The Most Durable Smartwatch For 2024

Piers Anthony By, Piers Anthony
Updated
Fossil 44mm Gen 5 Carlyle Stainless Steel Touchscreen Smart Watch
Image credit: Amazon.com

The Rundown

1. Best Overall: Fossil 44mm Gen 5 Carlyle Stainless Steel Touchscreen Smart Watch

The Fossil 44mm Gen 5 Carlyle Stainless Steel Touchscreen Smart Watch is a chic watch that adjusts to your style with interchangeable bands. This stylish watch can receive notifications on the wrist for calls, texts and apps. The automatic time, time zone and calendar syncing feature lets you stay connected without your phone by syncing automatically with your iPhone or Android device. Read Review

2. Best Bang For The Buck: Garmin 010-02172-21 Vivoactive 4S, Smaller-Sized GPS Smartwatch

Get your daily dose of activity tracking, fitness and health insights with the Garmin Vivoactive 4s. This sleek device offers a high resolution touchscreen that’s easy to view in bright sunlight. Pair it with Connect IQ for thousands of personalization options, and start wearing a smarter watch today. Read Review

3. Best Adjustable: Amazfit GTS 2 Mini Smart Watch GPS Fitness Tracker for Men Women

With Amazfit GTS 2, you'll always have your phone at hand. The smart watch features built-in GPS, a heart rate monitor and a pedometer, as well as a full color touch screen that lets you get notifications from your phone without actually having to look down. It also has a long battery life with up to 7 days of standby and up to 2 weeks of normal usage. Read Review

4. Best Portable: Garmin Venu, GPS Smartwatch with Bright Touchscreen Display

Designed with a user-friendly interface, Garmin Venu is the perfect companion for anyone who wants to make exercise and weight loss part of their lives. You will be guided through a variety of different workouts right on your watch screen, whether you're doing cardio, strength training or Pilates. Read Review

Watch technology has come a long way in the last few years, and smartwatches are leading the charge. You can check your notifications and respond to text messages without having to take out your phone, and many smartwatch models now have enhanced fitness tracking capabilities. To test the durability of the most popular smartwatch models on the market, we put each model through a series of tests.

We wore them every day for two weeks – from wearing them to washing them in a sink and even running with them. While that probably sounds like torture, it’s pretty essential for any watch you want to keep wearing for years to come. We tracked how much moisture got into each eye, how often they got dirtier, how well they kept time over time, and their ability to resist water after splashing it with water several times. This article will give you Most Durable Smartwatch.

Following extensive study and analysis, we've come up with the Fossil 44mm Gen 5 Carlyle Stainless Steel Touchscreen Smart Watch, which we hope will meet your demands thanks to a swim-proof design. However, it is not the only thing on our list. We also show a complete buyer's guide, and several different options are available to help you find the most suitable.

