Hey there, I’m looking for suggestions on the best smartwatch to match with my Samsung S21 Ultra (and probably a future upgrade). I really want something with health tracking features and smartwatch capabilities similar to the Apple Watch, but with long battery life. From what I’ve read, the Samsung watches have bad battery life. I mostly work out in the gym and at home. So what would be my best option?
I charge my Fenix twice a month.
Bennie said:
I charge my Fenix twice a month.
Is that the latest version, and do you think it’s worth the price considering what it offers?
Bennie said:
I charge my Fenix twice a month.
Is that the latest version, and do you think it’s worth the price considering what it offers?
A lot of the value I get from it is in the sports tracking. I ride a road bike, have a tail light with radar, and the watch vibrates and makes noise when there’s a car coming from behind. I enjoy hiking and skiing in the mountains, and the watch has offline maps. It also keeps a cloud history of all the exercise I do and has a lot of fitness features I find useful.
It’s got enough phone integration to be useful, but it’s not so much that it’s distracting.
I use the wellness features daily, and since I have sleep apnea, I track some specific things.
I’m wearing the Fenix 8 AMOLED, which I got for half price thanks to my REI credit card rewards. It’s expensive, but I think it’s worth it if you appreciate the features it offers. If you’re interested, the Fenix 7 Pro and Epix 2 are both earlier models that still offer great features at about half the price.
There is no ‘best’ smartwatch, they all have compromises. The iOS and WearOS watches are super advanced, almost like small smartphones, but they don’t last more than a day or two on a charge because they require a lot of power. On the other end, you’ve got the cheaper Chinese brands, which last for weeks (sometimes over a month), but they’re very basic. In the middle, you find brands like Garmin that have advanced features and decent battery life.
Here’s one no one really talks about… Kronaby. I just got one, and I’m really liking it.
I’d recommend the Garmin Vivoactive 5. It’s loaded with features, very fitness-focused, and has good battery life. I’ve been using it heavily, and it lasts about a week between charges. It has a solid heart rate monitor, tracks sleep well, and lets you play music without a phone. You can download Spotify playlists directly to the watch and connect Bluetooth earbuds to it. It’s super convenient not having to bring my phone to the gym. Plus, it has a lot of apps, including workout-specific apps like interval timers, watch faces, utility apps like a calculator, and even basic games for when you’re bored.