What Are The Best Wear OS Smartwatches in 2018?

Android Wear is so 2017, it’s all about Wear OS by Google. Google rebranded Android Wear to Wear OS by Google earlier this month but that leaves the question, What are the best Wear OS Smartwatches in 2018? There are not even any Wear OS smartwatches in the Google Store at the moment and there hasn’t been any in months. Regardless of what the future holds for Wear OS, many of us still want a good smartwatch without breaking the bank. We want features that matter and good battery life.

In this article, we are going to look at the best smartwatches that run Wear OS. The below-listed watches are still getting current updates. There are other decent watches still being sold that run Android Wear, but many of them are no longer getting updates. For a complete list of watches receiving the Wear OS update, check out this post.

Let’s dive in!

LG Watch Sport Wear OS Smartwatch LG Watch Sport Wear OS Smartwatch

 

1. LG Watch Sport

LG was an early adopter of Android Wear and continues to build solid devices. They built the first decent smartwatch with an integrated LTE chip and continue to dominate the market in Android connected smartwatches.

The LG Sport Watch has a sleek design. I like the screen to body ratio. It is easy to use and the 1.38-inch Full Circle P-OLED Display is very bright in daylight use situations. The 430mAh battery will get you through two days with average use. It packs a heart rate sensor and is IP68 water-resistant and dust resistant.

LG Sport Watch 2 Unlocked LTE Version: http://amzn.to/2IKgmZg

LG Watch Sport specs

Check out our full review of the LG Watch Sport.

Huawei Watch 2 Wear OS Smartwatch

2. HUAWEI Watch 2

Huawei has made a name for itself here in the US with well-designed smartwatches. I have owned the Huawei Watch 2 Sport and it’s a great watch. The integrated Live GPS helps keep workouts accurate. The 1.2-inch circular AMOLED display is small but very bright. The 420 mAh battery life often lasts me 3 days and charges up fast. The ceramic bezel is stylish and durable. I like that the watch monitors sleep as well.

This being my first Hauwei watch, I was impressed with what they built. I wish I was able to get my hands on an LTE enabled version.

Huawei Watch 2 Sport Smartwatch Black: http://amzn.to/2pyycFT
Huawei Watch 2 Sport Smartwatch Grey: http://amzn.to/2DNqPiW
Huawei Watch 2 Classic Smartwatch Black: http://amzn.to/2pybbTr
Huawei Watch 2 Classic Smartwatch Brown: http://amzn.to/2Ge9Knn

Huawei Watch 2 specs

Check out our full review of the Huawei Watch 2 Sport

Asus Zenwatch 3 Wear OS Smartwatch

3. Asus Zenwatch 3

One of my first smartwatches was an Asus smartwatch. I have long been conflicted with Asus because while they produce some high-quality products, their smart devices typically lack in an attempt to be price sensitive.

The Asus Zenwatch 3’s 1.39-Inch AMOLED display is bright and a welcome display size on a watch of this size.

Asus Zenwatch 3 Silver: http://amzn.to/2ueNllj

Asus ZenWatch 3 specs

Nixon Mission Wear OS Smartwatch

4. Nixon Mission Watch

Though this watch has been out for a while now, I included it because it’s a fantastic watch. Nixon also continues to keep it updated with the current versions of Wear OS. For some, this watch at 48mm may be too big, but for me, it’s perfect. I love the Mission. I have had it since it first dropped and I always go running back to it after I get bored with one of my other smartwatches. The 1.39-inch AMOLED display is bright. Built-in GPS helps. With recent software updates, battery life is great. I get 2 days of use out of the watch easily.

The Nixon Mission lacks some basic features modern smartwatches have like a heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, and NFC for payments, but the watch itself is fantastic. It is highly customizable. You can order different bands and bezels that can be changed out. The watch has a 10-ATM (100 meters; 330 feet) rating which means it’s designed for abuse. You can take this watch anywhere.

Nixon Mission Action Sports Smartwatch Black: http://amzn.to/2FYXBDq
Nixon Mission Action Sports Smartwatch Grey: http://amzn.to/2FXk7wR
Nixon Mission Action Sports Smartwatch Orange: http://amzn.to/2pvgKSy
Nixon Mission Action Sports Smartwatch Metallic Surplus Green: http://amzn.to/2ucxy6f

Nixon Mission Specs

Best Overall

All of these smartwatches are fantastic in their own way. It obviously will come down to the style and features you want in a smartwatch. I do recognize that there needs to be a clear winner in all of this so if I had to hand it to one of these watches, I would choose the LG Watch Sport.

The LG Watch Sport has what I would consider a more premium design over the other watches. Each watch has a unique style, such as with the Nixon Mission, but the LG Watch Sport not only has a nice design, but the UX (user experience) is also more polished.

What are your thoughts? Looking at the specs alone won’t help you make an easy decision as most of these watches check all of the boxes. If you had to choose one, which Wear OS Smartwatch would you choose? Let us know in the comments section below.

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