Women find it challenging to find a functional and fashionable smartwatch. However, the best part is that there is a wide variety of options. You can also choose from different trusted brands, making it easier to find the perfect one.
Fossil designed the 42mm Gen 6 for women. It is the top choice for several reasons, including its stylish design and premium features. The Fossil Gen 6 may be the best Android smartwatch for women and makes a great holiday gift, but it's just one of many options apart from the ones found in our holiday gift guide. We've rounded up the best picks to help you find the right one for your needs.
Namerah enjoys geeking out over accessories, gadgets, and all sorts of smart knickknacks. After writing about consumer tech for nearly a decade, she has become an expert in the Android accessories space. She spends her free time guzzling coffee, writing some more, casual gaming, and cuddling with her furry best friends.
At a glance
Best overall
It's sleek, versatile, and doesn't compromise on features or style. The Fossil Gen 6 is the perfect smartwatch for women, and it comes with various bands and assorted case colors.
Best budget
If you're on a tight budget, consider the affordable Amazfit Bip 5. It may be cheap, but it offers plenty for the price. It also has a great design to admire.
Best small
Google has refreshed its flagship wearable lineup with the stunning Pixel Watch 3. The small size offering, software, and lightweight design make it ideal for women.
Best performance
You can't go wrong with the powerful and robust Samsung Galaxy Watch 7. This unisex Android smartwatch looks good on anyone's wrist and is jam-packed with great features.
Best hybrid
Garmin offers many smartwatches and trackers, but Vivomove is the brand's best hybrid smartwatch, allowing you to track all your fitness metrics without distractions.
Best fitness tracker
ItFitbit doesn't offer Google Assistant on the Sense 2, but has Alexa. The Sense 2 is an excellent, small-footprint fitness-tracking smartwatch.
Best overall
If you were a fan of the Gen 5 smartwatches from Fossil but had hoped for improvements, you'll appreciate the Gen 6 smartwatches — including the gorgeous Fossil Gen 6 women's smartwatch. It has a great design, upgrades to Wear OS 3.5, and has an external speaker. It also has everything you need for fitness and wellness tracking as well as keeping in touch: activity and heart rate tracking, a SpO2 sensor for blood oxygen measurement, 3ATM water resistance (depth down to 30 meters), Google Wallet, Alexa, Google Assistant, GPS, Bluetooth Low Energy, and notifications.
If this watch looks familiar, that's because it's the women's version of the Fossil Gen 6, which measures 42mm wide. Does this watch look familiar? If so, it's because you've seen the men's version, the Fossil Gen 6, which measures 42mm wide. The Snapdragon Wear 4100+ processor slightly helps with battery life. You won't get a massive upgrade with this option since Fossil only added an estimated 24+ hours of life. This has been a thorn in the side of Wear OS for quite some time now. Thankfully, the Fossil Gen 6 improves on the Gen 5 lineup with faster charging speeds.
You can always use the battery-saving modes to get more usage between charges. Extended mode turns off non-essential features, like the always-on display, speaker, Wi-Fi, and touch to wake. Location and NFC are set to "on-demand," so those radios are only turned on when apps use them. If you turn on airplane mode, Bluetooth turns off. Time Only mode gives you a few extra hours when the battery is low by functioning as a watch only. In short, if you plan on taking full advantage of all of the features the Gen 6 offers, you'll need to charge it daily.
