What is a smartwatch?
Think of it like a tiny smartphone that you wear on your wrist. As well as obviously telling you the time, it keeps you on top of your notifications by displaying messages and missed calls. There are also a load of models that let you track your fitness and monitor your health.
Reasons you’d want a smartwatch
• Check your text messages when you can’t access your phone
• Make and receive calls
• Control your smart home
• Make payments on-the-go without your wallet or phone
• Help you track and boost your fitness
• Look good! They’re pretty stylish pieces of tech.
Who makes smartwatches?
Smartwatches have been made by all the big brands: Fitbit, Samsung, LG, Sony and Michael Kors. We’ve picked out three of our favourite models for you…
1. Fitbit Versa Special Edition Smartwatch
Key features
• Great health and fitness tracking
• Connects to your phone’s GPS to show pace and distance
• Up to 4 days of battery life
• Water resistance
Fitbit has taken the world by storm since their first tracker launched back in 2013 – but the Fitbit Versa Special Edition takes health monitoring even further.
Whether you’re a gym bunny or a morning swimmer, you’ll get the personalised expertise and guidance you need to stay in the zone. There are over 15 different exercise modes so you’re bound to find one that’s perfect for your workout. On top of that you can track heart rate, calorie burn and your cardio fitness level – so you can smash your personal best.
Fitness aside, the Fitbit Versa can do a ton of other great things. Connect it to your smartphone and use its GPS to keep track of your location and view all of your travelling stats. You can even reply to texts from it when you’re caught up in meetings or busy at the gym.
And the battery on the Fitbit Versa is a dream. Lasting up to four days, you can get through a large chunk of the week without a single recharge.
2. Samsung Galaxy Watch
Key features
• Receive smartphone notifications on your wrist
• Track your workout with built-in routines
• Connect to SmartThings enabled devices
If you’re not always in the position to check your phone but need to be available for important calls and messages, then it’s time to get yourself a Samsung Galaxy Watch.
You’ll receive notifications and calls on its dazzling display – which comes in handy if you’ve left your phone at home or you’re sat in the cinema. This smartphone watch even has a seven-day battery life. So you won’t need to charge it every night with all of your other devices.
Want to add a personal touch? Customise your smartwatch to suit your style with a range of colours, straps and faces available.
Whether you’re already a fitness fanatic or looking to climb new heights, you’re going to love the Galaxy Watch. It tracks your steps, swimming and cycling stats and lets you view them across all of your compatible Samsung devices. It even monitors your sleep to make sure you’re getting a good night’s kip.
If you’ll do anything for an organised life, the Samsung SmartThings feature is for you. Connect this watch to all of your Samsung SmartThings devices, like your fridge, lights and CCTV and control the lot right from your wrist.
3. Samsung Gear Sport
Key features
• Your own fitness centre that helps you workout
• Connect to your phone, Gear VR and laptop
• Includes stand-alone music player
• Water resistance
If you’re always on the go, look no further than the Samsung Gear Sport. This is the ultimate smartwatch for anyone who leads an active life. It does it all.
Always wanted your own personal trainer? No need when you’ve got your very own fitness centre. You can use Samsung Health on your phone to stream workout videos, and Gear Sport even monitors your heart rate on the same screen – so everything’s right where you need it. There are 60 different workouts to choose from (and the list is still growing). Plus, you’ll get constant training to make sure you’re improving your technique.
This device takes your health seriously by monitoring your heart rate every second of the day to truly understand your fitness level. It really gets to know you over time, telling you when you’ve entered your maximum, vigorous and moderate zones.
No workout is complete without your favourite tracks. The Gear Sport is compatible with Spotify Offline so you can exercise to all of your favourite tunes – while giving you up to 3 days of battery life from a single charge. And to top it all off, it comes with 79 pre-loaded watch faces for whenever you feel like a change.
Excited about the awesome new tech of smartwatches? Take a look at our range…
