Don’t Have $400 for a New Wearable? There’s a Smartwatch for That
By: Mike Feibus
Tags: Samsung, Apple Watch, Fitbit, Smartwatch, Wearables

All the major smartwatch brands are now offering a mainstream model, now that Apple and Garmin have added newly-designed models under $300. (Photo: Mike Feibus)

Not long ago, you either paid $400 or more for the latest model smartwatch. Or you sifted through the older models on the clearance rack.

No more. Because starting this year, all the major brands are now offering models designed specifically for price points in the $250 to $300 range. Apple and Garmin, the last remaining holdouts, just released their first models built for the segment: the Apple Watch SE and Fitbit Venu Sq. And they’ve made it much clearer to see what you get — and what you’re giving up.

The clearance rack is now relegated to smartwatches priced under $200, like the Apple Watch Series 3, the original Samsung Active and the Fitbit Versa 2.

In the premium segment, the smartwatch makers have for the most part caught up with each others’ recent innovations. So if you have your heart set on a watch with, say, built-in ECG or blood-oxygen sensing, or SpO2, then Apple or Fitbit, respectively, aren’t your only choices anymore. The major brands now have — or will soon have — ECG, SpO2, fall detection and/or SOS capability as well as VO2 Max, a measure of fitness.

Of course, the real value comes not so much from collecting more data, but how well the devices help you translate what the numbers mean for your health and what you can do to improve.

With all of these new capabilities, it’s easy to forget that these devices are built first as smartphone extensions, strapping to your wrist notices, quick-and-dirty app controls and even the ability to do full-on smartphone duty for times when you leave the phone behind.

For this roundup, I’ve focused on six new models from Apple to Zepp, a US sports-focused brand now owned by Huami of China. In the mix are four premium and two mainstream models. I’ve had at least four weeks to evaluate two of the premium devices, the Samsung Watch3 and Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro, and both mainstream units, the Venu Sq and the Zepp E. The Fitbit Sense and Apple Watch Series 6 came available more recently.

Apple Watch Series 6 (Starts at $399)

The Series 6 is a beautiful device that, when right-side up, is visually indistinguishable from last year’s now-discontinued Series 5. Under the hood, though, is a more powerful processor that makes for zippier response times, a real-time altimeter — which is great for hiking and biking — and an upgraded suite of sensors, including the new SpO2, or pulse-oximeter, for gauging blood-oxygen content.

My SpO2 came in consistently in the 96–100 percent range — that is, normal — though I was able to push readings down into the high 80s by holding my breath until I was uncomfortable. Aside from playing how-low-can-you-go, though, monitoring SpO2 all by itself isn’t good for all that much unless you’re sick — or looking for signs of illness. No SpO2 smartwatch sensor today is cleared by the FDA for medical applications, though that may change one day. As well, watch for Apple get more creative with SpO2, as Fitbit has.

Even though the others are catching up to Apple with ECG, which must be cleared by the FDA, I think the Apple Watch still has the best approach to the metric. Trying to capture heartrate irregularities with a 30-second ECG snapshot is a little like asking a mechanic to find an intermittent short in your car. To improve your odds of recording abnormal heart rhythms, Apple’s Heart app alerts you to take an ECG whenever it notices anything unusual.

The two main shortcomings of the Series 6 are the same as previous models: poor battery life and lack of sleep quality insight. I’ve gotten about 30 hours out of a charge. While that’s significantly better than the 18 hours Apple says to expect, it still puts the Series 6 at the bottom of the pack. Fast charging does help ease the pain.

Apple did hear complaints about its dearth of sleep features. But its response — the new Wind Down feature, which guides you into bed and off to sleep at the same time each night — misses the mark. Yes, a regular schedule is important for quality shuteye. But wouldn’t you like to monitor how your efforts are paying off? I would.

On the smartphone companion side, the Series 6 is about as good as it gets — provided, of course, you have an iPhone. Apple Watches don’t work with Android.

