Although smartwatches have been around for a very long time, it is only recently that they have become mainstream.

Companies like Samsung, Apple, Asus, Huawei and many others are working day and night to improve watches and make the smartwatch experience noticeably better.

In the midst of these new developments is the consumer, whose traditional trust continues to belong to watches made with great precision and perfection. This not only led to numerous debates about the usefulness of smartwatches, but also to the "curse of the wristwatch concept".

Nevertheless, there are people who prefer to have all their smartphone information on their wrist.

The unification of functions into a common ecosystem not only makes smartwatches very useful, but creates a new market of their own.

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The best smartwatches in the test

This has allowed manufacturers to release better and better smartwatches, giving the consumer a sense of choice when it comes to finding the right product to meet all of their wearable needs.

Features like heart rate monitors and a plethora of other sensors have found their way into smartwatches, allowing them to enhance the experience with the device even further.

Since the market has been flooded with smartwatches of all types at this point, we made it our mission to compare the best smartwatches out there. For this we will look at the most important information about the watches.

Tip: You can find more smartwatch comparisons at Testreport.de

1. Willful Smartwatch- Cheap and Simple

While some companies are trying to make a breakthrough in the smartwatch market, Wilful keeps things simple and appeals to people like me who prefer simplicity over everything else. I say hello to the Pebble Time smartwatch, a very simplistic and probably one of the cheapest smartwatches on this list.

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Opening the box took me by surprise as the watch was simply placed in the box and looked very minimalistic. When choosing the bracelet for their smartwatch, customers can choose between a rubber bracelet and a steel bracelet. My watch comes with the steel strap and I have to say it looks really high quality for the price paid.

The Wilful Time Smartwatch features an always-on reflective color display that looks great and will darken when viewed in direct sunlight.

It is splash-proof, allowing its owner to wear the watch in the shower or in the rain.

I'm happy to say that the watch has pretty decent battery life too. This was 4 days for me. However, I have to point out that I have charged my watch a little in the meantime, but never fully. Nevertheless, the battery life is very good for a smartwatch.

The watch also has an onboard storage where you can store your OS compatible apps.

While I don't mind a smartwatch without built-in storage, I think it's good that this feature exists. Of course, with all the storage on the watch, you can manage and store numerous media and apps.

Another interesting thing I found about this watch man is the fact that it supports watchfaces usable on both Android and iOS.

This means you can customize the smartwatch interface however you like. The majority of the supported apps are also free.

There are some things I don't like about Pebble Time. There are fitness trackers, although there are sensors in the watch as well.

Furthermore, the apps used look very minimalistic. The display is also a bit too dark in bright daylight, making it difficult to read the time.

Another problem I have to address here is that although there are countless watch faces, the quality of these varies greatly. In addition to some very great apps and watchfaces, you can sometimes find a lot of very bad ones.

Finally, I want to address my biggest issue with the watch, which is that it doesn't have a touchscreen. This makes navigation a bit difficult for me, especially when I want to get things done quickly.

My verdict: The Wilful Time smartwatch is a great deal for people looking for the best smartwatch for under $100.

It's not expensive, looks minimalistic, has a lot of features and a long battery life. A few minor inconveniences can be overlooked.

2. Samsung Watch 3 - Modern with a lot of features

The Samsung Gear series has dominated the smartwatch market for years, and rightly so. That's what happens when you combine good marketing and great products. The Gear S3 is absolutely one of my favorite smartwatches.

As soon as you unpack it you can say that it is a good watch. The S3 takes all the good qualities of previous models and adds even more useful features in the latest version.

Of course, it costs more in comparison to some of the other watches on this list. But that's okay too.

The S3 already offers a high-quality appearance at first glance. This is achieved through the use of higher quality materials during construction. The watch can not only be worn as a fashion accessory, but feels like a premium smartwatch.

In contrast to other smartwatches on the market, the watch does not use an Android-based OS, but an OS specially developed by Samsung called "Tizen". Before my review, I had my doubts about this OS as it was something new and unknown to me.

Fortunately, after a week of use, I can say that the OS looks promising, but the lack of apps might put off some potential users.

