The Best Smartwatches of 2023, Reviewed

Now, more than ever, there is a huge selection of smartwatches to choose from—watches that do everything from simple run mileage tracking to onboard music to mapping, and more. Today’s smartwatches have touchscreens (that actually work well) and can last up to two months on a single charge. Watches are getting brighter and including super complex functions like running with power.

The only downside to such an “embarrassment of features” is that it can be tough to parse out what features and functions are important and what features you’ll pay for, but never, ever use. The good news is our friends and tech gurus over at Triathlete have an excellent smartwatch explainer plus this guide below.  Each watch is tested personally from our gear guru with a background in smartwatch reviews, so we know what’s real and what’s hype; what’s useful and what’s entirely pointless. Better yet, we distill the stacks and stacks of information that we could write about a smartwatch into a quick, palatable review that you don’t need to set aside an hour to read.

New this year: We’ve added a section that puts the watch in the overall context of all smartwatches on the market right now and talk about who should be buying each smartwatch.

For all of the smartwatches below, we’ve also written full reviews with function breakdowns, pros and cons, and more. Click the links at the bottom of each section for more.

Scroll down below for our expert-tested guide with ratings and at-a-glance information you won’t find anywhere else: from overall value, accuracy, ease of use, rated functions, durability, and all of the measurements you need to make sure you’re getting what you expect.

RELATED: How to Keep Your Phone From Getting Trashed in Training

2023 Smartwatch Guide—The Ratings, Explained

Polar Pacer

polar.com / $210

Though it initially flew under our radar last year, the Polar Pacer is actually a watch that needed to be made. Up until the Polar Pacer, the only truly full-function tri smartwatch—meaning open-water/pool swimming, cycling, running, and triathlon/multisport—for under $300 was the Coros Pace 2 (yes, the similarity between the two names is not lost…). And while the $200 Pace 2 remains one of our top picks for watches even under $400, the fact that Polar was able to (finally) include a capable budget smartwatch in its lineup is a big deal. Hopefully other brands follow suit as the tech becomes cheaper to produce.

That aside, the Polar Pacer (and it’s big brother, the $330 Pacer Pro that adds navigation, accurate altitude/elevation, performance testing, running with power, and more) is an excellent smartwatch for most triathletes. The screen is easy to read, the processor is much faster than the old, sluggish Polar models, and the 6-day (35 hours of GPS training) smartwatch battery is good at this price. There’s not a ton of physiological performance functions—aside from sleep, recovery, and training load metrics—but that’s already probably more than more triathletes need. The only little hiccups on an otherwise great smartwatch are the hit-or-miss GPS and the mostly-miss elevation, thanks to no onboard barometer. But for $210 you can’t have it all.

Where does it stand?

The Pacer is among the least-expensive full-function tri watches (basically meaning it has open-water swimming and multisport profiles). Neither Garmin nor Suunto make anything comparable under $300, and the Apple Watch SE at $250 is a little underpowered—especially in the battery department. If you’re not a fan of the slightly cheaper, but not super lifestyle friendly Coros Pace 2, this is about it for near $200.

Related: We Review the Polar Pacer, A Budget Smartwatch for the Multisport Masses

Coros Apex 2 Pro

coros.com / $400

Coros is known for their smartwatch-is-a-tool philosophy, and nowhere is that more apparent than the newly upgraded Apex 2 and Apex 2 Pro. While the Pace 2 is the light-and-fast, budget smartwatch, and the Vertix 2 is the big, burly “overlander” watch, the Apex 2 falls right in between with very little to make it stand out except for excellent functionality. The super high battery life of 30 days smartwatch/75 hours full GPS is already pretty rare air—something you typically find in the $600+ “adventure watch” category. For most athletes this might feel like overkill, but for triathletes who might use their smartwatch once or twice a day, every day to train, 30 days can actually look more like 20 days or less—still really really good.

Similarly, athletes are known for their love of accurate data, and few smartwatches in this price range can match the dual-band GPS system along with excellent heart rate and HRV measurement. The new Apex 2 also has 32gb of storage—more than enough for offline map storage and offline music storage. Sadly, the lack of smartphone streaming music control and onboard streaming service compatibility (like Spotify) limits the usefulness of the music functions. Unless you have stacks of mp3s sitting on your hard drive and the time to manually transfer and manage them, you might not use music on the Apex 2 Pro very often.

Where does it stand?

The old Apex 1 existed in an uncomfortable “friend zone” of the smartwatch market, and while the Apex 2 is much much better, there are some nasty competitors knocking at the door. Polar’s Vantage V2 has more physio features and more accurate heart rate, but blows the doors off of it in battery life and doesn’t have onboard mapping or music. Garmin’s 955 from last year is also very dangerous at $500, with onboard mapping, music, and better physio features, but slightly less battery. Coros used to have the edge on the Garmin with onboard running with power, but now the Apple Watch ecosystem has it too, as well as Garmin.

RELATED: Reviewed: The Newly-Upgraded Coros Apex 2 Pro

Garmin Forerunner 965

garmin.com / $600

The new Forerunner 965 can be summed up in seven words: New, super big and bright AMOLED screen. Beyond that, not much has changed since last year’s 955. Yes, it has a slightly larger touchscreen (33mm for the 955, 35.4mm for the 965), yes it has a slightly larger battery (23 days in smartwatch vs. 15 days), and yes it has a new short- and mid-term load ratio feature, but those are pretty minor additions compared to the screen.

