12 new watches and wearables offer a high-tech take on time and tracking

Incorporating GPS and offline maps is not such a big deal in 2025, but Suunto’s Vertical adventure watch that also boasts solar charging. Other metrics include an altimeter, barometer and compass, as well as a live forecast that keeps a weather eye for storms and rain. All this is packaged with chunky digital graphics and a battery life that can extend to as long as 60 days.

Withings has updated its ScanWatch Nova, giving the stainless steel analogue watch the power to look deep into your body. The company describes it as having a ‘medical-grade electrocardiogram on your wrist’, capable of giving the highly tuned (and well informed) user insights into their heart health. Other sensors look into blood oxygen as well as the usual motion and sleep tracking, with a new algorithm dicing up the data from the rear sensor system to produce an array of on-demand information.

A more mainstream offering from Samsung, who have now reached number 8 in their ongoing series of Android-powered smartwatches. As progress will have it, the latest is naturally the best. The most significant innovation is the incorporation of Samsung’s Galaxy AI into the watch, essentially turning it into a wearable AI companion, as well as a useful hiking, swimming and cycling accessory.

Just like with the Apple Watch, the 47mm Ultra model sits at the top of the tree. Ruggedised and waterproofed, the Ultra can run for up to 100 hours in power saving mode. There’s also a 40mm and 44mm Galaxy Watch8, as well as the 46mm Galaxy Watch 8Classic.

From a watch for outward bounds to one for inner realms. Timestop’s D-20 is a digital watch with a very particular additional function – it contains a virtual dice system. Designed for aficionados of tabletop Roleplaying Games (TTRPGs) – Timestop cites Dungeons & Dragons, of course, but there’s also Warhammer 40,000, Pathfinder and hundreds more, the watch can roll virtual multi-sided die to determine the path through the game.

Supporting virtual 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20-sided die, the D-20 also contains a specialist Advanced Combat Mode. Looking for all the world like a regular digital watch, the D-20 should run for around three years on a regular battery.

Another piece from the ultra-rugged school of watch design, the Coros Nomad is geared to the wilderness, with onboard GPS, extensive weatherproofing and the ability to record voice pins that can be saved to a specific location on a trail or river. Real-time weather detail is paired with moon phases and even functions to help you track the success of your fishing expeditions.

With a hard-wearing case that’s appropriately made from ocean-sourced plastics, the Nixon Base Tide Pro is a suitably waterproof digital watch with inbuilt tracking of around 550 of the world’s key surfing and diving beaches. A simple graphical interface gives you an immediate visual of whether the tide is in or out.

Sekonda’s Active Plus Smart Watch is a prosaic but entirely understandable choice, fusing high quality materials (black ion-plated alloy case and stainless-steel strap) with an always-on touchscreen display and exceptional affordability. Fitness tracking, app notifications and remote camera and music controls are all baked in, with a battery life of around ten days.

Garmin’s expertise in the world of digital mapping can’t be overstated. The new (and hefty) fēnix® 8 Pro is a smartwatch built like a tank, available in three sizes all the way to a massive 51mm. If you have the wrists for it, the 8 Pro packs in inReach satellite technology, connecting you to a 24/7 response centre for emergencies, as well as calls and messages via LTE, an evolution of 4G.

Mapping and tracking facilities extend to detailed cartography of over 2,000 ski resorts and 43,000 golf courses. The 8 Pro comes with an AMOLED screen, but there’s also a MicroLED option, at £1,729.99, which promises to be the brightest smartwatch ever made.