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Meet the TechRadar Product of the Year 2026 winners

TechRadar — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 20:05:44 +0000

Though 2026 has been a tumultuous time for technology when it comes to price hikes and shortages, the tech that's reached us has been excellent — in fact, it's been a banner year in most areas, just with some downsides for your wallet.

We've already crowned the best tech of the year as chosen by you in our TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 — but this is where we let our experts have their say.

Our writers and editors chose their favorite products in nearly 100 categories, ranging across all the kinds of products we review. In some cases, we agree with the readers; in lots of cases, we don't. So read on to see which gadgets we rate as being the most impressive of the last 12 months.

Phones & tablets

Phone of the Year

Apple iPhone 18 Pro

Wherever you look, the iPhone 18 Pro excels. It might not have the biggest camera sensor or the longest-lasting battery of any phone on the market, but it does offer a near-unrivaled combination of premium flagship features. From its variable aperture feature and pro-level video capabilities to its phenomenal performance and gorgeous display, the 18 Pro is the Swiss Army knife of 2026 smartphones.

Read our full iPhone 18 Pro review

Phone Brand of the Year

Honor

The Chinese company has brought something competitive to the table at every turn in 2026. The Honor Magic 8 Pro is an extremely capable flagship. The Magic V6 is easily one of the best foldables you can buy. The Honor 600 series offers some serious value for money in the mid-range sector. The MagicPad 4 is an iPad-beating tablet in several ways. And the Robot Phone is, well, the Robot Phone. Honor’s products aren’t globally available in the same way as, say, Apple's or Samsung’s, but those who have tried the brand’s phones and tablets will know about their level of hardware quality.

Phones Innovation of the Year

Honor Robot Phone

Sticking with Honor, it’s hard to see past the Robot Phone as the most exciting Phones Innovation of the Year in 2026. There's been some competition from foldables in this area this year, but Honor deserves credit for bringing something wildly different to the market (in China, at least). Will we ever see the Robot Phone and its fully motorized mechanical gimbal arm in Western markets? I doubt it — but that doesn’t make it any less exciting.

Read our Honor Robot Phone hands-on

Best Value Phone

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion

The Motorola Edge 70 Fusion is in another world for pure value compared to most phones — for example, compared to the iPhone 17e, it costs almost exactly half the price and offers an extra camera, a much larger battery, faster charging, and a higher display refresh rate. The Edge 70 Fusion is not a flashy phone, but it certainly punches above its budget price tag.

Best Mid-Range Phone

Apple iPhone 17

The Apple iPhone 17 is over 12 months old now (it just slips into this year’s eligibility window), and it wasn’t replaced with a successor in September — but it didn’t need to be. With its 120Hz refresh rate, two great rear cameras, powerful A19 chipset, and still-industry-leading Center Stage selfie camera, the iPhone 17 is still the iPhone we recommend to most people.

Best Folding Phone

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the only globally available passport-shaped foldable we’ve tested fully (and that's eligible for this year's awards), and it's earned our pick as the Best Folding Phone of the year. We were skeptical about the practicality of the Z Fold 8’s stumpy form factor, but after living with the phone for a month, we came around to its charming oddness.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z fold 8 review

Best Flip Phone

Motorola Razr Ultra 2026

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 (or Motorola Razr 70 Ultra, as it’s called in certain regions) is, for us, the best phone you can buy in this category. The Galaxy Z Flip 8 has better software, a newer chipset, and is slightly more affordable — but the latest Razr Ultra has a larger battery, faster charging, and better cameras. It’s a close-run thing, but this is the flip phone we'd choose.

Best Camera Phone

Oppo Find X9 Ultra

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is an absolute beast of a camera phone. It boasts a 200MP main lens, a 50MP ultra-wide lens, a 200MP 3x telephoto lens, and a 50MP 10x telephoto (f/3.5) lens, which is a combination that helped it beat the Galaxy S26 Ultra and hold its own against even the Lumix TZ300 and Nikon Z8 in our head-to-head comparisons. It’s heavy, thick, and eye-wateringly expensive, but the Find X9 Ultra is the closest we’ve come to a truly camera-rivaling smartphone.

Read our full Oppo Find X9 Ultra review

Best Gaming Phone

RedMagic 11 Pro

If you’re looking for an unashamedly gamer-y smartphone, it doesn’t get much better than the RedMagic 11 Pro. With its exposed water-cooling system, capacitive shoulder buttons, powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, and gorgeous 6.85-inch OLED display, it’s more handheld console than phone.

Read our full RedMagic 11 Pro review

Best AI Phone

Google Pixel 11 Pro

Even though Google’s latest Pixel series doesn’t bring much newness to the table, it’s hard to argue against the Pixel 11 Pro’s status as the Best AI Phone money can buy. There’s Camera Coach, Magic Cue, Magic Editor, Magic Capture, Rambler, and, of course, system-wide Gemini integration to take advantage of with Google’s latest flagship. If AI is your jam, the Pixel 11 Pro should be your phone.

Read our full Google Pixel 11 Pro review

Best Phone Accessory

DJI Osmo Mobile 8P

Phone gimbals aren’t the flashiest products around, but the DJI Osmo Mobile 8P deserves credit for being one of the best phone accessories money can buy. As we noted in our review, the 8P adds a remote control and even better tracking capabilities to the already impressive Osmo Mobile 8 formula, and as such, it’s an easy recommendation for content creators.

Read our full DJI Osmo Mobile 8P review

Best Tablet

Honor MagicPad 4

The Android tablet market is a real mix of good, bad, and terrible right now, but the Honor MagicPad 4 surprised us by being a genuinely iPad-rivaling slate in testing this year. For a lower price than the latest iPad Air, the MagicPad 4 offers a thin and lightweight design, a stunning OLED screen, an excellent eight-speaker stereo setup, and near-unbeatable update support. Here’s hoping Honor continues its hot streak into 2027.

Read our full Honor MagicPad 4 review

Best eReader

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025)

The last 12 months have seen plenty of great ereaders and digital note-takers come to market, but the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) has become our go-to recommendation for those after an ereader/notebook hybrid. It's pricey, yes, but the Scribe’s 11-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display is a joy to behold.

Read our full Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) review

Cameras & drones

Camera of the Year

Sony A7R VI

Perfect ratings are rare, but the A7R VI earned five stars with its 66.8MP stacked full-frame sensor, image stabilization, new processor and improved subject-detection autofocus, which combine for class-leading quality and performance. Whether you shoot landscape photography or action, the A7R VI can handle it all, and its excellent handling and new and improved battery was the cherry on the cake. Our verdict? "Sony can stop making cameras now."

Read our full Sony A7R VI review

Brand of the Year

Sony

Following a relatively quiet year, Sony has stood out in 2026 with three top cameras and a raft of new lenses. We gave a perfect five-star rating to the Sony A7R VI, which received high praise from our veteran Cameras Editor who said it had "no weaknesses". The A7 V took top spot in our best mirrorless cameras guide, while the RX10 V revived bridge cameras and extended Sony’s lead at the top in this category. Add Sony’s stellar macro lens to the mix and this award was inevitable.

Camera Innovation of the Year

Antigravity A1

The Antigravity A1 was a first-of-its-kind drone, one that can shoot true 360 degree video thanks to its dual camera array. The Insta360-backed company effectively gave us an airborne Insta360 X5, with immersive 8K video recording that sees in every direction. At the launch event, we donned the company’s goggles and followed racing cars around a track, and the whole experience was intuitive — but most of all immersive. You don’t need to worry about framing the shot, because that happens later using Insta360’s clever software, which can frame and compile videos after the fact.

Read our full Antigravity A1 review

Best Beginner Camera

OM System PEN

It was a tight call between the OM System PEN and the Lumix L10, but ultimately we felt that the PEN is the better starting point for beginner photographers, at a much lower price point. Not only is the PEN easy on the eye, but it features image stabilization, a rangefinder-style EVF, a weatherproof body, and a host of clever computational photography modes that smartphone upgrades will feel at home with, and that encourage creativity. A huge choice of lenses and a new weatherproof kit lens complete the package.

Read our OM System PEN review

Best Mid-range camera

Sony A7 V

The mid-range full-frame category is fiercely contested by Canon, Nikon, Sony and Panasonic, but Sony stole back its crown with the new A7 V, in a year that Canon also released the stellar EOS R6 Mark III. Between those two 5-star cameras, we felt the A7 V had the (slight) edge overall; there's nothing to choose in terms of resolution, but the A7 V has a partially stacked sensor for what should be quicker readout speeds, plus snappier subject detection autofocus, wider dynamic range, versatile flip-and-tilt screen, and class-leading battery life.

Read our Sony A7 V review

Best Professional Camera

Sony A7R VI

It’s actually been a quiet year in the professional camera category, but that's probably good for the other companies, because the A7R VI would’ve been hard for anyone to compete with. It ups the bar with a class-leading 66.8MP full-frame stacked sensor that's backed up with the power, speed and pro-grade body that make the camera a formidable tool in any pro photography scenario. We shot landscape, portrait and wildlife photography, and the pro camera thrived in all situations.

Read our full Sony A7R VI review

Best Compact and Instant Camera

Ricoh GR IV

Being intimately familiar with the GR III, we were super excited about the GR IV launch and the upgrades it would bring. A new 26MP APS-C sensor with five-axis stabilization and improved battery life topped the improvements, but we’ll have to keep fingers crossed for next time for the improved build quality, a tilt screen and built-in-flash we wished for. Even still, the GR IV can shoot the best quality photos from a truly pocketable camera, with a dedicated Monochrome edition that came alter to boot. The price hike stung, but no other brand is making a compact like Ricoh is.

Read our Ricoh GR IV review

Best Action and Vlogging Camera

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P

It’s been a busy year in this category, with Insta360 and DJI in particular trading blows. First came DJI's Pocket 4, which was a modest upgrade of the Pocket 3, but DJI had something extra special up its sleeve; a twin-lens gimbal camera Pocket 4P, which would change the game for vlogging. Insta360 then tried to steal DJI’s thunder with its innovative Luna Ultra's twin lenses and removable remote module — but DJI's Pocket 4P feels like the more polished of the two, and the one we have found ourselves turning to more often for shooting stabilized 4K content.

Read our DJI Osmo Pocket 4P review

Best Camera Lens

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art

Lenses is a competitive category year after year, and 2025-2026 was no different, with a top Sony macro optic, Nikon's slimmed down 70-200mm f/2.8 and a number of superb-value Viltrox optics. However, we must recognize innovation and give credit where it's due, which is why Sigma’s first 135mm telephoto lens with a f/1.4 aperture blew us away. Bulky, yes, but we gave it five stars in our review, calling the 135mm F1.4 DG / Art the 'bokeh master' — if you want the dreamiest portraits, look no further.

Read our Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art review

Best Camera Accessory

Insta360 Mic Pro

DJI and Insta360 have been trading blows all year, but it was Insta360’s Mic Pro that was the final piece of the jigsaw for the 360 camera maker’s ecosystem. Insta360 fans using the likes of the class leading X6 360-degree camera, Ace Pro 2 action cam and Luna Ultra vlogging cameras can enjoy all the benefits of direct compatibility with one of the best wireless mics we’ve ever tested — mixing and matching their camera with a third party mic is no longer necessary. And what a mic it was — the Mic Pro has DJI-beating noise cancellation and an eye-catching, customizable e ink display.

Read our Insta360 Mic Pro review

Best Drone

DJI Avata 360

First came the Antigravity A1 drone, and then came the DJI Avata 360, which felt like the more polished and versatile 360-degree drone of the two. Where the A1 has two fixed lenses to capture 360-degree footage, the Avata 360’s twin lenses are mounted to a gimbal which can rotate 90 degrees to switch between regular (front-facing) single-lens and top/bottom facing 360-degree use. The product also joins DJI's existing Avata ecosystem, which already includes superb FPV goggles and motion controller accessories. Bottom line — the A1 came first, but the Avata 360 upped the bar, and it costs much less.

Read our DJI Avata 360 review

Computing

Laptop of the Year

Apple MacBook Neo

If there's one laptop that has made the biggest impact in 2026, then it's the MacBook Neo. When Apple announced its brand-new MacBook earlier this year, along with the impressively-affordable starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$1,049, it sent shockwaves through the industry. That might sound like hyperbole, but by releasing a budget laptop that still features a premium-feeling (and looking) design and without too many compromises when it comes to features and performance, the MacBook Neo shook rival PC makers out of their complacency and got them to up their budget laptop game. We had numerous laptop makers freely admit that they were releasing $600 laptops to challenge the MacBook Neo. For the sheer impact alone, the MacBook Neo has to be our pick as laptop of the year.

Read our full MacBook Neo review

Computing Brand of the Year

Nvidia

Once again, Nvidia has dominated the computing industry this year — all without releasing a new consumer graphics card. While the AI bubble, and Nvidia's role in it, continues to have a huge impact on the computing industry, the company has continued to innovate. DLSS 4.5 brought improved image quality to Nvidia's upscaling tech, while also introducing 6x Multi Frame Generation that can help improve gaming performance, especially on lower-end cards. Nvidia also released RTX Spark, its Arm-based System-on-Chip (SoC) aimed at taking on Apple's M-series chips, especially in regards to creative and local AI tasks. Even its controversial DLSS 5 feature has won over some critics since its announcement.

Best Computing Innovation

Intel Arc G3 Extreme

This year's release of the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip — yes, another SoC, this time one that's been specifically designed for mobile gaming devices by concentrating on graphics performance and power efficiency. So, it's not surprising that it is the beating heart of many of the most powerful and exciting PC gaming handhelds that have come out this year, including the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, Acer Predator Atlas 8, and OneXPlayer 3. They're all expensive, sadly, but they offer truly brilliant gaming performance in even the most graphically-intensive titles, and the Intel chip is why.

Best Value Laptop

Dell XPS 13 (2026)

While we were very tempted to give the MacBook Neo our award for the best value laptop of 2026, we've actually gone for one of the laptops it influenced: this year's XPS 13. In the past, Dell's XPS 13 laptop was a premium thin and light laptop, but Dell relaunched it as an affordable alternative to Apple's laptop, initially targeting the same $600 starting price. This isn't a conspiracy — Dell explicitly compared the XPS 13 to the MacBook Neo when showing off the laptop to us. The reason we're giving the XPS 13 the edge is that it feels like Dell made fewer compromises with its affordable laptop, especially when it comes to backlit keyboard and faster USB-C ports.

Read our full Dell XPS 13 (2026) review

Best AI Laptop

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra

Pretty much any laptop these days ships with some form of AI feature included, even baked into the operating system — but of all the laptops that have come out this year, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is, in our view, the best AI laptop because it doesn't just settle for adding AI features from other companies. Instead, Samsung has included its own Galaxy AI features, which offer additional tools, and work across its laptops, smartphones, and tablets. While not every Galaxy AI feature is a killer app, it shows a level of ambition and investment that many of its competitors lack.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra review

Best Gaming Laptop

Razer Blade 18

Razer has been putting out excellent gaming laptops for years, marrying cutting-edge technology with thin and light designs that banish any memory of big and bulky gaming laptops of yore. This year's Razer Blade 18 is no exception, offering almost desktop-levels of performance thanks to some of the most powerful components on the market today, with up to an RTX 5090 GPU and 128GB of DDR5 RAM. You can throw any game at this thing and it'll handle it like a champ, and its large 18-inch display offers UHD+ resolution at 240Hz, and FHD+ at an incredibly fast 440Hz, for unbelievably slick performance in games.

Read our full Razer Blade 18 (2026) review

Best PC Gaming Handheld

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+

While all the Intel Arc G3 Extreme-powered PC gaming handhelds that we saw at Computex were impressive, one stood out: the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. Not only was it one of the first handheld to come with Intel's latest hardware, but MSI completely redesigned the device itself to make it feel more comfortable and responsive when playing. This bore out in our full review, which highlighted the incredible performance (for a handheld) and the bright and vibrant screen that really made the games look spectacular.

Read our full MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ review

Best Gaming Keyboard

Corsair Makr Pro 75

Reliability, performance, and build quality are all incredibly important considerations in a keyboard, and the Corsair Makr Pro 75 ticks every box. Its Corsair MGX Hyperdrive magnetic hot-swappable hall effect switches are an absolute joy to type on, and the overall build quality is exceptional (if a little heavy). It's expensive, and the software isn't great, but when crowning 2026's top gaming keyboard, there was only one choice here.

Read our full Corsair Makr Pro 75 review

Best Gaming Mouse

Razer Naga V3 Pro

The Razer Naga V3 Pro is an incredibly versatile gaming mouse that, thanks to its swappable side plates that offer gamers two, six, or 12 additional buttons, will appeal to almost any one, no matter what time of games you play. We use this mouse with the six-button side plate (which is easily attached via magnets) for quick access to macros and shortcuts while playing current obsession Planet Coaster 2. The mouse feels very comfortable to use, the 50K optical sensor offers fantastic control and with an 8,000Hz polling rate, even when used wirelessly, this is a mouse that can give you a serious competitive advantage.

Read our full Razer Naga V3 Pro review

Best Gaming Monitor

Alienware AW3426DW QD-OLED

The Alienware AW3426DW is an ultra-wide gaming monitor with a stunning five-layer tandem OLED panel that offers incredible, vision-spanning image quality. It supports Dolby Vision HDR, and a very fast 280Hz refresh rate that makes it a great choice for fast and frantic competitive games. The 3440x1440 (offering a 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio) offers plenty of detail without putting too much strain on your GPU, and that wider field of vision, along with the fast refresh rate, could make a huge difference when playing.

Read our full Alienware AW3426DW QD-OLED review

Gaming

Gaming Device of the Year

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite

The Arctis Nova Elite is the best gaming headset we've ever tested. It's simply that good. It's not just a headset that has you covered by collecting features you'll find elsewhere altogether either; this is a genuinely individual beast. The design and build are of premium materials: SteelSeries has made a custom Carbon Fiber driver with a brass surround ring for spectacular hi-res audio. Connectivity is all you could ever want in terms of need and convenience, and the whole experience is absolutely fantastic. A world-beater of a gaming headset and device that is peerless.

Read our full SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite review

Gaming Brand of the Year

Asus

With an enormous number and diversity of products being launched by the gaming brand, from first attempts at desktop soundbars to quality PC gaming handheld follow-ups, and more excellent gaming monitors with the latest panels in that you can shake a stick at, Asus has been the hardware brand to beat this past year.

Gaming Innovation of the Year

Nvidia DLSS 4.5

With PC gaming becoming increasingly demanding, DLSS has never been more important, and DLSS 4.5 is one of the biggest leaps forward for upscaling tech yet. It delivers such high image quality and clarity that you can barely tell the difference between Quality and Performance modes, helping supported games like Doom: The Dark Ages and Arc Raiders look better and run better than ever before.

Best Console Accessory

Corsair Novablade Pro

A pleasant surprise in the past year or so's gaming hardware releases, the Novablade Pro leverless fightstick is a fantastic game controller that oozes quality and prioritizes customization to make life easier and better for fighting game players.

Best Gaming Service

Amazon Luna

With hardware prices spiraling out of control, cloud gaming has never been a more attractive proposition — and Amazon continues to offer one of the best services in the space. This year saw Amazon Luna games integrated directly into the Prime Video app on Fire TV devices, making it easier than ever to access great games wherever you are.

Best Gaming Controller

8BitDo Pro 3

The 8BitDo Pro 3 looks like a small upgrade compared to the Pro 2, but in real-world use, the improvements are simply astronomical. 8BitDo has crammed drift-eliminating TMR thumbsticks, magnetic hot-swappable face buttons, trigger locks, and an extra pair of optional remappable buttons into a versatile, budget-friendly package that is miles ahead of the competition.

Best Gaming Headset

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite

The best gaming headset we've ever tested. The Nova Elite raises the bar for premium, do-it-all, high-end gaming headsets, and this ticks every box from feature set to battery life, and from connectivity to audio quality, design, and build.

Best Gaming Chair

Secretlab Atlas

Secretlab's latest chair is a hit. This practical task chair offers the brand's supreme materials and build quality in a less gaming-oriented format, making it perfect for your work-from-home setup. It's attractive, comfortable, and feature-packed — what more could you ask from your seat?

TV & home theater

TV of the Year

LG C6

In terms of all-around performance, features and versatility balanced with price, the C6 is the best TV around. When we tested it next to its predecessor, the LG C5, it was a noticeable upgrade: one that's rare to come across, and that was helped by LG adding its highest-end image processing. If you want a TV that can do it all, the C6 is that TV. Few TVs have impressed me as much this year as the C6, and that's why it takes the top spot.

Read our full LG C6 review

Home Entertainment Brand of the Year

Sony

Sony released two RGB LED TVs this year after years of teasing, and both of them were best-in-class, and are the TVs that most have me believing that OLED really should watch its back based on where this technology could do. Outside of this, the brand has also produced some excellent soundbars and speakers across the board, including the ground-breaking Bravia Theater Trio wireless LCR system, which is something we've been hoping to see a company make for years.

Home Entertainment Innovation of the Year

Sony True RGB

RGB TVs have been the big buzz of the TV world in 2026, and while it's been a mostly mixed bag, Sony's version called 'True RGB' stands above the rest. While it delivers spellbinding colors and superb brightness, it's the OLED-level black tones that impressed me most. I've tested Sony's two True RGB TVs and it's the best that dark and high-contrast scenes have ever looked on a backlit TV. In terms of innovation, it doesn't get more impressive than this in 2026.

Best Gaming TV

LG C6

For gaming, there's no better option in 2026 than the LG C6. Not only does it have a full list of features — 4K at up to 165Hz, full variable refresh rate support, and Dolby Vision Gaming — and fantastic performance, but it's also available in 42-83-inch sizes to suit all gaming spaces. When I played games on the C6, I had a fantastic time thanks to its buttery-smooth response times and excellent picture quality. There are other great gaming TVs around, but none delivers such a good all-round experience for the same price.

Read our full LG C6 review

Best TV for Sound

Sony Bravia 9 II

While TV sound is often a mixed bag, no other TV delivers better built-in audio in 2026 than the Sony Bravia 9 II. It delivers impeccable detail and clarity with a wide soundstage and pinpoint accuracy. Watching our reference scenes just impressed us across the board — very few other TVs have ever delivered such a level of audio authenticity.

Read our full Sony Bravia 9 II review

Best OLED TV

LG C6

Our TV of the Year is also the best OLED TV of 2026. More premium models may deliver better picture or more features, but none deliver a more complete package that's a significant step above their predecessor for a seriously competitive price. The C6 is a jack-of-all-trades TV that ticks every box a user could need across a wide range of sizes, and no other OLED has impressed me as much as the LG C6 when compared to last year's models.

Read our full LG C6 review

Best Mini-LED TV

Sony Bravia 9 II

RGB mini-LED is the next step in the evolution of mini-LED and no other TV this year does it better than the Sony Bravia 9 II. It delivers fantastic backlight control, OLED-rivaling black tones, vibrant, rich colors and realistic detail. No backlit TV has ever wowed our reviewers more than the Bravia 9 II, and it's an exciting sign for the future of mini-LED.

Read our full Sony Bravia 9 II review

Best Value TV

TCL QM7L/C7L

It really doesn't get better in terms of bang-for-your-buck value than the TCL QM7L (US model) and TCL C7L (UK and Australian version). The new SQD panel delivers great brightness and color, as well as excellent backlight control. Its great for gaming for a near-full suite of features, and it has credible built-in sound. The real highlight however is its price-to-size ratio, where you can get a big screen at a ridiculously affordable price, given how good the picture looks. If you want the best value, the QM7L/C7L is our top pick.

Read our full TCL QM7L review

Best Projector

Hisense XR10

This projector simply creates the most impressive pictures you can expect from a living-room-friendly projector — anything beyond this requires going pro. It's bright enough to work for lit rooms as well as dark-room viewing, and looks fantastic in both cases — and it even has a slick decor-friendly design. Sure, it lacks 120Hz at 4K, but cinephiles won't care — and this is made for cinephiles, make no mistake. Our full review will land shortly.

Best Soundbar

Sonos Beam Ultra

This wasn't the only soundbar this year to earn a rare five-star rating, but it's the one with the most 'wow' factor, because it's hard to believe such an expansive sound is coming from such a small design. The Dolby Atmos effect reaches a scale you'd never expect for a compact bar, and does it with clarity and precision of spatial audio. This feels like a premium bar, but with a mid-range price, and that's why it earns this award.

Read our full Sonos Beam Ultra review

Best Wireless Home Theater Speakers

Sony Bravia Theater Trio

This is product option we've wanted for so long: a wireless LCR system (meaning left, center, right channels) that's as easy to set up as a soundbar, but with the better width and impact that you get from a separates system. And that's what you get here: tons of power, a super-immersive Dolby Atmos experience, and a sense of scale to match a projector screen or giant-screen TV in a way a soundbar can't match. It's the wireless living home theater dream come true, especially with its easy expansion to add rears and subs. Our full review is coming soon.

Streaming

Streaming Service of the Year

HBO Max

Three years on after winning our coveted Best Streaming Service of the Year crown, HBO Max has done it again — and with good reason. Its long-overdue launch in multiple European nations, including the UK and Ireland, and the introduction of new user-friendly features are two such reasons why it was an early contender for this year’s prize. Throw in its unrivaled catalog of unmissable new shows and returning TV favorites, ongoing movie-exclusive partnership with acclaimed indie studio A24, and ever-expanding live sports coverage, though, and no other platform came close to besting it.

Best for Movies

Prime Video

Movie lovers should flock to Prime Video, as it boasts a library of over 20,000 movies in the US. The streaming service regularly adds new movies from Hollywood blockbusters, independent films, and classic cinema across the years, as well as its own Prime Video Original movies. Recent additions include the romantic comedy Love of Your Life and survival horror The Devil's Mouth.

Best for Documentaries

Netflix

Considering Netflix has everything from true crime to celebrity-fronted food documentaries, it's the place to be if you love all things real life. There's plenty of shocking stories of scandals, murders, mysteries and more, as well as lighter options for those in need of some escapism. Whatever you're after, Netflix probably has it. Recent must-see documentaries include a nail-biting series called Worst Neighbor Ever and the shocking Titan: The OceanGate Disaster.

Best for TV Shows

Apple TV was the most awarded streaming service at the 2026 Emmys, with many of its original series being hailed as the best. We’re inclined to agree, considering the quality of Apple TV shows has been consistently excellent across the board. Whether you want a mind boggling thriller like Severance or a horror comedy like Widow’s Bay, there’s plenty on offer for all tastes.

Best Free Streaming Service

Tubi or not Tubi? That’s the question we ask ourselves who should win our annual Best Free Streaming Service of the Year award. Well, this year, it is Tubi. Supported on over 30 devices — the most of any ad-supporting video on demand (AVOD) service — it’s available to every kind of person working to every kind of budget. Add in its movie and TV show catalogs, which number hundreds of thousands of offerings covering numerous genres, as well as its ongoing featuring of myriad live television channels and networks, and it’s the 2026 people’s AVOD champion.

Audio

Headphones of the Year

Apple AirPods Max 2

As we said in our full review, these cans are "doubtless the best noise-cancelling iPhone headphones on the planet" — and we weren't expecting to love them as much as we did. Aside from the USB-C lossless audio and incredible comfort, they also boast some of the best voice capture on any headphones we've ever experienced. This was a really hot year for headphones, the AirPods Max 2 still lag behind the competition for battery life (and the weird bra case continues to mystify) — but that they won out should tell you just how good they are in every other way.

Read our full AirPods Max 2 review

Audio Brand of the Year

iFi

Hi-res specialist iFi isn't afraid of conquering the whole hi-fi market, serving up launches such as the excellent five-star elite iFi iDSD GR2 and the cheap and cheerful Go Cable this year. We love seeing this hard-working visionary outfit in full flow. Whatever level you're at, it's got something for you — and it's hard to look past a brand that hires out London's Tower Bridge, gets its entire team into black tuxedoes, plasters the walls with the word 'Phantom' so it feels as if 007 himself could drop in at any minute and then unveils the most stunning-sounding flagship DAC we've ever heard. Bravo, iFi. For you, the world is not enough…

Audio Innovation of the Year

Cambridge L/R S speakers

Before I heard these speakers, I thought Cambridge had taken a big risk here. Then, I gave them a thorough listen and I knew they were winners. The L/R S is a genuinely active stereo speaker system, so it does not involve a powered primary speaker and a dumb counterpart to make a pair. OK, only the primary speaker receives power, but there are two channels of amplification for each speaker. Then, there's a full DSP crossover which acts as a PWM signal to each amp — and that's before the bespoke four-conductor cable to connect the primary speaker to the secondary! Might we call them over-engineered? Maybe — or you could simply call Cambridge's work ethic ‘admirable’, as I do.

Read our full Cambridge L/R S review

Best Wireless Headphones

Nothing Headphone (a)

There's something so untethered about Nothing's approach to audio architecture and design that it makes these cans downright joyous in their appeal — we actually have the pair with yellow accents (you can call them over-easy eggs if you like, that actually makes me dig them even more). The company upgraded and finessed the audio compared to the original Headphone (1), while keeping the excellent on-ear controls (the roller for volume is a true highlight) stellar battery life, very good ANC and truly useful app — then somehow shaved a load off the price. A deserved winner.

Read our full Nothing Headphone (a) review

Best Wireless Earbuds

Soundpeats H3

These delightfully different, affordable and sonically superb buds from Soundpeats sound better than some buds at twice their price (and at around $129 / £129, they're really quite humbly priced), thanks to their triple-driver array per bud, a secure fit, plus aptX, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless and LDAC support. Audiophile on a budget? Add this name to your list.

Read our full Soundpeats H3 review

Best Open Earbuds

Shokz OpenFit Pro

Our Audio Editor uses these superb, if pricey, open earbuds multiple times per week, and it's hard to look past the personal recommendation. The fit is sports-worthy (aided by extra optional bands in the box, useful for sports that require a different fit, such as tennis) but they're also office-friendly and professional in terms of design — and the excellent active noise reduction is as unusual as it is class-leading. As far as I'm concerned, Shokz served an ace here.

Read our full Shokz Openfit Pro review

Best Value Headphones

CMF Headphone Pro

We knew we loved these minty fresh cans as soon as we slipped them over our ears. Would you expect hearing tests for a personalized sound profile, LDAC support, an excellent volume 'roller' control on the right ear cup, glorious build quality, zealous wireless sound, exemplary battery life and 3.5mm hi-res wired listening for under $100 / £100? The design flair, energetic audio quality and additional perks won this race.

Read our full CMF Headphone Pro review

Best Value Earbuds

JLab JBuds Mini ANC

Look at them! The JLab JBuds Mini ANC's one perceived failing stems from their biggest selling point: because they're tiny enough to fit on a keyring (they are the smallest ANC earbuds on the planet), you might think they're little more than junk. I'm here to tell you emphatically that they are not — in fact, they're so far from junk that you can't lose them. They're the first earbuds to have support for Apple's Find My network. I don't think any rival came particularly close to the value you get here for $39 / £39 — our full review is coming soon.

Best Value Open Earbuds

Baseus Bowie MC2

We think a Labyrinth-era Bowie (that's 1986, to save you the bother of checking) in full Goblin King Jareth regalia would've put these dark, cuff-style open earbuds on without a second thought — and he'd have looked fantastic in them. These cheap clip-style buds often had us wondering whether you even need to spend more on a flagship set from class-leaders such as Shokz or Bose. If all you need is good sound with surprisingly regimented, impactful bass (and you're prepared to forego expensive extras) these Baseus buds are a winner.

Read our full Baseus Bowie MC2 review

Best Wired Headphones

Meze Audio Strada

We're going for a set of stunning racing green closed-back headphones that sound as airy and spacious as open-back headphones, except nobody hears your playlist. As a closed-back option, they're also relatively easy to drive and they're capable of supremely detailed, organized and thoroughly addictive audio.

Read our full Meze Audio Strada review

Best Wired Earbuds

Sennheiser CX 80U

I said it before (because these were your choice too, dearest reader) and I'll say it again: when people ask me, "What's the cheapest way to get better sound from my phone?" my first response is to suggest these delightfully inexpensive 2026-release USB-C wired earbuds. For around $35 / £30 you really cannot do better. You don't get volume controls on the in-line remote and the mic doesn't deliver crystal-clear calls, as our Sennheiser CX 80U review explains. What you do get is acutely nimble but impactful bass, clear mids and sparkling, appealing highs. Pair that with their surprisingly effective passive noise isolation and you’re looking at an incredibly good pair of wired buds for the money.

Best Bluetooth Speaker

JBL Xtreme 5

Do you want a Bluetooth speaker you'll be able to slip into a purse and take to the park for a podcast, or do you want a party-ready beast with a shoulder strap all of its own? Because JBL's Xtreme 5 is in the latter camp, but if that's what you want, you'll be delighted with it. This is one of the best bigger Bluetooth belters we've ever tested — as our five-star JBL Xtreme 5 review will impress upon you at great length. OK, enough talk: let's dance!

Best Wireless Speaker

Denon Home 400

I got a chance to hear this speaker among its siblings (the Home 200 and 600) at launch, and it is my favorite of Denon's 2026 wireless home trio. It is also the best-looking new wireless speaker on the market, for me (it's about the size of a chopping-board rack or bread bin, fitting neatly on shelves and bookcases while serving up delicious sound). Another great feature is that during setup, you are encouraged to list where the speaker is placed — far from a wall, close to one wall or in a corner — within the HEOS companion app. You can then opt for a 'pure' stereo hi-fi mix, or add 'width' to boost the horizontal spaciousness of the sound field. The spatial and directional stuff is a lot of fun to play with and, as our full Denon Home 400 review explains, provided you don't rely on a voice assistant to do your bidding at home (I do not) it's a hugely talented wireless speaker.

