These are the smartwatches that support Google Pay 2023

No matter what type of smartwatch experience you're seeking, there are tons of Wear OS watches out there that will fulfill your needs. If you want support for contactless payments, be sure to check out the watches that support Google Pay. This handy software lets you leave your wallet at home and pay using only your watch at locations where contactless payments are accepted. Fortunately, this payment option is becoming more common these days.

Below you'll find full write-ups for each of the best smartwatches with Google Pay support in our list. We've tested and reviewed each one, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.

At a glance

Best overall

If you've used Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 for Watch 5 in the past, you've got a good idea of what you're getting into with the Galaxy Watch 6. This smartwatch runs Wear OS from Google on top of an Exynos W930 SoC with 2GB of RAM. It all comes in an IP68-rated housing so you don't need to worry about it getting dirty and wet.  You can get it in 40mm or 44mm size so you can get the right fit for your wrist.

The battery life on this watch should easily get you to the end of the day, but Samsung's estimate of 30 hours with the Always-On Display is optimistic as we saw in our Galaxy Watch 6 review. We also found that the tracking for runs wasn't as accurate as we'd like to see. Still, the watch is a strong lightweight option with excellent integration with Samsung phones. It's also a great upgrade for someone using an older Galaxy Watch 4.

Best from Google

The Google Pixel Watch 2 continues what was started with the first Pixel Watch with an updated design, faster hardware, and numerous other refinements found in our Pixel Watch 2 review despite looking a lot like the older model. This is one of the best Wear OS smartwatches you can buy with strong health tracking features and integration with the Fitbit app.

Speaking of software, this watch makes good use of the Fitbit app with quick access to your health tracking information. That being said, Fitbit Premium requires a subscription, so to get the most out of this watch you'll need to sign up. It would have also been nice to see multiple sizes, but the Google Pixel Watch 2 is still one of the best Android smartwatches you can get with Google Pay support.

Best value

If you're looking to try out a smartwatch without spending a ton of money, the TicWatch E3 from Mobvoi is still a strong option. While this watch is a couple of years old, it has been updated with Wear OS making it more useful than ever. Since it's equipped with NFC, you can use it for payment with Google Pay. The battery is fairly large at 380mAh and with the Snapdragon 4100 CPU and 1GB of RAM under the screen, you should get over a day of battery life with strong performance.

When it comes to hardware, this watch is still quite capable with workout and sleep tracking. The watch is IP65 rates so there's nothing to worry about if you get it wet, or want to wear it while exercising in the pool. Unfortunately, it only comes in one size so it may not feel like a perfect fit.

Best last-gen

While the Pixel Watch 2 is an improvement in almost every way over the Pixel Watch, this Wear OS smartwatch is still an excellent value thanks to a lower price. The processor is nothing special but Google has managed to keep the watch feeling snappy and responsive. Our Pixel Watch review even found the sleep and health tracking to be quite good.

One thing that's not great about the Pixel Watch is the use of a proprietary wireless charger. We would have preferred that it used a universal standard like Qi for wireless charging. Nevertheless, battery life is solid on this watch and the total package is still quite strong, especially when you consider that it's now significantly cheaper than the latest revision.

Best fitness

Whether you're going hiking, kayaking, or mountain biking, a tough watch with a strong battery life is the right choice for tracking your movements and exercises. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is a big watch that's thicker and heavier than most at 15mm thick and 46.5 grams. While this can make it uncomfortable for all-day wearing, it's worth it for some athletes with up to 80 hours of battery life.

This watch is powered by an Exynos W920 SoC from Samsung with 1.5GB of RAM, so it has no trouble running its Wear OS operating system with ease. As you might expect, it's IP68 rated so you can keep it on whether you're taking a plunge in a river or cycling through a dusty landscape. If you're an active user who doesn't like to spend time waiting for your tech to charge, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is a good choice.

