The best smartwatches for calls and texts 2023

I know it’s tiresome for a busy person to check notifications repeatedly. But with a smartwatch, you can quickly see notifications and reply to them.In the market, you will find a lot of smartwatches that can make calls and reply to a text. But only a few give HD calling experience and other premium features.Based on my experience and research, I have reviewed the ten best smartwatches that can answer calls and reply to texts.

The best smartwatches for calls and texts 2022：Our choice

If you’re shopping for the best smartwatches for texting, you need to think about your current smartphone or tablet and its operating system (OS). Because Apple devices don’t support text and calls through Android devices, it’s important to find a watch that uses the same OS as your smartphone or tablet. Next, think about text functionality. Do you merely want to have access to quick replies or do you prefer a robust texting feature? And you should consider other functions such as calls, contactless payments, or even streaming media. However, all of the above smart features can quickly drain a watch battery so you’ll want to look at the listed battery range, and how quickly a watch can be fully recharged. Yes, you have to do the same even if you are buying the best smartwatch.

1.Our pick：SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch 4 40mm Smartwatch

View on Amazon

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch4, available in 40 mm and 44 mm sizes, is the best smartwatch for Android phones because it has Google’s latest Wear OS 3 software, while most other Android watches don’t. It uses Samsung’s One UI interface, but you also get access to all the apps and watch faces in the Google Play Store. The Galaxy Watch4 also offers impressive health tracking with automatic workout detection, ECG, SpO2, and stress analysis. The Watch4 lacks the rotating bezel of the Watch4 Classic, and it comes in just one, minimalist style that may or may not match your aesthetic preferences. You can swap out the bands to customize the Watch4’s look, but that’s it.

2.Best choice：Apple Watch Series 6

View on Amazon

Pros

• Supports Wi-Fi and cellular use
• Sleep tracking and fitness tracking
• Wireless Qi charging

Cons

• Poor battery life depending on usage

We can’t stress enough that Apple iPhone owners who want to find a watch that seamlessly supports texting need to focus on the Apple Watch. It’s the only watch we’ve found through our research that doesn’t require a complicated workaround for sending texts. The Apple Watch is a smartwatch you can text on with an iPhone and is designed to be a hands-free iPhone replacement. The Series 6 Apple Watch is the latest release and is full of features that allow you to leave your iPhone behind if you prefer. This is proven by the fact that you can put your watch on a separate line on your phone plan so that you don’t even have to worry about having your iPhone nearby to access the smart features. While we’ve given it the Honorable Mention award in this guide, it’s the top pick for an iPhone owner who wants to send texts from their wrist.

Along with phone and text support, key features that people love are the always-on retina display with a screen that’s 30% larger than the Apple Watch Series 3. You’ll get enhanced health and fitness tracking for sleep, continuous heart rate monitoring, ECG readings, and blood oxygen levels. All of this data is tracked through Apple Health which you can access on your watch or iPhone. Contactless payment is supported through the Apple Pay app. You’ll get a 50-meter water resistance rating which makes it safe for swimming. The one main drawback — which is consistent across all Apple Watch generations — is that the Apple Watch has one of the worst battery lives for a smartwatch. Although the brand promises 18 hours, your mileage will vary depending on how frequently you rely on the smart features such as phone, text, and streaming media content. Consider instead the best rugged smartwatch that features the Max Battery GPS Mode that can run up to 145 hours on solar charging or 70 hours without solar.

3.Champion：Apple Watch Series 5

View on Amazon

Pros

• Location targeting with Wi-Fi support
• Available in 40 and 44mm case sizes
• Robust fitness trackers

Cons

• Battery life varies dramatically depending on usage

Apple has come a long way since the first Apple Watch. While the Series 6 is the latest iteration, the Series 5 Apple Watch is still a strong contender. This is especially true for anyone that wants a smartwatch with the bells and whistles minus the sticker shock for the latest edition. Thankfully, the Series 5 Apple Watch is a smartwatch that texts without phone pairing required since you can assign a separate line for it with your cellular plan. This is because the Series 5 comes enabled for GPS, WiFi, and cellular connections. Common Apple Watch features include tracking for steps, sleep, continuous heart rate, and ECG monitoring.

