Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Review: A solid albeit unexciting smartwatch

Finest Costs At this time: Samsung Galaxy Watch 8

It may need a brand new (albeit divisive) look, nevertheless it’s largely enterprise as ordinary with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8.

We’re in a really unusual place with the Samsung Galaxy Watch vary. In a way, Samsung’s smartwatches have by no means been higher, and with 4 stable choices at the moment obtainable, starting from the budget-friendly Samsung Galaxy Watch FE to the high-end Samsung Galaxy Watch Extremely, it’s a good time to be a fan of all issues Samsung.

The issue is that when seen up shut, little or no has modified over the previous few years.

I completely adored the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 when that gadget got here to market with its Put on OS overhaul and a shiny future forward of it, however after having the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 on my wrist for about two weeks, I can’t say that every one an excessive amount of has modified within the time since.

It implies that until you’re a religious Samsung person, you would possibly need to see what else is on the market from the likes of Google Pixel, OnePlus, Huawei and others. That is arguably the final time that the corporate can relaxation on its laurels earlier than it turns into a a lot greater subject.

Design & Construct

• New, chunkier chassis echoes the Galaxy Watch Extremely
• Slimmer construct permits for a extra snug match
• Dynamic Lug system could be a bit finicky

The one space the place the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 has actually taken a step in a brand new course is with its design. Properly, I say new in that it’s a distinct strategy for the mainline watch, nevertheless it’s actually an adaptation of the square-circle (aka ‘squircle’) design language of the Galaxy Watch Extremely.

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Now, as a substitute of getting the chassis type an ideal circle across the display screen, there’s a bumper (Samsung calls it a ‘cushion’) protruding from the watch that’s extra distinguished on the corners, making the watch look extra like a rounded-off sq..

Talking to fellow tech journalists, it’s clear that the design is kind of divisive, however a lot to my very own shock, I really fairly just like the look of it.

I like a superb two-tone colourway and the silver chassis solely serves to intensify the black of the bezel and the show, particularly if in case you have a watch face with a black background. The Watch 8 additionally matches my wrist much more comfortably than any of Samsung’s wearables earlier than it, and that’s thanks to 2 key adjustments.

Whereas it is perhaps exhausting to inform simply from the photographs alone, the Galaxy Watch 8 is definitely 11% slimmer than the Galaxy Watch 7, and whereas which may not sound like a lot, it helps forestall the watch from catching in your clothes, which is greater than I can say for among the heftier watches I’ve tried over time. There’s additionally a brand new system for attaching watch straps, which Samsung calls the Dynamic Lug.

On the one hand, I really assume that the Dynamic Lug is harder to connect and take away than earlier than (it’s not presupposed to be, in fact), nevertheless it closes the distinguished hole that used to exist between your wrist and the place the strap would join on earlier Galaxy Watches.

It’s simply a much more snug design general, which is nice for those who plan on carrying the gadget in a single day.

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Despite the fact that it’s slimmer, the watch isn’t any much less prepared for the weather with an official IP68 score alongside the flexibility to be submerged in a physique of water as much as 5ATM (50 metres).

Within the time I’ve been utilizing the watch, past a slight little bit of mud amassing across the raised segments of the bezel, the gadget hasn’t picked up a single scratch, which is at all times good to see.

The one factor I’ll say that’s a little bit of a disappointment is that with the added actual property of the brand new chassis, I had hoped that it’d convey in regards to the house for a a lot bigger battery however that hasn’t materialised right here, which makes the shift really feel extra performative than substantial.

Display screen & Audio

• The brightest show of any customary Galaxy Watch
• Very straightforward to learn textual content, even on the smaller 40mm mannequin
• Audio playback sounds good, however not as loud because the competitors

Similar to with earlier generations of Galaxy Watch, there are two sizes obtainable, 40- and 44mm, with the primary attract of the latter being the marginally bigger 1.47-inch show.

Whereas I do usually go for bigger measurement choices, I’ve been utilizing the 40mm mannequin over the course of this evaluation and I need to say that I by no means felt shortchanged with the smaller 1.34-inch show.

Textual content could be very straightforward to learn, so I by no means needed to squint to see incoming notifications, and I at all times felt glad diving into exercise knowledge on the watch itself as a substitute of utilizing the bigger show of my telephone. A part of what makes the expertise this time round is a large bump to the general brightness of the display screen.

You would possibly assume you get an even bigger display screen with the Galaxy Watch 8 Basic, nevertheless it’s additionally 1.34-inch and as a substitute makes use of the bigger physique for a rotating bezel.

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In comparison with the Galaxy Watch 7, the Watch 8 is now 50% brighter with a peak brightness of 3000 nits. That’s the identical brightness stage because the pricier Galaxy Watch Extremely, and it simply makes for a much better visible expertise when out and about. Not solely do Samsung’s watch faces look higher than ever, I by no means had any points with getting a fast look on the time when strolling exterior, particularly with the always-on mode toggled.

