Best Alternatives to Apple Watch | A Review and Buying Guide

If you’re looking for the best alternatives to Apple Watch, then you’re in luck. The good news is, there are already lots of brands and styles of smartwatches in the market today. However, if you don’t know much about the device, you may be misled and buy one that does not match your needs.

It’s pretty evident that not everyone can own an Apple Watch mainly because of its high price range. However, that only means that it’s time to broaden your horizon and consider alternatives to the Apple Watch that cost way less even though they pretty much have the same features.

Here are the best alternatives to Apple Watch this year:

• Huawei Watch GT2e
• Fitbit Versa 3
• Oppo Watch
• Amazfit Bip U Pro
• Amazfit GTS 2 Mini
• Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
• Garmin Vivoactive 4
• Skagen Falster 3
• Garmin Venu
• Withings Steel HR Sport

10 Best Alternatives to Apple Watch

Top 10 Best Alternatives to Apple Watch	Features	Best for
Huawei Watch GT2e	1.39″ AMOLED display; 14 days battery life; SpO2 sensor, heart rate monitor, gyroscope, compass, barometer	Overall Best Alternative to the Apple Watch
Fitbit Versa 3	Decent 6 days battery life; Fast charging, SpO2 sensors, heart rate monitor; Alexa voice commands	Best Fitness Tracker
Oppo Watch	41m and 46mm sizes; High resolution dual curved display; watchOS; LTE, Fast charging	Best Apple Watch lookalike
Amazfit Bip U Pro	Decent 9 day battery backup; Built-in GPS, 5ATM water resistant, heart rate sensor, SpO2 sensors	Best Budget Friendly Apple Watch lookalike
Amazfit GTS 2 Mini	1.55″ AMOLED display; 14 days battery life; 24/7 fitness tracking, Alexa voice commands, 70 fitness and sports modes, sleep tracking	Most Efficient Apple Watch Alternative
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2	Runs on TizenOS; Impressive fitness tracking capabilities, Samsung Pay, ECG sensor, fall detection, blood pressure monitoring	Apple Watch Alternative with the Best Features
Garmin Vivoactive 4	20+ Activity modes; 7 days battery life, 13 hours GPS; Accurate reading of health and fitness metrics	Best Apple Watch Alternative for Sports
Skagen Falster 3	1.3″ AMOLED display, 42mm size; 11 thick body; Built-in heart rate monitor; wearOS	Best Looking Apple Watch Alternative
Garmin Venu	390*390 AMOLED display; Garmin sport tracking technology; 5ATM water resistant; 6 days battery life, GPS capabilities	Best Premium Apple Watch lookalike
Withings Steel HR Sport	Analog display with tiny OLED screen; VO2 Max, Optical heart sensors; 25 Day battery life	Best Analog Apple Watch Alternative

Huawei Watch GT2e

The Huawei GT2e is a down-to-earth smartwatch that is quite similar to its predecessor the GT2 in terms of performance and battery backup. With one of the most efficient batteries out there, the GT2e can easily last on average 14 days from a single charge, unlike the Apple Watch that would quickly die within a single day.

It comes equipped with a decent 1.39” AMOLED display that’s not only extremely vibrant, but waterproof at 5ATM. This means that if you’re going for a daily swim, then the Huawei GT2e will track your swim style and strokes underwater so you can view your stats at a later point in time.

Actually there a many reasons why i’d suggest you buy the Huawei GT2e over an Apple Watch, namely;

• It costs relatively less as compared to the Apple Watch and comes with numerous sensors that you can take advantage of and track your health metrics.

• There’s a built-in SpO2 reader that is capable of delivering an accurate reading of your blood oxygen levels, quite similar to the Apple Watch.

• Other helpful sensors include, gyroscope, compass, barometer, heart rate monitor and more. 

Check it out on Amazon

Fitbit Versa 3

The Versa 3 looks like the Apple Watch SE but is not an Apple Watch per se. It’s a very capable smartwatch that doubles up as an extremely sensitive fitness tracker as well. The main drawback of this smartwatch is that it does not come with ECG capabilities or Afib, but it does have built-in GPS so you can track your outdoor workouts.

Coming to battery life, the Fitbit Versa 3 does a good job and can beat the Apple Watch thanks to it’s decent 6 days battery life. It even has fast charging capabilities that allow you to charge the watch for 10 minutes and get a run-time of over a day’s worth.

• It’s equipped with top-notch sleep tracking capabilities, workout detection and numerous sports profiles that can help you keep a check on your progress.

• Though the Versa 3 does not come with an ECG, Fitbit has equipped the device with a reasonable SpO2 sensor that will let you keep tabs on your blood oxygen levels.

