- Best Overall
- Best for watch lovers
- Best mid-sized alternative
- Best value
Best overall
LG Watch Sport
See at Google Store
LG’s Watch Sport has everything: a big, beautiful P-OLED display, a high-speed processor, NFC for Android Pay, LTE for independent connectivity, and a massive 430mAh battery. It’s also the first smartwatch to ship with Android Wear 2.0 (though certainly not the last) which means that early adopters can benefit from all the platform’s new features, including a refreshed interface and improved notifications.
It may be big, but the stainless steel chassis wears it well, and it hides a very accurate heart rate sensor on the back. At $349, it’s not cheap, but it’s worth it.
Bottom line: The LG Watch Sport is a big watch, but it’s also big on features.
One more thing: If the Sport is too big, and too pricey, LG has another option, the sleeker LG Watch Style, for $249.
Why the LG Watch Sport is the best
The LG Watch Sport is a beast. It’s big, heavy and expensive. And yet it’s the best Android Wear watch out there right now, mainly because it packs so many features into one device. Want to pay with your watch? Go ahead. Want to use it independently to track a run using GPS? Sure, it can do that, too.
Android Central’s Andrew Martonik summed it up nicely in his review:
Many technology enthusiasts will still be wooed into considering the LG Watch Sport, even at $349. The allure of a fresh smartwatch that fixes many pain points of previous Android Wear watches will be strong. It has a great display without a dreaded flat tire, a nice case that is, unfortunately, a bit too thick but has great build quality, and every feature you could want crammed inside.
The LG Watch Sport is for the wearable fan who wants to experience Android Wear 2.0 to the fullest right from the start, and see the latest Google has to offer on some great hardware from LG.
LG has a hit on its hands, despite the watch’s size, and there is something encouraging about how much more capable it is than previous generations of watches.
Best for watch lovers
LG Watch Style
See at Google Store
As much as we love our former pick in this category, the Huawei Watch, LG’s newest slim smartwatch, the Watch Style, gets our pick for a timepiece that best imitates a real watch. While it lacks the features of its more expensive and much larger kin, the Watch Sport, it makes up for it in sheer usability. The 1.2-inch POLED display is delightful, and Android Wear works really well on the spinning crown, which enables smooth scrolling without having to touch the display.
Bottom line: The Watch Style may be the best all-round Android Wear watch for the mainstream.
One more thing: It comes in three colors, including the always coveted rose gold.
Best mid-sized alternative
Huawei Watch 2 Classic
See at Amazon
It may not look much like the original Huawei Watch, but the Huawei Watch 2 Classic is the nicer, metal version of the company’s new Android Wear series, and we like it a lot. A gorgeous, sharp 1.2-inch OLED panel and a comfortable leather wrist band make for plenty of enjoyment, plus the heart rate monitor and GPS let the Watch 2 Classic live on its own, sans phone, when you want to go on a run. We just wish that chronometer bezel could spin.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for something like the LG Watch Sport in a much smaller package, this is the one for you.
One more thing: Wait until it’s on sale on Amazon, where it gets discounted regularly.
Best value
ASUS ZenWatch 2
See at Amazon
Android Wear is, first a foremost, a way to interact with your phone remotely. ASUS has positioned the ZenWatch 2 as a way to enjoy the best Android Wear features without emptying your wallet. The square design helps the watch stand out as a gadget to be enjoyed, and removing the heart rate sensor helped ASUS to drop the price well below the competition.
Bottom line: If you really want Android Wear but don’t need something pretending to be a piece of jewelry on your wrist, this is the watch for you.
One more thing: ZenWatch 2 is available in 1.45-inch and 1.63-inch models, and can be purchased in Silver, Gunmetal, Gold, and Rose Gold.
Conclusion
The LG Watch Sport is not just a good watch, it’s the best Android Wear watch you can currently buy. While that may change in the coming months with new wearables from big names like Huawei, Sony and others, no other Android Wear device right now does as much, and so well, as the LG Watch Sport.
Best overall
LG Watch Sport
See at Google Store
LG’s Watch Sport has everything: a big, beautiful P-OLED display, a high-speed processor, NFC for Android Pay, LTE for independent connectivity, and a massive 430mAh battery. It’s also the first smartwatch to ship with Android Wear 2.0 (though certainly not the last) which means that early adopters can benefit from all the platform’s new features, including a refreshed interface and improved notifications.
It may be big, but the stainless steel chassis wears it well, and it hides a very accurate heart rate sensor on the back. At $349, it’s not cheap, but it’s worth it.
Bottom line: The LG Watch Sport is a big watch, but it’s also big on features.
One more thing: If the Sport is too big, and too pricey, LG has another option, the sleeker LG Watch Style, for $249.
Update, July 2017: The LG Watch Sport is the best Android Wear smartwatch you can buy right now, while the Huawei Watch 2 Classic replaces the OG Huawatch.
