Many individuals select a smartwatch with particular well being and health objectives in thoughts. There are numerous smartwatches available on the market, however all of them supply a unique set of options and performance. Whereas it is fairly straightforward to discover a smartwatch particularly designed for working, it is a bit tougher to seek out one marketed for swimming. Simply because a device is waterproof, does not essentially imply that it is effectively suited to monitoring laps within the pool and past.
I’ve taken a deep dive into the precise specs and water-related capabilities of dozens of smartwatches available on the market to seek out those that truly supply helpful options for swimming and diving. Some focus totally on swimming or athletic efficiency, whereas others mix spectacular good connectivity performance with strong swimming metrics. The appropriate look ahead to you’ll rely in your objectives and preferences.
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Whether or not you are seeking to file primary swimming stats, practice for a triathlon, or go scuba diving, these are among the finest smartwatches for swimming and different water sports activities, with the proof within the product particulars, and most of the time, our personal rigorous product opinions.
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Garmin Swim 2
Greatest smartwatch general
The Garmin Swim 2 is designed solely with swimmers in thoughts and may measure your coronary heart price as you progress within the water. Along with monitoring GPS and pool swimming distance, it will probably file tempo, stroke depend, distance per stroke, SWOLF (swim effectivity) and even sustain with rests, timed units, and log drills. The Swim 2 is waterproof as much as 50m, and incorporates a long-lasting battery. Plus, it will probably monitor your sleep. For those who do not want many extra smartwatch options, this provides probably the most swimming metrics for the worth.
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Garmin Forerunner 965
Greatest triathlon smartwatch
Whereas costly, the Garmin Forerunner 965 is a worthwhile buy for severe triathletes and open-water swimmers. This premier performance-focused smartwatch boasts spectacular specs and superior well being, health, and connectivity options, together with blood oxygen and coronary heart price. Document important swimming stats like distance, tempo, stroke depend, and SWOLF and maximize your coaching with distance alerts, pacing alerts, relaxation timers, and drill logging. Plus, there are devoted triathlon and working/swimming modes.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
Greatest smartwatch for Android customers
Android customers might be laborious pressed to discover a extra succesful smartwatch than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6. It comes geared up with a complete suite of well being and health options in addition to connectivity options, together with help for third-party swim apps like swim.com. Along with being waterproof as much as 50m, it hits the MIL-STD-810 score to face up to excessive environmental circumstances and stressors. There’s additionally a helpful water lock to maintain the touchscreen from activating throughout swimming.
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Polar Ignite 3
Greatest smartwatch for teaching
The Polar Ignite 3 provides dependable swim monitoring. For each pool and open water swimming, you possibly can monitor tempo and distance, strokes per minute or pool size, and SWOLF rating, in addition to your GPS route for open water. Outdoors of swimming, notable options embody superior sleep monitoring and customized on-demand exercise steerage by way of the Polar Circulation app, in addition to a powerful 30-hour battery life. It is also extra inexpensive than a few of its rivals with related options.
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Apple Watch Extremely 2
Greatest smartwatch for iOS
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 boasts a beefed-up design finest suited to outside adventures. It has a stronger waterproof score to a depth of 100m as an alternative of 50m, which means you need to use it for leisure scuba diving and for high-speed water sports activities. The Extremely 2 can file swim distance, tempo, stroke splits, and coronary heart price within the pool, lakes, or oceans. It additionally provides probably the most complete smartwatch expertise for iOS customers, providing seamless integration with Apple companies.
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Kospet Tank X1 Health Tracker
Greatest funds smartwatch
The Kospet Tank X1 is hard and constructed to final. It incorporates a light-weight physique product of titanium and zinc alloy, whereas its vibrant AMOLED show is bolstered with Corning Gorilla Glass. The Tank X1 can stand up to water stress as much as depth of 100m, making it secure for diving 30m beneath the floor. It may well monitor over 70 sports activities, coronary heart price, blood oxygen, and extra, however most impressively, has a battery life of fifty days in standby mode.
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Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen)
Second finest smartwatch for iOS
The Apple Watch SE provides lots of the similar options because the Series 9 however for a considerably cheaper price. It is the very best worth by way of performance and efficiency given the worth, but it surely does require an iPhone. Whereas it is missing among the extra superior metrics like ECG and physique temperature, the swim monitoring is comparable. For each pool and open water swimming, it will monitor distance, tempo, splits, and coronary heart price in depths as much as 50 meters.
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Garmin Descent G1
Greatest smartwatch for scuba diving
The Garmin Descent G1 is mainly a tricky, sturdy dive pc in your wrist. It options a number of customizable dive modes, together with technical and free diving, in addition to GPS monitoring, floor multi-GNSS, tide, wave, and surf information, and a built-in 3-axis dive compass. Plus, you possibly can select from over 30 different sorts of exercises and obtain real-time coaching standing alerts (undertraining, overtraining, or optimum coaching) and calculated restoration time suggestions.
Probably the most widespread issues in terms of swimming together with your smartwatch is that if long-term use within the water will slowly harm the smartwatch and shorten its lifespan. To keep away from such points, it is essential to spend money on a top quality wearable and know precisely what its limitations are. As long as you solely put on the watch at acceptable depths and do not preserve it underwater for longer than the beneficial time restrict, the {hardware} and software program of your watch ought to stay comparatively unaffected.
If you wish to be further cautious, you possibly can rinse your watch beneath clear water after swimming in a chlorinated pool or ocean. It is extra essential to watch out whenever you’re washing your arms to ensure cleaning soap or soapy water does not are available in contact together with your gadget. In any other case, your smartwatch needs to be simply effective, even if you happen to handle to squeeze in a swimming exercise each day of the week.
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How a lot do different smartwatch options matter?
This actually comes right down to choice. For those who’re on the lookout for a smartwatch that is nice for swimming but additionally simply as helpful for on a regular basis productiveness, then you definately’ll wish to take into account extra versatile fashions just like the Apple Watch Extremely 2, Apple Watch SE, or the Samsung Galaxy 6. Then again, in case your major purpose is boosting athletic efficiency, the fitness-forward Garmin Swim 2, Garmin Forerunner 965, or Polar Ignite 3 is perhaps a greater possibility. After all, there are much more area of interest smartwatches, just like the Garmin Descent G1 or Kospet Tank X1, for these with actually particular objectives within the water. In terms of swimming, although, all of the smartwatches on our checklist will serve you effectively.
