Modern smartwatches have evolved into your first line of wellness.
Picture this – you are sitting at your desk when you receive a subtle buzz on your wrist. Your smartwatch sends an early notification about your resting heart rate being abnormally elevated relative to your baseline skin temperature. The onboard AI then presents this data to suggest your body is fighting off an oncoming bug before you even feel a sniffle. You get your warning in advance. Even though the creators of these devices ask you to be cautious, you still have a fair idea of when to get quick medical help.
These are no longer just expensive lifestyle gadgets complementing your wardrobe. Instead, these are all about keeping an eye on your vital stats.
From lifestyle accessories to actionable AI insights
Anshika Jain, Principal Analyst at Counterpoint Research, agrees with the notion.
“Over the years, the role of smartwatches has evolved from being lifestyle accessories to wellness-first devices, with brands prioritising continuous health monitoring, comprehensive insights and preventive care rather than being limited to notifications or basic activity tracking,” she said in a discussion with Financial Express Digital.
“The baseline for smartwatches today has evolved from basic fitness tracking to delivering actionable, AI-powered health intelligence, with continuous insights into health, recovery, and preventive care,” adds Prabhu Ram, VP-Industry Research Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR), adding to our discussion.
“The advanced smartwatches are increasingly offering AI-powered wellness coaching, personalised health recommendations, recovery tracking, and preventive health monitoring. A few of the health features, like ECG, Sleep apnea, are also backed by regulatory clearances, enhancing their credibility and reliability,” adds Anshika, referring to the flagship offerings from Google, Apple and Samsung.
“For consumers who are serious about fitness and long-term wellness, a premium smartwatch can offer meaningful benefits, although it is not an absolute necessity,” adds Prabhu Ram, suggesting that while it’s not a necessity, these smartwatches promise benefits.
Which smartwatches do experts recommend?
Ideally, we recommend buying what suits your personal preferences as far as the health suite and feature set are concerned. However, if you need help with choosing the watch and its related ecosystem, here’s what the experts say.
“Consumers are looking for premium smartwatches due to their superior experience in terms of accuracy, advanced health sensors, software ecosystem, and continuous feature updates. Ultimately, ecosystem integration and personalisation are becoming two of the strongest differentiators in the premium smartwatch market,” advises Anshika Jain.
Meanwhile, Prabhu Ram suggests that “the ideal choice should be guided by factors such as health features, sensor accuracy, battery life, software support, and compatibility with the user’s smartphone ecosystem. Ultimately, the value of any smartwatch lies in the reliability of its health insights and its ability to encourage healthier daily habits.”
Based on these inputs, here are our recommendations on choosing your next smartwatch:
Apple Watch Series 11
Price: Starts from Rs 46,900
Launch date: September 2025
Expert tip: “We believe that for iPhone users, Apple Watch is the first choice as it provides seamless integration and a comprehensive health experience,” says Anshika.
Why we recommend: The proactive all-rounder smartwatch
Ecosystem binding: Tightly locked to iOS, which is why it requires an iPhone for setup, data syncing, and native app integration through Apple Health and iCloud.
Fitness tracking features: It offers low cardio fitness notifications, swim/snorkel water resistance (up to 50 meters), depth gauge (up to 6m), water temperature sensing, custom workout profiles, and wrist-based running metrics.
Health and wellness monitoring: It features FDA-cleared ECG capabilities, hypertension notifications, Sleep Apnea detection, cycle tracking with retrospective ovulation estimates, and the Vitals App (which synthesises overnight heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, and blood oxygen).
AI features: On-device Siri with secure health data access, Apple Intelligence health insight processing, double-tap/wrist-flick gesture controls, and automated fall/crash detection.
Who should buy it: iPhone users looking for active health monitoring, reliable cardiac/sleep safety alerts, and smooth daily iOS integration.
Apple Watch Ultra 3
Price: Starts from Rs 89,900
Launch date: September 2025
Expert tip: Ideal for high-end active users and outdoor adventurers within the Apple ecosystem seeking maximum physical durability and extended battery life.
Why we recommend: Specialises in outdoor activity monitoring
Ecosystem binding: Tightly locked to the iPhone / iOS ecosystem.
Fitness tracking features: It features precision dual-frequency GPS, 100-meter water resistance suitable for scuba diving and high-speed water sports, depth gauge up to 40 meters, emergency siren, and up to 42 hours of battery life (72 hours in Low Power Mode).
