7 Affordable Alternatives To The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 has good hardware but a suitably high price. Thankfully, plenty of affordable alternatives provide the same core features while being light on the wallet. Getting the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7's features in another watch is hard, but many smartwatches come close.

Samsung's Watch 7 has a stunning Super AMOLED 1.5-inch display that hits 3,000 nits of peak brightness. The circular design combined with the deep blacks of the AMOLED screen adds to its sleekness. The watch has 32GB of storage space, enough to install plenty of third-party apps. The 425 mAh battery lasts around 24 hours on a single charge. It's a good mix of capable hardware and Samsung's One UI 6 software (based on Wear OS 5), making the Galaxy Watch 7 one of the best smartwatches.

Top-end smartwatches like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 or Apple Watch offer exclusive smart features like AI-powered message replies and sleep apnea tracking. While extra features are nice, it's important to note which ones the consumer needs. A swimmer needs a reliable waterproof smartwatch. Similarly, a runner might need reliable GPS and footstep tracking. Nailing down what you need in a smartwatch is the first step in getting one that'll care for your requirements while being affordable.

The CMF Watch Pro 2 offers the best value for money and looks great on the wrist. Nothing introduced CMF as a sub-brand geared towards affordable devices like the Watch Pro 2 and CMF Buds. At almost one-third the price of a Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, the CMF Watch Pro 2 nails all basic smartwatch features. Sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, step counts, and viewing notifications are available on the device. 

The 1.32-inch AMOLED display looks good, especially considering the price. You can change the strap and the bezel, giving you extra customization options. The watch uses a proprietary operating system that works on Android and iOS. The companion app is slick and easy to navigate. The watch also has a surprising 305 mAh 10-day battery life, an exceptionally long time considering the Galaxy Watch 7 lasts two days at most. The only negative is the average 620 nits of screen brightness, sometimes making it hard to see in direct sunlight. 

Buy the CMF Watch 2 Pro for $69.99 from CMF Store or Amazon.

The best way to save when buying tech is to consider previous models, including smartwatches. While companies launch new models yearly, the older models are usually feature-complete, tested, and, most importantly, less expensive. The Google Pixel Watch 2 has a clean, minimalist aesthetic, a beautiful 1.2-inch AMOLED display, and industry-leading safety features. The screen reaches 1,000 nits peak brightness. The smartwatch has 32 GB of storage to download apps directly from the Play Store. The Google Watch 2, with a year of updates, is in a great place now.

The Google Pixel Watch 2 brings improved heart rate monitoring and better GPS accuracy than its predecessor. With Fitbit ecosystem integration, you'll also get fitness features baked in. As a Wear OS smartwatch, users can download many third-party apps and services straight from the Play Store. The Safety Check feature is an excellent addition, informing your emergency contacts if you don't reach a destination in a reasonable time. The only downsides are proprietary straps and the 306 mAh battery, which only lasts a day on a charge.

Get the Pixel Watch 2 for $249.99 from Google Store or Amazon.

Samsung makes solid hardware, so if you fancy the Watch 7, the Galaxy Watch 6 should also be on your radar. The year-old smartwatch offers many of the same features but at a lower price. With multiple sizes and variants available, there is bound to be a deal that's made for you. While the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic comes with a physical rotating bezel, a feature that's sadly missing from the Watch 7, it's more expensive than the base model. Thankfully, the standard Galaxy Watch 6 is also a capable device. 

The Samsung smartwatch works with any Android device, but only Samsung smartphone owners get irregular heart rate alerts and electrocardiograms. The watch comes with an Exynos W930 chip, which is snappy and fast. Samsung watches offer high build quality, and the Watch 6 is no different. The wide 1.5-inch AMOLED screen is gorgeous, delivering deep blacks and punchy contrast. The easily swappable straps make it easy to customize the look quickly. The Watch 6 also uses the same 425 mAh battery as the Watch 7, with more or less the same one-day battery life. The significant upgrades on the Watch 7 are the newer AI insights, sleep apnea, and dual-frequency GPS.

