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’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 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.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
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.
Angela Lang/CNET
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.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
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.
Lexy Savvides/CNET
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.
Lisa Eadicicco/CNET
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.
More to track your fitness and health
- How to Buy a Smartwatch or Fitness Tracker
- The Best Chest Strap Heart Rate Monitor You Can Buy Now
- Best Fitness Tracker for 2023
- Best Alarm Clock for 2023
- Best Sunrise Alarm Clock for 2023
- Best Home Exercise Equipment for 2023
- The Best E-Bikes to Ride for 2023
- Best Peloton Alternatives: 5 Great Indoor Exercise Bikes That Cost Less
- Amazon Echo Dot With Clock vs. Google Home Mini
- OnePlus Reveals Budget Fitness Tracker Band
- Best Smartwatches for 2023
Technologies
Chrome Autofill Now Supports Passport, Driver’s License and Vehicle Info
Soon, you’ll never need to remember anything ever again.
Computer users are accustomed to web browsers autofilling everything from names and addresses to credit card numbers. Now, Google Chrome is adding new enhanced autofill options that allow users to automatically populate fields for passports, driver’s licenses, and their vehicle’s license plate or VIN, Google said in a blog post on Monday.
Desktop users must choose to turn on the feature, which is called enhanced autofill. Otherwise, it stays off. To turn it on, open Chrome, and at the top right of your browser, select more, then settings, then autofill and passwords. Finally, choose enhanced autofill and turn it in.
Google says Chrome now can «better understand complex forms and varied formatting requirements, improving accuracy across the web.» The company also says that enhanced autofill will be «private and secure.»
This enhanced autofill update is available in all languages, and more data options will be supported in the coming months.
A representative for Google said the company had no additional comment.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Chrome is a critical component in Google’s business. The web browser, currently the most popular in the world with a 73% market share, according to GlobalStats, provides the company with valuable user data that it uses to sell advertising. Advertising is how Google makes the majority of its revenues. New features help keep users loyal to Chrome, making it more difficult for them to switch to other browsers, including those from companies like Perplexity and OpenAI.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 4, #407
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 4, No. 407.
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 is a tough one. The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle makers will never run out of categories because they have discovered they can just pick one athlete and make a connections group out of four facts about that person. They do that today with the blue category, so if you don’t know that one player, you’re out of luck. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for 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: Get up and go!
Green group hint: College hoops.
Blue group hint: Famous basketball player.
Purple group hint: Not fair, but…
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Energy.
Green group: Men’s college basketball teams with the most championships.
Blue group: Associated with Damian Lillard.
Purple group: Foul ____.
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 energy. The four answers are pep, verve, vigor and zip.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is men’s college basketball teams with the most championships. The four answers are Kentucky, UCLA, UCONN and UNC.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is associated with Damian Lillard. The four answers are 0, Dame Time, Trail Blazers and Weber State.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is foul ____. The four answers are out, shot, territory and tip.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Nov. 4
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 4.
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.
Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? There are a few tricky clues, so read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
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: Quickly fall asleep after a long day
Answer: CRASH
6A clue: 1/16 of a pound
Answer: OUNCE
7A clue: Where chess, shampoo and the number zero were invented
Answer: INDIA
8A clue: Uproar
Answer: FUROR
9A clue: Opposite of saved
Answer: SPENT
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Fancy hairdos
Answer: COIFS
2D clue: Period preceding a big event
Answer: RUNUP
3D clue: Tennis great Agassi
Answer: ANDRE
4D clue: Descendant of a wealthy family
Answer: SCION
5D clue: Symbol for «like» on Instagram
Answer: HEART
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