9 best sports smartwatches of 2018

Although they have not had the overwhelming acceptance that the manufacturers expected, the SmartWatch, or smart watches, have managed to carve out a niche for themselves in the market by trying to take some ground on traditional watches.

These smart watches are not just designed to tell you the time. In addition to being able to tell you exactly what time of day you are, a smartwatch is capable of receiving and sending messages, calls and monitoring many activities.

We are going to talk precisely about monitoring today. Many of these watches They have heart rate sensors that allow you to know the status of your users. The inclusion of these and other sensors has made them perfect machines for monitor sports activities, being able to know many data about the performance that is achieved by doing sports.

There are many professional and amateur athletes who purchase one of these watches to keep track of their activities, whether it is going for a run, cycling or even swimming. However, you have to choose the right watch for each person, since each one has different features that could be useful for some but could not meet the needs of others.

Samsung Gear Sport

Hybrid
Operating system: Tizen 3.0
calling function: Yes
Endurance: Up to 4 days
Waterproof: Yes
Wifi: Yes
Heart rate monitor: Yes
GPS: Yes
Price: 199€

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Samsung Gear Sport is a watch that, despite being developed with features designed for sports, combines very well with all styles. In addition, it has the latest generation technology that makes it one of the options that must be taken into account if you are looking for a smartwatch.

Compact in size, the Samsung Gear Sport It has GPS, accelerometer and heart rate monitor that allow you to monitor all types of physical activities. Besides, it is waterproof up to 50 meters deep, so you can swim with it without any problem.

The autonomy of this watch is between 3 and 4 days. Best of all, it has wireless charging so it is not necessary to connect it anywhere. All you have to do is leave it on the However, when not in use to recharge the battery.

Fitbit Ionic

Digital
Operating system: Fitbit OS
calling function: Yes
Endurance: Up to 5 days
Waterproof: Yes
Wifi: Yes
Heart rate monitor: Yes
GPS: Yes
Price: 229,00€

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Fitbit is one of those companies that dedicates itself body and soul to this. Activity monitors and w They are the work of Fitbit, and they have been at it for so long that they have developed devices with the best possible technologies.

Fitbit Ionic is the company's latest technology watch, an activity monitor that It has an enviable construction and a design designed for athletes of many modalities.

The smartwatch incorporates heart rate and GPS sensors that allow you to monitor activities, as well as water resistance up to 50 meters deep. It is also capable of measuring the quality of your sleep, giving you information about it. It also shows you personalized workouts on the screen, completely eliminating the need for a cell phone when training.

Its operating system is developed by the company, called Fitbit OS, so it is optimized for it, obtaining the best possible performance and reaching up to 5 days of autonomy with its battery.

Motorola Moto 360 Sport

Digital
Operating system: A
calling function: Yes
Endurance: 1 day and a half
Waterproof: Yes
Wifi: Yes
Heart rate monitor: Yes
GPS: Yes
Price: 280,00€

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Motorola, in addition to being involved in mobile phones, has also joined the wearables sector. In the case of smartwatches you can see the Motorola Moto 360 Sport, a smart watch that fits perfectly with Motorola's design.

It has a silicone strap ideal for those who like to play sports since it is highly resistant and absorbs sweat. In addition, the material prevents it from dancing on the wrist and does not stain or lose its color.

The Moto 360 Sport has light sensors that allow you to switch to black and white mode when natural light is available, while activating LCD technology when you are indoors.

It has a heart rate sensor, located in the back area of ​​the watch, which can perfectly measure the heart rate of its users at rest, although it can provide data of doubtful reliability when performing very intense activities. In addition, its autonomy is considerably less than that of many competitors, reaching 1 and a half days of battery use.

Watch Apple 3

Digital
Operating system: Watch 4
calling function: Yes
Endurance: Up to 2 days
Waterproof: Yes
Wifi: Yes
Heart rate monitor: Yes
GPS: Yes
Price: 360,00€

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Apple already bet heavily on its first smart watch, even though it had certain notable defects. However, the third generation of the Apple Watch has everything you could ask for from a smartwatch, but not what is expected from an activity monitor.

As a smart watch it is incredible. It has LTE, which allows you to receive messages and calls without having to have your cell phone at hand. In addition, all notifications that reach the Smartphone are also received on the watch, which allows you to stay up to date with everything.

