Many people assume that the Apple Watch is the best match for an iPhone, but that isn’t always the case. We look at some of the best to smartwatches to team with your Apple hardware.
What is a Smartwatch?
In simple terms, a smartwatch is a watch that has many extra features and incorporates technology with telling the time. Common features of smartwatches include receiving notifications, being able to answer calls, read and send text messages and listen to music.
Apple Watch Series 4
If you already have an iPhone then you’ll know how easy Apple products are to use. The Apple Watch and iPhone are great companions because they have been designed to work together.
The Series 4 Apple Watch comes with all the features you’d expect – sending and receiving text messages, reading emails, making calls, streaming music, excellent health tracking software, fall detection and GPS. The number of features makes the starting price of £349 ($448) more bearable!
Apple Watch Series 5
The Apple Watch Series 5 does everything the Series 4 can do, and then some! The health tracking is improved to allow for an ECG app to accurately monitor your heart and there’s a compass so you know in which direction you are facing.
Safety features such as international emergency calling and emergency SOS will give you peace of mind and the always-on retina display means that you can see your watch display at any time, without having to tap or move your wrist. Starting at £399 ($510) for the WiFi and GPS enabled version, and from £499 ($639)for the cellular option with 32gb of storage, it’s good, but expensive.
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
Samsung is a potent rival of Apple, as this Galaxy Watch Active 2 proves.
The features on offer on this device are similar to that of the Apple Watch but the look is very different. The round watch face gives a more traditional watch appearance but it is robust and comes with all the necessary software to effectively track your exercise and keep you active.
The rotating dial makes scrolling through apps easy and comfortable, but a major downside of this watch is that it only comes with 4gb of storage. This will be enough to hold songs for your playlists but it doesn’t give you a lot of scope for adding apps and utilising the software to its full capability.
With prices starting at £269 ($345) for Bluetooth and £399 ($510) for the 4G option it definitely shouldn’t be ignored.
Fossil Sport
Fossil isn’t one of the big-name brands but the company has been designing watches for over 30 years. This model is great for people who want a watch to help them out with their fitness regime.
The lightweight design is perfect for wearing to the gym, for a swim or playing sports, and the sporty strap is an excellent choice for the sports-minded target audience. At £219 this is an excellent smartwatch to pair with your iPhone if you are looking for an exercise companion.
TicWatch Pro
This tough and durable smartwatch is another excellent fitness companion and with the price starting from £214 ($274) it is definitely worth considering pairing with your iPhone.
The Wear OS by Google provides a lot of features to the watch including Spotify, Messenger, Google Play, Google Pay, and many more. It has a very sleek design and dual-screen technology which means there is one screen on top of another with tech ensuring you only see one at a time.
It also features an ‘essential’ mode to keep your battery usage down. This may be a newer brand to the market but it’s certainly one to look out for.
Fitbit Versa 2
Fitbit dominated the health and fitness market for some time until the Apple and Samsung smartwatches came along, forcing the company to up its game and add more features.
Fitbit rose to the challenge and this Versa 2 is an excellent alternative to an Apple Watch. Starting from £199 ($255) it is much more affordable than its counterparts and comes with a range of features including heart rate tracking, sleep monitoring and of course the fitness tracking that the brand is famous for.
It also comes complete with Spotify and Alexa. It pairs perfectly with the iPhone and is water-resistant to 50m so you can exercise wherever you like.
Summary
When it comes to finding the right smartwatch for your iPhone it is logical to pair it with the Apple Watch , particularly as no other smartwatch comes with as many features. But with Apple’s high price tags, it’s good to know that there are cheaper alternatives that will work effectively with your iPhone.
You just need to decide what you want from your watch and what your budget is but many on this list would be a great addition to your wrist!
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