12 Best Thin Smartwatches in 2021 [Sleek + Less Bulky]

There are many thin smartwatches, but choosing the perfect option shall require you to research more than 62 watch options (which shall be time consuming.) To help you reduce your research work, I’ve ranked and reviewed the 12 best options.

It doesn’t matter what your smartwatch needs are, whether you need a fitness companion that’ll track all your activity, or just want a device for texting and notifications, or just a watch for outdoor activities like MTB, hunting, swimming, golfing, etc. You shall find models suitable for your needs in this list.

Although my focus with this list is to ensure that the smartwatches in this list are thin and doesn’t look bulky, it doesn’t mean that they’ll suck at other things. I’ve tried to include options that aren’t just thin, but also are great in other areas such as health, fitness, and maybe even cellular connectivity.

If you are confused about if you should get a thin smartwatch, let me explain the sacrifices you’re going to make and the gains you’ll secure, in short.

• A thinner body means less space for a battery, so the capacity will be smaller in the majority of cases.
• The watch shall be fragile and more prone to accidental damages. But, you do get a sleek & stylish device and it also weighs less so, after some time you forget about the extra weight on your wrist.

Best Thin Smartwatches in 2021

My focus while making this list is to include watches are thin and functional at the same time. That’s why I might’ve not included some of the thinnest devices as they weren’t sturdy/accurate (I feel that there’s no point in purchasing a watch that can’t do basic activity tracking or is sturdy enough.)

Before making this list, I compared the dimensions and performance of 51 watches. After testing them for 371 hours, here are 12 best options.

1. Thinnest Smartwatch: Pebble Time Round

On the subject of thin smartwatches, how about the thinnest smartwatch in the world? Well, the Pebble Time Round holds that crown right now, and it’s a remarkably thin smartwatch at just 7.5 millimeters.

First, let’s get the whole compatibility thing out of the way. The Time Round supports both iOS and Android-powered devices including OnePlus, Motorola, Google Pixel (2, 3, 4), and Samsung smartphones. On the connectivity side, there is Bluetooth 4.0 with no GPS or Wi-Fi. That is super limited connectivity, and that alone sends this device a step back as far as the whole smartwatch experience goes.

There isn’t much on the hardware side but, the watch is running super limited functionality, so I guess that makes sense. The sensors are limited too, and as a result, the health & activity tracking features are super limited as well.

It cannot do heart rate monitoring or any other fancy smartwatch health stuff. The only thing it can do is Sleep Tracking. On the activity side, it can track limited activities, including the total number of steps taken or distance covered.

The display is actually using a technology called e-paper (colored), which is a slight improvement over the older black and white displays but, they can show limited colors and aren’t significantly bright either. The 1-inch panel has a resolution of 180 x 180, which is quite low, but it does the job on the e-paper screen.

The case is built out of stainless steel, and it does feel sturdy. The top is made out of Gorilla Glass from Corning, which adds some extra scratch resistance over the regular glass. The thin 7.5mm for factor is unique, though.

As mentioned earlier, it is currently the world’s thinnest smartwatch, and it looks pretty adorable with the circular frame. I am not a big fan of the thick bezel though, which honestly is the biggest drawback of the design.

It also has received an IPX7 splash resistance rating, which means that it won’t survive if you took it swimming.

The battery life on the other Pebble watches were steller with almost a week of usage time. The Pebble Time Round does get significantly less at just two days’ use. Because the case is so thin, Pebble wasn’t able to squeeze in a bigger battery. So, that’s one compromise that you’ll see in a lot of thin smartwatches.

Finally, there is a 1-year limited warranty on the Time Round, which is pretty standard for smartwatches. Now, to sum this up, the Pebble Time Round is for those people who want to have the thinnest smartwatch possible and do not care much about health monitoring stuff. If you fall into that category, then you can go for it without hesitation.

2. Best Runner Up: Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle

Jumping into the WearOS Ecosystem from Google, the best device I can recommend right now is the Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle. Fossil decided to go with Google when it came to making their own smartwatches, and till now, it is working quite well for them. So, if you are invested in the Android ecosystem, this watch is going to give a very seamless experience.

Just because I mentioned the Android Ecosystem doesn’t mean that the Carlyle compromises on compatibility. It’s compatible with iPhone as well. Even for connectivity, there is support for Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi as well as untethered GPS for navigation.

