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The best smartwatches for women are both stylish and functional. When looking for a new wearable, making sure that it can fit your needs and lifestyle should be the deciding factor. You should be considering the price before purchase, but there are plenty of devices made to fit just about any budget.
All smartwatches should be able to track your activity and map out your sleep patterns. More advanced watches can connect to your cell phone for even more possibilities, like receiving notifications and dedicated pay systems. Take, for example, the Apple Watch Series 5 at Apple, which can answer texts and calls, track your activity and sleep, records your heart rate, offers Apple Pay, and even more! If Apple isn’t your brand of choice, the Fitbit Versa 2 at Amazon can connect to both Apple and Android products making it versatile. The Versa is also waterproof, so it can accompany you even while swimming.
If you're wondering what smartwatches can do for you, our guide to smartwatches will help answer all of your questions before committing to one of the best smartwatches for women.
The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is the latest and greatest iteration of this fitness smartwatch from Samsung. This Android and iOS compatible wearable now has improved sensors, built-in GPS, and more size options than it's predecessor.
While most wearables are content to stop at a step counter, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 is capable of tracking up to 39 different fitness activities, ranging from cycling to rowing or swimming. As of February of this year, Samsung's health app now also offers menstrual cycle tracking, a noticeably absent feature from the original wearable.
This wearable also comes in a variety of colors for both its 40 and 44mm watch faces, as well as different bands available in either leather or sweat friendly nylon. But there are a virtually limitless number of 3rd party wristbands for this wearable that allow it to suit nearly any style.
The Galaxy Watch Active 2 can las several days on a single charge and can even be topped off from other Samsung devices through its convenient Wireless PowerShare feature.
The Fitbit Versa 2 is a remarkably capable and full-featured smartwatch that costs a fraction of its Apple analog. The low-cost alternative to Apple’s watch is both a qualified fitness tracker and smartwatch, compatible with iOS as well as Android.
Pair it with your smartphone and you’ll receive all your calls, messages and notifications, plus it’ll track things such as your heart rate, sleep, menstrual cycle, and activity. The battery lasts about three days on a single charge, which is exceptional if you’re comparing it to the Apple Watch, but disappointing if you compare it to other Fitbit models. But if you didn’t have to charge it, you’d likely never take it off because it’s fully waterproof, meaning you can wear it in the shower (and even in the swimming pool), and also so comfortable you can sleep with it on.
The rugged and stylish designers at Fossil pulled out all the stops with their Gen 5 Juliana Smartwatch. This WearOS powered smartwatch is a drastic improvement over Fossil's previous iterations, providing you with all the features you've come to expect from wearables and blending that seamlessly with a classic watch style that can be customized for a variety of users.
The Fossil Juliana now features built-in GPS tracking as well as heart rate and activity tracking powered by Google Fit making it a solid option for fitness in addition to being an effective accessory. While Google Fit doesn't natively support menstrual cycle tracking, it can still import data from 3rd party apps like Clue or Glow and the 8Gb of onboard storage provides you with plenty of space for 3rd party apps as well as music.
While currently only available in a 44mm face format, the Fossil Juliana comes in a variety of finishes and bands to complete any look making it an excellent accessory despite its steep price.
Perhaps the most feature-rich digital timepiece on the market, the Huawei Watch 2 Sport is part fitness tracker, part smartwatch, part digital assistant. The design is sporty and, by some standards, a bit chunky, but highly functional with a removable and sweat-proof silicone strap. It’s also refreshingly light, considering it packs in GPS, NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G SIM, a Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset and 768MB of RAM, plus a relatively small 1.2-inch, 390 x 390 display.
Thanks to the NFC support, you can use Android Pay, and the SIM card means you can receive calls, as well as send and receive messages without being tethered to your phone. It runs Wear OS 2.0 (formerly Android Wear), giving you access to a host of helpful apps. Athletes will find the Workout Coach feature especially valuable, with the ability to track heart rate, sleep stages and even recovery times and Vo2 max.
Sleek, simple to use, and invitingly affordable, the Samsung Galaxy Fit might not have any extra bells and whistles, but it does have everything you want from a fitness tracker. It automatically tracks your steps, heart rate, caffeine intake and sleep patterns with the utmost accuracy, and its thin and light design transitions easily from the gym to the boardroom. The battery can last up to a week, and when paired with a Galaxy smartphone, you’ll be able to receive notifications, check your calendar and even monitor the weather, all from your wrist. You’ll also receive notifications if your heart rate is too high or low.