Get the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 for $236 on Amazon.

The second-generation Apple Watch SE 2 is the best value for money in 2024. The watch has all the usual Apple staples: good functionality, a great build, and intuitive software. The large 1.78-inch OLED display is bright, reaching 1000 nits of peak brightness, giving you all the information you need at a glance. The new watchOS 11 brings excellent fitness tracking and health features to the watch. Additionally, third-party apps can be downloaded on the 32 GB of internal storage to expand utility. 

Despite its good stack of features, the Apple Watch SE 2 is only compatible with iOS. So, it won't pair or work with any Android phone. Another limitation is the 18-hour battery life. The watch needs to be charged daily at the end of the workday. It's not cheap, but the Apple Watch SE 2 is an excellent value for iPhone users.

Purchase the Apple Watch SE 2 for $249 from Apple.

The Fitbit Charge 6 is more of a fitness tracker than a smartwatch. The elongated watch face is smaller than most other smartwatches and might appeal to only some. However, if you are into fitness, the Fitbit Charge 6 has solid fitness tracking features at an affordable price. The best part is the battery life; the Fitbit Charge 6 lasts up to seven days on a single charge, blowing the competition out of the water. 

Users can track workouts, heart rate, and blood oxygen levels. The tracking goes on when you sleep, giving you a daily sleep score. The watch is light enough to be unobtrusive while sleeping, perfect for those who can't stand the weight of other smartwatches. Charge 6's 1.4-inch AMOLED display is good at colors, but the low 450 nits maximum brightness keeps it from shining. The Fitbit Premium subscription provides extra wellness insights. The watch works perfectly with iOS and Android but lacks substantial third-party app support. 

Get the Fitbit Charge 6 for $159.95 from Google Store or Amazon.

The OnePlus Watch 2R is huge, even bigger than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7. The big screen is bold and beautiful but might be too cumbersome for someone with smaller wrists, like me. The 1.43-inch display can reach 1,000 nits in brightness, making it brighter than most smartwatches in 2024. The OnePlus Watch 2 is a premium offering but costs more than the 2R.

The larger size packs an excellent battery behind it, which can easily last up to three days of usage. The watch charges fast, taking around one hour to fully charge. A 10-minute charge can give a day's worth of battery life. OnePlus uses a dual-chip architecture to squeeze every ounce of juice from the battery. The design pairs a high-performance Snapdragon W5 and a low-powered BES 2700 chipset to yield excellent battery life. The OnePlus Watch 2R has competent fitness tracking, excellent battery life, and third-party app support if you can get past the large size. 

Purchase the OnePlus Watch 2R for $229.99 from OnePlus or for $249.95 on Amazon.

The Fitbit Ace LTE is a kid-friendly smartwatch with privacy and safety features. Kids can use the built-in microphone and speaker to dial pre-selected numbers, even without a phone. The Fitbit Ace LTE promises not to store children's health data for research and deletes any location history after 24 hours. Health data is automatically removed after 30 days. The rugged smartwatch is perfect for kids playing sports or generally being kids. 

The Fitbit Ace LTE requires a $10 per month subscription, but that also includes cellular connectivity. With LTE and GPS on board, your kid can share their location via Google Maps. You can also save contacts on the watch, and your kids can make phone calls and text those numbers. The Fitbit Ace LTE is an excellent connectivity solution that keeps your kids connected with you without the need for a smartphone. 

Get the Fitbit Ace LTE for $229.95 on Google Store or Amazon.

I use the CMF Watch 2 Pro and Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic. I still drive the Watch6 Classic daily because I love the physical bezel. I've also spent some time with the Pixel Watch 2 and the OnePlus Watch 2R. One felt small, and the other was too big for my wrists. Slashgear's review praised the Apple Watch SE 2, calling it "the best smartwatch for most." All smartwatches on the list have four-plus star ratings on Amazon, with plenty of user reviews praising the devices. I consulted user reviews, Reddit posts, and device forums to finalize the smartwatches on the list.