Smartwatches

The new generation Is the most exciting yet but which Is the very best?

- Leon Pountney, Matt Kollat

The smartwatch industry is booming right now, and some of the biggest names in tech have just launched arguably their most advanced pieces of kit to date.

As timing goes, now is the perfect opportunity to upgrade from that analogue timepiece to a digital number that acts as an extension of your smartphone for the wrist.

Apple brings all-new functionality to its Series 9, with things like Gesture Control allowing users to interact with the user interface via stealthy taps of the thumb and forefinger. As with Samsung, with its Galaxy Watch 6, and Google's Pixel Watch 2, Apple's Watch is also now faster, smoother to use and easier to read in all situations thanks to ultra-bright next-gen displays.

What's more, the humble smartwatch has slowly morphed into the ultimate fitness, health and wellbeing device, training users in stress management and tracking workouts.

The addition of advanced biometric hardware, such as optical heart rate sensors, electrocardiograms (ECG) and skin temperature sensors, help to paint arguably the clearest picture of an individual's health and well-being to date.

From simple and intuitive responses to notifications during the busy working hours, to detailed insights into sleep patterns and stress levels, the latest class of smartwatches has arrived and it is smarter than ever.

WHAT'S ON TEST...

1 Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

The new Galaxy Watch offers a slimmer aluminium bezel and a sharper, brighter display but the real magic happens inside. Samsung has added its latest Exynos W930 Dual-Core chip. which makes operation lightning fast. Plus, software updates have improved sleep and health tracking to a significant degree.

From £289, samsung.com