These are just a few reasons why the Gen 6 is the best smartwatch for women. It is smaller than the men's variant and has several design options, with the crystal design being my favorite. It also costs less than flagships like the Pixel Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7 and has better battery life. Even though Fossil has stopped making smartwatches, the brand will continue to support this smartwatch for a few more years.
| Attribute | Quick look | Score |
| Display | One size, round face with two side buttons and a center crown | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | Thin, looks wonderful on the wrist | ★★★★★ |
| Price | Pretty affordable | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | WearOS 3 but missing some features, and only supported for a few more years | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Battery life | Only lasts a day, but there's an extended battery mode to stretch it and it charges quickly | ★★★☆☆ |
| Health | Great, accurate metrics with lots of sensors | ★★★★☆ |
| Fitness | Works well but you have to manually enable everything first | ★★★☆☆ |
| Software | Will not be supported beyond this OS and only for a few more years | ★★☆☆☆ |
Best budget
Amazfit smartwatches are excellent for tracking health and fitness. The affordable Amazfit Bip 5 is one of the best smartwatches for women, especially if you want something with a square dial. It's compatible with universal quick-release bands, so you can wear it casually or dress it up as you please. Your watch will always match your outfit because Amazfit lets you choose from over 70 watch faces.
Other features to look forward to include a heart rate monitor, dual-band GPS, and a blood-oxygen sensor. The smartwatch has over 120 sporting modes for activity tracking. Whether you're walking, jogging, or running, you'll get the necessary data. It also has IP68 water resistance and a 10-day battery life, which varies depending on your usage.
This is another popular pick, so you won't have many problems with it. The Amazfit Bip 5 has a built-in speaker and mic, which is handy since Alexa is onboard. However, it doesn't have LTE connectivity, so you need to connect your phone via Bluetooth. Since this isn't a Wear OS watch, it doesn't support third-party Wear OS apps like Google Wallet and Spotify.
| Attribute | Quick look | Score |
| Display | Bright, beautiful square screen with a single side button that doesn't rotate | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | Thin, lightweight, customizable screen | ★★★★☆ |
| Price | Super affordable | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | Clean, lightweight interface but no Google app support | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery | Incredible up to 10 days, 5 days heave usage | ★★★★★ |
| Health | Plenty of on-board sensors, such as heart, 3-axis acceleration, and more | ★★★★☆ |
| Fitness | More than 120 workout modes | ★★★★★ |
| Software | Zepp OS 2.0 | ★★★☆☆ |
Best small
Google released the Google Pixel Watch 3 along with the Pixel 9 series smartphones, and it's one of the best Android smartwatches money can buy. So, if you don't know what to give this Christmas, the smartwatch is a great idea. Mind you, purchasing one of these does require a lot of coins. However, the stuff you get in exchange is undoubtedly exciting.
Google offered two size options for the Pixel Watch 3, but I recommend the smaller 41mm size for women since they have small wrists. The watch's body is lightweight, recycled aluminum, and the screen is a crisp 1.27-inch Actua AMOLED LTPO display. We adore the design; it's precisely the right shape, and if you have a small wrist, and the display is gorgeous. Gorilla Glass 5 protects the screen, but you can always add a screen guard to bolster protection. Google added a rotating crown to their creation and a button on the side with different functions assigned to each.
The Google Pixel Watch 3 has a 5 ATM water resistance, Fitbit app integration, a SpO2 sensor, and a heart rate monitor; the watch is ready for all your vigorous activities. Since the Pixel Watch 3 runs Wear OS 5 out of the box, you get everything from Google Wallet to Spotify. The third-party app support is fantastic since you can easily personalize the watch faces in detail. But there is more; Google also includes a month of YouTube Music Premium and six months of Fitbit Premium with your new watch.
Google offers the Pixel Watch in LTE and Bluetooth models, but the former is shockingly expensive for a smartwatch. It's still cheaper than the Galaxy Watch Ultra, but the 24-hour battery life pales in comparison to the Watch 7's three-day uptime.
While I love the Google Pixel Watch Active Band included in the box, it doesn't fit formal occasions well. Sadly, the propriety band connector limits the availability of compatible Pixel Watch bands. Regarding the chassis itself, you can choose from Matte Black, Polished Silver, and Champagne Gold (my favorite).
