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Published August 9, 2026. Updated October 10, 2026.
Budget smartwatches no longer include the Galaxy Watch FE, once sold at $199.99. Samsung’s own site does not list it anymore, and the product page now redirects to the Galaxy Watch8 line. Between the two watches still current, the CMF Watch 3 Pro at $59 costs $4.54 per day of its rated 13-day battery. The Amazfit Balance 2 at $299.99 costs $14.29 per day of its rated 21. Buy the CMF Watch 3 Pro if price and battery are what “budget” means to you. Buy the Balance 2 if you want a longer sensor list and can pay flagship-adjacent money for it.
I have worn fitness watches and cheap smartwatches on boats, whitewater rafts and road trips for years. The cheap ones taught me one rule. Battery life decides whether you keep wearing the thing. A watch that needs charging every night ends up in a drawer by July.
Is the Galaxy Watch FE still sold by Samsung?
No. Samsung announced the Galaxy Watch FE on June 24, 2024, at $199.99 for the Bluetooth model and $249.99 for LTE. It carried the same 3-in-1 BioActive sensor as Samsung’s pricier watches. That meant FDA-cleared ECG readings and bioelectrical impedance body-composition scans, in a single 40mm case.
Reporting from 9to5Google traces the watch disappearing from Samsung’s own store sometime between July and August 2025. A direct product link now redirects to the Galaxy Watch8 page. That holds true today. Samsung’s current watches page lists the Watch Ultra2, Watch9 and Watch8 Classic, with no Galaxy Watch FE anywhere on it. The company has not issued a public statement explaining the decision.
The watch itself is not gone from the world. Amazon still lists a “Renewed” unit, and 9to5Google reported clearance pricing around $99 at Walmart in late 2025. But the maker is no longer the one selling it. Nothing about its long-term software support or repair path is being actively managed the way a current product’s is.
Which claims still hold up?
| Claim | Where it came from | What’s true now |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxy Watch FE offered flagship sensors (ECG, body-composition scanning) at $199.99 | Samsung’s own marketing at launch, June 2024 | No longer purchasable from Samsung. The product page redirects to the Galaxy Watch8 line. |
| Amazfit Balance 2 sits near the top of Amazfit’s non-flagship lineup | Amazfit’s own product positioning at the time | Superseded. Amazfit’s own site now lists the Balance 3 ($369.99) and Balance Ultra above it. |
| CMF Watch 3 Pro is the successor to the Watch Pro 2, priced at $79 | Nothing’s own product listing | Confirmed. Nothing’s own US store now lists it at $59, marked down from a $79 list price shown on the same page. |
| None of the three requires an ongoing subscription | Each maker’s own app listing | None required, one offered. Neither watch needs a subscription to work. Amazfit’s Zepp app does sell optional monthly and yearly plans, including Zepp Aura Premium, per its App Store listing. Nothing’s Nothing X app now runs the Watch 3 Pro, replacing the older CMF Watch app. |
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
What replaces the Galaxy Watch FE, and at what price?
The Galaxy Watch8, and two sources disagree on its price. If FDA-cleared ECG and body-composition scanning are why you wanted the Galaxy Watch FE, Samsung’s current answer is the Galaxy Watch8. Best Buy prices the 40mm Bluetooth model at a $299.99 comparable value, on sale for $271.00 as of this writing. GSMArena’s spec listing gives the price as $329.99. Both figures are printed here rather than picked. Neither is obviously wrong, and this site cannot reach a live Samsung buy page that states one number plainly.
Either figure is $100 to $130 more than the Galaxy Watch FE cost while Samsung still sold it. That is the real price of the sensor package now, not $199.99, whatever the old comparison implied.
Which budget smartwatches cost least per rated battery day?