Best Portable Audio Player

Astell & Kern PD5

I absolutely get why the TR readership chose Astell & Kern's newest 'entry level' hi-res audio player, called the A&K PD5 (I put 'entry level' in quotation marks because A&K's definition and ours may well differ). And while I've been lucky enough to listen to the May 2026-release flagship Astell & Kern SP4000T, very briefly — and I have to tell you, it's excellent — it is a huge chunk of cash. This option is far more palatable from a purely financial perspective and is still a fantastically gifted DAP. We gave the PD5's wonky, quirky SR35 older sibling a glowing five-star review, and now this glorious successor is here in a more conventional form factor. Our full review is almost here, but here's a spoiler alert: it's good news. I predicted this category would be won by Activo's parent company, and so it has come to pass — the hi-res DAP specialist is truly bossing the quality portable music machine market.

Best Turntable

Fluance RT87

This is a player for the purist, and so it is pretty light on convenience-focused features — there's no built-in phono preamp, for example — but we don’t think that is a bad thing. The Fluance RT87 is designed for someone who is ready to enter a more serious vinyl listening state and is prepared for manual tone arm adjustment and tweaking to make the turntable as flat as possible using the provided bubble level. This means you won't damage your particularly irreplaceable presses when you spin them — that's the kind of person this turntable is aimed at, and it nails that brief.

See our full Fluance RT87 review

Best DAC

iFi iDSD GR2

When we chose iFi as our Audio Brand of the Year, one of the key deciding factors was this phenomenal digital-analog-converter. It's all stunning design, punchy power, exceptional performance, and a brilliant OLED touchscreen for extra features. I love iFi's dedication to K2HD restorative mastering tech, and its fan-fave XBass and XSpace filters. This DAC even has a lower asking price than its xDSD Gryphon predecessor at launch. It would be churlish to ask for much more than that in 2026.

Read our full iFi iDSD GR2 review

Best Stereo Speakers

Dali Sonik 1

While these may be small and budget-friendly, sonically they’re huge and luxurious. Think clear-headed, stunning vocals with more room to breathe than should be possible at this level, plus tangible transients through to a deep, thrumming low-end. They are far from the first of this type of speaker, and they certainly won’t be the last — but they’re emphatically among the best currently on the market, especially at such a wallet-friendly price.

Read our full Dali Sonik 1 review

Health & Fitness tech

Health & Fitness Device of the year

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

Expensive the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro may be, but the ultimate adventure smartwatch is one of the best devices Garmin has ever produced, building on years of technical advancements. It's a money-no-object powerhouse with amazing build quality: the all-titanium case houses a powerful battery, behind the super-tough sapphire crystal lies a vibrant AMOLED screen, and during my test runs against a heart rate monitor it's consistently accurate. I've been wearing the 43mm version non-stop since getting my testing unit — a clear indicator that it's first in line for valuable wrist real estate this year.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review

Health & Fitness Brand of the Year

Garmin

Garmin has had a strong 2026. It's revamped its cycling range, brought out a few new features such as AI-powered nutrition tracking to justify the cost of its Garmin Connect+ service, and has developed a few extremely well-reviewed gadgets — notably, the screenless Garmin Cirqa fitness tracker and the top-flight Garmin Fenix 9 series, both of which feature in this list to no-one's surprise. It remains the brand to beat in the endurance world, but the Cirqa shows that it's making inroads with the gym crowd too.

Health & Fitness Innovation of the Year

Huawei Watch D3

This watch advances the smartwatch-as-medical-device category further into refinement, boasting more than its signature medical-grade blood pressure cuff technology. With emergency fall detection, blood pressure trends, sleep tracking and six days of battery life compared to the Apple Watch's 24 hours, it's the watch I recommend to people looking for a health-orientated smartwatch for seniors. It's all packed into a sleek Apple-inspired design.

Read our full Huawei Watch D3 review View Deal

Best Smartwatch

Apple Watch Ultra 4

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 retains its crown for another year as this year's top smartwatch. Like every other Apple Watch Ultra model before it, this is an iterative update to an already-excellent watch, rather than a top-down redesign, but did we expect anything else from Apple? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. What has changed is the back of the watch: a redesigned LED Health Sensing System ensures better-than-ever accuracy and more frequent heart rate readings, enabling improved sleep tracking (along with a boost in battery life, as you're less likely to take it off to charge it) and the new Readiness Score.

Read our full Apple Watch Ultra 4 review

Best Running Watch

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

The Garmin Fenix 9 Pro is back. The redesigned Maps feature places you right into the middle of things, mimicking your perspective to reduce the glance-to-interpretation delay when you're trying to find your way on long runs, which even the Apple Watch doesn't do. It's a triathlon athlete or ultra marathon's dream watch thanks to its trail features, while its battery life is more impressive than the Ultra 4. Recommended workouts based on your Training Readiness score and Garmin Coach training plans are the icing on the cake.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review

Best Fitness Tracker

Garmin Cirqa

The Garmin Cirqa narrowly beats up the Fitbit Air: even though it's more expensive up-front, the lack of reliance on a subscription service and its tactile button (just click it to start tracking, no messing around with the app) means it's the screenless fitness tracker of choice this year, and the best new fitness tracker overall.

Read our full Garmin Cirqa review

Best Smart Ring

Oura Ring 5

The competition was super-hot this year, but Oura came back swinging with the Oura Ring 5. It's thinner than ever, which is so important in a smart ring, earning top marks for design in our review. Its slickly-orientated app and smorgasbord of metrics justify the ongoing, mandatory subscription, making this a great premium smart ring option.

Read our full Oura Ring 5 review

Best Electric Toothbrush

Suri Core 1.0

The Suri Core 1.0 takes the original Suri brush's elegant, simplified aesthetics and environmental credentials, and manages to cut a few corners to shave some money off the price. A bio-plastic handle rather than aluminium, and a slightly less powerful motor and battery, helps keep the Core affordable. You can still recycle the brush heads for free, and the unit still looks nice and stylish, especially with its slick magnetic mount. Its battery life will last over a month between charges.

Read our full Suri Core 1.0 review

Best Connected Fitness Tech

Withings BodyScan 2

Withings is a brand that's quietly been making excellent health products for years, from discreet hybrid smartwatches to under-mattress sleep analyzers and, well, smart scales. The Withings BodyScan 2, with its handle creating a circular current and offering a comprehensive list of 40 different metrics, is not just its best yet, but our best smart scale at the premium tier. It tracks blood oxygen levels, hypertension risk and estimates your vascular age. And you thought scales were just for BMI!

Read our full Withings BodyScan 2 review

Home tech

Home Device of the Year

DJI Romo P

The Romo P is DJI's first robot vacuum, but you wouldn't know from its performance. It offers the best obstacle avoidance of any robovac we've tested, as well as superb wet cleaning on hard floors, and very good vacuuming on carpet. It gets our seal of approval as this year's best robot vacuum, if your wallet can take the hit.

Read our full DJI Romo P review

Home Tech Brand of the Year

Philips Hue

Philips Hue is the biggest name in smart lighting for a reason, and this year it's become more accessible than ever with the launch of Hue Essential — a range of budget-friendly bulbs and LED strips that are an affordable entry to the smart lighting ecosystem. Meanwhile, power users can enjoy AI-powered lighting tools thanks to the new Hue Bridge Pro, which supports over 150 lights in a single network.

Home Tech Innovation of the Year

Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool

The smartest fan we’ve tested this year, the Dyson Find+Follow uses AI to track you as you move around the room, ensuring you’re kept cool and comfortable at all times. It blew us away with its 350 degrees of oscillation, super quiet operation, and smooth air flow — and its voice and app controls make operating it a breeze.

Read our full Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool review

Best Home Light Tech

Philips Hue Omniglow Strip Light

The Omniglow uses tiny micro LEDs to produce a seamless gradient unlike any LED lightstrip we’ve seen before — and it looks amazing. Not only are the individual LEDs invisible, it’s also incredibly bright, and looks particularly stunning when flowing from one color to the next in a Dynamic Scene. One of the most exciting smart lights I’ve seen in recent years.

Read our Philips Hue Omniglow review

Best Home Security Device

Aqara Camera Hub G350

It might look like a children’s toy, but the Aqara Camera Hub G350 is a serious home security camera, and one you can trust to guard a whole room thanks to its 360-degree panning. Despite its cute looks, the G350 is packing a 4K wide-angle camera, plus a 2.5k telephoto lens for getting up close. It’s compatible with all the main smart home ecosystems, and you can store footage on an SD card so there’s no subscription necessary. And, for some reason, it has detachable bunny ears. What more could you want?

Read our full Aqara Camera Hub G350 review

Best Robot Vacuum

DJI Romo P

DJI's first robot vacuum is a triumph — the company has put its expertise in obstacle-detection to good use, and the DJI Romo P is the best robovac we've ever tested when it comes to avoiding common hazards. Its cleaning is top-notch as well, with its mopping function proving particularly effective at removing tough spills from hard flooring.

Read our full DJI Romo P review

Best Vacuum

Roborock F25 Ultra

The F25 Ultra packs a lot more cleaning power than your typical wet/dry vacuum, with steam-cleaning, hot-water degreasing, and powerful suction to tackle huge amounts of dirt and water. Its power-assisted wheels make it feel surprisingly nimble too. Perfect for households with pets, children, or both — your floors won't know what hit them.

Read our full Roborock F25 Ultra review

Best Air Fryer

Ninja French Door Premier Air Fryer Convection Oven Toaster

This is much more than just an air fryer — it’s a full countertop oven, with an extra-large cooking area that can accommodate an entire pizza or chicken. It cooks astonishingly fast, with 10 dedicated modes, and produced perfect fries, vegetables, quesadillas, and even bagels during our tests. It looks great as well, and you can open the French doors one-handed for easy access.

Read our full Ninja French Door Premier Air Fryer Convection Oven Toaster review

Best Coffee Machine

Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2

The classiest coffee maker we've tested in the last 12 months, and the one I'd be proudest to have in my own kitchen, the Meraki Gen 2 is a pleasure to use, automating certain parts of the brewing process without taking over, and helping you hone your own barista skills. The results? Sensational coffee, provided your wallet can stand the hit.

Read our full Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 review

Best Value Coffee Machine

Philips Baristina

If you're looking for an affordable coffee maker, you can't go wrong with the Philips Baristina — an innovative little appliance that combines the best features of manual and automatic espresso machines. It handles the whole brewing process for you, but without the awkward maintenance of your typical bean-to-cup machine. Look for the version bundled with a milk frother and you'll never bother buying takeout coffee again.

Read our full Philips Baristina review

Best Fan

Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool

Dyson's smartest fan to date, the Find+Follow tracks your movement as you walk around the room, and makes sure its airflow is always angled in your direction. The airflow is smooth and quiet, which makes the Find+Follow an ideal choice for night time as well, and the filtration system effectively removes dirt and allergens while it's keeping you comfortable.

Read our full Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool review

Meet the TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 winners — all 100% chosen by you

TechRadar — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:55:19 +0000

It's been an excellent year for tech releases, with the arrival of everything from new TV panel developments, to groundbreaking drones, to awesome spatial audio speakers, to a new breed of AI-connected screenless fitness wearable.

It's also been a really difficult year in tech, though, due to the component crisis and rising prices across nearly all products. In the middle of that tension, it only makes sense for us to find out which companies navigated the challenges best by asking the community of tech lovers out there — and so here are the first TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards.

The results are in, so below we've listed the TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 winners winners in every category, all 100% voted by you!

Phones & tablets

Phone of the Year

Apple iPhone 18 Pro

It’s no great surprise that readers chose the iPhone 18 Pro as the Phone of the Year. After all, this — along with the iPhone 18 Pro Max — scored five stars in our review, which is a rating we hardly ever give out to phones. But with its excellent camera system — complete with genuinely useful upgrades like a variable aperture and pro controls — plus an exceptionally fast chipset, great battery life, beautiful new Burgundy and Glacier colors, and a superb screen and software, the iPhone 18 Pro excels in just about every area. So its five stars, and Readers' Phone of the Year award, are well deserved.

Phone Brand of the Year

Apple

Given that the iPhone 18 Pro won Phone of the Year and that Apple’s handsets are well represented among the other Readers’ Choice award winners below, it’s hard to see how any other company could have won Phone Brand of the Year. Apple might not release as many different models as some brands, but it still has a phone for almost everyone — whether you want a high-end flagship, a top-tier gaming phone, a DSLR alternative, something more affordable, or even, this year, a foldable phone (though the Duo was released too late to be eligible for these awards). And not only has Apple covered most of the bases here, but all of its handsets excel and e with genuine upgrades compared to last year’s models.

Phones Innovation of the Year

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8

Given that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 was the first passport-shaped foldable to arrive on the scene in Western markets this year, it's easy to see why readers voted it as the Phones Innovation of the Year. This new form factor makes it even more pocketable than a book-style foldable, but still gives you a large screen when it’s unfolded. The smaller cover screen also makes it perfect for one-handed use when you don’t need the large inner display, and coupled with flagship performance and high–quality displays, this is a great all-round phone — not just an innovative one.

Best Value Phone

Apple iPhone 17e

The iPhone 17e might not be the cheapest phone, but its lower price makes it highly affordable by iPhone standards, and it comes with double the storage of the iPhone 16e without upping the starting price. Plus, with features like MagSafe and an A19 chipset, you’re getting a lot for your money, so it’s no wonder this was voted Best Value Phone. iPhones tend to get updated for many years and hold their value well too, so this isn’t just good value on day one — it should also serve you well for a long time.

Best Mid-Range Phone

Apple iPhone 17

There’s no base iPhone 18 yet, and it’s a testament to just how good the iPhone 17 still is that readers have voted it the Best Mid-Range Phone. Everything that was good about the iPhone 17 at launch still remains so in 2026 — including its powerful A19 chipset, always-on display with ProMotion, and improved cameras. The iPhone 17’s price hasn’t dropped since launch (in fact, thanks to the ongoing RAM crisis, it's actually gone up), but you’re still getting a lot for your money compared to many other mid-range phones.

Best Folding Phone

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

While the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the Readers’ Choice Phone Innovation of the Year, it’s the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra that readers think is the overall Best Folding Phone. This isn’t surprising either, as while the form factor here is nothing new, this is Samsung’s most polished, premium, and feature-packed foldable yet — so much so that it got ‘Ultra’ added to the name. For the first time, the foldable screen is essentially flat, with a near-invisible crease, and the Z Fold 8 Ultra also has a bigger battery, more power, and improved cameras compared to its predecessor, while still being slimmer, making for a phone that lives up to its ‘Ultra’ name.

Best Flip Phone

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8

Samsung is clearly still the king of foldables for now in readers’ eyes, since they’ve also voted the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 as the Best Flip Phone. Arguably, this phone didn’t have much competition outside of the Motorola Razr line, but that doesn’t take away from its achievements, including new Horizontal Lock and Fan Cam features, which make it a major upgrade for recording videos. Coupled with a slightly slimmer design than last year, improved software, and a chipset upgrade, it’s no wonder the Z Flip 8 has flipped its way into readers’ hearts.

Best Camera Phone

Apple iPhone 18 Pro

The iPhone 18 Pro — along with the iPhone 18 Pro Max — have some serious camera upgrades, so it makes sense that readers would have voted this the Best Camera Phone. You’re getting a trio of 48MP cameras on the back, covering wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto (4x zoom) views, and in a rare move for phones, the wide snapper also has a variable aperture. That feature, coupled with new pro controls, gives you more power than ever to take control of your shots. But the iPhone 18 Pro still shines for point-and-shoot photography, too, and its cameras capture more detail than ever before.

Best Gaming Phone

Apple iPhone 18 Pro

The iPhone 18 Pro also takes the Readers’ Choice Best Gaming Phone award, and this makes total sense too, given the sheer amount of power on offer here. The phone has a seriously fast A20 Pro chipset paired with improved thermal management — so it can keep cool and maintain its smooth performance even over a lengthy gaming session. On top of that, the App Store simply has a better selection of high-end games than you’ll find over on Android, and they’re usually well optimized for Apple’s hardware.

Best AI Phone

Google Pixel 11 Pro

Between them, Samsung and Apple have swept almost all of these awards — but not quite all of them, as readers voted the Google Pixel 11 Pro as the Best AI Phone. Despite Siri’s recent AI makeover, this makes perfect sense, as Google has spent the last few years improving the Pixel’s AI features and more deeply integrating them into the operating system. The result with the Pixel 11 Pro is a phone with AI everywhere. You can tap into Gemini from any screen, and new features such as Rambler for voice dictation and Magic Capture for photography bring genuinely useful AI-powered upgrades to this phone's core functionality.

Cameras & drones

Camera of the Year

Sony A7R VI

From a shortlist that included the Canon EOS R6 Mark III, Sony A7 V, Leica M-EV1 and a trio of five-star DJI products, it was the A7R VI that topped your votes, and it’s easy to see why: Sony gave us highly-detailed images and blazing-fast performance in a single, well-designed model, rounding the package off by debuting its first new battery in almost a decade for class-leading endurance. We rarely use the word ‘perfect’, but for many photographers, the Sony A7R VI mirrorless camera will be just that.

Camera Brand of the Year

Sony

Readers voted the A7R VI as a double winner, the A7 V as the Best Mid-range Camera, the RX10 V as the Best Compact Camera and the 100mm F2.8 macro as the Best Lens winner — so it’s little wonder that the camera giant wins the Brand of the Year vote too. And the accolade is fully deserved; other leading brands have had a majorly quiet year by comparison, besides perhaps the relentless DJI. Sony’s mirrorless camera lineup is looking strong, and its lens range is formidable. If you can afford its admittedly pricey gear, it’s the ecosystem that has it all.

Camera Innovation of the Year

Antigravity A1

Antigravity was a complete unknown before this year, but the Insta360-seeded company burst onto the scene with the world's first 360-degree drone, the A1. Pipping DJI to the post, the Antigravity A1 is effectively an Insta360 X5 that flies, which means it shoots crisp 8K video of every angle, and when paired with the company’s goggles and motion controller, gives a flight experience that’s both immersive and intuitive. The possibilities for this tech are truly exciting.

Best Beginner Camera

Fujifilm X-T30 III

Love Fujifilm’s retro design but can’t stretch to the pricey X100 VI or X-E5? In steps the portable Fujifilm X-T30 III, fitted with the company’s entry-level 26MP APS-C sensor for sharp stills, 6K video with 10-bit color depth, a tilt screen, EVF and a flash. It’s an excellent entry point to the Fujifilm X-mount for photography-focused users, with very few rivals at its affordable price point, besides the recent OM PEN. The X-T30 III is set to become one of Fujifilm's best sellers.

Best Mid-range camera

Sony A7 V

The Sony A7 IV held onto top spot in our best mirrorless cameras guide for years and had only recently lost its spot to the Nikon Z6 III, only for Sony to wrestle it back with the mark IV’s successor. The Sony A7 V feels like the complete camera; its new processor, ‘partially stacked’ sensor and improved subject tracking autofocus deliver a boost in stills and video performance, even if the A7 V has the same 33MP resolution as its predecessor. The A7 V is a true all-rounder.

Best Professional Camera

Sony A7R VI

Of course the readers' Camera of the Year also scoops top prize in its individual category. With Canon doing its business last year, and Nikon remaining totally quiet, the A7R VI really stood out. and it's a solid upgrade of the A7R V, with a bump in resolution from 61MP to 66.8MP, but more importantly it’s a quicker stacked sensor that’s ultimately way more versatile. The completely new battery (for class-leading battery life) and Sony’s best autofocus and design yet add further polish to the Sony A7R VI.

Best Compact and Instant Camera

Sony RX10 V

We didn't see it coming, but nine years after the now-discontinued RX10 IV, Sony revived its series of bridge cameras, and made the best even better. It ditched the Cyber-Shot name and brushed up the Sony RX10 V’s design to feel more Alpha, but ultimately the shooting experience from the same 20.1MP 1-inch sensor and 24-600mm F2.8-4 lens combo is entirely familiar, and it's one that many enthusiast wildlife photographers will love. Add the chunkier battery, better autofocus and faster burst shooting, and it’s an even better, albeit pricier, all-in-one camera.

Best Action and Vlogging Camera

Insta 360 Luna Ultra

DJI was busy priming its twin-lens Pocket 4P camera to attempt to change the vlogging camera game, only for Insta360 to steal its thunder with the Luna Ultra, and what an innovative camera it is. Taking the compact, gimbal-mounted camera formula of the Pocket series, the Insta360 Luna Ultra went one step further by adding a 3x telephoto camera, and fitted the device with a clever detachable remote module, which can control the camera remotely and doubles up as a mic. Never has solo vlogging been easier.

Best Camera Lens

Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS

At 10 years old, Sony’s 90mm macro lens was beginning to look a little dated, and so Sony macro photographers were delighted when the company released an entirely new model with a larger than life 1.4x magnification: the Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS. Much like the similar Canon 100mm macro lens from 2021, Sony’s doubles up nicely as a portrait lens too, plus it's supported with image stabilization, compatible with teleconverters, and optically it's pretty much flawless.

Best camera accessory

Birdfy Bird Bath Pro

We’ve been reviewing bird feeder cameras for years, but it was the Birdfy Bird Bath Pro that made a splash in 2026 (pun intended). Amid warnings of the part that flat tray bird feeders can play in spreading avian diseases, in stepped this unique bird bath camera, with a more hygienic fountain, and that enabled us to observe a different kind of splashing and preening bird behavior from up close, with the same live feed and app notifications we've come to love from bird feeder cameras. The first generation product needs a little refining, but there's nothing else like it for bird lovers.

Best drone

Antigravity A1

The Antigravity A1 clearly made an impression on readers, picking up its second award here. It’s great to see a company besides DJI entering the drone space, and to do it so well with its first 360–degree drone. The Antigravity A1 shoots 8K video taken from any angle, and delivers an immersive flight experience through its goggles and motion controller. And with firmware updates and new accessories since the product's launch, Antigravity looks like it's just getting started.

Computing

Computing Brand of the Year

Apple

Apple shook up the computing world this year with the introduction of its affordable MacBook Neo, which combined a relatively low price tag with a premium design, all without making too many compromises when it comes to performance. It left Windows competitors scrambling to compete, so we ended up with a range of excellent affordable Windows 11 laptops arriving later — which means Apple had perhaps the biggest impact on computing in 2026, and readers clearly felt it.

Best Computing Innovation

Nvidia DLSS 4.5

Out of all the AI upscaling tech that's been helping PC gamers eke out more performance from their rigs, Nvidia's DLSS is by far the most advanced, and its 4.5 release brings better image quality, while Dynamic Multi Frame Generation does a great job of balancing image quality with high frame rates. Nvidia also added 6X Frame Generation, which allows compatible GPUs to reach incredibly high frame rates.

Best Value Laptop

Apple MacBook Neo

When Apple launched the MacBook Neo earlier this year for $599 / £599 / AU$1,049, it made a huge impact. It was a lower price than many of us were expecting, and no Windows 11 laptop, or Chromebook, that cost similar could compete. Sure, there were compromises to keep the price down, such as a lack of backlit keyboard, slow USB ports and just 8GB of memory, but the overall package offered incredible value for money. So, it was a bit of a shame that Apple increased the price a few months later to $699 / £699, making it less good value. Still, even with the price rise, you won't find a better laptop for the price.

Best AI Laptop

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 (2025)

After a few years where it felt like Apple was being left behind, it's beginning to roll out more of its Apple Intelligence (AI) features, and while it's still early days, the results are promising, with many of the tools featuring Apple's signature polish. Because the company has been including its Neural Engine in its chips for years, it actually has a bit of a head start when it comes to on-device AI, and the latest MacBook Pro is a great example of this.

Best Gaming Laptop

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

Gaming laptops don't come much bigger and brasher than the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026). It features desktop-grade performance thanks to a mighty RTX 5090 laptop GPU, plus a cutting-edge Intel Core Ultra 9 processor. Its huge 18-inch screen is also fantastic, powered by mini-LED technology, which makes modern games look gorgeous. However, all this power comes with a high price tag.

Best PC Gaming Handheld

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20

While some PC gaming handhelds are going all-in on raw performance with cutting-edge components, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 is more of a refinement of the existing ROG Xbox Ally — but that is actually a bit of a masterstroke, as it means it's cheaper than rivals such as MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. Don't think this is a budget device, however, and the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 features some nice improvements such as an OLED screen that looks fantastic, as well as improved buttons and TMR joysticks.

Best Gaming Keyboard

Turtle Beach Command Series KB7 TKL

The Turtle Beach Command Series KB7 TKL is an unusual gaming keyboard, because instead of a physical numpad, it has a built-in touchscreen that can give you quick access to macros, apps, and shortcuts that can give you a competitive edge. Thanks to its 8K polling rate, it's fast and responsive, and when you're not playing games, it feels great to type on as well.

Best Gaming Monitor

Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF

The Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF is a brilliant gaming monitor for people who are seriously into their competitive esports, thanks to its incredibly fast 500Hz refresh rate. Matched with ultra-low response times, and you have a monitor that will keep up with even the most frantic of games, and the OLED screen tech makes those games look incredible.

Best Gaming Mouse

Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike

The Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike more than earns its rare five-star rating thanks to its fantastic build quality and lightweight design that makes it feel comfortable no matter what your grip type is. It also features a unique haptic inductive trigger system that lets you fine-tune the mouse buttons to perfectly suit your playstyle.

Gaming

Gaming Device of the Year

Turtle Beach Stealth Pro 2

The new Stealth Pro 2 headset from Turtle Beach is a fantastic premium headset that builds on everything great about its predecessor. The sound quality is spectacular, of course, but there's now improved battery life and solutions within its dock, a slick new lifestyle-friendly design, and a fantastic microphone all working together at the core of what makes it excel in gaming audio.

Gaming Brand of the Year

Turtle Beach

Gaming hardware behemoth Turtle Beach has released a whole heap of awesome gaming gear and devices in the past year or so, from pushing the boundaries of what a gaming mouse can be, deploying brilliant aesthetics to controllers, all the way to following up one of the best headsets of recent times with a superb successor.

Gaming Innovation of the Year

Turtle Beach MC7

A screen on a mouse?! Outrageous! But also: excellently innovative by Turtle Beach. In terms of changing perceptions about what gaming mice can do, the Command Series MC7 is a brilliant gaming product and should increase the functionality that gaming mice can offer players.

Best Console Accessory

Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race KD3 wheel

Offering a brilliant direct-drive bundle, the KD3 wheel is a fantastic addition to the budget end of the market and offers incredible value for money. The feedback from the 3.2Nm motor, pedal set, and even the aesthetics all play their part in making the VelocityOne Race KD3 a brilliant racing wheel.

Best Gaming Service

Xbox Game Pass

Having its price slashed this year, thankfully, is a big boon to players, and it has meant that Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription still offers good value while also allowing players to jump into the likes of Gears of War: E-Day without paying the full price of a game.

Best Gaming Controller

Turtle Beach Pacific Skyline Wireless Controller

This might be the best possible controller for GTA 6. With a delightfully retro pastel aesthetic, this Xbox pad stands apart in a sea of comparatively boring-looking alternatives. It's got beautiful RGB lighting to boot, and competitive specs, including features such as remappable rear buttons and built-in audio controls, to back up the good looks.

Best Gaming Headset

Turtle Beach Stealth Pro 2

A premium headset that does it all, the Stealth Pro 2 from Turtle Beach is about as close to the full package as gaming headsets have gotten in the past year. It also had a tough act to follow, with its predecessor being so good too, and is worthy of its place as one of the past year's best.

Best Gaming Chair

Secretlab Atlas

Having thoroughly mastered the gaming chair, this year saw Secretlab branch out into something new. The Secretlab Atlas is a strong task chair that's perfect for work, relaxation, and, of course, gaming. The unique design incorporates a fantastic self-adjusting lumbar mechanism, which makes comfortable seating effortless.

TV & home theater

TV of the year

Sony Bravia 9 II

A TV needs to be sensational to stand out from the best TVs of 2026, and the Bravia 9 II is exactly that. Its RGB mini-LED panel delivers OLED-grade contrast and color, but with the brightness of mini-LED — and its audio system means it sounds as good as it looks.

Home Entertainment Brand of the Year

Sony

With multiple gongs in this year's reader-voted awards, it's not a surprise to see Sony pick up the Brand of the Year award too. Sony's focus on making premium products with innovative tech has yielded impressive results across TVs and soundbars, and its RGB technology and wireless speaker systems have been especially worth the wait.

Home Entertainment Innovation of the Year

Sony True RGB

True RGB is Sony's branding for its RGB mini-LED technology. Like other mini-LED displays, True RGB uses a very bright mini-LED backlight to deliver brightness that OLEDs can only dream of. RGB mini-LED takes the tech further, with each LED packing separate, independently controlled red, green and blue diodes instead of a single color. That means much better color accuracy and off-angle viewing. Sony isn't the only company to introduce this tech in 2026, but the way it designed its version has led to the most impressive results.

Best Gaming TV

TCL QM8L

The TCL QM8L is a superb TV for gaming thanks to its support for 4K at up to 144Hz across all four HDMI 2.1 ports, variable refresh rate at up to 288Hz, low latency, and impressive built-in audio as a bonus. We gave it a maximum score for gaming in our review, and said it's "a pleasure to game on" — and clearly the readers agree. This TV is TCL doing what TCL does best: delivering lots of fun for a way lower price than you expect.

Best TV for Sound

Sony Bravia 9 II

It's another win for Sony's flagship, this time for its Acoustic Multi-Audio+ sound system that has two full-range drivers, two subwoofers, two tweeters and a pair of angled beam tweeters to add height. With 80W of power, the Sony Bravia 9 II is impressively loud as well as beautifully detailed, and it sounds terrific in movies and music.

Best OLED TV

LG G6

The LG G6 stood out this year for massively improving its visibility in even very bright rooms, and it set a very high bar for OLED excellence overall this year. The picture quality is outstanding, it's phenomenal for gaming, and webOS remains one of our favorite smart TV platforms.

Best mini-LED TV

Sony Bravia 9 II

RGB mini-LED is spectacular, and right now nobody's doing it quite like Sony. The Bravia 9 II is the best backlit TV we've ever seen, breaking new ground when it comes to color and contrast, but maintaining the realistic, reference look that Sony strives for.

Best Value TV

TCL QM7L

The TCL QM7L is a remarkable achievement, reaching image quality shockingly close to the heights of TCL's flagships for a significantly lower price. Like its award-winning QM8L sibling, it's a superb gaming TV, and it's an excellent all-rounder with a good specification and a generally premium feel.

Best Projector

Anker Soundcore Nebula P1

It looks like you share our view of the Anker Soundcore Nebula P1: it's a lot of fun, and as a package it's hard to beat. The P1 takes the best bits of the much more expensive X1, including its nifty wireless speakers, and boils them down into a much more affordable portable projector package so you can enjoy big-screen fun anywhere.

Best Soundbar

Sonos Beam Ultra

The days when Sonos had the premium soundbar sector to itself are long gone, but the Sonos Beam Ultra puts the company right back at the head of the pack: five out of five stars-good as we detailed in our Sonos Beam Ultra review. It's an Arc Ultra but smaller, delivering superbly detailed and immersive audio in a really small package.

Best Wireless Home Theater Speakers

Sony Bravia Theater Trio

The Sony Bravia Theater Trio is an LCR system, which means it has left, center and right wireless speakers to create a much wider soundstage than the best soundbars alone can deliver. It delivers a powerful, warm and wide sound, and if you add a wireless subwoofer things get even more entertaining. In the world of giant-screen TVs, this is a really tempting option, as our voters clearly felt.

Streaming

Streaming Service of the Year

Netflix

Netflix is always a controversial company, especially when it comes to price hikes — but there's a reason it can get away with all the rises, and that's because it's the best. Its own Netflix Originals continue to excite and delight, it makes smart buys from all around the world, and its documentaries are often superb. Add in excellent parental controls, apps for every conceivable device and a very affordable ad-supported tier and you can see why Netflix is a worthy winner.

Best Streaming Service for Movies

Netflix

Netflix's mix of original movies and bought-in blockbusters in a huge range of genres means there's always some movie magic to stream, whether that's the latest Wallace & Gromit movie (100% on Rotten Tomatoes), Godzilla Minus One, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse or classics such as Jaws. Netflix's current movie catalog features some of the world's most celebrated filmmakers including Alfonso Cuarón, Martin Scorcese, Jane Campion, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Spike Lee and many more.

Best Streaming Service for Documentaries

Netflix

Netflix was quick to recognize the power of documentaries to deliver big drama with very low budgets, and its current slate includes a huge range that stretches from the hard-hitting to the heart-warming. From true crime reconstructions to spectacular shows such as American Symphony, Netflix's documentary department is full of must-watch stories.

Best Streaming Service for TV Series

Apple TV

The recently renamed Apple TV, formerly Apple TV+, may not have the massive catalogs of its streaming rivals, but when your line-up includes the likes of Slow Horses, Pluribus, Small Prophets, Hijack, Shrinking, Severance, Margot's Got Money Troubles, Widows Bay and more, it's clear that you're prizing quality over quantity. Apple's one-tier approach is refreshing: there's no need to pay more for ad-free viewing, higher resolution or spatial audio.

Best Free Streaming Service of the Year

Tubi

Like many readers we're big fans of Tubi: it's one of the finest free ad-supported streamers around, with a huge range of entertainment to choose from. Don't expect the very latest hit shows or blockbusters, but the catalog is impressively large and wide-ranging so there's always something fun to watch — and the ads aren't so frequent that they become irritating.

Audio

Headphones of the Year

Apple AirPods Max 2

As we said in our full AirPods Max 2 review, these cans are "doubtless the best noise-cancelling iPhone headphones on the planet" while also being incredibly comfortable and boasting some of the best voice capture on any headphones we've ever experienced. Clearly the readers felt the same way, and like us were able to overcome the fact that Apple kept that weird, weird case…

Audio Brand of the Year

Bowers & Wilkins

There's something undeniably elite, sophisticated and next-level about B&W's products, whether it's the luxurious five-star PX8 S2 headphones, the deliciously expensive earbuds, or its astounding new-generation Diamond-series speakers. Clearly, the readers agreed that the attention to both design and sound here is a cut above the rest.

