Smartwatch buying guide

When you wear a smartwatch, you have the ability to stay connected and multitask conveniently and efficiently. Smartwatches sync with your smartphone, passing on noteworthy information to your wrist. Common notifications can be incoming calls, messages, e-mails, and more. That allows you to keep your phone out of your hands, without missing out on what’s important. And that’s all on top of how smartwatches track activity, exercise, and other health metrics and important vitals. This guide can help you learn about how a smartwatch can suit your lifestyle.

Smartwatch Buying Guide Quick Reference Handout

Table of contents

1. Which smartwatch should you buy?
2. Benefits of wearing a smartwatch
3. Style and display choices
4. Best smartwatch brands to consider
5. Which smartwatch is right for you?
6. Special features and customization with the app
7. Smartwatch FAQs

Which smartwatch should you buy?

If you’re wondering which smartwatch is right for you, the best choice depends on your smartphone, lifestyle, and budget. Here’s a quick guide to help you narrow down your options.

If you’re…	Consider…	Why
An iPhone user	Apple Watch	Best integration with iPhone, Apple Health, Apple Fitness+, messaging and calling
An Android user	Samsung Galaxy Watch or Google Pixel Watch	Strong Android integration, Google apps, health tracking
Focused on fitness	Garmin	Excellent GPS accuracy, long battery life and advanced sports tracking
Looking for everyday wellness	Fitbit	Easy-to-use activity, sleep and health tracking
Spending less	Amazfit or Fitbit	Great value with core smartwatch features

Not sure yet? The sections below explain what features matter most and how to choose the right smartwatch for your needs.

Benefits of wearing a smartwatch

Like any watch, a smartwatch will tell you the time. But the “smart” in smartwatch comes with all the other features you get with it.

Phone notifications

For the most part, wearing a smartwatch is like extending your smartphone to your wrist. While paired with your smartphone, many smartwatches can display the same notifications from your phone. It’s a convenient way to see pertinent and timely information. This can include reminders, calendar alerts, alarms, and notifications from your favorite compatible apps.

Activity tracking

Activity tracking works in much the same way. Whether you’re out for a long walk or just strolling through the neighbourhood, a smartwatch will track all those steps and gauge how many calories you burn while doing it. The same is true while going for a run, no matter how vigorous or leisurely it might be. Many have deeper exercise tracking for working out at the gym, cycling, hiking, swimming, and dozens of other activities.

All day 24/7 health tracking

Passive tracking also applies when wearing a smartwatch. Health rate monitoring and accuracy grew considerably over the years, which has since led to additional features. Onboard sensors can measure blood oxygen, skin temperature, electrocardiogram (ECG), blood pressure, and more, depending on the watch. Sleep tracking has also greatly improved to provide insight into how well you slept on any given night.

Connectivity

Smartwatches generally connect via Bluetooth to maintain constant connectivity when paired with an Android or iOS smartphone or tablet. Some also support Wi-Fi, which you can use for certain features where necessary. Others take it further with LTE support, letting them operate independently of the phone itself. In this case, however, you would need a separate carrier plan.

Style and display choices

Display quality

The display is one of the first things you’ll notice when using a smartwatch. Most modern smartwatches feature bright OLED or AMOLED displays that deliver vibrant colours, deep blacks, and excellent contrast while remaining easy to read indoors and outdoors. Entry-level models may use LCD displays, while some rugged or fitness-focused watches use monochrome displays to maximize battery life. If you plan to wear your smartwatch outdoors, look for a bright display with an Always-On Display option so you can quickly check the time, notifications, or workout stats without waking the screen.

Stronger glass

Smartwatch displays are built with different types of protective glass depending on the model. Corning Gorilla Glass offers excellent everyday durability and scratch resistance, while premium models may use sapphire crystal, which provides even greater protection against scratches and impacts. If you’re particularly active or spend a lot of time outdoors, a watch with sapphire glass may be worth considering.

Water-resistance

Most smartwatches are designed to handle everyday exposure to water, whether you’re caught in the rain, washing your hands, or going for a swim. The most common ratings are IP68 and 5ATM. IP68 protects against dust and brief water immersion, while 5ATM means the watch is suitable for swimming and water-based workouts. Some rugged smartwatches offer ratings up to 10ATM for more demanding outdoor activities. Regardless of the rating, it’s best to rinse your smartwatch after exposure to saltwater or heavily chlorinated pools.

