Smartwatches are some of the most helpful smartphone accessories (or extensions) you can get right now but for people like me who have relatively small wrists, getting the right smartwatch to fit my wrists wasn’t as easy as I thought it would.
We all know that getting the proper smartwatch to fit a small wrist is not an easy task as super bulky smartwatches have been super trendy for the last couple of years. Wearing a loose smartwatch with a super thick case can be a nightmare for many.
After spending hours trying out some of the top smartwatches in the market right now, I finally came across a few smartwatches that can fit anyone with small wrists just well.
In this article, I will be sharing a list of smartwatches that worked extremely well for me as a smartwatch enthusiast with a small wrist and if you’re currently searching for the best smartwatches for small wrists, these watches will fit just well.
How To Choose The Perfect Smartwatch For Your Wrist
Before moving on to discuss the specifics of the smartwatches I have here, let’s take a look at factors to consider when choosing a smartwatch if you’re someone with small wrists.
Below are some of the factors I suggest you look out for when buying.
1) Case Diameter
The case diameter of any watch regardless of whether it is a smartwatch or not is a very important factor to consider when getting a watch if you have a small wrist.
Generally, the average case diameter for men falls between 37 – 39 Millimeters while the case diameter for women is between 26 – 29 Millimeters. A simple method to figure out which case diameter would fit you best is by wrapping your wrist with a dollar bill to get your wrist circumference.
A Dollar bill is usually about 6.125 inches in length when measured so if the bill wraps around your wrist completely, then your wrist circumference should be between 6-7 inches which is in the small-medium category.
The best case diameter for Small to medium wrists ranges from 37mm – 40mm but can be slightly over. A simple rule of thumb for smaller wrists is to stick to a watch whose case has a diameter of 40mm or smaller.
If your wrist size ranges from 7.5 – 8 inches, you would want to go for smartwatches with a case diameter of 40 mm or more when measured.
Measuring the size of your wrist with a dollar bill is a traditional method and might not be completely accurate. A more accurate method of measuring the size of your wrist (or wrist circumference) is by using tools like measuring tapes, wool, and cardboard sheets. The video below explains just how to do that easily.
2) Case Thickness
Case thickness is also an important factor to consider when choosing a smartwatch for a small wrist.
Generally, the case thickness of any smartwatch often correlates with its case diameter which simply means that case thickness increases when the case diameter increases and decreases when the case diameter decreases.
During my research, I found out that smartwatches with case thickness below 12mm are generally good for people with smaller wrists and although there aren’t many smartwatches with case thickness in this range, it is just best to stick with smartwatches with case thickness below 12mm if you have a small wrist.
3) Size Of Watch Components
The sizes of watch components like the second hand & hour hands (for hybrid smartwatches), fonts, icons, and others on any smartwatch is often an indication of how big the smartwatch is. If you have small wrists, it’s best to stick with smartwatches whose internal components are smaller.
5) Watch Band Width
Good and well-proportioned smartwatches generally have bands with widths around half the size of the diameter of its case. Watches with bigger bands and smaller cases often look strange while watches with smaller bands and bigger cases look off-balance.
If you have smaller wrists, then it’s best to stick with watches whose bands are smaller while if your wrist size is larger, then you will have to stick with smartwatches whose bands are larger.
The band width is just as important as the case diameter and thickness when selecting the smartwatch that will fit your wrist so make sure you don’t overlook this.
6) Other Features
Other features you should look out for when going for any smartwatch include battery life, phone compatibility, weight, cost, storage amongst many others. I’ve covered this in detail on a comprehensive smartwatch buyer’s guide which is published on this website so make sure to check it out.
Top 5 Best Smartwatches For Small Wrists in 2022
In this section of the article like I mentioned above, I will be sharing my top picks on the best smartwatches for people with small wrists. Each review will contain the specification of each smartwatch alongside its pros and cons and I believe that this will help you make a good decision which in turn solves your problem.
1) Apple Watch Series 3 (38mm) – Best Overall
- Price – $$$
- Case Diameter – 33.3mm
- Case Thickness – 11.4mm
- Display – (34mm+) Minimum OLED 272 x 340 pixels
- Case Size – 38mm
- Connectivity – Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz), Bluetooth 4.2
Apple is no doubt a leading company when it comes to smartwatches and gadgets in general. Even as they currently have newer models of their Apple Watch series namely the Apple watch series 6 & 7, I still prefer using the Apple watch series 3 because it fits my wrists perfectly, hence recommending it here.
