Every smartwatch that works with the iPhone that isn’t an Apple Watch

It’s no secret that the Apple Watch is widely considered the best smartwatch for iPhone owners. That doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for everyone’s needs, nor is it the only game in town. Whether you’re after longer battery life, greater durability, or a lower price, you have options that aren’t an Apple Watch.

1

Fitbit

Credit: Jerome Thomas / How-To Geek

Fitbit has been around for years as a reliable fitness-focused brand. In 2021, Google acquired the company to strengthen Wear OS and integrate Fitbit’s health-tracking technology into its smartwatch lineup.

While Google owns Fitbit, it still works with iOS through its own app. In the app, you can view daily activity metrics, including steps taken, calories burned, sleep scores, and heart rate.

Credit: Fitbit

Fitness data isn’t all it offers. On the watch itself, you can receive any notifications that appear on your phone, including incoming calls, text messages, and app alerts, and control the music playing on your iPhone.

One reason you might choose a Fitbit is its battery life, which can last up to a week on a single charge. That means less frequent charging and no worrying about your watch dying halfway through the day if you forget to charge it.

• 

  Heart Rate Monitor

  Optical

  Color Screen

  Yes

  Notification Support

  Yes

  Battery Life

  Up to 7 days

  Integrations

  Google Maps, Google Wallet, YouTube Music

  Health sensors

  ECG, EDA, SpO2

  
  

• 

  Onboard GPS

  GPS/GNSS with Google Location Accuracy

  Display

  Corning Gorilla Glass 3, OLED display (333 ppi with DCI-P3)

  Battery

  328 mAh

  Connectivity

  4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi 2.4GHz

  Durability

  Water resistant to 50 m

  Dimensions

  41.04 x 44.89 x 13.35 mm

  Fitbit Ace LTE is the ultimate kids’ smartwatch with built-in LTE connectivity for calls, texts, and GPS tracking. Encourage active lifestyles, stay connected, and enjoy peace of mind with fun activity challenges and parental controls.

  
  

• 

  Heart Rate Monitor

  Yes

  Color Screen

  Yes

  Notification Support

  Yes

  Battery Life

  Up to 240 hours

  Small bands

  Yes

  Large bands

  Yes

  The Fitbit Inspire 3 is a sleek fitness tracker that monitors your activity, heart rate, sleep, and stress levels, offering personalized insights. With a lightweight design, vibrant display, and up to 10 days of battery life, it keeps you motivated every step of the way without breaking the bank.

  
  

Fitbit also offers a wider variety of designs. While the Apple Watch sticks to a single square form factor, Fitbit’s lineup includes multiple styles and shapes to choose from.

Price is another major factor. A Fitbit starts at $80, roughly 68%, or $169, cheaper than the Apple Watch SE, the most affordable model in Apple’s smartwatch lineup.

2

Garmin

Credit: Garmin

If you’re more focused on working out, a Garmin smartwatch may be a better fit than an Apple Watch. In several key areas, it can be a stronger fitness companion than even the Apple Watch Ultra.

For starters, Garmin smartwatches offer significantly longer battery life. Depending on the model, battery life can range from several days to up to a month on a single charge (depending on the settings you have enabled). Garmin also offers models with built-in solar technology that recharge the watch when exposed to sunlight.

Colors

Black, Whitestone

Storage

32GB

User experience is another area where Garmin differs from the Apple Watch, and that difference may be a benefit. Garmin watches can be operated entirely using the physical buttons on the side of the device.

This is especially useful during activities like swimming, where touchscreens can struggle to register input because they rely on capacitive technology, which depends on the electrical conductivity of a human finger.

Garmin also includes more fitness metrics than the Apple Watch. One of these is Body Battery, which—similar to a sleep score—rates your body’s current energy level on a scale of 0 to 100 and updates in real time.

Credit: Cameron Summerson / How-To Geek

If fitness is your top priority and you want more profound insights into your performance and recovery, a Garmin smartwatch is worth considering. Paired with Garmin’s iOS app—which lets you download trails, send workouts to your watch, and review detailed health data—it becomes a compelling, and often cheaper, alternative to the Apple Watch Ultra.

3

Amazfit

Credit: Cianna Garrison / How-To Geek

If the Apple Watch is too expensive—even at the $249 starting price of the Apple Watch SE—an Amazfit smartwatch is a good alternative. For the price, it offers many of the same features found on the Apple Watch.