Best value fitness

If you're looking for a cheaper smartwatch to try out or want something you don't mind banging around a little bit, the Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition is a good choice with a relatively low price and gorgeous looks. Even so, you get snappy performance with the Snapdragon Wear 4100+ and 1GB of RAM. This all makes the watch a great upgrade from a Fossil Gen 5 as well.

When it comes to workout tracking, it definitely isn't the best you can get. Our Fossil Gen 6 Wellness Edition review recommends this watch for casual runners and gym-goers but not for those looking for indept workout tracking. And while the battery life leaves a lot to be desired, the watch supports fast charging so you won't have to wait too long for it to top up.

Best health tracking

The Fitbit Sense 2 feels more like a fitness tracker that grew up into a smart watch rather than a smartwatch with health features tacked on. It has excellent battery life with up to six days on a charge. We saw up to four days with tracking enabled in our Fitbit Sense 2 review. As expected, this watch connects with the excellent Fitbit app for tracking and come with all of the sensors needed to keep track of your health.

While it didn't launch with it, Google Wallet and Google Assistant have been added to the watch with an update. What people may not love as much is that only one size is available and some functionality is limited out of the box like the ability to download or stream music from the watch.

Best battery life

Our TicWatch Pro 5 review describes this watch as a Pixel Watch with a larger screen, which makes is a great choice for those that tried the Pixel Watch but found its single size offering to be a bit too small. Even so, this watch has so excellent features on its own starting with a powerful Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 CPU 2GB of RAM for excellent performance.

The TicWatch Pro 5 has a 628mAh battery that's around twice the size of the battery in the Pixel Watch 2. With TicWatch's clever Essential Mode keeping the watch useful even when power gets low. With Wear Os and Google Pay, this is an excellent watch if you can put up with its large size and hefty 44.35 gram weight.

Best looks

This attractive watch is available as a 44mm version for men and a 42mm version for women with a stainless steel or black finish for the former, and gunmetal or rose gold for the latter. Inside, there's a Snapdragon Wear 4100+, which has plenty of power for the updated Wear OS 3 which our Fossil Gen 6 review notes as a solution for many of the watch issues upon release.

With up-to-date software, this watch offers solid fitness and health tracking for a reasonable price. Not only that, but its strong band compatibility means you can find a watch band that perfectly fits your needs. While the battery life isn't phenomenal, this watch's fast charging is so you won't need to wait too long if you need a charge before the end of the day.

• Back to the top ^

The best watches that support Google Pay: Time to choose

While all of these Android smartwatches that support Google Pay are excellent picks, there are a few we recommend above the rest. First, you'll need to decide whether you're more concerned about the features or the physical design. The good news is many of these options do an amazing job of combining the two.

If you're interested in Samsung smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 6 is an excellent starting point with some of the best hardware design you'll find, and strong performance. It's available in two sizes and has strong performance with Wear OS and Samsung's own software included.

If you want to stick with Google's designs, the Google Pixel Watch 2 is one of the best smartwatches to get for Android, and it's ready to go with Google services like Google Pay with no tricks required. It has strong performance and its integration with the Fitbit app makes it one of the best smartwatches to get with Google Pay.

What about Google Wallet?

At Google I/O 2022, some new changes were announced to Google Pay, which was originally merged with Android Pay back in 2018. Over the course of 2022, Google Pay has been rebranded as Google Wallet in many countries, with the U.S., Singapore, and India being the only exceptions. In those regions, Wallet and Pay will be available as two separate apps, whereas the rest of the world will see Google Pay rebranded to Wallet.

As for the differences when comparing Google Pay vs Wallet, there really won't be too many major differences. The new Wallet app will offer all of the same features that you already enjoy, with some added benefits such as the ability to store things like your Driver's License or ID, in addition to your various debit, credit, and promotional cards.

Despite the name change, you are still able to keep using it as you have already been using Pay while out and about. Google is just trying to provide a true digital wallet, giving you everything you need on the go, allowing you to finally ditch that Costanza wallet.