Best smartwatches for battery life in 2024

Smartwatches have quickly become mini-computers with many features, from messaging to health tracking. But to continuously enjoy these benefits, enduring battery support is required. So, unsurprisingly, battery life is a key metric to be considered when weighing features and hardware. From favorites like Garmin to budget winners like Amazfit, some reputable models offer a good combination of software, hardware, and cost. Thankfully, this list includes the best smartwatch options that prioritize battery life without sacrificing too much in the process.

Top long-lasting smartwatches

The Garmin Vivoactive 5 strikes the right balance, making it a useful and effective wearable. It’s a smartwatch and fitness tracker in one, and its 42mm size and lightweight build give it broad appeal. It can track over 30 sports and activities — with improved GPS coordination — plus monitor heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen, and more. It is, however, missing an altimeter, so if you’re looking to keep tabs on how many stairs or floors you climb, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

The information it does log will be showcased on its vivid AMOLED display, which can last for up to five days in always-on mode. It’ll achieve up to 11 days if you leave that feature off. GPS and other use cases, like streaming music, could affect how long it lasts, but you should be able to go for days before it needs to recharge. Even when it does, the included proprietary charger replenishes it fairly quickly.

It’s also important to remember where the Vivoactive 5 falls within Garmin’s lineup. It’s not focused as much on running as the Forerunner series does, nor is it as ruggedized as the Fenix series. Think of it more as a more affordable alternative to the Venu series.

You might look at the Samsung Galaxy 5 Pro as something of an outlier since the company has moved on to newer models, but to be fair, this is still the only Pro model in its ranks. Part of the reason for that has a lot to do with the rugged build, courtesy of sapphire crystal glass protecting the screen and a titanium body that can withstand some punishment. You get plenty of health and fitness tracking features, along with the useful Wear OS features, so this is a pretty fully loaded smartwatch despite its finicky strap mechanism.

Samsung claims up to 80 hours of battery life per charge, though it largely depends on what you’re doing with it, as the always-on display and GPS tracking are the two biggest drainers. With moderate use and a mixture of features, the Galaxy 5 Pro could reach three days, making it stand out among other Wear OS models that simply can’t last that long on one charge.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro still offers unique features other Samsung watches don’t, like the GPX maps that work for hiking and cycling, but they’re also still limited in scope. However, it loses out on the physical rotating bezel, a Samsung Classic smartwatch staple.

A squared design makes the Amazfit Active look a little like an Apple Watch, but it’s an otherwise entirely different device in style and functionality. At 42mm, the device is not particularly large, and its lightweight body makes it comfortable to wear for long stretches. That’s good news if you plan on working out often considering Zepp Health is tied into it and the fitness tracking features include a Daily Readiness score to gauge performance and preparation. But heart rate tracking may not always feel consistent, which may skew numbers sometimes.

Amazfit rates the Active at up to 14 days on what it considers “normal” use, which means leaving the always-on display off and doing the basics for activity and sleep tracking. Even with heavier usage, though, you can probably hit ten days without skipping a beat and losing out on all the tracking features. If you’re new to Amazfit, you may have to adjust to the interface and how everything works, but it’s hard to find this much at this price.

The OnePlus Watch 2 isn’t a subtle choice when you consider its 47mm size, making it one of the biggest options on this list. Its overall thickness and weight may also give you pause compared to the more lightweight options available, though you won’t feel uncomfortable wearing it at length. It is a Wear OS watch, but there are no exclusive features for OnePlus devices.

A vibrant display helps the watch look nice, and it’s easy to navigate, but OnePlus still has software kinks to work out. The digital crown also doesn’t even scroll when rotating it. Assuming the company fixes these things with software updates, the Watch 2 can really hit a different stride, but as is, there is a bit of a trade-off. It tracks various health and fitness metrics, though consistency and accuracy need to be updated to improve on both fronts.

But the watch’s greatest asset is battery life. The device’s two processors work together, giving the wearer four days of use on a single charge. The Snapdragon W5 chipset handles Wear OS apps and the more power-intensive features, while a low-power BES2700 chip running a real-time operating system (RTOS) handles background tasks, like maintaining the connection to your phone and how the health sensors perform. True to OnePlus’ pedigree in fast charging, it can also fully charge to 100% in less than an hour. It is a proprietary charger, so you don’t want to lose it, but at least it detaches to make it easier to take with you and plug in any USB-C cable.

The Withings ScanWatch 2 takes a different approach by way of a hybrid design that blends advanced digital features with a traditional timepiece. It’s elegant and sophisticated, made all the better by the fact it holds up really well in light of the mixed focus. Sapphire crystal protects the display from nicks and scratches, while the lightweight body feels comfortable on your wrist for extended wear.

