Smartwatch Reviews | The Verge The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts. 2025-10-11T01:17:38+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/rss/smartwatch-review/index.xml https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1 Elizabeth Lopatto <![CDATA[Is the Coros Nomad really an adventure watch?]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=798613 2025-10-10T21:17:38-04:00 2025-10-11T08:00:00-04:00

Coros' Nomad is marketed as a "go-anywhere, do-anything" adventure watch. It's got GPS and offline maps and will track a lot of activities, from yoga to bouldering. There's an "Adventure Journal," which the marketing copy promises will help you record "every step, catch, and summit." While it doesn't have some of the bells and whistles of a more expensive competitor like Garmin, it's a product seemingly aimed at campers, backpackers, and other outdoorsy types who aren't satisfied with something all-purpose like an Apple Watch. So when my colleague Victoria Song flagged the Nomad to me, I took Coros at its word - and, as The Verge's resident …

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]]> Victoria Song <![CDATA[The Google Pixel Watch 4 is the Android watch to beat]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=795383 2025-10-08T09:39:03-04:00 2025-10-08T13:00:00-04:00 Close up of the Pixel Watch 4 on a wooden bench with a handprint in chalk next to a chalk bag.
I didn’t think I’d be saying it in 2020, but Google’s got the wearable juice.

Five years ago, I used to groan when it came time to review an Android smartwatch. Back then, anything that wasn't a Samsung watch was disappointing at best. The space was fragmented, battery life was dismal, and interest just didn't seem to be there. But now, the $349.99 Google Pixel Watch 4 is the most interesting flagship smartwatch launch of the season.

That wasn't on my 2025 bingo card.

The Pixel Watch 4 may look exactly like the Pixel Watch 3, but it's a fundamentally different watch. Hardware-wise, the fourth-gen watch is now repairable, features a domed display, and has upgraded specs, like bigger batteries, a new speaker and hapti …

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]]> Victoria Song <![CDATA[The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a good watch but a small upgrade]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=793264 2025-10-07T08:38:42-04:00 2025-10-07T08:00:00-04:00 Apple Watch Ultra 3 with rain droplets on the screen atop a water bottle.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a great smartwatch, but this is a largely iterative update.

Who is the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 for? The Garmin crowd? I can already hear Garmin fans cackling from whatever distant mountain they're hiking on. The gadget nerd who simply must have the best-of-the-best smartwatch? I'm 99.9 percent sure those folks already have an Ultra 2. For three years, I've been pondering who the Ultra's audience is, and for the Ultra 3, my answer is simple: anyone who wants one but doesn't have one yet.

The Ultra 3 doesn't pack in a ton of updates - especially not compared to the entry-level Apple Watch SE 3. The screen is marginally larger thanks to thinner bezels. Satellite and 5G connectivity have been added. Ba …

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]]> Victoria Song <![CDATA[Apple Watch Series 11 review: stuck in the middle]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=778012 2025-09-16T09:48:18-04:00 2025-09-16T08:00:00-04:00 The space gray Apple Watch Series 11 sitting on an angle atop a series of concentric purple discs with the Flow watchface shown.
The Series 11 is a great smartwatch, but it’s not the most exciting one.

No one is going to wax lyrical about the Apple Watch Series 11. Not because it's a bad smartwatch - it's a great smartwatch, actually. There's just nothing that makes it feel special this year. Alas, the $399 Series 11 is the middle child of Apple Watches.

It's not the Series 11's fault that the entry-level Apple Watch SE 3 got a major glow-up. It can't help that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 gets everything the Series 11 has plus satellite connectivity. But there's little to mask the fact that this watch doesn't offer much more than the entry-level SE 3. You're mostly paying extra for a bit of polish.

Hardware-wise, the Series 11 is nearly iden …

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]]> Victoria Song <![CDATA[The Apple Watch SE 3 is the one to buy]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=778037 2025-09-15T20:48:08-04:00 2025-09-16T08:00:00-04:00 Apple Watch SE 3 on a peach colored disc with more discs standing vertically to the right side. There’s a speckled blue background.
The Apple Watch SE 3 is the star of this year’s lineup.

When I walked into Apple Park last week, there was one thing that I did not have on my bingo card: the $249 Apple Watch SE 3 stealing the show from the Apple Watch Series 11 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

But here we are. It's 2025, and the entry-level Apple Watch is the one I'm most excited by.

