It’s a great time to score some major deals on top-rated smartwatches at Amazon. The retailer has launched its October Amazon Prime Day sale, and there are tons of deals to shop right now on smartwatches from Apple, Samsung, Garmin and more customer-loved brands.

Smartwatch wearers can receive and respond to texts, calls, emails, social media updates and more right from their wrist. Some smartwatches even include emergency features such as fall detection and the ability to send SOS alerts. Read on to learn more about these on-sale wearables and their cool and innovative features. These features include heart monitoring, fitness tracking, GPS, and so much more.

The best smartwatch deals on Amazon

Ready for a new smartwatch? Shop these amazing Amazon smartwatch deals now.

Apple Watch Series 8: $340 and up (15% off)

The Apple Watch Series 8 is a durable smartwatch that is swim-proof, dust-proof and crack-resistant. For regular smartwatch users, it packs just about every feature you could ask for into a compact, comfortable-to-wear package.   

The Apple Watch 8 has a number of health-tracking features, including an optical heart sensor, electrical heart sensor for ECG, blood oxygen sensor and a new body temperature sensor. It also comes with a new crash detection feature, which detects where the wearer is in a severe car crash and alerts emergency services.  

You can also tap into yoga, meditation and other workout programs via Apple Fitness+. (Apple Fitness+ is a subscription service. It costs $9.99 a month; Apple Watch buyers get the first month free.)   

The Apple Watch Series 8 is the obvious choice for anyone who doesn’t need any of the Apple Watch Ultra’s ridiculously long feature list. It’s just right, and a great upgrade from the previous line’s offerings. It’s also more affordable and frequently goes on sale. 

Right now, Amazon has marked down the 41mm GPS-only Apple Watch 8 from the list price of $399. 

Why we like the Apple Watch 8:

It comes with a built-in blood oxygen sensor and application.

Apple Watch Ultra: $779 (save $20)

The Apple Watch Ultra is designed to be a more rugged and durable option for athletes and adventurers. It provides up to 36 hours of life on a single charge with standard use, or 60 hours of battery life with the soon-to-be-released battery optimization setting. For the average user, this is huge. 

It’s made with a stronger titanium alloy material for improved impact resistance. It also offers a larger (49mm), brighter display and a second speaker for better sound and display visibility during outdoor use. Apple says it’s also optimized for diving and water sports. 

The Apple Watch Ultra provides enhanced GPS functionality to trace your steps and improve navigation for outdoor expeditions. There is also an action button that can be used to more accurately track your workouts by marking segments of your workout. 

The smartwatch lists for $799 on Apple’s website, but it is $779 on Amazon.

Why we like the Apple Watch Ultra:

 Google Pixel Watch: $210 (40% off)

The Google Pixel Watch features a round face with customizable watch faces and tons of band options. It offers an all-day battery life, with up to 24 hours on a single charge. The wearable includes access to the Google Home App, so you can adjust your thermostat or connect to your smart home devices remotely. Users can play music, track fitness activity and receive notifications from their connected phone.  

The Google Pixel Watch is the first Android smartwatch to include integrated Fitbit features. The watch’s health features include heart-rate monitoring, workout tracking, sleep tracking and more. The watch includes fall detection. If a fall is detected, the watch uses sensors and machine learning to assess the impact. If no movement is detected after around 30 seconds, it alerts you with vibration, sound, and an on-screen message. Failing to respond with ‘I’m ok’ or ‘I need help’ prompts the watch to call emergency services, playing a message requesting assistance at your location. 

The watch comes with a free six-month subscription to Fitbit premium and three months of YouTube Premium. The Watch comes in black, silver and gold. 

It has a list price of $350, but you can get the popular smartwatch on sale now.

Why we like the Google Pixel Watch:

• Includes Fitbit health tracking features integrated into the smartwatch.
• It can be used to assess your heart rhythm for A-Fib with an ECG function.
• The Google Pixel Watch can detect falls and won’t just notify you, but will sound an alarm alerting others around you.
• It can call emergency services.

Garmin Vivoactive 4S: $170 (48% off)

The Garmin Vivoactive 4S uses Garmin’s Pulse Ox technology to track your energy levels, respiration, menstrual cycle, stress, sleep, heart rate, hydration levels and more. It can stream downloaded music from Spotify and Amazon Music. When paired with your smartphone, the watch can receive notifications. 

This is a great option for people who want to track just the basics. The smartwatch offers a wrist-based heart rate monitor and is also compatible with chest heart rate monitors (sold separately). You can view heart rate data on the heart rate widget. 

