Smartwatches have quickly become mini-computers with many features, from messaging to health tracking. But to continuously enjoy these benefits, enduringbattery supportis required. Many popular smartwatch models frustratingly require that you drop the watch on the charger at least once every day or two, which means you likely have to sacrifice important data you’d otherwise be collecting, like sleep trends or your step count.
So, unsurprisingly, battery life is a key metric to consider when weighing features and hardware. From favorites like Garmin to budget winners like Amazfit, some reputable models offer a good combination of software, hardware, and cost. Thankfully, this list includes thebest smartwatchoptions that prioritize battery life without sacrificing too much in the process.
OnePlus Watch 2
Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Amazfit T-Rex 3
Garmin Enduro 3
Withings ScanWatch 2
Garmin Instinct 2 Solar
Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas
Suunto Race
Top long-lasting smartwatches
Wear OS lasting for days
The OnePlus Watch 2 brings longer battery life to Wear OS, making it a unique choice for anyone seeking an enduring model. This device also has a slick design compared to its predecessor, adding to its value.
The OnePlus Watch 2 isn’t a subtle choice when you consider its 47mm size, making it one of the biggest options on this list. Its overall thickness and weight may also give you pause compared to the more lightweight options available, though you won’t feel uncomfortable wearing it at length. It is a Wear OS watch, but there are no exclusive features for OnePlus devices.
A vibrant display helps the watch look nice, and it’s easy to navigate, but OnePlus still has software kinks to work out. The digital crown also doesn’t even scroll when rotating it. Assuming the company fixes these things with software updates, the Watch 2 can really hit a different stride, but as is, there is a bit of a trade-off. It tracks various health and fitness metrics, though consistency and accuracy need to be updated to improve on both fronts.
OnePlus Watch 2 review: Worth it for the battery alone
With two chipsets and two operating systems, the OnePlus Watch 2 offers revelatory battery life — but not much more
power-intensive features, while a low-power BES2700 chip running a real-time operating system (RTOS) handles background tasks, like maintaining the connection to your phone and how the health sensors perform. True to OnePlus' pedigree in fast charging, it can also fully charge to 100% in less than an hour. It is a proprietary charger, so you don’t want to lose it, but at least it detaches to make it easier to take with you and plug in any USB-C cable.
Samsung’s longest-lasting
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra represents the pinnacle of Wear OS devices. With a beautiful and large display, great performance, and multiple days of battery life, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is out of this world. If you can get past its gargantuan size, this is a fantastic device.
Samsung did an amazing job designing the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and it’s deserving of being the premium pick. With its large 1.5-inch AMOLED display, the Galaxy Watch Ultra has one of the nicest displays on the market. With a 480 x 480 resolution, the Watch Ultra offers a crisp display that is very easy to see in direct sunlight thanks to its 3000 nits of peak brightness.
The biggest issue with the Galaxy Watch Ultra is its sheer size. At 47.4 x 47.4 x 12.1mm and weighing 60.5g, this thing is a behemoth. At least Samsung put that thickness to good use by incorporating a large 590mAh battery that can power the Galaxy Watch Ultra for up to two days on a single charge. With all of its power and vibrant display, not having to charge the Watch Ultra daily is a huge bonus.
Speaking of power, Samsung went with an Exynos W1000 processor and 2GB of RAM this time around. The Exynos W1000 processor is a major bump over its predecessors, eliminating all the lag from Samsung’s previous devices. No matter what you’re doing the Watch Ultra is very snappy.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra is great, but it’s not for everyone
A great watch, but you might prefer the Galaxy Watch 7
It’s also Samsung’s most health-focused watch with an improved BioActive sensor and dual-band GPS. In addition, the quick access button allows you to launch your favorite exercise with ease. Keep in mind that some of its health metrics, such as its AGEs index, are difficult to decipher, but most of the data you’ll find is laid out well and easy to read.
Battery for days on a budget
The Amazfit T-Rex 3 offers battery longevity that most other smartwatches could only dream of. Part of that longevity is because it doesn’t run Wear OS, but that also means that it lacks support for some common apps, such as Spotify and YouTube Music.
If your top priority is getting a smartwatch that measures its battery in weeks, not days, and won’t break the bank, then the Amazfit T-Rex 3 may just be your next watch. The T-Rex 3 can hit 27 days in certain scenarios and can go over a week on a single charge with continuous GPS activity. In our tests, we found that the T-Rex 3 was able to last anywhere from nine to eleven days on a single charge.
