Our top picks are loaded with smart productivity, fitness and health features.

We tested over a dozen smartwatches often comparing their features and capability at the same time.

By  Harry Rabinowitz

Smartwatches are like tiny smartphones strapped to your wrist. Most support texting, calls, voice assistants, maps, fitness tracking, tap-to pay  and more. For many folks at NBC Select, a smartwatch is an essential wearable that enhances your everyday life.

But the best smartwatch for you is almost entirely decided by which smartphone is in your pocket. Many of the best smartwatches only work with i phone  or Android phones, not both. Some even have features that only work when paired with a specific type of smartphone. Smartwatches are often tailor – made to a square hole, working in – tandem to deliver the best experience possible.

That’s way I’ve tested over a dozen smartwatches using Apple, Samsung and Google phones. Below you’ll learn about how smartwatches that each brand has released, which we plan on testing soon.

How we picked the best smartwatches

Most NBC Select staffers use  a smartwatch -either for notifications, experience with my time testing, we selected smartwatches keeping the following in mind :

Ease of use :  Smartwatches have so many features and options that they can easy and enjoyable to use of the box, both glancing at your wrist and scrolling in the app. We also favored watches that let you customize settings, watch faces and notifications to your liking.

Compatibility : Not all smartwatches are compatible with all smartphones -it’s quite the opposite. We included wearables. for people with all kinds of smartwatch for people with all kinds of smartphones.

Price:   Most smartwatches cost between $100 and $500. We included wearables across different price points, but again, your choices are largely limited by which smartphone you own.

How I test smartwatches

I’ve tested over a dozen smartwatches for NBC Select. I am a runner and cyclist, and often use them to track and monitor stats like heart rate, pace and time. I am also the tech reporter at NBC Select, to then to spend hours tinkering with product setting wxploring what a product pffers out of the box amd what I can fine tune later.

I receive smartwatches form different brands, and test each watch for at least a week, using as many of the features as possible. I pair each watch with either an Apple, Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel smartphone, depending on its compatibility

Staff- favorite smartwatches in 2024

Most of our top overall picks come from Apple, Samsung and Google, companies that make up a large majority of smartphone sales in the U.S.All of our top picks have very similar features – they can all send and receive texts, make call, use a voice assistant, track health and wellness metrics, log wellness metrics, log workouts, use apps, find your  phone and more.

Our budget picks are slightly more limited -some cannot answer calls or lack an on -watch keyboard to type put texts. We discuss all of these limitations in each recommendation.

We linked to the Wi-FI versions of these devices, but  many of them also have Wi-Fi plus cellular versions that, set up with their own phone plan, can do most tasks without being connected your smartphone.