We’ve curated a list of the best swimming watches for all budgets and ability levels so that you can find the perfect workout partner. Almost all modern exercise trackers are water-resistant to at least 50 meters, but not all are designed for more than a quick dip in the pool or shower.
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That is why we have assembled a list of the best swimming watches, which will not only measure your heart rate underwater but will also track your speed and distance, anticipate your stroke automatically, log drills, and many more.
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How do Smartwatches help you improve your swimming skills?
If you are a swimmer, you can improve your swimming skills by practicing and using the correct strokes and techniques. Daily practice helps you in developing the right methods and effective strokes for swimming.
Another best way to practice swimming is to set goals for yourself and work towards achieving these goals. Remember that reaching your goal will take perseverance and determination.
Luckily, there are swimming watches that can help you achieve your goals. Modern swimming watches can track and monitor various swimming metrics such as type of stroke, distance, speed, and more, along with your heart rate.
If you like swimming in a pool or open water, this list contains the best smartwatches for swimming.
10 Best Smartwatches for Swimming
- Garmin Swim 2
- Garmin Fenix 7
- Apple Watch Series 7
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
- Apple Watch Series 6
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
- Garmin Vivoactive 4
- Garmin Fenix 6 Series
- Garmin Forerunner 945
- Amazfit T-Rex Pro
1. Garmin Swim 2
The Garmin Swim 2 is intended for swimmers looking for a smart and dependable way to track their workouts. It is one of the best Garmin watches that you can buy in 2022.
This GPS-enabled tracker is perfect for tracking pool and open water swimming. Other relevant metrics that can be tracked include stroke count, heart rate, pace, distance traveled, and distance per stroke. It also has options for timed sets and drill tracks.
With this in mind, it’s obvious that Garmin designed Swim 2 to track workouts for swimmers at all skill levels. This is the swim watch for you, whether you are a competitive swimmer or a recreational swimmer looking to keep fit. Even the most seasoned and professional swimmers will be impressed by the versatility of this watch. Throughout the day, it will track the number of key health indices.
The Swim 2 was, of course, designed with swimming in mind, and it works admirably in the pool. It can detect the kind of stroke you’re doing and calculate your SWOLF (the metric which tracks your swim efficiency). When practicing, you can even download customized drills and set up alerts to keep you on track.
2. Garmin Fenix 7
The Garmin Fenix 7 is a state-of-the-art GPS watch that is designed for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. It features a rugged, water-resistant design that has 24/7 wearability.
The Fenix 7 also includes a host of cutting-edge features, including an advanced tracking system that can accurately track your activity, location, and heart rate.
Additionally, the Fenix 7 has a built-in swim mode that can give you valuable data about your speed, distance, calories burned, etc. It also detects important swim metrics such as SWOLF, swimming style, and more. This advanced GPS Swimming watch is also water-resistant up to 100 meters in depth.
Lastly, the Fenix 7 has a battery life of up to 21 days in smartwatch mode or 60 hours in GPS mode. Plus, It also includes a variety of other sports modes, making it the perfect choice for athletes who want to train for multiple sports.
Overall, the Garmin Fenix 7 is the ideal watch for anyone who wants the best design, performance, and durability.
3. Apple Watch Series 7
The Apple Watch Series 7 is next on our list of best smartwatches for swimming in 2022. It has a dedicated swimming mode, water lock, and also a water expulsion mechanism. The swimming mode tracks your swim workout and displays essential metrics such as distance, pace, strokes, and calories burned.
It also features a water lock feature that keeps the touchscreen disabled while you’re in the pool or ocean, and the water expulsion mechanism of this watch helps to remove water from the speaker after your swim.
In addition to being an excellent watch for swimming, the Apple Watch Series 7 also has an onboard GPS, heart rate monitor, and fitness tracking features. It’s also compatible with Apple Pay so that you can make payments directly from your wrist.
All these features together make this smartwatch ideal for health tracking and swimming.
4. Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
The Samsung Galaxy Watch4 is one of the best swimming watches on the market. It features a built-in GPS and dedicated swimming mode to track closed and open water swimming.
The watch also has a Swim tracking app that uses onboard sensors to track your swimmer’s progress and even offer tips for improvement. The Watch 4 is also waterproof for up to 50 meters, making it ideal for use in the pool or ocean.
In addition, the Galaxy Watch 4 features an ECG monitor, heart rate monitor, sleep tracker, and activity tracker to help you stay on top of your health and fitness goals.
The battery life on the Galaxy Watch 4 is also impressive, with up to 2 days of use on a single charge. It allows you to stream and store music on the watch to listen to your favorite tunes while you work out.
The Galaxy Watch 4 is an excellent option for swimmers who are looking for a comprehensive swimming watch with all the bells and whistles.
5. Apple Watch Series 6
If you want a more traditional smartwatch than anything sporty, this is the device for you, with 50m water resistance for pool and open water swimming.
The Apple Watch Series 6 integrates the advanced swimming abilities of previous Apple Watch models into a larger design, allowing for more room to view your swim data in the pool or open water.
