If you are trying to find the best smartwatch in 2021, it will prove to be a difficult task as the market is expanding at an unruly pace. There are a mind-boggling number of great smartwatches in the market. From the latest Samsung Watch 3 to the well-built Apple Watches, we have got several options. If you are looking for a guide to help you choose the best smartwatch, you have come to the right place. Whether you want a classy, functional, or fitness-centric watch to track your health, there is at least one timepiece guaranteed to catch your eye in this list. So without further ado, let’s check out the best smartwatches you can buy in 2021.

Here, we have listed the best smartwatches based on fitness features, smart features such as calling, notification reply, voice assistance, app support, and more. You can expand the table below and check out the smartwatch you want at your convenience.

  • Apple Watch Series 6 / SE
  • Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
  • Fitbit Sense/ Versa 3
  • Oppo Watch (46mm)
  • OnePlus Watch
  • Amazfit GTS 2 / GTR 2 / T-Rex Pro
  • Mi Watch Revolve
  • Fossil Gen 5
  • Garmin Venu
  • Huawei Watch GT 2

1. Apple Watch Series 6 / SE

The Apple Watch Series 6 is, without a doubt, one of the best smartwatches you can buy right now and it is certainly way ahead of any competitor, including Samsung. In fact, one can argue that last year’s Series 5 was already a tightly-put product with almost all the major features in tow.

If you find Apple Watch Series 6 way too expensive, you can opt for the Apple Watch SE. It’s a slightly trimmed-down version of Series 6 with all the essentials and some smart features in tow. You get the same display, design, battery life, Emergency SOS, and more. However, some of the notable omissions are blood oxygen level, ECG, and Always-on display. Basically, the Apple Watch SE does not have many fitness features. If you want to learn the differences between Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, go through our detailed comparison.

  • Great build quality and battery life
  • A big LTPO OLED screen
  • Blood oxygen level on Series 6
  • ECG feature on Series 6
  • Always-on Display
  • Fall Detection
  • Contact Emergency all over the world

Cons:

Buy Apple Watch Series 6: Starts at $349  (₹37,900)

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Watch 3 is perhaps the best smartwatch for Android users. Unlike most other smartwatches that run Wear OS, the Galaxy Watch 3 runs Samsung’s own Tizen OS. Plus, it’s proven to work better than WearOS in most cases, especially in battery efficiency. Unlike the rotating bezel on earlier Galaxy Watches, the Watch 3 sports an all-encompassing Super AMOLED screen with support for Always-on display.

  • Beautiful OLED display
  • Long-lasting battery
  • Always-on display
  • Samsung App Store
  • Samsung Pay Support
  • ECG, Blood Oxygen and Fall Detection Support

Buy Samsung Galaxy Watch3: Starts at $329 (₹27,470)

If you are not willing to spend $500 on a fitness-centric smartwatch, then Fitbit’s new Versa 3 is the smartwatch to buy in 2021. Fitbit, as we know, is a popular name when it comes to activity trackers, and the Versa is pretty much the best it has to offer. And the new Versa 3 looks amazing with a sleek look, light build, and larger screen.

Other than that, Fitbit has launched another watch called Sense. It comes with all the features of Versa 3, along with some much-needed health tools such as ECG, body temperature, better heart-rate tracking, and the ability to detect signs like atrial fibrillation. In simple terms, Fitbit Versa is a more health-focused watch. Depending on what you need, you can choose any one of the two.

Buy Fitbit Sense: $299.95 (₹30,900)

Buy Fitbit Versa 3: $228.95 (₹17,699)

If you are looking for the best smartwatch to buy in India, I would highly recommend getting the Oppo Watch. It runs Wear OS and is powered by Snapdragon 3100 SoC, which is 3 years old, but surprisingly offers more than two days of battery life. I have been personally using this watch for the past 3-4 months, and I can vouch for its battery life.

The good thing is that Oppo has now brought a lot of watch faces which was missing earlier. Coming to the Wear OS experience, I think it needs some polish. In my usage, I experienced that Google Assistant does not work at times. Another issue I have with this watch is that the speaker is not powerful enough. So if you plan to take calls on the smartwatch, then sorry to disappoint you, this smartwatch is not an ideal pick. To sum up, if you want a WearOS smartwatch in India, Oppo Watch is a great alternative to Fossil Gen 5.

