Reviewing the best smartwatches and fitness watches in the UK (2022)

Smartwatches are not the only wearables that support you in your training and everyday life.

These smart devices now also come in the form of smart rings. 💍

The big advantage: these gadgets have a really subtle appearance on your hand.

Similar functions, simple design

A smart ring is naturally much less noticeable on your finger than a smartwatch is on your wrist.

During your daily routine and at night, the rings record all kinds of data, from your heart rate to your blood oxygen levels.

When you wake up in the morning, you can have a look at how restful your sleep was in the app. 💤

In addition to this, the wearables also support you during workouts. The range of functions here, however, is far more limited than with smartwatches.

Not all smartwatches are created equal!

There is a fundamental difference here: should the wearable primarily support you in your sporting activities or act as an addition to your mobile phone? 🤔

This is a smartwatch

A smartwatch should first and foremost be an extension of your smartphone.

In addition, these wearables also come with all kinds of health tracking and fitness functions.

The watches often have a simple, elegant look and are also suitable for wearing in the office.

This makes them the perfect choice for casual sports enthusiasts who are looking for a smart wearable for everyday life. 🚀

This is a fitness watch

With a fitness smartwatch, the focus is on the detailed recording of your fitness and health data.

Sports watches provide you with extensive insights and analysis tools. By doing so, they can optimally support you in achieving your training goals.

Sports watches like these offer you extensive support during your training. 💪

However, you have to make some sacrifices in terms of smartwatch features. Only the basic functions are featured, such as reading messages.

Smartwatches for kids

Buying your child a smartwatch is a great way to give them some independence while also providing you with some peace of mind.

Smartwatches aimed at children often feature multiple security functions, such as GPS tracking. This allows parents to view the exact location of their child in real-time.

Another important safety feature is geofencing. With this feature, parents can create a safe zone for their child with virtual fences and get notified if their child leaves this area.\

Kids can also use their smartwatch to call their parents directly from the wearable, and vice versa.

A difference between regular smartwatches and children’s smartwatches is that, usually, children cannot access the internet with their smartwatches. This means parents don’t have to worry about their child accessing online content without their knowledge.

But kid’s smartwatches aren’t just useful for parents - they can also come with fun features for your child to enjoy. Some smartwatches feature music, video and games. 🎮

Smartwatches offer you many advantages, especially for your training.

Not only do they record a lot of different data, but they can also help you achieve your goals even more efficiently.

Workouts and training plans on your fitness watch

Fitness tracker watches provide you with a wide range of pre-installed workouts and training programmes.

So you can choose from ready-made training plans or create your own. 💪

Automatic activity detection

Smartwatches can usually recognise when you start an activity automatically. Then they immediately start recording your data.

Detailed recording of your training data

During all activities, smartwatches record a variety of your health and fitness data. 🥳

These include the following metrics:

• Pedometer
• Distance travelled
• Elevation climbed
• Calories consumed
• and much more...

You can read the most important information directly on your smartwatch.

Further details are available in the companion app for your smartphone.

Our experience training with the best smartwatches in the UK

A modern fitness watch can offer extensive support for your training.

Wearables not only provide you with insights into the effectiveness of your training but also help you to achieve your goals even faster. 🚀

Smartwatches not only offer you many smart functions and support you in your training, but they also record all kinds of health data. 🙌

You can view the most important data directly on the wearable. You can also get many more insights in the corresponding app on your mobile phone!

Testing the activity tracker

The best fitness watches are equipped with an activity tracker and pedometer. Various sensors are constantly recording a variety of data.

If you have been inactive for too long, the wearable reminds you to move again to help you on your way to achieving your step count goal.

Pulse measurement and heart rate on smartwatches

Fitness watches also record pulse and heart rate via pulse sensors. All smartwatches available today have this function.

Even though the pulse measurement in our test was quite accurate, the best fitness watches cannot record the data as precisely as a chest strap, for example.

Stress levels and breathing exercises

The best smartwatches also use various sensors to determine how stressed you are at the moment.

In addition, various breathing exercises are also available to help you relax.

In our test, however, the values and our perception in the comparison were generally in agreement.

Blood oxygen saturation test

The best fitness watches can also measure blood oxygen saturation.

This data provides information about how well your body adapts at high altitudes. This is especially useful for hikers and mountain climbers. 🏔

In addition, the measurement data can also give indications of possible sleep problems.

ECG function and blood pressure measurement

Some smartwatches can also measure your blood pressure and take an electrocardiogram (ECG). An ECG analyses your heart's rhythm and electrical activity to check for irregularities.

Again, fitness trackers are not able to provide medically validated results, but they can certainly give you indications of possible diseases.

Measuring your VO2 max

The best fitness watches are also able to measure your VO2 max value.

VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilise during exercise. This value indicates how well equipped your body is to handle endurance training.

Measuring your blood sugar

There is currently no smartwatch on the market that can measure your blood glucose.

However, various manufacturers are currently in the development phase of this feature.

This is expected to be carried out completely painlessly via the skin.

Body composition

Using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA), some fitness trackers can also determine your body composition.

This way you can calculate what proportion of your body consists of water, fat and muscle mass.

However, we noticed in our test that the measurements are quite inaccurate and are definitely subject to strong fluctuations from day to day. 😕

Testing the measurement of health data - Our conclusion

In our test, we were thrilled to see how many different types of data the best smartwatches can measure. 🥳

Not all data is recorded 100% accurately, but it can still give you important clues about possible diseases.

Thanks to the integrated compass, barometer and satellite systems, a smartwatch can also be used as a navigation device. 🗺

However, some wearables come without an integrated satellite system. Instead, they use your mobile phone's GPS. These recordings are usually less accurate, though.

