Updated: New Wear OS 6 watches are on the horizon, but Huawei’s latest flagship is a compelling alternative.
If you own an Android phone and are looking for the best Wear OS watch to pair with it, you now have plenty of options.
Wear OS is stronger than ever and now presents itself as a proper platform alongside impressive hardware. It’s also setting new standards for battery life, with many devices alleviating battery anxiety by offering multiple days of AOD functionality between charges.
Away from Google’s platform, though, there are also smartwatches from Garmin and Huawei that work brilliantly with Android phones. We’ve selected our two favorites from those two brands, as well as top Wear OS smartwatches from companies like Google, Samsung, and OnePlus.
However, a word of warning (which we’ll repeat below in more detail for the relevant watches) before we jump into our recommended picks: many of the best options are slated for a refresh in the second half of 2025, so keep this in mind before making a purchase.
Wear OS and Android watches we’re still expecting in 2025
The Android-ready watches outlined in the sections below are currently the best available. However, that doesn’t mean they’ll hold their place on this list for much longer, as we’re expecting new generations from brands such as Samsung and Google over the coming months.
The OnePlus Watch 3, which we’ve tested and included in our selections below, is the standout Wear OS release so far in 2025. However, the Huawei Watch 5, released in May, is a dark horse option for Android phone users.
So, again, we’re still expecting plenty of releases in the second half of 2025. Based on previous launches and current rumors, here’s a prediction of which Wear OS and other Android-compatible smartwatches could still arrive this year—and when.
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 (July)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (July)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch FE 2025 (July)
- OnePlus Watch 3 Mini (summer)
- Google Pixel Watch 4 (September)
- Garmin Venu 4 (late 2025)
- Xiaomi Watch 3 and Watch 3 Pro (late 2025)
Google Pixel Watch 3: The best Wear OS smartwatch
Specs and features
- Size: 41 x 41 x 12.3mm / 45 x 45 x 12.3mm
- Display: 1.2-inch AMOLED display (41mm) / 1.4-inch AMOLED display
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, LTE, GPS
- Weight: 31g (41mm) / 38g (45mm) – without band
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1
- Battery life: 24 hours (41mm) / 48 hours (45mm)
- Phone compatibility: Android
- Storage: 2GB RAM; 32GB internal
- Water rating: 5ATM
- Sensors: ECG, EDA, PPG, SpO2, skin temperature
Overview
The big G solved its smartwatch line’s two biggest problems by adding a larger case size: battery life and wearability for those with larger wrists.
We’ve always been fans of the Pixel Watch, but these two issues stifled it from being the best Wear OS watch for most people. That’s no longer the case, with the 45mm edition comfortably lasting over two days (with the always-on display enabled) and remaining super comfortable during sleep, exercise, and everything in between.
Google’s official guidance of 24 hours is the same for the smaller edition. Despite only testing the larger model, we don’t suspect the Pixel Watch 3 (41mm) will provide the biggest upgrade for Pixel Watch 2 owners.
That’s because the other design changes (a brighter, more edge-to-edge display and a 60Hz refresh rate) don’t make a significant difference, while the changes to the HR tracking algorithm for improved run tracking (and new run insights) didn’t necessarily result in noticeable changes in our year-on-year testing.
Why we recommend it over rivals (and its key downside)
We still love the Pixel Watch’s key differentiator, though: Fitbit. Google hasn’t added much to this smartwatch besides Cardio Load/Target Load and the Morning Report (plus Daily Readiness Score being made free for non-Premium members), but it’s all still incredibly intuitive.
Heart rate tracking accuracy, sleep monitoring accuracy, and daily insights are some of the best on any smartwatch. So, if these features are high on your shopping list, the Pixel Watch 3 is recommended.
The only downside of the design is that it’s pretty fragile. As Google doesn’t yet offer a rugged alternative to the Pixel Watch 3, anybody wanting improved durability should consider the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra below—especially since the Pixel Watch 4 is currently rumored to deliver much of the same.
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Finally in two case sizes -
Two-day AOD battery life (45mm version) -
Still excellent HR tracking
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Not much of an upgrade for 41mm users -
No dual-frequency GNSS -
Stress tracking remains baffling
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Specs and features
- Size: 47.4 x 47.1 x 12.1 (47mm)
- Display: 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display; 480 x 480 resolution
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, LTE, GPS
- Weight: 60.5g (without band)
- Chipset: Exynos W1000
- Battery life: 48 hours AOD; 80 hours AOD off; 100 hours power saving
- Phone compatibility: Android
- Storage: 2GB RAM; 32GB internal (21GB available)
- Water rating: 10ATM
- Sensors: BioActive Sensor (includes heart rate, ECG, blood pressure, and blood oxygen monitoring)
Overview
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a high-end smartwatch that embodies Samsung’s new direction. It’s not without its quirks, but this is still the best Wear OS smartwatch to own if you want a sporty, outdoor look.
