Best smartwatches in 2016 (for future)

TAG Heuer Connected 2

The original TAG Heuer Connected smartwatch was teased at Baselworld 2015, followed by a proper launch at the end of last year. It might have been the firstsmartwatch from the company, but it won’t be the last it seems.

CEO Jean-Claude Biver not only revealed sister-company Hublot would be releasing a smartwatch at some point in the future, but he also told Reuters at Baselworld 2016 that TAG Heuer had “totally underestimated demand” for the Connected watch.

Having already sold 20,000 of the $1500 Android Wear smartwatch, a further 60,000 are expected to be sold in 2016 and a new model will apparently debut in 2017. Biver told Reuters that because of the success of the original, the company is planning a new collection for next year with six to eight models.

Nixon Mission

Nixon has announced the Mission Android Wear smartwatch offering waterproofing up to 10ATM, which is the equivalent of 100 metres. The watch comes with a couple of pre-loaded apps specifically for surfers and snowboarders, or skiers, that offer live information on weather conditions around the world.

The Mission has a round AMOLED display surrounded by a stainless steel bezel and incorporated in a polycarbonate and stainless steel shell with a silicone wristband. Under the hood is the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor and it will offer the standard Android Wear features.

The Nixon Mission all be available in Autumn but pricing has yet to be announced.

Fossil Q

Fossil has said it will be releasing more than 100 connected devices in 2016, two of which will come in the form of the Q Wander and Q Marshal. The company announced its first Android Wear smartwatch last year with the Q Founder and these two new devices will join it.

The Wander features a 44mm gold case with interchangeable leather straps, while the Marshal has a 46mm “rugged” case with a navy blue finish and vintage-looking leather straps. Both devices offer circular, always-on touchscreen displays and functionality is the same, meaning you can expect similar features to the Q Founder and most Android Wear watches.

Fossil said the new watches cost $275 each and come with a wireless charger. There will also be a collection of analogue watches including the Q Crewmaster, Q Gazer, Q Nate and Q Tailor, which continue the journey of the Q54 Pilot and Q Grant models. They have some clever tech in them, which you can read all about in our first impressions.

Michael Kors Access Collection

As we mentioned above, the Fossil Group is planning on launching 100 wearables by the end of 2016. These will come come from eight brands, including Fossil, Kate Spade New York, Misfit and Michael Kors.

The Michael Kors Access collection will include two Android Wear watches, designed to offer a “stylish, even glamorous design”. The two watches, one of which has a gold sparkly case, while the other is a black, sportier model, will feature exclusive faces and interchangeable wristbands.

They will cost $395 each and they will be sold through the Michael Kors stores. Details are still a little thin on the ground but it is thought they won’t be available until Autumn.

Samsung Gear S2 by de Grisogono

Samsung teamed up with de Grisogono at Baselworld 2016 to announce a luxury model of the Gear S2. It features 56 white diamonds, comprising 1.2 carats around the bezel of the circular face, as well as rose gold edging.

If that wasn’t enough, there are also 71 black diamonds, making up a further 1.8 carats. The strap is black and studded with galuchat, a finish that is signature to de Grisogono.

Elsewhere, the same Gear S2 specs remain with a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED display, 4GB of internal storage, 512MB of RAM, a 250mAh battery and a heartrate monitor. This luxury model will also come with unique faces and a massive price tag at some point this summer.

Tissot Smart-Touch

Tissot used Baselworld 2016 to reveal its Smart-Touch smartwatch. The device is a watch first but delivers a range of functions beyond the current T-Touch offering.

The design is based on the T-Touch Solar models, featuring a titanium case, ceramic bezel and sapphire crystal face with quartz movement inside. The battery can be charged by the sun and it features functions including a timer, alarms, compass, barometer and temperature.

When connected to your smartphone, the Smart-Touch will all you to sync the time, get weather updates, change settings and share experiences with friends. There are also connected accessories, including a Find-It tag to help you keep track of other items and a weather station that can give you humidity, air quality and temperature readings.

The Tissot Smart-Touch smartwatch should be available late-2016 for around CHF1000, which is roughly £710.