Amazfit smartwatches start at around $50, and sometimes less through other retailers, yet they don’t feel cheap. While the watch is made of plastic, the build quality feels solid.

• 

  Brand

  Amazfit

  Color Screen

  Yes

  Notification Support

  Yes

  Battery Life

  Up to 14 days; up to 26 days in battery-saver mode

  Operating System

  Zepp OS 5.0

  Onboard GPS

  Yes

  For a budget-friendly smartwatch, the Amazfit Bip 6 covers a wide range of health and fitness features. It features a large AMOLED display, a built-in GPS with offline maps, and an ultra-long battery life, along with sensors for sleep quality, heart rate, and stress, as well as over 140 sport modes. 

  
  

• 

  Heart Rate Monitor

  Yes

  Color Screen

  Yes

  Notification Support

  Yes

  Battery Life

  Up to 10 days

  Operating System

  Zepp OS

  Customizable Strap

  Yes

  The Active 2 smartwatch is designed for fashion-conscious, health-focused people who value style and functionality. With BioTracker technology for precise heart rate and sleep tracking, 160+ workout modes, and up to 10 days of battery life, this smartwatch will track everything you want and then some.

  
  

Despite their lower price, various Amazfit models still include features such as an always-on display, heart-rate monitoring, blood oxygen saturation measurement, and built-in GPS. These are often missing from budget smartwatches, but Amazfit includes them as standard.

Battery life is another area where cheaper watches usually fall short, but many Amazfit models can last up to two weeks on a single charge. That means you don’t have to worry about the battery dying during a workout or about forgetting to charge it before heading out.

Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek

Amazfit offers a variety of models with different styles, but if you want a budget-friendly smartwatch that resembles the Apple Watch, its most affordable model is a good choice. With all its included features, Amazfit is a strong alternative for anyone looking for an Apple Watch–style watch without the high price tag.

4

Huawei

Credit: 

Huawei

If you’re looking for another Apple Watch alternative with a similar design, Huawei offers models that look and function much like Apple’s smartwatch, featuring a square face, a rotating dial, and a side button.

For those who prefer a more traditional watch style, Huawei also offers circular-face models. Additionally, their lineup includes a variety of models to suit different style preferences and functional needs.

Credit: 

Huawei

Huawei’s smartwatches are also more affordable, with the cheapest model starting at $129; nearly half the price of the Apple Watch SE. At that price point, it also offers more features, such as blood oxygen monitoring, which the entry-level Apple Watch lacks.

Like other smartwatch alternatives, Huawei’s models last significantly longer than the Apple Watch, with some models’ battery life reaching up to 21 days depending on use. Even with everyday usage, they typically last far longer than a single day, which is where most Apple Watch models top out unless you’re using the Ultra.

5

Withings

Withings—which makes a range of health devices, including smart scales, blood pressure monitors, and thermometers—also offers a strong alternative to the Apple Watch. Unlike many other non-Apple options, Withings prioritizes elegance and classic design across its smartwatch lineup.

The company’s smartwatches feature a clean, classic circular design with an analog clock face. A small display at the top center shows key information, such as heart rate and sleep quality scores.

Credit: Justin Duino / How-To Geek

This design is ideal for people who want to track their health without wearing a modern-looking smartwatch, opting instead for a more traditional, old-fashioned watch style.

Battery life is also a plus, with it reaching around 30 days on a single charge. This includes all-day health tracking on the watch.

While Withings’ high-end model is more expensive than Apple’s priciest watch model, its lower-cost models are cheaper than the base and entry-level Apple Watch options. Across the lineup, all models feature a refined design with a single circular display for notifications.

• 

  Battery Life

  Up to 30 days

  Onboard GPS

  No

  Offline Media Storage

  No

  Lens Material

  Gorilla Glass

  Case Material

  Stainless steel

  Water Rating

  5ATM

  Part of the newest generation of Withings’ hybrid smartwatches, ScanWatch Light includes upgraded HealthSense Software combined with new sensors to provide more metrics and improved accuracy.

  
  

These watch models are ideal for people who don’t want to feel that they have a small computer on their wrist and simply want to track their health. They’re also a good fit for those who prefer a traditional analog watch design with subtle smartwatch elements blended into it.