Now transitioning to the internals, Fossil has gone with Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 SOC alongside 1GB of RAM and 8GB of Internal Storage. Although the storage could have been slightly higher, the performance is one of the best in the entire smartwatch game.

Although not as good as recent Apple Watches (Watch SE and 6), it’s still super impressive. As for WearOS itself, it is an excellent ecosystem coming just behind Apple’s WatchOS and Tizen OS that runs on Samsung smartwatches.

It also gives you access to a huge collection of watch faces and apps from the Play Store while also integrating Google Pay right into the watch. The watch has a good amount of sensors for things like Heart Rate Monitoring, Sleep Tracking, and Cardio Fitness Tracking while also doing full-on activity tracking for things like Hiking, Running, Swimming, Walking, and more. The versatility helps a lot, and you can track all your data on the Google Fit companion app.

Fossil used a sharp 1.28-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 416 x 416, achieving a pixel density of 328 PPI. It is a beautiful display with great outdoor visibility, rich colors, infinite contrast, and excellent battery efficiency. It also supports call reception using Bluetooth and message notifications. The high pixel density also ensures sharp visuals and clearer texts, which is great.

The case is made out of Stainless Steel with Metal, Leather & Silicone bands to go with it. The circular design looks elegant, and it is 44mm in size with quite a thin form factor. The top layer is Glass, as you’d expect at this price point, and it’ll give some protection against the day to day scratches.

The dial is a rotating home button with two extra customizable buttons on each side of it. There is a 3 ATM rating for water resistance, which makes the device ready for swimming so, although that’s nice to have, a lot of the competitors are doing 5 ATM for a lower price.

For the battery department, you can’t really expect a longer battery life on the watch with a big & bright display that has so many features onboard. Generally, if you use the watch with all its features on a mixed basis (Daily Mode), you can kill the battery in less than 24 hours, so it needs to be charged every night. If you use the essential features only (Extended Mode), you can get a couple of days of battery life. You can also use the Time Only Mode, which changes the device into a simple clock, and the battery will last more than a week.

The Carlyle comes with a 1-year limited warranty with no damage protection plan included. So, you probably wouldn’t want to drop your watch on the floor as water damage is a less likely thing to happen to this device. However, if you are looking for a great smartwatch that is thin, feature-rich, and you want that WearOS integration, the Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle is the absolute best choice for you.

3. Best for Women: Fossil Women's Gen 4 Venture

In case you are a lady, and you care less about performance, still want WearOS, all the important health & activity tracking features, and you can use something smaller at a lower price, the Fossil Gen 4 Venture might be an excellent option for you.

The Venture is compatible with both iOS and Android-powered smartphones, but, the integration with Android will be better, thanks to WearOS. Now, on the connectivity side, there is Bluetooth 4.2 LE and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n alongside untethered GPS on the navigation side.

The Snapdragon 2100 SOC is a generation older compared to Gen 5, and that’s expected, but it also has half the RAM and Storage at 512MB and 4GB, which will result in certain differences.

Firstly the performance won’t be as good, and secondly, you’ll get way less space to store your apps. Coming to WearOS, it allows seamless integration with your Android smartphone and enables features like Google Assistant and Google Pay while giving you access to a huge library of watch faces and apps.

The Venture has Heart Rate Monitoring, but it won’t track your Sleep in case you were expecting that. If you need sleep tracking, you have to get the Gen 5. It does track all the basic activity though, including Walking, Hiking, Running, etc. So, at least you won’t have complaints in that department.

Thankfully Fossil hasn’t skipped on the important sensors.

The display is a 1.57-inch AMOLED unit with a resolution of 390 x 390. I have to say that Fossil does resolution well, resulting in crisper visuals and more clearer text elements on display. The panel is significantly bright, and as it is using OLED technology, the power consumption is also in check.

Let’s talk design and build now. The Gen 4 Venture has a circular case made out of Stainless Steel. The design has a muted, retro look with a hint of modernism, and there is also a variant with little stones embedded around the display bezel and the strap. In this case, the case is 40mm with 18mm straps to go with.

No matter which variant you pick, the Venture is going to look good on your wrist. There is a 3 ATM water resistance rating, which means it can survive under up to 30 meters of water. That means you can take the device swimming without any issue.

The battery life will be very similar to Gen 5. Again you can get around a day of mixed-use, and you’ll need to put the device on charge at night. You can also use fewer features or just use it as a regular watch to get anywhere from a couple of days to an extra week of battery life. That seems fair, but it could have been slightly better.