It’s big, bold, and more than a little inspired by the Apple Watch Ultra 2, yet this loose imitation hasn’t resulted in a tame experience. The Ultra is by far the most premium-feeling Android smartwatch, with its titanium frame (though not one for small wrists) suited to everything from vigorous workouts to sleep tracking.
The latest One UI 6 Watch software remains speedy and feature-packed. It also offers seamless integration with Google services and a range of healthy third-party apps.
Navigating can be a bit of a chore compared to other watches – with the ‘Quick Button’ placement between Home and Back slightly odd – and we’d much prefer the rotating bezel to the digital equivalent available. Yet, this is a smartwatch experience that still feels full.
There’s terrific accuracy and decent two-day AOD battery life to back it up, too. Heart rate tracking ran very close to our Garmin – putting it around the level of Google and Apple – while the dual-frequency GPS performed almost identically, which is a big tick in its favor.
We think Samsung needs to improve health tracking (though sleep tracking accuracy and depth are outstanding), and it’s still somewhat disappointing that some features require a Samsung phone. However, there’s simply no other Wear OS watch with this much upside.
With rumors strongly suggesting that the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic will be released this summer, as well, it may not be replaced until 2026.
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Solid build and fun design -
Excellent HR and GPS tracking -
Cracking display -
Sleep tracking is very detailed
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Insane rotating bezel miss -
Battery life feels inconsistent -
Samsung phone required for some features -
Looks ridiculous on smaller wrists
OnePlus Watch 3
Specs and features
- Size: 46.6mm x 47.6mm x 11.75mm (excluding lugs and sensor)
- Display: 1.5-inch AMOLED; 466 x 466 ppi; 2200 nits brightness
- Connectivity: Dual-frequency GNSS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC
- Operating system: Wear OS 5 + RTOS
- Weight: 49g without band (81g with band)
- Chipset: Qualcomm W5+ & BES2800BP MCU
- Battery life: Up to 120 hours (Smart Mode); three days AOD
- Phone compatibility: Android 8.0 or later
- Storage: 32GB ROM
- Water rating: Swim-proof, 5ATM
- Sensors: PPG, SpO2, ECG
Overview
After re-entering the smartwatch market in 2024 with a strong trio of second-generation watches, the OnePlus Watch 3 is the brand’s latest major update.
Due to its large and heavy case, this 2025 OnePlus smartwatch isn’t the best fit for smaller wrists or exercise. There’s also still no LTE edition for those who desire untethered connectivity. However, it remains the best option right now for anyone seeking true multi-day battery life in a Wear OS watch.
The secret to the battery’s longevity remains the brand’s clever dual-chip system. The Snapdragon W5 is used for power-intensive tasks, while the updated BES 2800BP MCU is used for low-power features like notification scanning and AOD.
This improved efficiency means the Watch 3 can go just that bit more than Google or Samsung’s watches. We found around 70 hours possible even with the AOD enabled in heavy use, making it the most long-lasting Wear OS watch on the market now in this regard. It can also reliably stretch another couple of days if you disable AOD for the cycle.
OnePlus runs the latest version of Google’s software (Wear OS 5), and its RTOS skin is very palatable. Unlike some skins, the Watch 3 remained incredibly smooth during testing. It also has a neat set of new health features that bring it closer to key rivals.
It’s not the perfect smartwatch. We still recommend Google’s 45mm Pixel Watch 3 over it—and the Galaxy Watch Ultra if your budget allows for it—but it’s the best of the rest. Just make sure you’re comfortable with its downsides before buying it.
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Impressive three days of AOD time -
Helpful tweaks to the design -
Improved health features
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No LTE option remains baffling -
Only available in one case size -
Looks virtually identical to Watch 2
Xiaomi Watch 2
Specs and features
- Display: 1.43-inch AMOLED, 466 x 466 pixels, 326 PPI, up to 600 nits brightness
- Dimensions: 47.5mm x 45.9mm x 11.8mm (excluding heart rate sensor)
- Weight: 36.8g (without strap)
- Battery: 495mAh, magnetic charging, ~45 minutes charging time, up to 65 hours typical use
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon® W5+ Gen 1, 4nm process
- Storage & RAM: 2GB RAM, 32GB storage
- Connectivity: 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth® 5.2
- Water Resistance: 5ATM
- Sensors: Optical heart rate, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light, electronic compass, barometer
- Navigation: Dual-frequency L1+L5 GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou, QZSS
- Compatibility: Android 8.0 and above
Overview
Finally, Android users have a true budget Wear OS smartwatch to consider, the Xiaomi Watch 2.