That's because compared to the iterative updates of the Series 11 and Ultra 3, the third-gen SE has gotten a massive, wide-ranging glow-up. Unlike the other watches, there also weren't any leaks suggesting this was even in the cards, making this jam-packed release a total surprise. And the cherry on top? In the lead-up to the event, I wrote the easie …

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]]> Victoria Song <![CDATA[The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is stuck in a familiar orbit]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=715171 2025-07-29T12:20:48-04:00 2025-07-30T08:00:00-04:00
I bet you didn’t notice the squircle that much here. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

If last year's Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 was tried and true, this year's Galaxy Watch 8 is a bit more like tried and fine.

This isn't overtly bad. Most smartwatch newbies will be delighted by the $349.99 Galaxy Watch 8 - provided they can stomach the new squircle design. It's more that if you've been a fan of Samsung smartwatches, it feels like Samsung has more or less been retreading safe, dependable ground with incremental tweaks since the Galaxy Watch 5. Aside from Gemini, there's not much here that moves Android smartwatches forward. Truly, on the hardware side of things, the squircle is the Galaxy Watch 8's main talking point.

Samsung G …

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]]> Victoria Song <![CDATA[watchOS 26 preview: a subtler take on AI]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=710780 2025-07-24T13:14:19-04:00 2025-07-24T13:14:19-04:00
Liquid Glass is also on watchOS 26, and you can see a Smart Stack notification because I’m using my iPhone camera.

Apple just launched the watchOS 26 public beta, which means everyone can now try the latest software heading to the Apple Watch this fall. That includes new Apple Intelligence features, such as Workout Buddy, new messaging features, the Wrist Flick gesture, and more.

I've been using the developer beta and have some thoughts to share. Apple Intelligence doesn't arrive on watchOS 26 with a bang. So, why bring it to the watch now, and why this particular set of features?

David Clark, Apple's senior director of software engineering for watchOS, told me it was a matter of highlighting the Apple Watch's "core competencies": fitness and staying c …

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]]> Victoria Song <![CDATA[The Casio Ring Watch is extremely silly, and that’s why I love it]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=618918 2025-02-25T10:55:06-05:00 2025-02-25T10:30:00-05:00 Close-up of senior reviewer Victoria Song’s hand where she wears the Casio Ring Watch on her index finger. Her other fingers have an assortment of silver rings, which are contrasted against a black shirt and holographic silver nails.
Casio made the CRW001-1 as a limited-edition collectible to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

I am the last person on earth who needs another watch. As The Verge's resident wearables reviewer, I'm always double-wristing the latest smartwatches. I am also the last person who needs another ring after spending a whole summer wearing six of them like a high-tech mafia wife. But I never said I had good sense, so I've spent the last few weeks wearing the $120 Casio CRW001-1 - or perhaps more aptly named, the Casio Ring Watch.

There is no pretense here. This is a tiny Casio watch that sits on your finger. Casio made it to celebrate its 50th anniversary and to cash in on your retro design nostalgia for the halcyon age of our collective yout …

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]]> Victoria Song <![CDATA[Amazfit Active 2 review: outsized bang for your buck]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=608342 2025-02-07T14:44:47-05:00 2025-02-09T09:00:00-05:00 Close-up view of the Amazfit Active 2’s screen, which shows a retro-styled watchface with a bright blue background behind the product.
This $130 smartwatch certainly doesn’t look it. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

A common reader request I get goes something like this: what should I buy if I don't want a smartwatch but want basic fitness tracking? When I suggest alternatives like budget fitness bands or smart rings, I get an unsure hmm and a displeased scrunch of the nose. After a few more back-and-forths, I usually find that many people do want a smartwatch. They just don't want one from Apple, Samsung, Garmin, or Google. They want something more akin to ye olde Pebble or this retro-chic $56 Casio. For those folks, consider the humble Amazfit Active 2.

Amazfit's shtick is delivering an outsized bang for your buck. The Active 2 starts at $99.99. For …

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]]> Victoria Song <![CDATA[Samsung Galaxy Watch FE review: a bogus bargain]]> https://www.theverge.com/24300723/samsung-galaxy-watch-fe-review-smartwatch-wearables 2024-11-20T08:00:00-05:00 2024-11-20T08:00:00-05:00
A Galaxy Watch 4 by any other name.

Everybody loves a deal. That's the whole point of budget devices like Samsung's Galaxy Watch FE: it may lack the flagship watch's flashy features and premium hardware, but you save a good chunk of cash in exchange. It's a fair, sensible tradeoff - but only when companies strike the right balance between price and features. And with the $199.99 Galaxy Watch FE, Samsung is way off the mark.

Here's the thing. Design-wise, the Watch FE is a lot like the brand-new Galaxy Watch 7, which sells for $299.99. They look nearly identical! They share most of the same software features, like activity tracking, notifications, and advanced health features …

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