When purchasing a smartwatch, the quality of the companion app is typically as important, if not more so than the watch itself. Great hardware specs tied with a poor app will lead to a poor overall experience (a common complaint with cheap Chinese “smartwatches”).
App Rating and # of Reviews
All Android apps are rated in the Google Play store. This is a good starting point for evaluating apps. The table below is a reasonable representation of the best app to the worst app currently available based on over 5 million reviews on the Google Play store.
| App | Rating | # of Reviews | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garmin Connect | 4.6 | 620k | Arguably the best smartwatch app available |
| Galaxy Wearable | 4.5 | 1,190k | Excellent all around smartwatch app |
| Mi Fit | 4.4 | 1,630k | Good app for the popular Mi Band |
| HUAWEI Health | 4.2 | 420k | One of the better health and fitness apps |
| realme Link | 4.2 | 65k | Newer app, less reviews, not as polished |
| Polar Flow | 4.2 | 126k | A good fitness focused app |
| Zepp | 4.1 | 240k | An OK app. Not as polished and UI is cluttered. Some poor translations |
| Mobvoi | 4.0 | 4k | Average app, not the easiest to use |
| Watch Droid Phone | 3.9 | 12k | Average app for full Android phones, limited functionality |
| Google Fit | 3.9 | 411k | Average app, limited functionality |
| Fitbit | 3.7 | 750k | Below average and disappointing given the Fitbit pricepoint. Not all phones work with this app. |
| Mibro Fit | 3.7 | 2K | Newer app, poor quality, connectivity and sync issues with some phones |
| VeryFitPro | 3.5 | 67K | Basic app with limited functionality |
| Da Fit | 3.5 | 65K | Basic app with limited functionality |
| HeyTap Health | 3.4 | 1k | Newer app, poor quality |
| Glory Fit | 3.3 | 6k | Poor app, not recommended |
| Sunnto | 3.3 | 26k | Poor app |
| 70mai Health | 3.3 | <1K | Newer app, not the best |
| OnePlus Health | 3.2 | 1K | Newer app, poor quality |
| Xiaomi Wear Lite | 2.8 | 4k | Newer app, very poor |
Best Apps
Garmin Connect and Galaxy Wearable are the 2 best smartwatch apps. They are both very polished apps, have detailed tracking and work with a large range of smartphones. You cannot go wrong with either one.
Good Apps
The Mi Fit app and Huawei Health apps do a good job considering and they pair with very affordable Chinese fitness bands and smartwatches. The smartwatches using these apps are often the best bang for your buck. Excellent choices for the money.
Average Apps
As we get into the next batch of apps (realme, Zepp, mobvoi), there are some tradeoffs. Apps are not as polished, have connectivity issues, poor translations or other bugs. They are not bad but if you have used some of the better apps, you may be slightly disappointed.
The Rest
Once you start getting under a 4.0 rating, there are significant gaps with the app. Often times connectivity issues with various smartphones or other bugs are prevalent. Under a 3.0 rating, we suggest avoiding all together.