THE BEST HYBRID SMARTWATCH IS

BEST PERFORMANCE: FOSSIL Q NATE

This shootout was a di cult one to call, as each of these hybrid smartwatches is a tale of tradeo s. They bring more of the traditional watch, while sacricing the smarts that a full-on digital smartwatch can provide.

Let’s start with the easy one; the Garmin Vivomove is the most a ord hybrid, but also the one with the least features. If you just want a nice-looking watch that also tracks your steps, you can consider it, but for just a bit more you can move up to the Mist Phase.

The Phase gives you the most notications, even though it doesn’t have a wide range to choose from, and vibrations are weak. It also looks chunky. Neither the Vivomove nor the Phase can show you the date.

I really wanted to like the Withings Steel HR. While I can forgive its erratic heart rate monitor, its notications game is weak; it only supports notications for calls, text and calendar events.

Otherwise, the digital display is a perfect way to meld the best of mechanical and digital into one — a true hybrid. Plus, it actually tells you the date! If the Steel HR ever gets updated to support app notications, it’s the one I’d recommend.

Now we come to the Fossil Q Nate. I didn’t think Fossil would gure hybrids out, but they have. The Q Nate looks like a proper watch, and it’s a notications beast. You only get six notication slots, but it supports up to 54 apps at the time of this writing, and you can even set the strength of the vibrations.

True, the Q Nate is a more basic activity tracker than the rest of the other hybrids. And it’s big, which might not t your style. It doesn’t tell you the date (well), and it doesn’t tell you which notications are coming in. But it doesn’t let you miss one, and that’s the real strength of a hybrid smartwatch for me — something that lets me keep my phone in my pocket or bag, without having to worry about staying in touch.