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Best smart watches: Tried and tested reviews by editors
From battery life to heart rate monitors, we've got it all!
The smartwatch can do practically anything nowadays. From tracking your sleep and your fitness goals to playing music and receiving phone calls, and even working underwater. It's basically the handiest little sidekick to help you get through daily life, positioned conveniently by your side.
But, with more and more models coming on the market, and smartwatches popping up on every friend, colleague and gym trainer's wrist, we want to know which will work best for us. And now that Black Friday is here - AKA the time where all those expensive gadgets you've ever considered are suddenly on sale - it might actually be time to invest. Here at Cosmopolitan UK, we've tried and tested the best styles to bring you our reviews and recommendations so you can decide on the right one for you.
Whether you are a tech-savvy workout warrior or just looking for a motivational companion to monitor your health habits we find out which smartwatches are worth your time...
Samsung Galaxy Watch4: Best smart watches
Was £249, Now £199 (20% discount)
"With a rose-quartz strap and customisable face, this is chic enough to satisfy any tech sceptics. Select a workout from swimming (it’s waterproof!) to arm curls, and it’ll record heart rate and calories burned. It records the amount of time you’ve spent active, asleep and working out daily, and offers breathing exercises when it detects you’re stressed (less annoying than it sounds). It’s the smart watch for people who thought they hated smart watches."
- Kate, Beauty Writer
Kate Spade Smart Watch 2: Best smart watches
Was £299, Now £224.25 (25% discount)
“I love the quirky aesthetic to this Kate Spade watch. The rubber scalloped-edge strap makes it feel feminine and dressy and you can play around with the watch faces, too (the 'Winking Eye' is my favourite). It’s fairly easy to set up, but the operating system, Wear OS, is a bit fiddly (you need to download the Google Fit app for it) and just watch the battery level as this can run down quickly.”
- Sairey, Senior Fashion Editor
Was £169.99, Now £99
"I’ve got to admit, I’m slightly intimidated by both tech gadgets and fitness, but this was easy to set up with my iPhone 8. The app is really intuitive, and I love that it can track my sleep, monthly cycle, water intake, calories burned, diet, and daily steps – so many stats! It vibrates when you hit a new goal which is oddly encouraging. I’m hooked!"
- Maddy, Senior Fashion Assistant
Was £79.99, Now £54.99
It's streamlined in design and comes in different colour ways, meaning it will go with literally whatever you're wearing. No constant charging either, with a battery life of 10 days. Plus the built-in GPS means you don't need 4G to track your routes - win.
Garmin Forerunner 645 Music Running GPS Watch: Best smart watches
.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Forerunner 645 Music Running GPS Watch: Best smart watches")
Was £299,99, Now £239.99
"Despite running 100k (ish..!) a month, I’ve never been interested in analysing my every move on a smart watch. Until now. The Garmin Forerunner tracks your sleep cycle, resting and active calories and even your stress levels. It seamlessly connected to my phone, wireless headphones... and into my life."
- Dusty, Acting Entertainment Editor
Apple Watch Series 6 GPS 40mm: Best smart watches
This review is for the Apple Watch Series 5, which is no longer in stock. However the Series 6 is available to shop.
"I love gadgets but I can’t say the same for the gym so I didn't think I'd use a smartwatch. Now I have separation anxiety on the rare occasion I’m without it. So easy to use and displaying endless face customisations, you can receive calls and texts, track your menstrual cycle and monitor your fitness using the Activity Rings. It also allows you to do an ECG to check your heart rate and rhythm. As of yet, it can’t perform an X-ray.”
- Sophie, Bookings Editor
"The biggest plus for me is that it doesn’t really look like a sports watch. Edging away from the angular sporty aesthetic this watch is as glam as it is functional. I love that it's water resistant, too. One downside is that you can’t answer messages from the watch – only receive notifications – and you can’t speak through the watch on a phone call. So, when you see notifications come through, you still have to dig your phone out of your bag to reply."
- Emily, Features Intern
Sophie Leen is the Bookings Editor for Cosmopolitan UK and Women's Health UK. She specialises in creating fashion and shopping content across both digital and print platforms, as well as producing all of our fashion editorial photoshoots, which have included our digital cover with Olly Alexander and our curve influencer’s letter to the high street story. Sophie also looks after our Try Before You Train franchise where our team have tested and reviewed over 100 gymwear items.
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