r/smartwatch

I’ve started looking for a birthday gift for my boyfriend and am considering getting him a freediving watch. He goes about once a week for two to three hours for spearfishing, and he doesn’t dive very deep, so he doesn’t need anything too advanced. A smartwatch that can handle moderate depths would be ideal. My budget is around $450–$500. I’ve been looking at the Garmin G1, but I’m not sure if it’s outdated now. I’d love to get him something nice that he can also wear daily.

Anyone have any recs?

Hi,

I have Venu 2S, and have been considering upgrading to Venu 4. But I couldn't shake the thought that I would overpay, as what I am looking for are: smart wake, sleep monitor and insight, and ECG.

Without the smart wake, I could easily go with Venu 3.

I considered the Fitbit Sense 2, however, it needs the app to process the sleep report, and there is no option to turn off the Bluetooth. I like the Garmin interface better. Oh, also, I was thinking about Galaxy Watch, but I don't have a Samsung smartphone, so many features are disabled, so no go.

Is there a better alternative? Like perhaps installing a third party app on Venu 3?

I’ll preface this by saying I’m a 24M and have been investing more time and energy into my fitness and health as of late! I rock climb (indoors and outdoors), run, walk, swim and hit the gym from time to time. The idea of picking up a watch to help keep track of everything I’m doing has been on my mind quite a lot recently and I’ve been wondering which watch I should go with between the big two, that being Apple and Garmin. If anyone could give me some insight on the difference between the two and opinions based on personal usage/experience it would be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I've finally decided it's time to buy my first proper smartwatch, but I'm struggling to choose and I'd really appreciate some advice from people with real-world experience.

I have a 14 cm wrist, so having a small watch (around 40 mm) is really important to me. Most watches I see recommended are 43-47 mm, and I think they'd just look and feel too big.

I use an Android phone and I'm looking for something that I'll hopefully keep for the next few years. My main priorities are good battery life, accurate health tracking (sleep, heart rate, stress, etc.), reliable notifications and general day-to-day usability. I go to the gym a few times a week, but I'm not a serious athlete or runner, so I'm much more interested in an all-round smartwatch than a dedicated sports watch.

My budget is €250 max, and I'm based in Spain, if that makes any difference for pricing or availability.

I'm curious to know what people here would buy in my situation. If you have a similarly small wrist, I'd especially love to hear what you're wearing and whether you're happy with the size. I'm also interested in hearing if there are any watches you think are consistently overlooked or, on the other hand, any popular models you think aren't worth the hype.

Thanks!

As a long time Apple user, I've always been an Apple Watch guy (most recently the Ultra 2). I recently switched to Android for the first time and picked up the OnePlus Watch 4. Since then I've been trying to spend less time on my phone, and I feel like having a full-feature smart watch is working against me.

So, I'm looking for a watch that give some basic functionality (tracking steps, showing weather, sleep, maybe limited notification alterts). Bonus points if it looks more like a traditional watch rather than the big screen watches I'm used to.

I recently found and ordered the Ollee Watch, but feels like I may want something kind of in between. Any suggestions?

Hi everyone!
I’m currently planning to buy either a Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro or Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro.

Context: I have only used Amazfit smartwatches in the past. I absolutely love the functionality and deep customization of Zepp OS, but I feel like Amazfit doesn’t offer any good, clean rectangle designs right now. That's why I'm looking at Huawei for the first time, as their Watch Fit series looks good wrist (16 cm).

I am using an iPhone 16 and want to know how stable the watch operates on iOS nowadays. I’ve heard about some previous issues and want to double-check two specific things before buying:

1. Background App: Do I really need to keep the Huawei Health app constantly locked/open in the iOS background to prevent the watch from disconnecting or missing notifications?

2. AOD Schedule: Is it still true that you cannot set a custom schedule for the Always-On Display (AOD)? I want it to automatically turn off at night so it doesn't wake me up, without having to manually toggle it off.
Also, I have a specific list of requirements for my daily use. Could you please tell me if the Fit 4/5 series covers them properly on iOS?

My Requirements:

1. Alarm: Strong vibration, sound support, and the ability to customize/turn off the sound completely.

2. Notifications & Calls: Clear incoming text preview (with app icons) and seeing who is calling.

3. No "Media Audio" Hijacking: When I accept a call or watch videos (TikTok, YouTube) on my iPhone, does the watch try to play that audio through its built-in speaker? I want the watch to only notify me, but leave the media audio on my phone.

4. Accurate Tracking: Accurate step counting and precise distance calculation (via built-in GPS).

5. Battery Life: At least 5+ days on a single charge.

6. Quick Wake: Fast "raise-to-wake" gesture response without annoying delays.

7. Clean UI: No accidental control panels or bottom drawers popping up when the screen turns on. Just a clean watch face.

8. Customization: Ability to customize left/right swipes and reassign shortcut actions to the physical buttons/crown.

9.Durability & Water Protection: Full freedom to swim everywhere and take hot showers without taking the watch off.

Would you recommend the Fit 4/5 Pro for someone with an iPhone 16 who wants a "set it and forget it" experience, or should I look elsewhere?

Thanks for your help!

Hi all! I’m a previous Apple Watch user who wants to be less connected to their phone (I don’t want notifications for every single thing my phone gets, texts and calls are fine). I’m really debating between a Coros Pace 4 and a Garmin Venu 3s (or 4).

