The Best Smartwatches and Smart Watches for Physical Activity in 2025
Discover the best smartwatches and smart watches of 2025 to monitor your physical activities, with advanced health and connectivity features.
Smartwatches have revolutionized how we monitor our health and physical activities. In 2025, these devices offer advanced features that go far beyond just showing the time, including heart rate monitoring, sleep analysis, integrated GPS, and even artificial intelligence to optimize your workouts.
Whether you're a professional athlete, amateur runner, or someone just starting to exercise, there's a perfect smart watch for your needs. Our selection considers everything from premium options to more affordable models, all focused on helping you achieve your fitness goals.
Table of Contents
- Galaxy Watch Ultra - The Most Complete
- Apple Watch Ultra 2 - Best for iPhone
- Garmin Forerunner 55 - Running Specialist
- Xiaomi Mi Band 8 Active - Affordable Option
- Samsung Galaxy Watch7 - Samsung Economic
Galaxy Watch Ultra - The Most Complete
- Display: Super AMOLED 1.5″
- Material: Titanium 4 and Sapphire Crystal
- Protection: 10 ATM/IP68 + MIL-STD 810H
- Battery: 590mAh (100 hours)
- Weight: 60g
- GPS: Dual frequency
- AI: Galaxy AI integrated
The Galaxy Watch Ultra represents the most advanced in smartwatches. With integrated artificial intelligence, titanium construction, and military resistance, it's the ideal companion for professional athletes and adventurers. Monitors everything from ECG to body composition, operating in extreme temperatures from -20°C to 55°C.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 - Best for iPhone
- Display: LTPO OLED 49mm (3000 nits)
- Chip: S9 with intuitive gestures
- Material: Titanium
- Protection: MIL-STD 810H1 + EN13319
- Battery: up to 72 hours
- Weight: 61.4g
- GPS: Dual frequency precision
For iPhone users, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 offers perfect integration with the Apple ecosystem. Its ultra-bright display allows viewing even under intense sunlight, while new gestures facilitate use during activities. Monitors everything from blood oxygenation to emotional state.
Garmin Forerunner 55 - Running Specialist
- Specialization: Professional running
- GPS: High precision integrated
- Battery: 14 days of use
- Weight: 37g (ultra light)
- Features: Pace, cadence, recovery
- Protection: 5 ATM
- Analysis: Physical condition and history
Developed specifically for runners, it offers detailed performance analysis, personalized training suggestions, and pace guidance. With high-precision GPS and weighing only 37g, it's practically imperceptible during long workouts.
Xiaomi Mi Band 8 Active - Affordable Option
- Display: LCD 1.47″
- Design: Thin smart bracelet
- Modes: +50 types of exercise
- Battery: 14 days autonomy
- Weight: 26g (ultra light)
- Protection: 5 ATM (50m)
- Watch faces: +100 options
Perfect for beginners in the fitness world, the Mi Band 8 Active offers complete health monitoring in a compact format. Tracks more than 50 sports modalities, including swimming, with a battery that lasts two weeks.
Samsung Galaxy Watch7 - Samsung Economic
- Display: Super AMOLED 1.2″
- Material: Resistant sapphire crystal
- Modes: 90 types of activity
- Battery: 247mAh (2 days)
- Weight: 26.6g
- NFC: Samsung Pay payments
- Analysis: Body bioimpedance
The most affordable version of Samsung's premium line maintains essential features like body composition analysis by bioimpedance. Sapphire crystal display ensures superior resistance, while Samsung Pay facilitates payments during workouts.
Smartwatch vs Smartband: Which to Choose?
The choice between smartwatch and smartband depends on your specific needs. Smartbands are more discreet, lightweight, and economical, offering basic activity monitoring like steps, heart rate, and sleep. They're ideal for those who want to track essential indicators without major investments.
Smartwatches offer a complete experience with larger displays, integrated GPS, NFC payments, music storage, and voice assistants. Some models work independently of smartphones, allowing calls and app usage directly from your wrist.
If you exercise regularly, need precise GPS, or want advanced health features, a smartwatch is the best option. For basic monitoring and maximum savings, a smartband works perfectly.
Does a Smartwatch Work Without a Phone?
Not always, but it depends on the chosen model. Most affordable smartwatches need a smartphone to sync data, receive notifications, and control music via Bluetooth. They're complementary devices that expand your phone's functionality.
However, premium models like Galaxy Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Ultra 2 offer greater independence. They allow making calls, listening to locally stored music, using GPS without phone connection, and making contactless payments.
For intense physical activities where carrying a phone is impractical, investing in a smartwatch with independent features makes all the difference in user experience.
How We Choose the Best Smartwatches
Our selection considered essential criteria for physical activity practitioners: build quality, water and impact resistance, health sensor accuracy, battery life, and variety of supported sports modalities.
We also evaluated features like integrated GPS, independent connectivity, ease of use during exercise, and compatibility with different operating systems. Cost-effectiveness was fundamental to include options for all budgets.
We analyzed user reviews, sensor accuracy tests, and durability under real sports use conditions. Each smartwatch was chosen to serve specific profiles, from beginners to professional athletes who need detailed performance data.