Wearables saw a lot of new launches in India in 2020, and we tried out a lot of them to find the best ones. With the ongoing pandemic, people are actively looking after their health and these wearables make it easier to keep a track of it. The ones that we have shortlisted help you keep a track of the amount of steps you’ve taken, your sleep duration, your heart rate and a few are also capable of tracking your blood oxygen levels. So if you are planning a healthy start to 2021, here are the best wearables of 2020 that’ll help you track your way.
Best Smartwatch of 2020: Apple Watch Series 6
The Apple Watch Series 6 gets the top spot in our list of the best wearables of 2020. You can get the Apple Watch Series 6 in different case finishes right from aluminium, all the way up to titanium. You can also customise different types of bands as well based on your preference ranking the Apple Watch Series 6 very high in terms of customisation.
Apple’s top of the line wearable packs in a powerful S6 SiP that is capable of delivering a smooth user experience without any hint of lag. It also gets Apple’s W3 Wireless chip and Apple’s U1 ultra-wideband positioning chip which is capable of keyless entry and ignition on supported vehicles. You can go for the GPS only model, else there is the GPS + Cellular model as well which offers LTE connectivity on the watch.
In terms of fitness tracking, the Series 6 has a wide variety of workouts it can track. It is also capable of tracking steps and distance quite accurately. Thanks to watchOS 7, the new Series 6 is also capable of sleep tracking, along with a few older models. There is SpO2 tracking as well which we found to be more accurate than the Galaxy Watch 3. The Apple Watch Series 6 can only be used along with an iPhone which limits its user base. It is also expensive with a starting price of Rs. 40,900.
Best Value For Money Smartwatch of 2020: Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is the most value for money wearable you can buy in 2020. It packs in quite a lot of features just like the Apple Watch Series 6 but it is compatible with Android as well as the iPhone. Just like the Apple Watch Series 6, the Galaxy Watch 3 is available in non-cellular and cellular variants.
The Galaxy Watch 3 is powered by the Exynos 9110 SoC and has 1GB of RAM onboard. You get 8GB of storage onboard as well. The interface on the Galaxy Watch 3 was smooth and the rotating bezel made navigation easy on the watch. Tracking on the Galaxy Watch 3 was accurate as it could track steps, heart-rate and sleep very well. The SpO2 tracking on the Galaxy Watch 3 wasn’t as accurate though.
You will get about two days worth of battery life on the Galaxy Watch 3 which is good given the features it packs. The battery life is lower on the LTE variant when it’s connected to LTE networks. Charging time is longer as the Galaxy Watch 3 takes over two hours to charge completely. At a starting price of Rs. 30,990, the Galaxy Watch 3 offers the maximum bang for your buck.
Special mention: Oppo Watch
The Oppo Watch was a surprise entry in the wearable space in 2020 and is available at an affordable price point. The base 41mm Oppo Watch is available for Rs. 14,990 while the bigger 46mm Oppo Watch retails for Rs. 19,990. You get a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor and it runs WearOS. It offers decent step, distance and heart rate tracking and the bigger 46mm Oppo Watch offers about a day and a half of battery life as well. Charging speeds are quite good and the watch can be charged quickly in 45 minutes.
Best Notifier of 2020: Xiaomi Mi Watch Revolve
The Mi Watch Revolve was Xiaomi’s first smartwatch in India and it has managed to make its mark in the segment. The Mi Watch Revolve gets all the fitness features you would expect from a device at its price along with a crisp AMOLED display, and good battery life. The Mi watch Revolve was launched at a price of Rs. 10,999 but is available for Rs. 9,999.
With the Mi Watch Revolve you can track steps, heart rate as well as sleep. However, the Mi Watch Revolve isn’t very comfortable to wear while sleeping since the watch dial is a bit too big. We found that the Mi Watch Revolve worked best as a notifier as there’s no way to reply to incoming messages. You will be notified of incoming messages and calls but you’ll have to use your smartphone to reply or answer..
Battery life on the Mi Watch Revolve was fantastic and we got close to two weeks of battery life with our usage. Even if you track workouts, you should be able to get about 10 days of battery life out of the Mi Watch Revolve. Battery charging time is about two hours which is acceptable since the watch lasts very long.
Best Fitness Band of 2020: Xiaomi Mi Band 5
The Mi Band 5 is the latest addition to Xiaomi’s lineup of fitness trackers. It is the successor of the Mi Band 4. Xiaomi fitness bands have been consistently good and the Mi Band 5 gets incremental updates to make it slightly better. You get a bigger and brighter display and the charging mechanism has also changed to a more convenient one.
The Mi Band 5 is capable of tracking heart-rate, your steps, distance as well as sleep. We found the Mi Band 5 to be fairly accurate in terms of tracking. It is also capable of tracking a few sports including swimming since it is water-resistant up to 50m. The Mi Band 5 is compatible with Android and iPhones.
The Mi Band 5 lasted for 10 days on a single charge in our review and it took a little above 2 hours to charge completely. For a starting price of Rs. 2,499 it is the most affordable wearable on our list.
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