The latest in wearable technology for your wrist
Smartwatches are getting smarter by the minute. Whether you want to track your heart rate with GPS, pay your grocery bill without reaching for your wallet or get notifications without checking your smartphone, there’s a smartwatch for that. Here’s a rundown of three of the most stylish new options.
Apple Watch 3 (GPS + cellular)
Favorite Feature: Lightning-fast connectivity
Apple’s smartwatch continues to feature a simple, intuitive design – a crown and a single button on the right side that helps you navigate the software smoothly – and the best platform in the business. Powering Apple Watch Series 3 is the S3, Apple’s third-generation architecture featuring a lightning-speed dual-core processor, which allows for faster app launch times and smoother graphics, and enables Siri to speak using the built-in speaker. Those who are accustomed to squinting to read their watches in the sun will appreciate the fact that the Apple’s OLED panel gets up to 1,000 nits of brightness, which makes outdoor reading a snap.
The Apple 3 also doubles as a health and fitness companion with intelligent coaching features, water resistance to 50 meters and a new barometric altimeter that measures elevation. $329 for standard model, $399 for LTE version.
The Kate Spade Scallop
Favorite Feature:”Choose your look” dial
The brand’s first timepiece with a touchscreen display running Google’s Wear OS operating system, the Scallop has some traditional features, like the ability to receive notifications directly to your wrist; stream your favorite music right from your wrist with the Google Play Music app; call up your Google Assistant by pressing on the crown; and track steps, calories burned and distance with Google Fit. But we think the best part is the watch’s “choose your look” app. By answering a few prompts, such as what you’re wearing and the tone of your jewelry, a watch dial that perfectly complements your outfit will appear. Possible designs include versions with balloons, eyelashes and flower petals. Starts at $295.
Favorite Feature: Super-long battery life
Watch includes some impressive activity-tracking features, including a heart-rate sensor and built-in GPS. It provides on-screen instructions to guide you through workouts along with four days of battery life. Another cool feature: You can leave it on your wrist when you swim or run in the rain. It comes in a metal case and is easily dressed up with colorful, replaceable bands. Another plus: The Fitbit Ionic has the ability to make payments with supported cards. After adding your card in the Fitbit app, you can press the left side button to launch Fitbit Pay, which will work on any payment machine that supports systems like Apple Pay. The bottom line: If you’re a Fitbit fan, it’s time to upgrade. Starts at $250.
