How to Leverage Your Smartwatch s Gaming Capabilities for Playing Simple Mobile Games or Streaming Services During Breaks
Best gaming smartwatches 2023
The best gaming smartwatch is a very convenient way to upgrade your ability to game and stream.
You may be asking just what a gaming smartwatch is... and you wouldn't be alone! In essence, a gaming smartwatch is exactly what it sounds like - a watch that may be able to track your heart rate like some of the best fitness trackers, but can also display it on screen when you're streaming.
Having these devices allows you to connect with your audience on a whole new level, sharing a literal inside view into how you're reacting to any gaming experience.
The obvious contender would be, of course, competitive gaming, but there are some hilarious applications when combined with any of the more scary titles out there too.
As a result, we've gone through specs, reviews, features, prices, and more to put together a list of the best gaming smartwatches for you to dive into if you're struggling to find one. Let's get into it..
Best gaming smartwatches
- Garmin Instinct Esports Edition
- Garmin Vivoactive 4
- AppleWatch Series 6
- KOSPET MAX S
- MorePro Smart Watch
1. Garmin Instinct Esports Edition
Best gaming smartwatch overall
Connectivity technology: BluetoothBattery Life: 80 HoursFeatures: Heart Rate Sensor and Stress Level
The recently released Garmin Instinct Esports Edition is designed with eSports gamers in mind. It features built-in stream integration allowing you to easily broadcast your estimated heart rate and stress level.
It uses the Garmin app called Str3AMUP!, enabling streamers to show their heart rate and stress levels during a match's high-intensity moments.
In addition to the ability to stream your heart rate and stress levels, it features an incredibly long battery life of up to 80 hours, ensuring that if you forget to charge your smartwatch, you'll be okay for your next stream.
Coming in at under 300, we'd say it's a good investment to take your streaming to the next level.
2. Garmin Vivoactive 4
Best midrange gaming smartwatch
Connectivity technology: BluetoothBattery Life: 8 DaysFeatures: Heart Rate Sensor
Another fantastic smartwatch from Garmin is the Vivoactive 4, which offers unique features that include a heart rate monitor, body energy monitoring and can even be paired with headphones for phone-free music!
It features a minimalistic black design which allows this smartwatch to look professional while still being used on your stream.
To connect this smartwatch to your PC to get the heart rate data, you'll need to get one of Garmin's USB ANT Stick, which is available here. This device connects through a single USB port on your computer and connects to the Vivoactive 4 when in range.
3. AppleWatch Series 6
Best gaming smartwatch from Apple
Connectivity technology: BluetoothDisplay: Always On DisplayBattery Life: 18 HoursFeatures: Heart Rate Sensor, GPS
The Apple Watch Series 6 is a smartwatch like no other, as it uses a completely different operating system called watchOS.
This enables the Apple Watch to offer a significantly different experience when compared to other smartwatches that may use an Android-based OS.
Streamers have found a workaround to get their heart rate on stream from their Apple Watch, which is to use a website called HeartTwitch. This website links to your Apple watch and displays the BPM when a workout is started, allowing streamers to capture and place the webpage into their preferred streaming application.
4. KOSPET MAX S
Best gaming smartwatch with a large screen
Connectivity technology: Bluetooth, 4G LTEDesign: WaterproofFeatures: Heart Rate Sensor, GPS
The KOSPET MAX S offers a vastly different design to other smartwatches with its square screen and high-resolution display.
While this smartwatch has not officially stated support for streaming your heart rate to a computer, an app called Heart Trace 2 has been known to work with many Android wear devices.
It's also waterproof, a plus for both kinds of weather whilst exercising outside, and for combating those random spillages!
5. MorePro Smart Watch
Best gaming smartwatch under 100
Connectivity technology: BluetoothBattery: 168 HoursScreen Size: 1.3 Inches
A good call for a gaming smartwatch for under 100 could be the MorePro. It features a sleep Monitor and heart rate sensor, and again, it's waterproof.
Like the previous entry, there's no official statement that this can send your heart rate data to a computer, but many have seemingly had success with the same app.
The best cheap smartwatch 2023: Great wearable tech that won't cost the earth
The best cheap smartwatch models allow you to track your health and fitness from your wrist and aren't as prohibitive in terms of price as the premium models. Some of them are a couple of years old but still run just as well, while others sacrifice certain features to bring the price down to manageable levels.