On the audio facet of issues, for those who don’t have a pair of earbuds or headphones at hand, then you need to use the built-in audio system to play music and podcasts instantly on the watch itself. Whereas it doesn’t get fairly as loud because the Garmin Venu X1 I reviewed earlier than this, I used to be fairly impressed with the sound high quality on supply.

I’ve been utilizing the Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 3+4 soundtrack to gas a lot of my most up-to-date exercises and when taking that for a spin, the Watch 8’s audio system did an ideal job of highlighting the vocals and the percussion of every monitor, no matter style, so kudos to Samsung’s engineering on this entrance.

After all, that high quality additionally extends to taking calls on the watch, in case your smartphone is out of attain.

Software program & Options

• Put on OS has by no means felt or regarded higher
• Having Gemini in your wrist is a game-changer
• The set-up course of wants refining

One of many massive software program adjustments for this 12 months is that the Galaxy Watch 8 has formally achieved away with the Google Assistant, as Google Gemini takes its place. Admittedly, this shift may also be made obtainable on older Galaxy Watches and lots of rivals, however this represents the primary of the bunch that may have Google’s newest on AI proper out of the field.

Having suffered for years by the lacklustre presence of Siri on the Apple Watch, which was by no means used for rather more than setting timers or asking for updates on the climate, having Gemini available in your wrist seems like Samsung has simply leapfrogged Apple by a number of generations.

I’ve been in a position to make use of Gemini for all kinds, starting from getting trend recommendation primarily based on the climate to getting options for recipes after explaining which components I’ve left in my fridge. I used to be capable of get solutions to all of it at nice pace, too.

In each AI requests and on a regular basis use, I’ve felt the Exynos W1000 chipset going above and past to maintain up. It’s simply glorious efficiency throughout the board, and a key motive why the Galaxy Watch 8, at its core, is a good smartwatch. That is regardless of being the identical chip because the Galaxy Watch 7.

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All of this simply enhances the sensation that Put on OS has by no means been higher. With Put on OS 6 (and Samsung’s One UI 8 Watch overlay) it now not seems like a compromised expertise after I take off my Apple Watch and transfer over to Samsung’s newest wearable for a evaluation – I can simply get pleasure from what Google has been capable of put collectively right here, and in some instances, there are a number of options that I want Apple would poach.

Whereas it definitely isn’t new, I nonetheless love the Tiles characteristic on Put on OS that offers you fast entry to key apps simply by swiping left from the watch face. Talking to my very own private use instances, it permits me to dive extra shortly into exercise monitoring, altering a tune on Spotify and even getting a fast take a look at my calendar occasions for the week.

It’s only a nice characteristic to have, and scrolling by the tiles with the digital rotating bezel is a breeze.

I do know that there are many diehard followers on the market preferring the older bodily rotating bezel, and consequently will most likely hunt down the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Basic as a substitute, however I had no points with this digital various. It’s responsive with good haptic suggestions, and it feels much more elegant to make use of than simply swiping up and down endlessly to get by menus.

The one facet of Samsung’s software program that doesn’t really feel fairly so refined is on the smartphone facet of issues. Don’t get me incorrect, the Samsung Well being app has an exquisite aesthetic and is gratifying to make use of, however the preliminary set-up for the Galaxy Watch 8 requires downloading three apps in complete, which could be a actual trouble whenever you change telephones as usually as I do or for individuals who aren’t tech-savvy.

It might be nice to see all of it streamlined into only one app – I’ve by no means felt the necessity to dive into the Galaxy Wearable app after the preliminary set-up.

Health & Well being Monitoring

• New Antioxidant Index
• Dependable coronary heart price knowledge
• Some options solely work with a Samsung telephone

If there’s one space the place I can’t fault Samsung’s work, it’s in health monitoring. The Galaxy Watches have at all times been nice companions for a visit to the health club or the native park run, and the Galaxy Watch 8 isn’t any exception.

You possibly can monitor all the pieces from climbing within the nice outdoor to snowboarding on the vary. It’s nice to see, however in case you are simply beginning out in your health journey, you then’ll very a lot recognize the Working Coach that’s on board.

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That is nice for those who’re discovering your footing and also you want a little bit of steerage that will help you set practical objectives and keep away from injuring your self by overdoing issues.

It’s an exquisite characteristic to have, notably as I believe that rookies are inclined to get forgotten about as a rule in the case of health trackers, and it pairs nicely with the Galaxy Watch 8’s insistence on acquiring correct relaxation and restoration.

For those who’ve had a very busy day otherwise you haven’t managed to get a superb night time’s sleep then the watch (and the app) will let that it’s a superb time to prioritise relaxation, a lot in the identical vein because the Whoop Strap 5.0. You can too discover out the best timeframe for attending to mattress in a brand new characteristic often called ‘Bedtime steerage’. Accessible at any time all through the day, this new characteristic provides you ample time to arrange your day round hitting that bedtime goal, which I recognize greater than an alert within the night that tells me it’s time to wind issues down.

Provided that relaxation is important for any kind of train however particularly muscle progress, it’s good to see Samsung take the time right here to present it simply as a lot credence as the entire typical exercise knowledge you’d anticipate to see.