You’ll also get fall detection with Emergency SOS calls and elevation tracking. Choose from a 40- or 44-millimeter case size. Another cool Apple feature is Hand Off, which lets you open an app on your iPhone or iPad and seamlessly continue using the app on your Apple Watch. The always-on retina display also includes a digital crown with haptics. But, as with other Apple Watches, the Series 5 is no better when it comes to battery life. Most users agreed that the 18-hour claim by Apple isn’t possible for power users and especially if you don’t turn off the always-on retina display. You may want to consider purchasing the best smartwatch for seniors that comes in a 41 and 45-millimeter case size with up to 56 hours of battery life.

Also read：6 Best smartwatches for texting on the market in 2023

4.2nd runner-up：Samsung Galaxy Watch Active

View on Amazon

Pros

• Best for calling and texting
• Comfortable
• AMOLED display looks brighter
• Affordable price

Cons

• SpO2 is missing
• Bp and ECG app is available for limited countries

If you are on a budget but still want the best smartwatch for HD calling the Galaxy Watch Active 2 is the best option.It comes with an HD mic and speaker to experience high-quality calling. This smartwatch also supports LTE for mobile free calling. But you can also go for the BluTooth variant, which is a budget-friendly option.

Like other galaxy watches, you can’t only see notifications but also reply to them via voice, emojis, or text. It’s very convenient to reply to WhatsApp messages directly from your wrist. You don’t need to pull out your phone from your pocket to check notifications.Further, Galaxy Watch Active 2 gives only 4GB of internal storage to store songs and install apps.

This Galaxy watch comes with a Bixby voice assistant that makes your life much easier. You can ask anything you want, check the weather, set alarms, schedule meetings, and much more.For fitness enthusiasts, Galaxy Watch Active 2 also brings a lot of features. It comes with a heart rate monitor, stress tracking, calories counter, sports modes, daily goals, and advanced sleep tracking.

5.Runner up：Amazfit GTR 4 Smart Watch for Men

View on Amazon

Pros

• Affordable price
• Best for making HD calls
• Long battery life
• The AMOLED display is gorgeous
• Alexa assistant

Cons

• Limited Storage
• Lock third-party apps compatibility

Amazfit is a Chinese wearable brand that focuses on fitness-centered smartwatches. Recently they launched GTR 4, which is a flagship watch. This smartwatch is compatible with both Android and iOS devices.Amazfit GTR 4 is best for making calls, But this smartwatch doesn’t have an LTE feature, so you have to use BlueTooth connectivity for making calls. Similarly, you can also answer text messages.

Calling quality on Amazfit GTR 4 is fantastic; you will get an HD microphone for high-quality calls. Similarly, its speaker is loud, too, helping you listen to calls.The new GTR 4 is powered by Zepp OS 4.0, which has a better GUI and performance. The watch only weighs 34g, that’s why it feels very lightweight. You quickly wear the watch at night for sleep tracking.

The 1.43″ display also seems much better, and the 466×466 screen resolution makes it more crispy and bright. There is an Aluminum frame which slim and looks more premium.Further, Amazfit GTR supports Dual-band GPS with 6 Satellite position systems. It tracks your routes more efficiently, even in more challenging environments.

In terms of Fitness tracking, Amazfit GTR 4 can compete with Galaxy and Apple Watches. It has a powerful BioTrack 4.0 sensor that measures your heart rate, SpO2, and Stress. The sensor is 33% more accurate than previous models.The new thing in this smartwatch is PeakBeats. This feature shows your Aerobic and Anaerobic performance. So you can better understand your recovery time and progress.

Another plus point in Amazfit GTR 4 is 24/7 health management. This tool measures your four primary health metrics, including; HR, SpO2, Stress, and breath rate, with just one tap.Amazfit GTR 4 has advanced and comprehensive sleep tracking to improve your sleep habits. On the Zepp app, you can view sleep graphs, charts, and other visuals to understand your sleep performance in a better way.

Luckily, you will get a long-lasting battery in Amazfit GTR 4 that lasts seven days in smartwatch mode and 24 hours in battery saver mode.

Also read:6 Best smartwatches for texting on the market in 2023

6.Upgrade pick：Motorola Moto 360

View on Amazon

Pros

• Supports drawing emojis
• Enhanced GPS with additional satellite integration
• Responds to voice and gestures

Cons

• Low 3ATM water resistance

Samsung and Apple aren’t the only enhanced smartwatch makers on the market. But since both of them have a proprietary OS, other watch brands need a third-party platform to create a true smartwatch. And this offers a natural segue to Wear OS. It’s not uncommon — especially with traditional watchmaker brands — to see their smartwatches run on Wear OS by Google. While technically these watches support pairing with Apple devices, full smart functionality isn’t available for an iPhone owner. Typically, texting or answering calls isn’t supported for iPhone users. So, in this guide, if you see a watch that’s powered by Wear OS, know that we’re focusing on it as an option for Android users only.