Audio Innovation of the Year

Cambridge L/R S speakers

We called this set of bijou active speakers "an immediate pound-for-pound market-leader contender" in our five-star review. There are two channels of amplification for each speaker, and a full DSP crossover which acts as a PWM signal to each amplifier, for astounding accuracy, and custom connecter between the speakers for ensuring all of that comes through appropriately. Are they a tad over-engineered? Perhaps — but this is an innovation award, and it seems like that's exactly what the readers responded to.

Best Wireless Headphones

Sony 1000X The Collexion

What better way to mark a whole decade (yes, we feel old too) since Sony's now modern classic 1000X headphones landed than to distill everything that's ever been great about them into a solo, celebratory product? OK, they're the company's priciest set of wireless Bluetooth headphones yet but, as we said in our Sony 1000X The Collexion review, "their luxurious build, detailed sound, and top-tier comfortability help to justify their price tag."

Best Wireless Earbuds

Sony WF-1000XM6

Another Sony winner, and no one can argue with Sony's detailed sound quality. But Sony's buds are also always a leader due to their features, and the Quick Attention option, should someone need a quick word with you have the ANC on, alone is a good enough reason for the readers to have voted for these buds.

Best Open Earbuds

Shokz OpenFit Pro

We were happy to see that, despite their not-insignificant asking fee, these are getting the recognition they so fully deserve. The fit is secure and fuss free (aided by extra optional bands in the box, which are useful for sports), and the excellent active noise reduction is nothing short of class-leading. Read our full Shokz Openfit Pro review for the full match report, but as far as we're concerned, Shokz hit an ace here.

Best Value Headphones

Sony WH-CH730N

There's a strong set of features in Sony WH-CH730N for the money, plus competent sound and a nifty, foldable design. At such a low price, the all-round quality you get here is impressive, and Sony's budget headphones have been popular for years — evidently, the new model is landing with readers as well.

Best Value Earbuds

Earfun Air Pro 4 Plus

Earfun's built up a huge, loyal fanbase owing to its consistently good, affordable earbuds. The Earfun Air Pro 4 do nothing to buck that trend, delivering very good value for money, and premium features. So we're not surprised to see them as the readers' pick, and they're a deserving winner.

Best Value Open Earbuds

Anker Soundcore Aeroclip 2

Yes, we're into second-generation ear cuff-style open earbuds in 2026 and long may they reign! The Anker Soundcore AeroClip 2 are a solid upgrade over their predecessors, offering higher-resolution audio, better waterproofing, clearer calls, and a more tailored sound, as we explored in our Soundcore Aeroclip 2 review. They benefit from a bit of extra tuning to sound exciting, but they're a great option for fans of this clip-on design, particularly in the pictured 'Burgundy Red' finish. Very 'new romantic'!

Best Wired Headphones

Audio-Technica ATH-ADX7000

A huge win for a set of 58mm open-back drivers and A-T's known wizardry in the game. I'd caveat the win by saying you can't just buy these headphones and expect great sound from your source device — you have to buy a decent amp to drive them too — but we've covered it all in our five-star Audio-Technica ATH-ADX7000 review. Know this: get them properly powered and, as long as you don't care that other people will hear whatever you're listening to, they'll reward you with some of the best audio quality we've ever heard from headphones.

Best Wired Earbuds

Sennheiser CX 80U

When people ask us, "What's the cheapest way to get better sound from my phone?" our response is to name-drop these cheap 2026-release USB-C wired earbuds. For around $35 / £30 you really cannot expect more. OK, you don't get volume controls on the in-line remote and the mic isn't especially good in calls, as we note in our glowing Sennheiser CX 80U review — but you do get agile bass, clarity through mids and vivid, sparkling highs. Pair that with their surprisingly solid noise isolation and you’re looking at an awesome pair of wired buds for music.

Best Bluetooth Speaker

JBL Xtreme 5

JBL seemingly cannot go wrong when it comes to portable speakers, whatever their size — although it's worth noting that this is a big boy… but the triumph is big too. Truth be told, we've never met a JBL Bluetooth speaker we didn't like quite a bit, but this particular model? This is one of the best portable Bluetooth puppies we've ever tested — as our five-star JBL Xtreme 5 review emphasizes — so it's easy to see why the readers picked it.

Best Wireless Speaker

Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker

If your budget can stretch to it, there’s just so much to like about the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, and so little to take issue with — and we're happy that you think so too. In our Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker review we appreciated the tall, punchy and well-defined spatial audio performance from a winsome and well-made Wi-Fi speaker.

Best Portable Audio Player

Astell & Kern PD5

Astell & Kern's newest 'entry level' hi-res audio player (we put that in quotation marks purely because entry level for A&K may be different for the rest of us…) is a simple and deserved winner here. The hi-res digital audio player specialist knows what it's doing with quality portable music machines.

Best Turntable

Sony PS-LX5BT

This is Sony's joint-newest Bluetooth record player (the slightly pricier of a new duo), and because the PS-LX5BT features Bluetooth transmission via the aptX Adaptive codec, it'll give you better-quality streams if your receiver is up to it. Because of its onboard phono stage, it can also hard-wire to pretty much any system you care to mention — and to top it all off, Sony's made the whole thing automatic where playback is concerned. See our full Sony PS-LX5BT review for the full scoop on why this is the beginner-friendly player to beat — something the readers clearly agreed with.

Best DAC

Astell & Kern AK HC5

In our full-fat review of the HC5, we praised this little hi-res audio DAC for the spacious detail it brought to our portable music game, its classy build and finish and the fact that it really is portable. Essentially, it gives your phone, laptop or even your games console the audio skills of a top-end hi-res music player.

Best Stereo Speakers

Cambridge L/R S

A double win for the colorful little Cambridge speakers! These little beauties also won our readership's Audio Innovation of the Year gong too, and it means Cambridge's gamble with these all-new active speakers (the smallest and most-intriguing in a new three-strong range) has really paid off. As our Cambridge Audio L/R S review and the awards here prove, they're a winner.

Health & Fitness tech

Health and Fitness Device of the Year

Apple Watch Ultra 4

It's always tough to push the Apple Watch Ultra off the top spot, and readers once again voted it to give it the top price, and that's because it's such a comprehensive best-in-class beast of a smartwatch. While it doesn't look much different from last year's design from the front, the Ultra 4's redesigned sensor array means it can record heart rate readings up to 60 times more often as older models, plus it (finally!) gets a Readiness score. It remains the smartwatch to beat for another year at least.

Health & Fitness Brand of the Year

Garmin

Garmin has had a good year. The hugely popular brand went from strength to strength this year, not only delivering another five-star watch with the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro (among other great adventure- and cycling-focused devices), but also delivering the wearable we named the best screenless fitness tracker of 2026 (and there have been quite a few) — the Garmin Cirqa.

Health and Fitness Innovation of the Year

Google Fitbit Air

Despite hot competition (including the Garmin Cirqa), our readers voted the Google Fitbit Air (which came first) the best health tech innovation of 2026. It was quite revolutionary in the fitness tracker field: up until it landed, the screenless space was dominated by the cripplingly expensive Whoop. The Fitbit Air broke this trend and used the power of Google's existing Gemini AI framework to democratize the AI element, delivering it at a lower price, while keeping the basics nice and cheap for under $100 / £90.

Best Smartwatch

Apple Watch Ultra 4

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 hasn't changed a huge amount since last year (or indeed, since its inception), but it's improving on an already-excellent model with increased battery life and a redesigned health-sensing LED array. This new 'Health Sensing System' takes heart rate readings 60x more often during the day, resulting in what Apple says is the most accurate heart rate detection ever on a wearable. Of course, it's also a fantastic smartwatch with a sumptuous screen and useful features.

Best Running Watch

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

From a technical standpoint, this may be Garmin's finest watch yet, and the one on every serious endurance athlete's Christmas list. The Fenix 9 Pro takes Garmin's excellent Fenix 8 and adds a brighter screen, an all-titanium nano-moulded case, a new green light for improved visibility, better maps, InReach and Solar options, and loads more. We rated it a five-star triumph in our Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review.

Best Fitness Tracker

Garmin Cirqa

Although the Fitbit Air came first, we labelled the Garmin Cirqa as our ideal 'Goldilocks' tracker: cheaper than the Whoop, but more feature-rich than the Fitbit. Garmin's tracker lasts for over a week and features a tactile button to start-stop workouts and alarms, after which you get a haptic notification. This is a terrific way to interact with a screenless device and get assurance your workouts are being tracked, rather than opening up the app to manually start an activity.

Best Smart Ring

Oura Ring 5

Although there were other smart rings released from the likes of RingConn and Circular this year, the Oura won out again this year simply by virtue of its app's powerful smarts. You do need a membership, but Oura is a premium device, and new health insights along with a redesigned, slimmer ring means it's easy to see why the readers voted it as their pick.

Best Electric Toothbrush

Suri Core 1.0

Suri is the toothbrush company that creates simple sonic toothbrushes with sustainable elements, and it's managed to bring the price down a touch with the Suri Core 1.0, becoming more affordable while retaining its Apple-esque, good-looking design ethos. With the magnetic back attachment and simple dual modes, it's unspectacular, but a free brush head recycling program and a slick look go a long way to making it popular.

Best Connected Fitness Tech

Withings BodyScan 2

Withings' top-flight smart scale is this year's best connected tech entry, which offers so much more than just weight. The retractable handle enables the scale to run currents through the whole body, taking heart rate readings and cardiovascular snapshots in addition to all the usual metrics and a new 'vascular age' metric. Its accurate, reliable, and usable by the whole family with multiple profiles.

Home tech

Home Device of the Year

Philips Hue Essential

The Philips Hue Essential series is an affordable entry to smart lighting that doesn’t compromise on quality. Philips Hue Essential bulbs and LED strips are compatible with all devices in the Hue ecosystem, but work equally well on their own, with brightness, color reproduction, and responsiveness that rivals smart lights costing several times the price.

Home Tech Brand of the Year

Philips Hue

It's been an epic year for Philips Hue. At one end of the scale, the brand has made smart lighting more accessible with the budget-friendly Hue Essential series of bulbs and LED strips. At the other end, the new Philips Hue Bridge Pro lets power users connect over 150 lights in a single network and delivers exciting AI features — with lots more on the horizon. Smart lighting has never been so exciting.

Home Tech Innovation of the Year

Philips Hue Essential

If you like the idea of installing smart lights, but have been put off by the price, the Philips Hue Essential series is for you. This innovative collection of smart lights offers all the best features of the Philips Hue system without the hefty price tag, meaning that it's a game-changer for people put off by the price of whole-home smart lighting in the past.

Best Home Light Tech

Philips Hue Essential

Another win for Philips Hue Essential, though this one was inevitable given its other victories here. The Essential light range is affordable and versatile, offering brightness, color, and smart functionality that belies the products' modest price. In side-by-side tests, it’s hard to differentiate between these and their premium counterparts, and they’re fully compatible with automations, scenes, switches and sensors through the Philips Hue app. A perfect entry to smart lighting.

Best Home Security Device

TP-Link Tapo C660

When it comes to home security cameras, the TP-Link Tapo C660 checks off everything on our wishlist: easy installation, extra long battery life topped up with a solar panel, crisp 4K footage, and no subscription necessary to store it all. It’s remarkably affordable too, and if you have a large property, a multi-camera bundle will let you watch over it from all angles. For peace of mind, it's unbeatable.

Best Robot Vacuum

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai

The ingenious Spot+Scrub Ai is designed to tackle stubborn dried-on stains that other robovacs can’t handle, using artificial intelligence to identify troublesome dirt and then mopping it repeatedly until it’s gone. Its self-cleaning is exceptional too, and overall it’s an excellent choice for little-and-often cleaning that will keep your floors looking immaculate.

Best Vacuum

Dyson V10 Konical Cordless Vacuum and Auto-Empty Dok

A winning pair — the ultra-light and super-maneuverable Dyson V10 Konical funnels hair to the center of the brushroll to prevent it wrapping around the spindle, while the Auto-Empty Dok removes all the hassle and mess of emptying the vacuum’s dust cup. A perfect duo for allergy-sufferers and pet-owners alike.

Best Air Fryer

Ninja Crispi Pro Glass Air Fryer

The Ninja Crispi Pro’s standout features are its clever glass cooking dishes, which let you store, cook, and serve food with no mess or hassle. The air fryer cooks quickly and quietly, whether you’re crisping up a few fries or roasting a whole chicken, and the dishes are a cinch to clean in the dishwasher when you’re done. Air frying should always be this easy.

Best Coffee Machine

Lavazza Assoluta

The Lavazza Assoluta takes the guesswork out of making espresso with a clever system that scans the barcode on your coffee beans, then tweaks the machine’s brew settings accordingly. Its built-in milk frother prepares creamy lattes and macchiatos without the need to master a steam wand, and its drinks menu is fully customizable. Want an extra shot in your cappuccino? No problem!

Best Value Coffee Machine

Philips Baristina

The Philips Baristina makes brewing espresso with fresh beans just as simple as using coffee pods. It handles dosing, grinding and extraction for you, and its ingenious design with a removeable portafilter handle makes it a cinch to clean compared to a typical automatic coffee maker. A perfect entry-level espresso machine — and accessibly priced, too.

Best Fan

Dyson Hot+Cool HF1

This compact fan will serve you well all year round, offering effective cooling during the summer and efficient heating during the colder months. It’s supplied with a remote, but we were most impressed by the Dyson Hot+Cool HF1's mobile app, which made setting timers and schedules a breeze — and even let us pre-heat a room so it was cozy when we arrived home.

How to switch fitness trackers without losing your old health and workout data

Max Slater-Robins — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 02:00:00 +0000

When an ageing fitness tracker finally needs to be replaced, sometimes you're tempted to switch brands — for example, trading in your ageing slim Fitbit for a bigger running watch. You might be getting a new running watch in the Black Friday sales, or hoping for one under your tree — but a new tracker sometimes that means losing years of data about your workouts, sleep, heart rate, and general activity.

Your historical health data is useful for more than just flexing on your Strava contacts or keeping those fitness rings closed. Changes in your resting heart rate or sleep pattern, for example, can contribute to a fuller picture of your health. That's why in 2026, many of the best options like the Apple Watch, Google's Fitbit lineup and the best Garmin models have made transferring your data remarkably simple – or at least easier than ever.

To help you upgrade to a newer model or switch brands entirely, we've broken down the data transfer processes for the major fitness tracker makers.

Check what you can transfer before switching

Not every move is tricky: going between different Garmin versions, or upgrading your Apple Watch, is a generally straightforward process that can take moments, due to operating from the same account.

Switching manufacturers, however, is where things can become a little more complicated. Going from a Garmin Forerunner to a COROS Pace 4 can require manually exporting your data and then importing it into a new platform.

Think of it as three distinct processes: backing up your data, syncing new activities between apps, and importing historical records, each with their own requirements.

Before we continue, it's worth noting that while common activity data (think workouts or routines) are transferable, proprietary metrics like sleep scores are unlikely to make the jump. Not every brand has Strain, Readiness or Sleep scores that are calculated the same way.

If you are unsure, check which file formats and historical records your new device's companion app supports could go some way to avoiding disappointment.

(Image credit: Apple)

Back up your fitness data first

Before doing anything else, make sure that your fitness tracker has synced with its companion app on your smartphone, including any recent workouts and health measurements.

Most major platforms offer ways to export your data, either as an account archive or as individual activity files. Take some time to find out how to access these, and then download a copy somewhere safe and accessible, whether that's on your computer or in private cloud storage.

For example, Garmin requires you to access Garmin Connect using its web browser, then going to Data Management → Export Your Data. Apple, meanwhile, allows you to tap your profile in Apple Health, and hit Export All Health Data.

Individual activity files commonly come in formats such as FIT, TCX, and GPX, each of which preserves different types of workout information.

Keep your account active until you know the migration is successful and don't reset your old tracker just yet.

How to transfer data from Apple Health

(Image credit: Future)

If you're upgrading from one Apple Watch to another, the process is simple. Apple stores your Health and Fitness data in iCloud, provided syncing is enabled.

On your iPhone, head to Settings → your name → iCloud → See All → Health, and make sure Sync this iPhone is switched on. When pairing your new Apple Watch, you can also restore a previous backup to carry over your settings.

As you might expect, switching to another manufacturer takes a little more work. Open the Health app, tap Summary → your profile picture → Export All Health Data, and choose where to save the resulting XML archive.

You can also manage which third-party apps have access to your data under Apps or Devices in your Health profile.

It's worth noting that not every type of health data will make the journey. The resulting XML archive won't necessarily work directly with another manufacturer's app, but services like COROS support transferring historical Apple workouts using third-party apps.

How to transfer Google Health and Fitbit data

(Image credit: Fitbit)

Google's fitness ecosystem has changed considerably in 2026, with the old Fitbit app replaced by the snazzy new Google Health platform.

If you're upgrading to a newer device, such as the Pixel Watch 5, your existing fitness history should remain accessible through the same Google Account.

To download a backup, head to Google Takeout, select Google Health, and follow the instructions to export your records, including any workouts, sleep, and heart rate data.

Google's Health Connect service is handy if you're moving between compatible Android apps.

On Android 14 or later, open Settings → Security and Privacy → Privacy Controls → Health Connect → App Permissions. From here, you can choose which apps can access different types of health data. (Some integrations must first be enabled within the destination app itself.)

Google Health also offers direct connections under Connections → Partner Apps or Apps and services. On iPhones, supported information can be shared through Apple Health instead.

As with Apple, there is unfortunately a catch: exporting an archive or connecting two services doesn't guarantee that years of historical measurements will appear in your new app.

Different integrations support different records, and Health Connect normally grants new connections access to only the previous 30 days unless additional historical permissions are available, so keep this in mind.

How to move Garmin Connect data

(Image credit: Garmin)

Sticking with Garmin is fairly straightforward, as with Apple and Google.

Whether you're upgrading an old Forerunner or moving to something like the Garmin Venu 4, your Garmin Connect account preserves your existing fitness history without needing to manually transfer it.

Switching manufacturers takes a little more effort. On the Garmin Connect website, open Activities → All Activities, select a workout, and click the settings cog to export it as a FIT, TCX, or GPX file.

If you have years of workouts, Garmin's data export service lets you request a complete account archive, with a download link sent by email.

These workout files can then be imported into compatible services, like the COROS Training Hub. However, if you want to move daily health measurements and proprietary recovery metrics, you might be out of luck.

How to preserve your workout history with Strava

(Image credit: Lauren Scott)

For anyone switching between fitness trackers, Strava should be your best friend: the service lets you keep years of running, cycling, and other workout records in one place.

Unlike Apple Health or Garmin Connect, however, it isn't designed to preserve your complete health history.

To link a compatible tracker, open the Strava app and head to Settings → Connect an App or Device, then follow the instructions for your manufacturer. You can also check out our guide to using Strava with your smartwatch.

For older workouts, visit Strava's website, click the plus icon → Upload Activity → File, and select your exported FIT, TCX, or GPX files. Free users can upload 15 files at once, rising to 25 for subscribers.

It's worth remembering that connecting accounts won't necessarily import older activities automatically – you may need to upload these separately.

Check everything has transferred correctly

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Once you've done the hard part, there are a few things to check to make sure your record and workout data made the switch – and then you can enjoy your shiny new fitness tracker.

First, open your fitness app and compare workouts, including any recent sessions, to see what has successfully transferred. Look for missing information (things like routes or heart rate data) and check if proprietary metrics made it.

Make sure to check for duplicates, which can happen if you are connecting multiple services at once, and allow for differences in how devices might track something, like your long-term trends.

Until you are completely happy, it's worth keeping your original account active and retain any downloaded data in a safe place.

Switching trackers definitely doesn't mean turning your back on years of data and progress, and we hope this guide has demystified the process. Now go and work on beating that PB!

Frontier X2 review: the heart rate monitor I actually prefer using

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Sat, 24 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Frontier X2: One minute review

While the Polar H10 chest strap is used by athletes the world over as a heart rate monitor accuracy benchmark, one of its biggest pain points can be its connectivity issues. It’s hard to know whether it’s going to drop out, or you need to replace or clean the strap, until you actually start a workout. There’s also no interface or control on the heart rate monitor itself, and the app is cluttered and outdated. I like using the Polar H10 for its accuracy, but when it doesn’t work for me, it’s not always obvious until after the fact — which, when testing multiple devices simultaneously, is a frustrating experience.

Frontier X2 from Fourth Frontier offers a different chest strap experience: a more modern app and a USB-chargeable device, with a screen and a button allowing you to manually start a workout and receive haptic feedback. That haptic feedback also triggers when you cross heart rate zone thresholds.While you can’t view the screen while wearing it on your chest of course, it does make workout preparation and phone connection so much easier than Polar’s offering. Guessing the heart rate monitor is working, even checking your phone to make sure heart rate is streaming correctly, only to have it drop out halfway through and lose my data due to a poor connection or crap strap, is an experience I’d like to leave in the past.

The Frontier X2 uses heart rate information to calculate Whoop-style metrics like a Strain score, Stress score, Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Breathing Rate, and estimates calories burned. That last metric is somewhat outdated, as research from Stanford University found that calorie estimates based on heart rate are unreliable as they measure effort rather than energy expended. A premium tier subscription costs an additional $119.99 / £109.99 per year, adding a Readiness score, VO2 Max and even sleep stage analysis. As an already-expensive device, I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’re planning to make Frontier X2 your privacy fitness tracker, and accuracy is hyper-important to you.

The continuous electrocardiogram, or ECG, can livestream an ECG scan for yourself or a medical professional to the Frontier app. Not only is this useful for spotting irregular heart rate rhythms over time, but I most often used it to check the HRM is streaming data correctly before starting working out in earnest, which is recommended, as the scan flags up in the app if there’s insufficient data due to poor connection.

In terms of accuracy, I had no complaints. I took it for a test run against the Apple Watch Ultra 4 (which offers a redesigned Health Sensing System said to be ‘the most accurate ever on a wearable’) and the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro, which uses Garmin’s Elevate V5 that I’ve already tested against the Polar H10 and found to be very accurate.

The results of the Frontier X2’s test run were excellent, with just 2 bpm separating the Frontier X2 from the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Garmin Fenix 9 Pro’s average heart rate readings, a clear indication that all three devices are telling the same story about my body, and thus all three are very likely to be accurate. After some more solo runs and workouts, I feel like I could certainly recommend the Frontier X2, if you don’t mind paying the hefty premium price.

(Image credit: Future)

Frontier X2: Price and availability

$599 / £449 / AU$775
Very expensive for a HRM
Not competitively priced compared to the industry standard

The Frontier X2 can be found on storefronts like Amazon for $599 in the US and £449 in the UK. In Australia, it’s more difficult to locate, but Selfridges’ AU storefront lists it for AU$775. The optional subscription for premium features on top is tough to swallow at this price.

This is a lot for a device that fundamentally only measures heart rate, and although the Frontier X app can interpret strain, readiness, training load, specific workout profiles and other metrics, it’s still a lot to ask for compared to the $89.95 / £79.50 / AU$139 Polar H10.

However, it does address quite a few of Polar’s pain points, notably including a micro-USB charger rather than a replaceable coin battery, and a screen for an easier indicator of connection. The continuous ECG is a nice touch too, offering a way to test the monitor’s connection in addition to providing reliable ECG data for a medical professional. All in all, it’s an excellent package, but I wouldn’t call it excellent value.

Value score: 3.5/5

Frontier X2: Specifications

(Image credit: Future)

Component	Frontier X2
Dimensions	73mm x 24mm x 13mm
Weight	25g without strap
Case material	Plastic
Connectivity	Bluetooth
Water resistance	IP67
Accelerometer	Yes
Battery	14 days typical usage

Frontier X2: Scorecard

Category	Comment	Score
Value	A premium product with more to recommend it over Polar, but not enough to stretch your budget.	3.5/5
Design	So many pain points addressed.	4.5/5
Features	More than most HRMs, but limited.	4/5
Performance	Accurate and reliable with little friction.	4.5/5

Frontier X2: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if…

You want the best heart rate monitor

If money is no object, the Frontier X2 won’t let you down.

You want a rechargeable battery

Don’t want to faff around with coin batteries? The Frontier X2 uses standardised micro-USB.

You want ECG

The Frontier X2 is as good for people watching their heart health as it is for serious athletes.

Don’t buy it if…

You’re running a triathlon

The Frontier X2 isn’t for use in saline water.

You’re on a budget

Just get a Polar H10 instead, although you’ll have to put up with its app and the odd connection dropout.

Also consider

Coros Heart Rate Monitor

While not electrical, but optical like a smartwatch, this arm-mounted HRM performed incredibly well during testing.

Read our full Coros Heart Rate Monitor reviewView Deal

Polar H10

The industry-standard accurate heart rate monitor.

Read our full Polar H10 review

How I tested

I took the Frontier X2 on test runs, gym sessions and meditations, draining the battery down and wearing it consistently. I used its continuous ECG functionality, compared its in-app metrics to competitor wearables, and cleaned the band after each use.

First reviewed: October 2026

I tested my Apple Watch Ultra 4 against Casio's cheap step-counting retro watch, the Casio F-B100W

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

If you've been following TechRadar's fitness coverage over the last couple of months, you'll have heard about the Casio F-B100W.

It's a cheap Bluetooth digital watch — ($65 / £55 / AU$119) and despite looking very similar to the classic, extremely cheap F-91W, it's got some differences. It's a little bit bigger, it's got an additional button, a dual time-zone mode, and, crucially for our purposes, a few smart features thanks to its Bluetooth capability: Find My Phone, and a step tracker.

This stripped-back approach to smartwatches is great for people who are looking to increase their activity levels, but don't want to pay for a smartwatch or use all the bells and whistles of a full-fledged fitness tracker. In fact, it reminds me of the very first Fitbits, which were simple pebble-shaped Bluetooth-enabled step trackers that clipped to your clothes.

I had a lot of fun with this watch, as I loved the retro styling, and it had just enough smarts to be useful. As a perpetual phone-misplacer, Find My Phone functionality is an essential for me for any smartwatch, while the most basic movement-based metric of step tracking remains useful even today. In the app, your step counts are broken into bar charts over a week, month or year to analyze trends.

But, considering the extraordinary cheap price of the watch, I was wondering how accurate it could be. So I decided to test it against this year's best smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 4. The Ultra 4 costs $799 / £749 / AU$1,349, a far cry from the cost of the Casio, and is equipped with top-of-the-range fitness metrics for every eventuality.

(Image credit: Future)

To start with, it's worth noting that I can't separate the Casio's daily step counter into a specific workout, so by the time I'd strapped both watches on, and gone up and down the stairs putting my shoes on, finding my keys and earphones, and stepping out to the starting point of my run, I had already walked 269 steps, and that was reflected in the Casio's score. Not the best start to the experiment.

However, after the run was complete, I checked the scores on both apps immediately. Once the Apple Watch's workout was marked as 'complete' it stopped tracking my steps, so I didn't want to make the same mistake again and inflate the Casio's score. The moment I finished my workout on the Apple Watch, I screenshotted both apps.

And I was impressed. The Casio recorded a score of 4,910 steps. Minus my initial 269 steps, that leaves us at 4,641 steps in total for the Casio F-B100W.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 recorded 4,679, a difference of just 38 steps. That's a teeny margin of error for two completely different watches in two completely different price brackets, operating solely on estimations from their onboard sensors, and I'm thrilled with this result.

What does this mean in practice? It means that if all you're interested in is tracking your steps, and you like the retro digital watch vibe (after all, retro tech has been making a comeback for a while now) I can say that the humble Casio F-B100W was just as good a step counter as the most expensive Apple Watch on the market, and I can double-down on my recommendation. It's a great watch.

Admittedly, it doesn't have the other advanced metrics of the Apple Watch (or any other metrics, for that matter), but this test was an exercise in testing the Casio step counter's quality, not objectively comparing the two watches — and it passed that test with flying colors.

Garmin's Connect IQ store gets an 'enormous influx' of submissions, and it's likely down to AI slop

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:48:27 +0000

Garmin's Connect IQ store has seen an 'enormous influx' of new submissions
These include apps and watch faces, and are causing a big backlog as developers struggle to get their submissions reviewed
It's likely AI is to blame, as the sudden wave of submissions 'was never a problem in the past'

If you wear one of the best Garmin watches, you might have used the Garmin Connect IQ store to download an app like Spotify or Komoot, a new free or paid watch face (even a Pokémon-branded one), or a fun community-made complication like the Walk with Frodo app. However, downloading stuff from the Connect IQ store in future may involve sifting through thousands of low-quality, AI-generated submissions.

Watch face and app developers are complaining on Garmin's forums about delays in submission review: while the process typically takes 1-2 days, according to some devs, the process is now taking up to 13 days.

Garmin Connect IQ moderator/representative Brandon posted directly to one thread, stating: "This is not due to a bug — we have gotten an enormous influx of app submissions in the last month, with no signs of slowing down, and are working through approvals as quickly as we can.

"This was never a problem in the past, except perhaps delays because of a long holiday weekend (e.g. Christmas)."

(Image credit: Future)

The fact this glut of submissions is a sudden problem or new phenomenon points to one thing only — AI. Garmin Connect IQ has likely been flooded with vibe-coded or AI-generated products designed to make a quick buck by flooding the digital marketplace.

One Garmin user said in response to Brandon: "You need to limit the upload frequency for each developer; those poorly made AI-generated watch faces will consume everything."

Another said: "I have observed this trend worsening significantly as well. The Connect IQ Store is increasingly flooded with low-effort, repetitive submissions that hurt discoverability, degrade user trust, and crowd out well-crafted apps."

While this is bad for developers (who get charged $100 annually to sell apps on the Connect IQ store) it's also bad for Garmin users. We'll now have to wade through a sea of AI slop watch faces in order to get to faces and apps created the old-fashioned way — with human-led, thought-out complications developed and designed by real Garmin users.

It's just one more example of digital merchants being reduced to dealing with an avalanche of AI slop submissions, just like other app stores, and almost every other breed of online storefronts for digital products. We reported as far back as 2023 that AI-generated e-books were flooding Kindle Unlimited, making it difficult for users to find new books, and the problem has only gotten worse with time. The same will likely happen to the Connect IQ store.

I've reached out to Garmin for comment on the situation, and will update this article if I get any response. In the meantime, if you're a Connect IQ user and you've noticed the change, let us know in the comments below.

This easy Garmin quiz will find your perfect smartwatch

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Sat, 17 Oct 2026 03:00:00 +0000

Which Garmin watch is right for you? If you don't know which of the best Garmin watches to choose from, shopping for smartwatches can be a very frustrating experience.

Browsing the website, you have to deal with weird names like 'Fenix' and 'Vivoactive' and many of the watches offer the same features, making the brand's offerings tough to separate. What are the differences, for example, between a Forerunner 70, 170, 570 and 970? Should you get an Instinct 3, or a Venu 4?

That's where I come in. I've been writing about Garmins for many years. I've reviewed or tested almost every modern Garmin watch, and I've taken my knowledge and condensed it into one handy flowchart personality quiz.

All you need to do is click on the quiz below and answer five easy questions, only the first of which is multiple choice, to get my recommendation for your ideal smartwatch. I've even linked the full review of each watch, so you can read more about it and find the best deals.

The quiz operates first by finding out your preferred forms of exercise, then hits criteria like budget, watch size, importance of outdoor features, and so on.

If an activity profile you want isn't there, pick the closest one in spirit — for example, snowboarders should pick the 'skiing' activity profile in the first question, while I've lumped football, netball, rugby, baseball, etc. into 'team sports'.

Let me know your result in the comments — including whether your result was accurate!

Suunto may be working on a screenless heart rate monitor to take on Garmin

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:22:24 +0000

A leak suggests Suunto is working on a screenless fitness tracker
The device would monitor your heart rate and health
Photos have appeared but few other details are known

Screenless fitness bands are having a moment right now, with the likes of the Fitbit Air and the Garmin Cirqa showing that you don’t need a display to get a great wearable. Now, it looks like Suunto might be about to enter the fray with its own screenless option, and it might end up ditching the expensive subscription as well.

The device was first spotted by the5krunner, which found a listing in the UAE’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority database. This described a Suunto heart rate monitor under the codename HR264, and it follows similar listings made in South Korea and Singapore in recent weeks.

Unfortunately, we don’t know much else about the device. The listing does not include a product name, price or features list, so much of the details remain unknown for now. As pointed out by the5krunner, we don’t even know if the device is a chest strap, armband, wrist-worn tracker, or something else.

However, the5krunner notes that “certification photos of its HR264 heart rate monitor show a rechargeable optical band used for 24/7 recovery tracking,” with images appearing to show the product measuring roughly 44mm in height and 30mm in width.

Suunto’s app is currently free and offers an optional paid AI coach on the side, and it seems the HR264 heart rate monitor could take a similar approach. That would help it avoid the kind of expensive subscription that is required for devices made by the likes of Whoop.

Still ‘months away’

Suunto has established itself as a maker of impressive smartwatches, with the likes of the Vertical 2 scoring highly when we reviewed it. And Suunto has past pedigree with heart rate monitoring, with its Race 2 smartwatch performing well in this area when we tested it last year.

But the HR264 would be the company’s first foray into screenless devices, and this is a very different area to compete in because the user experience relies almost entirely on the product’s companion app. But as our reviewer noted when they tested the Vertical 2, “While Suunto’s smartphone app is perfectly acceptable, I’d argue it isn’t as good nor as all-encompassing as Garmin.”

Still, there’s time for Suunto to get this right ahead of the HR264’s launch, which the5krunner believes could still be “months away.” When that happens, there will be another screenless fitness tracker for interested users to investigate, and that competition could help drive the industry forward if it brings something new to the table.