• It’s a relatively easy to use smartwatch that has voice function capabilities of Alexa and Google Assistant that help you complete any task you might have pending.

Check it out on Amazon

Oppo Watch

Considered to be the first smartwatch from Oppo to run on WearOS, the Oppo watch looks, feels and comes with a distinct color combination that makes it quite like the Apple Watch, but with a few differences to the design of the body.

This alternative to the Apple Watch is available in 2 variants, the 41mm and 46mm where the 46mm variant comes equipped with LTE and fast charging support which are not found in the 41mm variant of the Oppo Watch.

• This smartwatch is made from aluminium and the larger of the two variants features a dual curved display with higher resolution.

• While the watch runs on WatchOS, you can still pair it with your iPhone and track your health, performance and view any fitness related metrics.

• Though the 46mm variant comes equipped with LTE, it’s rather pointless since your watch would only provide you less than a day’s worth of battery life.

Check it out on Amazon

Amazfit Bip U Pro

The Amazfit Bip U Pro is one of the cheapest and most affordable Apple Watch alternatives out there that costs under £60. Not only is this watch super affordable, but it comes packed with important features that you would get on an Apple Watch such as heart rate, blood oxygen  measurements and more.

What’s even more surprising is that this smartwatch offers a battery life of 9 days from a single charge which is way more than other brand smartwatches are capable of.

• It comes equipped with a built-in GPS system and offers 5ATM of water resistance so you can wear the Bip U Pro while taking a swim. You can track your distance, strokes and other health/fitness metrics from within the watch.

• Another great thing about this smartwatch is that it comes with Alexa built-in to the framework so you can take advantage of her voice commands to control what happens on your Watch

• But all this aside, for the price, the most important feature is the impressive battery life that this watch has to offer. It grants you around 9 full days of life from a single charge that you can use to measure and track your outdoor runs, indoor swims and gym routines.

Check it out on Amazon

Amazfit GTS 2 Mini

As compared with the Bip U Pro from Amazfit, the GTS 2 Mini is far superior in every way possible. First off, this watch uses a large 1.55” AMOLED display that is bright enough for any time of day and comes with over 70 different sports modes so you can track everything you do with the simple click of the button and a few swipes on your screen.

Priced under £80, the GTS 2 Mini comes equipped with a large enough battery that powers the watch for up to 14 days from a single charge. It’s one of the most affordable and powerful alternatives to the Apple Watch and is considered to be the best value for money.

• The GTS 2 Mini provides you with basic notification support, music playback controls, numerous watch faces to choose from and a powerful battery so you don’t have to charge the watch quite often.

• When it comes to fitness tracking and sports tracking, the GTS 2 Mini offers around 70 different modes to choose from depending on your exercise or activity. 

• It has a built-in heart monitor that runs 24/7 so you always have your heart rate available at the  tap of the screen. There’s even a 24/7 fitness tracking and sleep monitoring tool that allows you to track and monitor your sleep cycles.

• With Alexa and an offline voice assistant,  the GTS 2 is the best smartwatch to buy for those on a serious budget.

Check it out on Amazon

Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

If you have Samsung in mind, then the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartwatch is not going to cut it, since you’re looking for alternatives to the Apple Watch, you would need something that offers everything you need and still cost much less than an Apple Watch or other watches in that budget.

The Galaxy Watch Active 2 is a feature-rich smartwatch that not only offers plenty of fitness tracking capabilities but it even permits wireless and contactless payments via the built-in Samsung Pay.

• It runs on Samsung TizenOS that features a range of downloadable apps that can make your watch wearing experience better. 

• The Watch Active 2 is equipped with an ECG sensor, fall detection system, blood pressure monitoring and other sensors that unfortunately would not work with an iPhone. 

• Considering the price, you won’t find a better smartwatch with all these features built-in.

Check it out on Amazon

Garmin Vivoactive 4

The premium brand Garmin has been developing different smartwatches that cater to certain needs. One of their best smartwatches and a commendable foe to the Apple Watch, the Vivoactive 4 is the best sports-focused smartwatch available today.

Since it’s primary directive is to keep tabs on your health and fitness levels, the sensors in the Vivoactive 4 are way more sensitive than those in the Apple Watch, thus providing you with an extremely accurate reading.

• It’s equipped with over 20 different activity modes to choose from such as running,  swimming, cycling, golfing, cardio, indoor rowing, yoga and more.

• It provides you with detailed notifications but the problem is that you will only be able to reply to those notifications from an Android watch.

