An introduction to the topic of smartwatches and a brief overview of the best smartwatches available.

Introduction

A review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, highlighting its design, display, features, and battery life.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro

An overview of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, focusing on its design, software, rotating bezel, and battery life.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic

A comparison between the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and the 6 Classic, highlighting the differences in design and features.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

An overview of the Google Pixel Watch 2, including its design, Wear OS experience, fitness tracking, and battery life.

Google Pixel Watch 2

A review of the Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch, focusing on its design, customizability, performance, and features.

Fossil Gen 6

An overview of the TicWatch Pro 5, highlighting its unique dual display design, battery life, performance, and fitness tracking.

TicWatch Pro 5

A review of the OPPO Watch WiFi, including its design, performance, features, and battery life.

OPPO Watch WiFi

An overview of the Huawei Watch Ultimate, highlighting its design, durability, fitness features, and battery life.

Huawei Watch Ultimate

An overview of the Huawei Watch GT4, focusing on its design, battery life, fitness tracking, and health-related tools.

Huawei Watch GT4

A review of the Huawei Watch Buds, highlighting its unique design with built-in earbuds, battery life, and features.

Huawei Watch Buds

An overview of the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro, including its design, Wear OS software, performance, and fitness features.

Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro

A review of the Amazfit T-Rex Pro, focusing on its rugged design, fitness tracking, battery life, and notification support.

Amazfit T-Rex Pro

An overview of the Amazfit GTS4 and GTR4, highlighting their design, battery life, fitness tracking, and features.

Amazfit GTS4 and GTR4

A brief overview of the Withens ScanWatch 2, highlighting its discreet design, basic notification support, health tracking, and long battery life.

Withens ScanWatch 2

A closing statement and invitation for viewers to share their favorite smartwatches in the comments.

Conclusion

- The video discusses the best smartwatches available that are not the Apple Watch.
- The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is recommended for its sleek design, durable frame, and responsive screen.
- The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic offers a rotating bezel for easier navigation and a stainless steel body.
- The Google Pixel Watch 2 is praised for its similar experience to the Galaxy watches, Fitbit integration, and improved safety tools.
- The Fossil Gen 6 impresses with its customization options, AMOLED screen, and access to Google services.
- The TicWatch Pro 5 stands out for its unique dual display design, long battery life, and smooth performance.
- The OPPO Watch WiFi is sleek and stylish with a fast charging feature and decent battery life.
- The Huawei Watch Ultimate is a premium option with a tough design, impressive diving capabilities, and long battery life.
- The Huawei Watch GT4 is recommended for its compact size, variety of designs, and extensive fitness and health features.
- The Huawei Watch Buds is a unique choice that includes true wireless earbuds within the smartwatch.

- The video discusses several smartwatches and their features.
- Huawei's smartwatch includes true wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation, but battery life is affected.
- Xiaomi's Watch 2 Pro offers Wear OS software, notification support, and Play Store access, but battery life is limited.
- The Amazfit T-Rex Pro is a rugged smartwatch with fitness tracking features, but battery life falls short of the advertised duration.
- The Amazfit GTS4 and GTR4 have OLED screens, GPS support, and impressive battery life.
- The Withens ScanWatch 2 has basic notification support, health tracking tools, and a month-long battery life.
- Garmin watches are recommended for serious fitness tracking.
- The video concludes by asking viewers to share their favorite smartwatches and subscribe for more tech content.

Reviewing the top 15 best smartwatches of 2023 to suit any budget, focusing on Wear OS and Android users rather than Apple. From Samsung's Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and the Ticwatch Pro 5 to Google's Pixel Watch 2, here's my favourite smartwatches for fitness tracking, battery life and more.

The Ticwatch Pro 5 is still one of the greatest Wear OS options for longevity thanks to the clever dual display design. For a similar price you can get the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro, or Google's Pixel Watch 2 which is fresh out.

Samsung is another of my favourite options for Wear OS. The old Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is still a banger and now for less cash. Else, the fresher Galaxy Watch 6 & 6 Classic are excellent, in every area except for battery life. Full vs comparison and Classic review are live now!

If you have a ridiculous amount of cash you might prefer the Huawei Watch Ultimate, which is a sleek and super-tough outdoor/diving smartwatch. For less cash, try the diverse selection of GT 4 wrist rockets - in two sizes and many designs.

What's your own favourite smartwatch as we near 2024? Let us know below!