Your Fitbit Air is about to get much smarter thanks to Google’s next update

rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies) — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 11:17:39 +0000

Google is rolling out improved automatic detection for over 100 new workouts
Compatible devices will use an upgraded LLM to create a more reliable and accurate wellness tracking experience
Health Guardian is also coming to Fitbit Air and Fitbit Edge, but this requires a Google Health Premium subscription

Google's screenless Fitbit Air wearable and Garmin Cirqa rival is set for a fresh dose of updates following user feedback.

The most notable upgrade is Fitbit’s improved automatic workout tracker, which will use a new LLM foundation to boost its activity detection abilities. Google hasn’t given an exact date, but we know it’s coming to the Fitbit Air, Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, as well as the recently announced Fitbit Edge later this month.

Since screenless wearables don’t have an interactive bezel like the rest of the best fitness trackers, users put their faith into automatic detection tools to record workouts and log activity. The fact that the Fitbit Air can read your body movement to detect what you’re doing is beyond smart, however false tracking is always a possibility — so this upgrade is highly welcome.

Furthermore, activity that meets your minimum duration threshold with a sustained elevated heart rate will automatically be picked up by your Fitbit/ Pixel Watch, with a summary sent to your mobile app within 30 minutes.

The update is not only designed to make the experience more reliable, but it’s also much broader with what it can track. Now, your wearable can pick up on more than 100 new workouts as opposed to the mere 10 that were available before, which includes strength training, swimming, and more.

Fitbit’s upgraded workout detection is also powered by Google Health’s critical context readings, a tool that takes data such as your exercise routines, history, and location (with your permission) to detect activity with 2x more accuracy. It also cuts missed workouts by more than half. ‘This marks a huge advancement for automatic tracking, and we will keep working to make it even better,’ the company shared in its release notes.

Fitbit Air and Fitbit Edge get the Health Guardian treatment

(Image credit: Google)

On top of workout tracking improvements, you’ll also be getting access to Google’s roster of Health Guardian features, which use background health-monitoring tools to track shifts in your health over time. As exciting as this sounds, it requires a Google Health Premium subscription ($9.99 / £7.99 / AU$14.99 a month).

With Health Guardian, you can set up and keep tabs on trends in the app including blood pressure and insulin resistance and, as per Google’s release notes, ‘if you meet the monthly wear requirements, you'll get a report at the beginning of each month to help you make lifestyle adjustments early’.

As well as this, Health Coach is also handy for contextualizing changes in your patterns, and giving you informed guidance on your personal lifestyle and wellness. However, Google iterates that this feature isn’t designed to diagnose or treat any health issues that may occur, and encourages you to seek professional medical advice if you have any concerns.

Google Fitbit Edge unveiled, reinventing the old pebble-style Fitbit

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000

The Google Fitbit Edge fitness tracker has arrived, with Google's 'largest and brightest tracker screen yet'
It's 11.5mm thin, and costs $179.99 / £159.99 / AU$269
It's got a physical side button, because 'people love physical buttons'

If you thought the Google Fitbit Air spelled the end of the 'old style' screen-bearing Fitbits, think again — Google has dropped the Google Fitbit Edge, a slim tracker with Google's 'largest and brightest tracker screen yet', and according to Google, it sits in between the 'quiet simplicity' of a Google Fitbit Air and a Google Pixel Watch.

It costs costs $179.99 / £159.99 / AU$269, and features a powerful 'hybrid OLED' screen delivering 46% more viewing area than previous Fitbits, designed for direct sunlight visibility.

The screen offers an improved browsing experience based on Tiles that, while not sporting full Wear OS, seems to take cues from Google's Materia 3 Expressive design language it uses on its best Android watches. It sports call and notification management, as well as — surprisingly — Google Maps support, so it really is like a smartwatch-lite.

The exercise app features improved automatic activity tracking that can automatically detect up to 100 workout types, without you needing to manually start a workout. This will also be rolled out to the Google Fitbit Air. It's also packing onboard GPS, unlike the Fitbit Air, so Fitbit Edge users can run, cycle, swim or hike and track their routes and speeds without piggybacking off your phone.

Menstrual cycle tracking, sleep tracking, and all of Google Health's usual tools (including the AI fitness coach) are present and correct here, as are the new Health Guardian features like Insulin Resistance Trends and an ECG scan functionality.

(Image credit: Google)

The chassis is 11.5mm thick, features metal touchpoints 'everywhere' across the device, and a 'satisfying' physical button. This is terrific news for me, because I love the buttons on the best Garmin watches and older Fitbits. It's nice that Google is bringing some of that old-school Fitbit heritage back — even though it's axed the old Fitbit app and migrated all users to Google Health.

The Fitbit Edge sports a long-lasting battery life that will go for a week, and a 90-minute charge can bring it back to 100%. The battery is also replaceable, extending the life of your hardware.

Like the Google Fitbit Air, and previous Fitbits before it, bands are swappable: you can choose an Active Sport band, a micro-adjustable, flexible Performance Loop, or more stylish Metal Links for a watch aesthetic.

Tactile, repairable, affordable

This 'middle ground' Fitbit, situated between a Google Fitbit Air and full Pixel Watch, looks terrific.

I'm not the biggest fan of Google's new Health app due to its reliance on the AI coach, but Google absolutely nails its wearable hardware, and the Fitbit Edge looks like another winner, reinventing the classic Fitbit pebble design.

I love the form factor of the Pixel Watch and the Fitbit Air alike, and a halfway-house featuring a tactile button (my favorite feature on the Garmin Cirqa, and something I missed on the Fitbit Air), week-long battery life and the repairability of a replaceable battery for under $180 / £160 / AU$280 sounds like a slam-dunk. I look forward to testing it.

What do you think of the Fitbit Edge? Let us know in the comments.

Fitbit Edge leak reveals a new fitness tracker with a screen

James Rogerson — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 10:03:02 +0000

The Fitbit Edge has leaked with similar specs to the Fitbit Air, plus an added screen
This reportedly gives it access to apps like Google Maps and YouTube Music
It could launch as soon as this month

In recent years, Google has seemed more focused on the Pixel Watch line than its Fitbit trackers, but it hasn’t abandoned those devices completely, with the screen-free Fitbit Air landing earlier this year — and now, a new wearable reportedly dubbed the Fitbit Edge has been sighted.

This device has been extensively leaked by Android Headlines, complete with images — some of which you can see below — and specs, but it sounds a lot like a Fitbit Air with an added screen. Like the Air, the Edge reportedly has up to seven days of battery life, GPS, elevation tracking, automatic activity tracking, and support for both Android and iOS.

But thanks to its screen, it also supports a handful of apps, like Google Maps, YouTube Music, and Find My Phone. You’ll also be able to get notifications on your wrist, and of course, you’ll be able to view things like your step count and heart rate without having to look at your phone.

Android Headlines

A middle ground

So the Fitbit Edge should essentially sit somewhere between the screen-free Air and the Google Pixel Watch 5 — the latter being a full smartwatch with even more capabilities, but with worse battery life and no iOS support.

Android Headlines notes that you could also look at it as a successor to the Fitbit Charge line — a series which we haven’t seen a new entry in since 2023.

According to Android Headlines, the Fitbit Edge will come in black, green, and orange shades, with the potential for more options down the line.

It doesn’t sound like the site has any inside information on the price or release date, but it speculates that the Edge could launch this month, so that it’s on shelves in time for the holiday season, and that it might cost between $149 (roughly £110 / AU$215) and $199 (around £150 / AU$285).

Apple Watch Series 12 vs Garmin Fenix 9 Pro: Some big HR and calorie differences

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Sat, 26 Sep 2026 14:00:00 +0000

The brand-new Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 are reportedly the most accurate heart rate-tracking smartwatches on the market and the best Apple Watches yet, largely thanks to the wearables' new Health Sensing System. A redesigned LED sensor array, the Health Sensing System is said to be more accurate than ever before, measuring active and resting heart rates up to 60 times more often than previous generations.

Considering all my tests with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 had it cleaving remarkably close to an electrical heart rate monitor, I was ready to believe Apple's accuracy claims were true.

Barely an hour after I got my Apple Watch Series 12 review unit from Apple, I hit the gym and gave the smartwatch its first test drive. While I didn't have my heart rate monitor available, I did have the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro, so I strapped it onto the other wrist and tracked the same workout on both wearables.

The Garmin Fenix 9 Pro is a five-star watch, an expensive do-it-all device that's stuffed with features and boasts highly advanced health tracking credentials. It uses Garmin's Elevate V5 heart rate sensor, which previously fell within around 5 bpm (in terms of average heart rate) of an Apple Watch Ultra 3 during previous tests with a Garmin Venu 4. Hardly a significant margin of error for most people, and enough to give a good impression of your general fitness.

I was also interested in other statistics, like calorie counts, and how alike the two wearables' readings would be to each other.

The results

Apple Watch Series 12Future

Garmin Fenix 9 ProFuture

During my 40-minute strength session, my average heart rate was 125 bpm, according to Apple. According to Garmin, it was 132 bpm: a seven-point difference between the two wearables.

It's slightly outside my 5 bpm threshold for insignificant differences, but only just. My theory is that as I wear each watch more, their algorithms will tighten up, and I'll see closer results. It will be very interesting to compare both to an electrical Polar H10 heart rate monitor.

However, the difference in calorie expenditure was more worrying. Garmin recorded a calorie expenditure of 340 kcal — meanwhile, Apple recorded 242 kcal as my total expenditure for the session. This 88 kcal difference is equivalent to one smallish apple, or a couple of spoonfuls of your average Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Calorie expenditure on a smartwatch isn't an exact science. One research paper published this year in the journal PLOs One said that 'proprietary differences in device algorithms and sensor design introduce another layer of variability, with comparative studies reporting an error of more than 20% in [energy expenditure] across widely used models.' So we should expect some deviations between watches, based on differences in algorithm, and it shouldn't matter so long as measurements on that device are consistent.

However, an 88 kcal difference is over that 20% margin for error, which is very interesting. Stay tuned: I'll be testing the Apple Watch Series 12 further, over longer workouts and against different wearables, to determine whether its accuracy claims hold water.

3 features a screenless Apple fitness tracker needs to rival Fitbit and Garmin

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Sat, 26 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Apple has reportedly taken notice of the popularity of the likes of the Google Fitbit Air and Garmin Cirqa — screenless fitness trackers designed for background activity tracking without smartwatch-style screens or notifications, originally associated with Whoop.

Like the best smart rings, these passive 'set and forget' trackers work in the background to collect fitness and recovery information, which is then pumped into your AI-powered health app of choice to inform future habits.

According to a Bloomberg report and a separate post on MacRumors, Apple has been working on prototypes 'for months', but isn't quite sold on whether to move forward. Apple's senior vice president of services Eddy Cue is mentioned in the reports 'to be pushing for wearables with simpler interfaces, like the screen-free Whoop and Oura Ring'.

Not only do I think it's a good idea — I reviewed a whole bunch of screenless trackers this year, and rated the Cirqa as my favorite in TR's official Garmin Cirqa review — but I also think Apple's been laying the groundwork for a device like this. Here are the features I think an 'Apple Whoop' needs to be competitive — and they've all been introduced to the best Apple watches within the last few years.

1. An Action Button

(Image credit: TechRadar)

All screenless fitness trackers offer very few ways for the wearer to actually interact with the hardware. The Whoop uses a haptic sensor on the top of its puck, which you have to tap to stop an alarm or put the device into Bluetooth pairing mode. Unfortunately, every time I've tested the Whoop, I end up repeatedly tapping the top of the device like a nodding bird until the LEDs change color. But when you're actually tracking workouts on most screenless devices, you either start the workout manually in the accompanying app, or just go, and hope the device's automatic activity detection picks it up.

The Garmin Cirqa's tactile button, in combination with its haptics, is much more useful. Press it once, and the device vibrates to signify a workout has started. Press it again, and it vibrates to confirm that the workout has ended. It's that simple. No pausing workouts, as it would defeat the point of capturing a whole holistic representation of what your body's doing during activity and recovery.

Apple has the perfect mechanism for this: the Action button, first introduced on the Apple Watch Ultra in 2022, and since ported over to the iPhone. A screenless Apple fitness tracker could include that little orange button as a straightforward way to stop vibrations or sounds of an alarm, or start and stop workouts like the Garmin Cirqa.

2. A longer battery life than other Apple Watches

(Image credit: Future)

Apple has recently taken steps to address perhaps the biggest criticism of Apple Watches: battery life. For a long time, Apple Watches were stuck at 18 hours, until last year's upgrade in battery and efficiency bumped them up to 24 hours. As of 2026, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 now clocks in at 48 hours between charges.

This is for a full-power Apple Watch with GPS workouts, a 3,000-nit brightness liquid retina display, and communications features out the wazoo. I imagine a screenless fitness tracker, which just has the Health Sensing System and related sensors like the gyroscope to run, would last considerably longer — perhaps five days between charges, ideal for a set-and-forget tracker designed to be worn constantly, including overnight.

3. The latest Readiness Score and Vitals improvements

(Image credit: Apple)

Speaking of which, Apple's already laid the groundwork for advanced recovery tracking with its new Readiness score and improved Vitals apps. Apple's latest Health Sensing System, with a larger surface area for improved skin contact and redesigned electrodes, allows its watches to track overnight heart rate variability much more accurately, and more often, than previous generations — 24 times more often, to be exact.

This allows Apple Watches to deliver an accurate Readiness score, showing on a scale of 1-10 how recovered you are and whether you're ready to expend energy, as well as overhauling the Vitals app. Recovery and overnight health are key components of screenless fitness trackers, as they're designed (as mentioned above) for constant wear, ticking away in the background to monitor expenditure and recovery without other distractions.

A screenless fitness tracker interfacing with Apple Health is crying out for Apple's new Health Sensing System and its accompanying overnight Readiness and recovery features. With it, the Apple fitness band might be able to beat the likes of Whoop, Google and Garmin (all of whom have used Readiness scores for years) at their own game.

Which screenless fitness tracker is the best? Vote in our poll below:

Garmin fans could soon get ‘muscle oxygen’ readings in future devices

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 15:49:57 +0000

Garmin may have bought a fitness company aimed at serious athletes
The purchase could add ‘muscle oxygen’ stats to future Garmin products
The acquisition has not yet been officially confirmed

The best Garmin devices can do a lot, but there are a few ways they fall short right now. But if a new rumor is correct, Garmin fans could expect to see an interesting new feature for dedicated athletes in future products.

That idea comes from the5krunner, which recently published a report claiming that Garmin has quietly snapped up specialist fitness firm Moxy Monitor, with that impression supposedly confirmed by “a source with direct knowledge of the transaction.”

Moxy Monitor makes muscle oxygen (SmO2) sensors that are used by elite athletes to help them train more effectively. It’s a market that Garmin has apparently been considering entering, with the company filing a patent for an algorithm to measure SmO2 data earlier this year, the 5krunner says.

The report adds that a response by Moxy Monitor’s founder to the outlet’s questions “implicitly confirms the deal.” That’s because Moxy Monitor’s founder directed questions towards Garmin rather than his own company’s press office. Garmin itself has made no comment on the rumored acquisition.

Keeping up with rivals

(Image credit: Moxy Monitor)

If you’re a high-level athlete, the revelation of Garmin’s rumored purchase might be an exciting one. If it proves to be accurate, future Garmin wearables might be able to integrate SmO2 measurements and help serious sportspeople improve their performance.

As the5krunner points out, the deal could also lead to Garmin releasing new devices. Since you can’t take SmO2 readings from your wrist and instead need to use a near-infrared spectroscopy sensor, the5krunner says that new hardware would be required if Garmin were to put Moxy Monitor’s tech to good use.

And the report points out that Garmin competitor Whoop has patented its own SmO2 strap. That means that Garmin’s purchase of Moxy Monitor gives it a way to keep up with its rivals in this area without having to build an entirely new system from scratch.

Garmin products can already read SmO2 data from third-party straps, and that will likely to continue to be refined with Moxy Monitor on board. That might be the most immediate change we see, with new hardware further out on the horizon.

Whatever the outcome, anyone wanting to get more serious fitness metrics from their Garmin devices might just get a boost if this acquisition turns out to be the real deal. But with Garmin not confirming anything for now, we’ll likely have to wait for confirmation before knowing exactly how this could play out.

Amazfit's new solar-powered AMOLED smartwatch aims to rival Garmin

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:53:20 +0000

Amazfit has unveiled the T-Rex Dual Solar smartwatch
It offers solar charging on an AMOLED watch — a feat not even Garmin has managed
As well as charging from the front, the innovative back plate allows the wearer to invert the watch for maximum light absorption

In a world in which most smartwatches now have the same features and similar specs, it's always nice to see something innovative. The Amazfit T-Rex line is a range of rugged adventure-focused smartwatches that are generally — like almost all of Amazfit's products — great value alternatives to more expensive wearables such as the best Garmin watches.

Despite focusing on solar charging, as seen on some top-tier Garmin watches such as the Fenix 9 Pro, the T-Rex Dual Solar brings innovation all of its own. Amazfit's newest smartwatch not only provides battery-lengthening solar charging from the front, but also a secondary, more efficient solar charging plate on the back of the watch. With enough sunlight, this back plate can reportedly revive a completely flat battery. That means if you're out of power, you could invert the watch and wear it inside-out, or leave it on a rock with the back plate facing the sun, to bring it back to life.

Amazfit says that "for those who adventure at the edge of the map, solar offers something more: a way to bring a completely depleted watch back to life using sunlight when traditional power isn’t available, helping users regain access to essential functions like maps and route information."

However, the most interesting bit is that Amazfit has finally cracked what Garmin has not been able to, as yet: bring solar charging to an AMOLED watch. The Amazfit Dual Solar, as its name suggests, charges from both sides, even though it's got a bright AMOLED screen, as long as you're in conditions of 50,000 lux or more for three hours or more. Without exception, Solar charging Garmin watches uses lower-power memory-in-pixel displays in conjunction with Garmin's Power Glass solar charging tech.

Sara Webster Wylie, VP of Global Marketing at Amazfit, says: “With T-Rex Dual Solar, we didn’t want users to have to choose between the bright, premium display they want every day and the battery endurance they need outdoors. Bringing AMOLED and solar together for the first time lets us deliver both.”

Other specs & pricing

(Image credit: Amazfit)

In normal conditions, the watch packs up to 25 days of battery life, extended up to 35 days in optimal solar conditions, and 41 hours of use in 'accurate GPS mode'. A flashlight with red and white modes is built into the titanium casing, while its sapphire crystal screen is capable of up to 3,000 nits of brightness.

With full color preloaded maps (including ski maps), intelligent route planning with turn-by-turn directions and Apple Watch Ultra-style waypoints, and LiveShare (Amazfit's equivalent of Garmin's LiveTrack location-sharing feature), it's certainly a powerhouse of a watch.

Unusually for Amazfit, it's also very expensive, priced at $649.99 in the US. Other regions' pricing is TBC, but that's around £500 / AU$900. Having seen what Amazfit can do with budget devices such as its five-star Amazfit Active 3 Premium, I'm excited to get my hands on a high-end model.

Garmin investigates ‘disappearing workouts’ issue hitting Cirqa owners

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:18:00 +0000

Garmin Cirqa users’ workouts are disappearing when they’re finished
Garmin is apparently investigating the issue
For now, there’s a temporary workaround that can help

We loved Garmin’s screenless Cirqa tracker when we reviewed it earlier this year, but that doesn’t mean it’s a perfect device. And that’s exactly what some Garmin users have discovered recently, with the device seemingly deleting many people’s workouts as soon as they’re finished.

The issue has surfaced in reports posted on Garmin’s support forum. There, users have complained that workouts are not logged when they are ended in a certain way, despite the Garmin Connect app showing the exercise in progress and the Cirqa wearable vibrating to indicate it has received the instruction to end the session.

Specifically, users noted that the problem arose if they began a workout using the dedicated button on their Cirqa, then ended it in the Connect app. When that happened, the session seemingly went missing. As one forum member put it, “If you start an activity with the button, you have to end it with the button.”

Garmin appears to be aware of the bug, with a company representative posting a potential solution on the forum. There, the rep said that “if an activity is started from the CIRQA, Garmin Connect may first display an ‘Activity in Progress’ message with Resume and End options. Selecting Resume opens the activity recording screen, where the activity can then be stopped and saved. Once the activity is saved and a sync has completed, it should appear in Garmin Connect.”

Confusion and frustration

(Image credit: Garmin)

What’s confusing about this bug — and what has clearly rankled many members in the Garmin forum — is how a logical action is having the opposite effect to the one that is expected. You would think that ending a workout in the Garmin Connect app should automatically log the workout’s details, regardless of whether the exercise was started in the app or on the Cirqa itself. Instead, the workout is apparently deleted.

The good news is that Garmin appears to be aware of the issue, as the company rep followed up with another message acknowledging that “Several users in this thread have reported losing activity data after selecting End from the initial prompt.”

They then explained that “We’ve shared the feedback mentioned in this thread internally for further review, and are reaching out to some users to gather additional information.” Despite that, there’s not yet any solid date for when a fix might arrive.

The news comes at the same time as another report of glitchy Garmin behavior (via the5krunner). People using the Garmin Fenix 9 smartwatch with Mac computers have noticed that the Garmin Express app — which updates the watch’s software and installs offline maps — is not compatible with the latest macOS 27 release. That’s because it’s not compatible with Apple silicon chips and requires Apple’s Rosetta 2 translation layer, which has been removed from macOS 27.

While most Fenix 9 functions can be managed in the Garmin Connect app, the Express app issue will still be irritating in some scenarios. In this instance, Garmin has said it is working on a fix.

If you’ve noticed disappearing workouts with the Cirqa wearable, though, there could be a longer wait, as Garmin has not announced when a patch might land. For now, you’ll have to remember to start and end workouts on the Cirqa itself or use the workaround provided by the Garmin forum rep.

Google Fitbit Air's new Health Guardian features rollout is coming soon

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:27:59 +0000

The Google Fitbit Air is getting some new features introduced with the Google Pixel Watch 5
Health Guardian includes Insulin Resistance Trends, Blood Pressure Trends and Sleep Breathing Quality
These features are not behind a Google Health Premium subscription, and are available on the Google Health app for free

The Google Fitbit Air is one of the best cheap fitness trackers, a $99.99 / £84.99 / AU$199 fitness band that offers a basic level of fitness tracking within its free tier, and an advanced AI-powered fitness coach with an additional premium subscription. We liked it at the free tier, although the app is a bit limited, and the premium experience will depend on your tolerance for interacting with chatbots.

However, both tiers are about to get a little bit better, which means the Fitbit Air is becoming even better value, with the addition of Google's new Health Guardian suite of features. The suite comprises a trio of tools, introduced earlier this year on the Google Pixel Watch 5. News site Gadgets & Wearables dug through version 5.07.2 of the app and found the three new features in the app's code.

Pixel Watches get four new tools rather than three, but Google's Breathing Emergency Detection requires the watch's emergency contact and notification infrastructure, which the screenless Fitbit Air doesn't have.

What's new

(Image credit: Future / Google)

First up for the new tools is Insulin Resistance Trends. Insulin Resistance is an important metric, as it tells you how sensitively your body responds to blood sugar, and insulin resistance is of course a major precursor to type-2 diabetes. This metric "analyzes multi-week physiological data to track shifts in your metabolic health", pointing at resistance levels going up and down. However, for truly accurate blood sugar metrics, you'll need something like a continuous glucose monitor.

Next up is Blood Pressure Trends, which "passively measure your pulse and motion patterns throughout the month to estimate your blood pressure trends without requiring a cuff or manual calibration". Blood pressure via LED technology is very new to wearables, and it's amazing to see it in a device this cheap. However, it's worth noting this isn't a replacement for a cuff, just a likely indicator of trend. You'll still need regular measurement with either a cuff or a doctor's appointment for anything serious, but it can be an indication to start paying attention to your blood pressure.

Finally, Sleep Breathing Quality is a sleep feature showing you how much time you spent in 'optimal breathing' the night before. Google Health Coach, the AI chatbot you get in the app's premium tier, can offer advice about how to improve this based on your sleep score and other contextual information.

In fact, while you get the basic numbers for all three new metrics, the Google Health Coach can dip in and surface these stats to offer actionable advice. For example, you can use your Insulin Resistance Trends in combination with your nutrition logging to allow the coach to help you make a meal plan to bring that number down.

Worth buying?

(Image credit: Future / TechRadar)

While I'm not the biggest fan of Google's AI Health Coach, I did like the Fitbit Air as a whole, and new, useful, actionable metrics can only add to its already-excellent value proposition.

Whoop can estimate daily blood pressure ranges, but it doesn't offer an Insulin Resistance Trends metric, for example, whereas the Garmin Cirqa doesn't cover blood pressure estimates or insulin. Both competitor wearables have SPO2 blood oxygen sensors, however.

Health Guardian tools are only general indicators of your body's trends. However, if any of these metrics matter to you, for many people the Google Fitbit Air is cheap enough that these new features could be an incentive to pick one up over its more expensive rivals.

5 new Apple Watch features that are more than just health-tracking tools

rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies) — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:50:28 +0000

The Apple Watch Series 12 and its big sibling, the Apple Watch Ultra 4, were the latest wearables announced alongside the iPhone Duo at Apple’s ‘Surprise and Shine’ event, and the array of new health features haven’t let me down.

Though I didn’t get the design upgrades I was hoping for (I wanted Apple to do a 180-degree turn and debut a completely fresh look for its watches), we got some smart new color options in the process. But that aside, the new monitoring tools do more than make up for the lack of visual upgrades — they’re smarter, insightful, and more personal than ever.

It’s hard to tell if all the new wellbeing tracking tools will be available for previous models — for anything powered by Apple Intelligence, it’s likely that these will remain native to the Series 12 and Ultra 4 — but we still think they’ll make for welcomed additions for health-conscious users.

On-camera fitness testing

(Image credit: Apple )

As part of the wider Health app revamp, health monitoring using the Apple Watch paired with the iPhone's camera is a new feature, starting with full body assessments. The assessments allow the Health app to measure VO2 max — the the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use while exercising, a key measure of fitness — along with flexibility, strength, balance, and movement mechanics.

All you have to do is prop your iPhone vertically against a wall so that your whole body fits in the frame, and it will get you to follow a coach-guided workout. Apple says in order to measure VO2 max, you’ll need an Apple Watch, AirPods Pro 3, or a third-party heart rate sensing device.

Health Age

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple is slightly behind on the Health Age feature — Garmin and Whoop got there first with Fitness Age and Whoop Age, respectively — but it’s finally coming to Apple Watch.

Health Age can be found under the new Longevity tab in the Health app, a hub for displaying deeper insights for different health topics including heart health, mental wellbeing, nutrition, and hearing health.

Your Health Age reading takes different aspects of your health profile into account and combines them into one score to show how your metrics compare to the average health and fitness level for your age and gender.

Health Sensing System

(Image credit: Apple)

This is a technical upgrade to the Apple Watch itself, and a welcomed improvement to how the wearable reads your health data.

Both the Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 come fitted with new LED sensor arrays designed for better skin contact, including a new heart-rate sensor for more accurate heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements — which helps to determine the new Readiness score, which we'll discuss in a moment.

Under the new sensors are larger green LEDs, which now measure your heart rate up to every five seconds, all day long. Apple claims that it's the most accurate heart rate measurement on any wearable, and it can back this up with testing results. We can't wait to try it ourselves against an electrical heart rate monitor.

Readiness Score

Much like the Health Age metric, the new Readiness Score is a tool that's been widely adopted by rival wearables in the past — and now it’s Apple’s turn.

Diving into your Vitals, Sleep Score, recent activity, and other metrics, you'll be presented with a score from 0-10, along with a brief explanation to tell you if your watch thinks you need to pace yourself, or if you have the capacity to push yourself further.

It's a clever and handy tool that could stop you from overtraining, or change your plans to fit in a long run on a day in which you're ready for action. Readiness also updates multiple times a day as your Apple Watch gathers new data, telling you exactly what's affecting your overall score.

Insights tab

(Image credit: Apple)

The Health app's new Insights tab looks very comprehensive. Throughout the day, Insights displays timely information about your health metrics including heart, sleep, readiness, fitness, vitals, and cycle tracking data.

It gives you short summaries about how different fitness categories are impacting your long-term health, while the 'For You' section offers personalized recommendations and even relevant health articles based on your data.

Forget the Apple Watch 12 — I've just got this retro Casio with smart features

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 21:00:00 +0000

This year has been chock-full of great smartwatch releases from the major players; the latest crops of Samsung, Google, Fitbit, and Amazfit watches. We had the Garmin Fenix 9 and Garmin Fenix 9 Pro at the high-end of the adventure watch category (and pricing range, some costing upwards of four-figure dollars or pounds), and soon the latest Apple Watches, with the Apple Watch Series 12 and (according to rumor) the Apple Watch Ultra 4.

However, I've had the most fun this year with a watch that costs just £55 / AU$119 (around $75).

The Casio F-B100W is a digital quartz watch which connects to your phone via Casio's Mobile Link Bluetooth function, providing a handful of techy features. So I guess you could say it's technically a smartwatch. Looks-wise, it's very similar to the classic, outrageously cheap F-91W, only a little bigger and packing a fourth button on the side rather than the F-91W's usual three.

The F-91W is beloved among watch nerds as a reliable, cheap 'beater' watch you can where anywhere. We've written about it in the past — it was worn by a young Barack Obama, due to its reliable timekeeping and seven-year battery life it was even used as a bomb timer by Al-Qaeda, and its got serious counterculture appeal due to its low-tech defiance of modern trends and the analog revival.

(Image credit: Future)

I'm a great advocate of having a 'beater' watch to throw on and wear during gardening, DIY, construction work or any time you want a break from your smartwatch. However, I've always thought the F-91W looked like a child's toy on the average person's wrist, with a tiny size of just 38.2 × 35.2 × 8.5 mm. The F-B100W is slightly bigger at 41.9 × 38.1 × 8.8 mm, a difference of less than 4mm, but it goes a long way towards feeling more like a watch.

It packs more features than the F-91W: as well as a timer, stopwatch, LED and alarm functionalities, it's got dual-time zone features and some very basic fitness tracker functionality thanks to its Bluetooth capabilities: notably, a step counter.

Not only do your steps display on the watch's LCD screen, but it also feeds your steps into the Casio Watches app, where you can see historic graphs of your steps across weekly and monthly views. In this way it acts as a virtual pedometer, just like the original Fitbit did before things got complicated. It also, unbelievably, has a Find My Phone feature, activated by holding the bottom-right button down.

And that's it. It's a stripped-down Bluetooth watch which looks like a classic Casio, with the most basic of fitness tracking functionalities, a useful Find My Phone feature and a two-year battery life. Reader, I am in love.

(Image credit: Future)

It's an absolute belter of a watch for the price. I enjoyed taking it for a five-mile hike and watching my step count tick up, and it's extremely light on the wrist at 26g. I've always liked the look of Casio watches, and as someone who perpetually misplaces almost everything I own, the Find My Phone feature is a near-essential tool. I like that it's got a step counter broken down by graphs, but I also like that this is the only fitness tracking functionality it has, apart from the timer and stopwatch — which are in themselves ideal features for interval training, or timing rest periods in the gym.

In an era of all-singing, all-dancing smart technology that tracks everything, and often requires a subscription to sell your own data back to you, it reminds me of a simpler time in wearable technology. It's not a great contributor to surveillance capitalism like lots of wearable tech these days (beyond having to make a Casio account): it's just a fun digital pedometer, and is good value enough to be a 'fun' purchase for many people, rather than a serious investment.

It's accurate, as you can set the time of the watch with your phone and the digital quartz movement is notoriously reliable, and will cost you nothing more than £55 / AU$119 (around $75) and a cheap watch battery every two years — a pack of 10 might run you about $5.99 / £4.99 / AU$8.99.

The F-B100W is sold out on Casio.com right now in the UK, and is "coming soon" in Australia. It's not yet available in the US, but keep your eyes peeled for restocks — this archaic-looking, secretly-smart digital watch is the stripped-back digital pedometer you never knew you needed.

Garmin’s Cirqa Smart Ring might have been revealed in another leak

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:08:52 +0000

Brazilian regulatory filings might have just leaked the Garmin Cirqa
Ten variants of the smart ring were included in the documents
It suggests the device might be close to launching

In recent months, we’ve seen quite a few tidbits consisting of news and leaks surrounding Garmin’s unannounced Cirqa Smart Ring, and it’s starting to feel increasingly likely that the company is about to launch a new product to take on the likes of Samsung and Oura.

As spotted by Gadgets & Wearables, a new certification listing on the website of the Brazilian National Telecommunications Agency has revealed a spate of mysterious product codes, all of which were filed by Garmin on the same day.

The codes all sit underneath the same certification listing, which implies that they could be different models of the same product – perhaps different colors or sizes, for example. Probably different sizes, as many other smart rings cover sizes ranging from 3-5 or 13-15, and that might be the key clue that points towards this product’s true identity.

If it is indeed the Cirqa Smart Ring, it would be Garmin’s first attempt at a device like this and the second in the Cirqa line. It would follow the Cirqa band, which thoroughly impressed us when we reviewed it earlier this year, and would be designed to take on Oura and Samsung, which are currently responsible for some of the best smart rings on the market.

Not long to go

(Image credit: Circular)

Couldn’t the devices in the Brazilian certification documents be Garmin watches rather than smart rings? After all, Garmin has never acknowledged that it’s even making a smart ring, so how do we know this listing points to that seemingly top-secret device?

While we can’t be sure, the fact that there are ten separate models appears to point towards a smart ring. A watch wouldn’t need so many different variants, as you’d normally only have a couple of different sizing options. A smart ring, though? They tend to come with far more variations to account for the different finger sizes users will have.

One of the model numbers in the Brazilian listing was AA5124. This number also surfaced in a leak in August, whereby a Garmin product explicitly named the Cirqa Smart Ring appeared in Indonesian regulatory filings. Also included in that filing was an unknown device with the AA5124 model number, suggesting it was part of the same family. With AA5124 appearing among the ten variants in the latest leak, the links to the Cirqa are strengthened.

