We’re reviving our Readers’ Choice survey for wearables this year for the first time since 2017. Back then, the company that started smartwatch mania via a crowdfunding campaign, Pebble, had already gone out of business—but still had enough users that it ended up in our survey results. We also honored several devices dedicated primarily to tracking your steps in the then-burgeoning category.
Why bring this survey back? Today, wearables are a multibillion-dollar business. The global market was worth $33.54 billion last year and is projected to hit $105.2 billion in 2032. Since phones and smartwatches typically work in tandem, the market is dominated by the big mobile phone manufacturers. The differences between smartwatches and fitness trackers, especially at the high end, have blurred, with most of the distinctions coming down to features and marketing.
At the low end of the price range, there are still contrasts. “You can still find simple fitness trackers for under $100 that do all the activity tracking you want and last for a week on a charge, but don’t have any apps,” says PCMag senior writer Andrew Gebhart, who tests and reviews all types of wearables. “Smartwatches have become much better at detailed health tracking, but they typically cost at least $300 and usually only last a day or two on a charge.”
Smartwatch sales declined in the US last year for the first time, likely due to a lack of excitement over minor upgrades to the popular Apple Watch line (this year’s anticipated Series 11 and rumored Ultra 3 releases may turn sales around). But worldwide, sales are booming. We’re only growing more health-conscious, and a watch with fitness tracking (or a fitness tracker that’s a watch) is an excellent way to keep tabs on your movement, sleep, and other physical stats.
But which brands do the best tracking, are the easiest to use, and offer the most useful features? Read on to see what our tech-savvy readers think.
The Top Wearables for 2025
Apple has been the top brand in the wearable space for several years now. It was the overall winner of our previous wearables survey eight years ago, and comes out on top again today with exactly the same overall satisfaction score (an 8.8 on a scale of zero to 10). When it comes to wearables, Apple rules in terms of ease of use, tech support, and mobile apps. Apple also wins the fitness tracker category, thanks to building a treasure trove of health-monitoring features into its devices.
Apple chalks up a third win, narrowly outranking archrival Samsung for contactless payments, a feature supported by all the major phone/watch manufacturers. This category will become increasingly important in the future; the wearable payments device market was worth $58 billion in 2024 and will grow to $149 billion by 2030. Right now, readers prefer the seamless (and easy-to-set-up) ability to use Apple Pay on an Apple Watch.
(Note: Click the arrows in our interactive charts to view various elements of our survey results.)
There’s a lot more to wearables than just telling time, tracking fitness and health, or making payments, however. Each has its own ecosystem of accessories and extras, from stylish and decorative bands to protective covers to, of course, apps. “Apple Watches have the best app selection of any smartwatch,” Gebhart says, “and they have highly accurate heart rate sensors, along with detailed activity and exercise tracking.”
Apple users love that their watch offers fall notification. That’s not just for people at home prone to a tumble. “Fell down a mountainside, fall notification called for assistance,” says one of our readers who is happy to be alive.
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Another survey respondent shares an instance where the Apple Watch let them know they were experiencing a cardiac event. “The watch was able to identify that my heart rate had become erratic and gone into A-Fib,” they write. “Took my ECG every 10 minutes until I felt able to leave for the cardiologist. I took the printouts of the ECGs and showed the doctor. They took the results very seriously. Highly recommend for those with heart issues.”
In the past, Garmin sat toward the bottom of our survey results. Today, it manages second place overall. It also nails the top scores in key areas that can’t be overlooked. Garmin earns Readers’ Choice awards this year for durability, battery life, and GPS functions. It scores 9.0 or higher in all those important subcategories.
Many single out battery life as an area where Garmin is unquestionably the best. “Great battery life, accurate fitness tracking,” says one Garmin user, “pretty accurate for sleep and fitness metrics.”
“The Garmin brand always has accurate and detailed exercise tracking with good battery life, and can even help you train for an event like a marathon,” Gebhart says. “Recent Garmin watches have a cool feature called Body Battery that tracks your holistic health with a continually updating score based on your rest and activity.”
Recommended by Our Editors
Samsung comes in third overall this year, with fair-to-good ratings in many areas. Two standout scores earn it awards from our readership. Samsung smartwatches best Apple’s when it comes to making phone calls and sending text messages. Samsung’s latest, the Galaxy Watch 8, can answer calls with gesture controls and use the built-in voice-activated AI assistant to send messages.
“Samsung’s newest Galaxy Watch 8 Series has the best set of AI features of any smartwatch,” says Gebhart, who granted the watch our coveted Editors’ Choice award. “The Running Coach can guide you through improving your fitness over time, while the Sleep Coach offers advice on getting better rest and recovery.”
We’ll leave you with a fun anecdote from a reader: “I remember specifically one time right after I’d gotten my first Samsung smartwatch, I overslept a little bit [but] my watch buzzed me awake even though I don’t think I set an alarm. It saved me from getting fired.”
To see which wrist-based wearables currently lead in our lab testing, read our roundups of The Best Smartwatches and The Best Fitness Trackers.
Wondering where smart rings are in our coverage of wearables? While the category is growing every year, we didn’t receive enough responses this time around to pick a winner. Meanwhile, for an expert take on the current state of these products, read The Best Smart Rings.
Full Results
The PCMag Readers’ Choice survey for Wearables was in the field from April 24 to July 7, 2025. For more information on how we conduct surveys, read our methodology.
PCMag Readers’ Choice: How Our Surveys Help You Find the Best Products
About Eric Griffith
Senior Editor, Features
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