Better late than never, right? Look, we know it’s late January. Most people have already abandoned their New Year’s resolutions, and the wearables world is already whispering about what’s coming later this year.
But at Wareable, we’ve always had a rule: we don’t hand out mid-year trophies based on press releases or 20-minute hands-on sessions. We wait until the firmware is stable, the long-term testing trends have emerged, and we’ve lived with the latest-generation devices through every sweat-soaked workout and restless night of 2025.
So, this isn’t just a list of the shiniest wearables; it’s a reflection of the devices, platforms, and innovations that actually earned their place on our wrists (and fingers… and faces) over the last twelve months.
Here are the official Wareable Tech Awards for 2025.
Wearable of the Year: Oura Ring 4
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It’s one thing to launch hardware; it’s another to spend an entire year turning it into a proactive health oracle. While we first tested the Oura Ring 4 after it arrived in late 2024, the platform explosion and ceramic hardware collection released in 2025 secured its crown.
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The app redesign transformed the experience into one that—once again—feels streets ahead of the competition. By integrating Dexcom glucose data and launching Health Panels (which let users book and integrate blood tests in-app), Oura evolved from a lifestyle tracker to a legitimate clinical companion.
With the new Cumulative Stress metrics, it can better predict burnout before it happens and continues to surface the most pertinent tracked data to the top of your feed (through features like Symptom Radar).
A discreet and indispensable companion, the current-gen Oura Ring is our pick for the top wearable of 2025—and will take some budging in 2026.
Smartwatch of the Year: Apple Watch Ultra 3
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The Apple Watch Ultra 3 might look familiar, but it represents the peak of smartwatch refinement.
While the internal upgrades focused on the new S11 SiP—enabling faster, on-device Apple Intelligence processing—the real story was the display and satellite features.
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It remains the gold standard for ‘the one watch that does everything’, balancing elite-level dive and mountain features with the best app ecosystem in the business—all in a design . It’s not just a tool; it’s the most complete smartwatch we’ve ever worn.
Fitness Tracker of the Year: Whoop 5.0
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Whoop didn’t just iterate in 2025; the Boston brand shrank the tech and grew the utility.
The latest generation is 7% smaller than its predecessor but packs a significantly more powerful sensor array that now includes medical-grade ECG and blood pressure insights.
The shift toward Healthspan and the ability to integrate blood tests moved the needle for us, giving users a reason to care about their data beyond just daily recovery and sleep scores.
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By adding 14-day battery life to a screenless device (that you can still wear it almost anywhere on your body with Whoop Body apparel), Whoop reinforced its position as the best fitness tracker—particularly for people who hate wearing watches.
Affordable Fitness Tracker: Huawei Watch Fit 4
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The Huawei Watch Fit 4 punches way above its weight class. For a fraction of the cost of a flagship smartwatch, you get a stunning AMOLED display, dual-band GPS that our testing showed rivals the best for accuracy, and a battery that actually lasts 10 days.
In 2025, Huawei refined the software to include more advanced running metrics and better third-party data syncing, making it the no-brainer recommendation for anyone who wants a high-end fitness experience on a budget. It looks like an Apple Watch, performs like a sports watch, and is priced like a basic tracker. What’s not to love?
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Smart Ring of the Year: Oura Ring 4 Ceramic
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While the standard Ring 4 won our top honors, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic collection takes the prize for pure engineering aesthetics. It’s remarkably difficult to maintain the structural integrity of a smart ring while using premium ceramic materials, but Oura managed to make this version feel like high-end jewelry rather than a piece of hardware.
It’s more scratch-resistant than the titanium models and offers a depth of finish that makes it indistinguishable from a traditional band. For those who want the best health data on the planet without looking like they’re wearing a gadget, we maintain that this is the smart ring of choice.
Affordable Smartwatch of the Year: Apple Watch SE 3
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The SE 3 is the ultimate gateway for iPhone users. By dropping the flagship S10 chip—the same brain powering the Ultra 3—into a budget chassis, Apple created a future-proof powerhouse that refuses to feel like a compromise.
Yes, the design is a 2019 time capsule with larger bezels, and the single-day battery remains the primary trade-off, but these are smart concessions.
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You’re getting the industry’s best GPS accuracy, the Double Tap gesture, and the full watchOS 26 experience for a fraction of the flagship cost. It is the smartest buy for 90% of users, proving that you don’t need titanium or an ECG sensor to have a world-class experience on your wrist.
Running Watch of the Year: Garmin Forerunner 970
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The Forerunner 970 is the watch every serious runner was waiting for. Garmin finally brought the built-in LED flashlight and sapphire display down from the Fenix line, but kept the lightweight, plastic-shell spirit that runners love.
The standout feature for us was the new Running Tolerance metric, which uses your historical load to show how much mileage you can safely add without risking injury. It’s an elite training tool that is now as useful in the dark (thanks to that flashlight) as it is on the track.