There’s no solid estimation of when the Cirqa might finally be released, so we’ll have to keep waiting for now. But with the strong suggestion that the Cirqa has just appeared in another official certification process, we might not have long to go.

I thought Garmin's LED flashlight was just a gimmick — I was wrong

Michael Sawh — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

I hold my hands up. I got this one wrong. In 2022, when Garmin announced the headline feature for the Garmin Fenix 7X was an LED flashlight, I might have had a bit of a chuckle to myself about it.

Since moving to multiple model sizes for its premium outdoor smartwatch, the largest ‘X’ models quickly came to represent the introduction of exciting, cutting-edge innovations that then start to filter down to the rest of the best Garmin watches. But I wasn;t convinced a multi-LED flashlight on the top of the watch case was something prospective Garmin watch owners should get excited about.

Garmin claimed it would be a “game-changer for sport, adventure and daily life”. In the early weeks of testing the 7X, that wasn’t my experience. I’d quite quickly written it off as rather gimmicky. The question I kept on asking myself was; ‘why would I choose it over reaching for the pretty good LED flashlight I have on my phone?’

It probably wasn’t until being out of that testing bubble of a month with the 7X and I started simply living with it, that my opinion began to change. I was using it more and more each week.

(Image credit: Future / Michael Sawh)

It probably wasn’t until being out of that testing bubble of a month with the 7X and I started simply living with it, that my opinion began to change. I was using it more and more each week.

It started to become the flashlight I used when trying to quietly hunt out charging cables at night moving around my flat without turning on the main light and getting a telling-off. I didn’t need to be a further nuisance and look for my phone because I already had an exceptionally bright light on my wrist. Then it became the source of light on darker sections of my nighttime running routes or helping me to navigate my way back home from the gym. When I was dabbling in some DIY, it was less awkward to use than a phone to line up fixings.

I began to appreciate that Garmin didn’t just slap on a flashlight because it could. It wanted to show how useful a wrist-based source of light could be. I now also had a flashlight I could set to strobe or match my running cadence to improve visibility. It could also switch from white to red light for a still bright, yet less intrusive way to illuminate what lay ahead and around me.

As Garmin moved to share the flashlight love to other watches in its range, it also continued to evolve its abilities to become smarter. Now when I went out for a run or walk after sunset, the watch would display a prompt to turn on the strobe mode to make sure I was thinking about staying seen as day turned into night. There’s a distress mode that when set up from the Garmin Connect app, can display emergency contact information on screen while flashing an SOS light pattern.

It’s no big surprise that rival watchmakers thought it was a great idea too. Suunto, Coros, Amazfit and Polar now all have torch-toting smartwatches.

(Image credit: Future / Michael Sawh)

Are there any downsides of having a flashlight on a smartwatch? Well, it does mean creating more space on the watch case for it. That’s likely why so far it’s mainly been included on larger more rugged watches like the Suunto Vertical 2, Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro and the Polar Street X, although Garmin has managed to plant it onto its slimmer Forerunner and Venu series watches.

Another consideration is battery life. Running a flashlight while also using GPS or any other onboard watch sensors will contribute to that battery drain, but unless you’re planning to keep it switched on continuously for hours, I’m not sure the type of battery life drop you’ll experience is going to be anything to be massively worried about.

How could it become even smarter? I think Garmin in particular has shown it can be more ingrained with your current environment or the time of day. Further integrating with safety features is an obvious one. Especially for anyone that goes on solo adventures. Could we get a UV mode or even be one strong enough to start a fire for that added outdoor appeal? As smartwatch makers focus on making brighter watch displays, should the same happen for the built-in flashlight?

When it feels like there’s more of a focus on breaking new health tracking ground or cramming our lives and screens with more metrics , it’s easy to forget about some of the simpler gadgets that makes a smartwatch a useful thing to own. I’d now put the LED flashlight in the bracket of things I hope to see on any new smartwatch. We’ve not seen one on an Apple Watch Ultra model yet, so maybe that’s to come. I’ve definitely seen the light and it’s in the form of a feature I thought had gimmick written all over it. How wrong I was.

I’ve worn Garmin smartwatches for years — but I can’t deny that these affordable alternatives are a better buy

nico.arboleda@futurenet.com (Nico Arboleda) — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 03:46:26 +0000

I’ve been a Garmin user since 2016, having tried a range of smartwatches and other fitness trackers to track my runs, hikes, bike rides, swims and even social badminton games. But I can’t deny that they are premium products that most people can’t justify paying a big chunk of cash for. In fact, the just-announced flagship Fenix 9 costs a whopping AU$1,599 for the base configuration!

Which is why Amazfit's recent Australian launch in July got me excited, as I've seen not just how much more affordable the Dutch brand's wearables are, but also how highly my colleagues have rated some of them in their reviews.

Sure, Garmin’s watches have more features like separated training load and daily suggested workouts, as well as plenty of data to nerd out on, but most people wouldn't necessarily need them.

Amazfit's wearables offer many of Garmin's core watch features, like accurate built-in multiband GPS, bright and vibrant AMOLED displays, and battery life that lasts for weeks. Even its Zepp Health app has received praise from our reviewers, and like Garmin Connect, you don't need a subscription to use it. If I had to start my fitness journey all over again, it would be hard to ignore Amazfit's value for money over Garmin's premium pricing.

With RRPs between AU$89 for the cheapest Amazfit fitness tracker to a maximum of AU$899 for the most premium offering, it truly is excellent bang for buck and I've picked three of my top Amazfit wearables below to help you get started on your fitness journey.

Flagship for a fraction

The discount may not look like much, but the Balance 3 was only launched by Amazfit globally in June 2026 and officially in Australia in August, so the product is still a bit early in its life cycle to get steep discounts. But compared to its closest Garmin equivalent, the AU$949 Garmin Venu 4, the AU$519 Balance 3 is a steal.View Deal

We're still in the process of reviewing the Amazfit Balance 3, but I've spent a brief hands-on time with it at a media event. The watch is widely considered the Dutch brand’s flagship offering, and it certainly feels like it, thanks to its stainless-steel case, dial and beefy 48mm diameter.

The Balance 3 isn't quite as feature-packed as Garmin's flagship Fenix series, which reflects the price difference, so a closer equivalent would be the Venu series, largely for having a built-in microphone for on-device phone calls. Even then, the Venu 4 retails for AU$949, which is still almost twice the Balance 3's AU$519 current price.

Our Amazfit Balance 2 review gave the watch 4 out of 5 stars for its premium build, long battery life and AI features. The Balance 3 builds on that with a brighter display (3,000 nits peak brightness vs. 2,000 nits), a more rugged look with a built-in LED flashlight, a new rotating crown and three buttons, and native Hyrox race profiles.

Going screenless is in

Amazfit has joined the screenless tracker revolution with its Helio Strap. At AU$166 on Amazon, this is cheaper than the AU$199 Google Fitbit Air and almost half the price of the AU$299 Garmin Cirqa.View Deal

I'd been looking for a distraction-free, screenless wearable to alternate with my main smartwatch when I don't want to be inundated with notifications on my wrist, and also be comfortable enough to not notice while I'm tracking my sleep.

I admit to currently wearing the Garmin Cirqa, but Amazfit's AU$166 Helio Strap is so far poised to be the frontrunner largely because of its low price, especially compared Whoop's pricey subscription-only model.

Our Helio Strap review scored it 4 stars out of 5 for its lightweight 20g chassis, accuracy, long battery life and, more importantly, the lack of a subscription. While there is an option for a subscription-based upsell called Aura, it's mostly for an AI-based wellness advisor and a wide selection of audio-based relaxation content.

A fab smartwatch for most people

This watch received a perfect 5 stars in our Amazfit Active 2 review, and the fact that it only costs AU$159.19 is gobsmacking considering its feature set. The closest Garmin alternative, the five-year-old Forerunner 55, still costs AU$349 and is much more limited in comparison. View Deal

Whenever I get asked what Garmin watch to buy, my go-to recommendation for most people is the Forerunner 55 if they don't mind something older, or the direct successor, the Garmin Forerunner 70, for something more modern.

Amazfit's closest equivalent, the Active 2, scored much better in its TechRadar review than the aforementioned Forerunners, earning a perfect 5 stars compared to 4 stars for the pricier Garmins. And with its frankly ridiculously cheap AU$199 RRP (and now much lower AU$159.19 discounted price), I've had to change up my recommendations for those who don't mind exploring a different brand.

Our Amazfit Active 2 review praised its features, fitness tracking accuracy and hardware, which are all punching above its low price tag. We’ve also named it the top pick in our best cheap smartwatches list.

If you want a brighter screen, a more rugged design and more advanced running features, consider the Active 2's successor, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium for AU$239. For what it's worth, it also received a perfect score in its review.

Oura on notice? Circular Ring 3 series drops with contactless payment

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:16:18 +0000

Smart ring company Circular reveals its Circular Ring 3 series
The series contains the more powerful Circular Ring 3 Pro and the slender Ring 3 Slim
Both rings contain NFC contactless payments in addition to health monitoring tools, with the 3 Pro offering blood pressure and ECG functionalities

The best smart rings are usually stuffed with health-monitoring features, such as the Oura Ring 5, while some models are specifically focused on a single dedicated task. These include blood pressure monitoring (like the Vital Signal Ring) or NFC payments, acting as a tiny digital wallet that lets you use your contactless credit cards.

The Circular Ring 3 series manages to do it all, cramming blood pressure and NFC payment features into a health-monitoring Oura rival. The Circular Ring 3 Pro is a smart ring that 'bridges health, wellness and everyday convenience' by incorporating an FDA-cleared electrocardiogram (ECG) heart sensor, activity and sleep tracking with lifestyle features.

These include haptic feedback vibrations used for health alerts and silent wake-up alarms set up via the app, and NFC contactless payments supporting VISA and Mastercard. Finally, you can Jedi-handwave your way through train stations like you've (well, I've) always wanted.

Comprised of plated titanium, the Ring 3 Pro packs up to 12 days of battery life and 5-6 additional charge cycles when used with the case. It weighs just 3-4g, depending on size.

There's also a Circular Ring 3 Slim, which is (as the name suggests) slimmer by around 0.5mm, which may not sound like much, but is a big deal in terms of ring thickness. You still get health monitoring features, haptic feedback, and NFC support, but ECG and blood pressure features are unavailable.

Too good to be true?

On the surface, the Circular Ring 3 Pro sounds incredible. However, with pricing yet to be announced and pre-orders yet to go live, I'd need to know more before adding it to our best smart rings list.

For one thing, we reviewed the Circular Ring 2 earlier this year and found the software somewhat lacking. Our reviewer Becca Caddy wrote, "Unfortunately, the experience is undermined by unreliable syncing, unfinished features and an app that’s confusing to navigate." Circular needs to overhaul its app if it's going to take on Oura.

Second, although its ECG is FDA-cleared, blood pressure calculated through LED technology has only recently been cracked by Apple with its Hypertension feature, Huawei with its Watch D series, and the Signal ring. Otherwise, devices that claim to monitor blood pressure rely on extrapolation from other metrics to varying degrees of success.

Can the Circular Ring 3's advertised feature succeed against strong, new competition from Apple and others? I'm not sure, but the only way to know is to test it out when it finally drops.

I tested the Google Pixel Watch 5's GPS against Apple and Garmin

Michael Sawh — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 02:00:00 +0000

Tech companies always love to make big claims. Like the one Google made about the Pixel Watch 5: promised health, wellness and Wear OS improvements aside, there was one feature that my ears pricked up for. Google stated that the Pixel Watch 5 included its most accurate GPS route tracking for exercise. More interestingly, Google said that tracking outperformed the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro.

I’ve used both of those smartwatches and I can confidently say they are two of the best performing smartwatches available for GPS route tracking. I’ve listened to other smartwatch brands talk big about Apple and Garmin-beating performance. Did I really believe Google was going to deliver? I was sceptical, given my experience of the GPS tracking on previous Pixel Watches.

But I still had my Fenix 8 Pro and Watch Ultra 3, which made for the perfect opportunity to see these promised performance gains for myself. Having just recently made it through the millions in the ballot to secure a spot in the double-day 2027 London Marathon, my mind immediately went to the part of the marathon route I know causes major issues with GPS.

I grabbed my watches, jumped on a train, and then onto the DLR tram service to the Isle of Dogs, where the nearby tall skyscrapers always create difficult GPS conditions. I ran miles 18-20 of the London Marathon course, and then did it in reverse, to put the Pixel Watch 5’s big GPS claims to the test.

(Image credit: Future / Mike Sawh)

How exactly does the Google Pixel Watch 5’s new GPS work?

Before getting into how the testing went, it’s worth drilling down into just how Google says its GPS tracking outperforms the competition. Like the Fenix 8 Pro and Watch Ultra 3, the Pixel Watch 5 includes dual-band GPS. This means it can communicate to major satellites responsible for calculating our precise locations over two frequency bands. This can help to boost tracking accuracy when moving through tall buildings, densely forested environments and even during adverse weather conditions.

Dual band GPS setups have started to appear across a range of smartwatches and in my own testing, dual band-packing watches from Apple, Garmin and Suunto have delivered the strongest performance.

Along with the latest in GPS technology in tow, Google says it uses data it has already captured of buildings in Google Maps alongside AI to better account for the areas where GPS signals bounce off buildings. It also used GPS reference stations it has positioned around the world to help deal with the impact that atmospheric conditions can have on GPS tracking.

If you’ve used a smartwatch with GPS, then you’ll know it’s a feature that does have a notable impact on battery drain. This is something Google had to think about here. Google has made the decision to compress the raw GPS data captured on the watch and then send it to a server where it’s processed and corrected, then synced to the Google Health app. So the processing mainly take place off the watch or after your run, ride or hike.

How I tested

The challenger: Google Pixel Watch 5Future / Mike Sawh

The defending champs: Garmin Fenix 8 Pro and Apple Watch Ultra 3Future / Mike Sawh

I decided I’d do two runs. The first would be starting from mile 18 up to mile 20 on the London Marathon course and go a little further to run 5k. I’d then stop the watches and do the route in reverse.

I had a trimmed down version of the marathon route uploaded to my Garmin Fenix 8 Pro as it was the easiest watch to do it on. I also decided that I would wear the Pixel Watch 5 on one wrist and then swap over to the other for the second run, while having the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Fenix 8 Pro sat on the opposite wrist. I had to make sure that the two smartwatches weren’t sitting too close together to prevent any accidental button presses that might impact on capturing the correct distance.

It’s also worth adding that I decided to use native workout tracking apps on all three watches to record runs.

The results

(Image credit: Future / Mike Sawh)

On the first run, I had the Pixel Watch 5 on my right wrist with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro on the left wrist. I uploaded the routes to the very handy comparison tool IloveGPX. Before that though, I had to convert the route file captured by the Pixel Watch 5 from a TCX file to a GPX one. Thankfully it was quite easy.

Even before I began zooming into the GPS tracks I could already see some red squiggles, which belonged to the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro. On closer inspection, all three watches were pretty close to each other before the Fenix 8 Pro track started to noticeably drift off. Google and Apple’s tracks for the majority of the run remain close together.

I actually went a little off-route and ran longer than planned as some parts of the route were partly closed off. That meant an extra loop or two of that problematic GPS signal spot.

Moving onto Trafalgar Way, having passed Billingsgate Market and towards that final mile, and the three tracks come back together. There’s still time for Garmin’s track to veer slightly off course though, as I made my way to the end of the route in Poplar.

Looking at the distance tracked, I ended up running longer than the planned 5k route, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Google Pixel Watch 5 recorded similar distance data — with the Fenix 8 Pro measuring longer with a difference of 0.2 miles/0.3km.

The average speed of the run was again similar on the Watch Ultra 3 and Pixel Watch 5, with the Garmin reporting a slower average speed.

On the second run, I switched the Pixel Watch 5 over to my left wrist and moved the Fenix and Apple Watch over to the right. I ran this run a little quicker than the first. At the beginning of the run, all three tracks remained together. Then as I started to approach those towering buildings around Canary Wharf once again, the Apple and Garmin tracks started to lose their way. Meanwhile, the Pixel Watch 5’s tracks manage to stick closest to the actual route I’d run. It’s not immune to issues, however, especially when I hit around Heron Quays and Bank Street Canary Wharf.

Looking over the distance tracked again and the three smartwatches post three different records. The Garmin again tracks longer, with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 being closest to the planned 5k route. It’s the Garmin that has me running a quicker-than-average pace throughout the run.

GPS tracks are only one part of the story

For anyone that’s run the London Marathon (or any race for that matter), it’s not just about distance covered. Pacing matters. Especially if you’re been training to chase down a particular finish time.

Bad GPS route tracking data can impact on pace data. Having run the London Marathon before, those GPS problems will cause your locating tracking to skip, suggesting you’re clocking off those miles quicker than you’re actually travelling.

That’s also why I paid attention to my current and average pace data on the three watches, as well as looking at how that pacing was broken down post-run.

During the run, the pacing fluctuated across all three watches. I found the Pixel Watch 5 had a tendency to struggle getting pacing data right at the beginning of the two runs before settling down after. It was a similar story for Apple and Garmin as well. They all seemed to struggle in the section of the route I’d expected them to.

Looking at the post-run data in the respective companion apps, the Pixel Watch 5 did indicate some quicker paces that I’d felt I’d run as well.

Are Google’s claims about the Pixel Watch 5’s GPS justified ?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

I’m not going to say the Pixel Watch 5 is definitively a GPS great after two relatively short runs in albeit very challenging GPS conditions. What I will say is that I was pretty surprised by the results. I had fully expected the Pixel Watch 5 to flounder, but it was actually the most reliable in plotting my actual running route. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 also did well, while the Fenix 8 Pro had some wild moments in the produced GPS tracks.

I think if you’re mainly interested in having a record of your precise route, then this innovation is going to impress. I’d say hikers will certainly like the idea of it.

From a running perspective, specifically from a racing point of view, I’d also want accurate pacing to go with that strong route tracking in real-time too. I’m not wholly convinced the pacing data is as spotless as the route tracking seems to be. Maybe that’s something Google will look at for the next watch or even tighten up with a software update.

The Pixel Watch 5’s new GPS signals an important breakthrough for how smartwatches can deliver more accurate route tracking. Google’s access to an abundance of positioning data, along with the improvements it’s making with AI clearly play their part in making this type of leap in smartwatch GPS technology.

It’s definitely given me food for thought as I choose which smartwatch I step on that London start line with next April, that’s for sure.

Whoop launches Meridian, its jewelry-inspired fitness tracker band

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:00:00 +0000

Whoop launches Meridian, its jewelry-inspired fitness tracker
It's essentially a Whoop 5.0 with Milanese metal mesh and premium metallic finishes
It 'keeps the same sensor array and tracking accuracy as the standard band'

If there's one thing Whoop hates, it's people taking their fitness trackers off. After all, you're losing valuable data.

That's why the Whoop MG comes with a charging puck that clips directly onto the wearable as you wear it, and it's why you get push notifications from the Whoop app whenever you remove the tracker, telling you it's 'off body'. But there are occasions when a fabric Whoop band would be inappropriate to wear — a wedding, perhaps, or a fancy dinner.

Enter Whoop Meridian: a sleek metallic fitness tracker with a Milanese mesh band and tapered silhouette, designed to look more like jewelry than gym.

According to Whoop, 'Meridian is designed to solve one of the biggest gaps in health wearables: the fact that most people take theirs off exactly when continuous tracking matters (sleep quality outside routine, recovery on off days, stress during social events).'

(Image credit: Whoop)

It offers the same sensors and tracking accuracy as a standard Whoop 5.0, and can be purchased as an additional accessory rather than a complete Whoop, if you so choose. In theory, Whoop members can swap their standard tracker for their Meridian band when needed and continue seamlessly tracking from day to night.

It's available in four colors: Gold, Rose Gold, Alloy (a generic metallic finish), and Black. It's priced at $149 / £119 / AU$229, and is available from today (Thursday 27 August).

Wearables have tried to capture the jewelry aesthetic before, to varying degrees of success: notably the Fitbit Luxe and Apple with the Hermes editions of its best Apple Watches.

However, I quite like the look of these Whoop bands: some shades like Rose Gold and Gold simply look like bracelets, while the darker, more robust colors almost feel like watch straps. If you can't stand to lose hours of valuable data, this could be a stylish solution.

I wore the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro on a 12km hike in the Alps — here's my early verdict

Julia Clarke — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:26:28 +0000

After months of leaks, rumours and anticipation, Garmin unveiled its full Fenix 9 smartwatch range, including the Fenix 9 Pro, and I was in Chamonix for all the action. Immediately after the press conference, I strapped a shiny new Fenix 9 Pro onto my left wrist and hit the trails to find out if it can really live up to the hype.

For the past two years, the Garmin Fenix 8 has been widely considered the best performance smartwatch money can buy. I rated it as the best premium watch for hikers after wearing it for the 11-day trek to Everest Base Camp, and things only got better when the Fenix 8 Pro came along with integrated inReach technology.

Over the past few months, as rumours swirled that the 9 was imminent, I found myself wondering what the brand could really do to improve upon such a brilliant gadget, besides increasing battery life and slimming the case down. Would today’s announcement produce any meaningful changes, or just cosmetic upgrades?

After only a few hours with it, I’d be lying if I said I’ve reached my final verdict, but I’ve already found some epic features that are available in both the Fenix 9 and 9 Pro, plus a few I need to spend more time with.

Testing the Fenix 9 Pro

(Image credit: Future / Julia Clarke)

I got my hands on the Fenix 9 Pro with a 43mm case and summery Shell Pink strap. Whereas the Fenix 8 Pro only comes in either a 47mm or a ginormous 51mm size that looks positively ridiculous on my wrist, the dainty 43mm case turns this into a watch I’d wear all the time, not just for the trails.

This model has a titanium case and bezel (the Fenix 9 is made with a blend of fiber-reinforced polymer and titanium). It’s made using nano moulding technology, and it all makes for a noticeably lighter and more streamlined feel – it’s about 16% thinner than the Fenix 8 in the same size.

The AMOLED display is also significantly easier to view, and in comparison, my Fenix 8 Pro suddenly looks rather dim. The Fenix 9 is twice as bright as its predecessor, and the 9 Pro is up to 3,000 NITS, all of which means I didn’t find myself squinting in either bright sunny or low light conditions.

If you do decide to go for the 51mm size, you’ll get an absolutely cracking display as it’s the first Fenix to feature a 1.5-inch AMOLED screen.

An epic upgrade

(Image credit: Future)

By far and away, the feature I’m most excited about is Garmin Epic, which allows you to group together activities and metrics. If you like adventures that last for days or weeks, you’re going to love it too.

Rather than just a gratuitous adventure journal like the one found in the Coros Nomad, Garmin Epic lets you see the cumulative impact of multiple workouts, whether that’s a multi-day trail run or backpacking excursion, an active holiday, a ski trip or a marathon training block. It also shows each run or hike on a single map, so for example if you were to hike the West Highland Way over a week, you’d be able to view it as a single workout.

To start to test Garmin Epic straight away, I decided to divide today’s adventure up into two separate activities. I used Rucking mode to head about 5k up one of my favourite trails in Chamonix, then ended the activity and switched to Trail Running for my descent.

Once in Rucking mode, I started a new Epic within the activity settings, which I just called Chamonix. When I got back to my hotel, after a little searching, I found my Chamonix Epic under Activities in the Garmin Connect app and added both activities as well as a short hike I went on this morning. Already I can see my total distance and elevation for this trip at a glance, view stats like calories and heart rate, and I’ll be able to add tomorrow’s run to it as well for a little capsule of everything I’ve done on the trails this trip.

Epic includes metrics such as sleep, recovery and performance gains, and you can log activities under one epic for up to 92 days, so it’s ideal for anyone working towards a particular training goal. I only wish I had this feature last year when I was training for Everest Base Camp, and for the trek itself, where I’d have loved to have been able to see my distance, elevation and performance stats all in one cohesive presentation.

Green light gets the green light

(Image credit: Future / Julia Clarke)

Garmin might boast all the top-of-the-line training tools and software, but the LED torch is almost everyone’s favourite feature – including mine. Once winter rolls around, I’m heavily reliant on the red light function when I’m getting up for a run in the dark and don’t want to disturb my sleeping partner. Now, my night vision is going to be even better.

Earlier this year, Amazfit added a green light function to the T-Rex Ultra 2 on the premise that, while red light is better for your eyes, green light makes it easier to see objects and the nature of the terrain, which is why hunters prefer it. Clearly, Garmin has the same idea.

I went back out after dark to test the green light function, and it is significantly better than the red light at illuminating the trail. For those runs and runs that go long, I’ll still use white light to navigate after dark, but the green light is the clear winner for fumbling around campsites at night.

A shift in perspective

(Image credit: Future / Julia Clarke)

Garmin’s maps are easily the best out of any smartwatch brand I’ve tested, and I can’t say I felt that they desperately needed to be improved upon, and yet the 9 comes with maps that render 30% faster than the Fenix 8, while the 9 Pro renders 40% faster than the 8 Pro.

Was I bowled over by the difference in speed? Not really, but there are some clear advantages to the new map engine, and overall it makes for a very smooth navigation experience.

Eager to hit the trail as quickly as possible, I quickly created my route in Garmin Connect and set off. Even though I’m testing the smallest case size available (43mm), the map was easy to see and follow, and there was almost no lag at all when I wanted to zoom in or out.

For my return trip, rather than use the Back to Start function, I decided to use the Explore Nearby function to see if I could find my hotel and create a route back. Without any delay at all, my hotel popped up, and soon I was trotting back down the mountain.

When I got back into town, the streets felt a little chaotic, so I switched the map orientation from the default North Up – the usual mode where you’re looking down at your route from above – to Perspective mode. This essentially tilts the map up slightly so it’s more like you’re looking at the route ahead, and it makes it a little easier to see what’s coming up, something I think gets more important the faster you want to move.

What else is new?

(Image credit: Future / Julia Clarke)

The upgrades to Rucking mode are worth a mention here. Last year, Garmin introduced Pack Weight logging, and now they’ve added the ability to edit your pack weight while you’re on the move, set calorie goals and follow rucking workouts thanks to a collaboration with Go Ruck.

I tested the pack weight editing and set myself a goal of 500 calories today, which was all straightforward, but I was mostly interested to see the difference between the calories I’d burned through the actual hiking and the additional calories from my pack. I don’t go rucking as an activity by itself, but for long jaunts with a heavy pack, it could help me fuel accordingly.

One thing that needs work

(Image credit: Future / Julia Clarke)

I haven’t been able to get rerouting to work yet in maps, and I’m not seeing much data yet in the enhanced Stamina tracking, which promises to use stats like VO2 max, lactate threshold and training history to calculate your maximum tolerable distance to help you with pacing. I’m going to chalk those up to it being day zero, and the fact that the brand was pushing out new features at the same time as I was testing. But there was one big disappointment for me, and that was the watch’s battery life.

There’s no doubt that with up to 151 hours in Max Battery mode, the 51mm Fenix 9 Pro has a better battery than the 51mm Fenix 8 Pro, but because I’ve gone for a more wrist-appropriate case size, I’ve lost even more battery power than I would have anticipated.

My watch started out at 83%, and after two hours on the trail it was down to a paltry 66%. At that rate, on a multi-day trek I’d be looking at charging this daily, making it even less powerful than my Fenix 8 and rather reducing its potential as an adventure watch. Of course, you can get around this by simply buying a bigger case size, but it would be great to see Garmin working on a watch for small wrists and big adventures.

5 ways I use a cheap fitness tracker to supercharge my gym workout

tom.bedford@hotmail.co.uk (Tom Bedford) — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 11:05:48 +0000

The Fit List

The corner of the TechRadar site that swaps processors for press-ups, The Fit List is our regular series of fitness listicles. We explore how to improve your health in handy bite-size pieces of advice. You can read the whole series here.

When I started regularly going to the gym several years ago, I did so without bothering with the best fitness trackers. These gadgets, I thought, were only good for running, tracking my sleep and counting my steps. But I’ve since learned that I was totally wrong.

Now I keep a cheap fitness tracker as a handy weightlifting companion. That’s right, a budget option; all of the functions I need, I can use on my low-cost Xiaomi Smart Band 10, making a purchase like the Apple Watch Ultra 3 totally unnecessary.

New to the gym, or eyeing up a new wearable purchase and wondering how it could help you? Let me walk you through five small-but-mighty functions of a cheap fitness tracker which will help you out at the gym.

1. Timekeeping

(Image credit: Future)

Honestly, it’s one of the simplest features of my fitness tracker that helps my workout the most. When you start tracking a workout on any wearable, you’ll see an on-wrist timer to tell you how much time has elapsed, and I use that timer constantly.

I use this not to see how long I work out for after the fact, but to dictate how long I exercise for during each set. I make sure I take a consistent amount of time for each set to maintain the right level of intensity and, more importantly, rest for the same amount of time between sets. I'll try to keep each rest period to a minute or less.

When I first started using the gym, I could sometimes rush through sets if I had lots of energy, or waste absolutely ages of time if I didn’t. Neither of those is good practice.

With my fitness tracker’s stopwatch, I’ve been treating my body better, between sets and rest periods. It also makes it far easier to predict how long a session will be – if my work on each kit is reliable span of time, and I know what I want to do ahead of time, I know how long I’ll be at the gym. Great for planning my day, and encouraging me to try shorter workouts if I have less time instead of not working out at all.

2. Heart rate

(Image credit: Future)

One of the basic functions of any fitness tracker is that it can monitor your heart rate. They all do so, to varying degrees of accuracy, and again I find this a really useful metric to help me stay healthy on a workout.

According to the British Heart Foundation’s simple math on ideal heart rate during exercising (220 minus your age, then work out 50% to 70% of that), my heart rate should be between 95bpm and 133bpm when working out.

Suffice to say, it isn’t always that. Sometimes when I’m really pushing myself with a new heavier weight, or I’m still recovering from my trip to the gym (I always run or cycle), my heart rate will push higher. And at other times, like when I’m being sluggish (should’ve kept a better eye on that timer!) or if I’m spending my rest times typing elaborate article pitches to TechRadar’s editors [like this one! — Ed.], I might be dropping too low.

As before, having my fitness tracker update me on my heart rate during the workout can help me decide how long to rest between workouts, whether to spend my rest period doing active recovery exercises or in 'true rest', and often what workout to do next too if I don't have a pre-prescribed plan to follow. Most wearables make this even easier, by having a ‘red zone’ indicating my heart rate is too high, and a blue zone if it’s low.

3. Longitudinal fitness overview

(Image credit: Future)

Both of my previous points have been about using a fitness tracker’s stats to dictate how I plan and adapt my workout. That principle stands on a longer-term scale too: fitness trackers are almost always tied to a fitness app on your phone, which can track performance over time and provide an insight into how our exercise habits are affecting our bodies.

I can see how frequently I exercise per week, month or even year, and what different types of workout I tend to do. I can see the trends in my workouts: if I find myself going on fewer runs during winter because of the cold, I can make a conscious decision to compensate and do more treadmill runs instead. If I’m doing less weight training during the tennis season, I can add in a session or two to course-correct.

Some of these changes to a workout program are harder to notice without data, since my fitness decisions tend to be idiosyncratic and made on-the-fly, so using an app's graphs gives me useful insights I’d otherwise miss.

4. Calorie information

(Image credit: Future)

One of the many pieces of information that fitness trackers tell you after a workout, is how many calories you burned. I’m always a little skeptical of this data, and it’s best to take it as a rough estimate rather than a concrete figure, but it’s still a useful reminder of an aspect of working out lots of gym-goers forget, and a core tenet of building muscle and losing fat — calories in versus calories out.

I’ve often struggled with under-fueling; I definitely didn’t eat enough when I trained for a marathon, and find it too easy to fall into the same trap as many in thinking that ‘being healthy’ is the same as ‘eating less’. When you’re doing a lot of exercise, your body needs proper upkeep, and that means eating more than you otherwise would.

When I started exercising with a fitness tracker, I’d see how many calories I’d burn per exercise — some of the marathon training runs saw almost 2,000kcal burned, and I did one every week — and it was a lot more than I expected. This, more than any ache or groan in my body, served as an important reminder to eat more. A lot more; bigger meals, more healthy snacks, less starvation. Doing so improved my energy and made my run recovery smooth.

I know that calorie counting is a slippery slope for a lot of people, however, and I don’t advise paying too much attention to this metric if that’s you. If in doubt, listen to your body more than tech.

5. Rest and recovery

(Image credit: Future)

My golden rule with fitness trackers is that I shouldn’t let them make decisions for me. I should always defer to how my body feels, not what tech tells me. But sometimes you need a second opinion, and that’s where rest timers come in.

Different fitness trackers have different names for it, but many wearables, even budget ones, pack functions that tell you how drained you are, or how long you should wait before you exercise again. On my Xiaomi tracker it’s called Training State, and it gives you an idea of how hard you've been training recently. The best Garmin watches call it Body Battery or Training Readiness, while Google Health calls it Daily Readiness. The gist of all of these features is that they tell you how much energy your body has – and recommends a level of workout intensity for the day.

These scores use the various metrics captured by your fitness tracker, like what workouts you’ve done and how often you’ve done them, to make an informed guess as to when you should next work out. Sometimes this comes in the form of a timer, telling you how long you need to wait before you next work out, and sometimes it’s a body battery telling you how ‘charged’ you are.

I never rely on this feature over my own gut feeling, but sometimes I just can’t decide whether I’m feeling up for a run or workout. That’s when my fitness tracker steps in, to give me some extra data and push the needle in one direction or another.

