3 Best Smartwatches that Won’t Break the Bank

Looking for a smartwatch that meets the criteria of affordability with quality can be a tricky venture; however, there are some options on the market to consider if you’re dabbling for a smartwatch while keeping your wallet-size in mind.

Cogito Classic

Price: from R1,293

If you’re looking for the basic functions of a smartwatch without all the complications and hefty price-tag, the Cogito Classic is a great place to start. Designed by award-winning French designer Xavier Houy, the Cogito Classic strips away the excessive functions in favour of prioritising the connection to your phone for notifications, good battery-life, and controlling media on your device.

Samsung Gear S3

Price: from R3,799

Samsung Gear S3 – frontier and classic.

Yeah, it’s not the latest Samsung Gear on the market (with the Galaxy Gear being the most-recent iteration of the South Korean company’s wearable range), but the Gear S3 is still a brilliant smartwatch in its own right. It delivers a 16-megapixel full-colour display, Super AMOLED screen technology, military-level durability with Gorilla Glass, and Always On technology, which always shows the time rather than automatically fading to black. A bonus is that it runs on the KNOX Tizen Wearable Software Development Kit (SDK) which is available to third-parties, enabling customised applications for Samsung’s wearable ecosystem. The Gear S3 is available in two options to suit different users’ lifestyles: frontier (blends form and function with a rugged outdoor look and feel) and classic (pays homage to the minimalist, elegant style found in the most iconic luxury timepieces).

Garmin Vivomove

Price: from R2,999 (Sport edition); R2,799 (Classic edition).

For those after something that delivers a combination of features and sex-appeal, the Vívomove is a fashionable analog watch that will look at home in a formal environment while being more than capable at the gym too. The Vívomove combines classic design with function, adding activity tracking, sleep analysis and an alert to remind users when they’ve been inactive too long with a move bar. With one-year battery life, a water rating of 5ATM (50 meters) and a variety of interchangeable bands, vívomove is wearable 24/7, no matter the occasion. The vívomove is available in sport (black or white) and classic (black with leather band or rose gold-tone with leather band) styles.

Which smartwatch or fitness tracker are you most excited for? Tweet us @MenStuffZA and let us know!