If you're searching for the ultimate Android flagship wearable that's not as big and weighty as the Galaxy Watch 7, the Pixel Watch 3 is your match. If you get the watch as a gift, it's going to be easier to hide, thanks to its small size.
| Attribute | Quick look | Score |
| Display | Smaller option is the perfect size for tiny wrists; larger available as well but no sapphire glass | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | Gorgeous, lightweight, rotating crown and side button but it isn't durable, no premium materials | ★★★★☆ |
| Price | On pair with others but you get features to justify it; LTE option is far more expensive | ★★★☆☆ |
| Performance | Fabulous experience with plenty of additional features and functions, app support | ★★★★☆ |
| Battery | Only 24-hour battery life, but you can extend it | ★★★☆☆ |
| Health | All the health tracking sensors you could dream of having via Fitbit | ★★★★★ |
| Fitness | Track all types of workouts and activities with additional metrics for certain ones; some features behind a paywall | ★★★★☆ |
| Software | WearOS 5 out of the box, Google app support, three years of software support | ★★★★★ |
Best performance
One of the newest smartwatches that will appeal to women this holiday season is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, the successor to the Galaxy Watch 6. It comes in multiple sizes and colors, so finding a match for your needs is easy as the perfect gift. The 40mm aluminum model is lightweight and compact enough not to cramp your style or weigh you down during workouts. You can also opt for a model with LTE connectivity if that's a feature on your wish list.
Perhaps one of the best features of the Watch 7 is the three-in-one BioActive Sensor. Rather than designing a watch with multiple sensors, one chip contains three key sensors: optical heart rate, electrical heart, and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA). You can take a heart rate, electrocardiogram (ECG) reading, and blood oxygen level measurements. As for the BIA sensor, this feature analyzes your overall body composition by taking key metrics, including body water and fat percentage, skeletal muscle mass, basal metabolic rate, and more.
The main attraction of this gorgeous swatch is Wear OS 5. Don't worry. This is still a Samsung smartwatch to the core, but you'll notice subtle changes reflective of the Samsung-Google union. For instance, some preloaded apps include YouTube Music, Google Maps, Messages by Google, and Google Wallet. Unfortunately, iOS users are not compatible at this time. Another factor to consider is that you'll need a Samsung-branded Android phone to enjoy some of the best new features on the Galaxy Watch 7.
| Attribute | Quick look | Score |
| Display | Smaller option is lightweight and compact; two sizes | ★★★★★ |
| Design | Comfortable but also flat and plain | ★★★☆☆ |
| Price | Reasonable price and it isn't too much to upgrade to LTE | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | Fast processor with lots of RAM | ★★★★★ |
| Battery | Decent but still not as good as some others at just about two days | ★★★☆☆ |
| Health | Tons of advanced sensors, including more accurate HR | ★★★★☆ |
| Fitness | Great GPS, HR accuracy, features like Energy Score, Samsung Health | ★★★★☆ |
| Software | Four Wear OS updates with Samsung's intuitive One UI | ★★★★★ |
Best hybrid
Sometimes, you aim for the best of both worlds: a solid activity tracker with tons of features in the form of an affordable smartwatch. The Garmin Vivomove Trend will check these boxes and more. Before we touch on the features, let's talk about the design. The Vivomove Sport is a hybrid smartwatch with a 40mm stainless steel bezel and a silicone band. The band color options are Ivory, Cocoa, Cool Mint, and Black.
This holiday season, you can enjoy many features. It offers five days of battery life on a single charge, 5 ATM water resistance, activity/sleep tracking, heart-rate monitoring, stress tracking, blood oxygen monitoring, female health tracking, and more. The watch comes in various colors: gold, pink, black, silver, and peach gold. Its beautiful design might make this watch seem like it's only about looks, but that's not true.