It’s also one of the more rugged devices you’ll find on this list. The T-Rex 3 is 10ATM dive-certified, and military-rated, making it very durable. It also comes with a dual-band GPS for accurate location tracking. It does forego a Sapphire Crystal display to keep its price down, but that’s to be expected.
This device also doesn’t run on Wear OS, which can be a letdown under certain circumstances. While it has plenty of features, it lacks app support. If you’re someone who loves listening to music or podcasts while exercising, you’re going to hate that it lacks Spotify and YouTube Music support.
Review: Amazfit’s T-Rex 3 rugged watch is an apex predator that won’t eat your entire wallet
There are some compromises but no deal-breakers
For those of you who are more interested in the fitness aspects of the Amazfit T-Rex 3, you’ll be happy to know that it’s quite a capable tracker. With plenty of sensors and accurate heart rate tracking, the T-Rex 3 is ready to help you tackle any of your fitness needs. It does struggle a bit when it comes to sleep tracking but is accurate for most activities such as walking, running, and weight lifting.
A month of battery in smartwatch mode
The Garmin Enduro 3 is a battery beast, offering best-in-class performance. The Enduro 3 measures its battery in weeks, offering a full month of usage on a single charge. In addition to some serious fitness chops, the Enduro 3 is quite the watch, even if it lacks some smartwatch features.
The Garmin Enduro 3 is the hands-down champion in terms of battery life. Garmin says that the Enduro 3 should get you about 36 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 90 days with frequent solar charging. In our review, we found that the Enduro 3 lasted a solid month with limited solar charging and an every-other-day workout routine. Even if this watch struggles to hit Garmin’s listed numbers, a month on a single charge is simply amazing.
You can’t speak about a Garmin watch and not mention its health and fitness prowess. Garmin includes its Elevate Gen5 optical heart rate sensor which is capable of providing ECG and temperature readings. You also get a wide array of sensors designed to give you the clearest picture possible of your overall health. You also get a dual-band GPS for improved maps and navigation performance.
It’s not all perfect for the Enduro 3. In addition to its sky-high price tag, its display leaves a bit to be desired. It’s a touchscreen which is nice to have and has five buttons for navigation, but it doesn’t get very bright. It also completely lacks a speaker and a microphone, so don’t plan on using this watch to take any phone calls.
Review: The Garmin Enduro 3 is cheaper, lighter, and might be a Fenix 8 killer
The month-long battery life is a bonus
Garmin is well-known in the fitness space, and it offers an assortment of watches with great battery life. The Enduro 3 is for anyone who needs an amazing battery and doesn’t need the smarts of a Wear OS device.
Classic style that feels timeless
The Withings ScanWatch 2 is a high-end hybrid smartwatch capable of delivering excellent battery life despite offering more features than its predecessor. An upgraded PPG sensor and temperature sensor add to improved overall performance.
The Withings ScanWatch 2 takes a different approach by way of a hybrid design that blends advanced digital features with a traditional timepiece. It’s elegant and sophisticated, made all the better by the fact it holds up really well in light of the mixed focus. Sapphire crystal protects the display from nicks and scratches, while the lightweight body feels comfortable on your wrist for extended wear.
The small digital display isn’t necessarily conducive to viewing all the details and notifications you might want to see, but the benefit is prolonged battery life that lasts up to 30 days with one charge. Even if you factor in the new PPG and skin temperature sensors doing their thing, it would be hard to see the ScanWatch 2 dropping below three weeks per charge. That’s simply outstanding compared to the norm for smartwatches — even if this is more of a hybrid.
Withings ScanWatch 2 review: The smartwatch you wear to dinner
It’s not perfect, but the ScanWatch 2 offers digital features with an analog aesthetic
That’s also where you have to accept some differences, like how the analog sub-dial only tracks steps and no other activity. On the bright side, you can see all the metrics in the Withings app.
A battery stalwart all around
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is a great choice for anyone who wants a no-frills smartwatch experience that offers amazing battery life and health-tracking abilities. It does have a few issues holding it back, namely its lack of a touchscreen and Wear OS smarts.
The Garmin Instinct 2 Solar is similar to the Enduro 3 in that it offers nearly a month of battery life but at a lower price point. There are a few trade-offs along the way, but if you’re after a long-lasting smartwatch capable of tracking all of your health needs, then the Instinct 2 Solar should be on your shortlist.
Breaking down the battery life, Garmin says that the Instinct 2 Solar can hit 28 days of battery life in smartwatch mode with about three hours of solar charging per day. In our test, we found that the Instinct 2 Solar was able to hit about 22 days on a single charge, but that was with limited access to solar charging. No matter how you slice it, it’s some seriously good battery life.