The Venture comes with a 1-year warranty just like its younger sibling, and that’s expected. So overall, this is a designed for women device that has the essentials while being slightly less powerful and costing less money. If that is something you’re looking for, the Fossil Women’s Gen 4 Venture is the device to consider.

4. Best Hybrid Smartwatch: Withings Steel HR

Ever heard of a Hybrid smartwatch? Well, sometimes, to get something functional while also getting the thickness in check, that is all it takes. I am talking about the Withings Steel HR which, by the way, used to be known as Nokia Health in the past.

As far as compatibility goes, Withings has provided support for both Android and iOS ecosystems. So, it doesn’t matter if you have an iPhone or an Android smartphone, you should be good to go either way.

Now for connectivity, there is support for GPS on the navigation side alongside Bluetooth 4.0 for other wireless measures. There is no WiFi in the Steel HR, so, keep that in mind.

The Steel HR isn’t using a complex SOC or RAM, for that matter. As it is a hybrid smartwatch, the sensors measure the health data and send it to your phone. The watch itself doesn’t need to visually interact with the user a lot, and it does most of its work internally.

There are sensors to monitor your Heart Rate and Sleep, but, the major focus here is on fitness with more than 30 sport modes like Biking, Fencing, Football, Basketball, Golf, and more. The regular fitness stats for running, swimming, and things like that are also available.

Now the display is the tricky part. The Steel HR has an analog watch system but, there is, in fact, a tiny display at the top portion. However, this isn’t your fancy touch display that shows all the smartwatch stuff and can be customized with watch faces. Instead, this tiny display can show a single health stat or notifications from apps like Uber & Spotify. To get all the health & activity data the watch is monitoring, you’ll need to install the Withings Health Mate app on the phone.

Coming to the design & build now, the Withing Steel HR has gone with a circular design made out of stainless steel. The thin design doesn’t mean there are compromises on water resistance, though as it does come with a 5 ATM rating. That means the device can survive up to under 50 meters of water and should be fine during those swimming & surfing sessions.

The battery life on the Steel HR is really good. You can get up to 25 days of juice on a single charge. In case you’re using the device for activity tracking, and time only, you can get an extra 20 days, making it a whopping 45 days battery life.

Finally, coming to the after-sales department, Withings provides a 1-year limited warranty with the Steel HR. That’s about all for this device, and if you’re someone who wants to have a mechanical watch that can also do heath & activity tracking, the Withing Steel HR is one of the best options you can get.

5. Best Premium Looking: Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

Samsung has been making some amazing smartwatches over the years, and the Galaxy Watch Active 2 is one of the best they’ve ever made. With all the essential health & fitness features baked into it, the Active 2 is a top contender in the thin smartwatch game.

It’s no secret that Samsung does compatibility well, so it is also no surprise that they have included support for both Android and iOS. Now for connectivity, there is GPS, GLONASS, Beidou & Galileo for navigation, and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 5.0 for other wireless connectivity purposes.

Note: You can also a Cellular model that’ll let you access 4G/LTE via an eSim. However, cellular connectivity only works if you have a Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

Samsung is using their own Exynos 9110 in the Galaxy Active 2. It is a 1.15 GHz dual-core CPU with 1.5GB of RAM (LTE model) or 768MB of RAM and 4GB of Internal Storage. The hardware is compelling, which means the performance is outstanding on this device. However, the internal storage is actually pretty low.

Samsung is using the latest version of its Tizen OS on this device. This ecosystem has evolved a lot throughout the years, and now it is one of the best you can in any smartwatch with, responsive & user-friendly UI and a great selection of apps. 

As far as the sensors are considered, there is a good amount of them included for various health monitoring features like Heart Rate Monitoring, ECG (only available in the US), Sleep Tracking, and even Stress Tracking, which is rare in this price range. The device can also track your activities for things like Swimming, Running, Walking, and even different sports.

The display is made out of Samsung’s signature Super AMOLED tech. It’s a 1.4-inch panel with a resolution of 360 x 360. The panel can get reasonably bright outdoors, and the dark watch faces will also pop in full glory thanks to that infinite contrast ratio. It also supports an always-on display, so you won’t need to wake the watch up every time.

Now, for the design & build part, the South Korean brand seems to really like circular watch faces nowadays, and Active 2 is no exception. The sleek circular body looks great and comes with either Aluminum or Stainless Steel as the build material. The case is also certified for both IP68 and 5 ATM water resistance.

