The 7 Best Hybrid Smartwatches To Stay On Track

There’s no denying the utility that wearing a smartwatch brings to our day-to-day routines, between their support for wrist-based push notifications and their ability to track our level of activity. However, the futuristic aesthetic isn’t for everyone — least of all those traditionalists who are still hung up on the idea of embracing quartz over mechanical movements. Thankfully, a number of brands have had the wherewithal to design watches that marry classic style with modern tech, effectively giving you the best of both worlds without the eyesore that comes with a large LCD screen.

But as much as some added connectivity increases a watch’s capabilities, it also complicates things for you as the buyer. That’s because you can’t limit your considerations to case materials and dial designs — you also have to take into account features like battery life and built-in sport modes. To make matters worse — smartphone support is likely to vary significantly from model to model, with some allowing you to do little more than adjust the time and others enabling in-depth data transfer. Needless to say — it can be quite daunting to choose the best hybrid smartwatch for your needs. Below we’ve broken the process down for you, with a brief introduction to what hybrids are, followed by some important things to keep in mind as well as our own recommendations given what’s currently on the market.  So read on to see what we’ve picked for the best hybrid smartwatches.

What Is A Hybrid Smartwatch?

Any timepiece that combines an analog dial with some sort of in-built app-connected capabilities can be considered a hybrid smartwatch. Although each individual offering is likely to vary in its level of smart integration, it needs to — at the very least — bring something other than time to the table. That’s because nowadays, even the most basic hybrids can track metrics like step count and activity goals. And while more advanced models will offer even greater functionality — such as heart rate measurement and sleep monitoring — in principle they’re very much the same. That is — apart from a small secondary display and some barebones button or crown operation, a hybrid should otherwise look and act like any regular ole wristwatch. For the vast majority of what’s on the market, the “smart” side will be controlled via your phone.

Key Features To Keep In Mind

Connectivity: When it comes to buying the best hybrid smartwatch for your needs, you should first consider how much added functionality you require. For instance, if you’re only after a barebones step counter, almost anything will do — it’s pretty much standard across the board. But for those who are looking for a more detailed readout of their daily activity, it’s best to limit the potential choices to those that offer features like GPS mapping, caloric consumption, and sport modes. And that’s not all — some hybrids will even support smart notifications, giving you text message readouts and event reminders in real-time. Ultimately, there’s a world of hybrid smartwatches out there, and you can have very little connectivity or quite a lot.

Battery Life: Like their fully connected counterparts, many hybrid smartwatches will eventually need to be recharged. The good news is that they’re considerably longer-lasting, with the most battery-hungry amongst them still boasting a solid week-long runtime. It’s worth noting that given the diversity of the market, some hybrid smartwatches will need their battery replaced at the end of its life — it has a finite power supply. That being said, these such offerings tend to be more basic in their smart support, meaning they’ll keep ticking for months or even years at a time. If you’re someone who has a hard time keeping your devices charged, the latter option will likely be better for your needs — even with its various compromises.

Water Resistance: Most standard smartwatches are intended for active use, meaning that they’re typically built with a good dose of element-proofing and a soft silicone band. However, with hybrids, you’ll find everything from dress watches to divers, making it a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to their water resistance. Many lower-priced or leather-banded options will only come rated to about 50 meters deep — a figure that really means they’re not safe for much other than everyday splashes. But let’s face it. You wouldn’t want to ruin that croc skin strap by submerging it in water anyway. On the other hand, there are some hybrid smartwatches that offer a water resistance of 100 meters or more. These tend to be your sportier in style, be they cheap daily drivers or braceleted chronographs.

G-SHOCK Move DWH5600

Best Retro Hybrid Smartwatch: For its 40th anniversary, G-SHOCK decided to turn its very first watch from 1983 into a hybrid smartwatch. If you’re after one of the absolute toughest options available today, look no further than the Casio sublabel’s Move DWH5600. Thanks to its carbon fiber-reinforced resin case, it’s resistant to shocks and water up to 200m deep. Inside the retro-inspired design, the timepiece features an optical heart rate monitor, sleep monitor, blood oxygen level display, and an accelerometer for step counting. These readouts get more accurate and in-depth after you connect it to your smartphone. Likewise, its GPS capabilities allow you to benefit from its four sports modes, including running, walking, gym workouts, and interval training. You can get up to 35 hours on a charge, but even more with solar-assist.