Following an update released by Samsung, it is now possible to backup your Spotify playlist offline on the watch's 4GB storage.

This feature makes life a lot easier because I no longer need an internet connection to listen to music outside. The Gear S3 has an animated display that is always on. Unlike other watches, I use it every day and am impressed by Samsung's display.

Another great thing I appreciate about the Gear S3 is the fact that it comes with a ton of fitness trackers of all kinds. While some people may find the watch's permissions skeptical, to be honest I don't find it to be a huge issue.

The Gear S3 also offers a large and intuitive interface, which I think is one of the best on the smartwatch market. All these great features in combination make it a top smartwatch. Nonetheless, I have a few concerns that I would like to address.

The watch looks very bulky on the wrist. Of course, that also depends on the wrists themselves. This topic is very subjective, but I think it's important to address it. Another disappointment was seeing that there were hardly any useful apps.

This is because Tizen is still a smartwatch OS in development. However, it keeps getting better and better. If you don't care about these minor inconveniences, then I can tell you that the Samsung Gear S3 is definitely one of the best smartwatches of 2017.

3. Xiaomi Amazfit - Inexpensive watch with long battery life

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Xiaomi is one of the best companies in the market and has introduced some fantastic user-friendly and affordable products in the past.

Their smartphones, but also other accessories, have always been inexpensive. Today I am looking at one of their smartwatches and will try to give the Xiaomi Amazfit a proper place in this list.

I love how Xiaomi designs their products and gives them a high-end look. Mostly they use high quality components and materials. This removes any doubt as to whether this is a quality product or not.

The Amazfit impresses with a beautiful appearance and built-in quality. She finds the right one Balance between classic and flashy

en elements. It uses the same transreflective displays that are being used more and more in most smartwatches.

The display is easy to read, bright enough and looks good. Another advantage of the Xiaomi Amazfit is its battery life. The battery lasts between 3-5 days when fully charged. This result is without a doubt one of the best results I have ever seen from a smartwatch.

One good thing about the Xiaomi Amazfit is that it doesn't cost a lot of money. If you are looking for a cheap smartwatch, you can afford it even on a small budget.

With the Xiaomi Amazfit you also get functions such as Bluetooth, GPS and a lot of sensors and fitness trackers.

On paper, the watch looks like a complete package, almost like a perfect smartwatch. Still, there are some things that aren't so good. Starting with the cumbersome and confusing firmware. This problem could be fixed with an update, but you have to live with it for the time being.

Another thing to know about the smartwatch is that the app that comes with it fulfills the basic utility but nothing more. The fitness applications are also limited and last but not least, the watch uses an in-house charging dock.

While these issues are a concern, they will not affect your overall experience with the device when it comes to usability. There is no denying that the Xiaomi Amazfit is a wonderful smartwatch and will appeal to a lot of people.

However, it lacks mature features and the "companion app" isn't really good either. However, these errors can still be corrected in further development.

4. Huawei Watch 2 - Lightweight and comfortable

In my opinion, Huawei is one of the companies that tried to make smartwatches relevant to users by combining design elements from traditional watches with the sophisticated features of smartwatches. The Huawei Watch 2 is the result of what has been achieved so far.

The Huawei Watch 2 comes with Android Wear 2.0. This is a big improvement over the first version as numerous new features and important bug fixes have been made.

I realize that it is important for all smartwatches to be comfortable and easy to fit on the wrist. In my opinion, Huawei did everything right with its Watch 2.

The watch can be worn all day long without feeling uncomfortable or overwhelmed with the watch. Considering that the watch costs more compared to other smartwatches, it is only fair for the user to have many choices.

It has many sports sensors and fitness sensors, but that's not all. The watch also has another feature that it calls "real-time workout guidance."

This function is perfect for every lazybones and those who rely on this function. Thanks to a large number of sensors built into the watch, doing sports is made easier.

You will be able to record almost all activities. Also, I was happy to find that the watch's battery lasted almost 2 days.

For those who want more, I'm happy to say that the Watch 2 comes with Bluetooth and NFC. This makes the whole Android Pay system much easier, especially in countries where it is available. If you use Android Pay, you no longer need to carry money with you.