You also get Garmin’s usual array of accurate health sensors, as well as its Body Battery feature to let you know when you’re ready for your next workout. There are six sensors in total, including an accelerometer, altimeter, barometer, compass, temperature sensor, and optical hear rate sensor.
The Instinct 2 Solar does have a few issues that may keep it off your list of potential watches. The main issue comes down to the display and navigating the device. This watch comes with a low-resolution monochrome display and completely lacks a touch screen.
Garmin’s Instinct 2 Solar is a fitness and adventure watch without the nonsense
Living without a touchscreen is tough, though
The lack of a touchscreen is the one that hits the hardest. Garmin does include five physical buttons for navigating the device, but it’s not as easy as using your finger. To make it a bit more difficult, each button can be used in a variety of ways, making it a confusing endeavor.
Only charge sometimes
The Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas continues the company’s unique dual-layered display that directly translates to excellent battery life. This is in addition to some solid fitness features, and a great design. It’s just too bad that Mobvoi can’t be trusted to update its smartwatches promptly, if at all.
Mobvoi approaches things a bit differently with its smartwatches, particularly with its displays. It utilizes a dual-layer approach, there’s an ultra-low-power LCD on top and a beautiful OLED that sits just underneath the LCD panel. It’s an approach that feels like it shouldn’t work, but it does, and it works quite well.
This dual display approach allows Mobvoi to use the low-power LCD panel to show you various information, translating to real power savings. If you’re a heavy user, you can expect about two days of battery life, but a mixture of some exercise and daily activity should get you closer to four or even five days of battery on a continuous charge.
The TicWatch Atlas is also quite peppy thanks to its Snapdragon W5 processor and 2GB of RAM. Jumping between the various menus and opening apps is lightning-fast. The TicWatch Atlas also offers the usual array of health sensors and gets mostly accurate results from those sensors. The GPS is also good enough.
Review: The Mobvoi TicWatch Atlas is one of the best Wear OS smartwatches yet
Hopefully Wear OS 5 support doesn’t take a year
Where the TicWatch Atlas struggles the most, and this is true for most Mobvoi watches, is with its lack of software updates. It’s not that Mobvio won’t provide software updates, because they do, at least for smaller updates. They struggle with major Wear OS updates, either delivering them a year late or not at all.
Here you go, Strava nation
The Suunto Race is a quality fitness-tracker/smartwatch feautring a sturdy steel or titanium build and 16GB or 32GB of onboard memory. Athletes can take advantage of heart rate, SpO2, and ECG sensors, plus an impressive 12 days of battery life when used in smartwatch mode.
Suunto is rising in popularity as a quality alternative to mainstream smartwatch brands. Assuming you’re logging some average use on the Suunto Race, it’ll give you up to 12 days of use in standard smartwatch mode, or up to 26 days in the less power-hungry setting.
Suunto Race review: Purpose-built to perfection
A true fitness tracker in a smartwatch world
Reminiscent of the Garmin Venu 3, this is a rugged smartwatch that’ll withstand its fair share of brushes with sharp or unforgiving edges, thanks to the scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens. Measuring 49mm across the lens face, smaller-wrist wearers may feel a bit like a child in their father’s shoes wearing this one, so keep that in mind.
The Suunto Race supports a variety of third-party fitness apps to help further your training goals. One caveat, though, is that the Race price could lead someone to expect standalone GPS connectivity in their watch, but this isn’t something the Race offers.
Smartwatches that keep on going
Smartwatches, and wearables generally, continue to get better at tracking health and activity, though battery life is a constant work in progress, which is why it’s common to see compromises to make them last longer. If longer battery life really matters to you, it’s something you have to keep in mind as you look for the next one to strap on your wrist.
The Amazfit T-Rex 3 is a stud for battery life, and while it may not offer all the features and integrations you’d get with a Wear OS watch, it’s a good value option for active users among the more expensive Garmin options. If you want Wear OS with a more rugged body, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is still the sturdiest model the company offers to date, offering a nice mix of phone integration with a slew of tracking features to go with it.
For most people, the OnePlus Watch 2 offers the best performance, for the price. This is from both a battery perspective, and a Wear OS one. You’re getting a speedy device that can go days between charges while supporting all of your favorite apps. The OnePlus Watch 2 offers all this while maintaining a competitive price that’s tough to beat.
Best blend of power, price, and battery
OnePlus did a phenomenal job when creating the Watch 2. In addition to offering some of the best battery life on a Wear OS device, it offers speedy performance, a gorgeous display, and good health tracking. It does all of this while maintaining a competitive price, and is nearly unbeatable when it’s on sale.