The Apple Watch Series 3 comes in 2 models, the 38mm and 44mm models. If you are looking for a nice smartwatch that fits absolutely well for people with small wrists, then I recommend going for the 38mm model of this smartwatch as it meets all the criteria I mentioned in my buyer’s guide above.
Apart from its sleekness and small size, this smartwatch also comes with a whole lot of other exciting features which include an optical heart sensor that can calculate your heart rate, a digital crown (as Apple calls it) for controlling your smartwatch, touchscreen feature, fall detection amongst many others features.
The only problem with the Apple series 3 smartwatch and other Apple smartwatches in general, is that it doesn’t work out of the box with Android smartphones. Although there are some tricks to this which I will be discussing sometime later on this website, I wouldn’t personally recommend this smartwatch to an Android user whereas if you’re on an iPhone, it’s a great choice that provides you great value for your money and works remarkably well for people with small wrists.
If you’re more concerned with getting the latest Apple smartwatches, then I recommend you check out the Apple Watch Series 4 (40mm) & the Apple Watch Series 5 (40mm) on Amazon.
2) Samsung Galaxy Watch Active – Best For Android
- Price – $$$
- Display – AMOLED display 360 x 360 pixels (28.1mm)
- Case Size – 40mm, 42mm & 44mm
- Weight – 25 g (0.88 ounces)
- Connectivity – Bluetooth, GPS, Wifi
In my opinion, the Samsung Galaxy Active is the best alternatives to the Apple Watch Series 3 (and other Apple Watch models) and it is also a good fit for people with smaller wrists.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active works with any bluetooth-enabled smartphone (including iPhones) and comes with a whole lot of other exciting features out of the box. The case diameter of this smartwatch is a little bit above the 40mm diameter size which I recommended earlier but I included it because it is a small watch despite the size and contains all you will be needing in a smartwatch.
It comes with full call and texting capabilities, GPS, gorilla glass, AMOLED display amongst other features. The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active also features an amazing battery that can last up to 45 hours and a seamless Bluetooth technology that works out of the box with most bluetooth-enabled smartphones and audio devices. You can check a list of devices compatible with the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active on Samsung’s Official Website.
Although the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active like other smartwatches has some major drawbacks in battery life (especially when GPS is enabled) it is still a good smartwatch and for the price, you really haven’t got much to complain about.
Sidenote: I recommend getting the 42mm model if you eventually decide to get this smartwatch from Samsung. It’s lighter and a better fit for small wrists when compared to the 46mm model.
3) AmazFit Bip – Best Budget
- Price – $$
- Display – 176 x 176 pixels
- Case Size – 34.1 x 39.4 mm (1.34 x 1.55 in)
- Weight – 0.2 Kg
- Connectivity – Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS
The AmazFit Bip is an awesome smartwatch from a popular smartwatch manufacturer, Amazfit. The Bip smartwatch is a nice lightweight smartwatch that provides you with all you will be needing in a smartwatch plus additional features at a very low price when compared to other smartwatches on this list.
This smartwatch connects to most Android and iOS devices seamlessly and helps in tracking your heart rate with an inbuilt optical sensor and a GPS feature that tracks your daily step count, sleep rate, distance traveled alongside others when enabled.
It also has an amazing battery life and according to AmazFit, the smartwatch could last up to 30 days on a single 2-3 hour charge (of course without enabling the GPS).
Overall, the AmazFit Bip smartwatch is a great fit for people with small wrists and an amazing smartwatch overall. The only major setback that I encountered, however, is that the watch doesn’t allow you to install other Android wearOS apps and it has no speakers or microphone for making calls, but for the price point of this device, I don’t think this should be more of an issue because the overall build quality is very nice.
4) Garmin Forerunner 45S – Best Battery Life
- Price – $$$
- Case Diameter – 26.3 mm
- Display – 208 x 208 pixels
- Case Size – 39.5 mm (11.4mm Thickness)
- Connectivity – WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth
The Garmin Forerunner 45S smartwatch is a small size GPS running smartwatch and also fits well for people with small wrists. It also comes with some high-quality inbuilt sports apps and an accurate optical sensor for measuring your heart rate when going about your daily activities.
