Choosing a smartwatch can be tricky since the best options are often platform exclusives. The Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch 5 are the perfect example of this idea. However, the benefits of a smartwatch are real, and having a watch that works great, no matter what smartphone you own, is vital. So if you’re looking for one that works with Android and iPhone, this guide lists the best compatible smartwatches available to help you find the right one.
Garmin Venu 2 series
The Venu 2 series joins Garmin’s lineup of smartwatches to try to bridge the gap between its heavily fitness-focused options — like the Fenix lineup — and devices like the Apple Watch Series 8 or Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. It comes in three sizes, the 41mm Garmin Venu 2S and Garmin Venu 2 Plus 43mm and Garmin Venu 2 45mm.
Each model offers the ability to track a variety of fitness modes — 30 to be exact — which include walking, hiking, and strength training to name a few. Now, the list is not as extensive as other Garmin wearables but it is better than most other wearables, especially when it comes to accuracy.
As for battery life, you’ll get the best out of the Venu 2, which will last for 11 days on a single charge. The Venu 2S comes in second, 10 days behind. Despite being an average size, the Venu 2 Plus only delivers 9 days of charge, but some of that is down to the built-in speaker and microphone system, which is missing from the other two versions.
If you are someone who loves to download music, all Garmin Venu 2 series watches come with space to store up to 650 songs.
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Garmin Venue 2S
The Garmin Venu 2S is a smaller alternative to the Venu 2 Plus and Venu 2, and features a 40mm watch face. It maintains Garmin’s comprehensive health monitoring feature set as well as preloaded workouts for yoga, HIIT, golf, and more.
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Garmin Venue 2 Plus
Garmin Venu 2 Plus offers an experience that combines aspects of a smartwatch and fitness wearable. It’s the one to pick from the Venu 2 series if you want the option for Bluetooth voice calling and a voice assistant.
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Garmin Venue 2
Garmin Venu 2 comes with an insane battery life that gives you up to 11 days on a single charge if you use it in smartwatch mode. You’ll also be able to use preloaded workouts that include cardio, yoga, strength, HIIT, and more. Plus, you get the chance to create your own in the Garmin Connect app on your compatible smartphone.
Garmin Fenix 7 series
The Garmin Fenix 7 series is a wearable set to pair with your smartphone if you want to go beyond what the Venu 2 series has to offer in terms of fitness-related features. The Fenix 7 Series provides access to topographic maps, golf course data, and in-depth details for the many activities it tracks. There’s more onboard storage—16GB in standard models, while more expensive tiers go up to 32GB—allowing users to store map data and up to 2,000 songs on the wearable.
Looking at the details, the standard Fenix 7 has a 1.3-inch screen with a cell that’ll power it up for at least 18 days. The Fenix 7S (1.2-inch display) drops this to 11 days, while the Fenix 7X Solar (1.4-inch display) advances to 28 days. You can also purchase solar options for the Fenix 7 and 7S. And just in case you find yourself doing water activities, the smartwatch even features a 10 ATM water rating.
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Garmin Fenix 7
Garmin Fenix 7 is the standard model to choose if you need Garmin, which can do it all. It promises 18 days of use on a single charge and comes with space to store map and music data.
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Garmin Fenix 7s
The Fenix 7S is the wearable to get from Garmin if you’re someone with smaller wrists and want a watch that doesn’t look out of place. It offers the exact feature set found in the standard Fenix 7 and only has less battery life.
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Garmin Fenix 7X Solar
The Garmin Fenix 7X Solar features a 1.4-inch display and the ability to boost its battery with Garmin’s Power Glass, allowing the device to charge in sunlight. It features mapping technology and workout modes to satisfy any athlete.
Amazfit GTR 4
The Amazfit GTR 4 is a smartwatch that you should keep an eye on if you are looking for a user experience that remains more or less identical between Android and iOS. It runs on an operating system that has a limited feature set when compared to Garmin or Fitbit, but can do enough to help you stay on top of your fitness goal, while helping you stay connected to your smartphone.
Amazfit has different sports modes built in to track your physical activity and all this is served with the help of PAI – Personal Activity Indicator – which is a great way to stay on top of your goals, while being able to take breaks properly when necessary. Also, when it comes to accurate mapping, the wearable also features multi-band GPS, a feature that Apple only offers on the Apple Watch Ultra and not the Series 8.