The small digital display isn’t necessarily conducive to viewing all the details and notifications you might want to see, but the benefit is prolonged battery life that lasts up to 30 days with one charge. Even if you factor in the new PPG and skin temperature sensors doing their thing, it would be hard to see the ScanWatch 2 dropping below three weeks per charge. That’s simply outstanding compared to the norm for smartwatches — even if this is more of a hybrid.

That’s also where you have to accept some differences, like how the analog sub-dial only tracks steps and no other activity. On the bright side, you can see all the metrics in the Withings app.

The Garmin Fenix 7 Pro is a serious smartwatch — by “serious” we mean it’s clearly aimed at those who take their activity and conditioning seriously. This 47mm smartwatch is not for the casual user, sporting a rugged build with U.S. military standards and the ability to work on land, sea, and air. While it integrates well with smartphones and offers plenty through the Garmin Connect app, much of the onboard interface focuses on health and fitness tracking relevant to exercise and sleep. And there’s a smorgasbord of tracking features and data available for runners.

A newer heart rate monitor makes the Fenix 7 Pro among the most accurate watches available, which works out even better considering the number of sports and exercises it can track. Together with the other onboard sensors, the watch comes up with a Body Battery score to help determine how ready you are for a workout. Unfortunately, you don’t get a skin temperature sensor to pull that data.

Considering everything the Fenix 7 Pro does, it’s surprising that it can go between 14 and 37 days per charge depending on how you use it. It’s hard to approximate for very specific use cases, but suffice it to say, it will last a long time, regardless. Garmin’s proprietary charger is the same throughout its various smartwatches, but you still don’t want to misplace it in the rare time you have to recharge the device. The built-in flashlight is very cool, especially when you tailor it to alternate white and red lights based on your arm swings while running.

The Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5 is something of a rarity for Wear OS devices in that it lasts for up to four days per charge. You’re more likely to hit three with moderate usage — a little less if you really go hard with it — but it proves to be an efficient wearable. The dual-layer display is a big reason why battery life is so good. It combines a low-power LCD panel with the main OLED display to share certain features in favor of power consumption. This way, you can see basics, like the time and date, step count and heart rate, among other notifications, while the main screen handles all the heavy lifting from Wear OS.

The TicWatch Pro 5 isn’t going to dig as deep as others when it comes to activity tracking, though you can expect at least a dozen workouts from the TicExercise app. Built-in GPS helps track outdoor activities, while the heart rate monitor and SpO2 sensor keep tabs on health metrics. The whole package won’t feel as established as other more expensive Wear OS smartwatches, but this watch won’t feel like it’s holding back too much, either.

Sleep tracking could be better, or at least more consistent, because the TicWatch Pro 5 tends to overestimate sleep duration. On the bright side, the watch has a nifty power-saving mode during sleep that holds off battery drain considerably, helping it last longer per charge.

The Fitbit Versa 4 essentially comes with mostly one job to do, and that’s track activity and exercise to help you get more active and feel better. Much of that comes from subscribing to Fitbit Premium to get all the extra features, like workout routines, meditation practices, and even recipes. Since Fitbit cut off the third-party app support prevalent in previous models, the Versa 4 focuses heavily on tracking exercise, though Google Assistant, Maps, Wallet, and YouTube Music are accessible.

Built-in GPS and an always-on display are the biggest battery drainers, though you won’t need to use them all the time anyway. Fitbit rates the Versa 4 at six plus days of battery life, but the real number will be somewhere in between, three to five days in most circumstances. And because the Versa 4 lacks the same additional sensors found in the Sense 2, it usually lasts longer per charge.

It’s not big or bulky, and IP67 protection gives the device some durability in active situations, making it an appealing option for all wrists.

Smartwatches that keep on going

Smartwatches, and wearables generally, continue to get better at tracking health and activity, though battery life is a constant work in progress for every brand, which is why it’s common to see compromises to make them last longer. If longer battery life really matters to you, it’s something you’ll have to keep in mind as you look for the next one to strap on your wrist.

The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is a stud for battery life, and while it may not offer all the features and integrations you would get with a Wear OS watch, it’s a good lower-cost option for active users among the more expensive Garmin options. If you want Wear OS with a more rugged body, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is still the sturdiest model the company offers to date, offering a nice mix of phone integration with a slew of tracking features to go with it.

If your budget can’t quite reach that high, you could also look at the Amazfit Active as an alternative, especially if you feel you don’t need the extra bells and whistles. It still offers more than just a rudimentary feature set, which is a big reason why it’s on this list.