Our Top Picks

  • Lifestyle: This smart watch has always on display with thousands of watch faces to personalize your look and always see the time. Hundreds of apps from assistant to fitness, payments, music, social, news, games, stop watches, and more. With a swim-proof design and charging in less than an hour, it’s perfect for all your activities.
  • Compatibility: Use the Google WearOS app on your phone with Android 6.0+ (excluding Go edition), iOS 12.0+
  • Health and fitness: Heart Rate & Activity Tracking using Google Fit; Built-in GPS for distance tracking; Swimproof design 3ATM; New wellness enhancements allow you to track sleep history, monitor your restfulness and set sleep goals
  • Smart watch functions: Stay connected with notifications for calls, texts, apps and automatic time, time zone and calendar syncing. Never miss a call - answer and make calls directly on your watch when your phone is out of reach.
  • Smartwatches powered with Wear OS by Google work with iPhone and Android Phones. Case size: 44mm; Band size: 22mm; interchangeable with all Fossil 22mm bands
  • Battery: 24 Hr plus multi day extended mode Varies based on usage and after updates install. USB cable with magnetic charger snaps to rings on watch caseback and spins 360 degrees for ease of use. Charge up to 80% in under an hour
  • Battery life is based on usage and after updates install. Supported features may vary between platforms and countries with compatibility subject to change. Not compatible with Android Go edition or phones without Google Play Store.
TOP Choice #2 Garmin 010-02172-21 Vivoactive 4S, Smaller-Sized GPS Smartwatch
Our Score:
9.6
Garmin
  • Battery life: Up to 7 days in smartwatch mode; Up to 5 hours in GPS and music mode
  • Keeps track of your energy levels, Pulse Ox (this is not a medical device and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or monitoring of any medical condition), respiration, menstrual cycle, stress, sleep, estimated heart, hydration and more
  • Stay connected with smart notifications (when paired with a compatible device), for incoming calls, text messages, calendar reminders and more
  • Garmin coach provides free 5K, 10K and half-marathon training plans that guide you to reach your race goal and adjust based on your performance in the plan
  • Easily download songs to your watch, including playlists from Spotify, Amazon music or Deezer (may require a premium subscription with a third-party music provider), and connect with headphones (sold separately) for phone-free listening
  • Record all the ways to move with more than 20 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps, including yoga, running, swimming and more. Get easy-to-follow, animated workouts right on your watch screen, including strength, cardio, yoga and Pilates
  • Fits wrists with a circumference of 110-175 millimeter
  • Garmin Pay contactless payment solution (not all countries and payment Networks are eligible) lets you pay for purchases with your watch
  • Safety and tracking features include incident detection (during select activities) and assistance (when paired with a compatible device), which both send your real-time location to emergency contacts
  • Personalize your watch with thousands of free watch faces, apps and widgets from our Connect IQ store
  • 【SMART NOTIFICATIONS & COMPATIBILITY】Get an intelligent little pal to remind you of the incoming calls, text messages, apps, and calendars, alarm clock, weather forecast, and support control the music playback & camera on your smartphone. This smart watch can work seamlessly with iOS 10.0 & Android 5.0 or higher smart phones.
  • 【70+ SPORTS MODES & 5 ATM WATERPROOF】The Amazfit GTS 2 mini features over 70 built-in sports modes, allowing to cover sports enthusiasts whether indoors or outdoors. With 5 ATM water-resistance, this fitness watch can resist to any of your daily activities and can even be worn while swimming.
  • 【BUILT IN AMAZON ALEXA & GPS】You can talk to Amazon Alexa on your Amazfit GTS 2 Mini Smart Watch. Ask questions, get translations, set alarms, and timers, create shopping lists, check the weather, control your smart home devices, and more. Get precise tracking on your daily steps, distance traveled, and calories burned thanks to integrated GPS.
  • 【SUPER LIGHT AND THIN & BUILT IN AMOLED DISPLAY】The Amazfit GTS 2 mini adopts a borderless design. Featuring carefully curved 2.5D glass to enhance your most fashionable outfits. With a light 19.5 g weight, a thickness of 8.95 mm (without the sensor base), and a skin-friendly silicone strap, this smart watch allows you to enjoy the lightness of time. And a 1.55-inch vibrant AMOLED screen for enhanced color and clarity.
  • 【14-DAY LONG-LASTING BATTERY】A fully-optimized battery management system provides up to 14 days of battery life for the Amazfit GTS 2 mini watch. Get rid of the anxiety brought on by constant charging, and keep the energy flowing. The 220mAh battery is ready to power you through up to two weeks of activity.
  • 【ALL-ROUND HEALTH MANAGEMENT】This smart watch can provide heart rate monitoring, blood-oxygen saturation measurement, sleep monitoring, stress level monitoring and female cycle tracking, as well as other functions to achieve total health management from your wrist. The PAI health assessment system also processes complex health data with an advanced algorithm to present your physical condition in a simple, single-value score.