The best smartwatches like the Apple Watch Ultra 2 may offer more functionality, but not all of us need all the extra features. If you're just looking to do a 10K around your local park, a cheap watch will serve you just as well. Unless you're aiming to take regular ECGs, train for an ultramarathon, or spend your days hiking in the wilderness, you don't really need a top-end wearable.
You may be tempted by a Google Pixel Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, but the best cheap smartwatches below will do the job just as well.Many of these budget smartwatches can come with vital features like GPS, heart rate monitoring, or a beautiful, responsive screen as well, although at lower price points, you do have to pick and choose which features matter most, as they won't all be featured on a single device.
We've tested most smartwatches on the market so we know a thing or two about what makes a good one tick, even if it's a budget model. Take a look at our picks of the best cheap smartwatches below, including some of the best Android smartwatches and smartwatches for iPhones.
The best cheap smartwatch 2024
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The best cheap smartwatch designed by Apple
Specifications
OS: Watch OS 9
Compatibility: iOS
Display: (40mm) 1.53 inches 324 x 394 px. (44mm) 1.78 inches 368 x 448 px
Processor: S8
Onboard storage: 32GB
Battery duration: 18 hours
Charging method: Magnetic charger to USB-C
IP rating: WR50
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, GPS + Cellular models available
Reasons to buy
+Typical slick Apple Watch looks
+GPS enabled
+New car crash detection
+Latest watch OS
Reasons to avoid
-More expensive than most on the list
-No ECG
-No always-on screen
Even though it's more expensive than most of the cheap entries on this list, as the cheapest watch in Apple's stable, this is the best option for iPhone users looking for a future-proof fitness watch that doesn't cost a bomb. It's 'nylon-infused' at the back, ensuring it's partially made of fabric to cut down on weight (the new 40mm Apple Watch SE is about 13% lighter than the previous version, and 18% lighter than the 41mm Series 8) .and cost.
The screen is still as tough as ever though, and it's got the same excellent watch OS 9 as it's more premium contemporaries, so on-wrist running power, vertical oscillation and other key metrics for runners (which even Garmin can't do without a HRM yet) make this one of the best cheap smartwatches for runners. Other fitness stuff includes stroke counts for keen swimmers and the ability to close your rings with movement, whether that's in the great outdoors or using Apple Fitness+, which you also get access to.
You get additional health benefits including crash detection, which can register impacts and automatically notify emergency services in case of an accident. It comes in two sizes in both GPs and GPS+Cellular, depending on your needs.
Read our in-depth Apple Watch SE2 review
The best cheap smartwatch for general fitness
Specifications
OS: Fitbit OS
Compatibility: Android, iOS
Display: 1.37in 300 x 300
Processor: N/A
Onboard storage: 2.5GB
Battery duration: Around five days
Charging method: Magnetic connecting pin
IP rating: WR50
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
Reasons to buy
+Improved lightweight design
+Always-on display option
+Good battery life
Reasons to avoid
-Lacks GPS
-No offline Spotify playback
The Fitbit Versa 2 is proof that affordable smartwatches can rival some of the premium models. Even if it's an older smartwatch at this point, having been succeeded by Versa 3 in 2020 and Versa 4 in 2022, it's still one of the best cheap smartwatches, thanks to its plethora of great features that budget-minded fitness enthusiasts can appreciate.
We found the Versa 2 to be a near-perfect fitness tracker during our testing. It boasts a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for even non-beginners to simply focus on the activity at hand instead of trying to figure out where to go to record their workouts. Even if you forget, its smart enough to log any activity 20 minutes or longer as exercise.
Having Alexa is a nice perk, although we did find the feature to be inconsistent during testing. In addition, theres no GPS so you need to have your phone with you to accurately record location and distance-based information whenever youre hiking or going on a run. However, even we bring our phones with us during hikes and runs so this isnt much of a downside really.
Read our in-depth Fitbit Versa 2 review
The best cheap smartwatch with GPS under $100
Specifications
OS: RTOS
Compatibility: Android 5+, iOS 10+
Display: 1.43in 320 x 302
Processor: N/A
Onboard storage: N/A
Battery duration: five days
Charging method: Magnetic connecting pin
IP rating: 5 ATM
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
Reasons to buy
+Built-in GPS
+Fitness and tracking features
+Precise sleep tracking
Reasons to avoid
-App sync issue
-Notification management
Amazfit Bip U Pro is the best cheap smartwatch if you're limited to that under-$100 price range. The brand is known for its reliable and well-built affordable smartwatches, so you can count on one of their bestsellers to see you through your daily activity tracking needs.
