Best Smartwatches in August 2014

Earlier this year, Google officially introduced Android Wear, their new mobile operating system for smartwatches and wearable devices. Soon after the announcement several OEMs announced their intentions to launch smartwatches underpinned by Google’s Android Wear platform.

So far, we know of the existence of three Android Wear smartwtaches: the LG G Watch, the Samsung Gear Live, and the Motorola Moto 360. While the G Watch and the Gear Live are already up for grabs on certain markets, the Moto 360 has yet to hit the stores. Anyway, the Android Wear smartwatches aren’t the only ones available for purchase.

A smartwatch is quite useful, especially if you have to deal with a lots of text or emails on a regular basis. You can see who’s trying to contact you without touching your smartphone or the device you have paired the smartwatch with.There are quite a few apps available for download and, besides that, the smartwatches look pretty nice, so they can be a cool fashion item, too.

Even though there are a lot of smartwatches currently on the market, only some of them are as good as you would expect them to be. You can find the best smartwatches that are current;y available for purchase in the list below.

Samsung Gear Live

Among others, Google I/O 2014 also brought us a couple of Android Wear smartwatches. Samsung Gear Live is one of them, being the first Android Wear-powered device developed by the South Korean company.

Gear Live can be yours with either Black or Wine Red straps, while featuring a metallic, buttonless design. Samsung’s smartwatch is IP67 certified which means that it’s both water and dust resistant, it arrives with a heart rate monitor and an always-on display. You can use the device to sent texts, take notes, or control it via voice commands, and it’s compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean or later.

The Android Wear-powered Samsung watch boasts about a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED square display, quad-core Snapdragon 400 CPU, and 512 MB of RAM. It also has 4 GB of native storage, 300 mAh battery, and a weight of 59 grams. Samsung Gear Live is available for purchase from Amazon at a price of $199.

Samsung Gear 2

Unlike Gear Live, Samsung’s Gear 2 is running a customized version of Tizen OS. Gear 2 was officially announced back in February during Mobile World Congress event.

Samsung’s Gear 2 is IP67 water and dust resistant and has three strap color options Black, Orange, and Brown. It has a built-in camera with 720p video recording capabilities, heart rate sensor, and an infra red port which can be used to control TVs, set-top boxes, and other such devices.

Samsung Gear 2 has a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display, dual-core 1 GHz Exynos CPU, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB storage, Bluetooth Low Energy, 300 mAh battery, and a 2 MP BSI camera. It’s compatible with 17 Samsung devices including Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S4, and Galaxy S3. You can purchase the Gear 2 from Amazon at a price of $284.94. It’s available on Black, Brown, and Orange.

Samsung Gear 2 Neo

Samsung Gear 2 Neo is a lower-end variant of the Gear 2. Both smartwatches were introduced earlier this year at MWC 2014 tech fair in Barcelona.

There are three color options available for Gear 2 Neo: Charcoal Black, Mocha Gray, and Wild Orange. The wearable device is also capable of satisfying your fitness-related needs courtesy of he integrated heart rate monitor.

With Samsung WatchOn and the infra red port you can use Gear 2 Neo to control TVs and set-top boxes, it has IP67 certification, and it can be paired with 17 supported Samsung devices. Just to name a few Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4 Mini, or Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition.

Hardware-wise, Gear 2 Neo is similar to Gear 2. It has a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display, 300 mAh battery, BT 4.0 LE, 512 MB RAM, and 4 GB of storage. Anyway, it doesn’t come with a camera. Amazon is selling Gear 2 Neo at a price of $199.

Samsung Gear Fit

Just like its name suggests Gear Fit is a fitness-orientated smartwatch. Gear Fit was officially announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and it runs a customized version of Tizen OS

You will be able to use Gear Fit while swimming as it’s IP67 water resistant and you can wear it 24/7 courtesy of the always-on activity tracking. It arrives with an 1.84-inch Curved Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 432 x 128 pixels, has a dual-core 1 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB storage, 210 mAh battery, and BT 4.0 Low Energy. Gear Fit also integrates a heart rate sensor, gyroscope, and accelerometer.

The device is compatible with 17 Samsung smartphones and tablets and the interchangeable straps are available in 6 colors. You can order Samsung Gear Fit from Amazon at a price of $149.99.

LG G Watch

Even though LG revealed they will be making an Android Wear-powered smartwatch soon after the Android Wear announcement, the South Koreans waited for Google I/O 2014 to officially debut the wearable. The LG G Watch was also made available for purchase in Google Play Store and on Amazon.

G Watch has two color options for its changable straps (Black Titan and White Gold) and it’s IP67 certified, meaning it’s both water and dust resistant. The Android Wear watch manufactured by LG has a 1.65-inch square IPS LCD display, quad-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB storage, BT 4.0, and a 400 mAh battery.

LG G watch is compatible with any Android smartphone running Jelly Bean 4.3 or later. You can order yours from Amazon for $229.

Sony Smartwatch SW2

Sony is also in the smartwatch battle, their Smartwatch SW2 being almost a year old now. Even though it’s more budget-friendly than other watches in our list, it doesn’t mean that it’s not competitive.

Sony’s Smartwatch SW2 has a weight of 122.5 grams and measures 42 x 9 x 41 mm. Is IP57 certified (water and dust resistant), has a scratch resistant layer, an aluminium body, and you can choose for either a stainless steel or a silicon wristband. Sony’s watch arrives with a 220 x 176 1.6-inch smartwatch, has Bluetooth 3.0, NFC, and it can be paired with smartphones running Android 4.0 ICS or higher.

Sony says that the battery of the Smartwatch SW2 can keep the device awake through 7 days of low usage or 3-4 days of normal usage. Amazon has the Smartwatch SW2 in stock. It has a price of $144.

Pebble Steel

If you want your watch to be smart and good-looking then you should have a look at Pebble Steel. It has a dedicated App Store and there you will be able to find plenty of apps.

Pebble Steel is 5 atm waterproof (metal band only) and the battery should be able to provide an autonomy of 5 – 7 days of normal usage. It measures 46 x 3 x 10.5 mm, weighs in at 56 grams. You can order the Pebble Steel from Amazon at a price of $229.99.

Pebble

Pebble is the predecessor of the Pebble Steel. The smartwatch was released in 2013 after backers crowd founded Pebble Technology Corporation’s Kickstarter project.

Pebble features a black and white e-paper screen and, just like its successor, has a battery life of 5 – 7 days. Is 52 mm tall, 36 mm wide, and 11.5 mm thin, while having a weight of 38 grams.

The smart wearable features a polucarboante case, TPU rubber or silicon strap, is water proof to 5 atm, and it has support or all Pebble apps available in the dedicated App Store. It’s available in Black, Red, or White. Amazon is selling the first-gen Pebble at a price of $149.99.

Qualcomm Toq

Qualcomm released their first smartwatch back in December 2013. Called Qualcomm Toq, it’s compatible with any smartphone running Android 4.0.3 or above, but the company is recommending a Jelly Bean or above handset.

The smartwatch boasts about a Mirasol display sized 1.55-inch diagonally with a pixel density of 222 ppi. Toq also has support for wireless charging, features Bluetooth 3.0 and a 240 mAh battery.

Qualcomm Toq weighs in at 91 grams and the wrist band size ranges from 6 to 8.7 inches. You can order one from Amazon after you pay $232.96.