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The 16 best holiday smartwatch deals: Apple Watch, Garmin, and more
December is here, which means it's crunch time to finish your holiday shopping. Luckily, there are tons of deals across retailers. And, if you've been contemplating buying a smartwatch to start tracking your steps, sleep, and overall wellness, there's no better a time to jump on one than now.
If you're looking to gift someone (or yourself) a smartwatch this year, brands like Apple, Samsung, and others have their smartwatches on sale. ZDNET scoured the internet to find the best holiday smartwatch deals so you can save on your shopping list.
Best holiday smartwatch deals
- Apple Watch Series 9 for $329 (save $70)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 for $150 (save $50)
- Garmin Instinct 2 for $200 (save $100)
- Fitbit Sense 2 for $230 (save $70)
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro for $400 (save $100)
- Fitbit Charge 6 for $130 (save $30)
- Ticwatch Pro 5 Smartwatch: $262 (save $88 with coupon)
- Fossil Gen 6 Smartwatch for $129 (save $170)
Best holiday smartwatch deals for kids
- Current price: $329
- Original price: $390
Apple's latest smartwatch is $70 off when you shop at Amazon. It has some noticeable upgrades to the Series 8, such as Crash Detection, a double tap gesture that allows you to control your phone by simply tapping your index finger and thumb together, and more detailed Siri prompts.
- Current price: $200
- Original price: $350
Google's smartwatch is currently 43% off at Amazon. It has built-in Fitbit activity tracking, a heart rate monitor, a sleep monitor, and an emergency SOS button.
- Current price: $649
- Original price: $799
While not the most current model, the first-gen Apple Watch Ultra still boasts impressive features like 36 hours of battery life, precision dual-frequency GPS system, water-resistance of up to 100 meters, and more. Best of all, it's $150 off at Best Buy.
- Current price: $350
- Original price: $450
The 6 Classic offers the most extensive Samsung Watch display (1.5 Super AMOLED), and brings back the Samsung-unique rotating bezel, which ZDNET's June Wan describes as "intuitive and seamlessly designed." Get this watch now for $100 off at Best Buy.
- Current price: $300
- Original price: $400
The Instinct Crossover provides long battery life and rugged features with a classy iconic design. The nice thing about a watch like the Garmin Instinct Crossover is that it functions primarily as a watch and then captures your health and activity data passively as you work out and live.
How did we choose these holiday deals?
ZDNET only writes about deals we want to buy -- devices and products we desire, need, or would recommend. Our experts looked for deals that were at least 20% off (or are hardly ever on sale), using established price comparison tools and trackers to determine whether the deal is actually on sale and how frequently it drops.
We also looked over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the deals we're recommending. Our recommendations may also be based on our own testing -- in addition to extensive research and comparison shopping. The goal is to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter.
What is the best smartwatch?
ZDNET's top pick for the best smartwatch is the Apple Watch Ultra 2 since it is lauded by athletes and members of the press as the best Apple Watch ever made thanks to its rugged durability, large and bright display, long battery life, water resistance, and more.
What is the best smartwatch for kids?
ZDNET recommends the Apple Watch SE as the best smartwatch for kids thanks to features like enabling phone calls and text messages, sleep tracking and state-of-the-art health trackers, SOS capability, and parental controls. However, it's best for kids ages 10 and above.
For smaller kids, the Vtech Kidizoom DX3 smartwatch is a great choice as well, since it has a camera that kids can use to put fun filters on, as well as chore reminders for the parents.
What are the best holiday deals?
ZDNET's experts have been searching for holiday deals across sites like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and more. Here are the top deals by category we've found so far.
- Best holiday deals overall
- Best holiday deals under $25
- Best holiday deals under $100
- Best holiday phone deals
- Best holiday laptop deals
- Best holiday tablet deals
- Best holiday TV deals
- Best holiday smartwatch deals
- Best holiday headphones deals
- Best holiday monitor deals
- Best holiday robot vacuum deals
- Best holiday VPN deals
- Best holiday gaming deals
- Best holiday gaming desktop deals
- Best holiday Roku deals
- Best holiday Amazon deals
- Best holiday Apple deals
- Best holiday Walmart deals
- Best holiday Samsung deals
- Best holiday Best Buy deals
- Best holiday Dell deals
- Best holiday HP deals
- Best holiday Verizon deals
- Best holiday Sam's Club deals
- Best holiday Apple Watch deals
- Best holiday AirPods deals
- Best holiday iPad deals
- Best holiday security camera deals
- Best holiday storage and SSD deals
- Best holiday Fitbit and fitness tracker deals
- Best holiday Kindle deals
- Best holiday Chromebook deals
- Best holiday streaming deals