As well as this, you must always have your mobile phone with you to be able to record GPS data with these devices.

Tip: Deactivate the GPS function to extend the battery life.

Map function and Google Maps

Some fitness watches come with pre-installed maps. Others allow direct access to Google Maps.

You can search for places in your area, create routes and let your watch navigate your journey.

Use Komoot and Strava

Some wearables also allow you to download Komoot or Strava to your fitness watch.

So you have even more maps and routes at your disposal! 🥳

Testing the accuracy of the GPS

In our tests, we do of course also take a close look at the GPS function on the various sports watches.

In this respect, the best smartwatches perform quite well! In general, they are able to deliver accurate results. 🙌

Our tips for improving GPS accuracy

With almost all wearables, some additional factors can negatively affect GPS accuracy.

This includes, for example, the movement of your arms, your body acting as an obstacle and physical conditions.

So here are our tips on how you can further increase the GPS accuracy of your watch 👇

Activate multiple satellite systems

If you activate several of the integrated satellite systems at the same time, your wearable can record your location even more accurately. 🙌

Reduce the recording interval

Some fitness watches, such as Garmin devices, allow you to reduce the recording interval.

This records more data points and further increases GPS accuracy.

Activating multiple satellite systems and reducing the recording interval will drain the battery of your fitness watch more quickly.

Of course, a smartwatch is more than just a smart fitness tracker for your wrist: it is also an accessory.

Therefore, you definitely want to choose a smartwatch that you also like.

But here's some good news for you: smartwatches come in all shapes, sizes and colours. 🚀

Many different styles and designs

At first glance, smartwatches differ mainly in their shape. You have both square and round wearables.

When it comes to colour, manufacturers often offer many choices.

Pure sports watches, such as those from Garmin or Polar, usually look a bit clunkier.

Common materials include aluminium, stainless steel, and titanium.

Choose from many different straps

No matter which smartwatch you choose in the end, you can always buy many different interchangeable bands.

A silicone or leather watch strap is particularly popular. However, you can also buy sophisticated-looking straps made of stainless steel.

In our comparison, we were impressed by how comfortable the best smartwatches were to wear.

Most mobile phone watches are equipped with a special mechanism that allows you to change the strap quickly and easily.

So you can customise your timepiece exactly to your taste. 🙌

Smartwatch displays

In addition to varying designs, the displays of wearables also often differ greatly from each other.

Many devices have an OLED display. The best wearables, however, feature a modern AMOLED display. This offers particularly clear and sharp colours.

Tip: Manufacturers usually offer watches with a smaller display for women. A large display is mainly aimed at people with wider wrists.

Additionally, if you want to use your watch primarily outdoors, there are better alternatives, such as the transflective memory-in-pixel display (MIP display).

This is mainly used in Garmin's sports watches and is easy to read even in sunlight. ☀️

To set up your fitness watch, you need a smartphone to install the companion app on.

Tip: Always pay attention to the compatibility of smartwatches and mobile phones. For example, Apple Watches are only compatible with iPhones.

As soon as you have installed the corresponding app on your mobile phone (if it is not already pre-installed), you can start setting it up.

Simply switch on your smartwatch and follow the instructions on the display.

Our experience has been that setting up smartwatches is a seamless process. 🥳

Here, you can find everything about the best smartwatches for men.

Smartwatches record a lot of your health and fitness data.

You might be wondering what the data protection situation is like. After all, you don't want your confidential information to fall into the wrong hands. 🤔

The Information Commissioner’s Office cautioned smartwatch users to ensure their data is processed in line with the UK’s data protections laws, and we also advise caution.

Here are our tips for protecting your personal data: 👇

Sharing your GPS data

Some manufacturers want to collect their users' GPS data anonymously to improve their services.

However, you have the option to deny this in the app settings. 👍

What do you share with your friends?

When you connect with your friends, they can also view different results from your health and fitness data.

Here, however, you have the option of selecting what specific data your connected contacts can view.

Which? is also on the scene when it comes to reviewing popular smartwatches.

In their 2022 buying guide, Which? ranks Garmin Forerunner 55 as their overall best watch at a test score of 86%, with Garmin Venu Sq Music Edition and Amazfit GTR 3 following closely behind, each with 83%. 🏆

Models from Apple and Garmin are mentioned as the best smartwatches with heart rate monitors. 🥈

When it comes to GPS accuracy, Garmin comes out on top at Which? once again.

You can, of course, buy your smartwatch in the traditional way at your local electronics store.

However, you will find a much larger selection on the internet. You will also often find better prices there. 💶

Here are the advantages of ordering online:

Quick, easy and convenient

When ordering online, you don't have to travel long distances, nor do you have to follow the opening hours of the shops.

Instead, you can easily order your smartwatch at home from your sofa.

A few days later, it will be delivered directly to your door.

It couldn't be easier. 🥳

Check out the full range

You will usually only find a limited selection of smartwatches in bricks-and-mortar stores. Often, individual models are no longer available.

It's a completely different story when shopping on the internet! Here you will find a much larger selection and can compare the complete range. 🙌

Benefit from the 14-day right-to-cancel policy

According to the UK Distance Selling Regulations, you can return goods ordered on the Internet within 2 weeks without giving any reasons.

This eliminates the risk for you when you shop on the internet.

In our tests, we regularly take a close look at various smartwatches. In this way, we want to help you find the right wearable for you. 🙌

To find the best fitness trackers for you, we take them to the gym. For example, we test them while running, cycling, or swimming.

We compare the recorded data with the data from a chest strap and the Oura Ring.

This is how we find out how accurately various health and fitness data is recorded.

We also test the various features, of course, such as listening to music or contactless payment.

By wearing the smartwatch over a longer period of time in everyday life, we can tell you exactly which model is best for you. 🚀