Smartwatches are more than just a fancy wearable gadget. For instance, if you are a swimmer, you can benefit from some of its swim-friendly features that help to track your progress in the water.
How to choose the right smartwatches for swimming?
Like any other gadgets, not all smartwatches are created equal. If you are looking for a smartwatch made suitable for swimming purposes, it is important to take note of the available specs that comes with it.
Look out for key features like water-resistance (typically with a rating up to 50 metres) and activity-tracking stats to record laps, time, pace, distance and swimming strokes. Choosing a brand is just as important, with prime examples like Garmin, Fitbit and Samsung being reputable names specialising in producing quality smartwatches with support and upgrades.
Here, we have rounded up some of the best smartwatches for swimming that you can conveniently shop from online.
Versatility is perhaps the right word to describe the Garmin Forerunner 935, a feature-packed smartwatch that comes with built-in activity profiles such as running, swimming, hiking and cycling. For the running profile alone, you can select the likes of indoor, outdoor or trail run to help track your progress regardless of pace, distance or heart rate.
The Garmin Forerunner 935 is also able to withstand water pressure up to 5ATM (50 metres in depth for 10 minutes). Swimmers can even benefit from swim-related features such as stroke & pool lap recognitions, stroke efficiency (SWOLF) and various pool swim metrics to calculate your swim lengths and strokes.
Other highlights featured in Garmin Forerunner 935 includes a durable battery life of up to 24 hours, an accurate GPS sensor and customisable screen that allows you to display your preferred activity data.
This lightweight, swim-friendly smartwatch from Samsung is made suitable for tracking pool or even open-water swimming activities such as pace, lengths and stroke. You don’t have to worry about taking it out for a swim since the Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro has a water resistance rating of 50 metres.
Another biggest advantage is the bright and vibrant 1.5-inch curved AMOLED display, making it easy for viewing your data even when you’re underwater. Other than the smartwatch’s swimming features, it also comes equipped with essential features like GPS, accelerometer, barometer and heart rate sensor.
Available in stylish black or cerise variant, the Garmin Forerunner 645 Music is notable for its music compatibility and ample onboard storage that allows you to transfer up to 500 songs via Bluetooth or WiFi connection using the Garmin Connect app. Once loaded into the smartwatch, pair it with your Bluetooth headphones/earphones and you are good to go.
Apart from the convenience of listening to your favourite music from the smartwatch, you can use the buttons to control volume as well as skipping or shuffling tracks. The smartwatch also comes with various activity profiles like indoor/outdoor cycling, walking and swimming; all integrated to monitor your fitness performances.
Additionally, Garmin Forerunner 645 Music is also water-resistant (up to 50 metres) and has a reasonably good battery life capable of sustaining up from 5 hours (GPS mode in music) to 7 days (smartwatch mode).
More than just a sleek-looking smartwatch, the Fitbit Versa also happens to be a swim-friendly tracker that accurately tracks your lap swimming in the pool with real-time stats. Since it comes with a 5ATM water resistance, you can wear it confidently to monitor your swimming lengths and distance.
Other key features include a 24/7 heart rate sensor, a lightweight design for all-day-long wear and a vivid yet bright display which makes data viewing easier and more pleasant. Besides using it for swimming, the Fitbit Versa’s 15+ exercise modes can record various workouts like running, cycling and walking.
True to its name, the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music allows you to enjoy your favourite music synched from your smartphone via Garmin Connect app. And did we mention that the watch has onboard storage that is large enough to store up to 500 songs?
Music playback aside, the smartwatch is also designed for tracking various workouts regardless of indoors at the gym or swimming outdoors. Essential features like heart rate sensor and GPS are also included as well. Not forgetting the fact that battery life can last up to 7 days depending on your usage.
With a 5 ATM water-resistant rating, you can wear the Samsung Galaxy Watch for swimming while tracking your relevant progress including the likes of pace and distance. It ’s also capable of monitoring and recording your heart rates as you perform your exercise.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch is blessed with a well-designed 1.1-inch circular watch face that is both bright and vibrant, thanks to its Super AMOLED display. This smartwatch is even built tough with an added scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Other highlights to look out for include a four-day-long battery life and features such as Bluetooth 4.2, interchangeable strap and various sensors such as an accelerometer, gyro and barometer.
Compatible with both Android and iOS, the Fitbit Ionic can withstand water immersion of up to 50 metres if you are wearing it for swimming purposes. It also has other swim-tracking features that record your stroke, laps and distance.
At a mere 30g, the Fitbit Ionic is amazingly lightweight and comfortable enough to wear for long hours. With its square-shaped face comes an easy-to-use, high-resolution touchscreen display that holds brightness of up to 1000 nits. In terms of durability, the smartwatch is well-equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and sturdy aerospace-grade aluminium materials.
No doubt that owning a smartwatch can be too costly for some people. But thanks to Xiaomi, those who are tight on a budget can look forward to their affordably-priced Mi Band 4. For such a price point, it comes with better-than-average features such as a 5 ATM water resistance, accelerometer and gyroscope that’s handy for tracking swimming patterns.
The Xiaomi Mi Band 4 even throws in a heart rate detector and customised menu options via Mi Fit app. Its watch face is no slouch either, boasting a 0.95-inch full-colour AMOLED display that is reasonably bright to see even under sunlight.
The Garmin Vivomore HR Premium offers the best of both worlds where you can wear it every day for business, leisure and workout purposes. It even comes with a matching leather strap that looks good for any occasion.
For those who are going for a swim, you don’t have to take it off since it has a water-resistant rating that can withstand rain and splashes. Other features include the smartwatch’s ability to track your stress level, heart rate and daily activities, namely distance travelled and sleep monitoring.