With that being said, Motorola’s Moto 360 is one of the best smartwatches with messaging functionality that runs on Wear OS. We like that it features one of the more robust connectivity ranges. Along with Bluetooth and WiFi, you’ll get GPS that’s integrated with GLONASS, Beidou, and Galileo. Thanks to Google’s voice support, you have access to talk to type. And we especially like that the Motorola Moto 360 supports drawing on the touchscreen watch face. This includes the ability to create emojis and share them in your messages. Because the Moto 360 runs on Wear OS, you have access to most Google-based apps including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Play, and Google Pay. The only real drawback we saw with this watch is that you have a lower 30-meter water resistance rating which makes it safe for showering but not for swimming. And if you’re a cyclist, have a look at the best smartwatch for cycling that offers you enhanced safety features with a live track, group live track, live event sharing, incident detection, and assistance.

7.Also great：Fossil Gen 6 44mm Touchscreen Smartwatch

View on Amazon

Pros

• Stylish look
• Fast charging
• Bright AOD display
• SpO2 is accurate
• Have Google pay Assistant

Cons

• Battery life could be improve
• Limited fitness apps
• Only comes in a 44mm case

Fossil Watch 6 is a stylish-looking watch that is powered by Wear OS. Under the hood, a Snapdragon Wear 4100+ and 1GB RAM gives faster performance.The Watch also includes a built-in microphone and speaker for calling. The speaker of Fossil Gen 6 is louder than other smartwatches so that you can listen to your opponent’s voice better.

You have complete freedom to customize or block notifications from apps.Unluckily Fossil watches don’t support LTE, so you can only make calls via BlueTooth. Similarly, you can also reply to notifications via voice or typing.Fossil Gen 6 has a similar battery to its predecessor. It gives you 24 hours of battery life on a single charge. But it takes half an hour to reach 80% charge.

The built-in design and quality feel very premium. There is a stainless steel bezel which is sleek. Fossil Gen 6 is 3ATM water resistant, so you can use it while taking a shower. The bezels don’t protect the glass. That’s why durability is still questionable.Fossil Gen 6 supports 24/7 heart rate tracking. It also includes SpO2 measurements, which is a core wellness feature. But it lacks other health features like ECG and BP.On the Fossil Gen 6, you can’t only set daily exercise goals, but it also allows you to set sleep goals. The watch measures your sleep stats very comprehensively.

Overall, Fossil Gen 6 is a fashion-focused smartwatch that is pretty good for making calls and replying to a text. But it’s not recommended for pro athletes or fitness enthusiasts.

8.other：SAMSUNG Gear Sport Smartwatch

View on Amazon

Pros

• 5ATM water-resistance
• Proprietary Bixby Samsung voice assistant
• GPS with GLONASS integration

Cons

• Battery life on lower side

Samsung smartwatches are a great pick for a variety of reasons. Along with support for calls and text, we like that the Samsung Gear Sport in particular features the Samsung Connect app. This app gives you the freedom to remotely manage connected devices throughout your home such as lights, the thermostat, or even your fridge or oven. This can be a nice value-added feature for people who work late and don’t want to return to a dark home or in the summer or winter when you want to make sure your home is the perfect temperature.

The Gear Sport also features GPS with enhanced GLONASS integration. This makes it nice if you’re the type who likes to hit the trails as you’ll have more precise navigation assistance. You’ll also get water resistance to 50 meters and a watch that’s passed military standards for durability. The Samsung Gear Sport is designed with fitness in mind and does track steps, activity, calories burned, continuous heart rate monitoring, stress, sleep, and more. And contactless payments are supported through Samsung Pay while Bixby serves as your voice assistant. One surprising thing we did note was that while Samsung claims that the battery has a multi-day range, some reviews noted that the battery was so poor that even 24 hours was a struggle before it required recharging. But professionals will love the best smartwatch for business that promises offers up to 12 hours of usage, especially if you’re a power user.

Do you need a smartwatch?