The build quality and display are superb for a cheaper smartwatch, and it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice. It’s exceptionally light to wear and features a glorious full AMOLED display.
The Xiaomi Watch 2 runs the now-dated Wear OS 3.5, but the experience is much slicker than what we tested with the Watch 2 Pro. It’s also more comfortable during exercise.
You also get the full suite of Google Play Store apps and Google Pay, so it’s much more capable than budget rivals in smart features. It even has GPS, and delivered a much better heart rate tracking performance than its sibling. While not the gold standard, casual gym goers and runners will get usable accuracy.
As you would expect at this price, there are compromises. In real-world testing, we found the battery life to be limited to a single day, which seems somewhat outdated when most other Wear OS watches can comfortably surpass this.
It could also be replaced with a new generation in 2025—though, disappointingly, no rumors have surfaced to suggest this is in the works.
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Superb price tag -
Light and attractive design -
HR accuracy is very solid
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Battery life is very average -
Mi Fitness is a glitch-fest -
Doesn’t run Wear OS 4
Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 (or Enduro/Atlas)
Specs and features
- Size: 50.1 x 48.0 x 12.2mm
- Display: AMOLED; 1.43 inches; 466 x 466 resolution
- Connectivity: GPS, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi
- Operating system: Wear OS 4
- Weight: 44.3g
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 Platform
- Battery life: 80 hours
- Phone compatibility: Android 8.0 or later
- Storage: 32GB
- Water rating: 5 ATM (suitable for swimming in shallow water)
- Sensors: PPG, SpO2, skin temperature
Overview
With its clever dual display, around four days of battery life, and consistent accuracy, the TicWatch Pro 5 is a solid pick for Android phone users.
Mobvoi also released the TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro and TicWatch Atlas in 2024. Yet, apart from slight changes to the case, these are essentially the same as the Pro 5.
No matter the design you favor, you’ll get the clever combination of the Snapdragon W5+ chip and the dual-layer low-power display. This yields battery life that remains relatively unrivaled from Wear OS rivals.
Our testing of all three designs showed these are good enough for workouts and health tracking, with VO2 max, blood oxygen, GPS, and HR data (for most workout types) in a healthy range.
Yet, the experience is far from polished, and the insights aren’t on the same level as Samsung or Google/Fitbit.
The mammoth case is also only a good fit for those with big wrists, compounded by the omission of an LTE version. That makes it a non-starter for those who crave connectivity.
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Display tech is ingenious -
Multi-day battery life -
Activity and health tracking accuracy
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Likely to be outdated soon -
Tons of bloatware -
No smart assistant
Two alternatives for Android users from our reviews
There are also different options for those unsure whether Wear OS is the right smartwatch platform. These picks still work well with Android smartphones and offer an alternative software experience to Google’s.
Garmin Venu 3/3S
Specs and features
- Size: 45 x 45 x 12mm (Venu 3) or 41 x 41 x 12mm (Venu 3S)
- Display: AMOLED
- Connectivity: GPS, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth, ANT+
- Operating system: Garmin OS
- Weight: 42g (with band) for Venu 3
- Chipset: MediaTek MT6739
- Battery life: Up to 14 days
- Phone compatibility: Android and iOS
- Storage: 4GB
- Water rating: 5ATM
- Sensors: PPG, ECG (limited regions), SpO2, skin temperature
Overview
The Venu 3 sees Garmin push on with its best sporty smartwatch yet. This model boasts the line’s best-ever battery life, heart rate monitoring sensor, and tons of holistic, non-workout features.
In typical Garmin fashion, it’s still best for tracking runs, rides, and pool swims. It even has modes for golf and climbing. Garmin has added dedicated modes for HIIT-style training and new muscle maps for strength training to ensure work on all key muscle groups.
Every key smartwatch feature Garmin offers – besides the Fenix 8 voice assistant – is here. That includes payments, a built-in music player with offline support for major platforms like Spotify, and room for 2,000 songs. Users can also receive notification mirroring for Android and iOS users, though sadly there’s no LTE option.