Watch bands

One of the easiest ways to personalize your smartwatch is by changing the band. Many models support interchangeable or quick-release straps, making it simple to switch between silicone bands for workouts, leather or stainless steel for the office, or fabric options for everyday comfort. Before buying additional bands, check whether your smartwatch uses standard lugs or a proprietary attachment system.

Popular smartwatch features

What makes a smartwatch versatile is how extra features figure into the wider feature set. And that list is only getting longer. Here are some that are usually available:

Notifications

Smartwatches can display notifications from your phone so you don’t have to pull it out every time there’s a “ding” or vibration. These can include calls, messages, e-mails, social media posts and “likes,” reminders, alarms, even news headlines. They are customizable, so you decide which notifications you ultimately want to see pop up on your watch.

If you prefer to maintain some privacy, you could have notifications alert you without showing anything, or keep them quiet altogether. You can also decide whether you want the watch to beep or vibrate, depending on your preference.

Voice control

You can talk to your smartwatch the same way you would from your phone. Popular voice assistants, like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa, may be embedded and active on your wrist, depending on the watch and associated brand.

Smartwatches with built-in speakers may offer the option to make and receive calls directly without having to pick up the phone. So long as the watch is within Bluetooth range when paired with your phone, or has its own cellular data connection, it’s an easy task.

Music

You may have the option to store your own music on your watch’s internal memory for playback without a data or Wi-Fi connection. In some cases, you can pair Bluetooth headphones directly with the smartwatch and listen to music without the phone. There may also be tighter integration or support for popular music streaming services. In this case, you can control music playing on your phone through your watch.

Payments

Have you ever used your phone to pay for something at a store or restaurant? Some smartwatches will let you do that straight from your wrist. All you need to do is load your debit or credit cards in the app and you can tap to pay right from your wrist. Some allow you to add other cards as well, like loyalty cards, IDs, transit passes, and more. In some countries, you can even load your driver’s license, work ID, and more.

Link alarm

If you venture too far away from the wireless range of your paired phone, the watch may trigger an audible or vibrating alert. You can also use finding features so your phone can find your watch or vice versa.

Smart home control

With some of the latest premium smartwatches, you can use the watch as a remote for smart home devices. This might be to activate a scene, like turning on lights. It could be to view a feed from a compatible smart security camera or video doorbell. You can also control or receive updates from smart appliances, like to know when the washing machine has finished its cycle.

Safety features

Some of the latest, most premium smartwatches have a variety of safety features above and beyond the usual. This most commonly includes fall detection, which will notify predetermined people if a fall is detected. Others you might find include car crash detection, SOS mode, even the ability for loved ones to follow your route to a destination and you to safely check in once you arrive.

Best smartwatch brands to consider

There are abundant choices to make when it comes to which smartwatch you should strap on your wrist. The best options are those that will do the most for your lifestyle and activity goals. You’ll also need something that will be compatible with the phone you’re using. For example, the Apple Watch will only work with iOS devices, as it’s not compatible with Android. The same is true in reverse for Samsung Galaxy Watches, which are no longer compatible with iPhones. They work with all Android devices, but some features are locked to Samsung Galaxy phones. With that in mind, here are some smartwatches to look out for:

Apple

The Apple Watch is the best choice for iPhone users, offering seamless integration with Apple Health, Apple Fitness+, Apple Pay, messaging, calls, and a wide range of third-party apps. The latest models also include advanced health and safety features such as ECG, sleep tracking, fall detection, and crash detection. While battery life typically lasts about a day, fast charging helps keep you going with minimal downtime.

Fitbit

Fitbit’s smartwatch lineup include the Versa and Sense series, focus on everyday health and wellness. They offer activity tracking, sleep monitoring, heart rate tracking, and guided fitness insights while working with both Android and iPhone. Sense models include additional health sensors, while Versa models provide many of the same core fitness features at a lower price.

Google

Google Pixel Watch combines Wear OS with Fitbit’s health expertise, making it a great option for Android users—especially those with a Google Pixel phone. It offers seamless Google app integration, health and sleep tracking, contactless payments, and growing safety features in a compact design.

Garmin

Garmin offers smartwatches for everyone from casual exercisers to serious athletes. The Forerunner series is designed for runners, Fenix and Instinct models are built for outdoor adventures, while vívoactive and Venu combine everyday smartwatch features with advanced fitness tracking. Garmin watches are known for their outstanding GPS accuracy, long battery life, and compatibility with both Android and iPhone.