The battery life on the Active 2 is excellent. The 349 mAh battery lasts for up to 60 hours on a single charge with mixed usage. However, on low usage with limited features, the device can last up to 131 hours. These numbers are great with a watch with so many features onboard.

There is a 1-year limited warranty included with the Galaxy Watch Active 2. There is no accidental damage protection plan to be purchased separately, so dropping your watch is not the best idea. Anyway, if the features on the Active 2 seem compelling enough, or in case you have a Samsung smartphone and need cellular connectivity support, this is going to be the perfect sweet spot for you.

6. Best with Blood Oxygen Monitor: Fitbit Ionic

The Fitbit Ionic Watch is a well-balanced mix of retro-ish looks and a handful of modern features. It is the only smartwatch on this list that can do blood oxygen monitoring while also being quite thin.

This isn’t a watch for everyone but, for a specific group of people, this one gonna fit in just right. Also, if you’re looking forward to use this watch with third-party blood pressure trackers such as Dexcom G6 (then it might not work or you’ll have to check for compatibility.)

Phone compatibility has been a non-issue on Fitbit smartwatches, and that also holds up for the Ionic. It has support for both Android and iOS. There is also support for GPS+GLONASS on the navigation with Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n for wireless connectivity.

Fitbit doesn’t really put cellular connectivity on their watches yet, so, of course, you don’t get that on the Ionic.

The internals are exactly what you’d expect from a smartwatch of this caliber, the SOC houses a Toshiba designed ARM CPU with Cortex A9 cores running at 600 MHz. I don’t know how much RAM the device is using but, there is indeed around 2.5GB of internal storage, which isn’t a lot.

This is going to translate to mediocre performance and that is something you’ll just have to live with. Fitbit’s own OS and ecosystem are great with a good number of available apps and some excellent community features.

For a smartwatch that skips on a lot of things, the Fitbit Iconic has an impressive number of sensors to monitor health stats like Blood Oxygen Levels, Heart Rate, VO2 Max, Sleep and it also tracks your day to day running, swimming, walking, mountain biking & workout stats which is great. The overall gains in the department are kinda surprising from something like the ionic.

It is rocking a 1.4 inch LCD display with a resolution of 250 x 348. This display isn’t as power-efficient as an OLED display but it is quite sharp and vibrant. However, if you’re looking for the always-on display functionality, that is not available. The display is definitely one of the weak pillars of the Ionic.

Coming to the design and build quality, the rectangular frame looks like something right from the beginning of the smartwatch era which you may or may not prefer. The case is made out of Aluminum and has a 5 ATM water resistance rating which ensures that the device can operate under up to 50 meters of water, making it ideal for swimming.

Coming to the battery usage, you can get around 5 days on a single charge with regular/mixed usage. This decreases to just 10 hours if you’re using GPS and Music (over Bluetooth) at the same time. That’s pretty respectable battery life for a device like the Ionic.

There is a standard 1-year warranty and as you’ve probably guessed by now, doesn’t cover accidental damage. So overall, the Fitbit Ionic has some major flaws but, surprisingly good health & activity tracking features. This is a mixed-up scenario and, in case you can survive the compromises, this one might just be worth it.

7. Best with Curved Display: Samsung Galaxy Gear S

The Galaxy Gear S from Samsung is going to be something for a very niche group of users. It has been out there for some time now, so it’s not a new product. But, it’s unique form factor makes it one of a kind.

Compatibility is a no brainer as there is support for both Android & iOS smartphones. Connectivity is a different story though. Yes, there is GPS for navigation alongside Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n. But, although it does support cellular connectivity, it is limited to 3G.

In this time when 5G has already taken its baby steps, not even having 4G can be a bit of a concern.

It is powered by the Snapdragon 400 SOC from Qualcomm and there is 512MB RAM with 4GB of Internal Storage. None of these internals are high-end performers but they are good enough for getting the job done.

The device is using an older version of Samsung’s Tizen and as far as sensors go, we have all the necessary stuff including, Heart Rate Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Barometer, Geomagnetic Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, and UV Sensor. So, getting your important health stats or tracking your day-to-day activity, ain’t gonna be an issue.

Samsung has gone with a 2-inch curved Super AMOLED display that should align with the sides of your wrist. The resolution is 360 x 480 with a pixel density of around 300 PPI which should be enough for producing sharp visuals and all the advantages of an OLED display are also here.

