Best hybrid smartwatches 2024

The best hybrid smartwatches combine traditional watch design with some of the tracking and notification features we’ve come to enjoy with smartwatches. While the full-screen design of one of the best Android smartwatches is great for reading messages, picking music, and so much more, it comes in a package that ages quickly as screen technology, batteries, and SoCs continue to improve.

Many people prefer the look and feel of a traditional watch with high-quality materials and designs meant to last years or decades. These hybrid smartwatches respect traditional design and watch interaction with analog hand movement and minimal screens. There is, however, a wide gap in functionality between models as features fall back to hardware over software. There’s no updating your way out of flaws after all, like some Wear OS watches have been able to do.

The Garmin Instinct Crossover tops the list thanks to its large display, excellent battery life, and wide range of hardware features. While it’s not the most stylish watch by any stretch, it has a thoughtful rugged case and tracking features that make it great for adventurers.

We're highlighting all types of wearables across a range of prices, so keep reading to find the watch that's right for you.

Samuel Contreras

Sam has been an Android fan since first trying out the HTC Evo 4G at a Sprint store. As a phone technician, he became familiar with what matters most to those picking a new phone and accessories and has been writing about carriers and plans at Android Central since 2019. 

At a glance

Best overall

If you have an active lifestyle, you’ll want a watch that’s durable and easy to use with a long-lasting battery. The Garmin Instinct Crossover pulls this off well with a rugged housing around its main monochrome display and physical watch hands. The analog watch hands make telling time a breeze thanks to bold markings around the edge of the display. When you’re navigating the watch with the buttons or when you receive a notification, the watch hands jump out of the way to the center of the display.

The Instinct Crossover runs the Garmin OS software which works with Android and iOS while offering features like NFC payment with Garmin Pay. Its battery life is downright impressive with up to 28 days of usage in the smartwatch mode, but plummets if you’re using GPS features like any smartwatch would. There’s a solar version of this watch as well that can last an incredible 70 days on a charge.

The watch is made from stainless steel and fiber-reinforced polymer, so it’s tough enough to bring on a hike, or most workouts really with heart rate monitoring. If you prefer relaxing with a bit of fishing over rigorous activities, this watch is water-resistant so you don’t need to keep tempting fate by taking your phone out of your pocket while leaning over the edge of a boat. You can also see how your stress and energy levels are affected with stress monitoring and Garmin’s Body Battery software.

Best value

The Vivomove Sport from Garmin avoids the myriad of buttons present on many fitness watches in favor of touchscreen controls on the watch's small screen. The screen itself is only present under the lower portion of the watch face, which is great for quick information and notifications, but not a good solution for reading even short messages. Unfortunately, our Garmin Vivomove Sport review found this display difficult to read in sunlight.

Like other Garmin smartwatches, you’ll use the Garmin Connect app on Android or iOS along with features like Body Battery to monitor your energy levels. What’s missing is Garmin Pay — so there’s no support for NFC payments. At least the five-day battery life means you won’t need to be looking for your charger too often.

The watch case is made from a fiber-reinforced polymer with a glass lens on top. It’s rated for 5ATM water resistance, so swimmers can use it. With a 20mm silicone band that can be replaced, this is a light and comfortable watch to use for workouts. It’s also a solid smartwatch for day-to-day usage with a sleek design so you don’t need to go reaching for your phone every time it makes a noise.

Best for exercise

While Fossil has revealed that it isn’t interested in making smartwatches for much longer, the company has made some great smartwatches, and the Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid Wellness Edition is still one of our favorites. It has a backlit e-ink display behind the watch hands which has the resolution for plenty of text, but its slow update rate can make it annoying to use. For example, our Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid Wellness Edition review found that setting up workout tracking could be interrupted by a notification wasting time and increasing frustration.

This watch connects to the Fossil Smartwatch app allowing you to customize your notifications. To navigate the watch’s software, you use two buttons to scroll through a list of icons. You can even use Alexa with the built-in microphone which is a nice touch. One thing to note is that GPS tracking uses your phone, and there is no NFC tap-to-pay available.

The watch is available in Black, Blush, or Navy with matching bezels and bands. It uses 20mm watch bands so you can swap it out if you want. This watch also has up to two weeks of battery life, which is good news since you’ll need to use Fossil’s magnetic charger, which isn’t all that fast.

Attractive and compact

One thing a hybrid watch really needs to get right is the look and feel. Hybrid watches need to be a nice watch before adding in any smart features, and the Garmin Vívomove Trend pulls this off with a nice stainless steel bezel and a glass lens on top of a fiber-reinforced polymer case. This watch is relatively thin and light making which is nice for workouts and more comfortable for sleep tracking. Garmin keeps the design simple with touchscreen controls used in place of physical buttons. The screen is nearly invisible with text and icons appearing around the display in white.

