Are Smartwatches Worth It? Pros, Cons, and How to Decide

Smartwatches have a ton of capabilities. They can let you know if you’ve received a text or a call, tell you the weather so you remember to put on a raincoat, or track your steps so you know when you’ve hit 10,000. But with prices going well above $800, with the most advanced models, are smartwatches worth it?

As there’s a wide price range, and the cheapest smartwatches start at only around $50, I think that smartwatches are worth it, as someone who wears one myself, but on this page, I’ll break down exactly why. Of course, smartwatches may not be worth it for everyone, so I’ll also go over those who may not need one as much.

Pros of Owning a Smartwatch

Tracking your fitness data

Anyone active will appreciate all the fitness data you can get from smartwatches like heart rate monitoring and step counting. You can also program your smartwatch with customized workouts so it can tell you when to jog, spring, or cool down.

Watches with barometers can detect any changes in altitude, taking into account any hills, mountains, or flights of stairs you climb.

Monitor your sleeping patterns

If you wear your smartwatch throughout the night, it can provide useful data on your movement, skin temperature, and heart rate at night, estimating your sleep cycles and providing recommendations on ideal bedtimes and wakeup times using ambient light sensors.

You can also use your smartwatch to set reminders or alarms, aligning your sleep with your body’s natural circadian rhythm.

Track your biometrics (health data)

The most advanced smartwatches can collect biometrics, not only your heart rate, as I mentioned before, but also your hydration and respiration rates, levels of muscle, fat, and water, sweat gland activity, and blood oxygen levels. Although smartwatches aren’t quite as accurate as medical devices, the estimations can be helpful for keeping track of your overall wellbeing.

Convenience

Aside from the data they collect, smartwatches are also convenient, allowing you to see calls and texts, play music, make payments, speak to voice assistants, check the weather, stream podcasts, set reminders and alarms, and other capabilities without having your smartphone handy. As the smartwatch fits like any other watch, you can remain connected to your phone while being hands-free.

Fall detection and emergency SOS

Some smartwatches have fall detection, which can replace medical alert systems. Fall detection, as you may have guessed, can detect when you fall and can contact 911 for you without you having to push a button.

This is an especially useful for older adults or people with disabilities. Additionally, a smartwatch is more subtle than a medical alert pendant and may not require extra monthly fees.

Navigation

Not only do smartwatches typically have GPS, allowing you to use them for navigation purposes, but that same GPS can also come in handy in an emergency, alerting the authorities of your location so you can get help sooner.

Stylish designs

Smartwatches are available in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. Some of the fanciest companies partner with designer brands. With so many options available, it’s likely you’ll find a smartwatch to suit your aesthetic.

Cons of Owning a Smartwatch

Battery life

While some smartwatches can last for one to two days on a single charge, some may need charging daily. It depends on the make, model, as well as the usage.

Price

Although the cheapest smartwatches cost around $50, these will lack key features that you may want, like cellular connectivity. It’s likely that you’ll spend hundreds on a smartwatch, with the priciest going above $800.

In addition, you may have to pay a monthly fee for cellular data. If budget is a concern, it may make sense to get a cheaper device that can perform fewer functions, like a fitness tracker or medical alert pendant.

Smartphone needed

Most smartwatches require that you have a smartphone, so at this point, they’re not a good option to replace smartphones. Depending on its connectivity, you may have to have the smartphone nearby, if you lack a cellular plan.

Aside from the biometrics, there are few capabilities a smartwatch has that a smartphone doesn’t, so again, it could be a bit redundant to have both, especially considering a smartwatch’s comparatively small screen size. For the visually-impaired, the text may be hard to read.

May not be comfortable for sleep

Unlike a smartring, which is far less bulky than a smartwatch, it may not be so comfortable to sleep in a smartwatch, so even if it collects sleep data, this may not be so accessible in practice.

Privacy and data breaches

While it depends on the manufacturer and its privacy policies, most companies will collect and store the data from your smartwatch, and may even share it with third parties for advertising purposes. Additionally, with any device connected to the internet, there is the possibility of your data being involved in a breach, which is not a concern with analog watches.

Data is not always accurate

While the health data from smartwatches can be interesting and accurate in many cases, it’s not as accurate as data from actual medical devices. Of course, accuracy varies by device and health metric.

For example, a 2024 Mayo Clinic study found that, in terms of detecting insufficient oxygen levels, Apple Watches were accurate 85 percent of the time, while Withings ScanWatches were accurate 79 percent at the time, neither a replacement for medical technology.

Who Should Consider Buying a Smartwatch

If you fall into any of the following categories, a smartwatch could be for you:

• People who exercise: If you want to track your fitness data so you can optimize workouts and improve your overall wellness, a smartwatch is great at passively collecting data.
• Busy professionals: Someone that wants to stay connected to their phone constantly will appreciate the convenience and ease of a smartwatch.
• Those who want to leave their phones behind: Especially if you don’t want to always have your phone on you, a smartwatch can keep you connected and hands-free at the same time.

Who Might Not Need a Smartwatch

However, you may not need a smartwatch if any of the following resonates:

• People who want less tech: If you want less technology in your life or simply want to unplug, a smartwatch is not going to help you in that endeavor.
• Lovers of classic watches: People who love classic, analog watches will not enjoy the sleek screens of smartwatches (and who wears two watches, anyway?).
• People who do not exercise: If you don’t exercise and aren’t particularly interested in your resting heart rate data, you may not care about the information smartwatches collect.

The Verdict

If you want to be connected to your phone without having the device physically present, or if you’d like to know more about your health, fitness, and sleep data, a smartwatch is for you.

However, it’s not for you if you want to detox from tech, do not exercise or are not interested in optimizing your wellness, or love analog watches. Like any product, smartwatches aren’t for everybody, but one thing is clear: they’re not going anywhere, and will only get more popular with time, along with other wearable technology like smart rings and smart glasses.

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