ARE YOU AHEAD OF YOUR TIME?

GET UP TO THE MINUTE WITH THESE CUTTING EDGE SMART WATCHES

IN THE short time since Apple released its first smartwatch, the market for wearable wrist tech has skyrocketed.

Of course, there were smartwatches before then, but as often happens when Apple gets into the game, everybody else had to up theirs.

Now the market is full of excellent examples of useful smartwatches, with the focus very heavily on fitness tracking for most of them.

It remains something of a miracle to me that many of us are now walking around with tiny computers strapped to our wrists with the kind of power that a few decades ago would have been unthinkable in a home computer, let alone a device of such small dimensions.

Here are five of the best smartwatches available today…

SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ACTIVE2

THE Active2 is, as the name suggests, Samsung’s second effort at a dedicated health-tracking smartwatch. It features a circular screen, and packs in all the features you need to stay on top of your fitness.

It tracks your heart rate throughout the day, and will give you a nudge to do some guided breathing exercises if it thinks you are getting a bit too stressed out.

It will also track your workouts, with the built-in “running coach” offering real-time advice. When it comes to communication, it’s got you covered there – there’s wifi in the entry-level model, but you can pay more for mobile connectivity, so you can use it on the go without your phone.

It runs a variant of Tizen OS but can sync with both Android phones and iPhone.

The sleek and simple case comes in two finishes (stainless steel and aluminium), and three colours (black, silver and gold). Samsung also offers a wide variety of straps so you can mix and match to get your unique look.