The design is unique and that’s one of the reasons why people are still interested in this watch. The top is made with a thin metal frame with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protecting the display. The bottom is made out of plastic & it houses the sensors and a physical sim card tray. This setup is embedded seamlessly with the silicone band separating the top and the bottom parts from the middle.

It looks pretty sleek as it looks like the thin metal & glass top is the entire casing of the device. It doesn’t have any water resistance though so, keep that in mind.

There is a 300 mAh battery which can last you up to 48 hours on mixed usage and if you only use the basic functionality without cellular connectivity, it can last you another 48 hours at most. There is no fast charging or wireless charging as the device only charges with Micro USB.

There is a 1-year warranty included with the device but, do remember that as it is a bit old now, finding certain components might be difficult if you need to repair it. Overall, unless you are looking for the razer-thin curved appearance, you should look for something else. But, if you are all about that stand-out look, maybe the Samsung Galaxy Gear S is something you can live with.

8. Best for Connectivity: Garmin Vivoactive 3

The Garmin Vivoactive 3 is the predecessor to the more recent Vivoactive 4. However, it is indeed thinner and way lighter compared to its successor alongside being very similar in the feature set. This is why it made it to my list instead of its younger sibling.

In the compatibility department, Garmin has provided support for both iOS and Android ecosystems. On the connectivity front though, there is no support for cellular networks. What is available though, is all the necessary navigation features like GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo. There is also support for ANT+, Bluetooth 4.0, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n.

Coming to the hardware, Garmin didn’t mention exactly what hardware they are using but, what I know is that the Vivoactive 3 is indeed quite fast & responsive. The internal storage is probably less than what you’ll get on their flagship Fenix series but, it should still be enough for installing all the apps you need to get your fitness in line.

As we saw in the comparison between Garmin Fenix 6 vs Apple Watch 6, the Garmin OS ecosystem is a mature platform with its own app store and a decent number of available apps.

Garmin hasn’t compromised much on the sensors though. There are sensors for monitoring heart rate and body temperature as well as sensors for tracking activities during day-to-day workouts and playing various sports. There is also an inbuilt VO2 max and stress monitoring feature which is something we don’t see in a majority of smartwatches.

Garmin uses Transflective Memory-In-Pixel panels for their watches and the 1.2-inch unit on the Vivoactive 3 is no exception. These panels still use an LED backlighting which means they still consume more battery compared to OLED and aren’t the picture purest when it comes to the on-display visuals.

You can get different watch faces and also get alerts for your calls & messages right on the display, however, there’s no inbuilt speaker and mic present on the watch.

The Vivoactive 3 falls into the budget category as far as Garmin smartwatches are considered. So, it’s no surprise that the device is made out of hard plastic with stainless steel bezel (on the non-music model.)

The case is circular in shape as you’d expect from any Garmin smartwatch and the sensors are located at the bottom with a single button on the right. However, Garmin has still managed to bag a 5 ATM water resistance rating which is kinda impressive.

The battery life on the Vivoactive 3 is actually pretty impressive with around 7 days on a single charge on smartwatch mode. If you are using GPS all the time though, that decreases to 13 hours and if you add music playback on top of that it’s going to be a maximum of 5 hours on a single charge.

Garmin covers the Vivoactive 3 with a 1-year warranty. Anyway, so when it comes to being a great health-focused smartwatch, the Garmin Vivoactive 3 does that while also being impressively thin on your wrist. If that is how you need your smartwatch to be like, I don’t see a reason for not considering the Garmin Vivoactive 3.

9. Best LG Watch: LG Watch Style LGW270

When it comes to thin wearable tech, I can’t skip over the Watch Style from LG. Just like Samsung’s Gear S, it has been out there for a while but, it does have a very different approach to the whole smartwatch design thing. In fact, this one falls a lot more into the mainstream, and yet a decent number of people are still looking into this model.

As we’ve seen for most of the non-Apple smartwatches, the Watch Style LGW270 is compatible with both Android and iOS powered smartphones. For connectivity, the device supports Bluetooth 4.2 low energy and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. That’s it. GPS or Cellular connectivity isn’t available on the LGW270. While no cellular is fine, having no GPS does limit it’s capabilities significantly.

LG has used the Snapdragon Wear 2100 from Qualcomm for the Watch Style with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of Internal Storage. It’s a workable hardware configuration and not something super powerful but, that’s ok for a setup like this.