Battery life varies depending on the case size you opt for here, though the bigger model is good for over a week even with the always-on display mode turned on. It’s also much more than what you’ll get on Wear OS and Samsung watches, which is important to remember.
The features that first debuted on the Venu 2 Plus are also here, meaning there’s a microphone and speaker to make calls via Bluetooth and access your phone’s smart assistant from your wrist. Depending on your region, you can also use the Garmin ECG app.
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Wellness features finally feel useful -
Top HR accuracy -
Lovely screen
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Really pricey -
Sports tracking offers basic metrics only -
Some sleep accuracy niggles
Huawei Watch 5 series
Specs and features
- Size: 42mm or 46mm
- Display: LTPO AMOLED
- Connectivity: Dual-frequency GNSS, NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- Operating system: HarmonyOS 5.0
- Weight of 42mm edition (without strap): 51g (steel); 48g (titanium)
- Weight of 46mm edition (without strap): 63g (steel); 58g (titanium)
- Chipset: Kirin A1 chipset
- Battery life: 42mm: Up to 12 days / 46mm: up to seven days
- Phone compatibility: Android and iOS
- Storage: 32GB
- Water rating: 5ATM / IP69K (dive-rated to 40m)
- Sensors: SpO2, PPG, skin temperature, ECG (dual-sensing via ‘X-Tap’)
Overview
After a two-year hiatus, Huawei’s flagship Watch returns for its fifth generation, boasting refined materials and a novel ‘X-Tap’ sensor on the side of each case.
The mid-range Huawei Watch GT 5 and 5 Pro remain solid smartwatches for those on a budget, but the flagship Watch 5 offers the best experience from the brand in 2025. They all share the same version of Harmony OS, which, as a major downside compared to Wear OS, offers a limited app selection due to Huawei’s ongoing ban in the US.
However, improved health tracking (even if X-Tap felt slightly gimmicky in our testing) and added gesture controls combine to make this feel like a somewhat elevated software experience. The premium materials also ensure that this is one of the best-feeling smartwatches we’ve ever tested, albeit slightly let down by the display’s pronounced reflectiveness.
Tracking accuracy, sports features, and battery life
The Watch 5 also features the same sports tracking upgrades introduced in 2024’s set of watches: upgraded 3D course maps and green contours for golfers, on-wrist mapping for the dedicated trail running profile, and a design certified for recreational diving. Across the range are also new insights for runners, such as ground contact time and vertical oscillation, and those who prefer the saddle can turn their paired phone into a cycling computer.
Along with numerous sports modes, the Watch 5 models also boast dual-frequency GNSS technology and a refined version of the brand’s TruSense architecture. The GPS performed exceptionally well in our testing, even if the heart rate accuracy lags slightly behind what we’ve found through Garmin and Apple’s latest sensors and algorithms.
A big selling point, however, remains the battery life. You’ll struggle to match Huawei’s estimate unless you disable most features, but it still managed around 4.5-5 days with always-on display (AOD) enabled. Considering the display quality and brightness, that’s a significant achievement.
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Premium design and build quality -
Bright and crisp LTPO display -
Superb AOD battery life
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Limited app ecosystem remains -
Not top-level workout HR accuracy -
X-Tap sensor feels more novel than essential
Wear OS watch version checker
Confirmed or upcoming watches set to support Wear OS 6:
- Google Pixel Watch 1-3 (given they can all run the Wear OS 6 preview)
- Google Pixel Watch 4 (expected later this year)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 series (expected later this year)
Likely to support Wear OS 6 but still unknown:
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 4-7 series
- Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
- Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
- OnePlus Watch 3
Which watches run Wear OS 5?
- Google Pixel Watch 3
- Google Pixel Watch 2
- Google Pixel Watch
- OnePlus Watch 3
- Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 / Galaxy Watch 4 Classic
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 / Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 / Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
- Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
Which watches run Wear OS 4?
- OnePlus Watch 2
- OnePlus Watch 2R
- Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5
- Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 Enduro
- Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas
Watches compatible with Wear OS 3 or 3.5
- Montblanc Summit 3
- Fossil Gen 6
- Skagen Falster Gen 6
- Diesel Griffed Gen 6
- Michael Kors Access 6
- Razer x Fossil Gen 6
- Citizen CZ Smart 2nd Gen
- TicWatch Pro 3
- TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS
- TicWatch E3
- Xiaomi Watch 2
- Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro
You can also find the latest info on Google’s OEM checker.