This Garmin smartwatch features more than 20 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps. Want a personal trainer on your wrist? This watch can show you animated workouts via your watch screen. 

“It’s the fitness [features] where Garmin really shines, and it tracks damn near every bodily function you have. Steps is just the beginning. Lots of pre-programmed workouts along with heart rate and Pulse Ox monitoring. Garmin just buries the competition in the fitness arena,” a verified buyer on Amazon says.

Available in a variety of colors.  

Why we like the Garmin Vivoactive 4S:

• It includes a built-in Pulse Ox oxygen monitor, plus heart monitoring and stress-tracking features.
• It offers a wide variety of fitness features that many smartwatches don’t have. 
• It includes an up to a seven-day battery life.

Garmin Fēnix 7X Series: $789 (save 12%)

The latest iteration of Garmin’s Fēnix line of smartwatches, the Garmin Fēnix 7X Series, released in January 2023. It features a touchscreen, a hands-free, multi-LED flashlight and offers what Garmin says is upgraded “daily smartwatch interaction and map navigation.”  

But there’s more to it on the fitness side that’ll undoubtedly win over anyone looking for a new gym companion. It comes with multiple Garmin-esque perks, including built-in workouts, performance metrics, health and wellness sensors, ski-course maps, golf-course maps and mountain-biking-trek tracking. 

The Garmin Fēnix 7 Series comes in a solar-powered model – a model that deliver up to five weeks‘ worth of battery life in smartwatch mode (and up to five days in GPS mode). That’s perfect for anyone who doesn’t want to keep tossing it on the charger and waiting for it to juice back up before their next workout. 

Beyond that, it’s an attractive, more traditional watch in terms of looks when compared to many of its competitors on the market. It resembles more of a regular watch, though it still comes packing plenty of features to woo over even the most skeptical Garmin fans.  

Why we like the Garmin Fēnix 7 Series:

When is Amazon Big Deal Days?

The Amazon Big Deal Days sales event (also known as October Prime Day) kicked off at midnight PT (3:00 a.m. ET) on Tuesday, Oct. 10 and runs through Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.

What else is on sale during Amazon Big Deal Days?

During the Amazon Big Deal Days sales event, you’ll also find big discounts across all of Amazon’s departments, including home, tech, kitchen, fitness and so much more. This is the perfect time to kick off (and potentially even finish) your holiday shopping, without having to deal with Black Friday crowds and having the gifts you want to purchase being sold out. You’ll find deals on luggage for your holiday travels, too.

Do you need to be a Prime Member to shop Prime Big Deal Days deals?

While some of the best Amazon Prime Big Deal Days offers are Prime-exclusive or invite-only, there are tons of deals that open to all shoppers. So even if you don’t have an Amazon Prime membership, there are will be deals for you.

If you want to shop the best deals, though, you’ll want to sign up for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime. Prime memberships costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year, and include access to Amazon Prime Video (Thursday Night Football) and a number of other great perks.

What other stores are holding competing early Black Friday sales?

Savvy shoppers know that any of the Amazon Prime Day events offer the perfect time to find tens of thousands of popular products on sale from Amazon, including some at their lowest price of the year. However, many other popular online and retail merchants, such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy and even your favorite department stores, such as Macy’s, all tend to kick off sales either at the same time or around the same dates as Amazon Big Deal Days.

Do products on sale during Amazon Big Deal Days sell out?

You bet they do — and sometimes things sell out within hours. Once a product is sold out at the sale price, Amazon won’t always restock right away and when it does restock, the sale price likely won’t be offered.

Can products bought from Amazon during Amazon Big Deal Days be returned?

Unless it specifically states in the product description or near the “add to cart” and “buy now” buttons that the product being offered on sale is a final sale or not returnable, Amazon’s regular return policy for that product will be honored. 

On the right side of a product description on Amazon, just below the “buy now” button (and where it says “ships from and sold by”), look for the heading that says “returns.” 

If the text says, “eligible for return, refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt,” that’s the return policy that will be honored. However, you may be responsible for paying return shipping to Amazon, unless you drop off the product as a Whole Foods or Kohl’s, which accepts some Amazon returns.

Best October Prime Day tech deals to shop now

The Prime Big Deal Days sale is one of your best opportunities this holiday season to save big on the hottest tech of 2023. Here are the best deals to shop now, while they’re available.

Carolin Lehmann

Carolin Lehmann is an expert in health, fitness, furniture, apparel, gift guides and books for CBS Essentials. She’s always testing new products to recommend. Some of her current favorites include Stanley cups, Alo Yoga workout sets and the Cuzen matcha maker.