Best Smartwatches Winter 2023 Chapters:
0:00 - The bit everyone skips
0:26 - Samsung Galaxy 5 Pro
1:53 - Samsung Galaxy 6 & 6 Classic
3:09- Google Pixel Watch 2
4:44 - Fossil Gen 6
5:32 - Mobvoi Ticwatch Pro 5
6:45 - Oppo Watch WiFi
7:28 - Huawei Watch Ultimate
8:25 - Huawei Watch GT4
9:46 - Huawei Watch Buds
10:30 - Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro
11:43 - Amazfit T-Rex Pro
12:24 - Amazfit GTR4 & GTS4
13:23 - Withings Scan Watch 2

You wish I had even more electronic devices to charge every single bloody night?

Because no matter your budget or taste, there's a smartwatch out there for you.

I test out dozens of these things every year, and Here's my pick of the very best smartwatches right now that aren't the Apple Watch.

And for more on the latest and greatest tech, please do poke subscribe and ding that notifications bell.

1 of the best smartwatches that launched back in 2022 is Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.

These days you can grab it for a sniff to over £300.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro comes with a wide choice of different bands, so you can pick your favourite strap and slap it on there to change up the look and feel whenever you fancy.

Samsung's design is sleek, as usual, with a super durable titanium frame and sapphire glass.

Unlike the older Watch 4 Classic, there's no rotating bezel here for effortlessly navigating through Wear OS, but thankfully the AMOLED screen is perfectly responsive and a proper eye-pleaser too, pumping out crisp and clear text and visuals.

Of course, as this is a Samsung smartwatch, that does mean you get all of Samsung's own services slapped on there like Samsung Pay.

And yes, that does also mean our great mate Bixby is on here to assist your everyday life slash annoy the living piss out of you.

As always, you have comprehensive fitness tracking at your fingertips.

Over 100 different types of sweat-inducing activities are supported here, including some proper outlandish efforts.

You've also got upgraded sleep tracking which identifies you as some kind of animal based on your kipping habits, and then serves up personalised advice on how to get better at being unconscious.

Battery life isn't stellar, sadly, but as you'll discover it's better than quite a lot of the smartwatches in this roundup.

You'll generally get between 2-3 days of full-on use before it conks out.

Sadly Samsung did not update its ProWatch for 2023, but this year we did get a couple of nifty new Galaxy Watches, including the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.

This sports a polished stainless steel body, once again with sapphire glass protecting that poppy OLED panel.

On the software side, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is pretty much identical to the Watch 5 Pro.

You've got Wear OS topped with a buggerload of Samsung's own apps and services.

However, you've also got the benefit of that snazzy rotating bezel, which makes navigating around the menus and apps even more satisfying.

Samsung's nippy new Exynos W930 chipset means slightly smoother performance, but the battery life is rather toilet.

It'll just about stretch to 2 days if you don't go nuts, basically.

If your budget happens to max out at £300, well, no worries, there is a regular Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 as well.

It swaps out the stainless steel for more basic aluminium and ditches the snazzy rotating bezel.

The bezel is a miss, but as a result of the aluminium frame it's also a lighter watch and a bit more compact, not to mention less abusive to your wallet.

And If you're interested, I've done a full comparison between the Galaxy Watch 6 and the 6 Classic, which is live right now here on the Techspurts.

1 of the best Samsung alternatives is Google's Pixel Watch 2, which is a stunning and slender pebble-style smartwatch that looks remarkably like the original Pixel Watch.

Sadly, however, that shiny surface hasn't been upgraded to sapphire glass to help protect the display.

And yes, those bezels are still a wee bit chunky.

But those grumbles aside, the Pixel Watch 2 is 1 of the best smartwatches for Android users.

You get a similar Wear OS experience as those Galaxy watches, but this time with dedicated Google Assistant support.

That Fitbit integration means you get a whole bunch of tools to track your running, hiking, squat thrusting, whatever.

And Google is also chucking in a free 6-month subscription to Fitbit Premium so you can make full use of those guided stress-busting mental health sessions as well as the full-on fitness exercise stuff.

The Pixel Watch 2 has been improved in a few ways, including some slick new safety tools and even smoother performance thanks to the upgraded processor.

Those watch faces are more customisable now, although you certainly don't get as many jazzy animated efforts as what Samsung chucks in, but you can always download some fresh faces from the Play Store along with any other apps you fancy.

