Technologies
Best Smartwatch for 2023
Check out our favorite smartwatches for every wrist and budget.
There are plenty of worthwhile smartwatches out there, from the Apple Watch to Samsung’s Galaxy Watch and everything in between. Finding the right one depends on your budget and what you’re hoping to get out of a smartwatch. You’ll also want to consider which type of phone you have, since certain models only work with iPhones or Android devices.
But that only scratches the surface. Most smartwatches should include additional features such as heart-rate monitoring, activity tracking, sleep tracking, GPS tracking and the ability to show phone notifications on your wrist. Many of the best smartwatches also support contactless payments and others have LTE or cellular connectivity, so you really can leave your phone at home.
We’ve rounded up the top smartwatches you can buy in 2023 based on function, price and compatibility to help you decide which is the best smartwatch for you. This list is updated periodically with new reviews of the best smartwatch options. For more buying advice, check out our guide to how to buy a smartwatch.
Read more: Best Budget Smartwatches Under $100
James Martin/CNET
The Apple Watch Ultra is a souped-up Apple Watch Series 8, but comes with a tough titanium construction, larger 49mm case size and new Action button to quickly start workouts or launch apps. It has an incredibly bright screen, able to reach a maximum of 2,000 nits which makes it incredibly easy to see when adventuring in the great outdoors. It also has a built-in siren for safety and dual-band GPS for accurately tracking your route. LTE is also onboard so you can venture out without a phone and still stay connected.
While many of its key hardware and software features are aimed towards adventurers and athletes, it’s still a fantastic all-round smartwatch. The microphones help reduce wind noise during calls and you get all the same health and fitness tracking features found on other Apple Watches, including a blood oxygen sensor, electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) app, fall detection and emergency SOS. The battery also lasts at least twice as long as all other Apple Watch models. But it’s only compatible with the iPhone, so if you have an Android phone, you’ll want to look at another option on this list.
James Martin/CNET
The Apple Watch Series 8 might not be as adventure-focused as the Apple Watch Ultra, but it still features a dust- and crack-resistant design, a blood oxygen and ECG sensor and comes in 41 and 45mm sizes. You can also choose a cellular or LTE model that lets you take calls and answer messages from your wrist without your phone, although that does cost extra.
It also has a new temperature sensor that can be used for applications like ovulation tracking. But battery life generally lasts 18 hours with typical use, less than many of its competitors.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
The Garmin name has long been synonymous with fitness tracking, but many of the company’s earlier watches haven’t exactly looked or felt that «smart.» The Venu 2 has a sleek, round design with a bright screen that’s easy to see in direct sunlight. It’s also compatible with Android and iOS, has great in-depth fitness features like comprehensive workout tracking, a body battery that tells you if you should push yourself to workout or take a rest day, plus women’s health tracking. It can also take blood oxygen levels and the battery will last several days with moderate use.
The downside is that it doesn’t have as many smart features as other watches on this list, including no LTE or cellular connectivity. If you want a speaker and mic onboard to talk to your voice assistant or answer quick calls on your wrist while your phone is in range, take a look at the newer $450 Garmin Venu 2 Plus. It only comes in one 43mm size but shares all the same features with the original Venu 2 and 2S.
Andrew Lanxon/CNET
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.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro are among 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. Samsung is also bringing cycle tracking to the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro by partnering with Natural Cycles.
You do, however, need a Galaxy phone to use the ECG, but all the other features work seamlessly with other Android phones. 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.
If you’ve never owned an Apple Watch, this is the one to get. The second-generation Apple Watch SE is a cheaper alternative to the Series 8 but has plenty of the same great features including crash detection, heart rate monitoring and water resistance. It misses out on health sensors like ECG, blood oxygen and temperature sensing like the Series 8, but the most notable difference between the two is that the SE doesn’t have an always-on display. But you might not miss it if you’ve never had this smartwatch feature.
Angela Lang/CNET
The Versa 3 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 as some of its competitors, but it’s a well-rounded smartwatch with plenty of health and fitness features to keep you on track like onboard GPS and live heart rate zone notifications. It has the best sleep tracking feature on this list and even gives you health features including a breakout of your SpO2 and body temperature data overnight (Fitbit Premium users). There’s a newer version, the Fitbit Versa 4, but we haven’t fully reviewed that watch yet so stay tuned.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
The second-generation Garmin Epix features a tough titanium construction and a laundry list of features athletes want, including extensive mapping capabilities. It also has a bright AMOLED display which sets it apart from a multitude of other sports watches, including Garmin’s own Fenix line, that often use transflective displays. The Epix 2 also has great battery life considering its size and feature set, lasting almost a week under regular conditions.
