Best Smartwatch for Diabetics 2022

In recent years, smartwatches have continued to become increasingly popular, and they offer a variety of features that can be useful for monitoring health.

For example, many smartwatches now include sensors that can track heart rate and activity levels. This information can be useful for tracking fitness goals or spotting potential health problems.

In addition, many smartwatches also include features that allow users to monitor their sleep patterns, which can be valuable for identifying sleep disorders or simply for understanding how different factors affect sleep quality. 

Overall, smartwatches offer a convenient way to track a range of health data. As technology continues to evolve, smartwatches will likely become even more sophisticated tools for monitoring health.

Other advancements are also being made in health technology. For example, the FDA has recently approved new continuous glucose monitoring systems. 

Until now, a finger prick has always been a necessary and painful step for people with diabetes to monitor glucose levels.

But now, new Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) systems like FreeStyle Libre 3 and the Dexcom 7 offer real-time glucose readings without the finger prick.

These systems consist of a small sensor inserted just under the skin, a transmitter that attaches to the sensor, and a reader that displays the glucose readings.

The sensor measures glucose levels in interstitial fluid and sends the readings to the transmitter. The transmitter sends data to the app, which displays real-time glucose readings, trends, and other information.

The reader displays the current and historical glucose readings and can be worn on the body or carried in a pocket. 

The system can be used by people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, who can now use an app on a smartphone or a smartwatch to set alarms and notifications to alert them if glucose levels become too high or low. 

The recent advancements coupling glucose monitoring with cell phone technology have led us to wonder:

What are the best smartwatches for people with diabetes?

With that question in mind, we set out to do some research to discover the answer. Here in this article, you’ll find the results of our query as we review the top 3 best smartwatches for people with diabetes. 

Here are the top contenders for the best smartwatch for people with diabetes award:  

• The Galaxy Watch
• The Apple Watch
• The FitBit

Advancements in SmartWatch Health and Fitness Monitoring Technology

Recent rumors have suggested that both the Galaxy Watch and Apple Watch Series would soon feature glucose sensors to take on-demand blood sugar levels, but unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. 

Galaxy Watch 4 did get an update to include body composition tracking, but the Apple Watch Series 7 is lacking in any groundbreaking technology.

However, the San Diego-based CGM pioneer Dexcom has introduced a smartwatch integration officially compatible with Apple Watch.

Now, smartwatches by Apple, Fitbit, and Samsung can allow people with diabetes to view continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data from Dexcom G6. 

To be clear, NO smartwatches can track glucose levels on their own. These watches depend on the Dexcom G6 smartphone app to show the data. But it is a step in the right direction. 

Even without full independent glucose monitoring abilities, the benefits of smartwatches and their associated health apps are still definitely worth considering if you are interested in monitoring and improving your health.

Awareness can go a long way toward change. Many of the features offered by the top smartwatches can make managing diabetes care more straightforward and timely. 

While there is some variance among them, many smartwatches come with a fall detection app and an emergency call app, and users can generally monitor all of the following: 

• Blood Oxygen Levels
• Heart Rate
• Nutrition 
• Exercise 
• Sleep 

Let’s look at the differences between the three top contenders and see how they stack up against each other. 

The Apple Watch

Apple Watch 6 does NOT measure blood sugar levels directly.

Here are some features that can help individuals with diabetes manage their health:

• Connects with Dexcom and other third-party CGMs. 
• Share health data with medical professionals or family members
• Infrared LED sensors for precise health and fitness monitoring
• FDA Approved ECG app
• Mindfulness app to reduce stress
• Step and fitness tracking
• Blood oxygen monitoring 
• Respiration monitoring
• Resting and Active Heart Rate, HRV

The downsides of the Apple Watch are the short battery life (I charge mine while I shower) and the lack of a blood pressure monitoring sensor. 

Here are some apps for diabetes management that you can add to your Apple Watch:

• One drop
• ECG app
• Sugar Sense
• Diabetes Tracker
• Grab Manager

The Galaxy Watch

The Galaxy Watch does NOT measure blood sugar levels directly.

Here are some features that can help individuals with diabetes manage their health:

• Connects with Dexcom and other third-party CGMs. 
• Advanced sensors for accurate monitoring
• ECG and SpO2 monitoring
• Bright and crisp AMOLED display
• Solid fitness tracking abilities
• Decent battery life
• Voice assistant (Bixby) and contactless payment (Samsung Pay)
• ECG capability

The downside with the Galaxy Watch is that the fitness trackers are not as robust as the FitBit or the Apple Watch. 

The FitBit

Fitbit does NOT measure blood sugar levels directly.

Here are some features that can help individuals with diabetes manage their health: 

• Connects with Dexcom and other third-party CGMs. 
• Watch faces with blood glucose display.
• Step and fitness activity tracking
• Calorie intake tracking
• Stress Management
• Sleep tracker
• ECG App
• Long battery life – up to six days

One downside with Fitbit is that the sleep tracking is limited to premium users who pay an extra fee for the app. 

The Final Word

Of the three smartwatches, the Apple Watch 6 earns the title of best smartwatch for people with diabetes.

With the overall availability and accuracy of possible data points collected and the compatibility of the watch with many apps that users can download for free, along with the other standard features available, the Apple watch is the clear winner.

The Fitbit came in a close second, mainly due to the need to pay for a premium app to monitor sleep tracking.