As the smartwatch market has matured, budget smartwatches have gone from glorified pedometers to smart gadgets with reasonably decent features. However, you must keep a few things in mind while buying a budget smartwatch.
The most important thing to consider is compatibility. Unfortunately, not all smartwatches can be paired with both Android and iOS. For example, the Apple Watch SE only works with iPhones. Similarly, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 is only compatible with Android. So, make sure the smartwatch you are buying is compatible with your smartphone.
Battery life is another crucial detail. This can range from one day to several weeks, but it’s typically dependent on the feature-set of a smartwatch and how much you use it. Unless you have no issues charging your smartwatch daily, ensure you are comfortable with how frequently you may need to charge your purchase before pulling out the credit card.
Although premium smartwatches usually have a fairly robust set of health and fitness tracking options, budget smartwatches can sacrifice some tracking features to keep the cost down. Therefore, it’s prudent to check whether your smartwatch can track the activities and exercises you participate in.
Additionally, depending on your usage and budget, you may also want to check for water resistance, GPS, and cellular connectivity in a smartwatch. Lastly, the design and build quality are also important. You want something that you are comfortable and happy to wear.
With the basics out of the way, let’s dive into our recommendations.