Fitbit Sense (Starts at $329.95)

The Fitbit Sense is the fitness tracking pioneer’s first premium smartwatch in three years. Which proves that, sometimes, taking your time is the right approach.

With the Sense, Fitbit has filled all the holes in its previous offering. The new electrical heartrate sensor for ECG, for example, has now been cleared by the FDA and has been accessible since early October. It also has two smartwatch-industry firsts. One, an electrodermal activity, or EDA, sensor for gauging stress. The EDA sensor is sort of a like a polygraph on your wrist, measuring moisture on your other palm when you cover the watch face.

The other new sensor measures skin temperature. You can’t use it to detect fevers, like you would with a thermometer. That’s because your skin temperature swings widely with changes in activity, the presence of sunlight and the temperature around you. But over time, minute deviations in skin temperature from normal patterns could help spot illness even before you feel sick. It will take time for me to see how that plays out. The sensor is still getting to know me and my surroundings.

The Sense does have one of the most accessible health suites in the group, tending more toward insights than streams of data. Like with SpO2, for example, which Fitbit added a year ago. Unlike many of the others, Fitbit doesn’t let you simply take a reading, which, as I’ve said, isn’t that useful anyway. Instead, Fitbit uses the sensor for things like spotting irregularities during sleep that could signal breathing disorders like apnea.

I’ve been getting about five days between charges — not quite Fitbit’s claim of at least six, but still plenty.

As with Apple, it’s difficult to pick Fitbit’s high-end model out of a lineup of its mainstream Versa models. And like Apple, it’s taken great pains to draw clear lines between the features and insights the two families offer.

Fitbit has improved on many of the traditional smartwatch features, albeit often without the flare of Apple or Samsung.

Garmin Venu Sq (Starts at $199.99/$249.99 for the Music Edition)

Unlike Apple or Fitbit, it’s immediately clear from the looks of Garmin’s Venu Sq that you’re buying the mainstream model. The Venu Sq, the first-ever mainstream smartwatch from fitness-focused Garmin, has a workhorse feel. It’s not flashy. Maybe a little boxy even. Alerts and other smartwatch features are functional, if unexciting. And the display is the dimmest of the bunch.

But under the hood, there’s a rich set of metrics, some of which bely the price point. The Venu Sq, for example, is the only device in the roundup that gathers heartrate and heartrate variability, or HRV — an important input for a wide range of health metrics, from stress to sleep quality — every second of every day. And Garmin Connect is a tremendously engaging, accessible app with highly usable insights.

Like Fitbit, Garmin doesn’t give you the opportunity to perform SpO2 spot tests, opting instead to build longer-term sleep insights built around the metric.

I love the “Body Battery” metric, which gives you a real-time look at how much you’ve got in the tank. Things like quality sleep, meditation and fun diversions add to the tank while work and stress deplete it. Working out drains the Body Battery in the short term, but helps preserve energy levels in the long run.

Speaking of battery, the Venu Sq has lasted a little less than four days on a charge on the brightest display setting. That’s plenty of battery life, albeit short of the six days Garmin claims.

Curiously, Garmin monitors sleep stages, which in turn feeds the Body Battery metric. But the Venu Sq doesn’t offer a sleep score, which Garmin considers a premium feature.

The higher-priced Music Edition adds storage for songs from your own library as well as Spotify or Deezer playlists. That gives you the option of connecting a Bluetooth headset to the Venu Sq and listening to music on the run — with no smartphone in tow.

Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro (Starts at 329 euros — about $385/349 euros — about $405 — for tested configuration)

Whatever your thoughts about the Chinese electronics giant now caught in the middle of a fierce trade battle between the US and China, there’s no denying Huawei’s device-making skills. And the Huawei GT 2 Pro delivers on that reputation.

Indeed, the GT 2 Pro is a big, sturdy and impressive watch with an eye-catchingly bright, vibrant circular display and insane battery life. Huawei claims the GT 2 Pro will last two weeks between charges. In my testing, with the display on the brightest setting, battery life was in the 10–12 day range.