Samsung

Samsung Galaxy smartwatch combines comprehensive health tracking with Google’s Wear OS, making it one of the best smartwatch options for Android users. It works with most Android phones, while Samsung Galaxy phone owners unlock additional health and ecosystem features. The Galaxy Watch lineup includes everyday models as well as rugged options like the Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Citizen

Citizen offers hybrid smartwatches that blend the look of a traditional analog watch with modern smart features like activity tracking, notifications, and wellness monitoring. They’re a good choice for anyone who wants smartwatch functionality in a classic watch design, and they work with both Android and iPhone.

Which smartwatch is right for you?

Buying a smartwatch isn’t one-size-fits-all. Different users prioritize different features, from advanced fitness tracking to parental controls or smartphone compatibility.

Best smartwatch for adults

Adults typically benefit most from smartwatches that balance productivity, health tracking and communication. Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Google Pixel Watch and Garmin all offer excellent options depending on your smartphone and activity level.

Best smartwatch for teens

Teenagers often want a smartwatch that keeps them connected, tracks fitness and supports everyday activities like messaging and music. Battery life, durability and smartphone compatibility are important considerations.

Read our guide: How to choose a smartwatch for your teen.

Best smartwatch for kids

For younger children, features like GPS tracking, calling, parental controls and School Mode are often more important than app ecosystems.

Read our guide: How to choose a smartwatch for kids.

Smartwatch features to look for

Smartwatches track all of your basic activity metrics including steps, distance, speed, pace, calories burned, and in some cases, elevation. It compiles all of the data you track for easy access on your watch. You can also sync your data with an app on your phone, where you can monitor your improvement over days, weeks, months, and years.

Standard activity and exercise tracking

Built-in pedometers and accelerometers enable smartwatches to track all types of movement. Altimeters are another standard feature to track elevation, also telling you how many flights of stairs—or an approximate equivalent—you climb every day. Exercise tracking continues to be more sophisticated, offering a variety of workouts that include hiking, biking, running, HIIT training, weight training, cross-training, aerobics, yoga, and many more.

The embedded heart monitor tracks heart rate throughout any activity or workout, including peak heart rate, resting heart rate, and whether you crossed a max heart rate threshold. This doesn’t have to stay on land, either. Manufacturers are also making their smartwatches more ruggedly durable with 5ATM (and more) water resistance so it’s easier to track swimming and waterborne activities.

Exercise tracking also goes hand-in-hand with new health-tracking features that can provide a better sense of how you’re doing. Here are some that stand out:

SpO2 (Pulse Oximeter)

Smartwaches with SpO2 sensors are essentially pulse oximeters that can read blood oxygen levels. They do it by shining infrared light through the wrist, reflecting off blood tissue containing oxygen back to the sensor to provide a percentage displayed on the watch. Some SpO2 sensors can function at any time, whereas others may take most readings during sleep.

ECG (Electrocardiogram)

An ECG measures a heart’s rhythm and electrical activity and is best used by anyone who is at least 22 years old. Smartwatches with ECG capabilities look for signs of atrial fibrillation (Afib), otherwise known as an irregular heartbeat. ECG features aren’t available on every smartwatch, even if the technology exists on it. That’s because the feature requires approval from government regulators. In Canada, the ECG features on select Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch models have been approved and are available to use.

Daily readiness

Some smartwatches use data from multiple sensors to gauge daily readiness. To get a score, the watch will compare heart rate variability (HRV) readings with daily activity and sleep quality. It will then intelligently assess how prepared you are for light or vigorous activity when you wake up to start your day. The higher the score, the more intensely you can work out. Lower scores indicate fatigue or stress. Various smartwatches may offer a variation of this feature.

Sleep tracking

Wearing a smartwatch to bed allows it to track sleep quality through various metrics. This is a common feature on current smartwatches that tracks your heart rate and blood oxygen (SpO2), while the accelerometer senses how much you move. Sleep tracking includes a breakdown of time spent in each sleep cycle (light, deep, REM), along with details on whether you were restless or awake at any point while asleep. Some of the latest smartwatches even offer advanced sleep coaching.

Vitals

The most premium smartwatches add new vitals features that takes into account all of your data to provide you with a comprehensive picture of your health. They can advise if any outliers are detected in vitals like blood oxygen, sleep duration, heart rate, and recovery.

Sleep apnea

A popular variable now being offered in some smartwatches, namely the Apple Watch Series 10, is sleep apnea detection. This feature measures you breathing and breathing disturbances throughout the night for a period of 30 days. From there, it can look at how many (if any) instances you experiences and advise if possible sleep apnea is detected. This is a crucial feature for those who might suspect they suffer from sleep apnea but have never been officially tested. From there, they can take the data to a doctor or other medical professional for further assessment.