The full-color AMOLED display is always on, and the device is built to have military-grade durability so it can handle everything from extreme temperatures to tumbles to swimming sessions. The Galaxy Fit is available in two colors — black and silver — and is compatible with Android and iOS.
The new Apple Watch Series 4 is designed for the woman on the go. The new S4 dual-core 64-bit CPU means the watch will run twice as fast as the Series 3 and features a speaker and a microphone on opposite sides of the watch for clearer phone calls and communication with Siri. A new electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor tracks heart health for overall wellness and those with an active lifestyle can take advantage of the improved accelerometer and gyroscope, which can read motion data eight times faster. Everyone needs some "me time," and the Breathe app guides wearers through a series of deep breaths, perfect to end a yoga session or a long day.
To ensure the watch is primed for the wearer, there are eight new "complications," allowing the user to control what the corner shows or create new shortcuts to contacts, time zones, or favorite apps. For full customization, the watch is available in two different sizes — 40mm and 44mm — and six colors, including three different aluminum and three different stainless steel finishes. It is also compatible with past bands.
Today’s digital watches and smartwatches can get pretty pricey, but there are plenty of budget options that flaunt many of the same features. Our favorite is this TOOBUR fitness tracker watch. It has 14 different activity modes that measure stats like steps, distance, calories burned and heart rate. It can also track your sleep trends throughout the night.
In addition, it syncs with your smartphone (Android 4.4 and above; IOS 7.1 and above) to serve up messages in notifications so you always stay connected. It’s smaller and narrower than most other watches on this list but still manages to deliver most of the same benefits. If you don’t need all the bells and whistles, why pay for them? This TOOBUR watch offers all the basics, and at a fraction of the price.
This sleek-looking smartwatch marks the fashion brand's second attempt at a touchscreen display smartwatch. And inside its stylish casing, the Kate Spade Scallop 2 packs a serious set of features that improve on its predecessor. Powered by Google's Wear OS, the Scallop has 4GB of internal storage for storing music and apps, as well as customizable watch faces, smartphone notifications, and voice activation with Google Assistant. Fortunately, iOS users aren’t left in the dark — Scallop connects to any iPhone running iOS 9.3 or above as well as AndroidOS version 4.4 or higher.
This smartwatch pairs easily with Bluetooth 4.1 headphones. The watch face, designed with Kate Spade's iconic blend of sophistication and playfulness, is 42mm across and only 9mm thick with a band that's styled like a traditional adjustable watchband. And, with 24 hours of battery life, there’s more than enough power in the Scallop to last you all day.
Most of the smartwatches out there appeal mainly to techies and fitness enthusiasts. Their designs, while sleek and functional, don’t always fit your outfit. Michael Kors’ 4th generation Sofie smartwatch, on the other hand, keeps you both connected and classy.
While previous versions of this watch were notably lacking important fitness features like heart rate monitoring, the latest version of the Sofie includes many of the glaring omissions from its previous versions. The watch still includes a Snapdragon 2100 CPU for snappy performance as well as 4GB of storage for apps and music.
This piece operates on WearOS 2.0, and with the Michael Kors Access app, you can customize the watch face. You can even set the watch face to automatically change at a certain time, helping you transition your day look to your night look. All of these features make the 4th generation of the Sofie smartwatch an excellent accessory and a capable fitness tracker as well.
There are plenty of smartwatches that offer well-rounded features and enviable style, our top pick for a wearable that brings together a solid mix of both is the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2. However, the Fitbit Versa 2 comes in at a close second. It may not be the flashiest contender on our list, but it brings together a strong list of fitness tracking features while offering customization options to suit nearly any style.
Style - You no longer have to sacrifice on aesthetics when it comes to choosing a smartwatch. These days, there's a wide range of styles available, from sporty to techie to designer. Choose an option that you won't mind showing off on a regular basis.
Price - Early smartwatches were wildly expensive, but they’ve started to come down in price and are now more on par with traditional watches. Most hover in the $200 range, but you can find basic options for as little as $30.
Functionality - It may look cool, but does your smartwatch truly add value to your life? At their most basic, smartwatches can track your activity level and sleep patterns. However, more advanced models can also act as a smart assistant, working together with your phone to notify you of new messages and upcoming appointments. Some even have support for Apple Pay or Android Pay, so you never have to whip out your credit card again.