This particular model is an improved version of the highly popular Bip U. And, for a budget smartwatch, it comes with several great features including built-in GPS for outdoor tracking and a voice assistant with Amazon Alexa integration. In fact, its one of few budget wearables to have GPS. Amazfit also didnt just add it for the sake of having it. During our testing, we found that the GPS tracking on this watch works beautifully, giving accurate results.
That might be the most important addition to this update, but there are loads of others to mention as well. Its got many fitness and health features such as heart rate, SpO2, sleep, and breathing tracking as well as more than 60 workouts and activities, plus a camera shutter.
Read our in-depth Amazfit Bip U Pro review
The best cheap smartwatch for runners
Specifications
OS: Garmin OS
Compatibility: Android 7+, iOS 13+
Display: 1.04in 208 x 208
Processor: N/A
Onboard storage: N/A
Battery duration: Up to 2 weeks
Charging method: USB-A
IP rating: 5 ATM
Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wireless
Reasons to buy
+Workout suggestions
+Recovery time suggestions
+Well designed controls
Reasons to avoid
-Relatively low-res display
-No on-watch sleep widget
There are smartwatches, and there are smartwatches for running. And, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is the best cheap smartwatch for running you'll find on the market, undercutting the Apple Watch SE 2 on price and nearly equaling it in running features. Its an entry-level model, setting you back for much less than other advanced running smartwatches, but its a thoughtfully-designed one thats a step-up from a basic fitness tracker with a design thats new-user-friendly.
During our tests, we found the new workout suggestions to be the most useful features, as they not only encourage beginners, but also expand their workout options and allow them to discover new ones. The recommended rest time at the end of a workout is fantastic as well.
Of course, specifically for runners, it features Garmins brilliant on-board GPS. In our tests it established a lock extremely quickly and recorded a three-mile route to within a few yards. Thats on top of the other tools included specifically to help you become a better runner.
Read our in-depth Garmin Forerunner 55 review
5. Garmin Descent G1
The best cheap divers watch
Specifications
OS: Garmin OS
Compatibility: Android, iOS
Display: 0.9in 176 x 176
Processor: N/A
Onboard storage: N/A
Battery duration: Up to 48 days
Charging method: USB-A charging clip
IP rating: 10 ATM
Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+
Reasons to buy
+Great as a lifestyle smartwatch with dive-specific features
+Much more affordable than other options
Reasons to avoid
-Not as powerful as dive computers
-Still pretty expensive if youre just looking for a smartwatch
Although we havent reviewed the Garmin Descent G1 just yet, its a highly-recommended smartwatch for divers looking for a more affordable option. Dive watches arent cheap for good reason, but this one from Garmin offers budget-minded and beginner divers an option thats almost half the price of its rivals while still boasting many dive-specific features.
That includes its display thats crystal clear especially in dive mode, leak-proof buttons, and an up to 100m dive rating. There are several dive modes on hand as well, including apnea and apnea hunt mode as well as freedive modes. Meanwhile, the display will give you access to vital dive information such as a 3-axis compass, depth, deco-stop requirements, and residual nitrogen.
As this is more of a lifestyle-slash-dive smartwatch hybrid, youll find lifestyle-specific features as well like health monitoring, biometric tracking, and sleep monitoring. Best of all, it has a battery life of 25 hours (diving) and up to four months when used as just a smartwatch.
How to choose the best cheap smartwatch for you
Besides the price, it's important to check its compatibility with your phone, as some smartwatches aren't compatible with an iPhone, for example. There's also the battery life and the features.
If you're a runner, it's important to get the best cheap smartwatch for running as it'll have running-specific features that others might not have. If you need to track your sleep, a longer battery life certainly important as you don't want to be charging twice a day.
Don't expect the latest Apple or Samsung flagships to be on the list, as those tend to sit at a much higher price point and out of people's reach if they're looking for a cheaper option. However, as we mentioned earlier, 'cheap' can be relative. A cheap regular smartwatch is going to be considerably more affordable than a budget smartwatch for divers. Keep that in mind when looking at your options.
How we test smartwatches
Although not every smartwatch on this list has been fully tested by us, our smartwatch experts have more than enough experience to know exactly what makes them tick and what makes an excellent choice.
Those we have reviewed, however, we have put through their paces. To ensure that every cheap smartwatch gets fully tested in the real world, we use it as our own personal wearable for a week or so. We also perform a comprehensive sweep of its features at least the most important ones, and varied usage over multiple days to give us a clear idea of how battery life performs. Once we have all the information we need, we compare it with its price tag to see if it's a great value and worth recommending to readers.