It uses Garmin’s app for tracking and setup like the Vívomove Sport but comes with a few extra features like NFC payments with Garmin Pay. Whether you’re buying a sports drink mid-workout or want to grab a bite on the walk home, it’s nice to be able to pay without digging your phone out of your pack. It also supports Qi wireless charging so you can top it up without needing to dig out a special charger, and can even use reverse wireless charging available on some phones to top it up.

You can get this watch with four face colors: Cream Gold, Slate, Peach Gold, and Silver. It comes with a silicone watch band like the Sport model, but similarly works with other 20mm bands, so you’re not stuck with one look. Battery life is solid on this model with up to five days of usage on a charge, which isn’t bad given the size. If you’re looking for an attractive and compact watch for your active lifestyle, the Garmin Vívosmart Trend is a strong pick.

Best health tracking

The Withings ScanWatch Light is a drearily named smartwatch with a beautiful sleek design, strong health tracking features, and excellent battery life. As the name implies, this watch scans a lot about your body despite being the cheapest in the ScanWatch line with active minutes, steps, sleep monitoring, heart rate monitoring including notifications for low and high heart rate, and breathing disturbance detection. It also supports menstrual cycle tracking from the watch with the ability to create long-term reports that can be sent to a doctor.

The smart features use a small monochrome OLED screen on the upper portion of the watch face with controls using a crown on the right-hand side. This watch links up with the Withings app on Android or iOS which is compatible with other fitness apps like Google Fit, Apple Health, Samsung Health, and more. The watch comes with a one-month free trial of Withings+, a subscription service designed for health improvement with a health assessment, personalized guidance, and more for $10 per month.

This 37mm watch comes in five colors, Sand, Blue, Green, Pearl White, and Black with a wide range of 18mm watch bands to use with it. The main case is made of stainless steel, as is the rotating crown, with a gorilla glass lens. The watch looks simple and refined with smart colors and nice materials all around. Finally, a 30-day battery life means you don’t need to postpone your workout if you forgot to charge it last night.

Gorgeous design

Pininfarina has had a hand in a lot of classic designs from appliances to cars, and working with Globics, no a hybrid smartwatch. The Senso Hybrid watch has a stainless steel case with a sapphire crystal lens on the front. The 44mm case comes in four colors: Sunburst Rose Gold, Moonlight Silver, Mercure Grey, and slate gray. It even has 5ATM water resistance. Embedded in the watch fast is a small, but clear OLED display that can show your health information and notifications.

Working with Android and iOS, this smartwatch has a solid range of sensors with a heart rate monitor and ECG measurement. The battery should easily last to the end of the day, and then another two weeks with Globics reporting up to 14 days of smartwatch use and 30 days as a basic watch. When it comes time to charge, the magnetic cradle with physical pins makes it quick and easy, though there’s no wireless charging here.

The watch comes with a 22mm genuine Italian leather strap that can be easily swapped out with another band if you want. In a hands-on from T3, the leather strap was found to be soft and comfortable with the large case. You can also get a Senso Sport watch with an FKM plastic strap.

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How to choose

The best hybrid smartwatches: Choose your style

One of the first things to consider when you’re buying a hybrid smartwatch is if a hybrid design really makes sense for you. If you’re simply after analog watch hands for a quick glance, many of the best Android smartwatches offer numerous watch faces with old-school hands that may fit your tastes. That being said, if you bring your phone with you everywhere, a hybrid watch with a simpler interface can be much nicer to use, especially if you appreciate traditional timepiece design.

For people that like to spend a lot of time outdoors or exercising, the Garmin Instinct Crossover is a great watch. It supports a ton of options for workout tracking, comes with GPS to help track runs or hikes, and if it gets wet, there’s nothing to worry about with 10ATM water resistance. It also supports NFC payments so you don’t need to dig through your pack for a card or your phone if you want to make a quick purchase.

When it comes down to it, a hybrid smartwatch is a reasonable compromise between the timeless designs we’ve come to associate with watches, and modern tracking features that help us make the most of our time.

Get the right size and features

Before clicking that buy button, you should consider a few things to make sure the watch you're buying will fit your lifestyle. For example, a big and heavy watch like the Pininfarina Senso Hybrid looks great with a suit and tie, but it doesn't fit as well with running shorts and a tank top. If you're looking for something equally at home on the trail or at work, the Garmin and Withings options are great picks with straps designed to shrug off sweat and displays designed to show off health stats.

On the other hand, Fossil and Pininfarina can be great picks if you're looking for a little more fashion. These watches stick to a more traditional watch design that will fit in better for a job in business or hospitality. The fact that they can also discreetly let you know of a new notification is a big bonus. And if you've ever wondered just how many steps you get in at work, these watches can keep track for you.

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