Watches have always been a great accessory for both men and women. With the advent of time, traditional watches have turned into Smartwatches that can do tons of work we never imagined. Among the many characteristics a watch possess, waterproofing has always been a standout factor, whether it be the age-old watch or the new trendy wearables.
I still remember my school days, when I boasted and proudly showed my new waterproof watch to my friends. So, waterproofing does give you a bonus when buying a watch. Just imagine, you bought an expensive and posh smartwatch, and went to shower in a hurry without taking off your watch! If it is waterproof, then this won’t be an issue, but if it’s not then you will surely regret buying it.
It happens to all of us. Knowingly or unknowingly we can encounter water spillage or rainstorms, so we must be well aware of the waterproof ratings of the watch.
Let us first understand what does ‘waterproof’ mean?
Waterproof simply means not causing any inner(software) or outer(hardware) damage to the device while in water. But, is a watch truly waterproof? The answer is NO. No smartwatch or any device can be announced as entirely waterproof. They surely have some boundaries and endurance levels.
The waterproof ratings mean the limit to how much water pressure the watch can handle. So, instead of using the term ‘waterproof’, companies have started using ‘water-resistant’ to indicate how well the watch is sealed against the ingress of water.
The water-resistance is measured through Ingress Protection(IP) ratings or Atmospheres(ATM) ratings.
ATM ratings are usually depicted in the case of a smartwatch. ATM denotes how much static atmospheric pressure a smartwatch can take when submerged in water. Higher the ATM rating, the more water-resistant the device. IP ratings are used to define the level of protection provided by the device when water is intruded into it. Athletes especially swimmers should focus on these ratings and make a purchase accordingly.
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Best Waterproof Smartwatches
Below is the list of the top 11 waterproof Smartwatches with their water-resistant ratings.
| S.No. | Product | Review Price | Water-Resistant Rating |
| 1 | Samsung Gear Sport smartwatch | $190 | Up to 50 Meter / IP68 |
| 2 | Fitbit Versa | $200 | Up to 50 Meter |
| 3 | Garmin Vivoactive 3 | $250 | Up to 50 Meter |
| 4 | Sunnto Ambit3 Vertical | $469 | Up to 100 Meter |
| 5 | Apple Watch Series 4 | $500 | Up to 50 Meter |
| 6 | Polar M 600 | $329 | Up to 10 Meter/ IPX8 |
| 7 | Casio Pro Trek | $500 | Up to 50 Meter |
| 8 | Huawei Watch GT | $224 | IP68 |
| 9 | Mobvoi Ticwatch S2 | $160 | Up to 5 Meter |
| 10 | Nixon Mission SS | $400 | Up to 100 Meter |
| 11 | Garmin Fenix 5 plus | $750 | Up to 100 Meter |
1# Samsung Gear Sport smartwatch-
If you are a swimmer and usually get caught in rain, this watch is for you. It provides water-resistant up to 50ATM or 50 meters/164 feet and IP68. So, even in a deep dive, your activities are recorded.
You can easily use the various features of this watch just by rotating the bezel.
You can activate the Water-Lock mode to disable the touch display, preventing you from accidental water splashes. After finishing the water session you can enable the touchscreen after it ejects water from the speaker ports.
Along with the exclusive water-proof feature, the watch has a lighter and refined design with scalloped edges of the rotating bezel making it a stylish wearable. It is equipped with all the health and activity tracking features you need.
Other Features:
- Display: 1.2inch AMOLED, 360 X 360 pixels,
- 768 MB RAM, 4 GB storage,
- Wi-Fi, GPS, GLONASS, NFC
- Price: $190
2# Fitbit Versa Smartwatch
Fitbit has been very particular about its activity tracking and thus gained the name of the best activity tracker in the smartwatch world.
While the Fitbit Versa carries the legacy forward, it also provides you with the waterproof interface and enhanced trackers even while you are scuba-diving.
Versa is one of the best Waterproof Android Smartwatch till the date.
It is water-resistant to 50 meters, that is you can go 160 feet deep without worrying about the performance. But, it would be better to use the silicone band instead of the leather band to make the watch long-lasting as the leather degrades after each wet-dry turn. It has a swim mode and a fully equipped swim-stats to record your swim workout by providing the pool length and exercise history.
Other Features:
- Display: 1.34 inch, 300 X 300 pixels,
- 4 GB storage,
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC, SpO2 sensor,
- Price: $200
3# Garmin Vivoactive 3
Garmin vivoactive 3 is another gem from the Garmin’s and is waterproof up to 50 meters offering you a great companion in swimming, showering, and other water activities.
Before diving into the pool, you need to feed in some details like the pool length which can be chosen from common lengths or custom lengths. The heart-rate tracker and touchscreen are disabled as soon as you enter the swim mode, and you are provided with the complete swim stats like overall distance and graphs of your pace, stroke rate, and SWOLF after the swim is over. This Smartwatch supports Spotify for playing your favorite number on the watch.
Other Features:
- Display: 1.2 inches, 240 X 240-pixel touchscreen,
- Bluetooth, GPS, GLONASS, NFC empowered,
- Price: $250
4# Sunnto Ambit3 Vertical
In the late ‘90s, there was one particular brand that was loved by hikers, skiers, and sports lovers, and that was Sunnto Vector because it contained basic features such as an altimeter, barometer, compass, and a thermometer at the time.
With the increasing technology, it has become more complex equipped with the best features.
Sunnto Ambit 3 Vertical is GPS-enabled and water-resistant up to 100 meters, which means you can track your heart-beat and other activities while swimming. It offers excellent multisport features with the Sunnto apps and options of creating a movie with a 3D map, key metrics, and photos.
