Which smartwatch brand to buy in 2024

In our unique longevity and customer satisfaction survey, we've asked more than 15,614 people, including Which? members and members of the public, to tell us whether they're happy with their smartwatch and if they've experienced problems, so you can see which brands are worth choosing. 

You might be surprised to learn that Fitbit was the smartwatch brand that developed the most faults within six years of ownership, out of the nine big brands included in our survey.  Broken straps and battery life getting significantly worse over time were the most common faults reported by Fitbit owners, and by all survey respondents who owned a smartwatch from any brand. 

Devices freezing, control buttons no longer working,  watches no longer syncing properly with phones, and straps breaking were other commonly reported smartwatch faults. 

Discover the best smartwatches

Smartwatch brands rated

Which? members can log in to see the scores and star ratings each smartwatch brand earned in our latest survey. Not yet a member? Join Which? now to get instant access to all of our reviews. 

Table notes: The customer score, proportion faulty and proportion repaired or replaced are based on a survey of 15,614 people who own smartwatches, conducted in March 2023. n/a means there isn't enough data. The proportion repaired or replaced is based on products bought in the past six years. 

Fortunately, smartwatches are a fairly reliable bunch of products: only 7% developed a fault within six years. Security updates are just as important, though, as a device that's no longer supported could expose you to hackers. Find out which smartwatch brands offer the longest security support periods.

The most common smartwatch faults

We reveal which faults smartwatches are most susceptible to, so that you know what to watch out for. 

Which smartwatch brands are seen as best value for money?

Cheap doesn't necessarily equal value for money, but expensive smartwatches might not justify their high prices. Which? members can find out which brands are considered worth the spend by owners. 

Which smartwatch brands are best at repairs?

We reveal which brands provided a good service when customers contacted them about repairs, and which ones left customers feeling frustrated. 

If your smartwatch is beyond repair, our guide to buying the best smartwatch can help you select a new one. Or to complain to a manufacturer, use our guide to your rights for getting a refund, repair or replacement on a faulty product.

How we calculate the best smartwatch brands

Which? has a wealth of information on Britain's favourite brands. Every year we ask Which? members to tell us about the tech they own – from how likely they would be to recommend a brand to how reliable the products are once they get them home. 

This year, 15,614 people, including Which? members and members of the public, told us about more than 54,567 individual products, including 3,471 smartwatches. 

• We calculate our customer score based on whether customers would recommend each brand and their level of satisfaction.
• We also evaluate which brand's smartwatches developed the most faults in the first six years. 

Our surveys, combined with our extensive lab tests, mean we can recommend the best smartwatch to buy. 

Find out more about how we test smartwatches. 

Head to our smartwatch reviews

We test smartwatches for large and small budgets, for people wanting a hi-tech watch with lots of health and sports features and for people just wanting a more simple device to help them stay connected. Our scores take into account what matters to buyers, including battery life and accuracy of the stats recorded. Use the links below to read reviews of models from each of these smartwatch brands:

• Amazfit smartwatch reviews
• Apple smartwatch reviews
• Fitbit smartwatch reviews
• Garmin smartwatch reviews
• Huawei smartwatch reviews
• Samsung smartwatch reviews
• Withings smartwatch reviews
• Xiaomi smartwatch reviews