While I've been very happy with the Huawei Watch 2, there are a few things I would change if I could. The design isn't the watch's best feature. It's kept simple and unfortunately doesn't inspire much. Huawei will most likely improve on this with the next watch.

The design problem also leads to another problem, namely that the screen is too small with edges that are too thin. This problem could be solved by making the display a little bigger and being able to adjust the bezels appropriately.

My conclusion is that the Huawei Watch 2 is a great smartwatch with some drawbacks, which should not deter consumers from buying it. This makes the Huawei Watch 2 one of the best smartwatches of 2017 and definitely worth recommending.

5. Apple Watch Series 6 - Good for fitness

Although Apple did not invent the smartwatch, there is no doubt that the company's dedication and involvement in the adoption of the smartwatch was great. I have used almost every Apple product that has come out in my lifetime.

One thing that is definitely safe to say is that consistency is something many companies can't match. The Apple Watch can be understood as a statement from Apple that they know what they are doing. In my opinion, the Series 6 doesn't need an introductory speech.

With the new generation, the Apple Watch takes a step forward and makes things better than they were. You still get a similar unboxing experience and even the watch doesn't look much different compared to the first version. However, it is important to note that under the hood things have clearly changed.

When I first turned the watch on I was struck by the stunning OLED Display blown away.

It's bright and beautiful. Believe it or not, the smartwatch display has 1.000 nits of brightness. This is a very high level of brightness for a smartwatch and makes me fall in love with the display.

Luckily, the display isn't the only good thing about the watch. As soon as it comes to fitness tracking, what is probably the most sophisticated smartwatch on the market shines. There are so many fitness tracking features and sensors out there that you never tire of discovering new ones.

Not only the sensors are good, but also the apps that control them. Apple has truly put a lot of work and time into the development of watchOS 4. The watch also comes with GPS, which refines the tracking and allows the user to document their activities very easily without any complications.

The battery life is roughly the same as the previous model, around 18 hours. I think that with normal usage behavior, a battery life of 2-3 days is a very solid one Performance represent. Battery life will certainly vary from user to user, but it was more than enough for me.

Apple is a company that mainly focuses on performance and even its old devices are still relevant because of their good performance. The performance of the Apple Series 6 Watch is not only very fast, but also reacts immediately to user commands. This ensures that the user can easily navigate through the menu.

The Watch is available in many styles and the choice depends on personal preference:

• 38mm & 42mm aluminum (Silver, Space Grey, and Gold)
• 38mm & 42mm Nike+ (Silver and Space Gray aluminum with custom Sport bands)
• 38mm & 42mm steel (Silver and Space Black steel)
• 38mm & 42mm Edition (White and Gray Ceramic with Soft White/Pebble and Gray/Black Sport band)
• 38mm Hermès (Marine Gala Leather Single Tour Eperon d'Or, Indigo Swift Leather Double Tour, Fauve Barenia Leather Double Tour)
• 42mm Hermès (Noir Gala Leather Single Tour Rallye, Indigo Swift Leather Single Tour, Fauve Barenia Leather Single Tour, Ébène Barenia Leather Single Tour Deployment Buckle, Fauve Barenia Leather Single Tour Deployment Buckle)

In summary, the Apple Watch Series 6 offers a good option for those who want to ensure their smartwatch experience goes well. The watch has great battery life and a beautiful screen, allowing people to fully enjoy the watch.

The only thing I didn't want was that it still looks the same as the first version. But this statement is also completely subjective and should not pose too much of a problem for potential buyers.

6. Conclusion on the best smartwatches

For me, a user of traditional expensive watches, reviewing smartwatches was not an easy task. That was the first time I took her seriously and I'm glad I did.

While my traditional side continues to prefer an analog watch over a smartwatch, there's also the side that no longer sees smartwatches as useless.

Put simply, smartwatches are made for people who actually want to use them. I understood that they are not here to supplant traditional watches. Because they can't. They are only intended to offer people a new and different experience.

With that in mind, it was a lot of fun taking a closer look at all these great smartwatches. The start of my test did not go smoothly, as some devices caused confusion in certain situations.

