Most people would agree that the Apple Watch is the best smartwatch for iPhone. But it isn't the only one. If your budget is tight or you want other options, like more specific health and fitness tracking and longer battery life, some of the best smartwatches from other brands will also work well for your iPhone.
For our Android fans, our guide also features offerings from Garmin, CMF, and Huawei. The Vivoactive 5 is the best from Garmin while the CMF Watch Pro is the way to go if you're on a budget. The recently released Huawei Watch GT5 has a range of next-level tracking capabilities for those who want accurate data without having to pay a premium for it, for those outside the US.
We've reviewed and tested many of the best smartwatches over the years, and we know which ones work best with iPhones, including Garmin's fitness-focused devices and Nothing's CMF Watch Pro. We've selected the top choices in our guide below for you to choose from, along with the best Apple Watches and who we think they suit the best.
The Quick List
If you'd like to cut straight to the best smartwatch for iPhone, then you'll find a roundup of our top choices in this next section. You can then jump to a more in-depth write-up for each product below.
The best smartwatch for iPhone 2024
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Below you'll find our full write-ups for each of the best smartwatches for iPhone. We've tested each smartwatch extensively, so you can be sure that each of our recommendations can be trusted.
Best overall
A bright, powerful and feature-packed pick. It’s still our top choice for most iPhone users looking for a smartwatch a year on. Particularly those keen to find a balance between great specs and value.
Best cheap Apple Watch
A solid balance of affordability and performance. The SE 2 is a stripped-back Apple Watch that’s missing some features. But it has everything most people could need – especially those on a tight budget.
Best premium
A rugged, premium smartwatch for lovers of the great outdoors or those who want Apple’s latest tech on their wrists. If you love fitness, especially outdoor activities, this is the best option for you.
Best Garmin
Apple isn’t the only brand that makes excellent watches for the iPhone. The Vivoactive 5 is our top Garmin pick with a bold, bright display and fantastic health and fitness tracking that balances functionality with value.
Best cheap
If you’re on a budget but you don’t want the Apple Watch SE range, the CMF Watch Pro by Nothing brings you a stylish design and solid battery for a bargain price.
Best Huawei
This is the best smartwatch for iPhone users who want a Huawei device. Well worth considering if you'd like a snappy smartwatch packed with features. But it does have a couple of frustrating pain points that might be a dealbreaker for some.
The best smartwatch for iPhone overall
If you’re looking for a new smartwatch for your iPhone, there are plenty of Apple Watch choices. There’s the cheap Apple Watch SE 2 or premium, outdoorsy Apple Watch Ultra 2 options further down in this guide. But if you want a balance of features and value, our top pick for most people is the Apple Watch Series 10.
The Apple Watch Series 10 retains the signature Apple Watch design of previous models, including a sleek, rounded square case with a vibrant, responsive touchscreen. It's available in aluminum or stainless steel finishes, with 42mm and 46mm case sizes (slightly bigger than its predecessor, which offered 41mm and 45mm respectively), and features the familiar rotating crown and side button. One of the key updates is a brighter display, making it more readable in direct sunlight from all angles thanks to its larger, curved "wide-angle OLED" screen. The Series 10, like the Series 9 before it, is also said to be carbon-neutral.
The S10 chip follows on from the S9, another standout upgrade delivering improved performance, faster Siri processing, and 64GB memory capacity. Last year's Double Tap feature is here, and health tracking remains a top priority, with features like blood oxygen monitoring, ECG, and temperature sensing, The Series 10 also offers Sleep Apnoea detection, with watchOS 11 offering a new Vitals app for sleep tracking. Unfortunately, even though it charges to 80% in 30 minutes, the watch only lasts for 18 hours in smartwatch mode, so daily charging is required.
Read our full Apple Watch Series 10 review
The best cheap Apple Watch for iPhone
The Apple Watch SE 2 is an excellent choice for iPhone users who want a budget-friendly smartwatch. Released in 2022, the SE 2 has the signature Apple Watch design with a lightweight aluminum case and a vibrant OLED display, though it lacks the always-on screen you’ll find in more expensive models. Available in 40mm and 44mm sizes, it’s comfortable for all-day wear and delivers a smooth performance with Apple’s S8 chip onboard.
While you won’t find premium features on the SE 2, like ECG or blood oxygen monitoring, it covers essential fitness tracking, including heart rate monitoring, GPS, sleep tracking, and Apple’s fall detection feature. The battery life is also strong, lasting around two days in typical use during our testing, which significantly outperforms Apple’s 18-hour estimate. This makse it ideal for everyday wear without constant recharging – a bugbear with the higher-priced and higher-specced Apple watches.
