There’s nothing like a beautiful watch, and a good timepiece can be…well, timeless! But unfortunately, smartphones have significantly reduced (in truth, effectually eliminated) the practical need for a wristwatch in today’s world.
That’s why at TechImperatives.com, we’re beyond excited about one of the latest trends in Wearable Technology – Smart Watches. These devices combine the accessibility and the look of the classic wristwatch with sleek aesthetics and the latest technology, and they’re improving rapidly. Companies have come a long way from early-generation versions with limited options in style and functionality. The latest smartwatches can be customized to look as sporty or as elegant as you want, and when you’re wearing one of the top smartwatch models, you’ll barely ever have to reach for your phone at all.
If you’re looking for the best smartwatch on the market, your ideal model will likely depend on a variety of factors, such as your smartphone model, your price point preference, and the primary features you’re looking for. We’ll get to a few models later on, but for now, here are some of our favorite reasons to own a smartwatch in the first place.
Save Time
With a smartwatch, you’ll be able to check priority notifications at a glance without taking out your phone, unlocking it, and navigating your apps (just to find out you’re still getting “Candy Crush” requests from that one girl you went to college with). You’ll be able to see and take (or ignore) phone calls, receive and respond to text messages, read and re-Tweet the latest on Twitter, and more with a peek at your wrist and the touch of a button.
Be Discreet
Are you at an important work meeting? On a date? At a movie? No problem! Any of these situations could be a recipe for looking tacky, rude, or disinterested if you’re constantly checking your phone, but a smartwatch will allow you to view and dismiss your smartphone interruptions while looking present and engaged in your environment. That way, you’ll know if anything important warrants redirecting your attention or excusing yourself without drawing focus from what’s going on around you.
Additionally, smartwatch notifications will eliminate all of those annoying whistles, dings and chimes that drive you and your co-workers crazy. With your new gadget, you’ll be able to “feel” the subtle buzz of your notifications instead of hearing obnoxious noises all day.
Live Longer
Many smartwatches also feature tools for your physical health that will communicate with your smartphone’s lifestyle apps to track things like physical activity and sleep patterns.
Some of the top smartwatch options include a pedometer and a heartrate monitor, and our team is excited to see what other healthy lifestyle options upcoming smart watches will bring to the table.
Spare Your Battery
It may come as a surprise to you, but a smartwatch will likely help you stretch your phone’s battery a lot farther. The Bluetooth technology with which the newest smartwatch models are equipped requires very little energy, and one of the biggest drags on your phone’s juice is screen activity. The bigger and brighter your screen is, the faster your phone will lose a charge.
A smartwatch will allow you to do most of the things you would light up your phone for so you can save your precious battery for the things that really matter – like, you know… Minion Rush.
Talk to the Hand
Or the wrist… but forget the semantics.
The point is that with some smartwatches, you’ll be able to use voice command to take care of almost anything – making calls, sending messages, checking the weather, getting reservations, finding out how many 3’s Steph Curry hit last night – you get the picture.
Sure, this one could have fit in the “time-saver,” “battery-sparing,” or “discreetness” category, but we think it’s cool enough to get a mention on its own.
Which Smartwatch Should You Buy?
Really, it all depends on what you want to spend, how you want it to look, which phone you have, and what you’re mostly hoping to using it for.
The TechImperatives.com team had a blast reviewing a couple of the more prominent models, so we’ll give you a quick overview. If you want to find out more about each one, click on the links to check out our full reviews!
Amazfit Bip Smartwatch by Huami
The Amazfit Bip is currently one of the best-selling smartwatches on Amazon. It includes a great heart rate and activity tracker, it can monitor your sleep patterns and lasts for quite a long time, as the battery is amazing.
Here are a few key features:
- 1.28″ great display at only 32g weight.
- Can last up to 30 days on a single charge
- Heart rate and activity tracker
- Sleep Tracking
- GPS Tracking
- Special Sport Modes
- Receive messages (Whatsapp, Twitter, SMS, Email etc.
It’s a great smartwatch with a lof ot satisfied customers. Just check out all the reviews on Amazon and make up your own mind.
Amazfit Bip Smartwatch by Huami with All-Day Heart Rate and Activity Tracking,...
- Look as Good as You Feel: With a range of colors and options, the Bip is designed to be worn as an extension of your personal style. Weighing only 1.1oz (32g), and with a bright, transflective always-on 1.28" display, the Bip can be worn all day
$ 75.99
79.99
amazon.com- Look as Good as You Feel: With a range of colors and options, the Bip is designed to be worn as an extension of your personal style. Weighing only 1.1oz (32g), and with a bright, transflective always-on 1.28" display, the Bip can be worn all day
- Go the Distance: Use the Amazfit Bip for up to 30 days on a single 2.5-hour charge.
