The Best Smartwatches For Women

Let’s begin with the obvious – if you’ve got an iPhone, for whatever reason, the Apple Watch is still your best bet. Android Wear phones like the Moto 360 2 and Huawei Watch below do work with iOS but not as well as they do when paired with an Android phone.

It now boasts native apps which run even when your iPhone isn’t nearby and a handy Time Travel feature to scroll through your agenda. Built in fitness features do let it down though so don’t be fooled by the TV ads and battery life is only 1 – 2 days. In our updated, 3 1/2 star Apple Watch review we concluded: “While the Apple Watch does a lot right, the battery life and usability issues show the company couldn’t quite muster up a miracle of smartwatch design.”

Therefore it’s not perfect and if you can hold on, it might be worth waiting for the Apple Watch 2 which we should see in spring 2016.

Moto 360 2

Now to Android, or Android Wear specifically – our top pick for women right now is the Moto 360 2. Though that might not be for long with Huawei Watch and Samsung Gear S2 reviews coming very soon.

A big part of this, as with the Apple Watch, is the two sizes available – 42mm and 46mm – and the levels of personalisation available with Moto Maker. The round-faced watch can look really classic in rose gold or gold finishes, the special ‘womens size’ lugs, and the smaller 16mm straps.

The one thing that might put you off is that it is still chunky sitting on the wrist so bear that in mind. In terms of features, it’s almost identical to other Android Wear watches so there’s nothing really standout beyond the usual alerts, accurate-ish heart rate monitoring and voice controls.

In our 3 1/2 star Moto 360 2 review, we said: “The Moto 360 2 improves on some key problems with the first Moto watch – performance and battery – but there’s nothing that really moves smartwatches on. If you’re sold on Android Wear and are willing to accept its flaws the second gen Moto 360 is an affordable, stylish, everyday smartwatch.”

Pebble Time Round

The $249 Pebble Time Round doesn’t ship until November so we haven’t tested it yet. That said, it should be on the shortlists of any style-conscious smartwatch buyer.

It doesn’t have that trademark, long Pebble battery life – now it’s only two days and the display is colour e-paper rather than LCD. But according to Pebble and those press pics, it’s one of the thinnest, lightest smartwatches we’ve seen yet. It weighs just 28g and is 7.5mm thick – by comparison the Moto 360 2 is 11.4mm so that’s damn impressive.

With two band sizes, of a skinny 14mm and more regular 20mm, and three finishes of black, silver and rose gold, the round, two tone Pebble could be a big hit with women buying their first smartwatch. As ever, it’s compatible with both iPhone and Android so you’re not tied to one handset.

Olio Model One

This luxury smartwatch option definitely has the boyfriend watch look about it but Olio Devices’ Model One does now come in real, 24-karat gold and 18-karat rose gold-plated finishes.

With smaller watches due in the future, the 47mm, limited edition Model One offers a bespoke watch face for each design, custom alligator grain on the Italian leather bands and Olio Assist, its cloud-based personal assistant which CEO Steve Jacobs boasts is more helpful than Google Now.

It’s iOS and Android compatible, has a two day battery life and can also be matched with stainless steel link bracelets. Olio luxe doesn’t come cheap though. Look out for a review of the Olio Model One on Wareable very soon.

Huawei Watch

The Huawei Watch is another Android Wear smartwatch which means it runs on the flawed, but ever-improving, Google wearable OS. Like Motorola, Huawei has chosen a round faced, stainless steel watch and gone big on customisation with its first smartwatch. There’s a range of styles and finishes available. It is at the higher end and it remains to be seen whether it’s worth the extra money.

The 1.4-inch display is a selling point, at 400 x 400, it’s the highest resolution we’ve seen on Android Wear watches yet and it’s also IP67 water resistant and compatible with Jawbone’s UP platform for fitness tracking.

At 42mm in diameter and 11.3mm thick, it’s essentially the same size as the Moto 360 2 but it is finished carefully with scratch-resistant sapphire glass and really skinny bezels. The Karlie Kloss ad campaign should turn a few fashion heads in Huawei’s direction but stay tuned for our Huawei Watch review for the full verdict.