The health metrics all seemed solid. SpO2 measurements were consistent with the others. And as with many of the others, exercise heartrate tracked closely with what the electrical sensor on my elliptical reported. Sleep scores were more or less in line with what others reported.

Huawei has not added ECG to the GT Pro 2. And given it would need US government approval before we could even use the feature, it seems unlikely Huawei will ever add ECG.

I found exercise tracking to be a click below some of the others in terms of ease of use and responsiveness, with a surprisingly loud voice-over I sometimes found annoying. I also found the app to be comparatively heavy on data and light on insight. And rather than label notifications by the source, all are topped with a generic “messages” icon, whether they are text messages or sports scores.

Samsung Galaxy Watch3 (Starts at $399/$429 as tested)

Samsung is on a different cadence for smartwatches than most of the others. The electronics giant stood pat in the mainstream segment, with its year-old Active2 still front and center. But after two years, Samsung is upgrading its premium offering with the Watch3.

I’m evaluating the larger 45mm device, which is very similar form factor to the new Huawei device. It’s a sturdy, attractive smartwatch with a big, bright display. It also has some of the best, most engaging alerts and smartphone extension widgets.

And if you happen to pair the Watch3 with a Samsung phone, some apps work even better together. My favorite is, simply enough, the Clock app’s alarm function, which allows me to snooze or dismiss from either device. So if I happen to be about when the alarm rings, I can silence the smartphone alarm on the nightstand from the kitchen before it wakes my wife.

Samsung’s ECG app was just cleared last week by the FDA and is now being pushed to Watch3 and Active2 smartwatches. SpO2 is available, but for measurement only. That said, Samsung does apply some metrics to more interesting insights, like stress.

If instead of dutifully starting and stopping workout sessions, you’d rather have the watch figure out when you’re huffing and puffing, the Watch3 is one of the best for that. I’ve got automatic detection set to 10 minutes, and the Watch3 frequently has my workout identified before I reach the 11-minute mark.

Samsung does have the second-shortest battery life of the bunch, barely stretching to two days between charges. That said, it does track sleep stages and, beginning this summer, offers up a sleep score as well.

Zepp E (starting at $249)

If you don’t look too closely, you might mistake the Zepp E for an Apple Watch. It’s got the trademark rounded edges and bright, sharp display that might fool you. At first.

The Zepp E is not a bad little watch. It’s got a decent suite of metrics, including a heart rate sensor that tracks reasonably well with the built-in electrical sensor on my elliptical. It has a built-in SpO2 sensor as well.

But the lack of any music storage, GPS or pay is surprising for this price range. As well, the app still has a way to go before it reaches the level of the others. With the trend toward highly localized weather reports on other devices, for example, I was surprised by the comparatively limited choices. Not that big a deal. But there were enough not-that-big-a-deals that began to add up. All alerts came labeled as “App,” for example. “Find phone ringtones” had two choices, Default Ringtone and Ringtone, which are the same. The Watch Face Store was empty.

It’s not that the Zepp E is a bad watch. It’s not. It’s just a little rough around its visually smooth edges. And perhaps a little overpriced for what it offers.

Bottom Line

Appearance matters. Which is why so many devices look alike. Fitbit’s new premium Sense is tough to pick out next to the Versa 3, the new mainstream model, or even the year-old Versa 2. Apple’s Series 6 looks a lot like the Series 5 — and even a little like the Zepp E.

But look a little deeper, and the differences start to become clearer. The Apple Watch Series 6 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch3 are the most compelling pure smartwatches. Take a hard look at the new Fitbit and Garmin devices if fitness and wellness insights are paramount. The Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro is a beautiful and sturdy, with freakishly long battery life and no obvious shortcomings. And the Zepp E, while perhaps a bit overpriced, is a diminutive, nice-looking watch that will presumably get better over time as Huami invests further in its new brand.