Sadly, the battery life on the Pixel Watch 2 is, for want of a better word, absolute bollocks.

You'll be charging this smartwatch every damn day, and there's not even wireless charging support this time around.

The Pixel Watch 2 costs around the same as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.

And just like that, you've also got the choice of chucking even more cash at Google for an LTE version if you don't want to rely on being tethered to your phone.

Another favourite is the Fossil Gen 6, which again has lacklustre battery life but impresses in other areas.

This 44mm smartwatch is tough but light and boasts an incredible amount of customisation.

You can even pimp it out with crystals if you're feeling a bit early 2000s hip-hop.

The stunning AMOLED screen is bright enough to cope with serious shine, while the SDWARE 4100 Plus chipset offers simply smooth performance to the Samsung and Pixel watches.

And once again, you've got full access to all of Google's services, including that assistant so bugger off Bixby.

You get all the usual functionality here, including fitness shears, contactless payments, everything apart from the ability to stream music to Bluetooth headphones when you've left your phone at home.

It might be getting on a bit, but it's definitely still a snazzy smartwatch and you can check out my full review right here on Techspurt.

If this dire battery life is really getting you down, no worries.

Wear OS has a new champion in the TicWatch Pro 5 from Mobvoi.

This clever strap-on boasts a unique dual display design so you can quickly check the time on your step count etc with a low-powered LCD.

Only wake in the gorgeous OLED panel if you need to play with apps, check notifications and so on.

Thanks to this smarty pants setup as well as the almighty battery size Mobvoi has crammed inside, The TicWatch can keep on going for around 4-5 days between charges, which is basically unheard of for Wear OS.

And even if it's fully drained, just slap it back on its bundle charger for half an hour and you'll get a full weekend of play, no worries.

All of the usual Wear OS smarts are on board, including the Google Play Store, and you've got a built-in mic and speaker for taking calls.

Fitness tracking ain't the best in this roundup, but it should suit most folk who occasionally slap on the Lycra.

And it all runs beautifully smoothly thanks to Qualcomm's beefy Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 chipset.

It's reasonably attractive, it's fairly durable and the TicWatch Pro 5 is undoubtedly my favourite new smartwatch of 2023 so far.

And it can be yours for just over 300 GBPs.

And if battery life happens to be your priority, I'll definitely give a shoutout to the OPPO Watch WiFi.

This thing is pretty sleek and stylish as long as you don't mind that Apple Watch style square design, with a choice of 41 or 46mm sizes.

The near 2-inch AMOLED screen is big, bright and punchy, while the performance is perfectly respectable thanks to the Snapdragon Wave 3100 chip.

Not as smooth as some rivals here, but good enough.

Pro features like a mic and speaker and GPS tracking are present and correct, and all for less cash than many rivals.

But best of all, that VOOC charge support means that the OPPO Watch charges up just as fast as the Tick Watch.

It can keep on going for around 2-3 days between charges, which ain't too arse.

Now if you happen to have more money stuffed under your mattress than Elon Musk and you're after 1 of the most premium smartwatches of 2023, you might want to ponder over this expensive and hefty slab right here, the Huawei Watch Ultimate.

They really weren't f***ing around when they called it the Ultimate.

It's ultimate in every way including the asking price which starts off at a trouser-tingling £700.

You can bump that up to £800 if you fancy this here blue model.

This thing is built for lovers of the great outdoors with its uber-tough design and impressive diving creds.

It's constructed from ceramic and metal alloy, and you've also got sapphire glass protecting that LTPO AMOLED display, so good luck breaking this thing.

And while Huawei's smartwatch UI doesn't offer the same level of app and notification support as Wear OS, you do still have impressive fitness features packed on board, plus the Huawei Watch Ultimate boasts around 5-6 days of battery life even with intensive use.

But of course not all of us have the best part of a grand to spunk out on our next smart watch, in which case maybe check out the Huawei Watch GT4 instead.

This gorgeous connected timepiece comes in a more compact 41mm size as well as 46mm, so for people like me with spindly wee wrists, it's a better choice than the Ultimate.

It doesn't dangle off you like you're 8 years old again and borrowing your dad's watch to play dress up.

And Huawei is offering a selection of tantalising designs to suit all tastes, not to mention budgets.

If you grab 1 of the larger 46mm models, you will enjoy up to a fortnight of use on a single charge.

And yeah, even if you knock on all of the features, including that Always On Display, you can still expect a full week of use before it's finally drained.

