In this video we’re breaking down the five best smart watches in 2021 for you. I’ve included options for every type of consumer. Whether you’re looking for a budget or premium option to monitor your health, track your fitness run apps or to stay connected I’ll have the product for you.
The fifth product on our list is the Verratek Nimble 2. This is our best budget smart watch. The Verratek Nimble 2 really sets itself apart from the sea of cheap smart watches on the market with Bluetooth calling like the Samsung Galaxy watch 3. So, you make and answer calls right on your smartwatch in addition to health monitoring and fitness tracking for about 45 dollars.
If you’re looking to get your first smartwatch or shopping on a budget the nimble 2 is an excellent choice without emptying your wallet. You get core features of high-end smartwatches including heart rate blood pressure and blood oxygen sensors.
There’s also an automatic sleep monitor that tracks and analyzes not just your sleep time but also the quality of sleep. It’s by no means perfect there are some limitations but for the price I think for most people it can be overlooked.
There are also multiple sport modes and you’ll be able to track eight different fitness activities and with the companion app you’ll get valuable metrics and insights to help you achieve better overall health and reach your fitness goals.
You also get some nice bonus features like being able to control your phone’s music and your camera right from your smartwatch. But I think having the convenience of Bluetooth calling right from your wrist is going to appeal to a lot of people especially at this price.
The build is quite solid and like the Samsung Galaxy watch 3 it has a stylish classic round dial design, and the 1.28-inch color touchscreen is snappy and responsive. And it even has a tilt to wake option. What’s really unexpected at this price is that the nimble 2 is rated ip68 making it waterproof up to one and a half meters sweat proof and dust resistant. Showers and pool activities are not a problem.
The battery performance is also quite good with around 24 hours even with functions such as Bluetooth calling turned on which gets you through your day.
The Verratek Nimble 2 offers many of the core features of high-end smartwatches including Bluetooth calling right from your wrist making it an attractive option for anyone looking for a budget smart watch. It may not be perfect but at this price point the nimble 2 performs above expectations and you really can’t go wrong.
The fourth product on our list is the Fitbit Versa 3. This is our best smartwatch for fitness. The Versa 3 continues to be a favorite choice for many and there’s a lot of great reasons. It hits the sweet spot of having the right balance of health and fitness tracking and smart watch features for around 230 dollars.
I like the Versa 3 squoval face which is not quite round but not as blocky as square faces giving it more refinement in the design. The 1.59 inch 336 by 336 resolution AMOLED display is a decent size so you can clearly see all the information you need.
It features a new haptic button so it’s more streamlined without a physical button sticking out. I think the UI is really good. It’s modern and clean with plenty of customizable options. Navigation is simple and intuitive especially with the new shortcuts to quickly access apps and info.
The Versa 3 is a more comprehensive fitness tracker than fitbit’s entry level models giving you 24 7 activity tracking detailed sleep tracking active zone minutes with analytics and insights for all your health and fitness needs.
It features the new SPO2 sensor, an updated heart rate sensor for more accurate readings along with skin temperature readings. It’s also 5 atm waterproof rated so you can actually wear it for swims up to 50 meters of depth.
The onboard GPS is a big bonus so even without your phone you can still track your runs, rides, swims and more. Unfortunately, the GPS takes a big chunk out of the battery performance giving you only about 12 hours compared to getting over six days with the GPS turned off.
The Versa 3 supports both Alexa and Google assistant which is great to have the different options depending on your preference or smart home setup. One of my favorite features of the versa 3 is its ability to receive and make calls hands-free so I don’t have to pull out my phone.
The versa 3 will appeal to a lot of people looking for a feature-rich smart watch with comprehensive fitness and health tools that will help them reach their fitness goals.
The third product on our list is the Fitbit Sense. This is our best Fitbit smartwatch. The 270-dollar Fitbit Sense is the best smartwatch Fitbit makes and is a great option for those looking for more advanced health and fitness tracking features than the versa 3.
The Sense shares a lot of similarities with the versa 3 including its design that looks almost identical but is slightly thicker and you get different color options. Plus, the Sense has a more premium look and feel with its aerospace grade aluminum and stainless steel for the casing which is actually tied to the additional sensors.
It features the same 1.5 inch 336 by 336 resolution amoled display. Where the sense starts to differentiate itself as the more premium smart watch is its health features. In addition to having the latest pure pulse 2.0, optical heart rate sensor, temperature sensor, SPO2 sensor and sleep tracking, like the Versa 3 the Sense also features an FDA cleared ECG App in the USA that not only shows you your heart rate, but you can get notifications if your heart rate is very high or very low which offers great peace of mind.