After taking on Whoop, Garmin could come for Oura with its own smart ring

David Nield — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:52:41 +0000

Garmin has apparently filed documentation for a smart ring
It seems to be carrying over the Cirqa branding from the fitness tracker
The device could potentially launch in the coming months

It seems Garmin is on a tear when it comes to expanding its range of fitness wearables: having challenged Whoop with the launch of the screenless Cirqa band in July, it's now apparently mulling over taking on the likes of Oura with its very own smart ring.

As per an Indonesian certification filing spotted by the rumor site Garmin News, the proposed smart ring would carry on the 'Cirqa' branding. It's categorized as a 'fitness product', and is a strong sign that a Garmin smart ring is coming — though not quite a guarantee.

Garmin has previously played down the idea of launching a smart ring to go with all of its smartwatches, but it seems something may have now shifted. It's not clear exactly when we might see the Cirqa smart ring, but a launch within a few months seems likely if the rumor is true; according to Garmin News, upcoming devices 'usually show up in database approvals right before manufacturing'.

The smart ring market is certainly a competitive one, with the recent launches of the Oura Ring 5 and the Ultrahuman Ring Pro. There have also been persistent rumors that Apple might eventually launch a smart ring to go alongside the Apple Watch.

What I want to see

The Oura Ring 5 (Image credit: Oura)

I already have a Garmin Instinct 3 Solar which I love, for the breadth of its tracking features and the excellent battery life (the solar aspect helps here). If Garmin gets it right with the Cirqa ring, I could be tempted to invest in another fitness wearable.

First and foremost, it has to be thin and light enough that I forget I'm wearing it. As great as my Instinct 3 is, it is bulky, and it's not particularly comfortable to wear during strenuous exercise or while sleeping (I tend to use my phone as a sleep tracker instead).

Secondly — and apologies for being very predictable here — it has to offer excellent battery life. Smart rings work best when they're worn constantly. This is an area Garmin has done well in historically, so I'm quite confident here.

Thirdly, I'd like to see it offer as full a range of features as possible, without a Garmin Connect+ subscription. The subscription has already caused enough controversy, and if too many of the Cirqa smart ring features are paywalled, it'll be a no thanks from me.

The Google Pixel Watch 5's Insulin Resistance Trends feature is a very big deal

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 22:30:00 +0000

No more needles. Until the Google Pixel Watch 5 arrived as part of Google's Made by Google 2026 event, the only way most people could monitor their blood sugar's responses to food and exercise with smart tech was to use a continuous glucose monitor, or CGM. A small puck with a Bluetooth receiver inside and a spike to connect to your blood, it projects your blood sugar levels to your phone in real time.

Very useful — and originally developed — for diabetics, it was also quickly co-opted by the wellness sector and marketed as a way to curb blood sugar spikes. I attended a product launch for one of these devices in a fancy hotel, where a celebrity chef talked us through how to make healthy canapés that wouldn't spike our blood sugar, As proof, we could see our blood sugar broadcast to our phones in real time, monitored by the needles in our arms.

Too much sugar increases the body's insulin resistance, leading to fat storage, while exercise uses your body's glucose stores as fuel. Simple enough in theory, but I found the constant readings from the CGM easy to obsess over during my trial period, checking my graphs after every meal and mentally planning how much exercise would be needing to offset the effect of those spikes. I am not diabetic.

The Google Pixel Watch 5 is heralding in, as part of its passive-tracking Health Guardian suite of features, a non-invasive Insulin Resistance Trends feature for Pixel Watches 3 and above. According to Google: 'The tool uses passive sensors on your wrist to track monthly shifts in your metabolic health, reserving formal lab work for when you're at the doctor's office.

'The goal of this new feature is to help you take control of your health journey, serving as a gentle reminder to pause and check your routines,' continues Google's press release. 'When this Health Guardian feature detects sustained, elevated insulin resistance trends over the month, it alerts you with a gentle nudge to help you adjust your daily habits and get your metabolic health back in its sweet spot.'

(Image credit: Getty Images)

'Metabolic health' refers to the process of your body turning food into energy. A healthy body turns food and sugar into energy very effectively, while an unhealthy body works harder to mitigate those blood sugar spikes, leading to excess blood sugar being stored as fat rather than fuel. This results in weight gain and in some cases, Type-2 diabetes.

The feature isn't on watches yet (it'll arrive next month) and there's no indication of exactly how Google has been able to wrangle its optical LED sensors to manage this non-invasive Insulin Resistance Trends monitoring.

In its press materials, Google has been keen to emphasize that 40% of Americans are living with 'invisible shifts in their metabolic health'. The feature might help the US obesity crisis with a two-pronged assault; education about insulin resistance, and providing an accessible way to monitor this growing health problem without sticking a needle in your arm

However, just as I could see myself compulsively checking my blood sugar graphs, I worry that this might become yet another metric for otherwise-healthy smartwatch users to obsess over. Like weighing yourself every day or taking GLP-1s, weight management techniques can quickly transform from a healthy, positive thing into an addiction.

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Sergio Mak)

Research published in the Cardiovascular Digital Health Journal in 2020 has identified a trend we've seen before in health tech users: an obsession with metrics, streaks and optimization.

The researchers said that although wearables provide lots of actionable data and improve real-time surveillance of disease, they found "another aspect of the digital health revolution that has not yet received due attention: the unanticipated and potentially negative effects of wearable devices on patients’ psychological health, quality of life, and health care utilization."

Just recently, our writers Becca Caddy and Alex Blake wrote about their own experiences with this phenomenon, with Caddy stating "What I didn't understand at the time was how thin the line between discipline and obsession can be. You can cross it gradually, one habit and one goal at a time, until something that started as a genuine attempt to look after yourself becomes another source of pressure, anxiety and control."

The messaging around weight management can be difficult to get right, and as much as the feature is likely to improve wearer's health, I worry Insulin Resistance Trends could become quite a triggering metric for people at risk of disordered behaviors.

To Google's credit, however, the glimpse of the feature we've seen so far isn't a moment-to-moment graph. Instead, it shows month-to-month general trends, presumably to avoid people checking the feature too much. There's also a lot of good to be done around educating users about the relationship between blood sugar, insulin, weight gain, and diabetes.

Regardless, when the feature does arrive next month, I hope thought is put into its execution so we can have as many of the good consequences as possible, while avoiding the bad.

After 2 weeks with the Garmin Cirqa, I've fallen back in love with 'vibe running'

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

The Garmin Cirqa is making waves in the fitness community. I put the new screenless tracker through its paces over 10 days of intensive testing, and awarded it 4.5 stars in my Garmin Cirqa review. As part of the testing process, I wore it for all of my workouts over the past couple of weeks — and, unusually for a device I've been testing for review purposes, I'm still wearing it now.

I normally alternate between an Apple Watch Ultra 3 or a Garmin Fenix 8, but I've found myself loathe to ditch the Cirqa just yet. This isn't only because it's good: I'm gravitating towards the Cirqa because it interfaces with a system I already use, and because it's helping me get over the dreaded "Strava-itis".

Last month, our writer Becca Caddy wrote about optimization culture — how wearables are causing us to engage in unhealthy mindsets and disordered behaviors. I can certainly attest to that: I'm guilty of glancing at my watch during a run, wanting to push my pace even on zone 2 sessions and easy days, because I know the end results are going to end up on my Strava account for all to see.

Even uncoupling my watch from automatically uploading my run to Strava is only half the battle. I'm constantly glancing at the watch to check my pace and time, engaging in subconscious judgement, comparing my own performance to that of my mates, colleagues and acquaintances. I didn't realize quite how much my self-judgement was sapping my enjoyment of exercise.

The Cirqa, and to some extent the Google Fitbit Air I tested earlier in the year, goes some way to changing all that.

(Image credit: Future)

While the Cirqa offers up some fitness and wellness metrics (certainly plenty to understand the effect of exercise on your body and health), what it doesn't give you is workout specifics. You won't find split pace per kilometer, for example, which runners use to measure average speed across a distance run, or heart rate zones to display a workout's intensity. With other models, I get those statistics piped into my ears at regular intervals, and my watches offer them at a glance.

Having access to such statistics removed during the workout can be detrimental to performance or for those times you're training for a specific event, but it's oddly freeing for day-to-day fitness training. I ran a 10km route during the testing period (at least, I assume it was 10km based on previous runs) and the Cirqa recorded plenty of heart rate-based statistics and applied them to recovery metrics such as my Training Readiness Score, along with how it improved stats such as my VO2 Max and Fitness Age.

However, it informed me of these statistics after the run, and didn't deliver any specific run performance information at all beyond time and heart rate information. Without my watch to glance at during the workout, I wasn't adhering to a target pace: I was running on vibes and perceived effort.

I concentrated on how my body felt, and responded to that in the moment. I paid attention to my form, my music, the trees and the road. I didn't feel guilty about stopping to stretch part way through, nor did I pause the Cirqa for that particularly pause, as doing so would invalidate the whole "complete, holistic workout overview" thing it's got going on. For the first time in quite some time, I had no idea at all about how fast I had run — but I knew that it was a good workout as a result of every other metric and the fact that I felt awesome.

Although it isn't a running-specific device, the Cirqa is exactly what I needed to reinvigorate my relationship with the road. When the time returns to take my training seriously again, taking speed and times on board again, I'll switch back to my best Garmin watch, with all my fitness stats ready to be incorporated into Garmin's workout plans.

Do you run without a fitness tracker, or use a screenless model, to better run on vibes, or are you a metrics-fiend with a dedicated running watch? Let me know in the poll below.

Garmin Fenix 9 details leak, and if true, we're getting three new watches — but the most interesting part of this reveal is about Garmin's screen technology

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Latest Garmin rumors point to details on the Garmin Fenix 9
We could get three sizes
And MIP solar technology may not be dead yet

The Garmin Fenix 9 range is likely to be arriving soon. The rumor mill, fuelled by comments made by CEO Cliff Pemble on Garmin's quarterly earnings call earlier this year, suggest this is going to be the case. But plenty of Garmin fans were wondering how the Fenix 9 line would look.

The Garmin Fenix 8 line came in three sizes (43mm, 47mm and 51mm), and two screen options: a standard bright AMOLED screen of the sort you see on many smartwatches, and a duller memory-in-pixel (MIP) varient with solar charging. The MIP displays used to be used on all of the best Garmin watches as it was more battery-efficient, but these days it's almost entirely used for models that use Garmin's Power Glass solar charging tech, which uses a solar panel behind the display to suck up lumens and extend the watch's battery life in bright conditions.

It's likely that once Garmin figures out how to do the same with its AMOLED watches, MIP screens will bite the dust permanently, which is a shame. There are lots of fans of the lower-power screen tech, as this poll suggests.

A year after the already-premium Garmin Fenix 8 line entered the fray, we got the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, a model which came in two sizes (47mm and 51mm) with InReach messaging connectivity using Garmin's satellite communication network, LTE which uses a standard internet connection, and on some models an even brighter MicroLED screen.

So, where does that leave the upcoming Fenix 9?

Three sizes, two Pros, two MIP displays

(Image credit: Craig Hale)

According to Garmin Rumors, the Garmin Fenix 9 will arrive in three sizes like its predecessor, and in three different models; the base version, the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro (with the release not being staggered like the Fenix 8/Pro) and the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro InReach.

This time, all three models are said to be arriving in all three sizes, so those with smaller wrists are still getting the Pro experience. The Fenix 9 Pro InReach is obviously getting access to Garmin's satellite network for off-the-grid messaging, but GarminRumors is not sure what upgrades the Pro will sport over the base model. Apart from one.

Both the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro and Pro InReach are said to be getting Solar models, which means the MIP screen would be back for another generation — but the standard Garmin Fenix 9 will remain an AMOLED watch. This would be the first time a standard Garmin Fenix won't get an MIP model, but it does make sense if Garmin is now reserving its solar charging for its premium Pro models.

If true, it's a shame. The MIP display isn't just a vehicle for solar charging: its lower-power technology is reminiscent of a digital watch, and as well as being more battery efficient, it's a way for Garmin users to distinguish their training tools from other, say, Apple and Samsung smartwatches. There's also no info on the Garmin Enduro 4.

We'll have more details on the Fenix 9 range as we get closer to its likely launch date. Stay tuned!

Garmin Cirqa review: 2026's top-tier screenless smart band

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:24:50 +0000

Garmin Cirqa: One minute review

(Image credit: Future)

I’ve spent a week with the Garmin Cirqa screenless fitness tracker, wearing it constantly during sleep, exercise and rest to determine how comfortable it is in everyday life, and measuring it against an electrical heart rate monitor and other wearables to determine accuracy.

After all my testing, I can confirm the Whoop and Google Fitbit Air have got serious competition. While some people will still want the AI-powered coaching from Whoop and Google Health, and others will want the screen-based interaction and notification features available on the best smartwatches, most users looking for a simple but high-quality screenless fitness tracker will be just fine getting the Cirqa.

If you’re reading this review wondering how it compares to the likes of the Whoop MG and the Google Fitbit Air, you’ll already know what to expect from the design: a fabric band that stretches over the fitness tracker’s plastic puck to create a solid-color screenless wearable. The idea is that you can use it for working out, sleeping, rest and work, get accurate metrics all day, and not glance at it all the time or be distracted by notifications on your wrist.

Where it differs is in the design specifics. It’s quite a large fitness tracker, sitting more obviously on the wrist compared to its rivals, and thus people with very small wrists might want to try it before they commit. However, I like the design overall, especially the inclusion of an actual button on the side of the device. This button is used to start a workout, signified by a strong vibration, and stop a workout, at which point it vibrates again. You can also use it to turn off its vibrating smart-wake alarm. It’s so much easier than tapping the Whoop’s puck, and provides certainty and security when tracking an activity, so you're not just hoping the device picks it up. It’s the perfect level of minimalist interaction for a tracker like this.

I generally found it accurate over my testing period, apart from a single outlier workout in which the heart rate sensor showed a 10BPM difference compared to my electrical heart rate monitor, the Polar H10 — my accuracy benchmark. The other workouts I recorded were within 1-2bpm of accuracy, and Garmin Connect correctly showed my wake-up times when recording sleep.

I found myself enjoying running more than I have in months by ‘vibe running’: ditching my watch with its pace and heart rate metrics updating me every kilometer and allowing the Cirqa to track in the background, leaving me to focus on my form, the trees, my music and my thoughts. It’s no good for specific training for timed runs, new courses, intervals and the like due to the lack of on-wrist information, but for wellness tracking, it works nicely.

It’s going to be a real boon for cyclists using Garmin’s Edge series of cycling computers. Many of the best Garmin watches double-up on the cycling computer's GPS features, so the Cirqa allows cyclists to add wellness metrics without a more expensive watch.

Watch our video review of the Garmin Cirqa here:

Garmin Cirqa review: Price and availability

(Image credit: Garmin)

$199.99 in the US
£179.99 in the UK
AU$299.99 in the AU

The Garmin Cirqa fitness tracker costs $199.99 in the US, £179.99 in the UK and AU$299.99 in Australia. There’s no subscription fee — at least, no mandatory one — but Garmin Coach features are locked behind the Garmin Connect+ paywall in the app, which costs an extra $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$12 per month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$120 annually. A bicep band for the Cirqa comes at an added extra too.

You can get along just fine without the subscription, if you don’t want the coaching features. Live heart rate broadcasting was also originally locked behind this paywall, but Garmin rolled that back after an outcry. The free tier of Connect is an excellent training aid, and isn’t as stripped-back as the free tier of the Google Health app you use with the Google Fitbit Air. However, the Cirqa is also twice the price of Fitbit, so this is reflected in the price, and Connect (being Garmin’s app for all its devices) lists some stats you don’t get access to via the Cirqa if you dig a little deeper, leading to some annoying friction moments.

However, for most people, it’s better value than Whoop, which requires an annual subscription starting at £169 / $199 / AU$299 and going up from there. With Whoop, you never actually own either the device or the data you collect, merely rent it. With two years of the cheapest Whoop subscription, you could also buy a cheap Garmin running watch like the Garmin Forerunner 165 as well as a Cirqa and alternate between the two of them for many years.

While serious athletes such as CrossFit and Hyrox enthusiasts will want Whoop’s vast swathes of unique metrics such as the Strain score and AI-powered workout building features, the Cirqa’s subscription-free tier is much more affordable and better value for most, despite the relatively high price of the tracker itself compared to some of Garmin's more feature-rich running watches.

Value score: 3.5/5

Garmin Cirqa review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

Choice of four colors
Screenless form factor
Tactile button

The Garmin Cirqa is a simple design. A fabric band with four color options — Mauve, French Grey, Captain Blue and Black — wraps around a plastic puck with Garmin’s Elevate V4 heart rate sensor array. The puck is slightly curved to mimic the wrist’s shape, and as previously mentioned, it includes a ridged button on the side to start and stop workouts.

The design is very simple, and the button is the only way to interact with the puck. It’s very comfortable to wear, weighing only 21g, and light enough and comfortable enough that I often forgot I was wearing it during the week. That made wearing it for sleep and exercise a frictionless experience, and the band is soft to the touch.

It’s quite large for a ‘discreet’ band due to the size of Garmin’s Elevate V4 sensor, but not uncomfortable — at least, for my wrists. Those with very thin wrists may struggle, but I was told the more up-to-date Elevate V5 sensor would have made the puck even bigger.

I’ve always been a fan of the Garmin Connect app, and its design is really comprehensive. It can be difficult to navigate at first due to the breadth of information on offer, meaning some stats and features get lost in the mix, but once you’re used to it, it’s easy to access a lot of detail along with community features such as challenges.

Design score: 4.5/5

Garmin Cirqa review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

Deliberately hardware feature-light
Plenty of detailed metrics
Not as many as a full Garmin watch, or Whoop

There are very few interactive features on the Garmin Cirqa puck; you can start and stop workouts, or stop an alarm, but that’s more or less it. However, the information the Cirqa collects and shows you in the app aren't lacking in detail.

The Garmin Cirqa tracker collects data on sleep stages, heart rate variability (HRV), pulse ox and provides Garmin’s Training Readiness and Body Battery scores. Garmin’s Sleep Coach feature can recommend bedtimes and sleep length, letting you know if you’re in a sleep deficit, and smart wake alarm using the device’s haptic sensors buzzes on your wrist in a light sleep stage to wake you within a pre-prescribed window.

Automatic activity detection means the Cirqa quietly records activities lasting longer than 15 minutes, such as walks, which become more accurate if you amend the detected activities in the Garmin Connect app, including extending or trimming the duration. Alternatively, you can simply press the button to start a timed activity, and again amend in-app.

While you won’t get advanced running features like many Garmin watches, such as cadence, stride length, Hill Score (based on elevation) and so on, you still get generic training information like heart rate, VO2 Max and Training Load, which can help you tell you if you’re under or overtraining. Garmin also carries features like Fitness Age, which uses heart rate and activity data to tell you how well your body performs compared to its actual age. Whoop has a similar feature named Whoop Age — another example of the Cirqa eating Whoop’s lunch here.

You get quite a lot for your money. There's a small value issue, though: it’s not packing quite as many features as the premium Whoop subscriptions, nor a watch like the Garmin Forerunner 165, which gets you all of the above plus dedicated GPS, running and notification features for the same price. But it also comes with a screen, which you might not want. The Cirqa avoids bloat, prioritising the fitness and recovery metrics users want to see and eliminating the interactive features that screenless wearables fans don't want at all.

As well as the Garmin Coach features, AI-powered photograph-based nutrition tracking and AI-generated training insights are also available as part of Garmin’s premium Connect+ tier.

Features score: 4/5

Garmin Cirqa review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

Accurate workout metrics, aside from one outlying workout
Sleep tracking was competent
Comfy and easy to wear

I tested the Garmin Cirqa for around nine days, performing several workouts compared against a Polar H10 heart rate monitor, tracking my sleep, and draining the battery. If you’re working out three to four times a week and enabling auto-detection for walks and other activities, it lasts a solid week between charges — I topped mine up on day seven of testing.

It recorded my sleep well and correctly identified wake-up times in the middle of the night and in the early hours of the morning. If I slept well or went to bed early, the Cirqa correctly identified this and the numbers matched my energy levels and perceived sleep quality. If I got up in the middle of the night (which I often do several nights out of the week), the Cirqa clocked it. Its sleep stages graph is easy to parse, while Sleep Score and HRV are sortable by the last week, month or year to show trends.

When it comes to measuring workout accuracy, while there’s no GPS to draw from other than piggybacking off my phone, the Cirqa closely matched my Polar H10 heart rate monitor during workouts. There was one instance in which it was an average of 10bpm off during a 40-minute strength session in the gym, but other workouts cleaved very closely to the HRM, within 2-3bpm accuracy (as you can see below). My guess is that if that particular workout was longer, the readings would have evened out.

Like other Garmin devices using the Elevate V4, the Cirqa is generally accurate enough for anyone who doesn’t need elite-level metrics, at which point they’d be using a heart rate monitor or Garmin’s Elevate V5. But even record-breaker Sebastian Sawe was spotted using a Garmin Forerunner 55, which uses a V4, during his sub-two hour London Marathon run.

I can’t overstate how nice the Cirqa is to wear. I found it a better daily driver than the Whoop band, despite its size, largely due to the Whoop’s often-detaching clasp. The tactile button gave me a sense of certainty in my recording, and I didn’t have to open the app to manually start a workout like the Google Fitbit Air if I wanted to be accurate. The haptics are nice and strong too.

Polar H10 electrical heart rate monitor readingFuture

Garmin Cirqa readingFuture

Performance score: 4.5/5

Garmin Cirqa review: Scorecard

Category	Comment	Score
Value	Sits comfortably between the super-cheap Fitbit Air and the recurring-sub Whoop.	4/5
Design	Thoughtfully designed, albeit a little large for some.	4.5/5
Features	Enough to keep you focused while avoiding unnecessary feature bloat.	4/5
Performance	Accurate and comfortable to wear with great battery life.	4.5/5

Garmin Cirqa review: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if…

You’re an existing Garmin user
Don’t want to wear a chunky Garmin watch constantly, or do you use a Garmin Edge? This is the perfect way to track wellness and fitness discreetly and remain in the Garmin ecosystem.

You’re after holistic metrics
Readiness, recovery, and basic workout stats are enough for most people. This does the job without getting in the way.

You want to own your device
Although the product is great, Whoop’s membership model means the device reverts to an inert hunk of plastic if you stop subscribing. Buying the Cirqa at least means you own your tracker, improving it as a value proposition.

Don’t buy it if…

You need a screen
Want updates during your workout? Just get a running watch instead.

You’re on a tight budget
If you’re not invested in the Garmin ecosystem or you’re looking for something cheaper, you might be persuaded by the Fitbit Air or Amazfit Helio Strap.

Money is no object
For those who don’t mind paying annually in perpetuity, Whoop is a more tightly-engineered product from a software standpoint, tracking a wider variety of metrics.

Also consider

Google Fitbit Air

The screenless Fitbit weighs just 5g and tracks the basics, with an intelligent do-it-all AI chatbot tier.

Read our full Google Fitbit Air review

Amazfit Helio Strap

We called it 'a terrific value, generally very accurate fitness tracker with great battery life and no subscription required'.

Read our full Amazfit Helio Strap review

How I tested

I tested the Garmin Cirqa for over one week, draining the battery down and wearing it constantly during sleep, work, exercise and rest. I undertook multiple workouts, comparing them to a Polar H10 electrical heart rate monitor for accuracy, and compared its featureset to its peers in the screenless fitness tracker market.

First reviewed: August 2026

Whoop is partnering with the Natural Cycles women's health tracking app

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 20:30:00 +0000

Whoop has partnered with women's health tracking app Natural Cycles
Whoop users get one year of the app totally free
Natural Cycles will use that data to provide a 'daily fertility status' through its app

Whoop has partnered with women's health tracking app Natural Cycles, offering a year's worth of membership to existing Whoop users free of charge.

Whoop users also using the Natural Cycles app can now enable their Whoop app to import skin temperature data into Natural Cycles, said to 'eliminate the need for manual daily tracking' using a fingertip sensor or similar. Natural Cycles will incorporate this data to provide a daily fertility status, as basal body temperature is a key indicator in cycle tracking.

“At Natural Cycles, we're committed to making digital contraception as seamless as possible for our users," Dr. Magda Armbruster, VP of Product at Natural Cycles, said in a statement.

"Integrating with WHOOP removes friction from the experience by allowing members to use the wearable they already rely on to automatically capture overnight skin temperature used by the NC° app to determine daily fertility status."

It's worth noting the integration is only available with Whoop MG and Whoop 5.0 devices: anyone still rocking the Whoop 4.0 is unfortunately left out in the cold.

(Image credit: Whoop)

Whoop isn't the only wearable that Natural Cycles works with. Natural Cycles can use data from Whoop's fellow subscription-powered premium wearable, the Oura Ring, as well as the best Garmin devices and Natural Cycles' own NC Band.

Natural Cycles costs $149.99 in the US, £89.99 in the UK or AU$149.99 in Australia, so you're saving a packet here.

Natural Cycles is unusual for a women's health tracking app in that it claims to be the 'only FDA-cleared, hormone-free birth control app'. Clearance from the US Food & Drug Administration is a badge of quality in the consumer health tech space.

The Whoop's recently seeing a new challenger in the screenless smart band form factor: the Garmin Cirqa. You can watch our video review of the device below.

Casio goes all-out on fitness trackers, with two watches and a smart ring

David Nield — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 12:10:39 +0000

Casio has two new watches and a new smart ring
All these models offer some kind of fitness tracking too
We're still waiting on international availability

Casio is pushing further into wearables that can be used as fitness trackers and not just timepieces, with a couple of new watches and a revised version of its smart ring that can monitor some key health metrics while you're wearing them.

The smart ring is the Casio CRW-H001 (via Notebookcheck), which looks like a tiny watch that you slip on your finger — but can also keep tabs on steps, sleep, heart rate, and body temperature according to the product blurb. You can also use it to get alerts about incoming smartphone notifications.

It's a significant step up from the Casio CRW-001-1JR that was launched in 2024. That device was limited to telling the time, setting alarms, and stopwatch timers. There was no companion mobile app and nothing in the way of fitness tracking.

This latest version is a genuine smart ring, though for now it's only available in China for 1,990 yuan (about $295 / £220 / AU$420). Given that the Casio CRW-001-1JR eventually made its way to international markets, we're hopeful that this device will too.

New watches too

These Casio watches can count your steps too (Image credit: Casio)

On to the watches, and we have the new Casio ABL-100WE series on the Casio UK website (via Notebookcheck again): there's the ABL-100WE-2A (with a black finish) and the ABL-100WE-7A (with a silver finish).

Alongside the classic Casio looks, these watches give you step counting that can be synced to a smartphone via Bluetooth and displayed on the built-in screen. Extra features include water resistance and dual time zone support.

You don't get much in the way of fitness tracking, but it's something — the watches can send you alerts about meeting your step count goal for each day, if you want, and you're also able to see your recent progress in the form of simple graphs. Both models come with multi-row stainless steel bracelets.

For now these models have been spotted on Casio's UK website — where they're retailing for £70 (about $95) — and an official distributor in Australia for AU$249 — so as with the smart ring we're waiting for news on further global availability.

How wearable tech made me obsessed with optimization

Becca Caddy — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0000

I didn't realize I'd developed an unhealthy obsession with wellness and optimization. But looking back, there were definitely signs. This was more than a decade ago, long before recovery scores, longevity influencers and what the best smart ring colors are became water cooler conversation.

As a technology journalist, reviewing health gadgets and fitness trackers has always been part of my job but they gradually spilled over into my personal life too. At one point, I was wearing multiple fitness trackers at the same time because I didn't fully trust any single device. I'd compare the data, then transfer it into spreadsheets each night so I could better analyze it myself.

Most days I walked more than 20,000 steps. Some days it was closer to 30,000 and I got such a kick out of seeing those numbers climb up. I became fascinated by the idea that there was an optimal way to do almost everything. An optimal diet, optimal morning routine, optimal supplement stack and an optimal sleep schedule.

Every new wellness trend arrived with the promise of hidden knowledge and I was eager to believe it. I spent money on retreats, courses and gadgets. I followed advice that ranged from questionable to ridiculous. And the less said about the gruelling fasting retreat where we were all given daily wheatgrass enemas, the better.

The strange thing is that none of this felt unhealthy at the time — if anything, it felt virtuous. My trackers congratulated me for hitting goals and fitness apps handed out badges and streaks. There was always another target to hit and another metric to improve. The obsession disguised itself as self-improvement so effectively that I barely questioned it.

What I didn't understand at the time was how thin the line between discipline and obsession can be. You can cross it gradually, one habit and one goal at a time, until something that started as a genuine attempt to look after yourself becomes another source of pressure, anxiety and control.

More than a decade later, as wearables, recovery scores and optimization culture have since become mainstream, I don't think my experience is unusual. If anything, I'm surprised we don't talk more about the psychological cost of constantly measuring ourselves and the role technology plays in keeping us focused on the numbers.

Why health data can become a trap

(Image credit: Samsung)

For a long time, I assumed my experience was unusual. When my obsession with optimization was at its worst, there weren't podcasters talking about longevity-maxxing and relatively few people owned fitness trackers.

Over time, I managed to develop a healthier relationship with exercise and health data. But as wearables have become more common and self-tracking has moved into the mainstream, I've started noticing some of the same patterns I once recognized in myself.

When I spoke to psychotherapist Sarah Dosanjh, who works with people experiencing health anxiety and disordered relationships with food, much of what I'd experienced sounded familiar.

"What I'm noticing in my practice is that people who already have some form of anxiety seem particularly drawn to health data technology devices," she says. "An anxious client seeks certainty and control and health information feeds a sense of control, making it very appealing to an anxious person."

Looking back, some of the periods when I was most immersed in tracking and optimization were also periods when other parts of my life felt uncertain or difficult. The data gave me something concrete to focus on. It offered numbers, targets and routines at times when everything else felt far less predictable.

Dosanjh explains the irony is that tools designed to help people feel more in control can backfire. "The most common devices I see people struggling with are food and exercise tracking apps and continuous glucose monitoring devices," Dosanjh says. "But what starts as feeling in control can quickly turn into feeling controlled by the technology."

She describes people becoming increasingly preoccupied with maintaining specific numbers and avoiding anything that might disrupt them.

"Closing exercise rings, achieving a certain step count and keeping blood sugar within a specific range can turn into a compulsion,” she tells me. “Anxiety peaks at the mere thought of not hitting numbers. What feels like a good thing to do for your health can become a source of intense anxiety instead."

These behaviors rarely look unhealthy from the outside. Going for a walk, exercising regularly or paying attention to what you eat are generally considered positive things. The difficulty is knowing when useful habits become rigid rules and when health stops being something that supports your life and starts becoming the thing your life revolves around.

Dosanjh says that cycle can become self-reinforcing. "This situation becomes more dangerous when the person believes they can manage this added anxiety by setting even higher goals,” she explains. “They are chasing the initial relief and dopamine hit that they experienced early on in their tech use. It can become an addictive trap, driving people further into disordered eating and compulsive exercise."

I think that’s what makes optimization culture so difficult to talk about. For some people, tracking genuinely is helpful. It can encourage movement, show them useful patterns and provide much-needed motivation via streaks and digital rewards, such as badges and kudos from other users. For others, particularly those already vulnerable to anxiety, perfectionism or compulsive tendencies already, the same tools can pull them further down a path they may not even realise they're on.

When tracking went mainstream

(Image credit: Future)

When I first started reviewing fitness trackers, this kind of behavior felt relatively niche. Most people weren't tracking their sleep. Very few people knew what heart rate variability was. The idea of waking up and checking a readiness score before deciding how hard to exercise would have sounded bizarre. But today, optimization is everywhere.

More than 45% of people in the UK and around 60% of people in the US now own a smartwatch or fitness wearable. Even if you don't actively seek out health tracking, many of the features, like step counts and calorie estimates, are now built directly into devices like Apple Watches or smartphones that we all use every day.

Despite this, researchers are still trying to understand the psychological impact of living with a constant stream of biometric data. There's no clear evidence that large numbers of wearable users are developing serious problems. But a growing body of research does point towards some worrying patterns. Several studies have linked fitness tracking technologies with increased anxiety, body dissatisfaction and rumination. Others have found associations between wearable use and higher levels of obsessive-compulsive traits, like perfectionism and over-conscientiousness.

I found that one study even introduced a new term: technohypochondria. Researchers defined it through three features: biometric data obsession, digital catastrophizing and a pathological need for algorithmic feedback. Unlike traditional health anxiety, which tends to focus on illness itself, technohypochondria describes a dependence on the continuous flow of personalized health data and the reassurance it appears to provide. I guess I’m a recovering technohypochondriac?

What I found particularly interesting was that researchers working on one of the key studies raised a really important question: “are people with pre-existing compulsive tendencies more drawn to wearables, or do continuous tracking and feedback loops foster or exacerbate these tendencies?”

It’s a chicken-and-egg sort of question and the answer is probably complicated. But the researchers do suggest a feedback loop may exist, where pre-existing vulnerabilities and constant self-tracking reinforce one another.

None of this means that everyone who wears a smartwatch is heading towards a crisis. I know personally that I did already have compulsive tendencies and controlling behaviors with food long before Fitbit released its first device. But I think it does suggest that the emotional impact of optimization deserves more attention than it often receives. Because once tracking becomes woven into everyday life, it can be surprisingly difficult to tell where useful information ends and unhealthy fixation begins.

When the numbers become the point

(Image credit: Mile Atanasov / Shutterstock)

When I asked my friends and followers on social media to share their experiences with wearables and health tracking, I expected a handful of disparate stories. Instead, I heard from people who described becoming trapped by numbers in ways that felt extremely familiar.

Some were dealing with chronic illness. Others were recovering from major health events. Some simply wanted to get fitter or sleep better. But again and again, there was the same pattern. What began as a search for reassurance gradually became another source of anxiety.

I spoke to Emma, who started relying heavily on health data after cancer treatment and surgical menopause left her worried about the long-term impact on her health. "My watch became reassuring," she tells me. "I thought if my heart rate looks normal, I'm probably okay."