I am a fitness enthusiast who runs, walks, and rollerblades, as well as strength/HIIT training. I love seeing my stats from that and I will integrate to Strava and my Apple health. I also like sleep data.

The only leg up Garmin has for me right now is the fact that the Venu 3s has body temperature measurements that I use for cycle tracking, however, it’s not settling this decision for me as I have other ways to track that if I decide to go with Coros.

Influence/deinfluence me on either of these!

Hi everyone,

I have epilepsy, so I’m looking for an affordable smartwatch that can detect a hard fall/crash and automatically call emergency services or notify my emergency contacts if I’m unconscious or unable to respond.

I know the Apple Watch has this feature, but I’m wondering if any cheaper alternatives are just as reliable.

Has anyone here used a smartwatch for epilepsy safety? I’d really appreciate hearing your recommendations and experiences.

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys,

I've been trying to decide on a smartwatch for the past few days and I'm honestly really confused.

I mainly go to the gym on weekdays, and on weekends I usually play cricket and badminton. So I'm looking for something that can track my workouts, steps, sleep, heart rate, etc. Accuracy is probably my biggest priority.

I was originally planning to get a Fitbit air but it doesn't seem to be available here and now i want a tracker with a screen.

Right now I'm looking at the Amazfit Active 2, Active 3, Active Max, and the Huawei GT 5. My budget is around ₹15k inr, so Garmin is out of the picture.

With the current Amazon sale going on, which one would you guys pick? Is the Active 2 the better buy, or is it worth spending more on the Active 3/Active Max? Or is there something else in this price range that you'd recommend instead?

Would love to hear from people who've actually used any of these. Thanks!

I’m looking into getting my 6 year old a smart watch. I want something where he can contact me and husband and we can contact him. He will only use it for trips and just in case we get separated. I also want to be able to set alarms on him to, for example, come back to where we’re sitting in a soft play at a certain time. That sort of thing. It will need to be a cellular one. Ideally with a step tracker too as he loves tracking steps.

I’ve done lots of research and the more I do, the more conflicting it is.

AI has recommended a few but has basically said that he might be better with an Apple Watch SE with the apps stripped down. I’ve also looked at the K9 which looks good (and certainly easier to use than an Apple Watch! Location services iffy though) and Xplora 6 Play but the reviews are really mixed for that.

Son is autistic if that makes a difference. He’s interested in tech and will be able to figure things out quite quickly. My concern there is his hyper-focus and my worries that he won’t see/hear it ringing if he’s in his own world.

My other option is an AirTag on a watch strap until he’s a bit older but obviously no proper contact here (although good to track where he is!)

Any advice is most welcome. Ideally under £150 but it’s a gift from grandparents so there’s a bit of flex there.

Hey guys,

I am buying my first smart watch. I use a realme p4 pro mobile.
I am searching for a watch in a budget of 3.5k I finally came down to redmi watch 5 lite and samsung galaxy fit 3

My requirements are:
- fitness tracking

- controlling music, notifications and calls from watch

Now I know redmi watch have built-in GPS and calls answering feature but i am worried about fitness tracking accuracy. Meanwhile i know samsung doesn't have built-in GPS or calls answering feature but i heard it is more accurate at fitness tracking.

I'm confused as to what to choose between them. has anyoone had real experience with these watches and can you help me decide please

Any suggestions will help me.

Edit: I am also looking into huawei band 11 as its only 4k and it has all the features but i know about its ban, so any info on how it effects the watch?

I am a very active guy. My main sports are indoor and outdoor climbing year round, volleyball, and skiing and boarding in the winter. Skiing so often that i do atleast 1 or 2 trips a year to the rockies in the west. Next summer will be doing climbing trips there too.. Occasionally mountain bike if im not climbing. I am planning to get into triathlon. I started running recently and will get into swimming too.

I have an s25 ultra if we should consider watch's integration with the phone.

Is fenix 8 most ideal for me? Or does a different watch better suit me?

Update question: bulkiness of the fenix, is that a hindrance to climbing? Any climbers with a fenix here? And add to that, getting my forearms pumped will feel tight, and flexing of the forearm muscles in different ways probably won't get accurate sensor readings too i guess. What does the fenix look like considering this?

So I have a Galaxy Watch 5 that I've had for several years now and the battery is getting old but it still works (have to charge every 22 hours or it dies). My original purpose in getting the watch was to assist with monitoring my health stats and a convenient way to see if a notification is worth looking at my phone for. I sometimes use the media feature when I'm listening to something, the calculator, phone, etc. But my primary needs are: heart rate, sleep time/quality, energy levels, O2, track activity, blood pressure, etc. and the basics of the watch like I mentioned above.

So my question is, is there really a difference in terms of quality, features, and sensitivity in the new ones or should I just keep my 5 and charge every day? If there is that much of a difference, is it present in the 7 for the most part or is the 8 really way better than the 7 for health stuff?

(Also, I don't want the Fit because I do enjoy the non-health features.)

I'm looking for a smart watch that I can basically put on right before bed and take off after a morning workout. No daytime wear. All I need is for it to track sleep, track recovery (whatever methodology that may look like), have a haptic alarm so I don't wake up my wife in the morning, and track heart rate during morning runs. Any suggestions?

Trying to stay under $250

Hello guys, I'm looking for a decent everyday smartwatch that is feature rich.

Doesn't matter if it's that accurate for workouts, main thing that matters to me is the build and screen quality, battery life, good software and anything that's a plus point over other watches really.