It’s been over a year since Wear OS 3 was first announced, and we finally have a few smartwatches on the market running the new software. While some may be more accessible (read: affordable) than others (looking at you, Montblanc), it’s pretty exciting to see new smartwatches launching with Wear OS 3 after so long of a wait with only Samsung at the helm.
Now that we have a few on the market, we want to know which Wear OS 3 smartwatch you’re most interested in.
As the successor to the first Wear OS 3 smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 5 is the latest and greatest from Samsung. It offers largely the same design, improved health and fitness tracking features, and better battery life than its predecessor. The new Galaxy Watch 5 Pro also takes things up a notch with an even bigger battery. These watches run One UI Watch Watch 4.5 over Wear OS 3.5, giving them that Galaxy flavor we know from Samsung’s smartphones. They’re also powered by a fast chipset, making them some of the best Wear OS smartwatches we’ve used.
Then there’s the Pixel Watch, the first smartwatch from Google. It has a sleek, bulbous design and runs a “stock” version of Wear OS 3.5. With this, you get about a day’s worth of battery life, access to Google Assistant, and a form of Fitbit integration that may appeal to some fitness enthusiasts. Make sure to check out our Pixel Watch review for Andrew Myrick’s full thoughts on the watch.
The Montblanc Summit 3 was the first Wear OS 3 smartwatch to launch outside the Galaxy watch lineup, giving us our first real-world taste of stock Wear OS 3. It’s a nice-looking smartwatch, but its $1,300 price tag puts it a bit out of reach, especially since it’s powered by a chipset that’s already a few years old. And also does not have Google Assistant… yet.
Fossil is finally on the Wear OS 3 game with the new Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition. It’s the first watch from the company with Google’s new software running out-of-the-box, sporting a sleeker design and a focus on health and wellness. Arriving on October 17, it runs Wear OS 3.2 and, like the Summit 3, doesn’t have Google Assistant just yet. However, Fossil has an Alexa app for those that want a smart assistant on their wrist. It is also powered by the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ as opposed to the newer Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1.
Speaking of the new chip, we’re expected to see it powering smartwatches soon, and Mobvoi is set to be among the first to bring one to market. I’m excited about what this chip could bring to the Wear OS ecosystem, so it might be worth waiting until these new Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 devices launch.
The first smartwatch from Google is absolutely gorgeous and is bound to stand out among any of the best Android smartwatches. The latest Wear OS 3 and Fitbit integration make this watch a must-have for anyone in the market for a new wrist accessory.