But after so much hard work has gone into testing these amazing watches and writing about them, I can say that I hope to test more of them in the future.

If you now think that I forgot a super smartwatch in this list, you are more than welcome to let me know. So I can look at them afterwards and try them out. I no longer feel attacked by smartwatches like I did before my test.

6.1 List of features to look for in a smartwatch

Although buying a smartwatch is not a difficult task, it is important for us to know that not all smartwatches are created equal. Some come with their own list of exclusive features that other smartwatches lack.

This isn't the only thing though, as different watches use different operating systems. For example, Android OS is a commonly used OS in smartwatches from Huawei, LG, Asus and Samsung manufacturers, while watchOS is Apple's operating system.

There are other features that are either there or simply missing from some watches due to the price. For anyone in the market looking for a new smartwatch, all of this information is overwhelming, just as it was for me when I first started my research.

In order to figure out which are the best smartwatches of 2017, it is important to know what features to look for in a smartwatch. These features can also be considered "gimmicks" by people who don't use these features. In general, they are helpful in one way or another.

6.2 Voice command option

Voice commands have come a long way in the way they work. Gone are the days when voice commands resulted in insane responses or all in all useless information. Thanks to assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, voice commands are better than ever.

It's only normal to assume that these commands are very helpful when it comes to smartwatches. Especially if you want the watch to open text, read you something, or display other context-based information from an app.

Of course, there are people who don't want to use this feature for whatever reason. Still, it's always good to have some sort of voice command because it can help you in many situations.

6.3 Media Playback Support

This feature may not be helpful for everyone, but I love being able to play music on my smartwatch while I'm jogging. The concept is pretty simple as most smartwatches these days have Wi-Fi or mobile data. That means an internet connection and thus music streaming is possible if you want.

Similarly, these smartwatches also come with NFC or Bluetooth, which allows users to connect their wireless headphones without any hassle. Both features combine to create a great listening experience for people who like to exercise and go to the gym but don't want their music on their phone.

Keep in mind, however, that not all smartwatches come with this feature. Therefore, before buying your dream watch, make sure that it has a media playback function and support for Bluetooth headphones.

6.4 Variety of sensors

A feature that you should definitely pay attention to before buying your smartwatch is the versatility and number of sensors. Heartbeat or similar sensors give you information about your health and can offer added value.

For people who like to do a lot of exercise, having a heart rate sensor is great because it can give them information about their beats per minute. Additional sensors inform the user about calories burned, steps taken or the perfect workout plan.

Simply put, having sensors in smartwatches is really important. Even if it sometimes costs more to get good sensors, it is definitely worth it.

6.5 Customization of watches

Like some other people, I love to personalize things. It's normal to want the ability to customize your smartwatch to your needs. I'm not asking for features that change my entire OS on the watch.

However, the ability to personalize, such as being able to change watchfaces or use third-party watchfaces created by talented developers and designers, is very important. A person cannot be expected to live with a standard watch face for the remainder of their lifetime.

The more personalization there is, the happier the user will be, even if it's just at the software level. Still, it's important to understand that smartwatch personalization doesn't have to be limited to just software.

For example, you put a case or skin around your smartphone to change the appearance to some extent, to make it stand out from theirs and feel more comfortable with it. Although you have a choice of a silicone, leather, or steel strap, different colors are always a good thing.

If you buy a smartwatch, make sure that you can change the straps. This allows for actual personalization if you wish. This is not considered a feature, but it is essential for many people when purchasing a smartwatch.

6.6 Fitness Tracking

If you don't want to buy a smartwatch that only works as a fitness tracker, then at least make sure that the watch has this function. There are many watches, like those from Garmin, that come with great fitness tracker features.

Yes, you pay a little more for good trackers. But the good thing is that if you exercise enough, you will be very well informed about your activities. The trackers make sure you're doing the workout right, which in turn makes a fitness tracker essential.

Large companies such as Samsung and Apple are pursuing and supporting the idea of ​​integrating efficient fitness trackers into smartwatches. This is intended to make a workout easier for users.

For this reason, Samsung is dedicating the Gear Fit Smartwatch to people who want to record their activity. It also aims to enable consumers to spend their money wisely on things built for them.