Guess Connect (2016)

Guess announced the Guess Connect smartwatch last year at CES. It looked like the traditional Guess Rigor watch but added a notification bar at the bottom of the face, powered by Martian. The company announced there would be several new designs of the Guess Connect appear for 2016, including a leopard print design and a new, smarter option.

In addition to the new colours and styles of the original Guess Connecthowever, the company is also planning to launch an entirely new model, which will again be powered by Martian. The new watch will focus more on looking like a normal watch, adding just an LED notifier light within the watch housing instead. There are plenty of styles coming with the new model arriving in November.

LG Watch Urbane 2

LG’s second generation of its Watch Urbane offers a full range of wireless connections, including 4G and 3G meaning it will be able to make and receive calls, operating independently of your connected smartphone.

The LG Watch Urbane 2 expands the P-OLED display to 1.38-inches, 348ppi, and is powered by the standard Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset, with 768MB RAM. There’s 4GB of internal storage, should you wish to keep your music offline, and GPS for tracking your runs and so on.

The LG Watch Urbane second edition will be compatible with Android and iOS devices and it will be available in Space Black, Opal Blue, Luxe White and Signature Brown, which refers to the strap colour options.

LG launched the watch before pulling it almost immediately after issues with the display. It has now been confirmed the Watch Urbane 2 hasn’t been cancelled and will make a reappearance in the second half of 2016 so eyes peeled for this one.

Huawei Watch Jewel and Elegant

Yes, we know the Huawei Watch has already been announced and is currently available to buy – here we are now referring to a couple of women’s models that were announced at CES 2016. The Chinese manufacturer has teamed up with Swarovski to produce the Huawei Watch Jewel and Huawei Watch Elegant.

The Jewel is all about the bling with crystals surrounding the face, while the Elegant model opts for a knurled pattern instead. Both models have genuine Italian leather straps in pearl white and sapphire blue and they both come with 40 pre-loaded faces like the original model, as well as a heart rate sensor and motion sensors for fitness tracking. You will find 10 exclusive feminine watch faces on the new models however. They will be available in March.

It has also been rumoured that the Chinese company has also started working on a second generation of the watch, which has been scheduled to arrive in the second half of the year. If this is the case, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it launch at IFA. The second-generation is rumoured to possibly offer a cellular version but take that with pinch of salt for now.

Casio Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10

Casio announced its first smartwatch at CES 2016 in the form of the Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10. It runs on Android Wear but it is a little more rugged than its competition with water-resistance up to 50 metres and MSL-STD-810 military compliance.

There is a 1.32-inch screen on board offering a resolution of 320 x 300 and a choice between monochrome and full-colour mode. The Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10 comes complete with a pressure sensor, compass and accelerometer, with users able to check altitude, air pressure, tide graphs and activity, among other things.

The Casio Smart Outdoor Watch WSD-F10 comes in black, orange, red and army green colour options, will cost around $500 and will be available un the US in April.

Fossil Q54 Pilot

Fossil announced an addition to its Q range of smartwatches at CES 2016 in the form of the Q54 Pilot. The new device joins the Q Founder and the Q Grant and it has been designed on the original Pilot 54, bringing the case, movement and stainless steel build with it but adding smart technology.

The Q54 Pilot combines Intel Innovation and motion sensors, offering step tracking, calories-burned monitoring and filtered LED colour-coded and vibrations for notifications. A Fossil Q app update means users will be able to choose from three vibration patters to differentiate between notifications and step counting has also been enhanced.

The Fossil Q54 Pilot will be available for between $175 and $215 in the Spring.

Movado Bold Motion

HP has announced a partnership with watchmaker Movado to create their firstsmartwatch called Bold Motion. Movado is bringing the fashion and analogue design while HP is offering the tech smarts.

Bold Motion will be a 44mm stainless steel device with a black PVD finished bezel that features a round-faced with one button and a crown dial. The watch will be waterproof up to 50 metres, which the black silicone strap will also handle without a problem.

Inside the smartwatch, HP has packed in its own hardware and software and the Bold Motion will work with iOS and Android smartphones for notifications. On top of the usual watch functions such as time and date, there are vibrating notifications for calls, emails, texts and social media updates, as well as calendar appointments. The watch will also automatically adjust to new time zones and act as an activity tracker.

The HP Movado Bold Motion will cost $795 and arrive in time for Christmas.