Technologies

Best Android Smartwatch for 2023

We’ve rounded up the best Apple Watch alternatives for work and working out.

A good smartwatch can add some serious convenience to your day-to-day routine. If you already use an Android smartphone, it just makes sense to get an Android smartwatch as well. The Apple Watch remains one of the most popular picks out there, but if you have an Android phone, you won’t be able to take full advantage of the features. That’s why Android users should get a watch that’s designed for your preferred operating system.

Whether you use your smartwatch for its fitness-tracking features, or as a less-distracting alternative to your phone, a smartwatch is a convenient way to stay connected and get information at a glance. And if you are in the market for an Android smartwatch, there are plenty of worthy contenders for just about any budget that offer key features like activity tracking, a heart rate sensor, Samsung Pay and more. Plus, there are many different styles of Android smartwatches to choose from to suit your personal taste.

If you’re looking for the best Android smartwatch out there, check out our recommendations below. You’ll notice we’re not recommending many watches powered by Wear OS because Google and Samsung have rebooted the OS, but every Android smartwatch listed here is a solid wearable with great features that pairs seamlessly with your Android phone or device. We’ll update our selections for the best Android smartwatch on the market periodically as we review new products.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

Google Pixel Watch

Android’s answer to the Apple Watch

Google’s first Pixel Watch wants to tackle the Apple Watch head-on. For the most part, it succeeds thanks to a sleek, curved design and a range of health sensors including an ECG app and blood oxygen tracking. It has a suite of fitness tracking features and analysis through the Fitbit app and accurate heart rate tracking.

Beware that the battery isn’t as strong as other options on this list and you will likely find yourself charging this watch every day, especially if you like to do outdoor GPS workouts and track your sleep. It’s also only available in one 41mm size.

Read the Google Pixel Watch review.

$350 at Walmart

$350 at Target

$350 at Best Buy

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Lexy Savvides/CNET

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

A great Android watch, especially for Galaxy owners

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro are two of the best Wear OS watches you can get right now. They have longer-lasting batteries than last year’s Galaxy Watch 4 models and plenty of great fitness tracking features. Google apps including YouTube Music, the Google Assistant and Google Maps are available, with many more apps accessible through the Play Store. You do need a Galaxy phone to use the ECG, but all the other features work seamlessly with other Android phones.

But the new temperature sensor isn’t active yet, and both watches miss out on the classic physical rotating bezel, one of the signature features of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch and Gear watches from years past.

Read the Galaxy Watch 5 review.

$279 at Amazon

$280 at Best Buy

$280 at Crutchfield

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Lexy Savvides/CNET

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic

The one to get if you want a bezel

The Galaxy Watch 4 is the first smartwatch to run the new Google Wear platform, co-designed by Samsung and Google. Even though it’s now been superseded with the Galaxy Watch 5, you can still buy the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, the version with a physical rotating bezel. ECG and heart-rate tracking are onboard, but Samsung tries to differentiate itself from other watches with a new impedance-based electrical sensor that can tell you more about your body composition. The battery life is not as strong as other watches on the list.

Read the Galaxy Watch 4 review.

$200 at Amazon

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Angela Lang/CNET

Fitbit Versa 3

The best Apple Watch alternative

The Versa 3 smartwatch is compatible with both iOS and Android phones and lets you choose between Alexa or Google Assistant as your go-to voice assistant. It doesn’t offer all the apps and smart features that some of its competitors do, but it’s a well-rounded smartwatch with plenty of health and fitness features to keep you on track, such as onboard GPS and live heart rate monitoring notifications. The Android user can use this wearable to receive notifications for calls, texts, and calendar events. If your Android phone is nearby, you can use the Fitbit Versa to send a quick reply. It’s the best smartwatch on this list for sleep tracking, and it even gives you a breakout of your SpO2 and body temperature data overnight (for Fitbit Premium users). Battery life is also better than most: I got about four full days (and nights) of use with the screen always on.

There is also a newer model of this smartwatch, the Fitbit Versa 4, which we will be testing and evaluating soon.

