Stuff - UK (2020-12)

Ways to give your wrist a little brain of its own for less than £300

Apple Watch SE

from £269 / apple.com

What’s the story?

Of course, the most obvious alternative

to the Series 6 is Apple’s new, cheaper

Watch SE. Whether you choose the

40mm or 44mm version it looks identical

to its pricier sibling (although you can

only choose aluminium for the case),

and there’s nothing stopping you from

jazzing it up with a fancier strap if you

start to feel inferior – it fits all the same

ones as the S6.

Is it any good?

The key differences between the SE and

S6 are the cheaper wearable’s lack of

ECG and blood oxygen sensors, and the

absence of an always-on display. The

latter is a bigger deal, but 99 times out

of 100 it still illuminates on demand. It’s

easy to coax more than the stated 18hrs

out of the battery, and for app choice and

iPhone integration you can’t top watchOS.

KEY SPECS

Screen 1.57in 394x324 OLED (40mm);

1.78in 448x368 OLED (44mm)

Battery life Up to 18hrs

Dimensions 40x34x10.4mm, 30.5g

(40mm); 44x38x10.4mm, 36.2g (44mm)

Fitbit Sense

£299 / fitbit.com

What’s the story?

Fitbit has always been looking for new

ways for its devices to benefit both your

physical and mental health, and this is its

most ambitious wearable to date. It’s the

first smartwatch to have an electrodermal

activity (EDA) sensor, designed to help

you manage stress. Add an ECG app and

an on-wrist skin temperature sensor to

all-day heart-rate and activity tracking,

and there really is a lot going on here.

Is it any good?

The Sense is a mixed bag. On the one

wrist, you can’t help but admire the

vast amount of health data it stores

that will surely reward you over time

(we’re still getting to grips with the

stress stuff but it’s a good addition,

as is a proper ECG sensor), and the

battery life is excellent. On the other,

you have a frustratingly temperamental

smartwatch that, while lovely to look at

and wear, is currently too slow and buggy.

KEY SPECS

Screen 1.58in 336x336 AMOLED

Battery life Up to 7 days

Dimensions 40x40x12mm, 28.5g

Garmin Venu Sq

Music Edition

£230 / garmin.com

What’s the story?

The ‘Sq’ is a smaller, cheaper, squarer

version of the Garmin Venu that swaps

stainless steel for plastic and LCD for

OLED, hence the lower price. The Music

Edition allows you to connect Bluetooth

headphones, listen to locally stored tunes

and sync offline playlists from Spotify

without needing your phone nearby.

Is it any good?

If you strap on a Venu Sq to track your

workouts and day-to-day vital stats it’ll

reward you with loads of data, including

SpO2 (which the Watch SE lacks). But

while the basic interface is handy when

you’re gasping for breath, its watch faces

are uninspiring and smartwatch features

limited, especially if you pair it with an

iPhone, which won’t let you respond to

notifications. Our advice? Lose the music

functionality and save yourself £50.

KEY SPECS

Screen 1.3in 240x240 LCD

Battery life Up to 6 days

Dimensions 40x37x11.5mm, 36.8g

The alternatives:

3 affordable smartwatches

Stuff says ++++,

Easy to recommend... but still not the

perfect wearable for everyone

Stuff says ++++,

A well-rounded health-focused watch

only slightly held back by bugginess

Stuff says +++,,

A very capable fitness tracker, but its

smartwatch credentials can’t keep up

FIRST TEST APPLE WATCH SERIES 6

BEST FOR

APPS

BEST FOR

MUSIC

BEST FOR

DEEP DATA