But it doesn’t have LTE capabilities or an ECG app. Considering this is the most expensive watch on this list at $1,000, that might be a big drawback.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
Polar’s Grit X Pro is an outdoor watch for adventure seekers. The rugged design can withstand the elements as it’s water-resistant to 100 meters and has a sapphire glass watch face that’s scratch-resistant. With onboard maps, turn-by-turn navigation and overnight recovery tools, you can determine if you’re ready to take on that workout. This is much more a sports watch than a smartwatch, but it can still get notifications from your phone, control music playback and has 24/7 heart rate monitoring.
The touchscreen is less responsive than other watches on this list — it’s transflective rather than AMOLED — but you can get away with using button controls.
More fitness trackers and clocks
- 5 Years Ago, I Thought Apple Watch Was Very ‘Meh.’ Here’s Why I Changed My Mind
- Apple Watch SE vs. Apple Watch Series 7
- 13 Apple Watch Bands to Get on Amazon
- Best Apple Watch Series 7 Cases
- How to Buy a Smartwatch or Fitness Tracker
- Best Fitness Trackers for 2023
- Best Alarm Clock for 2023
- Best Alarm Clocks for Sunrise
- Best Home Exercise Equipment to Buy for 2023
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- Best Peloton Alternatives: 5 Great Indoor Exercise Bikes That Cost Less
Technologies
Black Friday Knocks $100 off the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Plus, 1 Retailer Offers an Additional Freebie
The price drop alone is a solid deal, but a Best Buy freebie makes this the standout pick.
Black Friday is always a good time to get ahead of those New Year’s fitness goals that you may or may not actually stick to, and the Samsung Galaxy Ultra makes it a little easier to track your workouts and monitor your sleep habits.
Right now, the Galaxy Ultra is selling for $550 at Best Buy, which gets you $100 off the regular $650 price, and you’ll also get two years of LTE data included. Amazon, Samsung and Walmart are price-matching the discount, but those retailers aren’t throwing in the LTE data perk.
The Galaxy Ultra brings noticeably improved features like its heart-rate monitoring, easy-to-use sleep apnea detection, and a brighter display that works great for outdoors. The quick button and gesture controls also help make daily tracking feel more intuitive.
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CNET wearables expert, Lexy Savvides, previously noted in her review that the watch has «a lot of useful tools that make it a do-it-all Android smartwatch with a steep price.» If this deal has you in savings mode, don’t miss our additional Black Friday deal roundups for gifts under $25 and under $100.
SMARTWATCH DEALS OF THE WEEK
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$359 (save $70)
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$330 (save $20)
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$140 (save $60)
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$202 (save $49)
Why this deal matters
Getting $100 off with LTE data included makes the Galaxy Watch Ultra a more accessible option for anyone wanting a high-end wearable without paying full price. This is a solid pick for longevity and value in a fitness-focused smartwatch.
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Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 26, #899
Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 26, #899
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 is kind of tough, with a really goofy purple category. If you need help sorting the answers into groups, you’re in the right place. 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 the 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: Maybe?
Green group hint: Kate and Liz would also qualify.
Blue group hint: Think banking terms.
Purple group hint: Furry friends, with a twist.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Verbs expressing possibility.
Green group: Women’s nicknames.
Blue group: Financial abbreviations.
Purple group: Backwards animals.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is verbs expressing possibility. The four answers are can, could, may and might.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is women’s nicknames. The four answers are Deb, Jan, Kat and Sue.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is financial abbreviations. The four answers are APR, CFO, IRA and SEC.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is backwards animals. The four answers are flow (wolf), god (dog), mar (ram) and tab (bat).
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Toughest Connections puzzles
We’ve made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they’ll help you see patterns in future puzzles.
#5: Included «things you can set,» such as mood, record, table and volleyball.
#4: Included «one in a dozen,» such as egg, juror, month and rose.
#3: Included «streets on screen,» such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.
#2: Included «power ___» such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.
#1: Included «things that can run,» such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 26 #633
Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Nov. 26, No. 633.
Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s NYT Strands puzzle has a fun topic, especially if you love a certain mode of travel. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.
I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far
Hint for today’s Strands puzzle
Today’s Strands theme is: All aboard!
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Choo-choo!
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
- GASP, GASPS, GAPS, PERT, SLEEP, GRATE, RATE, RAIN, BOAT, PASS
Answers for today’s Strands puzzle
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:
- COACH, QUIET, DINING, SLEEPER, OBSERVATION
Today’s Strands spangram
Today’s Strands spangram is PASSENGERTRAIN. To find it, start with the P that’s five letters down on the far left, and wind across and up.
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Toughest Strands puzzles
Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest in recent weeks.
#1: Dated slang, Jan. 21. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.
#2: Thar she blows! Jan.15. I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.
#3: Off the hook, Jan. 9. Similar to the Jan. 15 puzzle in that it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK.
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