Other Features:
- GPS, GLONASS, Bluetooth connectivity,
- Sunnto Movescount, quick fitness, and sleep recovery tests,
- Price: $469
5# Apple Watch Series 4
Apple is considered as the most royal brand for smartwatches and smartphones. Its latest iteration, Apple Watch Series 4, is a sophisticated wearable with trendy design and alluring color combinations. If you have an iPhone, this is the best option you have.
It is loaded with all the latest features and provides water-resistant up to 50 meters.
The waterproofing is achieved by locking the watch when there is water present barring to read any aqua touch. The Water lock mode is activated automatically or manually when you start swimming. When you are ready to use the watch again, you need to spin the Digital Crown and it will vacate the water through the speaker holes with a beeping noise making the water completely safe.
Other Features:
- Display:1.78 inch, 448 X 368 pixels,
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC,
- 16 GB internal memory,
- Price: $500
6# Polar M 600
Polar M 600 is the first smartwatch from Polar that uses Android’s Wear OS and enhances the already toppled sports features. It comes with a very basic but sophisticated design and has an in-built GPS and water-resistant to IPX8 or 10 meters.
You can dive into the pool or take a shower without any worries. The Swimming Metrics can also be recorded accurately during swimming sessions. Like many other waterproof wearables, the touchscreen is disabled when entering into the water to avoid any mistaken touch. You can also switch on the Theater mode to deactivate the touchscreen and enjoy diving or other water activities.
Other Features:
- Display: 1.3 inch TFT, 240 X 240 pixels,
- 512 MB RAM and 4 GB internal storage,
- Google’s Wear OS,
- Price: $329
7# Casio Pro Trek Smart WSD-F20
If you are an adventure-lover and want to track some extreme activities like canoeing, snow sports, skiing, etc.., Casio Pro Trek Smartwatch is the best option. It offers water-resistant to 50 meters, so swimming, sweat, and rain are all taken care of.
Casio has held the reputation of producing waterproof timepieces for a long time and Pro Trek is no exception. Empowered with Wear OS it offers dedicated apps for a variety of outdoor activities like trekking, skiing, golf, fishing, cycling, paddling, surfing, swimming, and horse riding.
MySwimPro app records and analyzes various items for swimming such as the number of strokes, lap time, and distance. It will give you the feeling of a swimming coach attached to your wrist.
Other Features:
- Display: 1.32 inch TFT, 320 X 300 pixels,
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, GLONASS connectivity,
- 4 GB internal memory,
- Price: $500
8# Huawei Watch GT
Huawei Watch GT is a rugged and durable smartwatch that is IP68-rated which means you can easily wear it for a swimming session without worrying about its durability and trackings.
This waterproof smartwatch is a decent fitness tracker wearable with a neat and sleek design.
The stunning feature of the Watch GT is its extremely bright and neat screen display. The device doesn’t use Google’s Wear OS and has Huawei’s Lite OS with no inclusion of third-party apps. It flaunts an extremely great battery life of fourteen days. It supports notifications, cycling, climbing, sleep-tracking, and has a built-in compass.
Other Features:
- Display: 1.39 inch AMOLED, 454 X 454 pixels,
- Bluetooth, GPS, NFC supported,
- 16 MB RAM and 128 MB ROM,
- Price: $224
9# Mobvoi Ticwatch S2
Mobvoi has walked in the world of wearables with Ticwatch Express and Sport and has released its update after a year named Mobvoi Ticwatch S2.
With a classy look and running Android Wear, the Ticwatch S2 has onboard GPS and fitness-tracking with “swim-monitoring mode” that keeps track of water-based workouts.
It has a waterproof rating of 5 ATM making it “surf and swim-ready”. The swim tracking is done by the TicExercise app and you get a complete and nicely presented workout summary at the end. The screen gets locked during swimming and you need to unlock it to access other apps. It also possesses some added military-grade protection in its design to make it better suited for tough outdoor activities.
Other Features:
- Display: 1.39 inch AMOLED, 400 X 400 pixels,
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, GLONASS,
- 512 RAM and 4 GB internal storage,
- Price: $160
10# Nixon Mission SS
The Nixon-mission has a water-resistance rating of 100 meters i.e. 330 feet, which is the highest waterproof rating among smartwatches according to Nixon. It operates a MicLock mechanism that helps it attain such water resistance.
As the name implies, MicLock covers the watch’s microphone port blocking the single entry of water into the device. It is equipped with apps recording professional surfing and skiing, along with various watch faces matching the sport.
The Surfline platform delivers data on local surfing spots while the Snocountry platform delivers data on the current temperature, cloud cover, wind direction and speed projected snowfall in inches, etc..
Other Features:
- Display: 1.4 inch AMOLED, 400 X 400 pixels,
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS,
- 512 MB RAM, 4 GB internal storage,
- Price: $400
11# Garmin Fenix 5 plus
Garmin has never failed to lure us with the outstanding technologies in its smartwatches. Furnished with exquisite styling and latest technology, Garmin Fenix is now celebrating its fifth incarnation with three watch variants one of which is Garmin Fenix 5 Plus smartwatch.
It has an attractive and sharp design with sapphire crystal around with a scratch-resistant sapphire lens. It provides waterproofing up to 10 ATM and is perfect for swimmers, triathletes, and water sport enthusiasts. 10 ATM means it is capable of surviving at a depth of 100 meters underwater allowing you to take a deep dive and go snorkeling.
Other Features:
- Display: 1.2 inch, 240 X 240 pixels,
- Garmin Pay, GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO,
- 16 GB storage,
- Price: $750
I really fall in love with Apple Watch Series 4. its really awesome.
Yes it is one of the best smartwatch from the Apple watch series.