If you have a smartphone, you probably don’t need a smartwatch, but the added convenience can often justify the cost (and the hassle of charging yet another device). For most people, smartwatches are most useful at relaying notifications to your wrist so you can check them without having to pull out and wake up your phone. That’s helpful for people who can’t have their phones out in a professional setting but still want to be alerted to important calls or to see messages at a glance. A smartwatch can still distract you with whatever is buzzing you, but it’s easier to quickly see whether something is important. Most smartwatches also allow acknowledging, dismissing, or replying to notifications from the watch, and also provide the means to control smart devices throughout your home.

The majority of smartwatches have a fitness component. For counting steps, encouraging activity, and tracking occasional long walks, runs, or bike rides, most smartwatches do fine. You can also find smartwatches that lean heavily toward sports and fitness in their marketing, but they each have drawbacks not found in dedicated devices like the running watches and fitness trackers we recommend (and if you have health insurance, you may get a discount or incentives to use one).

The style offerings for smartwatches have improved dramatically—these days, most Android-compatible smartwatches could be confused with traditional watches from a distance, often with round displays and available in many styles. However, smartwatches are still thicker and wider than most traditional watches, which can make them feel awkward on the wrist. Some models come in more than one size, but the smaller watches often have less battery capacity and are still usually much larger than traditional “women’s” watches.

Some smartwatches offer plenty of apps, either preinstalled on the watch or available for download in an app store. These apps can be as simple as a timer or a stopwatch, or they can control your smart-home devices, switch up your music, or provide turn-by-turn directions for walking or driving. However, in our testing and everyday use, watch apps have rarely offered a great experience, albeit with a few exceptions, including some fitness apps and those that track things like water or food intake.

For people who prefer the Apple ecosystem, the Apple Watch is the best option, and we go into detail about that in our guide to the Apple Watch.

How We Decided

When you narrow down your smartwatch search to ones that support texting, the field instantly becomes less cluttered. To create our guide for the best smartwatch for texting, we focused on the following key features — OS compatibility, text support, functionality, and battery life. Because texting is a function that separates Android and Apple devices, you’ll find that we narrowed down our criteria significantly so that only Apple Watches were promoted for iPhone users and all Tizen (Samsung) and Wear OS-backed watches were targeted for Android users. And you’ll note that text support for smartwatches is usually limited to talk to text features where a voice assistant or a specific program must be accessed to dictate messages for transcription to your watch.

Aside from texting, most smartwatches that support full-text functionality also support making and receiving phone calls. Likewise, you’ll usually have access to email, managing calendars, streaming media, and making contactless payments. But you’ll also want to pay attention to the battery life. Unlike traditional fitness smartwatches with limited smart support, these watches are promoted as hands-free companions that untether you from your smartphone. So, battery life tends to be greatly reduced and your experience may vary depending on how frequently you rely on smart features like texting, phone calls, and streaming media which all drain power faster. And a common issue we found was that many brands had watches that fell far short of their promoted battery range. Still, you’ll find a range from just 18 hours to as much as two weeks.

Since the early days of modern smartwatches, we’ve sought to test as many relevant models as we could and to recommend the smartwatches that do the best job of being convenient and useful.

In descending order of importance, these are the things that matter when we recommend a smartwatch for most people:

• Notifications: A smartwatch should present notifications clearly while making it easy to dismiss them or to compose a reply.
• Style: Unlike a phone, a smartwatch is on your wrist for all to see, and it should look good doing it. This includes the strap, the case, and how it fits on all sizes of wrists. It’s a notable plus if a watch is available in a variety of styles or sizes.
• Performance: Smartwatches should be responsive enough to be more convenient and faster than taking your phone out. If a smartwatch is slow for basic tasks like checking notifications or tracking your exercise, it’s not worth using.
• Fitness: How well does the watch function as a basic fitness tracker? Ideally, you shouldn’t need to wear two devices on your wrist for things like step tracking, reminders not to stay sedentary, and roughly accurate (but not exact) tracking of long walks, runs, or cycling sessions.
• Build quality: A smartwatch will likely rattle around on your wrist day in, day out—possibly for years. If it’s not durable, it will look beaten up long before it’s time for an upgrade.
• Battery: We measure whether the battery can last a full, active day (at least 16 to 18 hours).
• Voice assistant: We gauge the usefulness of the voice functions, both in speech-to-text messaging and replies, and, where applicable, in the digital assistant (Google Assistant or Bixby).
• Apps: We note how useful the watch’s built-in apps are and how extensive the selection of third-party apps and watch faces is.

