I am pleased to see so many of the winners on this list because these were some categories that were very exciting for me to see grow this past year. Wearables were one such category, and more specifically, smart rings exploded in both popularity and usefulness.
You all might know that I am a huge Oura Ring fan, so when the company launched the Oura Ring 4 with a brand new app experience I knew it was going to be a winner.
And although I’m not much of an Android smartwatch wearer, I have tried and tested the Pixel Watch 3 and it remains my favorite smartwatch.
Congrats to all the winners!
So many other winners in these categories so why don’t you see what Derrek Lee and Michael Hicks have to say.
Best smartwatch: Google Pixel Watch 3
Michael Hicks: Samsung makes the best Android watches, but none of its three 2024 releases was our favorite. The Watch FE was too downgraded, the Watch 7 a bit too safe and same-y, and the Watch Ultra too expensive for anyone besides me to have tried, no matter how excellent it was.
Instead, the Pixel Watch 3 was the overwhelming favorite, a fast, decently long-lasting smartwatch with improved running tools for couch-to-5Kers. It was one of my favorite reviews of the year, and many of my colleagues ditched their old watches for a Watch 3 this year.
I think most people were happy to finally have a larger display with a smaller bezel — not to mention the doubled brightness and smoother refresh rate — but I think our collective excitement came down to the Watch 3 still feeling fresh. People prefer its soft-edged, striking style to the Galaxy Watch’s flat, unchanged look, even if it’s more durable. And as a bunch of Google power users, they’re most excited by new Google Home integrations that make the Watch 3 interconnected with their other devices.
Runner-up: OnePlus Watch 2R
The more competitive battle was for the runner-up slot. The Galaxy Watch 7 got a couple of votes, while Garmin spread out its votes among different options. But a dark horse swooped in: the OnePlus Watch 2R, which I also gave a strong review. In this case, it’s the clear inverse of the Pixel Watch 3: not very attractive or strong for health insights, but much more affordable, far stronger for battery life, and just as fast for overall performance. It’s the mid-priced Wear OS watch we’ve been waiting for.
Best smart ring: Oura Ring 4
Derrek Lee: Smart rings are still a growing market, but Oura has proven that there’s plenty of merit in the form factor. The arrival of the Oura Ring 4, along with a slew of new contenders, big and small, shows that consumers are interested. At first glance, Oura’s latest model may not look like a huge upgrade from its predecessor, but the company has made some significant changes to enhance the overall experience while improving accuracy and battery life.
The Oura Ring 4 refines the design for a more comfortable and durable fit, making it perfect to wear while sleeping in case you don’t like to wear your smartwatch to bed. However, the updated design isn’t just cosmetic; the flush sensors are arranged in such a way that readings should be more accurate with more pathways between sensors.
This is aided by Oura’s new Smart Sensing technology, which not only improves the ring’s health tracking but also extends battery life. And with the updated automatic activity tracking, the ring not only detects workouts like running, biking, HIIT, and yoga, but it will also automatically monitor your heart rate when it does, so you don’t have to manually track workouts for more comprehensive data.
Runner-up: Ultrahuman Ring Air
There are plenty of impressive smart rings in the market, but the runner-up on our list is the Ultrahuman Ring Air, which has been giving Oura a run for its money in more ways than one. It has a comfortable fit and comes with great sleep-tracking features. And like Oura, Ultrahuman has also been adding new features to its ring, even some you can’t find on the Oura Ring, like this cool new smart alarm. And the best part is that, unlike Oura, there’s no subscription to use its most useful features.