Pros:

Buy Oppo Watch (46mm): ₹19,990

If you have been waiting for an affordable smartwatch in 2021 that brings both fitness and smart features, then OnePlus Watch is for you. OnePlus recently announced its smartwatch that thankfully does not run WearOS and offers 14 days of battery life. If you are wondering what OS it runs, it’s based on an RTOS (real-time operating system) system similar to the Fitbit Versa.

Cons:

  • No app support
  • No voice assistant
  • AoD not supported at launch

Buy OnePlus Watch: $159 (₹14,999)

Amazfit has recently been making some of the best smartwatches, and they are continuing this effort in 2021 as well. We know that most of the Amazfit watches are fitness-centric, but they also offer smart features and a premium look.

Besides that, you can now receive calls with GTS 2 and GTR 2 and can also talk to Alexa voice assistant to get things done on the fly. So if you want a stylish smartwatch in 2021 with fitness tracking features, call support, and voice assistance, then buy either Amazfit GTS 2 or GTR 2.

Buy Amazfit GTS 2: $179.99 (₹12,999)

7. Mi Watch Revolve

The Mi Watch Revolve is Xiaomi’s first smartwatch in India, and it’s safe to say that the company is not trying to emulate its smartphone strategy on smartwatches. It does not come with all the bells and whistles but tries to do the basics well. You have got a beautiful 1.39-inch AMOLED display, water resistance up to 5ATM, multiple sports modes, always-on display support, and more. And just like Amazfit, Mi Watch Revolve also offers you long-lasting 14-day battery life.

  • Trendy design
  • Heart-rate sensor
  • Blood oxygen level
  • Stress indicator
  • Always-on display
  • 14-day battery life

Buy Mi Watch Revolve: ₹9690

After the success of Fossil Sport, the company has brought the Fossil Gen 5 and refined it even more. Right off the bat, the smartwatch is powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor — the same as Fossil Sport — which is said to improve performance and battery life. However, as we have seen in our testing, the performance and battery life is still not up to the mark — at least not in the league of Apple and Samsung. Coming to the software, it runs Google’s latest Wear OS and offers features like Google Assistant, Google Pay, built-in GPS, heart-rate monitoring, and more.

The Fossil Gen 5 features a 1.28-inch AMOLED display in a 44mm dial, and it is rated to last for up to 24 hours on a single charge. The watch also comes with Google Fit with which you can track health metrics like step count, calories burnt, etc. throughout the day. However, for me, the best addition to Gen 5 is the speaker which was missing on Fossil Sport. So now, you can make and receive calls, talk to Google Assistant via voice, and more. You can even install and play games on it. So if you are looking for the best smartwatch to accompany your Android smartphone then you can consider the Fossil Gen 5.

Compatibility: Android, iOS

Buy Fossil Gen 5: $199 (₹22,995)

If you are on the lookout for a smartwatch that can keep you on top of your fitness game, then Garmin Venu is the way to go. It’s a bit pricier but offers many fitness tracking features that no other smartwatch brings to the table. The smartwatch supports GPS, Blood oxygen level, health monitoring sensors, Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate monitor, Barometric altimeter, Compass, Accelerometer, and more. The watch also has a ton of gym activity profiles like Strength, Cardio, and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, and more.

Buy Garmin Venu: $279 (₹32,990)

Huawei announced its flagship smartwatch, the GT 2 in 2019 and it’s still one of the best Android smartwatch available in the UK and India. It comes with many top-of-the-line features for fitness tracking and smartphone management. But let’s start with hardware first. The GT 2 is powered by the Kirin A1 chipset which is developed by Huawei itself. Huawei claims that it offers a range of fitness tracking features without consuming a lot of power. In fact, the battery life is supposed to last for 2 weeks which is just crazy. Other than that, the Huawei Watch GT 2 sports a 1.2-inch AMOLED screen in 42mm and 46mm dials.

And let me tell you there is a speaker as well so that is great for calling, but you don’t get an LTE variant. Basically, the watch will use Bluetooth to make and receive calls. The prime feature of Huawei Watch GT 2 is that you have access to 15 workout modes and it claims to track all your activities accurately. Not to mention, there is a built-in GPS and heart-rate sensor as well. Simply put, if you want a smartwatch for fitness tracking then I would highly recommend the Huawei Watch GT 2.

Buy Huawei Watch GT 2: $168.97 (₹19,500)