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How does a smartwatch work?

Roel21 JANUARY 2026
A hand wearing a black smartwatch displaying "10:10" is shown, with a blue shirt sleeve visible on the side.

Smartwatches are being worn more and more often, and more and more brands are bringing their own smart watch onto the market. But what exactly is a smartwatch and how does such a smart watch work?

What can you do with a smartwatch?

Overhead shot shows a person in a pink long-sleeve shirt pointing at a black smartwatch on their wrist, against a gray background.

A smartwatch offers many possibilities. You can very traditionally use it to tell the time, but also receive notifications from your smartphone, such as messages and calls. In addition, a smartwatch helps you track your health. It tracks your daily activities in terms of steps and sports performance. For music lovers, a smartwatch is convenient because you can play and control music on it without having your phone with you – handy while exercising. You can customise the watch to your liking by installing different apps, which makes it very versatile. Naturally, there are different smartwatches with different functions. Discover which smartwatch suits you best or get inspired by our top 10 smartwatches.

Discover which smartwatch suits you best

Connecting your smartwatch to your phone

A person holds a phone with a workout app, displaying running stats next to a smart watch on their wrist.

To connect your smart watch to your phone, download the app from the smartwatch brand onto your phone. For Apple Watches this is, for example, the Watch app, for Samsung smartwatches you download Galaxy Wearable and go to the Garmin Connect app if you have a Garmin smartwatch. The connection with your phone works almost the same in each app. You switch on Bluetooth and synchronise your smart watch with your phone. Once your devices are connected, you can receive messages, read news updates and view your calendar via your smartwatch.

The best smartwatches

Using a smartwatch without a phone

A person in a white shirt touches a black smartwatch on their left wrist, set against a blue and pink background.

Many smartwatches are inextricably linked to a smartphone, but did you know that more and more smartwatches can also be used independently? Smartwatches with a so-called built-in eSIM don’t necessarily have to be paired with a phone. If you buy a smartwatch with 4G, LTE or Cellular in the name, you know that the device has a built-in eSIM. With these smart watches you can make calls, receive messages and use the internet without needing your phone.

Installing apps on your smartwatch

A person uses a black smartwatch, showing icons for messages, likes, and notifications on screen.

Every smartwatch brand has an app store where you can download apps. This works more or less in the same way as on your smartphone. The convenient thing about apps on your smartwatch is that you don’t need to take your phone out of your pocket to use WhatsApp, check the weather forecast, check your public transport journey or order an Uber. If you have a smartwatch with Wi-Fi or 4G connection, you can download apps directly to your watch. You can also choose to download the apps via the associated smartwatch app on your phone.

The best Apple Watch apps

Listen to your favourite hits on a smartwatch with Bluetooth

To listen to music on your smartwatch, you must first check whether there’s already a streaming app pre-installed on the watch, or whether you have to install a service (Spotify, for example) yourself. Some smartwatches don’t have music streaming, so check this carefully in advance. To listen to the music, you can connect wireless earphones to your smartwatch via Bluetooth. If your smartwatch has speakers, you can also play music without earphones.

Track your daily activities and performance with your smartwatch

Person uses a black smartwatch while seated. A drink sits on a small, light-wood table, with a gray shoe visible nearby.

Almost all smartwatches are connected to a GPS tracker, which means they can track your daily activities and measure your sports performance. If you have an activity tracker, your smartwatch measures, among other things, how many steps you take, how many calories you burn and what your sleep pattern is. With a sports watch you can monitor your sports activities even better. These smartwatches have various sports modes to measure, for example, your cycling, running, swimming or rowing performance. Some smartwatches have built-in GPS; others work via the GPS of your smartphone.

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