Swimming is an all-rounder sport that builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. More people have started adding this workout in their regular routine. This has scaled up the demand for swim-proof watches. The smartwatches of 2020 are more proficient underwater than ever before. That gives a lot of options in swim-proof watches.There are many smartwatches in the market with detailed features which are able to even tell your breaststroke from your front crawl. You will be spoiled for choice to buy the best from the numerous options. The extensive testing by the Wareable team has led to the conclusion that the best waterproof smartwatch is Garmin Vivoactive 4.But the choices can vary from person to person according to ones priorities.Update: This article was updated in December 2019 to include the latest waterproof smartwatches we have been testing - such as the Garmin Vivoactive 4 and Fitbit Versa 2. A detailed description of the top seven swim-proof watches is given here to help you choose the best.

1.Garmin Vivoactive 4

Buy now: Amazon | 35,000 INRThe Garmin Vivoactive 4 is the best waterproof watch that is a blend of a regular smartwatch and a typical sports watch. Like Garmin Vivoactive 3, its predecessor Vivoactive 4 also delivers accurate swimming metrics and is 5ATM waterproof.The data can be analysed post-workout on Garmin Connect which has a dedicated screen for swimming. It shows data on distance, time, stroke, SWOLF, temperature, pace, speed, and more.The transflective display lets you read the real-time swim data even under the water. This watch is a decent device for those who spend a lot of time in the pool, but it does not support open water swimming like other expensive Garmin devices.

• Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
• Pool/Open water: Pool only

2.Apple Watch Series 5

Buy now: Amazon | 50,000 INRThis smartwatch is recommended for those who are looking for more of a traditional watch rather than a sporty one. The Apple Watch Series 5 has all the best features for swimming passed on to it from the previous Apple watches with the advantage that it is all packed into a larger design. This gives more room for viewing your swimming data.It supports swimming in the pool as well as open water swimming. There are many metrics included in the watch such as distance covered, lengths, and average pace. In addition to all these, Series 5 can identify the style of your stroke as well. The touchscreen goes inactive during your swim.But Series 5 has the advantage of an always-on display which lets you check your real-time progress. The accuracy of readings in Series 5 is appreciable and is comparable to the higher-end Garmin sports watches. The core data that is distance, lap counts, average pace are all pretty accurate.Series 5 is a comfortable watch to wear underwater. The data can be seen in the Apple Activity app. The benefits of third-party swimming apps are also available for that extra bit of analysis. Apple Watch Series 5 shares the rank with Garmin as one of the best smartwatches for swimming with the added benefit of a good wearable outside the pool too.

• Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
• Pool and open water: Yes

3. Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2

Buy now: Amazon | 27,000 INREven though there is the flagship Samsung Galaxy Watch to consider, the cheaper Galaxy Watch Active 2 has a slimmer, smaller design which is better for the pool. Galaxy Watch Active 2 has features dedicated to track swimming. The metrics like distance, strokes, lap time and SWOLF(which measures swimming efficiency) can be viewed from a Super AMOLED display.Now Samsung has made this watch support swimming in the pool as well as open water swimming. It also includes smart features like Samsung Pay, 4GB memory, day-long battery life and offline Spotify support. Unlike Galaxy Watch and Gear Sport, Galaxy Watch Active 2 does not have the physical rotating bezel to operate Samsungs Tizen OS software.This watch has a touch-sensitive screen. The accuracy in data was good compared to other dedicated sports watches. The watch can detect the size of the pool on its own and a variety of metrics read by the device can be accessed through Samsungs Health app.Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is more comfortable to wear underwater than most of the other expensive smartwatches. You also get similar features of higher-end smartwatches for a lesser price in Galaxy Watch Active 2.

• Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
• Pool and open water: Yes

4.Fitbit Ionic

Buy now: Amazon | 25,000 INRBoth the Fitbit Versa 2 and Fitbit Ionic are built for the pool. But the sporty-looking Ionic has an extra edge over Versa 2 as far as swimming is concerned. The rich display of this smartwatch lets you view your real-time swim status. Everything nice about Fitbits old swim tracking is maintained in the Ionic.The data that you can view are lap counts, duration, calorie burn to mention a few and all of it is found to be accurate compared to any dedicated swimming watch. Galaxy Watch Active 2 is comfortable to wear underwater.It has five days of battery life on a single charge as well as the tactile buttons makes it easier to start and stop workouts underwater. So you need not worry about messing with a wet touchscreen. You may not get the most in-depth metrics possible with the Ionic, but it does a decent job for most swimmers.

• Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
• Pool and open water: Pool only

5.Fitbit Versa 2

Buy now: Amazon | 22,000 INRIf you are not comfortable with the idea of swimming with a big Fitbit Ionic on your wrist, the other smartwatch option that you have is the Fitbit Versa 2. The Versa 2 is slimmer and has a smaller design which has all the swim tracking metrics as the Ionic like lengths, distance covered and the duration of your workout.All of this data can be viewed on the touchscreen display. The data like the type of stroke and SWOLF are not available in Versa 2. Even though this smartwatch may disappoint the expert swimmers, it is a good swimming watch for beginners and casual swimmers.Versa 2 does not support open water swimming like Ionic but only swimming in the pool. The battery stays for up to four or five days on a single charge. There are other features like Fitbit Pay, always-on screen, notifications, and Amazon Alexa which you can access from your watch.

• Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
• Pool and open water: Pool only

6.Fossil Sport

Buy now: Amazon | 20,000 INRFossils latest smartwatches are designed swim-proof. You may not want to go swimming with most of the new stylish Wear OS watches though.But the sporty-looking Fossil Sport is unlike other Fossil Group Smartwatches and offers you data on swim tracking through its own native apps or third-party apps. It has a good touchscreen and vibrant display which gives you good visibility underwater. Fossil Sport has a decent array of swimming metrics as well.The smartwatch supports only pool swimming and not open water swimming. If you are a Wear OS lover and want a swimming watch, Fossil Sport is the smartwatch for you.

• Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
• Pool and open water: Pool only
• Wareable verdict: Fossil Sport review

7.Withings Steel HR

Buy now: Amazon | 42,000 INRThe last one in the list is the Withings Steel HR. It is the last one in the list for the reason that is not as advanced as the watches mentioned above. It is a hybrid smartwatch which does not have a full touchscreen display. It has a fitness tracker packed into a smart analogue watch body.The Withings Steel HR is waterproof up to 50 meters. While the automatic tracking works accurately underwater, you cannot take advantage of the optical heart rate monitor in the water. It does not support open water swimming.The data is synced to the Withings Health Mate app and you can learn how long you were swimming and how many calories you have burned. The battery life is 25 days on a single charge. If you are in search of a good looking hybrid smartwatch with basic swim metrics, the Withings Steel HR is the one for you.

• Waterproof rating: 5 ATM (50m)
• Pool and open water: Pool only

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