You'll have to make some sacrifices when it comes to hybrid wearables. You get a monochrome OLED display that only exists on the bottom half of the display, so the room for swiping and tapping is limited. The touchscreen visibility isn't fantastic in direct sunlight, either. The Garmin Vivomove Trend has a few basic sports modes but nothing too niche. Garmin also added an accelerometer to react to your wrist movements and decide when you're checking your display.
| Attribute | Quick look | Score |
| Display | Hidden LCD display that's surprisingly visible | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Design | Hybrid; lightweight plastic case that isn't particularly durable | ★★★☆☆ |
| Price | Fairly good price for what you get | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | Performs well with comprehensive sleep tracking and more | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery | Decent at up to five days | ★★★★☆ |
| Health | Track the basics like HR, Pulse Ox, sleep, respiration | ★★★★☆ |
| Fitness | Limited activity on your wrist, you can check all data in the Connect app | ★★★★☆ |
| Software | Uses Garmin's own OS; may only get bug fixes | ★★★☆☆ |
Best fitness tracker
While the Fitbit Sense 2 isn't exclusively for women, it can certainly pass as a women's smartwatch. When you head outdoors for a fierce workout, you can make it look rugged and durable with the right band. When the evening rolls around, switch to an elegant band for a night out on the town. Speaking of which, you can choose from various Fitbit Sense 2 bands for that Christmas party. A fitness smartwatch can be feminine if you want it to be! Many improvements are worth noting, especially the addition of onboard GPS and a mind boggling six days of battery life.
This excellent Fitbit smartwatch offers other critical features like a built-in mic/speaker and an improved proprietary band system. The mic/speaker means you can take calls on your wrist and hear Alexa's responses. You'll have all of the basics you know and love on the Fitbit Sense 2, including activity/sleep tracking, heart-rate monitoring, Fitbit Pay (which is transitioning to Google Wallet), and more.
As always, app selection is somewhat limited, so don't expect much on that front. The battery is incredibly good, lasting up to six days on a single charge.
| Attribute | Quick look | Score |
| Display | Beautiful, large screen with the welcome return of a physical side button | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | Easily go from rugged to feminine with a switch of the band and customized face | ★★★★☆ |
| Price | Reasonably priced but many features behind a paywall | ★★★☆☆ |
| Performance | Lives up to expectations but missing things like app support you'd get with a WearOS watch | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery | Very good 6+ days per charge; realistically maybe a few days less with tracking and always-on display | ★★★★☆ |
| Health | Tons of goodies thanks to Fitbit's prowess, including excellent sleep tracking | ★★★★★ |
| Fitness | Tracks tons of sports and activities; you can even follow along on screen | ★★★★★ |
| Software | Still getting new updates but launched in 2022 so may not be supported for much longer | ★★★☆☆ |
How to choose
Any of the listed smartwatches is an excellent choice for your next smartwatch—the smartwatch you choose needs to have your desired specs and maybe even a specific style. If you want a stylish wearable that doubles as a fitness tracker, there are plenty of solid choices. We'd love to see more wearables for women hit the market, mainly because most smartwatches for women leave a lot to be desired. Despite this, these women's smartwatch options are a good start and will look great under that Christmas tree. No matter which one you pick, you'll receive something with a stylish design and an outstanding set of features.
Before you decide, take some time to think about your expectations and needs regarding the smartwatch. For example, if it's a feminine design you're after, you can opt for a smartwatch that the manufacturer made with women in mind. Conversely, if you're more concerned about finding a watch with specific features, you may choose one of the several unisex options with everything you need rolled into one. Size and weight might be crucial if you have little and thin wrists. For more options, check out our list of the best Android smartwatches.
That said, I am convinced that the Fossil Gen 6 women's smartwatch is the best for women. The eye-catching design is a substantial selling point, but there's a lot under the hood that you'll also appreciate. This watch has everything you need, from activity and heart-rate tracking to Google Wallet and onboard GPS. Recollect the SD Wear 4100+ chipset, different colors and size choices, and the external speaker. Plus, this watch is very affordable, considering all it offers. Simply put, it's what smartwatch dreams are made of.
