Google’s Put on OS is without doubt one of the most generally used smartwatch working programs.
Often called Android Put on till it was rebadged a number of years again, there have been loads of new options added in Put on OS 3.5 to assist it compete with the likes of Apple, Garmin and Fitbit.
Over the previous couple of years we have seen Put on OS 3 roll out to the broader steady of smartwatches underneath Google’s banner, from Fossil Group by means of to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and – in fact – Google’s personal Pixel Watch.
On this information, then, we’ll be detailing what we consider are the easiest watches to run on Put on OS by Google. There’s one thing for each finances and each model, and if you happen to’re nonetheless undecided which to go for after studying our selections, dive into the part on how to decide on the appropriate Put on OS smartwatch.
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Google Pixel Watch 2
1. Greatest WearOS expertise
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Basic
2. Greatest WearOS look ahead to conventional watch design
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Mobvoi TicWatch Professional 5
3. Greatest WearOS look ahead to battery life
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
4. Greatest primary Put on OS look ahead to Samsung customers
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Pocket-lint Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Professional
5. Greatest Put on OS watch characteristic set

Google Pixel Watch 2
1. Greatest WearOS expertise
With Fitbit built-in, together with nice well being sensors in a watch that is completely beautiful – and with fluid light-weight software program – the Pixel Watch 2 is a superb all-rounder. With an even bigger measurement obtainable and longer battery it might be virtually excellent.
- Fitbit integration means sensible well being/health monitoring
- Lovely design
- Water-proof to excessive ranges
- Put on OS software program correctly: fluid and quick
- Battery life nonetheless not superb
- No wi-fi charging
There are just a few causes the Pixel Watch 2 makes it to the highest of our listing of one of the best Put on OS watches. However the one characteristic that basically stands out after testing it’s the Fitbit integration. The best way Fitbit interprets your bodily health and efficiency, digests it, after which presents it in a approach that is very easy to grasp makes it certainly one of our favorite health and well being platforms. You’ll be able to go digging down into information if you wish to, however Fitbit affords a approach to perceive the information in a approach that simply is sensible.
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Identical to the first-generation mannequin, the design actually units it aside from the remainder of the Put on OS market. The best way the glass seamlessly curves into the aluminium case is simply beautiful, and the small measurement means these with smaller wrists can simply put on it. What’s extra, the person interface is de facto clear, light-weight, customisable and fluid. It will get rather a lot proper.
That is to not say it is excellent. We might nonetheless like to see longer battery life and assist for wi-fi charging – which appears an uncommon omission – however the remainder of its advantages imply we will reside with it.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Basic
2. Greatest WearOS look ahead to conventional watch design
$370 $400 Save $30
The Watch 6 Basic has all of the superior software program and health options of the Watch 6, however in a watch constituted of chrome steel and with a design that is much more much like a conventional watch than the fundamental mannequin.
- The traditional design appears to be like good
- Rotating bezel means you are not simply restricted to the touchscreen
- Numerous superior health skills
- Sturdy and water-proof
- Massive, brilliant show with skinny bezels
- Battery life may very well be higher
- Numerous preloaded Samsung apps/options
- Not the most affordable
Samsung’s ‘Basic’ variant of the Galaxy Watch 6 affords all the identical options and talents of the common mannequin, however in a product that appears much more like a conventional watch than the bog-standard model does.
Identical to the fundamental mannequin, the Galaxy Watch 6 Basic is available in two sizes, and which means each these with smaller or bigger wrists are well-catered for. And the truth that most of that area on the entrance is taken up by show means you get nice visibility from the intense, colour-rich panel.
The place Samsung’s watches differ from Google’s, is the expertise may be very closely skinned and geared in the direction of being tightly built-in with Samsung telephones. Meaning Samsung Well being for health monitoring, Samsung Pay for cellular funds and Bixby because the default assistant. Nonetheless, as a result of it is Put on OS, you possibly can nonetheless have Google’s inventory choices as a substitute.
