Best Smart Watches in the UK

If you're an Android user looking for an upscale smartwatch that is almost as easy to use as Apple Watch, you may like the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE. The folks behind this company have done their best to pack this wearable with novelty features and overcome such issues typical for Android as low battery life and a bit sluggish performance. See for yourself.

To start with the aesthetics, the TicWatch Pro 4G/LTE is a very nice looking model that feels premium, albeit being a bit too chunky compared to other timepieces. That's largely achieved owing to the innovative dual-layer display that makes this wearable stand out from the competition. Actually, it has a layered secondary display that turns off a primary OLED one when it's not in use, thus, effectively saving battery life. The secondary always-on FSTN screen shows you such info as the time, date, and your daily step count. All that without a need to wake up the main OLED screen. But once you need to use some smart features, the OLED panel turns out very crisp, bright, and offers wide viewing angles. And all you need to do to activate it is to rotate your wrist towards you or tap the screen.

For fitness junkies, the watch offers all the fitness features you'd expect from a decent smartwatch, including a heart rate sensor. As a nice touch, Mobvoi has its own fitness apps, the TicExercise, that can help you track different workouts with such basic metrics as steps, distance, active hours, and calories.

Samsung needs no presentation. It's one of the leaders in the electronic industry, and Samsung's Galaxy Watch is surely one of the most refined smartwatches you can currently find on the market owing to its attractive design, cohesive user interface, and long battery life. And with lots of smart features, it can even compete with the famous Apple Watch 4 series, which cost considerably more.

To begin with, it has an arguably superior design to Apple's Watch Series 4 with hundreds of watch faces and its big, circular shape. Actually, the Galaxy Watch looks like a real wristwatch compared to the square face of the Apple Watch, allowing you to stand out from the sea of people wearing Apple pieces. With that, a round wearable like this looks stylish and feels comfortable to wear on a daily basis. It goes well with casual clothes and can be easily dressed up for something more formal. Overall, the new Galaxy Watch looks like a high-end wristwatch fitted with a circular stainless steel case and stylised bezel that can be rotated to cycle through various on-screen menus. This is one of the most satisfying ways to navigate a smartwatch as your fingers won’t even need to cover up the watch’s touchscreen.

Speaking about the core, the Galaxy Watch has polished software that is very intuitive and easy to use. By lifting the watch off its wireless charging pedestal, it'll greet you with a ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello’ and then draw a little smiley face on the display, which we consider a very nice touch. After greetings, the watch will operate smoothly when you scroll through the menu owing to the Tizen OS.

Those who don't hunt for big names and fancy features may really like the Amazfit GTR sports watch. It's a fantastic looking wearable with amazing battery life, a huge selection of faces, and great tracking abilities, which comes at a very moderate price tag compared to the competition.

To start with the aesthetics, the Amazfit GTR has a round watch that looks very high-tech and attractive. For your preference, you may choose between aluminium alloy, stainless steel, or titanium options that all look impressive and definitely feel better than plastics. On the right side, there are two large mechanical buttons - the upper one is for exiting all menus while the lower one is for activating fitness functions. Overall, the watch is quite ergonomic with no frills and extra buttons to get confused with.

At 1.39" and 326 PPI resolution, the AMOLED screen here is well readable and bright. The watch offers you to choose between 100+ faces according to your mood and style. The display is protected by third-generation Corning Gorilla Glass that is slightly recessed into the watch case to be less susceptible to external damage. By the way, the watch is 5 ATM waterproof, meaning it can withstand water pressure at a depth of up to 50 metres under normal use, making it ideal for swimming and diving.

With nearly a 5-star rating and more than 20,000 positive worldwide reviews, the HUAWEI Watch GT 2 have a lot going for it. Namely, it's an upgraded version of the HUAWEI Watch GT that has some novelty features yet the same affordable price. While the previous generation only allowed you to receive notifications and cancel calls, this one is fitted with a microphone and a speaker. This means, now you can answer and make calls right via your watch, without reaching your smartphone. And the advanced chip and the upgraded Bluetooth 5.1 provide a generous signal reception range of 150 metres.

Besides that, the Huawei WATCH GT 2 shares many features with the previous model. The fitness and health functions here remain very strong. Owing to the accurate built-in heart rate monitor, altimeter, gyroscope, and accelerometer, the HUAWEI watch can track your sleep quality, heart rate, even stress level on top of the fitness stats (step count, calories burned, the number of times you stand up). Also, it has 15 workout modes and even offers fitness training programs that can take you from entry to advanced physical levels. So, if you need extra help to push the limits, this watch can provide you with professional and effective guidance.

To keep yourself motivated during your workouts, you can upload music right to the watch. It has 4 GB of internal memory, so you can save your favourite tracks and leave your smartphone at home when running. As a nice touch, the watch is able to track your position super accurately owing to GPS and GLONASS technologies that work in tandem to detect more satellites.

Those who look for the extra-tough watch that can survive through the harshest of conditions should definitely take a closer look at the Amazfit T-Rex. It's not just a fancy accessory but an ultra-rugged GPS sports watch that fully lives up to its name in terms of build quality. Actually, it's a carefully-crafted smart wearable product that deftly combines battery endurance benefits and a distinctive rugged look.

To be meant for a tough life, the watch has a strength-enhanced design, tough from the inside out. The bezel has a raised bumper and the screen is covered with Gorilla Glass 3 and a special anti-fingerprint coating. That's why the watch is ultra-resistant to scuffs but a bit bulky - at 13.5 mm, it can easily get caught on your shirt sleeve. However, the Amazfit T-Rex is really lightweight for its size and design, so it won't strain your wrist even with active movement. Plus, it has an inner sweat-wicking design for outdoor adventures when the summer is in full swing.

Yet, the main perk of the T-Rex is that it has a Military Standard 810 rating and is validated to survive at -40 degree Celsius temperatures (for up to an hour and a half). With that, its heat resistance level reaches an incredible 70 degrees Celsius. The watch has also passed 12 military-grade certifications and MIL-STD testing validated it for 240 hours of humidity resistance and 96 hours of salt spray resistance, which ensures its robustness even in harsh environments. Open water also won't be a challenge for this watch since it's waterproof up to 5 ATM.