The Best Gear at Your Fingertips (and Ears, Eyes, and Wrists)

The Apple Watch is a wellness device at heart, with sensors for tracking temperature, heart rate, blood oxygen, and falls, as well as numerous cardio and strength workouts.

The Series 9 and 10 watches also have conveniences, like Double Tap for one-handed interactions, Apple Pay, and texting. Plus, they’re sleek and ultra-customizable with plentiful band varieties and complications and work seamlessly with iPhones.

If you’re an aspiring or serious runner, the Garmin Forerunner 265 offers everything you’d want to support training and workout tracking.

The Garmin Coach provides workout suggestions, which you can use in combination with the robust suite of metrics analyzing your running cadence, exertion levels, VO2 Max, and overall energy reserves, to name a few.

The Fitbit Inspire 3 is a prime pick for anyone looking for a wellness jump-start. It’s affordable, lightweight, and covers basics like steps, calories, and sleep quality.

This tracker lacks GPS, so you’ll need your smartphone to get the most from this device. A perk of the Fitbit ecosystem is that this wearable works with iPhones and Androids, with the bonus of text replies if you have an Android.

Smart glasses are still an emerging category in the wearables space, but from what we’ve seen, the Ray-Ban Meta Headliner offers an inviting entry point for most people.

These glasses look like “regular” frames or sunglasses (prescription optional) with the brand’s signature styling. However, they also include a camera, internal speakers, and Meta AI at the tap of a button or with a voice prompt.

More smart rings are coming to market, but the Oura Gen3 Ring tops our list as the best option for this wellness accessory. It’s a stylish alternative to a wrist-based fitness tracker or smartwatch and monitors all of the same data points.

Oura’s sensors track performance and readiness for dedicated exercisers based on sleep and heart rate patterns. It also offers tracking tools for sleep, stress, and reproductive health.

The Meta Quest 3 is our bet for most people interested in starting with or gifting an affordable VR headset.

While it’s not as comfortable or high-end as the Pro version, it offers a speedier Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 chip and other features gamers will love: a 120Hz refresh rate, high-resolution screens, and hand-tracking and controllers.

The Apple AirPods Pro 2 are stellar wireless earbuds for Apple and non-Apple users. Features like spacial audio and adaptive and active noise cancellation distinguish these powerful earbuds.

They also sound great, no matter the genre, and the build quality is some of the best you’ll find in this category.

For a tried-and-true pair of wired headphones, the Shure SE425 deliver quality sound without the need for recharging. Though this model is musician-focused, a general user can still appreciate the crisp, balanced sound quality and numerous ear tips for a custom fit.

If you don’t need active noise cancellation and bells and whistles, the SE425 could be the go-to backup or dedicated wired earbuds for anybody.