Smart watch recommendations

NotAGolf

NotAGolf

NotAGolf

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I’m looking for a new smart watch as my current one is falling apart. My criteria:
- <£150
- Not Fitbit - I’ve got a surge currently; the build quality is poor and the sync is dreadful
- Must have built in GPS - I don’t want to have my phone on me
- Must be able to upload activities to Strava - I’m fine with logging onto another site first and manually exporting an activity
- Not Apple - I’m on Android

The Garmin range seems pretty pricey and the more expensive end don’t seem to get great reviews. The Forerunner 35 looks very dated and clunky. The Vivofit 3 is a bit too simple.

The Suunto 3 looks nice but has no GPS.

I’ve noticed Samsung and Huawei also have a few options. I’ve got a Huawei phone, so that seems like the logical step, but I don’t want to be tied to getting another Huawei phone if I want to continue using my watch. Is a Samsung or Huawei device dependent on having the same brand phone, or could you use any Android phone?

Any recommendations?
 
Amazon has the Garmin Vivoactive 3 for exactly £150 on Amazon.

That's where my money would be going given your criteria.

The main thing to ask yourself is do you want a Smart watch with fitness tracking or a fitness tracker with some smart watch functions?

The garmins are excellent for fitness tracking but the smart features let them down a little which is why i ended up with an Apple Watch over something like the 645 Music.
 
Marvt74 said:
The main thing to ask yourself is do you want a Smart watch with fitness tracking or a fitness tracker with some smart watch functions?
Click to expand...
Definitely fitness tracker first and foremost. The only 'smart' feature I'd really want is whatsapp/call/email notifications. I don't know think I have have any use of apps. Possibly some kind of mapping app for when out on a walk in the middle of nowhere.
 
Then the Vivoactive 3 would certainly be my choice. If you can stretch to it then i'd go with the Music version if you enjoy music whilst running/riding.
 
I have a Gen 5 fossil it's really good. Been testing it for a few weeks but still not a watch guy so will be selling it soon. It has wear OS and quite decent battery life. A few of them popped up on ebay for around £190 a little over your budget but might be worth looking at. I also tested the previous sport really sluggish and terrible battery so make sure if you go for a fossil go gen 5
 
Samsung SM-R600 Gear, there's a deal for £60 (search hotukdeals/ebay), refurbished A grade. I picked mine up yesterday, basically brand new. Used it today to track my running while playing football(gps). Bargain for the price considering how much they normally go for.
 
A2Z said:
Samsung SM-R600 Gear, there's a deal for £60 (search hotukdeals/ebay), refurbished A grade. I picked mine up yesterday, basically brand new. Used it today to track my running while playing football(gps). Bargain for the price considering how much they normally go for.
Click to expand...

The specs for it don't list GPS though...?
 
Comparing Fitbit to Garmin I would select Garmin every time. I can't compare them to Samsung or Apple but in general my Garmin works seamlessly, is accurate for GPS, syncs perfectly with Strava and this is despite it being a golf specific version. My wife's Fitbit is fussy, sometimes fails to sync and has to be hard reset, doesn't always connect to headphone and is actually her second one because the first one bricked itself.
 
Definitely a Garmin absolutely love my Fenix.

Fitness/activity tracker first and foremost with phone notifications, syncs things like sunset/sunrise times and weather.
 
A2Z said:
Samsung SM-R600 Gear, there's a deal for £60 (search hotukdeals/ebay), refurbished A grade. I picked mine up yesterday, basically brand new. Used it today to track my running while playing football(gps). Bargain for the price considering how much they normally go for.
Click to expand...

I did the same as you, got mine today. Loving it so far, much more capable than my Fitbit. Was basically brand new apart from a little wear on the strap :)
 
Something also to consider - Fitbit has just been acquired by Google. Could be a good or bad thing. I'm thinking bad, as Google will have your health data which is fairly sensitive compared to other types of data.
 
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