Battle of the smart watches: Apple, android or hybrid – which one is best?

A watch is more than a statement piece, the latest can track your every movement and even save your life. We take a look at three of the top models on the market.

Apple says its Series 9 Watch is the world's most popular smartwatch. But what are the other options?

There are plenty of smart watches on the market. Apple overtook the entire Swiss watch industry in 2019 to become the world’s best-selling brand. But which watch is the best for you? We take a look at three of the top models.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 

$1299

Pros: Big, clear screen; Battery life

Cons: Can get busy – do I really need the phases of the moon? No Apple Music support.

Samsung’s new rugged flagship watch is squarely aimed at taking on Apple. Not only does it share the same name as its rival’s most expensive watch, it also retails for $100 cheaper than it.

Samsung has Apple in its sights with its new Galaxy Watch Ultra.

It comes in a tough, industrial-like package, with sapphire crystal display, matching the Apple Watch Ultra. The 47mm screen is great for exercising. I tried it running and could clearly see my performance stats without swiping across different screens.

The standard watch face is busy, displaying a compass, days of the week, temperature, heart rate and phases of the moon. If that’s too much information, more minimalist faces are available on the Samsung Wear app.

Samsung has also added a “quick” button to navigate workouts more easily and can activate an 86-decibel emergency siren. But, with three buttons as well as the ability to swipe between functions, it takes a bit of getting used to. It has peak brightness of 3000 nits, again matching Apple’s version. To put this into context, a car’s high-beam light is about 10,000 nits, so the watch is easy to read in full sunlight.

The dial on Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra can get busy.

It also comes with Night Mode, to provide “optimal readability in the dark”, which is a nice feature to have on those winter evening runs.

While android supports Apple music on its phones, Samsung doesn’t support it on its watches, creating another barrier for those looking to switch systems.

Battery life is rated at 100 hours. I didn’t quite achieve that when running, but it lasted more than a day before recharging.

Apple Watch Series 9

From $649

Pros: Bright screen. Easy to use out of the box. Variety of watch faces (animated Snoopy is our favourite).

Cons: Battery life. Does not support Google Play.

It’s been almost a year since Apple launched its Series 9 watch. It sits between the cheaper SE, which costs $399 and the flagship Ultra, which costs $1399. For many people, this is all the smart watch you will need.

Apple's Series 9 Watch comes with a variety of customisable faces.

Unlike the Ultra, it features ion-X glass which isn’t as durable as sapphire crystal and is more prone to scuffing. But with proper care, the watch can still appear like new after a year of use. For those who enjoy more rugged activities like rock climbing, the Ultra would be the better option.

Like all Apple products, the Series 9 is easy to use straight out of the box. Pairing headphones can be a bit tricky though, even Apple’s own AirPods. To get around this problem, it’s important that both the iPhone and watch have the latest software updates installed.

Screen brightness is 2000 nits, which while not as high as the Ultra version, is more than enough for reading in bright sunlight.

Like Samsung’s, Apple’s watches have a variety of customisable options, including bands, case colours and digital faces (the animated Snoopy is our favourite).

The biggest drawback is battery life. Apple says its goal is 18 hours after an overnight charge, meaning it needs charging every day. The overnight charging means it isn’t suitable for a sleep monitoring device (but who really needs to be connected while you’re catching 40 winks?).

It also has a built-in a fall detection feature that can even automatically call an ambulance and alert a family member or friend – even if the user is unconscious and doesn’t have a phone.

Like Samsung, Apple’s watches are designed to work in their own ecosystem. This means no Google Play support or compatibility with android phones.

Withings ScanWatch Nova

$799

Pros: Up to 30 days battery life. Looks more like a high-end Swiss watch than a smart watch.

Cons: GPS tracker doesn’t work unless you’re carrying your phone. Screen can be a bit small for reading stats on the run.

Withings's ScanWatch Nova offers style and connectivity.

Withings, a French company with a pedigree in health-monitoring devices, is one of the most stylish smart watches available on the market. It is part of the invisible tech trend. If you like looking at an analog display rather than pixels, this hybrid watch is for you. Indeed, this has been the one spending the most time on my wrist in past weeks.

But it does have limitations.

The ScanWatch Nova comes with an impressive kit. Inside the box is an oyster metal wristband, with a hammer and holder to remove or add mesh links to perfect the fit. It also comes with a more athletic FKM rubber wristband.

Like the Samsung and Apple Ultra watches, the Nova is encased with sapphire glass. It also has a ceramic bezel, and luminous dial, adding to its classic dive watch appeal – think Rolex Submariner or Omega Seamaster, but at a fraction of the cost.

The watch has two smaller dials. The first, located between 11 and one o’clock is the digital screen, allowing users to access its smart features, controllable by a digital crown. The lower dial between five and seven o’clock offers users a percentage of their daily step-count target in an analog-looking dial.

Withings's ScanWatch Nova takes its style cues from classic dive watches.

The Nova comes in a variety of colours. If you choose black, the digital screen disappears when turned off, making the watch appear fully analog. Phone notifications can also be switched on. While users can choose between a “big” and standard display, it can still be difficult to read stats while exercising.

The Nova can track walking, running and swimming workouts automatically, but for GPS tracking, you need to have your phone, which is its main drawback. Unlike Samsung and Apple, you can’t listen to music on the device – you need your phone for that.

The health-monitoring features, which include blood oxygen, heart rate and what Withings says is the first clinically validated ECG, are easy to use, with charts accessible on the Withings app, which is available on iOS and android.

The Verdict

There is a reason Apple is the world’s best-selling smart watch brand, with a market share of about 59 per cent, according to Statista. It is an all-rounder, able to track exercise with ease, stream music, view messages and take calls. The big let-down is its battery life. This is why I found myself using both the ScanWatch Nova and Apple Watch. They represent a great combo, and can talk to each other via the iOS app to allow seamless tracking when switching watches.

For android users, Samsung’s new Ultra is hard to beat. But while it’s $100 cheaper than Apple’s Ultra, it doesn’t warrant the switch from iOS. It’s a shame it’s not compatible with iPhone and vice-versa.