However, as a sports watch and activity monitor it falters in some aspects, and that is that it integrates fewer functions than some competing models. Of course, it has GPS, heart rate monitor and water resistance, basic functions in any activity monitor. Although it must be said that what it does it does well, so if you don't miss out on features you can get a good benefit from its use.

polar M600

Digital
Operating system: Android Wear 2
calling function: Yes
Endurance: Up to 4 days
Waterproof: Yes
Wifi: Yes
Heart rate monitor: Yes
GPS: Yes
Price: 207,00€

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Polar, like Fitbit, is a company that is dedicated to developing heart rate monitors and activity bracelets, focusing on devices for athletes that allow them to monitor all their physical activities.

El M600 It is one of its flagships, a smart watch that has GPS and integrates a heart rate monitor on the wrist to measure heart rate both at rest and when doing intense days of exercise.

In addition to being able to monitor activity, the Polar M600, with its design developed to be able to monitor all types of activities, has complete protection against water, and can be submerged up to 50 meters for prolonged periods. In this way it is a very useful tool for those people who like to swim and do shallow dives.

It is not only an activity monitor but also acts as a SmartWatch, being able to receive mobile notifications, such as messages and calls, in addition to being able to answer said calls and messages from the same watch.

In terms of autonomy, it is one of those monitors in which its autonomy depends a lot on the use given to it. It can last up to 4 days without having to recharge its battery, although the most normal thing is that with intensive use of the device it will have to be charged in approximately 2 days.

Nokia Steel HR

Hybrid
Operating system: None
calling function: No
Endurance: Up to 25 days
Waterproof: Yes
Wifi: No
Heart rate monitor: Yes
GPS: No
Price: 165,00€

The Finnish company Nokia has developed a watch that looks like just that, a watch. It is an activity monitor with a traditional design, and it does not have a touch screen like the vast majority of the competition does.

This watch aims to continue being a watch, but it also has the characteristics of an activity monitor. With an elegant design, this smartwatch has a heart rate sensor, is capable of tracking physical activity and has a digital screen on the dial in which some notifications and data about the exercise performed are shown.

Notably The Nokia Steel HR does not have GPS, nor with many functions that others would consider essential. But thanks to this, since it does not use a large digital touch screen, you can enjoy a watch with an autonomy of 25 days, impressive for current smart watches, and which also can be extended another 20 days with saving mode, although in this way only the basic functions can be used.

Samsung Gear S3 Frontier

Digital
Operating system: Tizen 2.3
calling function: Yes
Endurance: Up to 4 days
Waterproof: Yes
Wifi: Yes
Heart rate monitor: Yes
GPS: Yes
Price: 324,99€

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The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier was one of the models that presented the best advances compared to its competitors and its own family. An important update since it was the first to include GPS within the Samsung Gear family. Although GPS functionality is very limited so it is necessary to have a mobile phone nearby.

Despite the GPS problem, it is still a good option to monitor activity, and it does so with a more traditional design, presenting itself as an option for those who are not convinced by the “all digital” image of smartwatches.

It has water resistance, is capable of receiving and making calls whenever the mobile phone is nearby and uses the Tizen operating system, more intuitive than the current Android Wear OS. The autonomy of its battery can reach 4 days depending on its use.

Xiaomi Amazfit

Hybrid
Operating system: Huami
calling function: Yes
Endurance: Up to 5 days
Waterproof: Yes
Wifi: Yes
Heart rate monitor: Yes
GPS: Yes
Price: 125,00€

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In a collection of technological devices it cannot be missing Xiaomi. The Chinese company also has a watch intended for athletes to monitor their physical activity. In addition, it is positioned as one of the cheapest watches in the sector.

The Xiaomi Amazfit has a GPS and heart rate sensor that are accurate enough to make it worth including the Chinese smartwatch in this list. In addition, it has a WiFi connection to be able to send data through said connection.

It has water resistance, an autonomy of up to 5 days and has a very attractive price: it can be purchased for just over €100 if you know how to look well.

LG Watch Sport

Digital
Operating system: Android Wear 2
calling function: Yes
Endurance: Up to 4 days
Waterproof: Yes
Wifi: Yes
Heart rate monitor: Yes
GPS: Yes
Price: 250,00€

LG must be taken into account when it comes to its devices. Your smart watch is a very interesting option in the smartwatch market, and it is designed especially for those athletes who want to monitor their physical activity.

El LG Watch Sport It is a watch designed for those people who like to do fitness as well as for those who perform very demanding sports.

Made of stainless steel, the watch has a heart rate sensor, GPS and a high resolution screen. The only drawback is that it is not designed for those people who like to stay in the water for a long time. It has IP68 protection against water and dust, which allows it to be submerged up to 1,5 meters deep for 30 minutes.

Available 4G LTE connection Therefore, the mobile phone can be left aside when it comes to monitoring activity and sending information to the different applications. Regarding its autonomy, The LG Watch Sport can be used for up to 4 days in an uninterrupted manner.