It is a fully-featured watch that appears like a watch, but in addition has respectable battery life, an awesome display screen and it is designed to take a beating. Plus, that rotating bezel across the show means it has a singular promoting level.

Mobvoi TicWatch Professional 5
3. Greatest WearOS look ahead to battery life
The Mobvoi TicWatch Professional 5 affords unrivalled battery life because of its intelligent dual-layer show know-how. It is also the quickest choice obtainable, because of the inclusion of the most recent Snapdragon W5+ chip.
- Glorious battery life
- Intelligent dual-display know-how
- The most recent Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip
- No Google Assistant
- Bloated app construction
- Missing compelling health software program
The most important downside with Put on OS smartwatches is that the system may be very battery-hungry, so choices that may final for greater than a day on a cost are few and much between. Mobvoi has solved this downside on the TicWatch Professional 5. It makes use of an ingenious ultra-low-power always-on show, which is layered excessive of the OLED panel. This provides you the advantages of an all-day show, with out the battery drain, and signifies that this watch can simply go 4 days between costs with most good options enabled.
If that wasn’t sufficient, it is also the primary watch to sport Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip, which implies it is one of many quickest and smoothest Put on OS experiences we have needed to date.
It isn’t all excellent. It is solely obtainable in black, and in a single (fairly chunky) measurement – so it will not be the appropriate watch for everybody. Plus, the health monitoring platform is not as succesful or nicely thought by means of as Fitbit on the Pixel Watch or Samsung Well being on the Galaxy Watch. However for sheer efficiency and for the cash, it is top-of-the-line fashions obtainable in the present day.

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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
4. Greatest primary Put on OS look ahead to Samsung customers
$260 $300 Save $40
Galaxy Watch 6 is Samsung’s newest smartwatch, providing a bigger display screen and quicker processor than its predecessors. It is also extra sturdy and cozy to put on.
- Comfy and light-weight
- Inexpensive worth
- Tonnes of helpful health options
- Bloated software program
- Design is a bit plain
In case you’re a Samsung telephone person, few smartwatches will provide the companion expertise to your telephone like the most recent Galaxy Watch. It is designed to tie in completely together with your Samsung, together with entry to any of the Samsung account options. Of these, Samsung Well being is the driving force of the expertise and affords an enormous variety of health and well being options.
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You get in-depth sleep insights and training, plus superior well being metrics just like the physique composition software that may inform you how a lot of your mass is skeletal muscle, fats or water. Add that to correct coronary heart fee throughout exercises, superior operating perception, and the same old collection of SpO2, stress and ECG sensors, and also you get just about all you may ask for in a watch.
It isn’t an enormous enchancment on the Galaxy Watch 5, however the extra sturdy Sapphire Crystal on the display screen, the bigger show and smoother efficiency are all welcome upgrades. In case you get the fundamental mannequin you will not should pay all that a lot for it both.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Professional
5. Greatest Put on OS watch characteristic set
$399.99 $449.99 Save $50
The highest of the road Galaxy Watch affords nice battery life, construct high quality and a wealthy characteristic listing.
- Good battery life
- Nice-looking, sturdy design
- Sturdy characteristic set and many health monitoring choices
- It is just a little costly
- Solely works with Android telephones
On the subject of a steadiness of options, efficiency and worth, the Galaxy Watch 5 Professional strikes the appropriate steadiness. You will simply get 2-3 days of battery from the watch, if no more, and it has all of the sensors for health monitoring that you simply’d want.
That features an correct multi-band GPS system, and a really correct coronary heart fee sensor that works nicely – even for HIIT periods – plus you get all the correct smartwatch stuff like offline music, contactless funds and interactive notifications, downloadable apps and messages.
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With its sturdy Titanium case, raised bezel and Sapphire Crystal show, it will possibly take a beating too. All in a tool which – whereas not low cost – will not be hideously costly both. The one actual draw back is that Samsung solely affords it in a single measurement and in two totally different case colors. Apart from that, it is nice. There is a motive Samsung saved it in its product portfolio after launching the Galaxy Watch 6.