This smartwatch gives you real-time call, SMS & email notifications + notifications from social media apps like Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram when paired with your Android or iOS device. The Garmin Forerunner 45S like most Garmin smartwatches was designed for runners and generally, people interested in sports & fitness.
It comes with a very strong battery which can last up to 7 days on normal use and 13 hours+ when GPS is enabled. Overall, this smartwatch works well and is a good option for people like me who have small wrists as it is very lightweight and meets all the criteria I outlined earlier in the article.
5) Fossil Sports – Best For Activity Tracking
- Price – $$$
- Case Diameter – 43mm
- Case Thickness – 12mm
- Band Width – 20mm
- Weight – 39.7g
- Connectivity – Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS
The Fossil Sport smartwatch is a premium-looking ultra-lightweight smartwatch from Fossil that allows you to do just about anything directly on your wrist. This powerful device comes with a ton of features from heart rate tracking to activity tracking (using Google Fit) and a whole lot of other exciting features.
It is powered by Android wearOS and works seamlessly with most Android and iOS devices via Bluetooth. The slim and lightweight appearance of this smartwatch also makes it a great fit for people with small wrists and when I used this smartwatch for my day-to-day activities, it worked quite well and fits my wrist without looking weird.
The Fossil Sports Smartwatch also allows you to view all your phone notifications and app alerts when connected to your smartphone. It ships with a built-in GPS tracking feature for distance tracking, Google assistant (with Google Pay for payments), long-lasting battery life, and more.
Bonus: Fitbit Inspire HR – Best Fitness Tracker For Small Wrists
The Fitbit Inspire HR is not actually a smartwatch but I think including it here will be of great help to those who are looking for the best fitness tracker for small wrists.
Like other fitness trackers in the market, the Fitbit Inspire HR can track your day-long activities like steps & distance covered, hourly activity, active minutes, and calories burned easily with a strong long-lasting battery to back it up.
It comes in three colors, white, lilac and black so you can choose your preferred color when purchasing if you’re color-minded like me. The Fitbit Inspire HR also ships with Bluetooth 4.0 out of the box and although it doesn’t have an inbuilt GPS feature, it uses the GPS of your smartphone (when connected) to track steps, distance, and other activities which require GPS to work.
The most impressive thing about the Fitbit Inspire HR is that it is has a very small case diameter which makes it an ideal fitness tracker for people with small wrists. It is also extremely lightweight and comes with a small band.
The Fitbit Inspire HR fitness tracker works out of the box with a plethora of devices as long as you can run the FitBit app on them.
FAQs
Are Smartwatches Worth Buying?
Yes. In my opinion, smartwatches are worth buying and could make your life better if you have them on your wrist daily, but this doesn’t also mean that they don’t come with some flaws although minimal.
Smartwatches are a great companion and they don’t just tell time but come with other exciting features like measuring heartbeat rate, viewing your notifications and alerts, fitness tracking, sleep tracking, and a ton of others.
You can check out my article on the advantages and disadvantages of smartwatches if you want to read more on whether these devices are worth it out not.
What’s The Best Smartwatch For A Man With Small Wrists?
Any of the smartwatches listed in the article can fit both men and women but personally, I would recommend the Apple Watch Series 3 or the Samsung Galaxy Active Watch for men with small wrists as they look very stylish and fit well with most men clothing.
What Is The Cheapest Smartwatch For People With Small Wrists?
My pick for the cheapest smartwatch for people with small wrists would be the AmazFit Bip. As at the time of compiling this article, the smartwatch costs just below $90 on Amazon.
If you need an extreme-budget smartwatch, make sure to check out our article on the best smartwatches below $50.
Final Words
For now, most smartwatch brands mainly produce smartwatches targeted at people with “normal” or bigger wrists but luckily for people with smaller wrists, some leading smartwatch manufacturers like Apple and Samsung have some options that fit well with smallish wrists.
Generally, getting a smartwatch for small wrists is kinda hard so I hope with the list of smartwatches above, you were able to make a good buying decision and enjoy the benefits of smartwatches despite having a wrist size smaller than normal.