How to make the most of your smartwatch with the app

App support plays an important role in what a smartwatch can do. It’s where you see all your historical and current data. They also tie the watch to your phone in helpful ways, like using a locator feature in case you can’t find your phone. In addition to using the app that works with the smartwatch, many also allow you to sync other apps to view all your data in one place. This could include running apps like Strava, smart scale apps like Withings, or food tracking apps like MyFitnessPal. Additionally, some smartwatches work with companion subscription apps, like Fitbit Premium and Apple Fitness+.

Here are some companion apps, both free and paid, that stand out:

Garmin Connect and Connect IQ

Garmin Connect displays all the pertinent information coming from your Garmin smartwatch, with weekly, monthly, and yearly stats indicating progress. A highly customizable interface enables you to choose the order in which you see the data you want. Separate sections challenge you to hit new goals or start new workouts. Training and Planning is a deep dive into exercise and training routines that tie into Garmin Coach. This unique feature keeps tabs on both your progress and keeps you honest about meeting your goals.

Within Connect, there is a Connect IQ Store to download compatible apps and watch faces for your Garmin watch. It’s even possible to add golf courses and make use of specific features through a separate app called Garmin Golf. The level of overall tracking features in Connect is perhaps the most extensive available from any brand.

Apple Fitness+

Along with the Apple Health, Apple Fitness, and Apple Watch apps, the Apple Watch also works with Fitness+, Apple’s subscription-based exercise platform. Accessible through the Apple Fitness app, it affords access to guided workouts of all types, along with running and walking guidance, meditation, and more. Of course, everything is set to Apple Music playlists. You can watch the guided video workouts on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, even on a big screen through mirrororing or Apple TV devices. The workout stats appear on the watch screen so you can follow along in real-time. Hosted by real-life fitness enthusiasts and experts, every exercise comes with guidance over form and pace. There are tons of workouts, from beginner to expert, in various durations. You can also set up custom workout plans.

Fitbit Premium

Fitbit Premium is a subscription-based service found within the Fitbit app, which is transitioning to Google account logins. Along with provided more in-depth details about your health and wellness, there’s also access to guided workout, health information and articles, mental wellness guides, nutrition information, and more. It enables a Daily Readiness score with stress tracking (on certain Fitbit devices). This provides insight into how you’re doing and what your body might be ready to do to get active. The Fitbit Premium subscription works with both Fitbit and Google Pixel smartwatches.

Samsung Health

This is the primary app that works with Samsung Galaxy Watch models. It’s used to track all activity metrics while offering insights into health and wellness at the same time. It uses the various sensors on compatible Galaxy Watches to get a body composition measurement. Then, use that to tailor workout goals or targets that work for you. It also tracks route information based on the watch’s onboard GPS to read distance and pace relative to movement. Sleep tracking can include snore detection, while coaching tips come from analyzing sleep patterns to look for ways to improve poor habits.

Citizen Connected

Designed for Citizen CZ Smart hybrid and touchscreen smartwatches, it takes the data from the watch to show your activity metrics, including whether you hit your daily goal or not. You can customize the watch face and set controls for music and other apps that send notifications to you through the watch.

Where to buy a smartwatch in Canada

Find the right smartwatch at Best Buy Canada

From special features that range from activity tracking, voice control, quick payment, and more, there are lots of options when it comes to finding the right smartwatch for your lifestyle. Check out a wide selection of all types of smartwatches at Best Buy Canada.

Smartwatch buying guide FAQs

What is the best smartwatch?

The best smartwatch depends on your smartphone and priorities. Apple Watch is ideal for iPhone users, Samsung Galaxy Watch and Google Pixel Watch work best with Android phones, while Garmin excels for athletes and Fitbit focuses on everyday wellness tracking.

Should I buy an LTE smartwatch?

Choose an LTE smartwatch if you want to make calls, send messages or stream music without carrying your phone. Keep in mind you’ll usually need a separate cellular plan from your carrier.

Which smartwatch has the best battery life?

Garmin smartwatches generally offer the longest battery life, often lasting several days or even weeks depending on the model. Apple Watch and Google Pixel Watch typically require more frequent charging because of their advanced smart features.

Can I use any smartwatch with any phone?

Not always. Apple Watch only works with iPhone. Samsung Galaxy Watch and Google Pixel Watch are designed for Android phones, while Garmin, Fitbit and many other brands work with both Android and iPhone.