Tag Heuer Related Calibre E4
6. Greatest luxurious Put on OS watch
It could be restricted on the health monitoring entrance, however there is no smartwatch that compares with the Tag by way of craftsmanship and design.
- Beautiful design
- Sturdy construct
- Nice wanting customized watch faces
- Very costly
- Coronary heart fee sensor is not superb
For some, the best smartwatch is one which’s received that premium, luxurious really feel, however nonetheless delivers the fundamentals you’d count on from a wrist-worn gadget. That is the place the Tag Heuer Related Calibre E4 is available in.
The case is a surprising, sculpted and polished hunk of titanium, and it is capped off with sapphire crystal and ceramic, with nice consideration to element. Even the buttons have that appear and feel of a characteristic the designers actually cared about. They’re so clicky, sensible and handsome.
Add to that some very properly rendered customized watch faces – with sensible AOD modes, and one of the best watch strap design you are prone to ever see on a smartwatch, and you’ve got a very high-end piece of good jewellery.
It is costly, and the guts fee sensor is not very responsive, nevertheless it’s an awesome watch.
How to decide on a Put on OS smartwatch
It is really a really fascinating time to purchase a Put on OS smartwatch – and that is one thing that hasn’t essentially been true over the previous couple of years. With Put on OS 3/Put on OS 3.5 and the Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 ushering in a brand new era of efficiency and extra corporations launching watches, what do you have to think about before you purchase?
We have answered the next queries that will help you slim down your selection from the choices above.
Does your smartwatch want Put on OS 3?
As we have lined all through this information, the arrival of Put on OS 3 was a reasonably large landmark for the platform. You’ll be able to learn all in regards to the ins and outs of the replace in our Put on OS 3 explainer, however, primarily, Samsung’s Tizen and Google’s Put on OS had been blended into one unified platform. The result’s massive efficiency will increase, new options (like app switching, improved watch faces, improved Tiles) and a health monitoring expertise that will likely be powered by Google-owned Fitbit (at the least on the Google Pixel Watch). Most watches launched now run on this newest model of Put on OS.
What’s going to you employ a smartwatch for?
Irrespective of which Put on OS smartwatch you choose, it should match into your life-style. As we all the time advise with our smartwatch or health tracker guides, it’s good to perceive what you will really use your smartwatch for.
Do you train rather a lot? Likelihood is it’s good to focus your consideration on one thing just like the Pixel Watch 2 or Galaxy Watch 5 Professional. Do you favor one thing that promotes model and smartwatch options? You are probably greatest wanting on the Galaxy Watch 6 Basic. Need one thing that may do all of it, irrespective of the value tag? Take a look at the TAG Heuer Related Calibre E4.
How a lot do it’s good to spend?
Value is all the time an important issue, which is why our listing incorporates a assorted vary. Nonetheless, that is made fairly easy, too, by the truth that Put on OS smartwatches are, in our view, very fairly priced in comparison with rival fashions from Apple.
The reality is, not like with Apple Watch units, spending extra does not essentially grant you a greater Put on OS expertise. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Basic is an excellent watch, nevertheless it additionally does not break the financial institution. The Tag Heuer Related, in the meantime, is extra primary on the software program entrance however prices a four-figure sum.
As we have outlined, it is extra vital to choose a watch that is future-proofed and suits your life-style.
Put on OS v Apple Watch – which is greatest?
Traditionally, the Apple Watch has far outperformed the capabilities of Put on OS. Nonetheless, with the arrival of Put on OS 3, that hole is closing, particularly with the arrival of the Pixel Watch. Likewise, the most recent Samsung watches are, as we have mentioned, an awesome instance of what the platform is able to.
For a full rating of units from throughout totally different ecosystems, try our full greatest smartwatch information.