Event Coverage

HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2019: Editor's Choice - Part 1

By Team HardwareZone - 11 Mar 2019

Best Smartwatch

Best Smartwatch

Over the past five years, the smart wearable category was clearly split into three camps: full-fledged smartwatches, connected watches (either analog or digital watches with some form of connected app that allowed simple notifications and settings to be changed), and activity trackers. It was only when Apple launched the Apple Watch in 2015 did the smartwatch category find its North Star as a fashionable companion device to the smartphone.

Today, activity trackers are getting smarter with more features, smartwatches are getting more sensors and the industry as a whole has embraced a lifestyle design mindset, so you can take a smartwatch to the gym, the boardroom or the ballroom with equal ease.

For this category, we look at smart wearable devices that combine both health and activity tracking, as well as advanced smartphone and app integration with full notification and control capabilities.

 

Nominees:

  • Apple Watch Series 4
  • Casio ProTrek WSD-F30
  • Fitbit Versa
  • Garmin fenix 5S Plus
  • Huawei Watch GT
  • Samsung Galaxy Watch

 

And the winner is...

Samsung Galaxy Watch

There’s a lot to like about the Samsung Galaxy Watch. Among all the smartwatches reviewed in this shootout, its repertoire of features on a single device is matched only by the Apple Watch Series 4. And rightly so. If you're an Apple user, we would still recommend the Apple Watch as the best smartwatch for you, as it will be the only device capable of bringing out the best user experience within the Apple iOS ecosystem.

However, there is no denying the strides Samsung has made in smartwatch development. Barring that one EKG functionality of the Apple Watch Series 4 (which comes with its own operational caveats), the Samsung Galaxy Watch is more durable (MIL-STD-810 certification), much longer lasting (up to 5 days on average), more affordable (starting at S$398), and has greater device compatibility than the Apple Watch, which ultimately makes it the better overall smartwatch in our books.

Scoring Breakdown
Criteria/Model

Apple Watch S4

Casio ProTrek WSD-F30 Fitbit 
Versa
Garmin fenix 5S Plus

Huawei 
Watch GT

Samsung Galaxy Watch
Performance 8.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.5 8.5
Design 9.0 8.5 8.0 7.0 7.0 8.5
Features 9.0 6.5 8.0 7.5 8.0 9.0
Value 8.0 7.0 8.0 6.5 8.0 9.0
Overall 8.5 7.0 7.5 7.0 7.5 8.5
Price From
S$599
S$749 S$310 From
S$1,199
From
S$298
From
S$398

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed in the References section at the end.

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