Health and wellness monitoring: The Watch Ultra 3 includes all Series 11 health tools such as the ECG app, hypertension notifications, Sleep Apnea detection, irregular heart rhythm alerts, Vitals App, and continuous wrist temperature sensing.
AI features: The device integrates Apple Intelligence for active health data processing, context-aware emergency safety alerts, and on-device voice queries via Siri.
Who should buy it: The Watch Ultra 3 is best recommended for outdoor adventurers, endurance athletes, and divers, who require rugged titanium construction, long battery endurance, and top-tier GPS precision.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 series
Price: Starts from Rs 37,999
Launch date: July 2026
Expert tip: Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 9 stands out for Android users looking for advanced wellness features, AI-powered insights, and ecosystem connectivity.
Why we recommend: Because it’s the ultimate data monitor for your body.
Ecosystem binding: Works only with Samsung Galaxy devices and compatible Android smartphones via the Samsung Health & Samsung Health Monitor app.
Fitness tracking features: The watch features Daily Cardio Load tracking, Fitness Index metrics, adaptive workout programs that learn from individual stride data, and recovery guidance to prevent overtraining. For those focused on workouts, the Watch 9 presents an overload of health data.
Health and wellness monitoring: Using its upgraded 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor, the Watch 9 can track continuous heart rate, ECG, live blood pressure monitoring, FDA-certified Sleep Apnea detection, Vitals tracking (HRV, skin temp, blood oxygen, respiratory rate), AGEs metabolic markers, and Hearing Health noise alerts. Hence, you get a more comprehensive overview of your health vitals.
AI features: Google Gemini comes built-in with wrist-raise voice actions, while Galaxy AI offers health intelligence, i.e., personalised sleep coaching, and proactive recovery recommendations.
Who should buy it: If you have an Android, and specifically a Samsung smartphone, and you seek a high-precision, comprehensive and continuous wellness monitor packed with biometric and metabolic tracking, look no further than the Galaxy Watch 9.
Google Pixel Watch 4
Price: Starts from Rs 39,999
Launch date: October 2025
Why we recommend: Blending Google’s Wear OS with Fitbit’s deep fitness analytics, it is ideal for users who want clean, accessible health guidance backed by smart algorithms.
Ecosystem binding: Designed for Android smartphones running Wear OS 6.0, syncing data with the Fitbit app and Google services.
Fitness tracking features: It can track high outdoor accuracy, advanced running form analytics, custom workouts, real-time metrics, Cardio Load, and Target Load.
Health and wellness monitoring: It can do continuous heart rate tracking, SpO2 monitoring, ECG reading, continuous stress detection, skin temperature tracking, advanced sleep stage monitoring, and Daily Readiness Scores.
AI features: The Gemini AI assistant provides voice coaching, context-aware recovery advice, AI-based exercise detection, and smart notifications.
Who should buy it: Fitbit enthusiasts looking for a lightweight circular smartwatch with deep stress tracking, dual-frequency GPS, and Gemini AI integration for smarter insights should consider the Pixel Watch 4.
Garmin Venu 4
Price: Rs 67,990
Launch date: September 2025
Expert tip: Garmin remains the preferred choice for athletes and serious fitness enthusiasts due to its comprehensive fitness metrics, training tools, and battery life.
Why we recommend: Because it offers the most comprehensive fitness tracking
Ecosystem binding: Unlike the others here, the Garmin Venu 4 connects with both iOS and Android smartphones via the Garmin Connect app.
Fitness tracking features: It gets multi-band GPS with SatIQ technology, which allows for wrist-based running dynamics and running power monitoring, PacePro pacing strategies, track running, dedicated triathlon/multisport profiles, rucking profile, turn-by-turn navigation, and up to 10 days of battery life.
Health and wellness monitoring: You get Body Battery energy monitoring, Sleep Coach with automatic nap detection, HRV Status, Morning Report summaries, Health Snapshot (2-minute log), Pulse Ox blood oxygen tracking, guided meditation, and Jet Lag Adviser.
AI features: Although it lacks support for Gemini or Siri, the onboard AI allows for automated physical recovery analysis, intelligent nap and stress detection, and adaptive training readiness algorithms.
Who should buy it: Dedicated athletes, runners, and fitness purists who don’t want to stick to an ecosystem and seek granular physical performance analytics, and multi-day battery endurance should consider it.