The wearable comes with a 1.43-inch AMOLED display that’s really bright and nice to look at, something we wouldn’t expect from a $200 smartwatch. It has a battery life of up to 14 days, and its well-crafted aluminum body boasts 5ATM water resistance.
Amazfit GTR 4
The Amazfit GTR 4 smartwatch is an excellent deal for $199, and it comes packed with excellent health and activity tracking features, long battery life, Amazon Alexa, and other popular smartwatch features in a neat package.
Huawei GT3 Pro
While Huawei’s presence in the world of smartphones has diminished, the hardware it manufactures is still of the highest quality. And if you’re looking for a smart wearable that delivers accurate data and looks stylish, the GT 3 Pro lineup checks a lot of boxes.
The wearable comes in two sizes, a 46mm titanium case and a 43mm ceramic case, which you can pair with different strap options offered by the OEM. The changing body dimensions also result in different screen sizes; The larger watch comes with a 1.43-inch screen while the smaller wearable has a 1.32-inch unit. Apart from this, it features similar AMOLED technology and sapphire glass protection.
The Huawei GT 3 Pro comes with 14 days of light and eight days of heavy use for the Titanium model, while the smaller unit halves that rating to 7 days of light use and four days of heavy use. These wearables are backed by Huawei’s long experience in creating fitness trackers and smartwatches. Hence, we think they would make a great addition to your ecosystem. Don’t miss our Huawei GT 3 Pro review on Pocketnow to learn more about these watches.
If you are looking for a wearable that pushes its limits, the recently announced Huawei Watch Ultimate is a great option to consider, especially if you are an adventure enthusiast or diver.
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Huawei GT3 Pro
The Huawei GT 3 Pro with titanium case comes in a large 46mm case with a 1.43 inch AMOLED panel protected by sapphire glass. It promises 14 days of light use on a single charge, which reduces to 8 in the case of heavy use.
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Huawei GT3 Pro Ceramic
The Huawei GT 3 Pro ceramic case can be worn by those with smaller wrists. It has a 43mm body and a 1.32 inch AMOLED screen. It promises seven days of light use or four days of heavy use on a single charge.
Fossil generation 6
Fossil Gen. 6 an option to run Google Wear OS to this menu. A platform that’s still compatible, and hopefully after the Pixel Watch’s launch later this year. The smartwatch offers a design that matches the brand’s lineage, making it an attractive option for those who want their smartwatch to look more like a traditional watch. It’s available in two sizes — 42mm and 44mm — and ships with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 4100+, which the OEM claims delivers 30% better app loading speeds and less power consumption when compared to the chipset packed into the Gen 5.
Displayed on both case sizes is a 1.28 inch AMOLED panel with a battery that promises a day of use. Fossil touts the faster charging mechanism as a selling point, which we feel is worth keeping in mind, as the device can reach 80% battery capacity in about 30 minutes.
Just keep in mind that if you want to use the smartwatch for a few years, it only comes with 8GB of storage, which may leave you with less space for other apps.
Android device owners will even be able to use Alexa built into the Fossil Gen. 6.
Fossil Gen 6
Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch comes with Wear OS and Qualcomm 4100+ chipset. The watch can track activity goals, SPO2, sleep, and more. It has a 3ATM water-resistant design, and features fast charging to keep you going on the road.
TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra
The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra rounds out our list of the best smartwatches to consider if you need an option that works with Android and iPhone; Its main selling points are its dual display technology and multiple GPS like Garmin wearables.
The wearable comes with a 1.4-inch AMOLED panel, on top of which is a low-power display that can display only basic information that you may need from your smartwatch. Packed inside the casing is a 577mAh battery that provides 72 hours of use in Smart mode and 45 days when set to Essential mode.
These numbers are promising for a WearOS-based smartwatch, which offers a solid user experience with access to apps like GPay and Spotify. The smartwatch is even on track to get a WearOS 3 update this year. The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra offers a host of health features, with heart rate and heart rate variability tracking (the latter is used to assess fatigue), guided breathing, sleep tracking, and access to more than 100 workout modes.
TicWatch Pro 3
TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra is the WearOS device to get if you’re looking for a more fitness-friendly wearable that comes with all the smart hardware you need to keep your phone usage to a minimum.