But over time that reassurance became its own form of dependence. "It felt like I was controlling my health anxiety," she says. "But I think I was just making it worse."

Sarah, who has used wearables for years while managing endometriosis and dysautonomia, described a different concern. "I wake up and let Oura tell me if I've slept well and then Visible gives me a score for the day, and that just feels wrong," she says. What impacted her most was the lack of trust she had in her own judgement. "I think it's made me lose trust in myself a little. Am I actually tired and am I really that stressed because an app said so?"

I think that gets to the heart of what can make continuous tracking so complicated. The problem isn't necessarily that you’re looking at data a lot — the problem is what happens when the data becomes more important than your own lived experience.

Understanding the cycle

(Image credit: Shape Pilates founder Gemma Folkard )

Even though all of the stories I heard about wearables were different, a common thread was just how many seemed to be born from a feeling of trying to manage uncertainty.

Many of the people who contacted me weren't trying to become superhuman, chase longevity records or optimize every minute of their lives when they first started tracking. They were dealing with health scares, chronic illnesses, anxiety, weight issues and burnout.

And the data that their wearables collected offered reassurance. But the problem is that reassurance doesn't tend to last.

"Many of my clients understand that something doesn't feel quite right about their technology use, but they are afraid to stop using it," Dosanjh tells me.

She often explains this through what psychologists call the anxiety cycle. It starts with uncertainty. Am I healthy? Am I eating the right thing? Am I doing enough? The device provides an answer, whether that's a sleep score, a heart rate reading or a closed exercise ring. The anxiety temporarily decreases and the brain learns that checking the data creates relief.

But, over time, that starts to fade. "The temporary relief that comes from hitting a target or seeing a reassuring number keeps feeding the illusion of mastery over your health," Dosanjh explains. "Helping clients understand that what they are seeking in the tech is certainty, and since complete certainty is impossible, the focus of our work moves from trying to eliminate anxiety to developing the capacity to tolerate uncertainty."

That really describes my own experience. The more I tracked, the more I felt I needed to track. The more information I had, the more information I wanted. The pursuit of health slowly became the pursuit of certainty, which, as we all know logically, isn’t something you can ever get, achieve or “win” at.

What actually helped me

A big part of getting better was realizing that my obsession with health data wasn't really about the health data at all.

Looking back, some of the periods when I was most preoccupied with optimization were also periods when other parts of my life felt difficult, uncertain or out of my control. The trackers gave me something concrete to focus on. There was always another metric to improve, another target to hit, another problem that seemed solvable.

But many of the things I was actually struggling with couldn't be fixed with a spreadsheet or a sleep score. Therapy helped me recognize that pattern. So did learning to tolerate uncertainty a little better. Over time, I became less interested in controlling every variable and more interested in understanding why I felt the need to control them in the first place.

That doesn't mean the tendency completely disappeared, I still recognize it in myself from time to time. The difference is that now I see it for what it is and can catch the early warning signs.

Should wearables be designed differently?

(Image credit: Future/Garmin)

I don't think every fitness tracker needs to be redesigned around people like me. The most effective intervention for my own unhealthy behavior was surprisingly simple: I took all the devices off. But some researchers argue that the design of wearables does deserve more attention.

One of the studies I looked at found that some of the negative psychological effects associated with fitness technologies could be linked to the features themselves. Feedback systems, gamified rewards, social comparison tools, constant notifications and the stream of immediate statistics can all encourage people to engage more frequently with the data, sometimes in ways that become unhelpful.

The researchers believe that psychological wellbeing should be treated as an important measure of success alongside more familiar metrics, like engagement, accuracy and battery life.

That doesn't necessarily mean removing goals or progress tracking. But it could mean giving people more control over how they interact with the technology.

Based on what I’ve seen from years reviewing wearables, that could mean less judgemental language, fewer alarming warnings, more ways to take breaks without feeling punished, and more flexibility over what data is displayed and when.

Most wearable companies already offer some degree of customization. Yet many products are still built around the assumption that more engagement is always better. In many cases that's true; regular use makes the data more useful over time because you can see patterns and track trends. But there should always be room for people to step back when they need to. A healthy relationship with wearable technology shouldn't require constant engagement, and users shouldn't feel punished for taking a break.

Health should improve your life, not become your life

The irony is that I became interested in health and fitness because it genuinely helped me. I learned from a really young age that exercise improved my mood, moving more reduced my anxiety and looking after myself made life feel calmer and more manageable. But I started paying way too little attention to how I felt and too much attention to what the numbers said.

These days, I still review fitness technology and sometimes still wear trackers outside of work. But I pay attention to different things now. If I feel guilty taking a device off, that's a warning sign. So is chasing a target despite being exhausted and spending more time thinking about the data than paying attention to my actual experience.

But most importantly, I ask myself what else is going on. Because when I feel like I’m becoming overly fixated on optimization, there's often something else happening underneath. Data is usually not the cause. It's just where all that energy and anxiety ends up being funnelled.

Dosanjh encourages people to approach health data as information rather than instruction. "Health tech should be an enhancement in your life and not an additional source of stress," she says. "Prioritize your wellbeing over optimization."

She also encourages people to regularly check whether the technology is still serving the purpose they originally bought it for. "How you feel is a more helpful barometer of wellness than numerical data. Be clear about your reasons for using the tech and check they align with your life values,” she says.

That's the lesson I wish I'd understood years ago. Health should improve your life but not become your life. Because no matter how sophisticated our trackers are there are still some things they can't measure. Like whether you have enough energy to spend time with the people you love, whether you're enjoying your life and whether you're actually feeling well. Those are infinitely more important than if you hit 10,000 steps today.

The Garmin Cirqa and Garmin's TrainingPeaks acquisition could have a connection

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:04:32 +0000

The Garmin Cirqa is a strong new addition to Garmin's ecosystem of devices. It's a screenless fitness tracker like a Whoop band, working with the Garmin Connect app to track sleep, workouts, and health metrics. You can read all about what happened when I tested the Garmin Cirqa against a heart rate monitor during its UK launch event here.

One under-the-radar announcement most people have glossed over is that even though most features are subscription-free, you need a Garmin Connect+ subscription to access Garmin Coach. This is Garmin's digital coaching feature, offering personalized training plans for its users to help achieve their strength, running, or cycling goals.

The reason this is important is that it's the first time Garmin Coach has been locked behind a paywall. It used to be that more expensive watches came with Garmin Coach features, while less expensive watches didn't. That was it. This latest development means we could see future budget-friendly Garmin offerings, such as the successor to the Garmin Forerunner 70, get Garmin Coach capabilities but keep them locked behind Connect+ in order to keep costs down.

While this is very much in line with how Fitbit and Apple run things on their fitness apps, it's a big change for Garmin and one that could rile existing users. We've seen how the Garmin community reacted to Connect+ when it was first introduced last year — negatively, with many people fearing new watch features would be locked behind a paywall, as ongoing subscriptions are very profitable for tech companies.

At least it's still substantially better value than Whoop's pay-annually mandatory subscription model.

Garmin acquires TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic

(Image credit: TrainingPeaks)

Garmin has acquired TrainingPeaks and its sibling platform TrainHeroic. TrainingPeaks is an incredibly popular cross-platform programming software where users can download and use fitness plans and communicate directly with coaches. It's available on lots of different devices, not just Garmin watches.

Naturally, many people are afraid this means TrainingPeaks will become a Garmin-exclusive piece of software, and anyone who currently uses, for example, an Apple Watch Ultra 3 will be left in the cold. Even those that use it on Garmins may fear another subscription will be required.

Our homes editor and ex-fitness editor Cat Ellis uses TrainingPeaks to train for her marathons. She said: "I use TrainingPeaks and a Garmin watch, so I’m interested in what the future will hold as the two become intertwined — but also concerned for owners of non-Garmin devices. It seems plausible that owners of devices from other brands — such as Polar, Suunto, and Amazfit — might be left out if Garmin folds TrainingPeaks plans into Garmin Connect+.

"I’m also curious how Garmin might integrate TrainingPeaks. Will there be a separate Connect+ membership tier that unlocks access to TrainingPeaks plans? What about plans from coaches that TrainingPeaks users currently pay for separately? It’s going to be an interesting time."

Watch our Garmin Cirqa hands-on on our TikTok below:

Cross-platform confirmation

(Image credit: Future)

TrainingPeaks & TrainHeroic MD Lee Gerakos told DC Rainmaker that "TrainingPeaks will continue to operate as a cross-platform ecosystem, enabling athletes and coaches to use the devices, platforms and services that best suit their needs."

TrainingPeaks users can breathe a sigh of relief, for now — but it's not hard to connect the dots. Garmin's most recent, highest-profile product puts its coaching features behind a paywall at the same time it announces the acquisition of one of the most popular third-party coaching platforms. Garmin could be aiming to improve its coaching platform to get more people to join Connect+.

This isn't a bad thing per se — much of the criticism levelled at Connect+ was that its offering was a bit thin — but the pressure will be on for Garmin to keep its existing users, along with existing TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic users, happy with how the new coaching features are implemented.

Garmin backtracks on Cirqa band paywall and makes an extra feature free

David Nield — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:38:05 +0000

Live heart rate data will be free for Garmin Cirqa users
Early testers noticed it had been put behind the Connect+ subscription
The new tracker costs $199.99 / £179.99 / AU$299.99

We've already put the newly unveiled Garmin Cirqa through an extensive hands-on testing session, and came away very impressed. However, there were complaints from those who had early access to the device that live heart rate data was locked behind a paywall.

Now Garmin is taking that negative feedback on board: as reported by seasoned tech reporter Ray Maker (via Android Police), live heart rate data will be available to every Cirqa user "in the coming days", with or without a Garmin Connect+ subscription.

The subscription, which applies across all of Garmin's wearables, has been the subject of much debate since it launched last year. For $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$12 per month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$120 a year, it gives you access to more metrics and more insights about the fitness data you're amassing.

Live heart rate readings aren't usually locked behind Connect+, so it's strange that Garmin initially made this the case with the Cirqa. Whatever the reasoning or confusion, the anomaly is now being dealt with, which is good news.

The rise of subscriptions

If you're new to the Garmin Cirqa (and it was only announced a few days ago), it takes on the likes of the Whoop wearables and the Fitbit Air by giving you a capable, lightweight wrist tracker without the distraction (and battery drain) of a display.

Both the Cirqa and the Fitbit Air offer basic tracking features and functionality for free, with a pile of extras available if you sign up for a subscription. With Whoop bands, like the Whoop MG, a subscription is compulsory, otherwise it's pretty much useless — plans start at $199 / £169 / AU$299 per year.

As we've written about before, it's a sign of the times that so many tech devices, from smartwatches to security cameras, now come with monthly subscriptions attached — usually stealing away the best features for the device in question.

If you're tempted by a Garmin Cirqa and its display-free design, it's available for $199.99 / £179.99 / AU$299.99 direct from Garmin, with availability from tomorrow, July 24 — and you will be able to record real time heart rate data, via the accompanying Garmin app.

It wasn't at Unpacked, but one Samsung exec hints that the Galaxy Ring 2 exists

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 21:00:00 +0000

There was very little mention of the Samsung Galaxy Ring at this year's Unpacked presentation
Nevertheless, it sounds like a Galaxy Ring 2 is coming
I interviewed Annika Bizon, VP of Product and Marketing for Mobile Experience, who gave me the inside scoop

What a day! We've just seen Samsung's vision for the future of wearables at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked, including its AR glasses and the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Watch 9.

However, conspicuous by its absence was the next iteration of Samsung's smallest wearable, the Samsung Galaxy Ring. While Samsung did confirm the Samsung Galaxy Ring's sleep apnea detection functionality was getting a coveted FDA certification — a significant badge of quality — very little else was said about the Ring, or its next generation.

While the silence has led some to believe that the Ring might be a one-and-done device, people are still passionate about the smart ring form factor. After all, the Oura Ring 5 was released this year, so I thought Samsung would be looking to follow up its smash-hit Galaxy Ring with a Galaxy Ring 2.

(Image credit: Future)

While it didn't appear in this year's presentation, it seems that a successor is, indeed, on the way. During an interview with Samsung's VP of Product and Marketing for Mobile Experience, Annika Bizon, I asked if there was any word on a potential Galaxy Ring 2.

"I will say yes, we are looking at the future of Ring, watch this space," Bizon told me. "It will definitely form part of our future portfolio of wearables."

I noted that Bizon was wearing a Samsung Galaxy Ring as we were speaking. "Well, I love it because it's discreet health," she said. "It tells me some of the things I need to know and when I put my watch back on, they'll work together."

There was definitely a "yes" in there, and the remark about the future portfolio suggests a new device, as well as a follow-up to the existing one, could be in the works. And the Galaxy Ring has certainly got fans inside Samsung's executive team.

Besides, Samsung aggressively pursuing certifications for the first-generation Ring shows it remains committed to investing time and money into its smallest wearable form factor. The short segment at Unpacked felt like a reminder that yes, the Ring exists, and there's more on the way.

Even though it's a mere tidbit compared to all the big news we got at the event, this is exciting stuff for fans of the best smart rings. The recent announcement of the blood-pressure monitoring startup Signal Ring from ex-Head of Android Tom Moss shows that tech companies are still pushing the limits of what smart rings can do.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 review: slimmer, lighter, better

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: One minute review

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 might look much the same as last year’s Galaxy Watch Ultra, but it feels very different to wear thanks to Samsung’s efficiency savings. A 12% slimmer titanium body and a lighter band (that remains the same size) mean the watch weighs less as an overall package and has better lockdown onto your wrist, so it doesn’t move around as much during strenuous exercise.

It’s got a new chipset under the hood: the AI-capable Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite, which, Samsung says, offers 32% faster CPU and 19% faster GPU performance compared to last year’s model. It’s launching with three new bands, new wellness features like Vital and Heart Health, and all the usual smartwatch goodies like notifications, call accept/reject, digital wallet and third-party app support. The Ultra comes with LTE capabilities as standard to add the watch to your phone’s data plan, and new fitness tools tailor-made for adventurers, including trail running features with GPX routes, a Daily Cardio Load metric, mid-activity hydration alerts, professional-level diving certifications and — soon — a dedicated diving app.

Fortunately for them (but perhaps unfortunately for Samsung) adventurers find themselves spoiled for choice these days between the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the best Garmin watches, and challengers from brands such as Coros, Polar and Amazfit. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 may be good in a vacuum, with excellent health and fitness features, but it’s fighting for space amid a crowd of exceptional wearables. Ultimately, it’s the best Galaxy Watch ever from a specs perspective, and does everything you expect a smartwatch to do (and several things you might not expect); but it’s also expensive, big and bulky. I do wonder how many Samsung users will opt for this over either the much cheaper Galaxy Watch9 or, at the other end of the scale, a chunky specialist tool such as the Garmin Fenix 8 if they’re really interested in wilderness exploration.

It’s fast, it’s accurate (albeit with some niggles — see the Performance section below for more details), it’s got the brightest screen of any smartwatch, on-device Gemini capabilities, and is packed with enough features to make any smartwatch aficionado happy. It’s a terrific gadget, and if you’re a Samsung user who wants the best native watch for your phone’s ecosystem, this is it. But if you’re buying it for trails and routes, Garmin does this better, and with far better battery endurance, albeit with a less robust AI-powered interface for all your communication features.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: Specifications

(Image credit: Future)

Component	Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2
Price	$699.99 / $649
Dimensions	47mm: 47.4 x 47.1 x 10.7mm
Weight	61g
Caze/bezel	Titanium
Display	498 x 498 Super AMOLED
Operating System	One UI Watch 9 (Wear OS 7)
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite
Memory	2GB of RAM
Storage	64GB storage
GPS	(L1+L5 Dual Frequency GPS)
Battery life	Up to 60 hours with always-on display
Connection	Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE
Water resistance	WR100 (diveproof)

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: Price and availability

$699.99 in the US
£649 in the UK
AU$1,299 in Australia

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is priced at $699.99 / £649 / AU$1,299. This is actually a small increase of $50 / £50 in the US and UK over the launch price of the original Watch Ultra (but it's the same in Australia), likely due to the escalating price of electronics components.

While it’s still relatively competitively priced compared to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and premium Garmins such as the Garmin Forerunner 970, it’s certainly on the higher end of the smartwatch price scale; but then again, this is a higher-end smartwatch.

Value score: 4/5

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: Design

(Image credit: Future)

12% slimmer, but still quite bulky
Titanium squircle cushion
Strap is 25% lighter

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 iterates on the titanium squircle case design we first saw on the original Ultra, which Samsung calls a ‘cushion’, and which has since become a staple of the entire Galaxy Watch range. Housed within this body is the circular display, which is, according to Samsung…

The cushion incorporates new innards, including a larger 800mAh battery and a new Snapdragon Wear Elite processor. Despite the upgrades, the chassis is actually 12% slimmer than the original Watch Ultra’s, which is really a blessing, as that watch was a real beast. The cushion shape looks bulbous, but while it’s still a big watch that’s unsuitable for small wrists, it’s now better suited to a slightly wider variety of wrists than 2024’s enormous cuboid.

Couple this with the bands being 25% lighter this year, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 has had a serious size and weight reduction, which makes it much better for staying locked on your wrist during strenuous exercise, where the previous model was prone to moving around.

The Ultra 2 has the Samsung Galaxy Watch series’ standard pair of side buttons, plus the programmable ‘Quick Button’ that only the premium watches get. This is set to opening ‘my exercises’ as standard, while a long press can activate the watch’s emergency siren, but you can assign a different function to this button to suit your needs. If you’ve used a Samsung watch before, the UI (One Watch UI, to be exact, based on Google’s Wear OS) is virtually unchanged, and for beginners it’s easy and intuitive to use.

The redesigned, AI-forward Samsung Health app is simple to use too, and even though much was made of its big makeover, it’s a far cry from Google Health’s chatbot-focused premium tier.

Design score: 4.5/5

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: Features

(Image credit: Future)

All the smartwatch features you’d expect
Parcel of new health metrics: Vitals, Vascular Load & more
Diving and trail-running features

The Ultra 2 offers all the usual smartwatch features you’d expect from an LTE-enabled watch, so I won’t list them all here, but suffice to say you can use virtual wallets, accept calls, message, control or store music, use the screen as a viewfinder for a Samsung phone’s camera, and even use Google Gemini via the new, easier Raise-to-Talk feature. Gemini works across devices, so you can make a quick voice note in the moment, and have it transcribed and saved to Samsung Notes or Google Keep, to be viewed later on your phone, tablet or laptop.

Samsung watches have always had strong health credentials, and the Ultra 2 is no different. It retains more esoteric features like blood-pressure monitoring (which requires an inflatable cuff for regular calibration, then uses your biometrics to predict fluctuations) and body composition (which uses electrical signals to estimate your fat and muscle mass) alongside the usual heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, ECG scan functionality (which is medically certified, according to Samsung) and more. Running Coach, introduced last year, also makes a welcome return, along with its advanced analytics for runners.

New health features include Vitals, which looks at readings of five different heart-related metrics while you sleep and lets you know of any baseline deviations, a Daily Cardio Load score that estimates how much stress your exercise routine is putting your heart under, and Vascular Load, which measures stress and arterial stiffness.

Finally, new features have been added in the shape of two adventure-themed activity profiles. The watch is now a working dive computer — or will be when its companion app is released later this year in partnership with diving company Mares. The Apple Watch Ultra has a similar app, so I’m sure Samsung has been working overtime to catch up.

The Trail Running profile now includes the ability to save GPX routes into the workout activity itself, so you can follow turn-by-turn directions and see maps on your watch with a swipe of your finger. You can download routes yourself, or you have the option to save previous outdoor runs as a route to test yourself against later on, if you want to try to beat your own personal best. What you can’t do is create your own routes in-app, as you can in Garmin Connect for example.

Features score: 4.5/5

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

Heart rate had some drift compared to Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Polar H10, but tightened up after 10-15 minutes of wear
Watch is more comfortable to wear than its predecessor
Accurate sleep tracking

I wore the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 for five days and four nights before writing this review, and I'll update it when I’ve logged enough nights sleep for features like Vitals to calibrate with seven-day averages. I was dreading wearing the Ultra 2 to bed given its bulkiness and size, but the slimmer, lighter Watch Ultra 2 was surprisingly comfortable for all-day wear — although I’m a man of fairly average build, and those with slimmer wrists may still find it uncomfortable.

Battery life was as described, with the Ultra 2 lasting the as-described 60 hours with always-on display enabled before needing a charge. Sleep was estimated accurately, with the watch and app correctly identifying my wake-up times during the night, and generating numbers corresponding with my energy levels.

To test GPS and heart rate accuracy, I went on a 30-minute run with the Watch Ultra 2 on one wrist, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on the other, and a Polar H10 electrical heart-rate monitor (the gold standard for wearable heart-rate accuracy) strapped to my chest.

I was initially quite surprised at the difference in heart-rate readings the Watch Ultra 2 recorded at the start of the workout compared to the other two devices, with the Samsung watch sometimes reading 20 beats per minute lower than the Apple and Polar devices. However, after 15 minutes of exercise, I found that the Ultra 2’s readings were closely matching those of the other devices, as you can see from the corresponding graphs and readings below / above.

Initial heart rate ‘drift’ is a known problem with many optical heart-rate sensors (used by all smartwatches) in comparison to electrical ones, although Apple seems to have ironed out much of the problem with its Ultra 3. Still, even if the Samsung Ultra 2 does show some deviation at the beginning of a workout, if you’re exercising for any length of time your results are likely to be broadly accurate. I repeated this test during an indoor HIIT workout, and the results were the same: accurate after a brief warm-up period.

I also tested Body Composition, which uses the same method as the best smart scales — an electrical pulse moving through fat, muscle and water at a variety of speeds. I tested this against an industrial scale at my local gym after my run, and the ticket the scale produced showed that I was at 19% body fat. The smartwatch estimated 9%, a huge difference. It wasn’t until I did the test again later that day, after hydrating and adjusting my technique by raising my arms, that the watch showed 16% — a much closer result, and within the range of deviation I’d expect from two different devices.

I also tested the Ultra 2’s water lock feature by dunking it in a glass of water — after all, I’ve been burned before by so-say dive-ready watches — and it worked just fine afterwards.

(Image credit: Future)

Performance score: 4/5

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: Scorecard

Category	Comment	Score
Value	On a par with similar devices in its category.	4/5
Design	Bulky, but much improved over its predecessor, with an intuitive UI.	4.5/5
Features	Absolutely stacked.	4.5/5
Performance	Some health feature are fiddly to use, but generally very accurate.	4/5

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if…

You’re a runner

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is awash with terrific running features, and now trail runners are well catered for too.

You’re a Samsung phone user

Unsurprisingly, the Watch Ultra 2 works perfectly within the wider Samsung ecosystem.

You’re a Gemini user

Use AI for everything? Samsung’s Raise-to-Talk functionality and true on-watch Gemini makes using the smart assistant a doddle.

Don’t buy it if…

You need ultimate battery life

If you prioritize battery life and fitness features over connectivity, consider a Garmin or Coros watch.

You’re a casual exerciser and gym-goer

The Samsung Galaxy Watch9 is a much better-value fitness tracker for those who won’t use all the extra adventuring, diving, and safety features.

You’re an Apple user

The Watch Ultra 2 doesn’t work with Apple phones.

Also Consider…

Garmin Forerunner 970

A similarly-priced, adventure-ready Garmin watch with lots of running features.

Read our full Garmin Forerunner 970 review

Google Pixel Watch 4

Not as rugged, but a solid alternative for Wear OS users.

Read our full Google Pixel watch 4 review

How I tested

I wore the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 for the better part of a week, running the battery down and using it as my daily driver to accept and reject calls, check notifications and messages, use Gemini and control music. I tested it against devices such as the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the Polar H10 electrical heart rate monitor, and an industrial smart scale, and I dropped it into a glass of water to test its water lock feature.

First reviewed: July 2026

Is Garmin Cirqa good? I tested it against the best heart rate strap

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:03:10 +0000

Garmin Cirqa smart band has finally dropped
The screen-free smart band costs $199.99 / £179.99 / AU$299.99
I tested its accuracy and found it to be very good

It’s here! After months of leaks, the Garmin Cirqa smart band (styled ‘CIRQA’ by Garmin) has finally arrived. I got a chance to check it out — and wear it for a workout — at the official launch event. A sleek-looking fabric smart band in four colors (French Grey, Black, Captain Blue and Mauve) wrapped around a plastic puck, there’s no denying it looks a lot like a Whoop, Polar Loop or a thicker version of the Google Fitbit Air.

The puck packs an Elevate V4 heart rate sensor, the same one used on some of the best Garmin watches. The more powerful Elevate V5 was apparently too big for the size of the unit, according to Garmin.

The tracker offers some of Garmin’s best features including Health Status (Garmin's feature that monitors your vitals overnight), Body Battery, Training Readiness, pulse ox, women’s health tracking, and stress tracking and lots more. The Garmin Cirqa has a 10-day battery life, and the same proprietary charging port as the brand's watches. As expected, there's no onboard GPS, but it can piggyback off your phone's GPS.

Size-wise, it's slimmer than the Whoop MG but thicker than the Fitbit Air.

(Image credit: Future)

Many other screenless trackers have no buttons at all, but here Garmin has stuck with its tradition of creating smartwatches with tactile buttons, and added a button to the plastic chassis.

You can press this button to start and stop a workout, but you can also rely on automatic activity tracking for this. Garmin states this will improve the longer you wear the band, and it's also possible to edit workouts in the Connect app to ensure the right movements are correctly interpreted. For example, if you run a lot, the Garmin Cirqa will interpret the swinging of your arms and acceleration as a running workout and start one automatically.

Watch our hands-on below:

No subscription... or is there?

(Image credit: Future)

The band is subscription-free at its base price. Many screen-free trackers from the likes of Whoop and Oura rely entirely on subscriptions, but there is an element of monthly payment creeping in there. You can access Garmin Coach to get personalized training plans, but only if you subscribe to Garmin’s premium Garmin Connect+ tier.

This is the first time Garmin Coach has been locked behind the Garmin Connect+ paywall — previously, it either came with a watch or it didn’t.

Chrissy Wheeler, Garmin’s EMEA Senior Product Manager for Fitness, was at the launch and spoke about the Cirqa. She said: “You do have the option for premium content under Garmin Connect+. There are additional features, if you want to, you can pay for those, like all of our coaching side of things with this device. For some of our higher-end devices, these come included, but because this doesn’t have a screen, you need Garmin Connect+ to access the coaching size, our nutrition app… as well as Active Intelligence and AI insights.

“The key thing is that disconnect. People wanting to disconnect from phones, electronics on a day-to-day basis, but still want those metrics. It’s ideal, firstly, for people getting into fitness for the first time, but also for a lot of our athletes. Cycling, for example. They might record all their workouts on an Edge [Garmin cycling computer], but they’re missing out on that 24/7 recovery information, Body Battery, that goes alongside it.”

How I tested

Future

After the product presentation, we were taken through a short HIIT workout by a trainer at the venue, for which I opted to wear the Polar H10 heart rate monitor. The Polar H10 is an electrical heart rate monitor worn on the chest, rather than an LED-based heart rate monitor worn on the wrist like the Cirqa.

It’s the gold standard for heart rate accuracy, used by many athletes all across the world. As fitness trackers use heart rate as the basis for almost all their metrics, it’s the perfect device to use as an accuracy benchmark.

During my workout, the Polar H10 recorded an average heart rate of 155 beats per minute, or bpm. The Garmin Cirqa recorded an average heart rate of 153 bpm, just 2bpm shy of the other device and well within the statistical margin for error. Graphs also aligned very closely.

Based on this first early test, I’m satisfied with the Garmin’s accuracy, but of course more testing will be required. Stay tuned.

More Garmin Cirqa smart band leaks have appeared — this time on a Garmin website

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 08:25:55 +0000

The Garmin Cirqa is a rumored screenless smart band, like a Whoop or Google Fitbit Air
It's been the subject of a few unofficial leaks, and has been posted on Garmin's site in error before
Another recent now-deleted post on Garmin's Romanian website has added fuel to the rumors

The Garmin Cirqa smart band is all but confirmed at this point. For months now, we've seen leak after leak about Garmin's Cirqa fitness tracker, and while we don't know too many details, it's seemingly a screenless smart band designed to compete with the likes of Whoop and the Google Fitbit Air.

Now it's reportedly leaked yet again. As spotted by Gadgets and Wearables, a recent update to Garmin's Romanian website, on the page explaining a feature called Health Status, mentions the Garmin Cirqa smart band (styled 'CIRQA') as a compatible device.

Health Status is a feature that combines five core metrics — heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration, skin temperature and pulse ox — to give an overview of your general health. It's a feature on most of the best Garmin watches now, so it's unsurprising that the Cirqa would be getting it.

The reference to Cirqa was reportedly swiftly deleted, but not before a screenshot was captured.

In January, Garmin posted the Cirqa on its own website, including color options (black and French Gray), before swiftly deleting it. It seems this has happened again. Add in other recent leaks, and you can see why it's basically confirmed at this stage.

The screenless 'focus wearables' category is having a moment. We've already seen the launches of the Oura Ring 5, Whoop competitors such as the Polar Loop (as seen in the image above, alongside the Whoop MG and Amazfit Helio Strap), and most recently the Google Fitbit Air. It makes sense that Garmin, one of the leading names in fitness tracking, wants in on the action while the category is still on the up.

I don't think a launch can be far away at this point, and I'll be keeping my ear to the ground for more Cirqa news as it breaks.

It looks like Garmin is finally preparing its Fitbit Air-style band for launch

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 15:00:00 +0000

The Garmin Cirqa, Garmin's long-rumored screenless smart band, is breaking cover
Trademark filings have been spotted with governing bodies for the US, Canada, and EU, suggesting an imminent launch
Google launched its screenless band with a redesigned, AI-powered app — but I hope Garmin doesn't follow suit

Garmin's long-rumored screenless smart band, designed to compete with the rising trend of 'focus wearables' such as the Google Fitbit Air and Whoop bands, is on the way. We initially thought it was the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor (pictured above), but that turned out to be a different product entirely.

The screenless fitness band is instead likely to be named the Garmin Cirqa, according to leaks; it's going to be a cool new deviation from Garmin's existing fitness watches list, and we now have more evidence that it's going to be launching soon.

Garmin has been filing trademarks for the name 'CIRQA' (styled in all caps, but we'll refer to it as Cirqa in text the same way we do Whoop, which is styled on its official branding as 'WHOOP'), with an entry to the US Patent and Trademark Office database spotted earlier this year.

However, Gadgets & Wearables have also found trademark filings for relevant governing bodies in Canada and the EU, adding fuel to the rumors that a launch may be imminent.

(Image credit: Future)

All the filings connote a body-worn sensor rather than a communication device, suggesting the Cirqa isn't just a new smartwatch: it's exclusively for health and fitness.

This is quite exciting: at the moment, people looking for screenless, discreet wearables have no shortage of options, from the Oura Ring 5 to the Fitbit Air to last year's Polar Loop strap. Clearly, the category and people's interest are growing, and a top-quality device from Garmin would sell like hot cakes.

However, I hope Garmin doesn't repeat one aspect of Google's Fitbit Air launch. At the same time as the Fitbit Air came out, Google transformed the Fitbit app into Google Health, eliminating the last of its community features like shareable badges and challenges, controversially redesigning the app, and turning the Premium tier into an AI 'Health Coach' chatbot.

Garmin's user base would revolt if such dramatic changes came to the Garmin Connect app. There was widespread outrage last year when Garmin introduced a Premium tier with AI-powered features — the community is a passionate and outspoken one that loves its technology, and any hint that features are being scrapped or the app transforming to better conform to the AI-first nature of most screenless trackers would be met with an enormous outcry.

Garmin will have to make its Cirqa band work within its existing watch-focused ecosystem, unless it wants to launch a separate app or risk losing some frustrated customers.

I review smart rings for a living and the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 needs 6 upgrades

Becca Caddy — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Samsung has officially confirmed that the Galaxy Ring 2 is in development. Dr. Hon Pak, Senior Vice President and Head of Samsung’s Digital Health Team, recently told Forbes that the company is “working on the next generation” of its smart ring.

Beyond confirming that a successor ring is on the way, Pak offered only a few hints about what we might expect. But the smart ring market looks different than it did when the original Galaxy Ring launched in 2024.

Competition is growing rapidly, with new smart rings appearing almost every month. While many still struggle to match the devices in our best smart rings guide, the bar has been raised considerably. The original Samsung Galaxy Ring remains our top overall pick, while the newly launched Oura Ring 5 is one of its strongest rivals.

I’ve tested many of the latest smart rings, and if Samsung wants its next ring to remain at the top, these are the upgrades I’d most like to see.

1. Resist the temptation to add a subscription

Even though interest in smart rings has surged over the past few years, I think we can still say they’re a relatively niche category. And I think one of the biggest barriers to entry is the ongoing subscription fee some brands charge.

For example, Oura requires a monthly membership of $5.99/£5.99 per month to unlock its full experience, and subscriptions — optional or otherwise — are on the up with fitness apps. Meanwhile, rivals like Ringconn have built some of their appeal around offering a similar health tracking experience without that additional fee.

Samsung certainly got this right with the original Galaxy Ring. And there are currently no signs a subscription is coming. But maintaining that approach feels increasingly important. We’ve already seen some companies introduce subscription-free products only to later place some features behind a paywall.

If Samsung wants to keep the Galaxy Ring truly competitive, it must make core health insights available without a monthly fee.

2. A slimmer and lighter design

(Image credit: Future)

Designing a smart ring has always been a challenge. Manufacturers need to pack in sensors, batteries and processing power all while making the ring feel as comfortable and jewellery-like as possible.

That’s one reason the new Oura Ring 5 has generated so much attention. It’s managed to become smaller and lighter while still adding some new capabilities.

