Best Android Smartwatch?

October 7, 2022 6:36 PM

What's your favorite smartwatch to use with a (non-Samsung) Android phone?

I've been looking at the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, reviews are good and the price is reasonable. However, what is the experience like with a non-Samsung phone? (I have a Google Pixel and not going to switch anytime soon). I do like the round face and the battery life is good enough for my needs. I don't really need the advanced health stuff, though step counting and heartrate tracking is nice.

Is there another smartwatch that would fit my needs, or is the GW4 a good option?

NB: I do see that the Pixel Watch was just announced, however it's a bit too pricy for what it seems to be. I'm also not a fan of buying 1st-gen models.

Thanks all!

posted by cozenedindigo to Technology (9 answers total)

My partner has the Samsung 6 and Pixel phone and had found it good. It runs on Wear OS and seems to be fully compatible (unlike the 3 that I have).
posted by lookoutbelow at 6:57 PM on October 7, 2022

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, that is.
posted by lookoutbelow at 9:05 PM on October 7, 2022

Are you needing input via the watch? I've got an older version of the Mi Band 5 that has been used pretty seamlessly with a couple different Android phones. It gives me notifications; show text messages; display phone calls (and can mute them); track steps, heartbeat, sleep; control Spotify (this is a bit flaky) display weather, and tell time. I can also use it to find my phone. I see they have a larger version available too.

However it doesn't have a microphone or speaker though so anything that would need those things (voice control or listening to Voice Mails for example) won't be supported.

I only paid C$65 for it.
posted by Mitheral at 9:41 PM on October 7, 2022

My wife has a Galaxy watch and it works with her iPhone just fine. I doubt any Android phone would give you any problems.
posted by signal at 4:54 AM on October 8, 2022

TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:18 AM on October 8, 2022

I had a Samsung watch with a different Android phone a couple years ago and found it annoying to use. I had to install multiple Samsung apps on my phone and it still didn't work great.
posted by klugarsh at 7:04 AM on October 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

You might take a look at Amazfit watches (which is somehow related to Mi Bands, mentioned above. From Google: Amazfit is owned by Huami, the exclusive provider of wearable technology for Xiaomi. Since establishing its partnership with Xiaomi 2014, the company has sold over 24 million Mi Bands.)

Anyhoo, I bought a Bip ~ 4 years ago, for ~$70, it's worked out great as a simple smart-ish watch. (This has been with an iphone, tho. But they seem much more geared to the android world, fwiw)
posted by Bron at 8:34 AM on October 8, 2022

You want to wait for the Pixel Watch? Should be out any day now.

EDIT: Nevermind, just saw your addendum. There are a couple models of TicWatch that may be worth checking, and if you mainly need fitness tracking, get a Polar or Garmin and forget WearOS.
posted by kschang at 6:55 PM on October 8, 2022

Take a look at what Garmin has. They're not quite as smart but are better at being a watch. Android integration lets you view notifications and quick reply from a list. No voice assistant, if you use that. But a much longer battery!

For example
posted by dobi at 12:23 AM on October 9, 2022