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Multisport Watch of the Year: Garmin Fenix 8 Pro
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The Fenix 8 Pro is Garmin’s latest edition of its ‘everything and the kitchen sink’ watch. The addition of native LTE for phone-free LiveTrack and emergency messaging was the final missing piece of the puzzle for backcountry adventurers.
But the innovative MicroLED display on the top-tier models, which offers 4,500 nits of brightness, also makes it the most readable watch we’ve ever used in direct sun.
It’s thicker than the standard Fenix—and still requires more refinement before it becomes the go-to display tech across the industry—but the sheer choice in this lineup for multisport athletes and explorers ensures the competition can’t compete.
Women’s Health Device of the Year: Oura Ring 4
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Oura’s win here is a testament to its 2025 pivot toward life-stage health. In addition to passive cycle tracking, the platform now offers proactive support through Pregnancy Insights and a clinical-grade Perimenopause Check-In.
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The genius is in the nuances: a February update to the Readiness Score finally ensured that natural hormone-driven temperature shifts aren’t misinterpreted as illness or overreaching.
By adding pregnancy-aware AI coaching and symptom tagging for symptoms ranging from nausea to fatigue, Oura has created a deeply empathetic tool. In our view, it’s the only wearable that treats women’s physiological journey as a core dataset rather than an add-on.
Health Smartwatch of the Year: Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Series
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With its Galaxy Watch 8 series, Samsung introduced some of the most compelling and impactful health features of 2025. For us, the standout innovation is the Antioxidant Index—a clever use of the BioActive sensor that measures carotenoid levels to provide a tangible score of your dietary health.
But it adds to what was already a packed health watch. By offering certified Sleep Apnea detection, unique Vascular Load Monitoring, and AGEs analysis, the Galaxy Watch 8 series addresses major health concerns often overlooked by other brands.
With Gemini AI debuting in this generation, as well, Samsung created the most comprehensive end-to-end health platform for Android users.
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Innovation of the Year: Hypershell X Ultra
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The Hypershell X Ultra is the first time an exoskeleton has felt like a legitimate consumer wearable.
This waist-mounted system uses 1000W motors to assist your leg movement and, in our experience, can turn a grueling 10-mile mountain hike into something that feels twice as manageable.
We were skeptical, but the AI-powered gait recognition is so smooth that it feels less like a robot is pushing you and more like you suddenly have the quads of an Olympian.
It opens up the outdoors to people with mobility issues or those just looking to extend their range. It’s weird, it’s sci-fi, and it actually works.
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Smart Glasses of the Year: Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2)
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The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 didn’t just iterate; it fixed every lingering gripe we had with the first generation. The jump to 3K Ultra HD video makes these a legitimate content-creation tool, but the real win is the battery life.
Doubling the runtime to eight hours transforms them from a cool party trick into an all-day utility. Under the hood, the move to Llama 4 also makes the multimodal AI genuinely helpful—it can translate signs in real time or identify objects at speeds that feel like science fiction.
It’s a hardware update that keeps them as the industry’s definitive smart glasses—ones that look like a fashion choice and act like a piece of the future, proving that wearable AI works best when it’s hidden in plain sight.
Health Platform of the Year: Whoop
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While others focus on steps, Whoop focuses on the human. The company’s platform won this year because of its Healthspan and Advanced Labs integrations.
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By partnering with longevity researchers, Whoop now provides a ‘Biological Age’ based on your biomarkers, along with a checklist of behaviors (such as daily steps and restorative sleep time) to lower it.
It’s no longer just about strain and recovery; it’s about how long you’re going to live. The AI Whoop Coach has also become remarkably good at answering specific questions, such as “How does my late-night eating affect my REM sleep?” and providing actionable reflections of your day.
Fitness Platform of the Year: Strava
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In 2025, Strava transitioned from a social log into a premium training powerhouse. The April acquisition of Runna was the year’s biggest move, bringing dynamic coaching directly into the platform.
It was also encouraging to see its Athlete Intelligence, the AI-driven context that makes better sense of your data, moving out of beta. The redesigned 3D mapping experience—complete with tappable points of interest and simultaneous data viewing—is also a game-changer for explorers, while the machine-learning-led ‘Leaderboard Integrity’ updates have (mostly) sifted out cheaters.
By integrating new power metrics for cyclists and launching a dedicated performance interface for Apple Watch, Strava cemented its position as the undisputed center of the fitness universe.
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Sleep Tech Device of the Year: Garmin Index Sleep Monitor
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The Garmin Index Sleep Monitor is the solution for the millions of people who love Garmin’s data but hate wearing a chunky watch to bed.
This soft, machine-washable bicep band tracks everything you would expect from a watch: overnight HRV, blood oxygen saturation, skin temperature, sleep stages, and standard sleep metrics to inform its smorgasbord of training insights.
It provides smart ring comfort and ease but feeds directly into your Garmin ecosystem. It’s the most comfortable and accurate way to get a Training Readiness score we’ve ever tested, making it an essential bridge for the Garmin ecosystem.