It offers medical grade heart rate readings which can help detect signs that are associated with various heart conditions including atrial fibrillation. While it may not be something that everyone needs but for those with heart conditions or anyone that needs to monitor their heart it can literally be a life-saving feature.
The Sense can also detect other signs of stress with its EDA sensor to help with stress management and provide a stress score which takes various physiological metrics into account. If you’re serious about health monitoring the sense really goes all out with health monitoring features and cutting-edge sensors.
The UI and basically the user experience is the same as the versa 3. It’s very clean and simple to use with very digestible information. And what I love is that it’s very customizable. The Fitbit Sense goes beyond the basics for health monitoring and is definitely one of the most advanced health smart watches around with its robust set of health monitoring tools and features. If you want a Fitbit smartwatch with the most extensive health and fitness tracking and monitoring, then the Fitbit Sense is the one for you.
The second product on our list is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3. This is our best overall android smartwatch. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 has just about everything you could want in a smart watch including incredibly advanced health tracking features, versatile functionality and a robust set of features that really no other android smartwatch comes close to for about 350 dollars.
And aside from the technical advancements of the Galaxy Watch 3I think it’s also one of the best-looking smartwatches out there especially with its genuine leather straps that adds nice, sophisticated aesthetics. It’s definitely an all-day watch that you can wear for nights out and by swapping out with the silicone straps you’re ready to hit the gym.
The 360 by 360-pixel ammo led display is extremely bright and easy to read even in broad daylight including the always-on feature. And if you like customization you’ve got over 80 000 watch faces to choose from.
The Galaxy Watch 3’s health and fitness tracking and monitoring is on par with the sense offering an FDA approved ECG monitor and SPO2 sensor. There are a few key additions though including one unique aspect of Samsung’s holistic approach.
To monitor for meditation stress sleep and breathing they partnered with the national sleep institute for better sleep tracking accuracy and insights. The other great feature is the trip detection feature that detects if you’re not moving after a hard fall and the smartwatch will immediately call your emergency contacts and share your location. Hopefully it’s a feature you’ll never need but offers some peace of mind.
The Watch 3 can also track 40 different activities including popular ones that track automatically so you don’t have to remember to select it beforehand. One of the more innovative features is Samsung’s motion gestures. Just by clenching and unclenching your fist you can silence alarms, take photos and answer calls. Now while Apple watches have Siri and the Fitbit Versa 3 and sense have support for both Google assistant and Alexa, the Galaxy Watch 3has Bixby which you’re either a fan of or not.
The Galaxy Watch 3is Samsung’s premium offering and will appeal to android users especially Samsung fans looking for the best of the best. It’s stylish and has comprehensive fitness and health tracking as well as some advanced smart features.
The first product on our list is the Apple Watch 6. This is our best Apple smartwatch. The Apple Watch 6 continues to set the bar high for all smart watches offering excellent health tracking features, advanced smart features and seamless apple ecosystem integration for about 375 dollars.
The new slimmer design has an eye-catching stainless steel and titanium casing, and the new silicone solo loop band has no clasps or buckles for a more streamlined look and snug fit. The display will be quite familiar since it hasn’t changed much since the series 5 but I think the 1.78 inch 448 by 368 pixels retina OLED display is still probably one of the best around.
The always on display is now two and a half times brighter so it’s easy to read even in direct sunlight. The UI is fast, responsive and quite intuitive even for those buying an apple watch for the first time. Now when it comes to health monitoring you get the same advanced health monitoring as the sense and Galaxy watch 3 with an FDA approved ECG monitor SPO2 sensor sleep tracking and stress monitoring.
Unfortunately, the sleep data only gives you general insights, so you won’t see your sleep stages like light deep or rem sleep. The fitness tracking is feature rich with more workout modes than before including comprehensive features to help you reach your goals.
The fitness app is easy to use and is a one-stop shop for fitness tracking and a variety of workout metrics but may not be as detailed for those serious about their workouts. But the apple watch 6 is much more than a health monitor and fitness tracker.
Apple watches can’t be matched with the availability of apps at the app store in addition to Apple’s own arsenal of great apps including offline music with Apple music and Apple pay. As a complete package I think the watch 6 really offers what most people want from a smart watch and then some with the exception of battery performance which is only about 18 hours even with the more power efficient processor.
While that may be a deal breaker for some, the user experience of the Apple watch 6 can’t be beat. With that said you do need an iPhone to take advantage of all the watch 6’s features so if you’re in the android camp then the Samsung Watch 3 would be a better option for you.
