Hi.. Looking for some 'value for money' smartwatch recommendations, preferably below $250 or $300. I am confused with so many brands (known and unknown) in the market.
It's going to be a replacement of the traditional watch, more than anything else so don't want to spend big on it. If it can sync up with an Android phone, it will be a bonus. Thanks in advance.
What do you want from the watch?
Nothing specific really.. fitness tracking, usual watch functions e.g. alarm, and email and additional apps can be a bonus.
If you want a general "do-anything" smartwatch the Samsung Galaxy Watch series is probably the best option.
If you wear your watch just for fitness and sleep tracking and to read basic notifications, you can spend less (around $150) and still end up with a very competent activity tracker.
Smartwatches that run Google's Wear OS (basically a very modified version of Android 11) have shorter battery lives: they are usually measured in days rather than weeks. The Samsung and Pixel watch for example needs charging basically everyday if you use your watch heavily.
Watches that run a proprietary OS (usually a Real-time OS) are much more power efficient and can last maybe 2 weeks without charging. The downside is they're usually much simpler in terms of features: you can't install 3rd party apps for example and there's no built in music player, LTE or Google Wallet support. Examples of these might be Huawei's line of watches, Xiaomi Band and Garmin / Fitbit activity trackers.
Thanks. You make a very interesting point. With limitations around OS (and hence apps), the options are pretty much Samsung and Pixel if I want some versatility.. right? Apple is an option too but I prefer android (and also it's quite expensive anyway).
There are other manufacturers like Mobvoi and Fossil that use Wear Os
Also have a look at the Fossil Hybrid range. Though I got mine on special, I'd have no hesitations recommending it for that sort of budget. Battery lasts over a week
(If you can find one)
I assume they would run on Fossil's proprietary OS, hence very limited apps?
Yeah you don't get this one for apps. It does the basics pretty well (telling the time, notifications, steps, hr etc)
Amazfit or Xiaomi.
I have an Amazfit T-Rex and it’s aweso,e for the price. Wife has the Amazfit GTR. Daughter has Xiaomi Band 6, although it’s not a watch, it has way more features and cost about 1/3rd the price of those shit Garmin kids bands that have no features other than Marvel characters on them.
2nd hand Apple Watch or 2nd hand Samsung Galaxy watch 4 or 5. I’ve been using 2nd hand smart watches for years and they work fine.
Apple is more reliable and accurate and smarter than Samsung in my experience. Anything less than a Samsung or Apple (or equivalent, such as ticWatch pro 3) is not really a smart watch.
Galaxy watch 4 classic has been $200 a few times recently. Great buy at that price.
Yup I was going to say this.
What do you want from the watch? There are plenty of 'smart watches' under $300 but who knows if they do what you expect. Fitbit Versa 3 and Samsung Galaxy 4 are probably the ones to look at (the latter is a bit over $300 on special at JB at the moment)