Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic review

In case you have an iPhone and need a smartwatch, then the Apple Watch is a straightforward selection. It’s not so easy when you have an Android cellphone.

Although the primary Google Pixel Watch is an efficient wearable total, it has poor battery life and forces you to purchase into the Fitbit ecosystem for health monitoring.

I’ve used each an Apple Watch Sequence 8 and Pixel Watch extensively during the last 12 months and loved each, so I’ve been pleasantly stunned to search out that after per week with it, the Galaxy Watch 6 Basic is likely to be my favorite of the three.

It’s the perfect Android smartwatch by a distance, beating Google at its personal recreation. With good design, prime {hardware} together with a intelligent rotating bezel and real two-day battery (with one caveat), it’s going to be onerous for the upcoming Pixel Watch 2 to beat.

Design & construct

• Wonderful rotating bezel
• Casing thick on smaller wrists
• High quality strap

Many earlier Samsung smartwatches have had a bodily rotating bezel, however the firm ditched it in 2022. Fortunately it’s again on the Watch 6 Basic.

It’s a terrific characteristic that I’m stunned extra firms haven’t copied. It helps that Samsung’s model of WearOS is predicated round scrolling left to proper, that means you flip the bezel to scroll by tiles of helpful info, or to scroll up or down in menus or screens of textual content.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

I reviewed the bigger 47mm model of the Watch 6 Basic, however you will get a 43mm mannequin that has a smaller display and battery. I fairly like the massive feel and appear of the chrome steel casing on my wrist, however you would possibly need to strive one on earlier than shopping for as each sizes dwarf smaller arms. If that’s the case, you is likely to be higher off with the common Galaxy Watch 6.

The strap that Samsung contains within the field is a pleasant fake leather-based on the surface however rubberised on the within so you possibly can nonetheless sweat in it when exercising and simply clear it after. One quibble is the straps jut out fairly far due to the angle of the lugs, which paired with the peak of the watch itself means on smaller wrists there are huge gaps the place the strap doesn’t wrap tight to your arm.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Show & audio

• 1.3in or 1.5in display
• Very vivid show
• Speaker for on-wrist calls

The 1.5in AMOLED show on the 47mm mannequin I examined is great. It has a peak brightness of two,000 nits, and is completely legible in direct daylight, a uncommon feat for any OLED display. It goes proper to the perimeters of the bezel, with no black house across the outdoors such as you’ll discover on the also-circular Pixel Watch.

Colors look vivid and sharp, and the software program is predicated on a principally black background, which seems good and makes use of much less battery than if it have been all the time white.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

You’ll be able to navigate round it utilizing the bezel or your finger because it’s a full touchscreen. It’s important to faucet on sure prompts or buttons at occasions, and I discovered issues responsive.

Though squared-off smartwatches such because the Apple Watch or Amazfit GTS 4 Mini can show extra vertical textual content on their screens directly, I want a round smartwatch – though textual content can get reduce off in case you are studying a full-screen textual content message or e mail. I hardly ever sit there studying tons on the watch anyway as a result of it’s a health monitoring and notification gadget. I’m not going to fireplace up an e-book on it.

I a lot want the round, certainly ‘traditional’ look that Samsung actually places within the title of the product. It’s clearly a smartwatch, however it might go as a standard watch at first look.

Taking calls in your watch continues to be not precisely the social norm, however you are able to do it with the in-built speaker, which additionally blurts out exercise updates like an Apple Watch except you flip it off (I did). You’ll be able to’t play music out of it, needing as an alternative to attach Bluetooth headphones.

Specs & efficiency

• Exynos W930 chipset
• 2GB RAM/16GB storage
• A contact laggy at occasions

Regardless of utilizing the brand new and up to date Exynos W930 chipset and 2GB RAM, the Watch 6 Basic could be a little laggy. Generally turning the bezel when the display is asleep doesn’t instantly wake the display, which then sputters into life and scrolls a couple of tiles into your menu to catch up.

The one distinction from the last-gen chip is a barely increased processor velocity. Usually, the watch is responsive and feels fluid, although throughout runs I discovered there to be a lag when utilizing the touchscreen each to swipe to music controls and to skip to the subsequent music whereas utilizing wi-fi earbuds.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

This was with music downloaded immediately onto the watch’s 16GB storage utilizing the Spotify app. It’s a terrific characteristic that meant I might depart my cellphone at house, however with the lag it pushes the bounds of the {hardware} whenever you really come to make use of it.

In any other case, notifications arrived very promptly and generally day-to-day use I had no additional qualms with the efficiency.

