The best smartwatches of 2023

Ivan, 28 December 2023

Smartwatches are quietly becoming one of the must-have personal devices for any modern person. Being a wearable is an easy way to get into a person's life, become a part of his routines, and eventually under his skin. Many people are used to wearing a watch (or a band) during the day and with the ever-improving sleep and health tracking on watches these days, we keep on wearing them into the night as well.

Everyone makes a smartwatch and they're all pretty good nowadays. But some are better than others - here's our list of the best ones that came out this year.

Apple Watch Series 9

Unsurprisingly, the ubiquitous Apple Watch is first on the list. The latest version, Series 9 added the faster S9 SiC, which enables the double tap gesture, and on-device Siri. The display is brighter at 2,000 nits.

The Apple Watch Series 9 is simply the best watch for most iPhone users - simple as that.

Apple Watch Ultra 2

But if you want the absolute best watch for iPhone users, period, you should be getting the Apple Watch Ultra 2. The latest model got a customizable Action button, the rotating crown is more tactile for easier gloved use, the same speedier S9 SiC with double tap gesture, on-device Siri, and precise directional device tracking with an iPhone 15.

Smasung Galaxy Watch6

Samsung consistently makes some of the best Android smartwatches and the Galaxy Watch6 is its latest and best one. The latest model has a 0.1-inch bigger display (and 0.1-inch smaller bezels) in the same body. The rest is practically lifted off the Watch5 - sapphire crystal protecting the display, a 5nm SoC (though it's 930 vs 920), Google's Wear OS 4 with One UI Watch 5.

Smasung Galaxy Watch6 Classic

The Samsung Galax Watch6 Classic triumphantly brought back the rotating bezel after a year's absence, stretched the display further into the dial and called it a day. It's Samsung's best watch in 2023 but we can't help but lament Samsung didn't make a Watch6 Pro - rotating bezel aside, the Galaxy Watch5 Pro is a better watch than the Watch6 Classic.

Huawei Watch GT 4

All of the watches we mentioned above have one thing in common - they only last a few days on a charge - or just one in Apple's case. That's where the Huawei Watch GT 4 comes into play. Huawei touts two weeks of battery life - we got almost a week in our review, not bad at all. The Huawei Watch GT 4 is well-specced, looks great, and costs just €269. You're losing some smarts compared to Samsung's Google Wear OS watches, but for sleep and health tracking, and workouts, the Huawei watch is great.

Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro

The Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro is a superb smartwatch. It's among the few with dual-band GPS and we found it to be stellar for tracking in our review. We got two full days from the Google Wear OS 4 watch and that's nothing to scowl over. The best thing about the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro is the price - €270 nets you a stellar watch. However, it's hard to find one in stores at the moment.

Google Pixel Watch 2

The Google Pixel Watch 2 is a unique offering thanks to its pebble-esque design and smaller-than-usual size. It's lovely to look at and easy to use. Fitbit faithful will love the full Fitbit integration. The Pixel Watch 2 has the fast Qualcomm SW5100 processor and lasts longer than its predecessor and was bundled with a Pixel 8 Pro purchase in Europe and the US, which likely put it in many people's pockets.

Garmin Venu 3S

Garmin has a place on any list of best smartwatches and the Venu 3S is its latest competitor to the conventional smartwatch. It has an AMOLED display, Garmin's powerful suite of features and tracking options, and can go for more than a week. But it is expensive at €440.

Amazfit GTR 4

The Amazfit GTR 4 is an easy recommendation at just €215. It has a 1.43-inch curved AMOLED screen, a stainless steel casing, and up to 14 days on a single charge - solid!

Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5

The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 is expensive (€360) but its three-day battery life is impressive for a Wear OS 4 watch. It has Qualcomm's fastest Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 processor and one of the best selections of watch faces.