  • Record all the ways to move with more than 20 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps, including yoga, running, pool swimming and more
  • Get easy-to-follow, animated cardio, strength, yoga and Pilates workouts right on your watch screen
  • Watch case size 43mm; Fits wrists with a circumference of 125-190 mm
  • The broadest range of all-day health monitoring features keeps track of your energy levels, respiration, menstrual cycle, stress, sleep, estimated heart rate and more
  • Easily download songs to your watch, including playlists from Spotify, Amazon music or Deezer (may require a premium subscription With a third-party music provider), and connect with headphones (sold separately) for phone-free listening
  • Beautiful, bright AMOLED display and up to five-day battery life in smartwatch mode; up to six hours in GPS and music mode
  • BODY COMPOSITION ANALYSIS: Galaxy Watch4 Classic is the first smartwatch to off body composition data right on your wrist, On your own schedule, now you can get readings on body fat, skeletal muscle, body water, basal metabolic rate, and Body Mass Index
  • GO THE EXTRA MILE: Improve your runs with advanced running coaching technology; VO2 Max readings assess your oxygen levels to manage and track your heart and lung endurance
  • BETTER SLEEP STARTS HERE: Wake up feeling refreshed and recharged with advanced sleep tracking; When you go to bed, your Galaxy Watch4 Classic sleep tracker starts monitoring your sleep and SpO2 levels continuously
  • MAKE EVERY WORKOUT COUNT: Get the most out of every exercise session with advanced workout tracking that recognizes 6 popular activities, from running to rowing to swimming, automatically in just 3 minutes; Stay motivated by connecting to live coaching sessions via your smartphone or to dynamic Group Challenges with your friends
  • GOOGLE ON YOUR WRIST: Tap into the power and convenience of select Google services and apps right from your wrist; Pay for coffee; Get directions to the park; Use Bixby or Google Assistant for help on almost any topic; Stream your favorite tunes on YouTube
  • BE SMART ABOUT YOUR HEART: Take care of your heart with accurate ECG monitoring and keep an eye on possible atrial fibrillation, a common form of irregular heart rhythm; Share personalized readings with your doctor using the Samsung Health Monitor app on your compatible Galaxy phone
  • EXTENSION OF YOUR PHONE: Galaxy Watch4 Classic works as an extension of your phone so you can do more while on the go; Talk, text, stream music and more just by tapping the watch on your wrist
  • 【TOUGHNESS FROM THE INSIDE OUT】The Amazfit T-Rex Pro comes with a 1.3" HD AMOLED always-on color screen; The outer bezel undergoes a metal-spraying process, which enhances the rich textures of the light 60g watch body. Having passed 15 military-grade tests1, this smart watch can battle with you through hot deserts, humid rainforest and polar glaciers. Witness endurance that braves the elements with ease.
  • 【OVER 100 SPORTS MODES】The Amazfit T-Rex Pro fitness watch features over 100 sports modes and can be used to monitor critical data such as workout heart rate, distance traveled, movement speed, and calories burned in real time for most sports modes, to help you track and improve your athletic performance.
  • 【YOUR PARTNER IN EXPLORATION】The Amazfit T-Rex Pro smartwatch is high-level exploration partner, supporting four global navigation satellite systems, a blood-oxygen saturation measurement system, a heart rate monitor, a sleep monitor, a weather tracker, a sunrise and sunset monitor, a current moon phase display, a compass and barometric altimeter.
  • 【YOUR ULTIMATE PERSONAL ASSISTANT】The Amazfit T-Rex Pro smart watch notifies you of any incoming text messages or calls, scheduled alarms, and events, to prevent you from missing any important information. It can also easily control music playback.
  • 【10 ATM WATERPROOF】With a 10 ATM grade, the Amazfit T-Rex Pro smart watch is water-resistant to a depth of up to 100 meters and can accompany you as you surf, swim, or explore the mysterious underwater world together.
  • 【Ultra-long 18 Day Battery Life】When fully-charged, you can relax and enjoy up to 18 days of activity and progress with typical usage, or up to 9 days with heavy usage, or up to 40 hours with GPS continuous working mode. Go nonstop with T-Rex Pro watch!
  • Battery life: up to 7 days in smartwatch mode and 6 hours in GPS mode with music
  • Get free adaptive training plans from Garmin coach, or create your own custom workouts on our Garmin connect online fitness community
  • GPS running smartwatch with music advanced training features, Lens Material:Corning Gorilla Glass 3, Bezel Material: fiber-reinforced polymer, Strap material:silicone
  • Evaluates your current training status to indicate if you’re undertraining or overdoing it; Offers additional performance monitoring features
  • Sync with music streaming services, such as Spotify, to easily store and play your favorite songs right from your watch
  • Safety and tracking features include incident detection (during select activities) which sends your real-time location to emergency contacts through your paired compatible smartphone