Like that Ultimate model, the Huawei Watch GT4 supports dozens of exercises, even dubious ones like board games, with dual-band 5-system JNSS tracking for outdoor shenanigans.

If you happen to find yourself lost in the wilderness, the handy route retracing feature will get you back to civilisation before you find yourself adopted by a family of friendly wolves.

The Huawei Watch GT4 also boasts an upgraded TruScene heart rate sensor and loads of fantastic health-related tools to keep tabs on your stress levels, periods, calorie consumption – pretty much everything that's going on with that fleshy prison you call a body.

A slightly more wacky off-the-wall choice is the Huawei Watch Buds, which is frankly bats*** mental but still better than it has any right to be.

You can actually pop open this smartwatch's screen and find a pair of true wireless earbuds lurking within.

These bullet-style buds are comfy to wear and offer a few hours of music good times before they need to be stashed back inside the watch to recharge.

It all works surprisingly well and those earbuds even have built-in active noise cancellation to block out everything that's going on around you, give you a nice bit of peace.

And all the usual Huawei Watch features are packed in there too, although battery life does take a hit because some of the power is leached by those buds.

And of course this thing is a proper chunkster.

Now Xiaomi is 1 of Huawei's biggest rivals in this department, also offering premium smartwatches packed with great features at an affordable price 0.1 of its latest offerings is the excellent Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro.

The big upgrade here is the Wear OS software, which means you'll have full, dedicated notification support and Play Store access for downloading fresh apps.

Something you don't get with those Harmony OS Huawei watches.

This stainless steel smartwatch is, again, a bit of a chunkster, with a bright and punchy AMOLED display.

It's powered by the Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1, so it's rare to see any judders.

Although battery life is about on par with those of Galaxy Watch 6 smartwatches, i.e.

A bit cack, so expect no more than a couple of days of play before you'll need to slap it back on the charger.

The Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro, like most modern smartwatches, supports a built-in mic and speaker, so you can once again make full use of that Google Assistant or take calls on your wrist if you can't be arsed to pull your phone out your pocket.

And Xiaomi has also crammed in a solid selection of fitness features, including auto-tracking for stuff like walking and jogging, plus accurate GPS tracking.

Overall, it's a tasty package with a pleasing price tag.

If you want a smartwatch that is proper rugged for enduring all kinds of outdoor punishment, but a rock climb and that sort of physical stuff that I most certainly do not partake in, well, check out the Amazfit T-Rex Pro.

The T-Rex Pro is waterproof to 10 atmospheres and can cope with extreme temperatures and sudden impacts.

It's as tough as a Wetherspoon's lamb chop.

You've got fitness tracking support for over 100 types of exercise, around half of which I'd never even heard of, plus full GPS support and all the usual heart rate and SpO2 sensors.

Pretty solid stuff for £139, but the notification support is quite basic and I got closer to 5 days of battery life rather than the advertised 18 days with all the features on.

Amazfit also spaffed out some excellent, more regular smartwatches last year, including the GTS4 and GTR4.

These sport similar specs, including a gorgeous OLED screen, which is square for the GTS and round for the GTR, plus a sleek, light, water-resistant design.

Zeppo S delivers the full set of fitness tracking features, including support for over 150 types of workout, and some random shiz like chess for those who consider sitting on your arse playing board games actual exercise.

This generation finally adds proper GPS support with seriously impressive accuracy.

You get a wide variety of watch faces and a respectable selection of apps too.

But the highlight of these smartwatches is undoubtedly that battery life stretching a whole week for the GTS4 and at least a good few days for the GTR4, that's even with the Always-On Display switched on and all other features turned up to max.

And all of that is wrapped in a gorgeous stainless steel frame for a UK asking price under £200.

And last up, if you fancy a smartwatch that doesn't actually look anything like a smartwatch, well definitely check out the fresh new Withens ScanWatch 2.

I haven't personally reviewed the latest model, but I'm still a big fan of the original Scanwatch, whose weenie display serves as basic notification support and a bunch of health tracking tools, while still looking proper smart.

Plus you get roughly a month of use from a single battery charge.

Now, if you're dead serious about the fitness track and that is like the number 1 priority for you, well, there are some other options out there.

The Garmin watches, for instance, get a lot of praise from my fellow tech nerds who occasionally drag their ass down to the gym or around the block a few times.