- Don't Miss a Beat: Optical heart rate monitoring and built-in GPS allow you to accurately track in real-time your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and quality of sleep. Special sport modes (running, treadmill, cycling and walking) give you even more detailed insights into your most frequent activities.
- Be in the Know: The perfect companion to keep you organized and productive all day long. Receive one-way notifications for emails, SMS messages, and incoming phone calls (prompting you to take action on your smartphone), as well as alerts for Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Snap, Slack, weather forecasts, and other mobile apps
- Satisfaction Guaranteed: Buy with confidence. Amazfit offers a 30-day refund policy, and 12-month new replacement warranty.
TicWatch E
The Ticwatch E
Key Features:
- 1.44 Ounces
- Android Wear 2.0 – You can install your favorite apps and customize the watch to your liking. Keep in mind, that some of the feature are only available to android users and not iPhone users!
- Fitness tracker: Track your individual goals and reach new fitness heights.
- Built in GPS Tracker and Heart Rate Monitor
- It comes with Google Voice Assistant to stay connected.
- Incredible Battery Life
Ticwatch E most comfortable Smartwatch-Shadow,1.4 inch OLED Display, Android Wear 2.0,Compatible with...
- Android Wear 2.0. Get your favorite apps and watch faces. Request a car ride. Perfect your golf swing. Explore a new neighborhood. With thousands of Android Wear apps, there's no limit to what you can do with your Ticwatch E.
$ 129.99
159.99
amazon.com- Android Wear 2.0. Get your favorite apps and watch faces. Request a car ride. Perfect your golf swing. Explore a new neighborhood. With thousands of Android Wear apps, there's no limit to what you can do with your Ticwatch E.
- Follow your fitness.Track walks, runs, rides, heart rate and strength training with Google Fit and your favorite fitness apps. Get coaching, measure your heart rate, and even stream music, right from your wrist.
- Your personal voice assistant. Meet Your Google Assistant. Bring Google Assistant to your wrist. Find answers and get things done even when your hands are full. Reply to a friend that you're running late, remind yourself to call mom, or ask for directions. Just hold the power button or say "Ok Google".Phone calls only compatible for android device now.
- If you meet abnormal battery capacity, like sudden drop or short battery life etc. It is not the quality issue. Please charge the watch more 2hrs before you start to use it. And use the watch till battery empty and charge it up to full for 1-3cycles, the battery capacity indicator will be on right status.
- 30-day money-back guarantee for any reason, 12-month warranty for quality-related issues.
Apple Watch Sport
If you’re looking for the best smartwatch for iOS, this one might be your best bet, as it’s specifically designed to be compatible with the iPhone. Here are some of the key features that we love:
• Extensive functionality – manage your schedule, call a taxi, dictate and send messages, make and receive calls
• Up to 18 hours of battery life
• Track your fitness activity
• 42mm display – not too big or clunky, but not too small to read notifications and operate with your fingers
• Changeable wristbands for the right look at the right time
This piece retails for around $400, and sales don’t tend to last long – we recommend jumping on anything lower than $360 right away. Read our full review [here].
Apple Watch Sport 42mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Band (Refurbished)
- System on a chip: Apple S1
- Sport Band with stainless steel pin; Digital Crown
- Heart rate sensor, accelerometer and gyroscope; Ambient light sensor. Fits 140-210mm wrists.
- Retina display with Force Touch; Composite back, Splash and Water resistant in rain, exercising, etc (but not to be submerged in water, as it's not waterproof!)
$ 159.99
amazon.com- System on a chip: Apple S1
- Sport Band with stainless steel pin; Digital Crown
- Heart rate sensor, accelerometer and gyroscope; Ambient light sensor. Fits 140-210mm wrists.
- Retina display with Force Touch; Composite back, Splash and Water resistant in rain, exercising, etc (but not to be submerged in water, as it's not waterproof!)
- Renewed products look and work like new. These pre-owned products have been inspected and tested by Amazon-qualified suppliers, which typically perform a full diagnostic test, replacement of any defective parts, and a thorough cleaning process. Wireless devices have batteries tested to have at least 80% capacity relative to new at the time of sale. Packaging, wall plug and charging cable may be generic (headphones not included). Wireless products on Amazon Renewed come with the 90 day Amazon Renewed Guarantee.