  • Provides advanced running dynamics, including ground contact time balance, stride length, vertical ratio and more (When used with Running Dynamics Pod or HRM Run or HRM Tri monitors (sold separately))
  • 【Blood Oxygen / Heart Rate / Sleep Monitor】- The Wyze fitness tracker has a crystal glass casing and a pair of infrared LED clusters can measure your heart rate and blood oxygen level whenever you’d like and check your sleep duration, depth, and position once you wake up.
  • 【IP68 Waterproof & 9 Days of Battery Life】- Withstands dust, dirt, and sand, submerge in water up to a maximum depth of 2 meters for up to 30 minutes. The Wyze watch battery capacity up to 300mAh, standby 60 days. Magnetic charging, recharge from 0% to 100% about 2.5 hours. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 Compatible for android phones and iOS phones.
  • 【Massive Screen & 47mm Aluminum Smartwatch】- 1.75 Inch TFT-LCD touch screen featuring curved 2.5D glass, display with 320*380 resolution makes you read email previews, texts, and other notifications with plenty of space. 6061 grade aluminum alloy frame rather than a plastic one, all metal from bezel to band, the perfect blend of high durability and lightweight comfort.
  • 【Female Cycle Tracker / More Functions】- Wyze smart watchs can check the stage of your cycle, note upcoming dates to keep track of your menstrual health. There are more functions such as weather forecast, step counter, activity tracker, timer, alarm clock, stretch reminder, raise to wake, etc.
  • 【Customized Watch Face & “Shortcut”】- More than 40 personalized and colorful dials are available for replacement, in addition, the watch face could be customized to match your style through Wyze app. You can control your Wyze ecosystem though “shortcut” function, and you can add up to 10 shortcuts to the watch for quick smart home controls.!!! Please note that: The Wyze watch doesn’t have Amazon Alexa built-in.
  • 【20 Sports Modes Activity Tracker】20 sport modes to meet your various sports styles, such as climbing, swimming, skipping, golf, yoga, sit ups, basketball, etc. Record your steps, calories burned, distance data in real time during exercise to help you achieve better exercise results.
  • 【Multiple Functions & Long Battery Life】Daily useful tools such as Call & SMS notification, activity & drink reminder, weather music control, shake photograph, find phone, alarm clock, stopwatch. Support 7-10 days long battery life. Bring you more smart experience.
  • 【Heart Rate & Blood Pressure Monitor】MorePro 2022 newest smartwatch monitor your heart rate and blood pressure 24/7, allows to check your heart rate and blood pressure anytime, anywhere. Better understand your HR/BP trends to prevent health surprises, really a good helper for health monitoring!
  • 【Unique Personalized Watch Faces】 1.69-inch larger high-definition color full touch screen, which makes the display effect amazing. Stylish and rich dial selection, allowing to choose pictures from your own gallery to customize the watch face to create a uniquely face, bring you a wider and beautiful vision.
  • 【Blood Oxygen & Sleep Tracking】Unlike other smartwatches, the MorePro H56 smart watch with a blood oxygen level monitor to track your oxygen levels throughout the day, monitor your sleep from 10:00 pm to 8:00 am. and form a cycle chart to analyze your sleep quality, helps you improve your sleep habits.
  • 【High Compatibility & Long Running Time】This smartwatch is compatible with IOS 8.0, Android 5.0 and above. This smart watch charges quickly and has a long battery life. 2 hours of full charging, 5 days of continuous use (connecting Bluetooth call)/ 7 days of continuous use (not connected to Bluetooth call), and 30 days of standby.
  • 【PHONE SMART WATCH WITH MESSAGE REMINDER】 The Bluetooth call smart watch allows you to answer and make calls right on your watch after you connect the smartwatch to mobile phone. Add your contacts to your watch. When your phone receives a call or SMS (like Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), you will be reminded, also equipped with Sedentary Reminders, Alarm Clock, Stopwatch, Drinking Water Alarm, Shake Photo, Music Control, Find Phone, etc.
  • 【28 SPORTS MODES AND IP68 WATERPROOF】 Smart watch Records daily data such as steps, distance and calories burned. With 28 built-in sports modes and IP68 water resistance, which coverd most sports enthusiasts. The GPS Sport activity tracker can also control the music on your phone, provide notifications about workout stages, conditions and heart rate zones, and create a sports data report in the app after your workout is complete.
  • 【DIY WATCH FACES】DIY the watch face and change it every day to keep it fresh.After the watch is connected to the app, there are more than 100 dials to choose from in the app. You can choose your own beautiful photos, pets and other photos as the watch wallpaper, and change them freely according to your mood.
  • 【HEALTH MONITOR FITNESS WATCH】 The smart watch is built-in motion sensor, can monitor real-time dynamic heart rate, blood oxygen and automatically track your sleep time and sleep stage. Protect your sleep quality by recording deep sleep, light sleep, and waking time, so you can better understand your health. (Note: This data is for fitness reference only, not medical reference.
Product Images, Product Titles, Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API