The CMF Watch 3 Pro, by a wide margin. The two watches still sold new can be priced the same honest way: sticker price divided by the maker’s own rated battery life, in days. This is not a fair fight between equivalent hardware. CMF’s watch is built to sip power, while Amazfit’s runs a fuller sensor suite that costs more energy to feed. The ratio does not pretend otherwise. It answers one question: what a day of charge costs, in dollars, for each design.
| Watch | Price | Maker’s rated battery | Price ÷ days |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMF Watch 3 Pro, normal use | $59 | 13 days (Nothing’s own listing) | $4.54 |
| Amazfit Balance 2 | $299.99 | 21 days (Amazfit’s own listing) | $14.29 |
| Samsung Galaxy Watch FE, reference only; no longer sold new | $199.99 at launch | ≈1.67 days (40 hrs, AOD off; Samsung’s own spec) | $119.99 |
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
The Galaxy Watch FE’s number is included for the record, not as a real answer. A full always-on AMOLED display and app processor is a different product category from a fitness watch built around a low-power chip. The FE is also not a live purchase to weigh. Between the two watches you can actually buy new, CMF’s figure beats Amazfit’s by about 3.1 times ($14.29 ÷ $4.54).
Do budget smartwatches have the sensors you need?
Not the ECG, on either watch still sold. Amazfit Balance 2’s BioTracker sensor covers heart rate, blood oxygen, heart rate variability, sleep and stress. That is a real spread, and none of it requires Zepp’s paid tier to see. It does not have an ECG, and never claimed to on Amazfit’s own product page. CMF Watch 3 Pro goes further in the other direction. It tracks heart rate and SpO2, full stop, with no ECG and no extras beyond that.
Neither gap is a defect. It is the reason each watch costs what it costs. The FDA-cleared ECG that used to be available at $199.99 now starts at whatever Samsung’s Watch8 rings up to. That watch is the only one of these four that clears the bar for someone who specifically wants that sensor.
Which budget smartwatches should you buy or skip?
Is the CMF Watch 3 Pro worth buying?
Yes, if low price and long battery are the whole requirement. It costs $59 on Nothing’s own US store, marked down from $79 on the same page. You get GPS, Bluetooth calling, heart rate and SpO2 tracking, 131 sport modes, and IP68 water resistance (not rated for swimming). Nothing rates the battery at 13 days. That is the best price-per-day figure of any watch in this comparison.
Skip this if you want any form of ECG or plan to swim with it. IP68 covers dust and submersion under controlled conditions, not swim tracking, and Nothing does not market it that way.
Is the Amazfit Balance 2 worth buying?
Yes, if you want more sensors and accept the price gap. It costs $299.99 on Amazfit’s own US store. The BioTracker sensor handles heart rate, SpO2, HRV, sleep and stress. Rated battery is 21 days, and the Zepp app works without its optional paid plans. It is no longer Amazfit’s newest Balance-series watch, since the Balance 3 ($369.99) and Balance Ultra now sit above it. Still, Amazfit sells it new at the same $299.99 it launched at.
Skip this if ECG specifically is what you are after. Amazfit does not put one in this watch, and paying $299.99 to not get it is a worse trade than paying $59 to not get it.
Should you still look for the Galaxy Watch FE?
No. It is named here so you do not go looking for a listing that no longer exists. If ECG and body-composition scanning at Samsung-adjacent pricing is what you want, the live option is the Galaxy Watch8. Its two disagreeing prices, both higher than the FE ever cost, appear above.
Have any of these budget smartwatches been recalled?
No. I checked the CPSC’s jewelry and watches recall listing for Amazfit, Zepp Health, Samsung, Nothing and CMF. None of the three watches named here, and none of their makers, appear on it. The one smartwatch recall listed there is an Altafit-branded watch sold through HSN, over a wireless-charging-pad fire risk. That is a different brand and a different maker, named only because it is the nearest thing in the category. A search of Health Canada’s recall database for the same names returned nothing as well. That is a search of what is published, not a database guarantee.
When is a smartwatch the wrong wearable?
If weeks between charges matter more than a touchscreen, our smartwatch battery-life comparison covers the watches built around that trade-off. If you would rather trade the screen away for a watch that looks like a normal one, see our hybrid smartwatch comparison. And if you are not sure a smartwatch is the right category, our wearable category guide sorts fitness bands, rings, and full smartwatches by what each is built to do. More in Smartwatches.
