2015 saw the majority of the biggest tech giants come out with gadget, setting up 2016 to be the year where thousands will have their wrists connected to the world.
CBR lists the top five smartwatches everyone will want to receive this Christmas.
1. Samsung Gear S2 Classic
Price: £299
Samsung was one of the first big tech companies to tap into the smartwatch space, however, it took the South Korean company two years to get to its Gear S2 device. Running on Tizen, the S2 is a rounded watch that offers a 1,2" touch screen with a resolution of 360×360 and side buttons (home and back) to control the gadget.
Samsung surprised with the addition of a bezel that also lets users control the device. The firm has released two versions of the watch, the Gear S2 and Gear S2 Classic which features a leather bracelet. It has also separated the versions between those enabled with Bluetooth and 3G connectivity.
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Chargeable via a charging dock, the wearable has a two to three days battery lifespan powered by a 300mAh battery. It brings the company’s S Health system and users can download several apps, from Nike to Twitter to satisfy their needs.
The Gear S2 has an IP68 dual and waterproofing rating and also works with some automakers controlling apps – like Volkswagen – and boosts Samsung Pay allowing customers to simply hold their wrist near a NFC reader and pay for their goods.
The watch is also pairable with phones from other brands including HTC, Huawei, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, Sony, Asus and others.
2. Huawei Watch
Price: £369
Huawei took its time to come out with a strong smartwatch, and the Huawei Watch is a strong piece of hardware and software which, the company claims, is the first watch powered by Android Wear to work with an iPhone.
The 1.4" amoled display with a resolution of 400×400 is protected by a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal screen. Huawei has also targeted fitness-goers with a powerful motion sensor that keeps track of the user’s activity. It has also built in a heart rate monitor, an auto-patter recognition system, a barometer and a vibration motor.
The 300mAh battery lasts only 1.5 day as the watch is connectable to must apps available on the Android store. Connectivity works via Bluetooth 4.1 BLE and WiFi.
3. LG G Watch R
Price: £200
Running on a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 and a quad core of 1.2GHz – at least for a smartwatch, LG’s Watch R is compatible with smartphones running on Android 4.3 and iOS 8.2 or above.
LG has come out with a device rated as IP67, meaning that operability will be maintained even if it is gently submerged in a tank of still tap water at room temperature for about 30 minutes, up to a depth of 1 metre.
The 1.3" screen hides a 410mAh battery and connects via Bluetooth 4.0. With no speaker built-in, it works with most smartwatch apps currently available. Sensors wise it includes a 9-Axis (gyro, accelerometer, compass), PPG (heart rate monitor), and a barometer.
4. Motorola Moto 360 2
Price: £230
Motorola has put out to the market two different sizes of the watch, with two versions for men (with cases of 42 and 46mm) and one for women (42mm case). The Moto works with phones running Android 4.3+ or iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus with iOS 8.2+.
It is IP67 dust and water resistant, connects via Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi and the 300mAh battery lasts up to 1.5 days. It can be recharged wirelessly with the charging dock included in the package.
Built with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3, the watch has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 with 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU (APQ 8026) and Adreno 305 with 450MHz GPU. Sensors include an accelerometer, ambient light, gyroscope and a vibration/haptics engine.
5. Apple Watch
Price: £519
With a 42mm stainless steel case, the Apple Watch is compatible with an iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6, 6 Plus, 6s or 6s Plus and iOS 8.2 or later. It offers retina display with Force Touch protected by a sapphire crystal screen.
The watch’s battery lasts up to 18 hours and it includes an ambient light sensors, a heart rate sensor, an accelerometer and a gyroscope. It connects via WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 and has a water resistance rating of IPX7.
Apple has built into the device a microphone and a speaker that allow voice calling to be made from the wearable. It has several apps on Apple Store that allow users to receive notifications from their email to news outlets.
