygen levels (Withings got clearance from the FDA before selling it in the U.S.). For a watch that can make you look good and potentially keep you alive, at $299.99 the ScanWatch is tough to beat.
Polar Pacer Pro
The latest from fitness brand Polar, the $299.99 Pacer Pro’s real power feature is designed to help runners get a sense for how efficiently they’re running—something that’s only possible thanks to Polar’s impressively deep data collection, which tracks things like breathing rate, heart-rate variability and heart rate. All of these affect a runner’s ability to consistently hit desired times and distances. And that’s exactly who the Pacer Pro is for: folks who take their running seriously, and want a watch that will do the same.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus
The follow-up to the existing Garmin Venu 2, the Venu 2 Plus adds one big new feature: voice control, allowing you to use your phone’s digital assistant (Siri, Google Assistant or Samsung Bixby) to do all that digital assistant-y stuff, and leave your smartphone in your pocket while you do so. It hits all the big features for health tracking as well: SpO2 measurements (i.e. the amount of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in the blood, relative to the amount of hemoglobin not carrying oxygen), 24/7 heart rate tracking, stress tracking, sleep monitoring, and women’s health monitoring. There’s even an onboard GPS to make sure you get home safely, with or without your smartphone. Available in black and slate, cream-gold and ivory, or powder gray and silver for $449.99.
Skagen Falster Gen 6
Skagen has carved out a niche of high-end, low-profile smartwatches, and the Falster Gen 6 is its latest and greatest. Available in a total of six different models (with various colorways and strap types), it also comes with some wonderfully minimalist, Scandinavian watch faces. Running Google’s Wear OS on a snappy Snapdragon Wear 4100+ processor, it’s a great performer—whether using its Google Assistant support to do things like play music, or track everything from heart rate to sleep tracking to blood oxygen saturation using its SpO2 sensor. Available now for $295.
Movboi TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra
Its name might be a mouthful, but the Pro 3 Ultra improves upon everything from the previous iterations of TicWatch. A new customizable backlight makes it at home in any setting, and the TicHealth suite is a robust way of tracking your workouts and what’s going on inside your body. Like other Movboi watches it’s certainly a big boy, and it’s only available in black—but if those two limitations work for you, at $299.99 you could do much worse than the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra.
Fitbit Charge 5
The latest from one of the oldest fitness tracker brands around, the Fitbit Charge 5 has a lot going for it. From its bright, crisp AMOLED screen to its ability to track everything from stress to heart rate to electrocardiograms, it certainly checks a lot of boxes. It has an onboard GPS, and fast-pairs to your Android phone in a flash. There’s a $10 per month subscription for Fitbit Premium, which gives you access to a cool new “Daily Readiness” feature (which takes into account your recent activity, heart rate variability, and sleep data to give you a sense of how hard you should push yourself on any given day.), as well as personalized sleep and stress feedback. It’s available in a wide range of colors, and its included large and small standard silicone bands can be swapped out with lots of alternatives. Available for $149.99.
Coros Pace 2
The Coros Pace 2 isn’t as high-tech looking as some of its competition—most apparent in its relatively lofi LCD screen—but for the dedicated athlete, it’s as practical as it is powerful. At just 29 grams it’s extremely light, and can go for several weeks between charges. Perhaps most importantly, it integrates with the popular workout app Strava, which lets you map your runs and bike rides with elevation data, while its onboard GPS makes sure you’re always on track. At $199.99, it’s also considerably more affordable than much of its competition.