But anyway, that's my roundup of the very best smartwatches that I've personally tested and reviewed here on TechSpurt right now.

Have I missed your own personal favourite smartwatch?

Well, definitely clue me in as to what a massive twat I am in the comments below, let us know what I should have included.

Please do poke subscribe, ding that notifications bell for more on the latest and greatest tech, and have yourselves a ruddy, wonderful rest of the week.


Speaker 0: What's that? You wish I had even more electronic devices to charge every single bloody night? Well, why not get a smartwatch? Because no matter your budget or taste, there's a smartwatch out there for you. And chances are, I bloody reviewed it.

I test out dozens of these things every year, and Here's my pick of the very best smartwatches right now that aren't the Apple Watch. And for more on the latest and greatest tech, please do poke subscribe and ding that notifications bell. Cheers! 1 of the best smartwatches that launched back in 2022 is Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. These days you can grab it for a sniff to over £300.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro comes with a wide choice of different bands, so you can pick your favourite strap and slap it on there to change up the look and feel whenever you fancy. Samsung's design is sleek, as usual, with a super durable titanium frame and sapphire glass. Unlike the older Watch 4 Classic, there's no rotating bezel here for effortlessly navigating through Wear OS, but thankfully the AMOLED screen is perfectly responsive and a proper eye-pleaser too, pumping out crisp and clear text and visuals. Of course, as this is a Samsung smartwatch, that does mean you get all of Samsung's own services slapped on there like Samsung Pay. And yes, that does also mean our great mate Bixby is on here to assist your everyday life slash annoy the living piss out of you.

As always, you have comprehensive fitness tracking at your fingertips. Over 100 different types of sweat-inducing activities are supported here, including some proper outlandish efforts. You've also got upgraded sleep tracking which identifies you as some kind of animal based on your kipping habits, and then serves up personalised advice on how to get better at being unconscious. Battery life isn't stellar, sadly, but as you'll discover it's better than quite a lot of the smartwatches in this roundup. You'll generally get between 2-3 days of full-on use before it conks out.

Sadly Samsung did not update its ProWatch for 2023, but this year we did get a couple of nifty new Galaxy Watches, including the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. This sports a polished stainless steel body, once again with sapphire glass protecting that poppy OLED panel. On the software side, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is pretty much identical to the Watch 5 Pro. You've got Wear OS topped with a buggerload of Samsung's own apps and services. However, you've also got the benefit of that snazzy rotating bezel, which makes navigating around the menus and apps even more satisfying.

Samsung's nippy new Exynos W930 chipset means slightly smoother performance, but the battery life is rather toilet. It'll just about stretch to 2 days if you don't go nuts, basically. If your budget happens to max out at £300, well, no worries, there is a regular Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 as well. It swaps out the stainless steel for more basic aluminium and ditches the snazzy rotating bezel. The bezel is a miss, but as a result of the aluminium frame it's also a lighter watch and a bit more compact, not to mention less abusive to your wallet.

And If you're interested, I've done a full comparison between the Galaxy Watch 6 and the 6 Classic, which is live right now here on the Techspurts. 1 of the best Samsung alternatives is Google's Pixel Watch 2, which is a stunning and slender pebble-style smartwatch that looks remarkably like the original Pixel Watch. Sadly, however, that shiny surface hasn't been upgraded to sapphire glass to help protect the display. And yes, those bezels are still a wee bit chunky. But those grumbles aside, the Pixel Watch 2 is 1 of the best smartwatches for Android users.

You get a similar Wear OS experience as those Galaxy watches, but this time with dedicated Google Assistant support. That Fitbit integration means you get a whole bunch of tools to track your running, hiking, squat thrusting, whatever. And Google is also chucking in a free 6-month subscription to Fitbit Premium so you can make full use of those guided stress-busting mental health sessions as well as the full-on fitness exercise stuff. The Pixel Watch 2 has been improved in a few ways, including some slick new safety tools and even smoother performance thanks to the upgraded processor. Those watch faces are more customisable now, although you certainly don't get as many jazzy animated efforts as what Samsung chucks in, but you can always download some fresh faces from the Play Store along with any other apps you fancy.

Sadly, the battery life on the Pixel Watch 2 is, for want of a better word, absolute bollocks. You'll be charging this smartwatch every damn day, and there's not even wireless charging support this time around. The Pixel Watch 2 costs around the same as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. And just like that, you've also got the choice of chucking even more cash at Google for an LTE version if you don't want to rely on being tethered to your phone. Another favourite is the Fossil Gen 6, which again has lacklustre battery life but impresses in other areas.

