Wearing a smartwatch is supposed to be an all-day, all-night affair, and that includes while working from home. Being in your humble abode also means you can take breaks for meals or get a quick chore done. If you leave your phone behind in your home office space, your wrist can tell you what you need to know. Whether it's a quick call you can take through Bluetooth headphones or knowing just how sedentary you've become, a smartwatch can be a helpful tool.
Keep in touch
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
Staff Pick
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is the closest you can find to a smartwatch that straddles the line enough toward sustained productivity. Notifications for incoming messages are actionable when you have your phone within range. It won't fully integrate all messaging and email apps you use, but it's still good enough to keep you apprised.
Get up and move
Fitbit Versa 2
While every smartwatch can get you moving, the Fitbit Versa 2 benefits from an interface that brings your favorite exercises straight to the watch, with Fitbit Premium now available for 90-day trials, at-home workouts can become part of a daily routine in between meetings and deadlines.
Fit in better
Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle
Wear OS is a neverending work in progress, but the Fossil Gen 5 integrates well with an Android phone. With the Google Play Store now embedded in it, downloading apps straight from your wrist is easier than ever. Tools like a built-in keyboard, handwriting tool, and Google Assistant mean communicating with others is always an option.
Talk out loud
Amazfit Verge
The Amazfit Verge is primarily focused on helping to get you in shape, but it has one productivity-friendly feature that can be helpful: it works with Amazon Alexa. The onboard microphone and speaker combo mean the watch can listen and respond out loud for easy answers to specific questions or smart home control.
Hear it all
Huawei Watch GT 2
Huawei crafted a sweet-looking watch with the Watch GT 2, and its ability to handle phone calls is one of its selling points. The speaker is louder than other models, and though there is no LTE version, making and taking calls through the watch could be a convenient feature to get used to.
Why a smartwatch works at home
A smartwatch is really an extension of your phone, so if you imagine how often you might look at your phone to see whatever information you need to know, it would only be natural to look at your wrist instead. Not all the time, mind you, but often enough that you wouldn't need to always reach for your handset.
It could be something as simple as getting a text message or email from a business contact confirming receipt of an important document or even just seeing a reminder to get up and stretch away from your desk. Being active at home isn't always as easy as it sounds, especially when hours can fly by, but movement and stretching are great ways to keep the blood flowing away from stationary positions.
In that sense, smartwatches cut through the monotony, while also reducing distractions. You probably won't get lost in a social media feed on your watch, but you can quickly skip a music track you're listening to in the background or through a pair of headphones. It's those snippets of functionality that you would typically use when away from home that can be just as useful when working from home.
What will you wear on the job?
Working from home doesn't have to feel like a terrible case of self-isolation if productivity and getting the job done is part of what you want to get out of a smartwatch. Any one of these devices will always focus on tracking movement and biometrics first, but their increasing sophistication is bridging the divide. But we recommend the because it's the best all-around smartwatch available now for Android. The design is stellar, and the integration works when the compatibility is there.
You can still get a solid experience with your home-based fitness regimen while wearing the , which also offers solid battery life and plugs in well to Fitbit Premium. The voice assistants available in the and are convenient when they execute well, so you don't always have to speak loudly to issue a command when burning the midnight oil.
Finding the right work balance at home is challenging if you're not used to it, but when you have tools on you, use them to your benefit. That's what a smartwatch is supposed to be for.
Keep in touch
Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
Staff Pick
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is the closest you can find to a smartwatch that straddles the line enough toward sustained productivity. Notifications for incoming messages are actionable when you have your phone within range. It won't fully integrate all messaging and email apps you use, but it's still good enough to keep you apprised.
Get up and move
Fitbit Versa 2
While every smartwatch can get you moving, the Fitbit Versa 2 benefits from an interface that brings your favorite exercises straight to the watch, with Fitbit Premium now available for 90-day trials, at-home workouts can become part of a daily routine in between meetings and deadlines.
Fit in better
Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle
Wear OS is a neverending work in progress, but the Fossil Gen 5 integrates well with an Android phone. With the Google Play Store now embedded in it, downloading apps straight from your wrist is easier than ever. Tools like a built-in keyboard, handwriting tool, and Google Assistant mean communicating with others is always an option.
Talk out loud
Amazfit Verge
The Amazfit Verge is primarily focused on helping to get you in shape, but it has one productivity-friendly feature that can be helpful: it works with Amazon Alexa. The onboard microphone and speaker combo mean the watch can listen and respond out loud for easy answers to specific questions or smart home control.
Hear it all
Huawei Watch GT 2
Huawei crafted a sweet-looking watch with the Watch GT 2, and its ability to handle phone calls is one of its selling points. The speaker is louder than other models, and though there is no LTE version, making and taking calls through the watch could be a convenient feature to get used to.
Why a smartwatch works at home
A smartwatch is really an extension of your phone, so if you imagine how often you might look at your phone to see whatever information you need to know, it would only be natural to look at your wrist instead. Not all the time, mind you, but often enough that you wouldn't need to always reach for your handset.
It could be something as simple as getting a text message or email from a business contact confirming receipt of an important document or even just seeing a reminder to get up and stretch away from your desk. Being active at home isn't always as easy as it sounds, especially when hours can fly by, but movement and stretching are great ways to keep the blood flowing away from stationary positions.
In that sense, smartwatches cut through the monotony, while also reducing distractions. You probably won't get lost in a social media feed on your watch, but you can quickly skip a music track you're listening to in the background or through a pair of headphones. It's those snippets of functionality that you would typically use when away from home that can be just as useful when working from home.
What will you wear on the job?
Working from home doesn't have to feel like a terrible case of self-isolation if productivity and getting the job done is part of what you want to get out of a smartwatch. Any one of these devices will always focus on tracking movement and biometrics first, but their increasing sophistication is bridging the divide. But we recommend the because it's the best all-around smartwatch available now for Android. The design is stellar, and the integration works when the compatibility is there.
You can still get a solid experience with your home-based fitness regimen while wearing the , which also offers solid battery life and plugs in well to Fitbit Premium. The voice assistants available in the and are convenient when they execute well, so you don't always have to speak loudly to issue a command when burning the midnight oil.
Finding the right work balance at home is challenging if you're not used to it, but when you have tools on you, use them to your benefit. That's what a smartwatch is supposed to be for.