Though it lacks some of the extras of other Apple Watch models, the SE 2 offers fantastic value for those wanting a reliable smartwatch experience at a lower price point. In our Apple Watch SE 2 review, we wrote: “the Watch SE does 99% of what more expensive options do, just as quickly, just as smoothly.” It’s a solid balance of affordability and performance, making it one of the most tempting options for iPhone users looking for a more budget-friendly wearable that’s still distinctly Apple through and through.
Read our full Apple Watch SE 2 review
The best premium smartwatch for iPhone
The Apple Watch Ultra 2, released in 2023, is a rugged smartwatch that's our top premium pick. Built with a durable titanium case, it boasts advanced GPS, dive-ready features, and a 36-hour battery, making it perfect for adventurers.
Its standout feature is the 3,000-nit display – the brightest on any Apple Watch se've tested. In our Apple Watch Ultra 2 review, we wrote: “It’s probably the best smartwatch screen I’ve ever seen in person from a purely technical standpoint.” The Ultra 2 is powered by the S9 chip, enabling the innovative Double Tap gesture for hands-free control of key functions, like answering calls and starting workouts.
While the upgrades from the original Ultra are modest, the eco-friendly materials, improved performance, and outdoor-focused tools make it one of the best premium smartwatches available. However, anyone with the original Ultra may not find enough new features to justify upgrading, and the battery life remains limited to around two days – not ideal for longer expeditions without charging.
For those who need durability and top-tier performance – especially in extreme environments – the Ultra 2 is a top choice. However, casual users might prefer the more affordable standard Apple Watch models.
Read our full Apple Watch Ultra 2 review
The best Garmin smartwatch for iPhone
Apple isn’t the only brand to consider when picking the best smartwatch for iPhone. Garmin has consistently been one of the best fitness tech brands and, depending on your preferences, Garmin’s top smartwatches might better suit you. Our top Garmin pick right now is the Garmin Vivoactive 5.
It’s an impressive fitness-focused smartwatch with a sleek design and an upgraded 1.2-inch AMOLED display we thought was stunning during testing. In our review, we wrote: “this is a really bright and colorful display, which means clarity in direct sunlight as well as in use underwater.”
Its 42mm case is lightweight at just 36g, making it comfortable for all-day wear, whether you're working out or tracking daily activities. In terms of health and fitness tracking, the Vivoactive 5 offers over 30 sport modes (including more niche activities like swimming and golf), along with features like Pulse OX monitoring, Body Battery energy tracking, sleep tracking, and stress monitoring. It doesn’t have garmin’s more advanced tools, like Training Readiness, but it covers the essentials, including built-in GPS for accurate tracking on runs and outdoor adventures., making it great for casual athletes and general wellness tracking.
Battery life is one of the Vivoactive 5’s standout features, lasting up to 11 days on a single charge, which is impressive for a smartwatch with an AMOLED display. This makes it ideal for users who don’t want to worry about daily recharging, especially during extended outdoor activities.
Priced more affordably than Garmin’s premium models, the Vivoactive 5 strikes a solid balance between functionality and value. The Vivoactive 5 may lack the advanced training insights of Garmin’s super-premium models, but for those who want a versatile and well-rounded fitness watch with excellent battery life, it’s a great option.
Read our full Garmin Vivoactive 5 review
The best cheap smartwatch for iPhone
The CMF Watch Pro by Nothing offers a premium-looking smartwatch experience at a low price. Which means if you want a budget choice but don’t think the Apple Watch SE range is for you, this option is a good alternative, bringing you all of the essentials at an affordable price.
The CMF Watch Pro has a 1.96-inch AMOLED display, which is housed in a lightweight aluminum alloy casing, with a sleek design. In our CMF Watch Pro review, we wrote: “The design, while clearly taking inspiration from Apple, is lovely. It looks great on the wrist, the materials and finish are top-notch, and Nothing’s signature design language is present across a large library of aesthetically pleasing and functional watch faces.”
The watch is available in two finishes, Dark Grey and Metallic Grey, both of which feel more expensive than they should at this price. However, it’s not perfect and lacks an automatic brightness adjustment, which isn’t ideal in different lighting conditions.