The device comes with Android Wear 2.0 out of the box and can be upgraded to Android Wear 2.1 so, sadly no WearOS. The sensors are limited too with Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and an Ambient Light Sensor. So, it’s safe to say that it’s not the health & fitness type smartwatch you might have thought it was.

Anyway, the display is using LGs in-house POLED tech which is technically still an OLED display with all the bells & whistles included. So, the infinite contrast, punchy colors, and less power consumption is definitely there. It is 1.2-inches in size with a resolution of 360 x 360 with a pixel density of around 300 PPI. There isn’t much customization to it so, the POLED panel is all you’re getting here.

When it comes to design and build quality the LGW270 has a circular case made out of Stainless Steel. The top is made out of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 which should protect it from day to day scratches.

There is IP67 water and dust resistance which means that the watch will survive splashes of water but won’t survive if you take it swimming. I also need to mention the strap here as LG does mention that it’s an Italian Genuine Leather strap.

Coming to the battery life now, it does up to 35 hours on a single charge. The LG Watch Style doesn’t have a lot on its plate on the features side, so it’s not surprising that the 240 mAh cell, coupled with the OLED display, pulls out some impressive battery life.

Something I do need to mention here is that Amazon is selling used LG Watch Style LGW270 models which are supposed to be almost brand new but they’ll cost significantly less. So, in case you’re interested in this device, it might be worth grabbing a used one instead of getting a brand new one for more money.

The Watch Style does come with a 1-year warranty but, just like the Gear S, getting it repaired might be a hassle as the company is no longer producing these. So, overall the LG Watch Style LGW270 is thin, yes, but, other than that, there isn’t a huge reason to get it.

10. Skagen Connected Falster 2

If you were into the Fossil Gen 4 or even Gen 5 but you need something slightly different, the Skagen Falster 2 is going to be the next best choice for you. It also runs WearOS and has everything that the Gen 4 has at a lower price.

The Falster 2 is compatible with iPhones and Android smartphones. However, the integration will be more seamless if you’re using Android. It has Bluetooth 4.1 LE and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n for Wireless Connectivity as well as GPS for all your navigation needs.

As far as the raw hardware goes, it is powered by the same Snapdragon 2100 with 512MB RAM and 4GB of Internal Storage. This is a pretty average spec sheet but, it still matches the Fossil Gen 4 so, expect similar performance across the board.

The Falster 2 is also powered by WearOS which allows access to the Google Play Store for getting all the apps you need and also comes with features like Google Pay & Google Assistant.

The available sensors are also really similar, allowing features like Heart Rate Monitoring and day to day activity tracking. In the activity tracking department, the device can track your stats for running, swimming, hiking, walking, etc. That’s about what you’d expect and this definitely isn’t a perfect collection of health monitoring features. So, this department would stand out as a bit of lackey at times.

For the display, Skagen has gone for a 1.19-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 390 x 390. The display is perfectly visible outdoors and thanks to OLED, the infinite contrast ratio and punchy colors make the display stand out. You can receive all your notifications, app alerts, and do a lot more directly on the display and the high pixel density does make the visuals and texts stand out.

Now, in the design and build quality department, Skagen has gone with a circular stainless steel design. The case is sturdy and should hold up pretty well in long term. The design is again, very similar to the Fossil Gen 4 but, they do have enough difference so you can tell them apart by looking at them. There is also a 3 ATM rating which can survive swimming sessions with ease.

The battery life is also not that different. If you’re using all the features on a mixed usage basis, you’ll get less than 24-hours of use which means you need to charge your watch at night. If you use the inbuilt low-power mode, you can get an additional two days.

Skagen ships the Falster 2 with a limited 2-year international warranty. This is great as most other competitors only give one year of warranty which is domestic in most cases. However, if you think that you don’t want to spend extra money on the Fossil, maybe the Skagen Falster 2 is the perfect choice for you.

11. Withings Activité Sapphire

The Withings Activité Sapphire is also a Hybrid Smartwatch like the Steel HR. However, this one does not come with a display. So, in case you were interested in the Steel HR but didn’t wanna deal with a display on your analog watch, you may want to consider this one instead.

Compatibility is again a non-issue as Withings includes support for both iOS and Android ecosystems. For connectivity, there is GPS for navigation and Bluetooth for wireless communications from the watch to your phone. There is no Wi-Fi support though.