FitBit Blaze
The list of features included in the FitBit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch will easily match what you will find in the high-end wristbands. That includes your standard activity tracking features like:
- How many steps you take during the day
- How far you run
- How many floors you climb (which is a surprising useful feature more watches offer now)
- How many calories you burn during your workouts
The stylish smart watch by FitBit stands out with the awesome screen, the accurate HRM, the great battery and the overall very affordable price. If you don’t want to shell out more than 200$, this is the one single fitness smart watch that you need. Read our full review [here].
Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch, Black, Silver, Small (US Version)
- See simplified heart rate zones for quickly checking exercise intensity during workouts with PurePulse(TM) continuous, wrist-based heart rate monitoring (no uncomfortable chest strap required)
- Use multi-sport tracking to track runs, cardio, cross-training, biking and more. Effortlessly and automatically record other workouts to your dashboard with SmartTrack
$ 169.95
199.95
amazon.com- See simplified heart rate zones for quickly checking exercise intensity during workouts with PurePulse(TM) continuous, wrist-based heart rate monitoring (no uncomfortable chest strap required)
- Use multi-sport tracking to track runs, cardio, cross-training, biking and more. Effortlessly and automatically record other workouts to your dashboard with SmartTrack
- Enable connected GPS to map your routes and see run stats like pace and duration on display (when your phone is nearby)
- Track steps, distance, calories burned, floors climbed and active minutes. Stay connected with call, text & calendar alerts and notifications from your favorite apps like Gmail, Facebook and more (when phone is nearby).Start a FitStar workout on your wrist and get step-by-step instructions and graphics to ensure you complete each move correctly
Samsung Gear S2
Certainly not the best smartwatch for iOS, but you already knew that. If you’re loving your Samsung Galaxy smartphone, this watch is going to send you over the moon.
It shares a lot of the features of the Apple Watch Sport, but we particularly liked the touchscreen and the customizability. This is a chameleon of a smartwatch that can look perfect in a corporate setting or at the gym with a fast change of the watch face, the wristband, or both. From classy leather to sweat-resistant plastic, there are lots of great looks and functions that you can get out of your Samsung Gear S2 – it’ll be whatever you need it to be!
While it’s still more than some other models, the Gear S2 still retails a little lower than the Apple Watch Sport as well – starting around $350. Read our full review [here].
UPDATE: The Gear S3 is now available too!
Samsung Gear S3 Frontier Smartwatch (Bluetooth), SM-R760NDAAXAR – US Version with Warranty
- A distinctive steel bezel that you can rotate to access apps and notifications , Strap with buckle - 2.76 inches,Large strap with holes - 5.12 inches, Small strap with holes - 4.33 inches
- Text, call and get notifications directly from your watch through your Bluetooth connected smartwatch
$ 243.94
349.98
amazon.com- A distinctive steel bezel that you can rotate to access apps and notifications , Strap with buckle - 2.76 inches,Large strap with holes - 5.12 inches, Small strap with holes - 4.33 inches
- Text, call and get notifications directly from your watch through your Bluetooth connected smartwatch
- Make payments with Samsung Pay almost anywhere you swipe or tap a credit card. Battery Type and Size : 380mAh Li-ion
- With military-grade performance, the Gear S3 resists water, dust, extreme temperatures and the occasional drop
- Compatible with Android and iOS smartphones (compatible with select Bluetooth capable smartphones using Android OS 4.4 and later with at least 1.5GB RAM as well as iPhone 5 and later with iOS 9.0 and above. Gear S3 supported smartphones may vary by carrier and device. For a list of compatible smartphones and features
Samsung Gear S2 Smartwatch - Dark Gray
- Send and receive texts, calendar notifications, news updates and more right on your wrist and Battery performance may vary depending on network conditions and configuration, and device usage
- With rotating bezel and unique circular interface, easily access your apps and notifications.OS-Tizen based wearable platform.Processor speed-Dual core 1GHz exynos 3250
$ 192.97
249.98
amazon.com- Send and receive texts, calendar notifications, news updates and more right on your wrist and Battery performance may vary depending on network conditions and configuration, and device usage
- With rotating bezel and unique circular interface, easily access your apps and notifications.OS-Tizen based wearable platform.Processor speed-Dual core 1GHz exynos 3250
- With a circular design and stainless steel construction, the Gear S2 matches your style
- Thousands of third party apps available
- Interchangeable bands and hundreds of available watch faces. Please refer the User Manual before use. It doesn't have speakers, hence use Level U bluetooth headphones to hear music
In Short…
…get a smartwatch! You may not feel like you necessarily need it, but we’re pretty certain that you’re going to love it. With the immense improvements that these companies have managed to make in smartwatch technology in such a short time, we’re excited to see what kinds of benefits upcoming smart watches will bring. But for now, these models have our team more than satisfied.
We’re glad the watch is making a comeback.
How about you?