The CMF Watch Pro has excellent features, including 110 sport modes, heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen tracking, stress levels, and sleep tracking. There’s no built-in Wi-Fi or app store here, but the watch offers some great features, including Bluetooth calling and AI noise reduction. Most functions rely on a smartphone connection, and it’s limited compared to more advanced smartwatches.
Battery life is impressive, with up to 13 days on a single charge, though real-world usage with features like an always-on display and 24/7 monitoring did bring that down to about five days during our testing. Charging is via a magnetic puck, but its connection can feel flimsy. Performance is generally snappy, though some users may experience connection issues with Bluetooth.
While it may lack some advanced functionalities, it’s hard to beat the value it offers. However, if you do need more sophisticated features, we’d recommend exploring other options.
Read our full CMF Watch Pro review
The best Huawei smartwatch for iPhone
Huawei makes some of the best high-quality smartwatches out there for people outside of the US, and up there competing with the best that Apple and Samsung have to offer. Unfortunately, Huawei products are still not accessible in the US, which limits their appeal to the UK and Chinese markets.
The Watch GT5 is the first Huawei watch to feature TruSense, which is designed to provide the highest possible level of health and fitness tracking. The emphasis is on runners and cyclists, although there's plenty on offer for a much wider range of exercise types. The watch interface is clear and large enough to display all the required data while working out.
Choose between 46mm and 41mm models with very little difference in features. Both provide a geometric-style watch face that looks great on the wrist. The watch can be partnered with the Huawei Health app on Android and iOS, crossing platforms.
Read our full Huawei Watch GT 5 review
How to choose the best smartwatch for iPhone
Choosing the best smartwatch for your iPhone requires you to think about compatibility, features, and your priorities. The first thing to consider is compatibility. The Apple Watch is the best smartwatch for most people with an iPhone. It’s designed to work seamlessly with iOS, it offers great integration with Apple’s ecosystem. Features like notifications, messaging, Apple Pay, and health data syncing all work incredibly well. If you want the most out of your smartwatch, for most people an Apple Watch is the top choice.
Consider the features you need the most. The Apple Watch offers a range of fitness and health tracking, including heart rate monitoring, ECG, sleep tracking, and blood oxygen levels. Newer models now offer even more advanced features, like body temperature tracking. But if health and fitness aren’t your priority, many of the watches in the guide above offer support for notifications, app interactions, and even cellular connectivity for use without your phone.
The Apple Watch is considered the gold standard for iPhone users, but other options, like Fitbit or Garmin smartwatches, also work very well with iOS. You may find that they don’t offer the same level of integration but do bring you excellent health tracking features and longer battery life. So if you're primarily looking for a fitness tracker with basic notification functionality, these can be great alternatives.
A downside of the Apple Watch, at least compared to some other brands, is its battery life. It typically lasts a day or two. This means that if you prioritize longer-lasting battery life over advanced features, you may want to consider alternatives from other brands, like Garmin, which can last longer on a single charge, depending on the model.
Since you’re going to be wearing it most of the time, the design of the smartwatch for iPhone you choose will be a crucial factor. Apple Watches come in a range of sizes and you can customize them with interchangeable bands, which makes it easy to find a style that suits you. Other smartwatch brands also offer nice-looking and comfortable designs, but depending on your preferences, Apple has the edge in terms of aesthetics and comfort.
For the best overall experience, especially if you have a lot of other Apple products, an Apple Watch is the clear winner. However, if you’re looking for specific features, like extended battery life or more focused fitness tracking, other brands can still offer a solid experience for your iPhone.
What's the best smartwatch for iPhone users?
Most smartwatches will track your basic health metrics such as steps and calories, while devices with built-in GPS make for perfect running, cycling and swimming companions. Many of the watches here also sync up so you'll receive notifications via your watch, saving you the need to dig out your phone as often.
We’ve fully worn, tested and evaluated all the watches in this list and ranked them based on software and which we think is best for most people. Bear in mind the watch at number one might not be best for you though depending on your needs, tastes and budget.
How we test the best smartwatches for iPhone
Our smartwatch process typically involves using the device as if it were our own personal wearable. That's the best way for us to fully test it and see how if fares in the real world. We do a comprehensive sweep of its features, functionalities, performance, battery life, and ease of use, doing so over multiple days.
Of course, since we also want to know how it performs and which features are available when it's paired with an iPhone, we make sure to squeeze that in our testing as well. Once we've collected all the data and information we need, we take all of it and compare it to the smartwatch's price, finding out if it's a great value for our readers before making a recommendation.