There is no real processing happening in the Activité so, there isn’t any need for a powerful processor or fast RAM, so the device does away with those as well. What it does keep around though, are its sensors which help to perform things like Sleep Monitoring or activity tracking.

There is no heart rate monitor on this one so, keep that in mind. It can track things like running, swimming, walking, etc. but, there isn’t a huge standout feature yet. You track all your health data through the Health Mate companion app.

There is no real display so, all you have is the mechanical clock which might be the initial reason you’re looking at this device. However, the body is made out of stainless steel and the Activité Sapphire edition also has a sapphire top layer which should be way more scratch resistant compared to glass. There is a 5 ATM water resistance which means that you can take it swimming without any issues.

The watch doesn’t need charging as it can operate on a single button-type watch battery and per battery will last you around 8 months. That’s crazy good but, again the watch isn’t doing much anyway so, it is kinda expected.

You’ll get a 1-year standard warranty with the Activité which is pretty standard on smartwatches. Anyway, I can’t stress the fact enough that if you want a hybrid smartwatch, you’re better off with the Steel HR. But, if you don’t want a display at all, maybe the Withings Activité Sapphire will make some sense to you.

12. Cheapest Option: Amazfit Bip

The Amazfit Bip is one of my top choices when it comes to smartwatches under $100 budget. It is also one of the longest-lasting devices on this list. I think a lot of you would be interested in something like the Bip, especially if you want a device that’ll do all the basic smartwatch stuff but, also won’t break your wallet.

As far as compatibility goes, the Bip can be used with both Android phones and iPhones. It supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for wireless connectivity and it is also using a chip from Sony for GPS+GLONASS. This chip is also supposed to reduce battery consumption and that seems to work pretty well.

For the performance section, Amazfit has used a Mediatek SOC alongside 1MB of RAM and 4MB of flash Internal Storage. So, it’s safe to say that the device only has enough power to keep the basics running.

Amazfit’s own OS handles these operations with ease, so I won’t worry much about that. The available sensors are also pretty basic with the only significant one being the Heart Rate sensor and the watch can also track basic activities like Running, Walking, Cycling, and a few more.

As far as display technology goes, Amazfit has gone with a semi-transparent reflective color panel. As it’s not an OLED panel, it does not have poppy colors but the company has still managed to get good battery life out of the 1.28-inch panel that has a resolution of 127 x 127.

Needless to say that the lower resolution means that the visuals are less sharp but, at least there is still Always-on Display functionality.

The design and build quality is generally the least impressive part of a lower budget smartwatch and the Amazfit Bip is no exception. The case is made out of hard plastic and it won’t feel any premium. There is, however, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the top of the display. The design is also pretty basic with a plain rectangular frame with rounded corners and thick bezels.

It does have an IP68 rating but, it won’t survive swimming.

Amazfit claims a huge 45-days of battery life on the Bip. Now, that’s like the absolute best-case scenario, and based on the usage habit, every user will see slightly different results. Now, considering the fact that the Bip can only do a handful of things, you may actually manage to squeeze 40+ days if you’re not using the GPS too much.

Now for the after-sales, there is a 1-year warranty included with the device which is pretty much what you get with every other smartwatch these days. So, overall I’ll say that if you are looking for a smartwatch that can at least check your heart rate and you’re also on a tight budget, the Amazfit Bip can be a great choice for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Verdict

We need to wrap this thing up now and I think you probably know which smartwatch you’re going with, by now. However, for those who are still confused, let me give you a quick recommendation list. This list has been created with different types of users in mind and hopefully, there is something for you as well.

• If you just want the world’s thinnest smartwatch, the Pebble Time Round is going to be the one for you.
• If you want something on Google’s WearOS platform, the Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle and Women's Gen 4 Venture smartwatches are excellent choices.
• If you want a Hybrid smartwatch with a mechanical clock, the Withings Steel HR is the best one for you.
• If you want a thin smartwatch that does health really well, the Samsung Galaxy Active 2 is going to be my recommendation.
• If you want a lower-priced smartwatch that can at least do the essential health & fitness stuff, the Amazfit Bip is a good option. You can also spend slightly more and get a Skagen Falster 2 to get a better smartwatch experience.

Now, you have to make the decision based on exactly what features you’re looking for because, as I said at the beginning of the article, there is no perfect smartwatch for everyone. However, there will be something that would be nearly perfect for a specific number of users. So, once you have your priorities in check, you’ll know exactly which one to pick.