Best Wear OS watch 2022: our list of the top ex-Android Wear smartwatches

Knowing which is the best Wear OS watch for your needs can feel intimidating when there are so many options out there. It’s useful to know what features you need most, as well as the right style that will suit you. That’s before you even consider your budget.

To help you out, we’ve tested pretty much every smartwatch running Wear OS on the market. That way, we can keep this definitive list up to date so you can be sure the advice is current with the latest developments.

The list includes major brand names like Huawei, Fossil, TicWatch and Misfit, because they all offer the best Wear OS experience. However, the list doesn’t include any watches from Fitbit as it uses a different operating system. Also, there’s only one from Samsung as the majority of its wearables use its own operating system – Tizen – which provide different strengths to Wear OS.

When choosing a Wear OS watch, it’s useful to think about the design you want. After all, you’re wearing it so you want something that suits your style.  For the most part, the Wear OS remains the same but the look is what differs.

In all cases, expect software that has a clean interface and focuses on providing you with useful notifications from your phone, while also tracking your health and fitness too.

We’ve included only the most recent Wear OS products so you’re guaranteed to have the latest software with no risk of outdated hardware, but make sure to read the individual reviews for each smartwatch to ensure you get the one that best suits your needs, tastes, and budget.

If you’re after a wider selection of watches running a variety of operating systems, our best smartwatch guide is ready to help you find the right wearable for you.

Best Wear OS watch 2022

Returning to Wear OS means the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is now the best Wear OS watch out there. It doesn’t use a typical Wear OS UI, embracing One UI Watch 3 instead, but it’s still a top-end smartwatch that can track workouts along with mostly everything else you can think of.

That comes at a price for iOS owners (don’t count on it working with your iPhone) and you’ll need a Samsung smartphone to gain features such as blood pressure or ECG measurements, but it’s the right combination, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 offers great looks, decent battery life, and speedy performance.

Fitness enthusiasts will particularly appreciate the new 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor that means the watch can track your heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and body composition, right down to skeletal muscle mass and body fat percentage.

Read the full Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 review

The Fossil Gen 6 is the company’s latest smartwatch, and it features a powerful chipset, a good display and a sleek design. If you’re looking for a top-end Wear OS watch, the Fossil Gen 6 may be a suitable choice for you.

We particularly liked the 1.28-inch display with its 416 x 416 resolution that looked bright and crisp in all lighting conditions.

The design is where this watch sings though, and if you like the look of the Fossil Gen 6 you’ll likely be happy with your smartwatch purchase.

Read the full Fossil Gen 6 review

Smartwatch manufacturer Mobvoi have a variety of TicWatch products in this list, but the very best is the TicWatch Pro 3 . It comes with some top-end specs, a phenomenal battery life and it won’t cost as much as some other smart wristwear either.

This uses the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100 chipset with 1GB of RAM, and we found this smartwatch to be one of the most powerful devices of this list. Apps load quickly, and we didn’t find any time where you’ll be left waiting for something to boot up.

Where does this smartwatch come into its own? Battery life, as the smartwatch can last for up to 45 days in something called ‘Essential Mode’ that allows you to extend its battery life if you’re away from your charger for extended periods. It’ll even last for a full three days without that turned on though.

Read the full TicWatch Pro 3 review

The Fossil Sport is a great combination of value and features in a lightweight body that you’re able to wear comfortably day-to-day or when you’re working out. There’s GPS and the battery life often lasts around two days.

It was one of the first smartwatches to sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset. That means this watch offers a smoother experience than a lot of the others in this list.

Overall, if you’re looking for a smooth experience or an easy to use smartwatch. you’re almost certain to enjoy the Fossil Sport. Plus, the price has dropped a lot in recent years so that makes it much more attractive.

Read the full Fossil Sport review

The reason the TicWatch E2 sits so highly in this list is largely down to its price. It’s one of the best cheap smartwatches money can buy, and it sports the latest in Wear OS software.

Compared to the last-gen TicWatch E, you’ll get 30% better battery life here with our reviewer saying it lasted for over two days with average usage. You’ll get less if you’re using lots of fitness features though.

It’s waterproof so you can take this watch into the swimming pool, there’s GPS to track your location and there are lots of other features here too. It lacks NFC, so you can’t use this for Google Pay, but considering the price you’ll likely love what the TicWatch E2 can do.

Read the full TicWatch E2 review

The Gen 5 is a decent Fossil smartwatch but not a patch on the Fossil Sport sitting at number one in this ranking. The Gen 5 cost is more expensive without bringing too much else, but you might prefer its classic watch looks to the Sport's more active design.

The Gen 5 comes in a larger Carlyle version or a smaller Julianna, but both have the same premium features like bright vibrant displays, GPS, a heart rate sensor, 1GB RAM and the latest Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset, meaning it's very fast and responsive.

Its battery saver modes are genuinely useful and it has water resistance up to 30m, but it's more expensive than other Wear OS watches and the speaker is poor.

Read the full Fossil Gen 5 review

This watch is very similar to the TicWatch E2 on paper, and that’s largely because it is. In fact, all of the spec is exactly the same here and the company has released two versions with different names because they have differing designs, but S2 has a more durable design than the E2 that is listed above.

The S2 has military grade durability so it should be able to take a bit more of a beating than any other watch on this list making it suitable for adventurers as well as runners.

Other than that, you’ll have two-day battery life, GPS, a waterproof design and all the other benefits of the latest Wear OS software. If you’re trying to save money look at the TicWatch E2, but if you prefer this design the S2 isn’t much more expensive.

Read the full TicWatch S2 review

This isn’t our favorite device in the TicWatch range – which takes up a lot of places near the top of this list – and that’s because it isn’t as innovative as the TicWatch Pro. That said, it’s still a good option if you’re looking for an affordable smartwatch.

In fact, this is one of the most affordable smartwatches if you want GPS and Google Pay support in the same package.

This isn’t as built for fitness fans as a lot of other options on this list, but it does feature some elements for you to use to workout. With some impressive tech built-in considering the price, you should take a look at the TicWatch C2 before buying any other watch on this list.

Read the full TicWatch C2 review