Best Smartwatches of 2018

Smartphones are not the only highlight of this year as brands have also released wearables to go along with those high-end mobile devices. So before the year ends, here are our top picks for the smartwatches of 2018.

Huawei Watch GT

The Huawei Watch GT was announced along with the Mate 20 Series smartphones and features a ceramic bezel design, stainless steel shell, and DLC coating. It boasts a 2-week battery life with heart rate monitoring on, and up to 22 hours with GPS on. The Huawei Watch GT is priced at Euros 199 for the Sport model and Euros 249 for the Classic.

Honor Watch Magic

Honor also has its own smartwatch in the form of the Watch Magic. It has a sporty look and also serves as a fitness tracker with features like heart rate sensor, GPS, accelerometer, sleep and swim detection. It can also be synced in an Android or iOS smartphone via Bluetooth which is the standard nowadays. The Honor Watch Magic is priced at RMB 899 for the Black color variant and RMB 899 for the Moonlight Silver one.

Apple Watch Series 4

The Apple Watch Series 4 is definitely one of the best smartwatches in the market. The Series 4 is bringing in new features that are targeted on health. Particularly, fall detection, Low heart rate notification, atrial fibrillation detection, and an electrocardiogram (ECG). This makes the new Apple Watch the first ever over-the-counter ECG device. The watch will be available in three colors — Gold, Silver, and Space Black stainless steel. Price is at priced at PHP 24,990USD 426INR 36,101EUR 406CNY 3,101 and PHP 26,990USD 460INR 38,990EUR 438CNY 3,349 for 40mm and 44mm wrist straps, respectively.

LG Watch W7

The LG Watch W7 combines the mechanical and digital side of a watch and comes with a mechanical watch-only mode which disables the “smart” functions. It has a stainless steel body that features quartz movement, altimeter, barometer, stopwatch, timer, and compass. It is powered by WearOS by Google and features a battery that can last up to 3-4 days in a single charge and 100 days if the mechanical watch-only mode is enabled.

Samsung Galaxy Watch

The Samsung Galaxy Watch was unveiled alongside the Galaxy Note9. It features automatic fitness and wellness tracking with 39 different exercise trackers and sleep monitoring. Samsung is also touting it as a smart digital assistant thanks to its day planner options. It also comes with different customizable watch faces, backgrounds, and straps. Perhaps its most intriguing features are its IP68 water and dust resistance and the inclusion of a water lock mode. It is priced at PHP 16,990USD 290INR 24,544EUR 276CNY 2,108 and PHP 15,990USD 272INR 23,099EUR 260CNY 1,984 for the 46mm in Silver and 42mm in Rose Gold, respectively.

Casio PRO TREK Smart WSD-F30

For those who are looking for something rugged, Casio has the PRO TREK Smart WSD-F30. Designed for the outdoors, it features water resistance up to 50 meters and environmental durability built to military specifications. It comes with dual-layer monochrome and color display which employs an organic EL display that shows maps and data in finer detail, Extend mode which enables the use of offline color maps and GPS for up to three consecutive days on just a single charge, and Google Wear OS. It is priced at $549PHP 32,218INR 46,528EUR 523CNY 3,996 and will be available in black, blue and orange in January 2019.

Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music

For fitness buffs who love music, Garmin has the Vivoactive 3 Music. It has built-in storage so you can download up to 500 songs to your watch, and connect with Bluetooth headphones (sold separately) for phone-free listening. It supports Garmin Pay contactless payment solution, watch faces, have more than 15 preloaded sports apps, including yoga, running, swimming, strength training and many more, and battery life that can last up to 7 days. It is priced at USD 299.99PHP 17,605INR 25,424EUR 286CNY 2,183.

Huawei Watch 2 (2018)

Huawei refreshed their Watch 2 series for 2018 and now features new colors and connectivity through a nano-sized SIM card. The specifications are mostly the same compared to the Watch 2 released last year. Still sporting a 1.2-inch display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear chip, and Google’s own WearOS platform for smartwatches, the Huawei Watch 2 now sports new colors and the option of paying through Huawei Pay or Ali Pay with the built-in NFC chip.

Fitbit Versa

The Fitbit Versa is the company’s new smartwatch that comes with advanced health and fitness features like 24/7 heart rate tracking, onscreen workouts, and automatic sleep stages tracking. There’s also smart features like quick replies on Android, wallet-free payments on Fitbit Versa Special Edition, and on-device music. It boasts a battery life that can last for more than 4 days. The Fitbit Versa is available today in retail stores including Digital Walker, Globe, Liberty, Runnr, Lazada, and Fitbit.com for PHP 13,890USD 237INR 20,065EUR 225CNY 1,724.

ASUS VivoWatch BP

Perhaps the most interesting wearable on this list is the VivoWatch BP which made an appearance during Computex 2018 in Taiwan. It features a 28-day battery life and built-in blood pressure monitor. The BP is measured by electrocardiographic (ECG) sensors and photoplethysmographic (optical) sensors which are located on both the front and the back of the device. Other features include a heart rate sensor, sleep quality, de-stress index, GPS tracking, and activity data. The wearable can also be accessed via wireless synchronization in the HealthAI application. The Vivowatch BP is priced at USD 169PHP 9,918INR 14,323EUR 161CNY 1,230.

And that sums it up. If you have recommendations or suggestions, or just want to talk about your favorite smartwatch, let us know in the comments below.