This 44mm smartwatch is tough but light and boasts an incredible amount of customisation. You can even pimp it out with crystals if you're feeling a bit early 2000s hip-hop. The stunning AMOLED screen is bright enough to cope with serious shine, while the SDWARE 4100 Plus chipset offers simply smooth performance to the Samsung and Pixel watches. And once again, you've got full access to all of Google's services, including that assistant so bugger off Bixby. You get all the usual functionality here, including fitness shears, contactless payments, everything apart from the ability to stream music to Bluetooth headphones when you've left your phone at home.

It might be getting on a bit, but it's definitely still a snazzy smartwatch and you can check out my full review right here on Techspurt. If this dire battery life is really getting you down, no worries. Wear OS has a new champion in the TicWatch Pro 5 from Mobvoi. This clever strap-on boasts a unique dual display design so you can quickly check the time on your step count etc with a low-powered LCD. Only wake in the gorgeous OLED panel if you need to play with apps, check notifications and so on.

Thanks to this smarty pants setup as well as the almighty battery size Mobvoi has crammed inside, The TicWatch can keep on going for around 4-5 days between charges, which is basically unheard of for Wear OS. And even if it's fully drained, just slap it back on its bundle charger for half an hour and you'll get a full weekend of play, no worries. All of the usual Wear OS smarts are on board, including the Google Play Store, and you've got a built-in mic and speaker for taking calls. Fitness tracking ain't the best in this roundup, but it should suit most folk who occasionally slap on the Lycra. And it all runs beautifully smoothly thanks to Qualcomm's beefy Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1 chipset.

It's reasonably attractive, it's fairly durable and the TicWatch Pro 5 is undoubtedly my favourite new smartwatch of 2023 so far. And it can be yours for just over 300 GBPs. And if battery life happens to be your priority, I'll definitely give a shoutout to the OPPO Watch WiFi. This thing is pretty sleek and stylish as long as you don't mind that Apple Watch style square design, with a choice of 41 or 46mm sizes. The near 2-inch AMOLED screen is big, bright and punchy, while the performance is perfectly respectable thanks to the Snapdragon Wave 3100 chip.

Not as smooth as some rivals here, but good enough. Pro features like a mic and speaker and GPS tracking are present and correct, and all for less cash than many rivals. But best of all, that VOOC charge support means that the OPPO Watch charges up just as fast as the Tick Watch. It can keep on going for around 2-3 days between charges, which ain't too arse. Now if you happen to have more money stuffed under your mattress than Elon Musk and you're after 1 of the most premium smartwatches of 2023, you might want to ponder over this expensive and hefty slab right here, the Huawei Watch Ultimate.

They really weren't f***ing around when they called it the Ultimate. It's ultimate in every way including the asking price which starts off at a trouser-tingling £700. You can bump that up to £800 if you fancy this here blue model. This thing is built for lovers of the great outdoors with its uber-tough design and impressive diving creds. It's constructed from ceramic and metal alloy, and you've also got sapphire glass protecting that LTPO AMOLED display, so good luck breaking this thing.

And while Huawei's smartwatch UI doesn't offer the same level of app and notification support as Wear OS, you do still have impressive fitness features packed on board, plus the Huawei Watch Ultimate boasts around 5-6 days of battery life even with intensive use. But of course not all of us have the best part of a grand to spunk out on our next smart watch, in which case maybe check out the Huawei Watch GT4 instead. This gorgeous connected timepiece comes in a more compact 41mm size as well as 46mm, so for people like me with spindly wee wrists, it's a better choice than the Ultimate. It doesn't dangle off you like you're 8 years old again and borrowing your dad's watch to play dress up. And Huawei is offering a selection of tantalising designs to suit all tastes, not to mention budgets.

If you grab 1 of the larger 46mm models, you will enjoy up to a fortnight of use on a single charge. And yeah, even if you knock on all of the features, including that Always On Display, you can still expect a full week of use before it's finally drained. Like that Ultimate model, the Huawei Watch GT4 supports dozens of exercises, even dubious ones like board games, with dual-band 5-system JNSS tracking for outdoor shenanigans. If you happen to find yourself lost in the wilderness, the handy route retracing feature will get you back to civilisation before you find yourself adopted by a family of friendly wolves. The Huawei Watch GT4 also boasts an upgraded TruScene heart rate sensor and loads of fantastic health-related tools to keep tabs on your stress levels, periods, calorie consumption – pretty much everything that's going on with that fleshy prison you call a body.