Now, the Galaxy Ring 2 doesn’t necessarily need to be the smallest ring on the market. But even a slight reduction in size and weight would demonstrate that Samsung understands just how important comfort is when you’re asking people to wear something 24 hours a day.

3. Better battery life

Battery life is such an important part of the smart ring experience. The more I take off a ring, the less likely wearing it everyday will become a habit. And the more likely I become to forget about it. It also makes monitoring for trends and average vitals more tricky and less accurate.

As I write this, I’m testing the RingConn Gen 3, which promises significantly longer battery life than many of its rivals at 12 days on average. Other manufacturers are also exploring new battery technologies and the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 is rumored to be getting a powerful solid-state battery upgrade

The original Galaxy Ring already offers a good battery life, but expectations are rising fast. And again, Samsung doesn’t necessary need to beat every rival. But if competing rings continue pushing to longer runtimes, the Ring 2 will need to remain competitive.

4. iOS support

(Image credit: Apple/US Patent and Trademark Office)

I think we can safely say this one feels less like something I’d like to see in the next generation of Samsung Galaxy Ring and more like something that must be a necessity.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring was only for Android users. Now, reports already suggest Samsung is working towards iPhone compatibility. If that’s true it could dramatically increase the Galaxy Ring’s appeal.

Because at the moment, limiting the ring to Samsung’s ecosystem excludes loads of potential buyers. Sure, Samsung users will continue to benefit from deeper integrated and additional features. But core functionality across both Android and iOS feels like a necessity.

However, we know Apple's already filed a patent for ring technology — see the above diagram — so even if it never comes to fruition, it's certainly a form factor Apple is mulling over.

5. Add a compelling new health feature

Most smart rings track the same core metrics, like sleep, heart rate, activity, stress and recovery. That means Samsung may need to offer something genuinely distinctive to stand out.

I say that because I’ve been testing the RingConn Gen 3 over the past few weeks, which adds features like vascular health insights and sleep apnea monitoring. Now, whether those features prove valuable to most users over the long term remains to be seen. But, they give the ring a clear point of differentiation.

I don’t think Samsung needs to copy those exact features. But offering something beyond the standard collection of health metrics could help the Galaxy Ring 2 feel like a meaningful upgrade over the original and a solid choice in a sea of similar offerings.

6. AI that isn’t annoying

I’m generally sceptical about AI chatbots in wearables because most implementations I’ve tested simply repeat the same information that’s visible in the app or provide really generic recommendations.

That said, some of Pak’s comments to Forbes do suggest Samsung is thinking beyond a basic execution of AI. Explaining that people have different motivational styles, so the approach needs to be tailored accordingly: “Over the next two to three years, the AI will be able to say, based on this person's characteristics, I'm going to nudge them this way, and 70 or 80 per cent of the time I can predict that person is going to exercise more or sleep more.”

I’m still cautious, especially as Samsung has already added some AI features to Samsung Health. But many wearable brands underestimate how much language matters when it comes to behavior change. The best implementation isn’t just telling users to sleep more, it might identify useful patterns, changes or spot warning signs and deliver advice in a way that’s genuinely personalized.

If Samsung can achieve that, AI could become one of the Galaxy Ring 2’s most compelling features rather than another box-ticking exercise.

There’s a good chance we’ll learn more at Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked event, which is scheduled to take place in London on July 22, 2026.

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: A solid running watch with no surprises

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:48:23 +0000

Garmin Forerunner 170: One minute review

The Garmin Forerunner 170 and 170 Music sit nicely between the cheaper Garmin Forerunner 70 and more expensive 570 and 970 duo, the latter of which features on our best Garmin watches guide. As such, both Music and non-Music versions are a bit of a halfway house; not quite cheap enough to be picked up on a whim by budget-conscious consumers, nor expensive enough to be stuffed with top-quality premium features.

However, it is stuffed with plenty of robust fitness features that will suit any active exerciser, especially runners. Sebastian Sawe, who who broke the world record by running a marathon under two hours in London, was toting a Garmin Forerunner 55 — Garmin’s cheapest, most stripped-back running watch.

What you’re paying for here is the Garmin Forerunner 70 — an excellent smartwatch on the cheaper end, and the successor to the popular Garmin Forerunner 55 — with additional smartwatch features attached. These include Garmin Pay, a virtual wallet which lets you pay with cards held on-watch, and the Smart Notifications feature, which allows you to view and manage alerts from a paired smartphone. The Forerunner 170 Music adds an extra 4GB of music storage.

If you’re largely uninterested in these features and you just want an excellent training tool, I’d get the Garmin Forerunner 70 instead, as it’s the best value of the three newcomers overall. But the Garmin Forerunner 170 Music does allow you to hit that Saturday morning parkrun, pay for your coffee, and jog home with headphones in — all without using your phone at all. It’s incredibly convenient, but not a package everyone will need or want.

Still, during my testing I found the watch good to use, comfortable to sleep in, and accurate against testing units like my Polar H10 heart rate monitor. Our writer Michael Sawh found the same with the Garmin Forerunner 70. You can read my full thoughts on the 170 Music below, but whichever watch you choose, you’ll be in good hands.

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Specifications

	Garmin Forerunner 70	Garmin Forerunner 170	Garmin Forerunner 170 Music
Price	$249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399	$299 / £259.99 / AU$479	$349.99 / £299.99 / AU$549
Dimensions	42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9mm	42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9mm	42.6 x 42.6 x 11.9mm
Weight	40g	41g	41g
Case/bezel	Fiber-reinforced polymer	Fiber-reinforced polymer	Fiber-reinforced polymer
Display	AMOLED 390 x 390px	AMOLED 390 x 390px	AMOLED 390 x 390px
GPS	GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, Beidou, QZSS, SatIQ	L1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo, and BeiDou	GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo
Battery life	Up to 13 days, all-systems GNSS mode: Up to 16 hours	Up to 10 days, all-systems GNSS mode: Up to 14 hours	Up to 10 days, all-systems GNSS mode: Up to 14 hours (6.5 with music)
Connection	Bluetooth, ANT+	Bluetooth, ANT+	Bluetooth, ANT+

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Price and availability

Garmin Forerunner 170: $299 / £259.99 / AU$479
Garmin Forerunner 170 Music: $349.99 / £299.99 / AU$549
Garmin Forerunner 70: $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399

The Garmin Forerunner 170 without music storage costs $299 / £259.99 / AU$479.

The Garmin Forerunner 170 Music, the upgrade with 4GB internal memory for music storage, costs $349.99 / £299.99 / AU$549. The Forerunner 70, which doesn’t have the 170’s smartwatch features such as Garmin Pay and Smart Notifications, is cheaper at $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399.

We’re zeroing in on the Garmin Forerunner 170 today, and I think the watch is generally good value for money compared to some of the seriously expensive premium Garmins in the lineup, but perhaps not compared to the 70, which is $100 / £80 / AU$150 cheaper for a very similar watch. If you don’t want Garmin Pay or notifications, you’re better off saving your cash and getting the 70.

None of the Garmins have a particularly wide feature set compared to watches from Apple and Samsung at a similar price point, but their batteries last far longer — up to 10 days for the 170 — and their workout credentials are fantastic. This ensures you can get multiple battery-sucking GPS workouts in each week while still retaining enough smartwatch functionality to matter, all without needing a charge for ages. Each Garmin watch is durable too.

I’d say it’s generally a good value prospect, even if it does edge into the expensive end with the 170 Music.

Score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

Iterates on existing Forerunner design
Surprisingly dull AMOLED screen
Elevate V4 heart rate sensor

The Garmin Forerunner 170 looks very much like every other Forerunner, but if this is your first Garmin that won’t mean much. It’s got a five-button configuration — up, down, light, start, stop or select, and back (or lap). You can use these, a touchscreen, or a combination of the two to navigate the watch, which is ideal if you’re wearing gloves.

It comes in a single size, with a 42.6mm screen, and its packing an AMOLED display rather than the duller digital-watch-style memory-in-pixel screen of older watches, but it’s not particularly bright even at full power. It comes with a silicon two-tone strap, and on the back it has one of Garmin’s older heart rate sensors, the Elevate V4. More expensive watches get the more accurate V5, but the V4 has been included here presumably to keep the cost down.

It’s very light, with a listed weight of 41g, and feels like less than that in the hand. A light watch is great for running and collecting wellness info as it’s easy to wear, and this checks the boxes.

Those familiar with Garmin products will be happy to know no liberties have been taken with the design of Garmin’s established software, either on-watch or in the Garmin Connect app. I think it’s the perfect mix of stripped-down and information-heavy, although there are a lot of menus to lose yourself in. The buttons make it fairly intuitive to navigate around for old hands. It’s a tried and tested design, that doesn’t break the mold in any significant way.

Design score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

Advanced running dynamics
Limited smart notifications functionality
170 Music offers mp3 and streaming downloads

Plenty of running features abound here. As the name suggests, Garmin’s included its advanced running dynamics tools such as running power (a measure of your total running effort using motion data as well as heart rate), along with advanced statistics such as stride and cadence data after your run. During workouts, you can set up routes in Garmin Connect with virtual pacers to keep you on time.

You also get the usual health stuff, such as heart rate and sleep score, 80 workout modes (although not all have dedicated metrics or GPS enabled) and reports in the morning and evening that provide information about your training along with the weather and a motivational quote. The Garmin Forerunner 170 gets Smart Notifications, which allow you to answer some tests with simple replies and the Garmin Pay functionality which acts as a virtual wallet like Apple Pay.

The 170 Music’s 4GB of storage allows you to upload tunes directly onto the watch, including by saving playlists from the likes of Spotify. Even without the dedicated Music model, you can listen on apps like Spotify, Deezer, YouTube Music and so on through your phone, and control music on the watch there. The Garmin Connect IQ store has dedicated widgets for these services, along with thousands of other apps from a mixture of big-name brands and enthusiastic amateurs.

Otherwise, what’s missing? I wasn’t expecting full-color maps at this price, just the breadcrumb navigation and route direction common on most Garmin watches without maps, so I don’t feel like the feature is missing, as such.

However, to justify the price increase from the 70 to the 170 Music, I think it needs more hardware features. A microphone like the Garmin Forerunner 570, and the ability to take calls on watch and use Garmin’s simple voice assistant, would better separate it. As is, most people who want dedicated smartwatch features will just get one of the best Apple Watches or best Samsung watches instead.

Features score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

Accurate against a heart rate monitor
GPS works well against an Apple Watch Ultra 3
Comfortable and easy to wear day-to-day

I checked the Garmin’s heart rate accuracy against an electrical chest-mounted Polar H10 heart rate monitor — the gold standard of heart rate accuracy — during a 25-minute treadmill test, and was very pleased to report that despite the older sensor, both average and maximum heart rate were within 1-4bpm of the heart rate monitor; a very acceptable margin for error and not a statistically significant one.

GPS was accurate compared to my Apple Watch Ultra 3, and battery life was representative of its claims, with total drain taking just over a week with multiple GPS workouts completed. I feel as though the ‘up to 10 days’ listed battery life is reflective of reality.

Being lighter and smaller than many Garmins I’ve tested, it’s comfortable to wear every day and fine to sleep in.

Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Scorecard

(Image credit: Future)

Category	Comment	Score
Value	It’s not barnstorming value compared to the 70, but unlikely to disappoint.	4/5
Design	Builds on the solid existing Forerunner design with little iteration.	4/5
Features	Rich training insights and smartwatch features.	4/5
Performance	Solid performance against industry standards and contemporaries.	4.5/5

Garmin Forerunner 170 review: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

You’re a runner

The Garmin Forerunner 170 series shines when your favorite pastime is running in any form.

You want smartwatch features

Garmin Pay and Notifications make it a useful tool outside of workouts.

Don't buy it if...

You’re on a budget

The Garmin Forerunner 70 does almost everything you need, for less.

You’re looking for premium performance

Rugged metal bezels, the Elevate V5 heart rate sensor, and full-color maps are the province of pricier Garmins.

Also consider

Coros Pace 4

A worthy alternative training tool, the Coros Pace 4 is a fantastic watch.

Read our full review

Garmin Forerunner 70

A better value option if you don't want the 170/Music's smart features.

Read our full review

How I tested

I wore the Garmin Forerunner 170 Music for over a week, draining the battery down and using as many of its features as possible. I ran and used it for strength and yoga sessions, tested its smart features, and pitted it against multiple competitor devices, including a chest strap heart rate monitor.

Amazfit Active 3 Premium review — Premium performance, just without the price

Lloyd Coombes — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 16:25:46 +0000

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: One minute review

Amazfit has been a company I’ve been keeping an eye on since their Bip 3 ‘budget’ smartwatch blew through all my expectations (and then some), followed by a slew of other watches across a range of price points, aiming to undercut the likes of Garmin — but most notably the $99 / £99 Amazfit Active 2, which earned five stars in our review. So when they put the word “Premium” on a product, it piques my curiosity.

Not only does the Amazfit Active 3 Premium have a bunch of excellent features that rival some of the biggest in the business, like excellent sleep and fitness tracking, but it’s also a fantastic-looking smartwatch.

The ‘Premium’ moniker signifies the addition of the super-tough sapphire glass coating, and the inclusion of the NFC payment feature. This was the distinction that the Amazfit Active 2 Premium used to separate itself from the base Active 2: however, there is no base Active 3, so even though this watch uses the ‘Premium’ model distinction, it’s the only watch in its range.

Despite this, it’s not an expensive buy. Sure, it’s pricier than the older Active 2, but it’s still undercutting the cheapest Apple and Garmin watches while delivering performance that belies its price. Another excellent example of a fitness tracker from Amazfit, a company which has by now shown itself to be a serious contender in the fitness tech space.

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Specifications

Component	Amazfit Active 3 Premium
Price	$169 / £169 / AU$239
Weight	54.6g
Case/bezel	Metal and plastic hybrid
Display	1.32-inch AMOLED display
GPS	Dual-frequency GPS
Battery life	Up to 12 days
Connection	Bluetooth
Water resistant?	5 ATM

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Price and availability

(Image credit: Amazfit)

Starts at $169 / £169 / AU$239
Not Amazfit’s cheapest, but still cheaper than many rivals
Available in three color options

It’s hard not to look at the Amazfit Active 3 Premium and not feel as though there’s a catch somewhere when it comes to its price, but it really is a sub-$170 / £170 / AU$250 fitness watch with the kinds of features and accuracy you’d have spent double that for not long ago. Our review unit is the Atlas Blue model, but it’s also available in Apex Silver and Aero White.

Value score: 5/5

Amazfit Active 3 Premium review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

Heavier than some alternatives
AMOLED display

Regardless of your color choice, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is a looker. It has a circular body with a metallic finish, with the underside color-matched to the bands for Atlas Blue and Aero White (Apex Silver would be my pick, but the whole body is silver with a black strap).

The strap itself is the standard polymer-style you’ll have felt on just about any other smartwatch, but the fact that the Amazfit Active 3 Premium uses a pin system like a more traditional watch adds a touch of class (and some minor fiddliness). It’s got a 1.32-inch display, which isn’t large —but it’s the same size as the Amazfit Active 2. I didn’t feel like I was losing much in terms of screen space compared to some of Amazfit’s larger watches, but I was surprised to find it’s slightly heavier than the Coros Nomad I tested recently.

With that said, I’m not sure I’d consider it rugged. I wasn’t prepared to hurl my review unit to the ground to test its durability, despite its sapphire glass and scratch-resistant coating. It might not be the watch you’ll want to take on an ultramarathon, but it’ll stand up to runs, rides and gym workouts with ease.

Design score: 4.5/5

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Features

(Image credit: Future)

Full-color maps
HybridCharge is great
170 sports modes

Ok, so the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is a looker, but does it have the smarts to back it up? Despite the relatively low price, the answer is a resounding yes. You’ll need to use the Zepp app, and while I’ve tested it before and found it to be a little cumbersome, I am pleased to report that (at least in the time I’ve been away), it’s much slicker these days.

You can use it as a dashboard, and there are badges to collect that include step goals, monthly targets, and much more.

Fitbit Premium’s Daily Readiness Score has led the charge to distill a bunch of complex metrics into an easy-to-read number that calculates how hard you can push your workout on any given day, and Amazfit’s version is called “HybridCharge”.

It takes into account sleep, heart rate, activity, and recovery, as well as subjective inputs like stress, health, and more, to help you make a judgment on whether today is a workout day or a rest day, and it does so pretty well.

One day during testing, I’d struggled to sleep and had an early start at work, and the app and watch understood that maybe I needed to take it easy and recover that day. It’s something you used to need a premium subscription for with other manufacturers, but I’m glad to see it’s included in the price of the product here.

PAI is also back, so those looking for a quick look at a glance to see how their natural fitness is holding up can check it out by testing their heart rate zones. The watch supports basic notification features, and of course offers that NFC payment digital wallet feature for convenience. A barnstorming inclusion is full-color maps, offering turn-by-turn navigation. This is a premium feature crammed into a value package, offering turn-by-turn navigation during runs, rides and walks.

Features score: 4.5/5

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Performance

(Image credit: Amazfit)

AMOLED display
12 days of battery life
Excellent accuracy

Performance is uniformly excellent across the board with the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. Fitness tracking offers a deep suite of metrics, including running ones like stride length, ground contact, and just about anything else you could possibly ask for as a runner. And, if you’re just learning what all of these measurements are, fear not: Everything is handily explained within the Zepp app.

When you’re done, the app also does a great job at showcasing your fatigue level, which then feeds into the aforementioned HybridCharge metrics.

I very rarely check my sleep outside of Apple’s Sleep Score number, but the Amazfit Active 3 Premium does make me want to dig deeper — and offers plenty of data to do so. I was surprised at how often I was getting up in the night without realising it, and the Aura section of the Zepp app even includes relaxing music to help you settle back down.

Battery-wise, Amazfit claims you can get 12 days from a single charge. In my experience, it’s been closer to 10 days, but it’s still very respectable given the amount of data it’s collecting day in, day out. The AMOLED display is plenty bright for just about everything, even direct sunlight.

The only minor gripe I have with the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is that it doesn’t automatically offer to track a workout if you start walking/running/doing anything. As someone who still forgets to hit the button before setting out, it’s nice when devices like the Apple Watch give a nudge.

Performance Score: 4.5 / 5

Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Scorecard

Category	Comment	Score
Value	Simply outstanding.	5/5
Design	Iterates on the proven Active 2.	4.5/5
Features	Lots of sports modes, tracking and HybridCharge.	4.5/5
Performance	Bright screen, responsive battery, accurate metrics.	4.5/5

Amazfit Active 3: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

You want a watch that looks good

The Amazfit Active 3 Premium is one of the best-looking and still affordable watches around.

You’re looking for a deep dive into your fitness metrics

The Zepp app has a whole bunch of data, and makes it easy to sift through and spot patterns across weeks or even months of use.

Don't buy it if...

You’re looking for smartwatch features

Alas, there’s no contactless payment functionality here, nor can you run third-party apps a la an Apple Watch.

You’re going off-trail

The Amazfit Active 3 Premium is unlikely to take a battering as you scamper up rockfaces and the like.

Also consider

Garmin Forerunner 70

Garmin's new budget running watch

Read our full review

Apple Watch SE 3

Apple's cheapest watch is a little more expensive, but still offers great value for iPhone users.

Read our full review

How I tested the Amazfit Active 3 Premium

I’ve been testing the Amazfit Active 3 Premium while walking, hitting the gym for weights and cardio (primarily using the cross trainer), and wearing it for just about everything in life.

I tested the GPS across various areas of London and more remote areas like the countryside where I live, and wore it to bed, too. I tested many of its measurements by pairing it with my Apple Watch Series 11 on the opposite wrist.

Ultrahuman Ring PRO Kickstarter backers are still left waiting after production issues plague the Oura rival

paulo.n.hatton@gmail.com (Paul Hatton) — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:54:22 +0000

Ultrahuman hits Ring Pro production problems
Kickstarter backers are left wondering when they'll get their ring
August 10 is the new expected date but it's far from guaranteed

Ultrahuman is no stranger to producing some of the best smart rings, but not even that could protect them from the outpouring of disappointment and frustration that came its way after informing Ring Pro Kickstarter backers that shipments were being delayed yet again.

Customers took to Reddit to share their annoyance after u/enzolecorbeau started a thread by sharing a screenshot of the official Ultrahuman message. In it, Ultrahuman states that shipments were now "expected to begin from August 10 onwards".

Kickstarter backers were expecting to receive their orders in June, and this latest delay isn't the first. A single delay is one thing, but now it has happened several times, backers are starting to get vocal about the continued delays to the fitness tracker.

One Reddit user was annoyed that the unit had been sent to "influencers" and not to "people who paid money". Others report that they've requested cancelations but without success.

It's not all negative, though, with one Reddit user hoping the delay is down to the battery "because that would mean they may actually be looking to improve it."

(Image credit: enzolecorbeau)

Ultrahuman doesn't mention the battery but instead attributes the delays to issues experienced during the scaling of production. Ultrahuman says they are "taking extra care to ensure every Ring PRO meets the quality and experience standards we've set for it."

Their commitment to quality is no bad thing. They go on: "Each ring is individually crafted with a high level of precision and care – from the finishing to the final quality checks – and this process is taking slightly longer than originally anticipated."

Ultrahuman has always delivered before

Ultrahuman ran Kickstarter campaigns for both their Ring and Ring Air devices and faithfully fulfilled orders of both.

(Image credit: Ultrahuman)

In reality, crowdfunded projects are often subject to delays. For Ultrahuman, the challenge of manufacturing a titanium unibody with a cutaway safety feature en masse is no doubt contributing to the delays — the last thing Ultrahuman will want is to ship a ring with issues, especially as smart ring problems can prove dangerous.

Customers are more likely to forgive the brand for a delayed shipment than they are for receiving a device with issues. A botched product release could damage customer trust and mean the end of the wearables brand.

None of this will appease the community of people who were expecting to receive their ring back in June and are still left waiting. Only time will tell when Ultrahuman will start fulfilling these orders.

After publishing the original article, Ultrahuman CEO, Mohit Kumar, replied with the following statement:

"The Ultrahuman Ring PRO pushes boundaries with a 15-day battery life and a titanium unibody with ProRelease, which lets the ring be cut apart safely if a finger ever swells. As with anything novel, scaling it has proven harder than anticipated. Production is running, but not yet fast enough; however, the path to full capacity is clear for 10 August.”

The 5 best fitness trackers we've seen so far this year

Lloyd Coombes — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 15:00:00 +0000

I’ve been writing about fitness tech for years, and we’re finally at a point where more affordable fitness trackers are now every bit as capable as models that would have cost hundreds of dollars or pounds, little more just a few years ago. That’s not to say premium options don’t have their place too, but many of the standouts this year have certainly been on the cheaper end.

Whether it’s screenless devices showing less can be more, the latest iteration of the popular Oura Ring, or a pair of Amazfit options that can cut it with much more expensive models, here are the best fitness trackers in 2026 so far, in no particular order.

1. Google Fitbit Air

(Image credit: Peter Hoffmann)

Release date: May 26
Rating: 4/5

Whoop bands are growing in popularity for their distraction-free, sensor-packed, highly comfortable nature, and Google didn’t want to be outdone.

The tech giant’s answer to Whoop’s popularity, the Google Fitbit Air’s companion app boasts an effective but controversial AI-powered premium tier for additional insights, courtesy of Google’s new AI Health Coach. However, even on the free tier, this comfortable tracker weighing just 12 grams and reasonably priced at $99.99 / £84.99 / AU$199 is well worth a look.

Its real strength is heart rate metrics, which are consistently impressive for a cheap device, and it includes FDA-certified background AFib detection for additional peace of mind.

Our main gripe (outside of the two-tier app offering) is that it lacks GPS, and therefore run data feels less accurate than we’d have liked – even at this price.

Watch our YouTube review of the Google Fitbit Air here:

2. Oura Ring 5

(Image credit: Future)

Release date: June 4
Rating: 4/5

From the low-priced end of the spectrum to the expensive, the Oura Ring 5 is the latest offering from the company that, if they’re not the only game in town, more or less popularised the smart ring form factor.

Starting at $399 / £399 / AU$649, it’s hardly cheap, but it does a great job of offering a less intrusive way of tracking your wellness and fitness. In fact, despite its size, the fact that it could easily be mistaken for a piece of jewellery, and how comfortable it is, it’s remarkably accurate, too.

With a week of tracking between charges (including sleep), it offers more color options and better connectivity (Bluetooth 6.0 vs 5.4) at the same price as the Samsung Galaxy Ring. It’s also somehow 40% smaller than the last generation of Oura Ring, while still matching up with a dedicated chest strap for heart tracking.

Watch our YouTube review of the Oura Ring 5 here:

3. Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro:

(Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton)

Release date: April 16
Rating: 4/5

When a company like Amazfit (one of the best budget tracker manufacturers) takes aim at the premium market, it’s wise to take notice. The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro offers a Garmin-like experience with a bunch of runner-focused tools like training plans and detailed metrics, all with marathon-tackling 31 hours of dual-band GPS tracking.

Using it day-to-day can get you 20 days of battery life, and while it is a fairly bulky watch on the wrist, it’s a much cheaper rival to Garmin offerings.

GPS tracking is solid, but offline maps could use some work. Still, if you’re a runner, this is one of the models to beat this year.

4. Amazfit Active 3 Premium

(Image credit: Future)

Release date: February 26
Rating: 5/5

Another Amazfit, sure, but if the Cheetah 2 Pro is too much for you, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is well worth a look. Despite the name, it’s priced very reasonably at $169 / £169 / around AU$325), while still offering an AMOLED display, built-in GPS, and a fairly weighty (but comfortable) 54.6g chassis.

Battery life can run you for up to 12 days according to Amazfit (but I hit around 11 in testing), and the Zepp app has improved massively in recent years so it’s a very solid running companion with some bona fide coaching options.

You’ll likely want something a little more durable if you’re going off-trail, but what it lacks in ruggedness, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium makes up for by being a great-looking budget option.

5. Garmin Forerunner 70

(Image credit: Future / Mike Sawh)

Release date: May 15
Rating: 4/5

Reviewer Mike Sawh wasn’t kidding — the Garmin Forerunner 70 really might be better value than its more premium cousin, the Garmin Forerunner 170.

High praise indeed, but even without Garmin’s latest, more expensive sensors, it packs accurate metrics alongside an easy-to-read AMOLED display and physical buttons that make it easy to use, excellent sports tracking, and impressive training insights.

It does lose the affordability of the Garmin Forerunner 55, and doesn’t have smartwatch features like NFC payments, but for a runner it’s a great option that’s one of the year’s strongest.

Samsung to remove Vascular Load feature from Galaxy Watches in the US

rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies) — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Samsung is phasing out the Vascular Load feature on Galaxy Watch in the US
It's replacing it with Blood Pressure Trend in late July
Users believe this is due to FDA compliance issues

Samsung's range of smartwatches covers every base when it comes to fitness tracking, but the tech giant is pulling the plug on a health monitoring tool it rolled out only last year. Don't fret; a replacement feature is on the way.

The company’s experimental Vascular Load feature, a tool that was introduced alongside the launch of the Galaxy Watch 8 at last year’s Galaxy Unpacked 2025, will be phased out in the US by late July. Its removal aligns with the upcoming Samsung Health 7.0 and One UI 9 watch updates, but it appears that Vascular Load will still be available to users outside of the US following the changes.

When Samsung removes Vascular Load at the end of the month, you'll no longer be able to access this data in the Samsung Health app. However, you can download your existing data by opening the app and tapping Samsung Health Settings, then find Samsung Health Information to continue.

Users are currently being notified via the Samsung Health app, but the company has yet to issue a wider announcement, which is a little frustrating, as I can imagine users just want a bit of clarity. That said, Samsung isn’t leaving you high and dry.

To make up for the loss of the Vascular Load monitoring tool, the company is offering an alternative: Blood Pressure Trend — which Samsung says will be available in the upcoming Galaxy Watch (we assume this is referring to the Galaxy Watch 9).

While Vascular Load uses your heart rate data to measure factors like changes in blood volume, Blood Pressure Trend is designed to monitor your blood pressure periodically and show you a trend over time. In addition to this, it will also offer you tips and tricks to help maintain healthy habits.

To get started with Blood Pressure Trend, Samsung highlights in the notification that you’ll need to use a blood pressure cuff with your Galaxy Watch, and then once every 28 days to maintain accuracy (according to Android Authority). The company also shared that Blood Pressure Trend “is for wellness only”, and “not for the diagnosis and treatment of any medical condition”.

It’s still early days, and Galaxy Watch owners are awaiting further information on the upcoming changes, which have sparked online debate regarding the reasons for its US removal.

A vast majority of the online commenters believe that Samsung is concerned about Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance — one user says that the FDA often drags out approvals like this. While this idea gives the removal credibility, Samsung has yet to detail the reasons for its decision to stop access to Vascular Load, so we have to take this speculation with a pinch of salt.

Samsung confirms Galaxy Ring 2 is in development, and iOS support is a possibility

rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies) — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:57:50 +0000

SVP at Samsung says the Galaxy Ring 2 is officially in development
It could come with a slew of design upgrades as well as deeper integration with other Samsung devices
The biggest improvement is support for iOS, a first for Samsung wearables

When Samsung released the Galaxy Ring in 2024 it shot to the top of our list of best smart rings, but the Korean tech company has been rather silent on plans for the next-gen wearable — until now.

Speaking with Forbes, Senior Vice President and Head of the Digital Health Team at Samsung, Hon Pak, shared that the company’s next smart ring (presumably named the Galaxy Ring 2) is officially in development; “We are working on the next generation. I can tell you that,” he shared.

The announcement arrives just after the new Oura Ring 5 hit the shelves which, compared to its predecessor, is roughly 40% smaller with an even longer battery life, although does come with a higher price tag. It’s about time Samsung returned to the smart ring world given how fierce the competition has grown over the last two years — so how will the Galaxy Ring 2 stand against its rivals?

When Samsung released the first Galaxy Ring, Pak described it as “a comprehensive and simplified approach” to health and sleep, and it seems that he wants to build on this across both hardware and software.

For starters, if we look at the Oura Ring 5’s slimmer redesign, it wouldn’t come as a complete surprise if Samsung replicated a similar ‘smaller but tougher’ approach to its own smart ring for added comfort improvements.

Additionally, Samsung could take a page out of Oura’s book and remove skin contact bumps from the inside of the ring, all while extending its battery life — we also predicted that it will come with a solid state battery.

(Image credit: Future / Matt Evans)

Though design upgrades are likely, Pak hinted that this won’t be the biggest difference with the Galaxy Ring 2. “If you look at the comparison of other rings, regardless of the competitor, the sensors are not that different right now,” he said, adding “It’s really about what services you create on the top layer. It’s really the software differentiation that you see.”

With these remarks in mind, the Galaxy Ring 2’s main focus will be on developing deeper software integration rather than reupholstering the hardware. Pak also shared that Samsung has plans to build on its connected ecosystem to help users receive more accurate metrics and get a better sense of their health habits.

Instead of using just the Galaxy Ring 2's collection of metrics to present the full picture of your well-being, Samsung takes your data from the smart ring and blends it with other devices in its network via the Samsung Health app. This could include Galaxy Watches and smartphones, and even its range of SmartThings home appliances to give you more detailed context into your daily activity and overall well-being.

For users who are deep into Samsung’s ecosystem of devices already, it’s a huge win, but one of the biggest setbacks with the first-gen Galaxy Ring is its lack of support for iOS. While Samsung has the overall edge over the likes of Oura, the latter supports iOS, giving users more reason to opt for its wearables over Samsung’s — but this could change with the Galaxy Ring 2.

In addition to software upgrades, Pak heavily teased that iOS support will finally be coming to the Galaxy Ring; “I’m smiling but I can’t say anything,” he hinted. Out of all the new upgrades, iOS support would throw the biggest curveball into the competition, giving non-Android users even more reason to make the switch to Galaxy Ring over rival wearables.

While it’s not exactly a formal announcement, it’s certainly a promising affirmation of what to expect from the long-awaited wearable. Despite not giving any details on an official launch date, Galaxy Unpacked 2026 is just around the corner where we’re expecting the announcement of the S26 lineup — could Samsung also throw the Galaxy Ring 2 into the mix?

The first Fitbit Air update arrives, but an app workaround disappears

David Nield — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:27:14 +0000

The Fitbit Air is getting its first software update
It should fix problems with automatic workout detection
An old Fitbit app workaround is going away

The first software update for the Fitbit Air is rolling out now, and the hope is that it's going to fix one particular bugbear for users — but there's also bad news for those who are still using the older Fitbit app rather than the Google Health replacement.

First up, the update is rolling out now, as reported by 9to5Google, though you might not see it right away: look for a notification inside the Google Health app that an update is ready. As per Google, it contains "bug fixes and general improvements".

There's a bit more detail in a post on the Google Health support forum from last month, suggesting that there are fixes to exercise tracking, split runs, exercise exports, multiple device support, and how the device deals with lost connectivity when tracking.

As noted by Android Authority, one of the most commonly reported problems on the Fitbit Air has been the inaccurate labeling of workouts that are detected automatically — tagging runs as general workouts, for example — and this issue now seems to have been resolved.

No more Fitbit app workarounds

While a software update is positive news for Fitbit Air owners, those who have been clinging on to the old Fitbit app on their phones won't be pleased that Google has now closed off a workaround for avoiding the upgrade to Google Health.

As explained by Gadgets & Wearables, some users have been sideloading older versions of the Fitbit app: these older versions don't get automatically replaced by Google Health, so it's a way of sticking with the old app interface and layout.

From July 15 though, these older versions of the Fitbit app are going to stop working. Users will have no choice but to switch to Google Health, which moves around a lot of the key elements on screen and introduces a new AI coach.

Fitbit fans have been complaining loudly about the changes that the Google Health app brings with it, and many are unhappy about being forced to upgrade: "I think I'm going to have to find an alternative to the AI slop," writes one Redditor.