The guts charge sensor is steady, so it tracks your pulse all day, which I like. This may increasingly have an effect on battery life, however I saved it on as I discover the information fascinating.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Health & monitoring

• Wonderful train monitoring
• Steady coronary heart charge monitoring
• Personalised coronary heart charge zones

I’ve been impressed with the health monitoring options of the Galaxy Watch 6 Basic. In case you actually need the perfect in on-wrist monitoring then it is best to nonetheless go for a Garmin, however that is the perfect Samsung smartwatch but for train monitoring.

I actually just like the auto-tracking on the Basic, which kicks in after ten minutes of brisk strolling by default. You would possibly need to flip this off in the event you discover it annoying, but it surely ended up encouraging me to stroll extra usually in the course of the day to log quick bursts of train. I discovered it way more motivating than the reminders to face up.

Run monitoring with the built-in GPS can also be stable, and the information displayed throughout a exercise is obvious and helpful, with tempo, length, coronary heart charge and time all featured. I ran 5km with a Garmin Forerunner 265 on my different wrist, and the 2 gadgets various barely on total distance and time, however the coronary heart charge was persistently equivalent. I are inclined to belief the Garmin to be extra correct, however the Watch 6 Basic was not far off.

GPS route monitoring confirmed that it nonetheless thinks I’ve run by buildings, however that is pretty much as good because it will get on a tool that isn’t solely designed for health. It’s actually lots higher than the Fitbit Sense 2 in terms of run monitoring.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

There’s an enormous checklist of different trackable sports activities together with open water swimming, biking, and climbing that each one use GPS to trace your route. You additionally get Samsung Well being’s strolling or operating coach that makes use of on-wrist prompts and audio suggestions (through the onboard speaker or linked Bluetooth headphones) to get you hitting your objectives.

For the primary time on a Galaxy Watch you may also set and monitor personalised coronary heart charge zones when figuring out. You should utilize presets or set your individual, and the watch will warn you in the event you go above or under your set coronary heart charge zone, which you would possibly need to stick with for sure forms of coaching. It’s good to see extra specialist health options like this.

Connectivity is through Bluetooth 5.3, in addition to Wi-Fi if linked through your cellphone. There’s additionally NFC for cell funds, and GPS/Glonass/Beidou/Galileo for international route monitoring. I didn’t take a look at the LTE mannequin, but when your community supplier permits it, this model can hook up with 4G so you should utilize the watch when not linked to your cellphone for information and name providers.

Although the watch is uncomfortable to put on at evening on account of its measurement, sleep monitoring through Samsung Well being is correct and helpful. After sporting it for seven nights, it assigned me a sleep animal, a brand new characteristic Samsung appears to have shamelessly nicked from Fitbit.

I’m a lion as a result of I am going to mattress at constant occasions and for lengthy sufficient, apparently.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Software program

• WearOS 4
• Samsung One UI 5 Watch overlay
• Can change telephones simply

The Watch 6 sequence is the primary to make use of Google’s WearOS 4 software program, and it’s nice. It’s nonetheless not as polished as watchOS on Apple Watch, but it surely’s as shut as an Android various has come.

The Watch 6 Basic will work with any cellphone operating Android 10 or later, but it surely doesn’t work with iPhones.

I like the power to customize the tile menu to place issues like media controls, Google Hold notes, calendar, and sleep monitoring on the entrance of the stack, however it’s a bit annoying to should scroll by numerous tiles, so I saved it minimal.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

You’ll be able to swipe up from the clock face display to entry an icon grid of apps. WearOS is getting higher at third-party apps, but it surely’s nonetheless slim pickings. I used to be pleased with Pocket Casts and Spotify each being standalone apps and having the ability to obtain podcasts and songs to the look ahead to offline play, however you’ll end up principally utilizing Samsung’s personal apps like Well being, Clock, and Climate, together with Google Pockets for funds.

It’s actually annoying that you may’t change the Samsung Pay shortcut (press and maintain the again button) to do anything, however Samsung gonna Samsung. Fortunately you don’t have the identical downside in changing the button shortcut for Bixby (ineffective) with Google Assistant (nice).

It’s extra irritating that the ECG, irregular coronary heart charge notifications, and blood stress monitoring will even solely work on Samsung telephones – however all three are additionally solely accessible in sure areas in response to native licensing, so that you won’t care anyway.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

However when you have a coronary heart situation and wish the protection internet of those options, you want a Samsung cellphone, which is consumer hostile. Android is an open platform, however Samsung desires you totally in its ecosystem. The one different factor that didn’t work for me on a non-Samsung cellphone was the Do Not Disturb standing didn’t sync between watch and cellphone, which was annoying.

The blood stress characteristic additionally requires you to personal a separate, non-Samsung blood stress monitor to calibrate it, so it’s ineffective out the field for many consumers even with a Samsung cellphone.