What to Look For in a most durable smartwatch?

Until now, numerous customers trust the information and advice we offer them, which means our offers to you are accurate and up to date all the time. This objective is being pursued with tremendous zeal and attention. 

It's necessary to keep in mind the following points for selecting most durable smartwatch:

Apps

A majority of smartwatches have basic apps that allow you to view your calendar, check weather forecasts and track your steps throughout the day. For now though, an Apple Watch or Wear OS device will provide the most variety of apps.

Battery

Battery life is one of the most frustrating aspects of having a smartwatch. Smartwatches are small smartphones that fit on our wrists and offer limited battery life. Smartwatches that have a lot of features, such as GPS and cellular support, heart rate monitoring, or other biometric sensors require charging overnight. This gives you about a full day. You can extend that time by turning off these functions. Budget smartwatches have a longer battery life, with some models claiming to last for several days. They aren't the best options for high-end features, so they don't offer the greatest selection.

Display

The display's quality and abilities are important. The display, which is also a key component in any smartwatch, acts as a hub for all information and allows you to interact with it. It is important to have a display that works well outdoors as well as indoors, particularly in direct sunlight. It should have high-quality protection glass as well as a responsive touch technology. This is an important feature that you should consider as it can severely impact the user's experience.
You should also verify the display panel used. AMOLED displays are usually better than LCDs because they offer better colors and contrast as well as higher power consumption.

Connectivity

Today's smartwatches offer connectivity options such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Some smartwatches have optional cellular LTE connectivity. This allows you to configure an eSIM parallel to your existing SIM card. You can use a smartwatch that has both GPS connectivity and cellular connectivity without requiring a smartphone. You can use the GPS built into the smartwatch to navigate, go on walks or make calls. These features can be draining on your battery.

Compatibility

When buying a smartwatch, the first thing you should consider is which type of smartphone it will work with. You shouldn't have any issues with this in most cases. However, if you want to buy the Apple Watch Series 5 for instance, an iPhone will be required. Sorry Android users. Most other manufacturers, including Fitbit and Garmin, should work with Android and iOS phones.

Health Tracking

Smartwatches offer a number of features, including the ability to monitor your health. You can track your steps and calculate how much exercise you have done by using step count. Smartwatches can now track your health and do more than just count steps. Many smartwatches now offer features such as ECG heart rate monitoring, SpO2 meters, activity tracking and sports tracking.

Design And Build

You will find two options for dials when buying a smartwatch. One is a classic round one, and one that's square or rectangular. The best option is available, but it's up to you to choose what is most important to you. A round dial is my favorite, however, a rectangular or square dial may offer slightly better screen space.
Lower price smartwatches don't offer high-quality materials such as leather straps and metal casings. These watches usually come with plastic straps and silicone cases that are not durable. You can expect a higher quality build, which is why you should pay more. A smartwatch with a simple metal case will not be as durable as one that has Stainless Steel and Aluminum. There are many different types of leather, protective glasses, plastics and other materials. Most smartwatches come with rugged protection as they are intended for daily use. Some smartwatches have an extremely solid construction that is resistant to minor bumps and knocks. Others, however, are IP certified so they can resist water and dust. If you plan to purchase a smartwatch for sports tracking, such as swimming, make sure that you check these ratings.