We test watches that run Wear OS, Tizen, and other operating systems by wearing them while they’re connected to Android phones. Whenever possible, we ask other people to try out our potential picks to get an idea of how various wearers react to a watch’s size, style, interface, and features.

Best Smartwatches for Texting Buyers Guide

The Most Important Factors to Consider

OS Compatibility

The OS or operating system compatibility is crucial for a smartwatch that supports texting. This is especially true for iPhone users. While most smartwatches that support texting can seamlessly work with an Android phone whether they run on Wear OS, Tizen for Samsung, or an alternate platform, they usually don’t work as well with the iPhone. And this means that the best bet for finding a smartwatch that supports texting if you’re an iPhone owner is to get an Apple Watch. Also, note that the Apple Watch only works with Apple devices such as the iPad and iPhone and cannot pair with an Android device.

Text Support

Most smartwatches have screens that are too small to support actual typing. Instead, you’ll have the option of talk to type or talk to text which converts your spoken words into text that can be sent to contacts. Also note, that we’re focusing on watches that support true text messaging, not just quick template replies. Quick reply text messaging functions are common from many third-party brands like Garmin, Fitbit, and AmazFit. However, it is possible to find a few Wear OS supported third party watches that allow for Android users to access talk to text support.

Functionality

More than likely, if you’re shopping for a watch that supports texting, you’re also going to have access to more robust smart features like making and receiving calls, contactless payments, streaming media, and additional apps both proprietary to the watchmaker and from third-party developers. But you also might want to consider what fitness and health tracking or music controls are available through the watch. And in some cases, you can find features like Apple’s Hand Off which allows you to open an app on an iPhone or iPad and seamlessly continue using it on the Apple Watch.

Battery Life

Being able to send and receive texts is considered a smart feature. And typically, the more smart features a watch supports, the lower the battery life range tends to be. In some cases, you can find watches like the Apple Watch that can’t survive 24 hours without being recharged whereas other smart-heavy watches can last at least 24 to 48 hours depending on total usage. They all have their pros and cons, but if having enough time with the battery life is crucial for you, then pay close attention to the battery spec. You can also learn about additional features that can help save battery, or you can avoid the “always-on display” feature. You can turn off the calling features when you’re sure you don’t need them in the moment.

Can you text on a smartwatch?

For smartwatches that support sending texts, you’ll usually have access to a talk to type feature that transcribes your spoken words into a written message that can be sent to contacts.

What Android watch can you text on?

Android users have more options when it comes to finding a smartwatch that supports true texting — not just quick replies. Along with Samsung’s smartwatches, Android owners can use the Moto 360, and select watches from watchmakers such as Fossil, Michael Kors, and Movado that support talk to text through the Google Wear OS platform.

What smartwatch can you text on with an iPhone?

iPhone owners face far more limiting prospects when it comes to finding a watch that supports texting. Because of the Apple OS and the fact that it doesn’t offer full synchronization across functionality when pairing with an Android-based smartwatch, only the Apple Watch provides texting support for iPhone owners.

Can you text from a Fitbit?

Yes and no. Android users usually have support for quick replies for incoming text notifications. Apple users don’t have access to this feature. But because we’re focusing on watches that support true texting — not just quick replies — we didn’t include watches that only offer quick replies to texts.

Do smartwatches need a data plan?

Normal smartwatches and GPS watches can function without a data plan. They use your phone’s data instead. On the other hand, standalone smartwatches have cellular connectivity and hence, require a data plan.

Can I use a smartwatch instead of a phone?

Smartwatches have added a ton of features for users, and if you’re interested in finding out which ones will work without a phone, you’re in luck, because there are essentials like fitness tracking, music playing/streaming, voice commands, calling, and texting that you can do without a phone connected.

Do you have to pay a monthly fee for a smartwatch?

You will have to pay for a separate data plan for your smartwatch — about $10 per month — which is something to consider if you want to take advantage of its cellular connectivity. Many smartwatches have NFC chips inside, which means you can use them to pay for stuff, even without a phone nearby.

Do smartwatches have their own phone number?

The watch gets its own phone number. When your phone is nearby, calls and texts from the watch will go through your phone and carry your regular number. When you want to step away, you can still have calls, texts and other notifications forwarded to the watch.

Will smartwatch work if phone is off?

Yes. You can use your smartwatch even if your smartphone is switched off.