Many individuals select a smartwatch with particular well being and health targets in thoughts. There are numerous smartwatches available on the market, however all of them provide a distinct set of options and performance. Whereas it is fairly straightforward to discover a smartwatch particularly designed for working, it’s kind of tougher to seek out one marketed for swimming. Simply because a device is waterproof, would not essentially imply that it is nicely suited to monitoring laps within the pool and past.
I’ve taken a deep dive into the precise specs and water-related capabilities of dozens of smartwatches available on the market to seek out those that truly provide helpful options for swimming and diving. Some focus totally on swimming or athletic efficiency, whereas others mix spectacular good connectivity performance with strong swimming metrics. The proper look ahead to you’ll rely in your targets and preferences.

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Whether or not you are trying to document primary swimming stats, practice for a triathlon, or go scuba diving, these are a few of the greatest smartwatches for swimming and different water sports activities, with the proof within the product particulars, and as a rule, our personal rigorous product evaluations.
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Garmin Swim 2
Finest smartwatch total
The Garmin Swim 2 is designed completely with swimmers in thoughts and might measure your coronary heart fee as you progress within the water. Along with monitoring GPS and pool swimming distance, it could possibly document tempo, stroke rely, distance per stroke, SWOLF (swim effectivity) and even sustain with rests, timed units, and log drills. The Swim 2 is waterproof as much as 50m, and contains a long-lasting battery. Plus, it could possibly monitor your sleep. In the event you do not want many extra smartwatch options, this presents probably the most swimming metrics for the value.
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Garmin Forerunner 965
Finest triathlon smartwatch
Whereas costly, the Garmin Forerunner 965 is a worthwhile buy for severe triathletes and open-water swimmers. This premier performance-focused smartwatch boasts spectacular specs and superior well being, health, and connectivity options, together with blood oxygen and coronary heart fee. Report important swimming stats like distance, tempo, stroke rely, and SWOLF and maximize your coaching with distance alerts, pacing alerts, relaxation timers, and drill logging. Plus, there are devoted triathlon and working/swimming modes.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
Finest smartwatch for Android customers
Android customers might be exhausting pressed to discover a extra succesful smartwatch than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6. It comes geared up with a complete suite of well being and health options in addition to connectivity options, together with help for third-party swim apps like swim.com. Along with being waterproof as much as 50m, it hits the MIL-STD-810 ranking to face up to excessive environmental situations and stressors. There’s additionally a helpful water lock to maintain the touchscreen from activating throughout swimming.
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Polar Ignite 3
Finest smartwatch for teaching
The Polar Ignite 3 presents dependable swim monitoring. For each pool and open water swimming, you’ll be able to monitor tempo and distance, strokes per minute or pool size, and SWOLF rating, in addition to your GPS route for open water. Exterior of swimming, notable options embrace superior sleep monitoring and customized on-demand exercise steerage by means of the Polar Stream app, in addition to a powerful 30-hour battery life. It is also extra reasonably priced than a few of its opponents with comparable options.
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Apple Watch Extremely 2
Finest smartwatch for iOS
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 boasts a beefed-up design greatest suited to out of doors adventures. It has a stronger waterproof ranking to a depth of 100m as an alternative of 50m, that means you should utilize it for leisure scuba diving and for high-speed water sports activities. The Extremely 2 can document swim distance, tempo, stroke splits, and coronary heart fee within the pool, lakes, or oceans. It additionally presents probably the most complete smartwatch expertise for iOS customers, providing seamless integration with Apple providers.
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Kospet Tank X1 Health Tracker
Finest funds smartwatch
The Kospet Tank X1 is hard and constructed to final. It contains a light-weight physique fabricated from titanium and zinc alloy, whereas its shiny AMOLED show is strengthened with Corning Gorilla Glass. The Tank X1 can face up to water strain as much as depth of 100m, making it secure for diving 30m beneath the floor. It could possibly monitor over 70 sports activities, coronary heart fee, blood oxygen, and extra, however most impressively, has a battery life of fifty days in standby mode.
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Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen)
Second greatest smartwatch for iOS
The Apple Watch SE presents most of the identical options because the Series 9 however for a considerably lower cost. It is the perfect worth when it comes to performance and efficiency given the value, but it surely does require an iPhone. Whereas it is missing a few of the extra superior metrics like ECG and physique temperature, the swim monitoring is comparable. For each pool and open water swimming, it’s going to monitor distance, tempo, splits, and coronary heart fee in depths as much as 50 meters.
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Garmin Descent G1
Finest smartwatch for scuba diving
The Garmin Descent G1 is mainly a troublesome, sturdy dive pc to your wrist. It options a number of customizable dive modes, together with technical and free diving, in addition to GPS monitoring, floor multi-GNSS, tide, wave, and surf knowledge, and a built-in 3-axis dive compass. Plus, you’ll be able to select from over 30 different kinds of exercises and obtain real-time coaching standing alerts (undertraining, overtraining, or optimum coaching) and calculated restoration time suggestions.
One of the widespread issues relating to swimming along with your smartwatch is that if long-term use within the water will slowly injury the smartwatch and shorten its lifespan. To keep away from such points, it is necessary to put money into a top quality wearable and know precisely what its limitations are. As long as you solely put on the watch at applicable depths and do not maintain it underwater for longer than the really helpful time restrict, the {hardware} and software program of your watch ought to stay comparatively unaffected.
If you wish to be further cautious, you’ll be able to rinse your watch underneath clear water after swimming in a chlorinated pool or ocean. It is extra necessary to watch out whenever you’re washing your arms to verify cleaning soap or soapy water would not are available contact along with your machine. In any other case, your smartwatch must be simply fantastic, even when you handle to squeeze in a swimming exercise day-after-day of the week.

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How a lot do different smartwatch options matter?
This actually comes all the way down to choice. In the event you’re on the lookout for a smartwatch that is nice for swimming but in addition simply as helpful for on a regular basis productiveness, then you definately’ll wish to take into account extra versatile fashions just like the Apple Watch Extremely 2, Apple Watch SE, or the Samsung Galaxy 6. Alternatively, in case your essential aim is boosting athletic efficiency, the fitness-forward Garmin Swim 2, Garmin Forerunner 965, or Polar Ignite 3 could be a greater possibility. After all, there are much more area of interest smartwatches, just like the Garmin Descent G1 or Kospet Tank X1, for these with actually particular targets within the water. In terms of swimming, although, all of the smartwatches on our record will serve you nicely.