FAQs

How Durable Is A Smartwatch?

Smartwatches can be dangerous because they are worn on the wrist. It's easy for them to be knocked against other things, and they can also get wet easily. This means you need to be more careful about your watch. Today's smartwatches have IP68 water resistance ratings. Some watches meet military toughness standards and can withstand more severe treatment.
Although many smartwatches today are waterproof, they do not have all of the sapphire crystals. You'll need to spend a bit more to enjoy the extra scratch resistance and beautiful reflection sheen.
Smartwatch water resistance is important if you plan to use your device to swim or shower.

Do I Need A Smartwatch With GPS?

GPS is required if you plan to use your smartphone to navigate your route. Modern smartwatches have GPS built-in, and you might find that it is available in case you require it. Your smartwatch may not have GPS. However, it can connect to your smartphone's GPS and will work slower. The watch's battery will be depleted faster by using GPS than normal.

Can My Smartwatch Use My Data Plan?

Your smartwatch will connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth. All data required by the watch comes directly from your smartphone at no additional cost. If you purchase a smartwatch that has 4G LTE (like the Apple Watch LTE), this will change. A smartwatch that has its own data connection can work on its own, without needing to be connected to your phone. It is ready to receive and make calls as well as send messages.
You will need to pay an additional fee for this privilege. The exact amount will vary depending on the carrier you have and your current plan.

Which Smartwatch OS Is Best?

Every smartwatch operating system has its own unique characteristics. This is changing with the collaboration between Google and Samsung on Wear. WatchOS for the Apple Watch currently leads the pack, closely followed by Tizen from Samsung. They are both easy to navigate and have excellent fitness tracking and mobile payment options. Both will also run the apps from their respective app stores. Google Wear OS has the same features but it isn't always as simple to use or reliable.

Which Smartwatch Works With My Smartphone?

This is actually quite simple, even though it may sound complicated. An Android smartphone can be used to control any smartwatch running Google's Wear OS, Samsung's Tizen software and any smartwatch that runs Android. This includes the Fitbit Versa 3 or the Amazfit GTR 2. You can only use the Apple Watch with iPhone.
All smartwatches can be used with an iPhone if you have the appropriate app. Be aware, however that Wear OS and Tizen watches won't provide the same functionality when they are connected to Android phones. Apple places restrictions on third-party devices. We don't recommend that iPhone users buy other smartwatches than the Apple Watch.

Will A New Smartwatch Work With My Older Phone?

The answer to this question is probably yes if your iPhone or Android smartphone was bought in the past three or four years. Here are the specifications for each version. Google Wear OS is compatible with Android phones running Android 4.4 and later or iPhones running iOS 9.3 or higher.
There are some differences in the Apple Watch. An iPhone 6 or older is required for the Series 3 and subsequent models that have a cellular connection. An Apple Watch Series 3 or 5 purchased without a cellular network will work. However, the Apple Watch Series 6 or Series 7 or Apple Watch SE requires an iPhone 6S and iOS 15.
Samsung's Tizen operating systems, which can be found on other devices such as the Galaxy Watch, require Android version 5.0 and later. On an iPhone it requires iOS 9.0 and later. Only compatible with Samsung smartphones, the 4G LTE version is available for certain carriers.

Should You Buy A Smartwatch?

Do you really want one? Are you sure? You don't really need a smartwatch, but a smartphone is not the only option.
Manufacturers are now realizing that smartwatches need to be attractive, and they look a lot better than ever. Some people find a one-day battery and touchscreen watches difficult to accept. However, hybrid smartwatches have been invented and the battery performance and control methods for them are continually improving.
The huge selection of hybrid watches is available for those who aren't ready to buy a smartwatch but want to test out smart features. These hybrid watches are half the price of an Apple Watch and can be linked to any smartphone. They offer a classic watch design with smart features.

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About Piers Anthony

Piers Anthony

Piers Anthony is a freelance writer and computer expert who enjoys helping others get the most out of their technology. He has written extensively about laptops, soundbars, and other computer-related topics, and he currently serves as the editor of The Audio Insights website. When he's not writing or tinkering with his gadgets, Piers can be found spending time with his wife and family.