A slightly more wacky off-the-wall choice is the Huawei Watch Buds, which is frankly bats*** mental but still better than it has any right to be. You can actually pop open this smartwatch's screen and find a pair of true wireless earbuds lurking within. These bullet-style buds are comfy to wear and offer a few hours of music good times before they need to be stashed back inside the watch to recharge. It all works surprisingly well and those earbuds even have built-in active noise cancellation to block out everything that's going on around you, give you a nice bit of peace. And all the usual Huawei Watch features are packed in there too, although battery life does take a hit because some of the power is leached by those buds.

And of course this thing is a proper chunkster. Now Xiaomi is 1 of Huawei's biggest rivals in this department, also offering premium smartwatches packed with great features at an affordable price 0.1 of its latest offerings is the excellent Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro. The big upgrade here is the Wear OS software, which means you'll have full, dedicated notification support and Play Store access for downloading fresh apps. Something you don't get with those Harmony OS Huawei watches. This stainless steel smartwatch is, again, a bit of a chunkster, with a bright and punchy AMOLED display.

It's powered by the Snapdragon W5 Plus Gen 1, so it's rare to see any judders. Although battery life is about on par with those of Galaxy Watch 6 smartwatches, i.e. A bit cack, so expect no more than a couple of days of play before you'll need to slap it back on the charger. The Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro, like most modern smartwatches, supports a built-in mic and speaker, so you can once again make full use of that Google Assistant or take calls on your wrist if you can't be arsed to pull your phone out your pocket. And Xiaomi has also crammed in a solid selection of fitness features, including auto-tracking for stuff like walking and jogging, plus accurate GPS tracking.

Overall, it's a tasty package with a pleasing price tag. If, once again, the battery life is poo. If you want a smartwatch that is proper rugged for enduring all kinds of outdoor punishment, but a rock climb and that sort of physical stuff that I most certainly do not partake in, well, check out the Amazfit T-Rex Pro. The T-Rex Pro is waterproof to 10 atmospheres and can cope with extreme temperatures and sudden impacts. It's as tough as a Wetherspoon's lamb chop.

You've got fitness tracking support for over 100 types of exercise, around half of which I'd never even heard of, plus full GPS support and all the usual heart rate and SpO2 sensors. Pretty solid stuff for £139, but the notification support is quite basic and I got closer to 5 days of battery life rather than the advertised 18 days with all the features on. Amazfit also spaffed out some excellent, more regular smartwatches last year, including the GTS4 and GTR4. These sport similar specs, including a gorgeous OLED screen, which is square for the GTS and round for the GTR, plus a sleek, light, water-resistant design. Zeppo S delivers the full set of fitness tracking features, including support for over 150 types of workout, and some random shiz like chess for those who consider sitting on your arse playing board games actual exercise.

This generation finally adds proper GPS support with seriously impressive accuracy. You get a wide variety of watch faces and a respectable selection of apps too. But the highlight of these smartwatches is undoubtedly that battery life stretching a whole week for the GTS4 and at least a good few days for the GTR4, that's even with the Always-On Display switched on and all other features turned up to max. And all of that is wrapped in a gorgeous stainless steel frame for a UK asking price under £200. Bargain!

And last up, if you fancy a smartwatch that doesn't actually look anything like a smartwatch, well definitely check out the fresh new Withens ScanWatch 2. I haven't personally reviewed the latest model, but I'm still a big fan of the original Scanwatch, whose weenie display serves as basic notification support and a bunch of health tracking tools, while still looking proper smart. Plus you get roughly a month of use from a single battery charge. Woof, love it. Now, if you're dead serious about the fitness track and that is like the number 1 priority for you, well, there are some other options out there.

The Garmin watches, for instance, get a lot of praise from my fellow tech nerds who occasionally drag their ass down to the gym or around the block a few times. So definitely have a gander of those. But anyway, that's my roundup of the very best smartwatches that I've personally tested and reviewed here on TechSpurt right now. Have I missed your own personal favourite smartwatch? Well, definitely clue me in as to what a massive twat I am in the comments below, let us know what I should have included.

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Top 15 Best Smartwatches (That Aren't The Apple Watch) | Winter 2023