Since they were first introduced and launched in the market, smartwatches have come a long way. Apple Watch Series, Samsung Tizen OS, and Google’s Android Wear OS smartwatch have been some of the biggest and best forces driving the change in the smartwatch industry. Over the years, smartwatches have also gone on to become better looking, long-lasting, and more powerful as well. So, what are the best features that all top-brand smartwatches have in common that makes them tick? Read on:

• Notifications and alerts
  Notifications and alerts are easily one of the most popular features of most of the top-brand smartwatches. Many of the other features of smartwatches rely on their ability to give users all important notifications. These notifications can be from both connected devices and apps and could include everything from social media apps, business-related emails, messages, and more. What’s more, smartwatches can receive 2 sorts of notifications – one is notifications tailored specifically for the smartwatch, while the other is notifications which mirror alerts on a connected device such as a phone. For receiving the former kind of notifications, the smartwatch is usually a standalone device that is enabled with a SIM for cellular connectivity.

• Time-related features
  No matter the plethora of other features that these top brand smartwatches might have, these devices are still, technically and essentially, they are all, watches. Apart from telling the time, the best smartwatches today come with additional time-related features such as alarm clocks and stopwatches. Alarm clocks and timers/stopwatches are particularly beneficial for smartwatch users who use their watches as fitness trackers for their physical activities.

• Wellness and health features
  Wellness and health-related features are another set of popular features that exist in all of the top-brand smartwatches. Most of the top-brand smartwatches function as fitness trackers. They include features like distance tracking, sleep monitors, blood pressure monitors, physical activity trackers, pedometers, and heart rate monitors.

• Call/messaging features
  The newer generation of top-brand smartwatches allows users to receive as well as make phone calls from their smartwatch. This can be done in two ways. One is making the call directly from the watch if the watch is equipped with cellular connecting capabilities. The other is using the smartwatch as a proxy for answering a call and then speaking via a smartphone that is connected to the watch. This feature is extremely popular among users, especially the ones who are always flitting around, as it allows them to maintain connectivity in all such cases when they are far away from their phones physically.

• Navigation
  Smartwatches now act as maps right on your wrist. Most of the top-brand smartwatches today help you in navigation using GPS and Apple/Google Maps. In fact, the Apple Watch makes use of vibration for telling a person to either turn left or turn right. Not only does this feature significantly reduce all and any distractions during traveling, especially when you’re driving, but it also prevents you from having to peek at your smartphone screen again and again which can be dangerous too.