A brand new characteristic enables you to change to a different cellphone with out having to reset the watch, which as a cellphone reviewer I discovered a complete godsend. You won’t care as a lot, but it surely was fast and straightforward to do between telephones.

Battery life & charging

• 425mAh battery
• Wi-fi charging cable in field
• Can stretch to 2 days battery life

The Watch 6 Basic has a essentially small 425mAh battery that Samsung says can last as long as 30 hours with the always-on show (AOD) off, and 40 hours with it on.

I discovered the previous declare virtually unachievable however managed to raised the latter.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

With the stunning AOD on, the battery life tanks in case you are utilizing the watch lots. With 100% at 8am with some strolling monitoring thrown in and no music performed from it, the watch was at 36% by 9pm. Once I wakened the subsequent morning, it was on 9% – 24 hours and almost lifeless.

Fortunately, I might nonetheless go on a run that morning as a result of a 20-minute cost bought it as much as 35%. A 30-minute run used 7%.

On different days, the battery was higher than this.

I examined the identical type of day with the AOD off, and at 9pm the battery was at an enormous 80%. I didn’t should cost once more till the morning of the third day, over 48 hours later. The watch can obtain two days of battery life, however solely with the always-on show turned off, counting on elevating your wrist to wake the display.

Worth & availability

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Basic prices from $399.99/£369. There are 4 completely different fashions priced thus:

• Watch 6 Basic 43mm Bluetooth/Wi-Fi solely: $399.99/£369
• Watch 6 Basic 43mm Bluetooth/Wi-Fi and 4G LTE: $449.99/£429
• Watch 6 Basic 47mm Bluetooth/Wi-Fi solely: $429.99/£399
• Watch 6 Basic 47mm Bluetooth/Wi-Fi and 4G LTE: $479.99/£459

You should purchase the Galaxy Watch 6 Basic within the US from Samsung, Amazon, Greatest Purchase, and through cell carriers resembling T-Cellular, Verizon, and AT&T.

Within the UK you possibly can it from Samsung, Amazon, Argos, Currys, John Lewis, and the cell networks O2, EE, and Vodafone.

All fashions are pricier than the Google Pixel Watch however I like to recommend the Galaxy each time. You would go for the Mobvoi TicWatch Professional 5 at £329.99, but it surely has older software program, a worse app, and no LTE model.

Fitbit smartwatches just like the Versa 4 and Sense 2 aren’t definitely worth the excessive costs as Google strips away their good options. The common Galaxy Watch 6 is a greater purchase over any Fitbit in the event you don’t need to pay out for the Basic.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Verdict

Regardless of holding again ECG and irregular coronary heart charge notification options from non-Samsung telephones, the Galaxy Watch 6 Basic is the perfect Android smartwatch you should purchase, besting each the common Watch 6 and the Google Pixel Watch.

The Basic has a wonderful premium design, can stretch to 2 days of battery life, has an entire set of good and well being options, a really vivid and sharp display, and stable efficiency.

The 47mm model is likely to be a contact huge for small wrists, however it can save you some money and go for the 43mm as an alternative on the expense of display and battery measurement. WearOS 4 has nice app choice, whereas the addition of 24/7 coronary heart charge monitoring, higher train recording, and an improved sleep monitoring characteristic makes the Basic a smartwatch you’ll need to put on all day and evening.

Specs

• 1.3in 432×432 (43mm) or 1.5in 480×480 (47mm) round AMOLED always-on show
• Gorilla Glass DX+
• Exynos W930 5nm processor
• 2GB RAM
• 16GB storage
• One UI Watch 5 over Put on OS 4
• Bluetooth 5.3
• NFC
• GPS
• Wi-Fi
• 4G LTE (non-compulsory)
• Microphone
• Speaker
• Optical coronary heart charge sensor (PPG)
• Electrical coronary heart sensor (ECG)
• Bioelectrical impedance evaluation sensor (BIA)
• Blood oxygen monitoring
• AFib irregular heartbeat detection
• Sleep monitoring
• Snore detection
• Physique composition evaluation
• Guided exercises
• Bixby Voice
• Gesture controls
• Chrome steel casing
• 5ATM swim-proof
• IP68-certified mud/water resistance
• MIL-STD-810G examined
• Wi-fi charging
• 300mAh (43mm) or 425mAh battery (47mm)
• 10W Qi wi-fi charging
• 42.5 x 42.5 x 10.9mm (43mm) or 46.5 x 46.5 x 10.9mm (47mm)
• 52g (40mm) or 59g (44mm)
• Colors: Black, Silver
• Suitable with Android 10 or increased (gadgets require greater than 1.5GB RAM)