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Apple Watch 3 has built-in cellular
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Gear Of The Year 2017 – The best wearables released last year

Smartwatches and wearables are fast becoming must-have consumer accessories.

Beyond the function of telling time (naturally) the best examples of this tech kit can send notifications straight to your wrist and run apps from your smartphone.

You can browse the internet using voice commands, track your fitness regime, plan a route to work using a GPS and even let you pay for goods without having to crack open your wallet.

Oh, a lot of them look absolutely gorgeous. But which brand offers the best value for money?

Well, once again, our readers have reduced this category largely to a two-horse race between Samsung and Apple. The Apple Watch 3 snapped first place. This range is probably the best-known set of devices in this category, but they’re rather expensive, which is possibly why Samsung is nearly as popular with our readers.

That having been said, with the Apple Watch 3 you get a fantastic device in the latest iteration that includes LTE connectivity, GPS fitness tracking, notifications and all the other bells and whistles one would expect from an Apple flagship device. It’s also waterproof so you don’t have to worry about getting caught in the rain if you’re out on a jog.

GOTY = Apple Watch 3

If the LTE version strikes you as too expensive for your taste, the non-LTE Apple Watch 3 sacrifices connectivity but boasts a longer battery life and faster speed for users flicking through their apps.

Samsung landed in second place with 29.3% of the votes for its Samsung Gear S3 Frontier. Stylish, sturdy and boasting a crisp resolution, the Gear E3 Frontier looks every part a high-end timepiece.

GOTY Samsung

With WiFi, LTE, GPS, a heart-rate monitor and voice control, this watch makes a convincing argument to leave your smartphone at home (or in your pocket). Its app ecosystem isn’t quite up to scratch with its nearest and dearest competitor, but this is probably the best smartwatch out there for Android users.

The Fitbit Ionic bumped up third in our reader’s poll with 14.4% of the vote. It doesn’t boast all the bells and whistles of the watches mentioned above – wrist payments could be better and apps can sometimes feel buggy – but one doesn’t buy a Fitbit for its glamour.

Fitness sits at the core of this device and its always- on heartrate monitor, GPS, comfy fit and waterproofing make it one of today’s go-to fitness devices.

Editor’s Pick

This year, I got back into gym and, perhaps to make sure that this time I stuck at it, I bought a Fitbit wearable – the Blaze. While making the jump from fitness wearables to smartwatches has been a bit of a jump, Fitbit has managed to blend fitness tracking functionality with stylish flare and while it may not yet be in the league of the giants in the latter category, it’s getting there.

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