You’ll be shown metrics such as distance traveled, average speed, and stroke form. During the swim, the screen is off, but the Always-On display encourages you to raise your arm to see real-time progress.
In terms of accuracy, the Series 6 performs admirably as compared to a high-end Garmin sports watch.
The primary metrics (distance, lap counts, and average pace) are pretty accurate, and it’s a very comfortable watch to wear in the water. Data is saved in the Health app, under Activity, but you can also review it with a third-party app of your choice.
It’s certainly up there along with any Garmin as one of the best swimming smartwatches, plus it’s chic enough to wear beyond the pool.
6. Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
If you want a larger screen and the feel of a real rotating bezel, we suggest the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, water-resistant to 50 meters.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is ideal for both pool and open water swimming and comes in 45mm and 41mm sizes, which are comparable to the Active 2. You’ll still have one of the coolest, biggest smartwatch screens available, but you’ll need to upgrade to a sportier band because this comes with a leather style that isn’t water-resistant.
In terms of metrics, you can expect more of the same. Time, laps, overall speed and rate, calories consumed, SWOLF, and even lengths done with the fewest strokes. When you complete a lap in the pool, it can vibrate and clean itself using a method similar to the Apple Watch’s water ejection mechanism.
7. Garmin Vivoactive 4
Garmin is famous for waterproof watches. Succeeding the Garmin Vivoactive 3, the Vivoactive 4 is not purely a swimming watch. Though, it does have outstanding functionality and is an appropriate device for swimming in a pool at 5 ATM. It calculates your SWOLF ranking, much like the other Garmin devices on this list.
The build and display have remained largely unchanged since the Vivoactive 3. The Vivoactive 4 is available in two sizes: 45mm (1.3-inch display) and 40mm (1.1-inch display). The two sizes allow it to fit various wrist sizes. The screen is legible under all lighting conditions and is covered by Gorilla Glass.
This is a multisport watch that comes with over 20 preloaded events, including walking, tennis, sailing, and swimming. You can also use the Garmin Connect software to create and share your own personalized workouts.
With a growing focus on self-monitoring, the Vivoactive 4 provides tracking for stress, hydration, and respiration, as well as menstrual tracking. There seem to be various useful applications, such as alarms, audio, and Garmin Pay.
8. Garmin Fenix 6 Series
All Garmin Fenix 6 GPS devices have an open water mode that can run an open water swimming algorithm, making them arguably the best open water swimming GPS watches.
A satellite signal is lost while your arm is immersed in water; this algorithm smoothest this out and provides you with all of the navigational data gatherings from your swim that you need.
When the GPS records your open water swim, you get all the stats you’d expect and some swimming-specific ones, including average stroke rate, temperature, and heart rate, which, when paired with other statistics, provide you with a complete picture of your open water swim.
The Garmin Fenix 6 series is water-resistant to 100 meters, making it one of the better smartwatches for swimming available today.
9. Garmin Forerunner 945
The Garmin Forerunner 935 (or the newer 945) is a mission tracker that can be used for a variety of activities. Although it is not specifically built for swimming, many people prefer it to the Garmin Swim 2 because it has many more features. It can track events such as hiking, walking, hiking, and swimming, to name a few.
If you like floating in open water, you’ll love this watch because it has a GPS and compass for navigation.
It, like many other swimming watches, struggles to record the heart rate when swimming. You can, however, purchase a Garmin accessory that can accurately measure your heart rate when swimming. It can also compute your SWOLF ranking.
It’s essentially a multisport activity tracker that’s waterproof to 50 meters but not ideal for scuba diving or snorkeling.
It provides specialized results details for swimming, running, and cycling, making it an excellent option for triathletes!
10. Amazfit T-Rex Pro
The T-Rex Pro from Amazfit is the T-replacement Rex’s and a less pricey Garmin replacement.
Zepp replaced Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 with tempered glass, which is both crack and scratch-resistant, increasing its lifespan dramatically.
It is now a better fit for aquatic sports, with a water resistance rating of 10ATM, allowing it to dive to a depth of 100 meters.
When you begin swimming, the dashboard displays real-time data such as workout time, pace, runs, average speed, SWOLF, and stroke rate. While we would have preferred larger data fields, screen visibility in the water was sufficient.
In terms of accuracy, it fell a few lengths short, and the average pace tracked a little higher, but it produced similar calorie burn figures. Overall, even if the accuracy is a little off, it’s a nice swimming tracking experience.
Conclusion
If you are looking for the best smartwatch to track your swimming, there is no one-size-fits-all. That’s because different types of sports require additional features and functions that will be useful in monitoring performance.
For example, suppose you’re a triathlete or someone who enjoys long-distance open water swims. In that case, it may be worth investing in an expensive watch with more advanced features such as Garmin Swim 2, Forerunner 945, or Fenix 7 Pro so that you can monitor strokes per minute speed, pace, calorie burn, etc.
However, if you just want something basic to record laps at the pool or keep up with calories without having to wear two watches, then choosing a simpler device such as Amazfit T-Rex Pro or Galaxy Watch 3 might work better for you!