For those unfamiliar with the 9xx series, it’s Garmin’s everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink model with all tri functions, tons of physio data, on-wrist running with power, and onboard music and mapping. The last feature in that list is most impacted by the new AMOLED touchscreen, and being able to see and move bright full-color maps is a huge boon to anyone looking to explore. Sadly, there is no solar version of the 965 nor has cellular LTE reappeared, and the price has gone up $100 from last year’s model. All in all the 965 is a fully capable smartwatch that can finally be seen much (much) easier while swimming, biking, and running without sacrificing training abilities.

Where does it stand?

While the $500 955 was a breath of fresh air in the upper-end smartwatch market, increasing the price of the 965 to $600 puts it back in the realm of watches like the Suunto 9 Peak Pro (which also has a great touchscreen at $550), the Coros Vertix 2 (with its insane battery life, but ok screen/lifestyle functions at $700), and even the Garmin Fenix 7 (which at this point only has its battery going for it at $700). In that group, the 965’s screen stands out, as does its hardcore training tools.

RELATED:We Review The New Garmin Forerunner 965 With AMOLED

Suunto 9 Peak Pro

suunto.com / $550

You might think of the Suunto 9 Peak Pro as the guy at the party who shows up to a BBQ wearing a blazer. Not the baggy kind, or an overly formal kind, or the tweedy kind with patches on its elbows, but a sporty, form-fitting type, everything in its right place, without extraneous pleats of shoulder pads, only slim pockets and collars that only help to complement the wearer. 

The Suunto 9 Peak Pro feels like this, with its newer, sleeker feel. Having shaved several millimeters off previous Suunto GPS watch models, while adding muscle to its processing power, navigation accuracy, and battery life, the Suunto 9 Peak Pro is the manufacturer’s most prized offering this year, and it’s to be celebrated. With 95 activity options to scroll through on a highly intuitive touchscreen navigation, alongside a portfolio of fresh new clock display formats, this watch is a double-agent: military-grade durability and longevity alongside elegant lifestyle aesthetics that make you want to slip it on for date night (while not looking like a schmuck with an iPad taped to their wrist.) The main downsides are the price point – on the higher end of GPS smartwatches – and the software/app that tepidly organizes and supports activity uploads, a common complaint with Suunto but one we hear they are actively working on to upgrade. 

– Nicholas Triolo, Senior Editor – Outside Run & Trail Runner

Where does it stand?

At $550, the base model of the 9 Peak Pro is in the mix with some pretty heavy hitters: The lifestyle-awesome Apple Watch Ultra is only another $250, you’ll find way (way) more battery life on both the Garmin Fenix 7 and the Coros Vertix 2 for another $150, and even the $600 Garmin Forerunner 965 is knocking on its door with similar battery life and quite a few more features.

Related: Reviewed: The New Suunto 9 Peak Pro

Apple Watch Ultra

apple.com / $800

Apple has had a pretty fraught relationship with long distance runners. On one hand, lots of runners have Apple products, like to stay connected and organized, and like nice things. On the other, marathon and ultra-distance runners run a lot…and so far all of the Apple Watches have had battery life that ranges from unusable to not good. With the release of the beefy, burly (for Apple), “adventure-styled” Watch Ultra, Apple has finally made something that’ll stand up to the daily rigors of long distance training. Though not cheap by any means, this version has a battery that lasts for over 36 hours in smartwatch mode and 16-20 hours of GPS training (more in low power mode). In other words, this is the first Apple Watch that could do an ultra distance race.

Now just because it’s better doesn’t mean it’s great, and the lack of offline mapping, anemic open-water functions, and big wristprint are a few minuses to add onto the pretty weak battery life. That said, it’s a beautiful watch with the hands-down best touchscreen in the game and has so many smartphone integrations (with built-in LTE is basically is a smartphone) that its lifestyle uses might outweigh it’s basic training abilities.

Where does it stand?

In the world of Apple products, $800 might not seem obscene, but when you compare a watch with 36 hours of battery life and minimal training functions to something like the $700 Coros Vertix 2 with a ridiculous 60-day battery life (and built-in maps), it’s a tough sell. Same goes when you put the Ultra against the $700 Garmin Fenix 7—especially since the Fenix 7 has far more lifestyle functions than the Vertix 2.

RELATED: We Review The Apple Watch Ultra

Garmin Enduro 2

garmin.com / $1,100

The Garmin Enduro is a bit of an enigma—positioned a little bit more like a top-of-the-line “Fenix 7XXL” than its own distinct model, the Enduro 2 has tons of battery life (46 days with built-in solar, 150 hours of GPS with solar), onboard mapping and music with 32gb of storage, and a big 35mm touchscreen to make it all run. It also has a very bright—think small headlamp with a wide spread—LED built into the top of the watch. It’s enough light to find your way in the dark while walking, but not quite enough to light up a fast-moving run or bike. It also serves double duty as a way to be seen while running or biking with its blinking function.

And much like other Garmin watches in this price range—from the Forerunner 965 to the Fenix 7X Sapphire—it has all tri features, onboard running with power, and a host of training data/physio functions and features. If you were looking for one thing missing from the Enduro 2 it would be the bright AMOLED screen on the Forerunner 965 and Gen 2 Epix. Otherwise this watch has it all—with an extremely steep price to boot.

Where does it stand?

In terms of price, there’s not much out there that’s more expensive than the Enduro 2, but even at the sub-$1000 price range, there is some stiff competition. Garmin’s own Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar has roughly the same features with marginally less battery for $100 less. The Coros Vertix 2 actually has more battery, but no nifty flashlight or other lifestyle apps/features from the Garmin ecosystem. Outside of those two watches, not much truly compares.