How this site works

What is here

53 watches from 11 makers, listed from $80 to $1,100 on the makers’ own stores, each with a page of its own, plus 9 computed shortlists, 51 head-to-head comparisons and 7 explainers. The catalog was last refreshed on 2026-10-06.

A watch is listed only while its maker’s own US store sells it new. Models the maker files under previous models, has replaced with a newer generation, or does not sell in the US are left out, and the reasons are recorded alongside the data. Cellular versions are not separate entries; the page says whether one exists.

Where the figures come from

Every specification comes from the maker: its US product page, spec page, battery page, compatibility page, or subscription page. Regulatory clearances come from the maker’s own statement or the FDA’s 510(k) and De Novo databases. 221 source URLs are cited across the catalog, and every watch page lists its own. Nothing is taken from a shop listing or a review site, and nothing is measured by us: there is no test bench and nobody wearing these on the site’s behalf.

Where a maker does not publish a figure for that exact model and size, the page says “not published”. A sibling’s number is never borrowed, and a previous generation’s figure is never carried forward.

What is worked out rather than quoted

Always-on share. The maker’s always-on-display figure divided by its headline figure, for the 21 watches where both are published. Why the two differ.

Phone lock-in. A one-line label built from the maker’s compatibility statement: iPhone only, Android only, Android with features reserved for the maker’s own phones, or both.

Watch plus paid tier. Where a maker sells a paid tier, the page adds two years of it to the watch price, labelled as optional. Carrier plans for LTE watches are set by the carrier and are not added.

What the extra money buys. Within one maker’s range and type, a watch is set against the cheapest sibling, and only the published fields that differ are named.

Health claims

This site makes none of its own. A feature is labelled as cleared only when the maker or the FDA’s database says it was, for that model; 17 watches carry at least one. Heart-rate, blood-oxygen, stress, VO2 max and sleep scores are wellness estimates and are described as such. Nothing here is medical advice.

Why there are no star ratings

A rating would be shown only with a citable source that is not a shop. None of the 53 watches has one, so no stars appear anywhere and no review markup is sent to search engines. Nothing ranks watches by an in-house score: every list states the published figure it is ordered by.

Owner sentiment, and where it is missing

The strengths and trade-offs on a watch page come from the maker’s figures, prices and pages. Anything attributed to owners sits in its own section under its own heading, only for watches whose owner discussion was actually read, and only from discussion of that generation. Coverage today is 33 of 53; the other pages say so instead of showing an empty block.

How lists are ordered, and what this site does not do

The catalog’s default order is price, lowest first. Brand and type pages are ordered by price. Every shortlist prints its rule and needs at least three qualifying watches. Nothing is a paid placement, and no maker has any say in what appears or in what order. Prices are approximate snapshots and will differ from what any shop charges today.

Safety notices

A recall or regulator notice involving a listed model is printed on that model’s page and on its card wherever it appears, with a link to the source, and a recall stops its structured data calling it available. No listed watch carries one: no recall of a model in this catalog was found at the last update.

Who “we” is

A small independent project, not a publication. There is no editorial staff and no reviewer. Where the site recommends something it gives the checkable basis, such as “the longest maker battery figure with the always-on display enabled”, rather than an opinion from an implied expert.

Corrections are the fastest way to improve the data: send one.