Citizen CZ Smart Hybrid

Best Everyday Hybrid Smartwatch: There are watch brands and then there are smartwatch brands, and rarely do the two overlap. Among the more notable examples comes from one of the kings of everyday timepieces. Following up its divisive first-gen model, Citizen’s second-generation CZ Smart Hybrid imbues more of a design ethos this time around, trading in the ambiguous, if not indecisive, aesthetic for a much sportier one. Paired with a silicone strap, the 44mm black ion-plated stainless steel housing features an impact-resistant crystal and blue 60-second bazel. The quartz movement with 15 days of battery life powers the analog hands and an array of fitness features, such as step tracking, heart rate monitoring, and sleep monitoring. You can connect it with the Citizen Connected app to see your stats in-depth and to receive notifications. What’s more, you can change the style of your dial to your liking, including its color and configuration. From work to the gym, this hybrid smartwatch is a great option. The one downside is its water resistance, which is limited to that of splashes, so be careful when taking this out in the rain.

Withings ScanWatch 2

Best Overall Hybrid Smartwatch: When it debuted back in 2014, the Withings was one of the first-ever hybrid smartwatch manufacturers to hit the market — a true game-changer. Since then, the company has become a pioneer in the category, cracking the code to figure out how to provide wrist-based technology while still giving watch enthusiasts something to gush over. With its luxurious appearance, the sub-$400 ScanWatch 2 is the brand’s flagship acts like an analog timepiece but also comes with some meaningful health-based features. It can track your body temperature, detect AFib, check your blood oxygen level, and essentially give you a full health readout. For users who want even more, you can unlock the Withings+ subscription service for around $10 per month. Style-wise, there are four cases to choose from and three dial colors. Not to mention, you can select from a wide range of strap types.

Garmin vívomove Luxe

Best Dress Watch: Garmin has long served as the standard-bearer for the smartwatch segment, so it goes without saying that they’d put together a high-quality hybrid. The vívomove Luxe is a case in point, with stylish polished stainless steel housing, a domed sapphire lens crystal, and a pair of AMOLED color displays. And unlike the other offerings we’ve included on our list, the vívomove Luxe also comes with a touchscreen, meaning it’s incredibly easy to operate from your either phone or your wrist. When you consider that it offers support for a wide range of functionalities — from contactless payments to chronograph timekeeping to Connect app syncing — it’s pretty easy to see why Garmin has the industry on lock. Strap options include either Italian leather or Milanese steel, while the cases are either 18K rose gold, 24K yellow gold, or stainless steel. The bad news is the vívomove hybrids are only available today as customizable pieces. However, this may cut you some costs and also tailor the end result to something that best goes along with your style.

Withings ScanWatch Horizon

Best Dive Smartwatch: A couple of years back, Withings debuted the ScanWatch Horizon, which remains the closest we’ve seen to a diver in smartwatch form. From 100m of water resistance to the rotating dive time bezel to the bright lume on the hands and markers, this timepiece recreates the dive watch experience but brings along plenty of tech-focused features in the process. As far as its smartwatch features, there are plenty of ways to monitor your health, including advanced sleep tracking that can detect breathing disturbances, an electrode in the bezel that can take an ECG, and a blood oxygen tracker, along with the standard heart rate tracking. It pairs with your smartphone to send you notifications and has a 30-day battery life, with 20 more days in power reserve mode.

MTM Black Titanium Status Watch

Best for Hiking: These days there are a lot of smartwatches made for the outdoors, but few hybrid smartwatches are as rugged as MTM’s Status Watch. With a decidedly tactical design, the black DLC-coated titanium timepiece gives you 100m of water resistance and comes with a NATO strap. Paired with your phone, the watch can view incoming calls and messages, and there are both WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity options. However, for life in the great outdoors, the Status weighs just 3.6oz and its OLED screen transforms into a real-time compass. Other features include pre-set timezones with over 60 included cities, programming for 5 alarms, and 25 hours of battery life on a single charge of its Lithium battery. Meanwhile, the analog time-telling function is operated via a Swiss analog movement. If something happens to your watch in the first three years, it’s back by a company warranty – although we don’t see how anything could happen.

Breitling Exospace B55

Best High-End Hybrid Smartwatch: Rounding out our list is the Exospace B55, Breitling’s first-ever connected chronograph. And while it may be a new direction for the Swiss-based brand, that’s not to say the watch is any less of a complete package. On the contrary — courtesy of its in-house Breitling caliber B55 movement, the Exospace provides a suite of smart features, including notifications for emails, texts, calls, and appointments, as well as loggable chronograph splits, a countdown system with vibrating alarms, and automatic world time adjustment. The chrono function is operated by a pair of pushers, like a standard stopwatch. And the rest, as they say, is business as usual for Breitling, with a 46mm DLC-coated titanium case, an accurate SuperQuartz movement, and a soft rubber strap. From an aesthetic point, Breitling’s passion for aviation-themed timepieces is on full display here, with an instrument-like dial and stealthy color combinations.

The Best GPS Watches for Hiking

To dig a bit deeper into the world of techy timepieces, check out our guide to the best GPS smartwatches for hiking.