• What’s impressive about the Vivoactive 4  is that it offers up to 7 days of battery life and around 13 hours of GPS runtime from a single charge. 

Check it out on Amazon

Skagen Falster 3

The Skagen Falster 3 might not be the best smartwatch on this list to compete with the Apple Watch, but it is one really good looking watch that you might consider buying. If you’re seriously not worried about the health and fitness monitoring capabilities and only focusing on the appearance, then the Falster 3 might be slightly expensive, but it’s a really great watch to get.

It comes with a 1.3” AMOLED display that delivers crisp and colorful pictures and with customizable watch faces, you can get the display looking snazzy in no time. It’s also available in a single size – 42mm, that is exactly in the middle of both the Apple Watch sizes.

• The most important stand-out feature is how thin the Falster 3 is. At 11mm thick, there’s almost no other watch that looks and feels as sleek as this one does.

• It’s designed to be best suited for sweaty workouts and comes with a built-in heart rate monitor that you can use to track the intensity of your workout.

• This smartwatch runs on wearOS so don’t expect too much from it in terms of performance and accuracy of your fitness data.

Check it out on Amazon

Garmin Venu

Another premium badboy from Garmin, the Venu is a smartwatch that uses a 390*390 AMOLED touchscreen display that competes with the likes of the Apple Watch series. What makes this watch so special is that it comes with Garmin’s sports tracking technology, which means that it’s developed for serious runners and athletes.

It’s waterproof with a 5ATM rating and similar to the Vivoactive 4 that supports multisports modes. 

• The Venu comes with a deep workout analysis and records metrics such as Stress and body battery. There’s even a built-in pulse oxygen sensor that lets you track your blood oxygen levels and heart rate.

• It lasts longer than the Apple watch even though the Venu comes equipped with an AMOLED display. It managed to last a total of 6 days on a single charge and this was with all the sensors enabled and functioning.

• When it comes to GPS capabilities, the watch would last for around 8 hours which is much less than the Vivoactive 4.

Check it out on Amazon

Withings Steel HR Sport

The Withings Steel HR Sport is a smartwatch that really gives the Apple Watch a run for its money. The wellness tech that this watch comes with is impressive considering it costs under £200.

Wearing this smartwatch will give you a nice professional look and not only is it a fitness tracker that looks like an analog watch, it’s got one of the best optical heart sensors that you could ever find on a smartwatch in this budget.

• The latest update that Withings managed to include in the Steel HR Sport is the SpO2 sensor or the VO2 Max which tracks your blood oxygen levels when you’re working out and lets you know when to stop and breathe.

• The watch may look analog, but there is a small OLED display that shows you your new notifications and some health related information so you’re not missing out on anything.

• It’s a wonderful sleep tracker and comes with automatic exercise detection with a 25 day battery life that’s so impressive, it left me speechless.

Check it out on Amazon

How to pick the best Apple Watch alternative?

Before anything else, let us first discuss the qualities and features you should look for in a smartwatch. You should make sure your device will be compatible with your smartphone and has other features that benefit your health and activities as the Apple watches do.

Here are some qualities and characteristics of a useful smartwatch:

• Compatibility with your devices – Manufacturers design their smartwatches as companion devices to smartphones. When you are buying one, make sure it is compatible with your phone.
• Interfaces – When choosing a smartwatch, make sure that its user interface is user-friendly. Select a watch with a display large enough for you to quickly press and navigate. Also, ensure that its gesture-based interfaces are responsive.
• Design – Select a watch with a design fitting your personality and style. You should opt for a device with lots of customizable options. It will allow you to personalize the look of your watch based on your mood.
• Display – Almost all smartwatches come with either LCD or AMOLED displays. These screens allow you to view your apps, photos, and other content in vivid colors. However, they will affect your watch’s battery life.
• Alerts and notifications – Your device should have a dependable alert system for emails, incoming calls, and text messages. Look also for smartwatches that can integrate with social networks like Facebook and Twitter for you to access notifications from the sites.
• Apps – Several smartwatch models already have hundreds or even thousands of installed apps like UBER, Seamless, and MapMyRun. However, when choosing a watch, you should select one that fits your needs and your budget. Make sure it has the apps you regularly use, like heart rate monitoring, GPS, calling, and mobile payments.
• Battery life and charging – When buying a smartwatch, you should ask the sales staff how long its battery lasts between charging. The life of the battery, however, depends mainly on how you use your device. You should also determine whether you want a watch with wireless charging capability or with a wired charger.

Also Read:

• Fake Apple Watch Review
• How to switch Apple Watch to new iPhone
• How does the Apple Watch measure Blood Oxygen