Read our Fitbit Versa 3 review.

$200 at REI

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Garmin Venu 2 and Venu 2 Plus

The best hybrid fitness smartwatch for Android

Garmin makes plenty of great smartwatches for fitness enthusiasts, but they don’t always have that many smart features. The Venu 2 hybrid smartwatch offers the best of both worlds. You can respond to notifications from the watch with quick replies, use contactless payments with Garmin Pay and store music from apps like Spotify. The bright AMOLED circular screen is easy to see outdoors and the battery lasts for 5 days or more. The Venu 2 Plus offers all the same features, but includes a speaker and microphone for taking quick calls from your wrist when your phone is in range, or talking to your voice assistant.

Read our Garmin Venu 2 review.

$320 at Walmart

$320 at Amazon

$350 at Target

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Garmin Venu Sq

The best budget fitness watch

If you’re looking for a fitness-focused Android watch without too many distractions, which works with both Android and iOS, the Garmin Venu Sq is the watch to get. It has a built-in GPS, plenty of workout options to choose from, and lots of fitness tracking data about your workout like heart rate zones and running dynamics in the mobile app.

This Android smartwatch also doubles as a health tracker with high and low heart rate alerts, a comprehensive sleep analysis and SpO2 tracking. It measures blood oxygen levels on demand, or automatically throughout the day and night just like the Apple Watch Series 7, but for half the price. But you do compromise on design. The watch has a plastic frame, and the watch face’s screen isn’t as big or as vibrant as those on some of the other watches on the list. There’s also a newer version of this watch, the Venu Sq 2, with a battery that lasts even longer, but it is significantly more expensive.

Read our Garmin Venu Sq review.

$119 at Amazon

$119 at Walmart

$200 at Target

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Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Withings ScanWatch Horizon

A traditional wristwatch with fitness smarts

If you’re looking for an Android-compatible watch that looks more like a dive watch, check out the Withings ScanWatch Horizon. It has regular watch hands and a tiny circular display that shows notifications scrolling across it like a ticker. But the focus is mostly on health-tracking features like monitoring your sleep, heart rate and workouts. There’s also an ECG onboard, and the battery can last two weeks or more.

Read the Withings ScanWatch Horizon review.

$500 at Best Buy

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, June 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword isn’t too tough, but 1-Across might make you think of the sky, and that’s not the direction you need to go. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Org. with shooting stars
Answer: NBA

4A clue: Buildings with weather vanes, stereotypically
Answer: BARNS

6A clue: Swiss watch brand
Answer: OMEGA

7A clue: What Santa, Gandalf and Dumbledore each have
Answer: BEARD

8A clue: Pie in the ___
Answer: SKY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: «I’m bad with ___» (party excuse)
Answer: NAMES

2D clue: Start of a billiards game
Answer: BREAK

3D clue: Seeing red
Answer: ANGRY

4D clue: Timothée’s role in «A Complete Unknown»
Answer: BOB

5D clue: Feeling blue
Answer: SAD

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 8, #258

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 258, for June 8.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition isn’t too tough, but let’s hope you know the résumé of a certain NBA player to get the blue group. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Let’s go at it.

Green group hint: Signal-callers.

Blue group hint: Hoops star’s teams.

Purple group hint: Great barbecue town.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Competition.

Green group: Names of NFL QBs.

Blue group: Teams Tyrese Haliburton has played for.

Purple group: Kansas City ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is competition. The four answers are bout, contest, event and match.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is names of NFL QBs. The four answers are Baker, Bo, Dak and Tua.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams Tyrese Haliburton has played for. The four answers are Iowa State, Kings, Pacers and USA.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Kansas City ____. The four answers are Chiefs, Current, Monarchs and Royals.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 8, #728

Here are some hints and the answers for Connections for June 8, #728.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle could be tricky. The purple category is one of those «sounds like» groups, that can be really tough to figure out. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Keep at it.

Green group hint: Think Wall Street animals.

Blue group hint: Online encyclopedia subheads.

Purple group hint: $$$.