There’s additionally a brand new ‘Vascular load’ tracker that’s meant to regulate the system that delivers blood all through your physique – a excessive vascular load implies that you might want to reduce out unhealthy meals and do extra to alleviate stress. Once more, it’s helpful to have and it simply enhances the concept of the Galaxy Watch 8 being an ideal tracker on your general invoice of well being.

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Talking of that knowledge, coronary heart price monitoring on the Galaxy Watch 8 is improbable. When taken for a spin alongside the Polar H10 chest-worn coronary heart price monitor, the 2 gadgets matched up nearly like for like of their outcomes. Oddly, we didn’t discover the monitoring on the Watch 8 Basic to be so correct.

Throughout two stints on the treadmill, the Galaxy Watch registered a peak that was solely 1BPM above that of the Polar H10, which is truthful inside a margin of error, however the two had been in sync when it comes to the typical coronary heart price, so that you’ll get a sensible image of how your coronary heart is responding to every exercise.

Samsung has added an Antioxidant Index, which basically lets for those who’re getting sufficient fruit and veg in your eating regimen. Whereas I do like to train, my eating regimen is a bit missing on this space and the Watch 8, to its credit score, did name me out on it, though it’s exhausting to say how exact the readings are with the monitoring itself nonetheless being in beta testing on the time of writing, so take it with a pinch of salt (The Verge tricked it with a Cheeze-It).

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What’s a disgrace is that, for those who don’t have a Samsung telephone at hand, you’ll be getting a restricted expertise on the Galaxy Watch 8. This isn’t something new because it’s been a problem with earlier Samsung watches, nevertheless it’s value noting that you just received’t be capable to entry ECG monitoring for choosing up coronary heart arrhythmia, nor are you able to dive into the blood stress monitoring both.

All this implies is that, if I had been somebody trying to purchase a smartwatch and I didn’t use a Galaxy telephone, I’d most likely be tempted to go for one thing just like the Garmin Venu X1 or the OnePlus Watch 3 as a substitute.

Fortunately, GPS monitoring remains to be stable on the Galaxy Watch, making use of a dual-band connection that’s not solely fast to determine itself, however may present correct outcomes after the very fact.

Battery Life & Charging

• Nonetheless actually simply one-day battery life
• The slight battery cell enhance doesn’t make a lot of a distinction
• Charging is speedy sufficient

As I discussed earlier, I used to be actually hoping that the primary motive for the design change on the Galaxy Watch 8 was that it could enable for a bigger battery to replenish the added house taken up the brand new chassis, and whereas that’s technically true, the improve is way much less pronounced than what I had hoped it could it.

The 40- and 44mm fashions now pack a 325- and 435mAh cell respectively, up from 300- and 425mAh on the Galaxy Watch 7. As you’ll be able to see, that’s not an enormous enhance and sadly, it does imply that the Galaxy Watch 8 stays firmly inside that ordinary one-day of use lure that has plagued earlier Galaxy watches.

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Admittedly, for those who flip off the always-on show then you will get a couple of day and a half of use, however the expertise simply isn’t as enjoyable (or as helpful) with out it. Once I had the characteristic toggled, I obtained by about 22-hours of use, which included notifications, a GPS tracked stroll, and sleep monitoring, earlier than the watch reached 36%.

Provided that it’s now attainable to rise up to 5 days of use from the OnePlus Watch 3, Samsung is clearly lagging behind on this space. I discover the expertise of carrying a smartwatch much more partaking if I don’t even have to incorporate it as a tool that requires a day by day cost, particularly as I like having the ability to depend on such a look ahead to funds and messaging, if my telephone ever reaches 0%.

Fortunately, the charging course of isn’t too laborious. When the battery reached 6%, a 30-minute top-up was capable of convey the Galaxy Watch 8 again to 65% which, beneath very conservative use, might nonetheless be sufficient to get you house earlier than the tip of the day.

For those who do absolutely drain the battery to 0% then you can be ready round a bit longer as I solely obtained again 40% after half-hour, and it took a complete of 1 hour and 19 minutes to succeed in 100%.

Value & Availability

At its most cost-effective, the 40mm Bluetooth solely mannequin of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is available in at £319/$349.99, which makes it extra reasonably priced than the Pixel Watch 3 though it does characterize a slight worth enhance over the £289/$299.99 tag of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7.

There are 4 fashions in complete, with Bluetooth and LTE choices for each 40- and 44mm sizes, the most costly of which caps out at £399/$429.99.

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The largest downside dealing with the Galaxy Watch 8 is that the wonderful OnePlus Watch 3 now has a smaller 43mm choice that’s obtainable for much much less at £269/$299.99, and if you wish to keep inside Samsung’s ecosystem then it isn’t too tough to search out the Galaxy Watch 7 for even cheaper than that.

The one main explanation why you’d need to go for the Galaxy Watch 8 is to get the total 4 years of software program help, to have the brighter show and full breadth of Samsung’s present crop of health monitoring options.

Examine our record of one of the best smartwatches to see our present high 10 suggestions.

Must you purchase the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8?

If there’s one factor that I can not stress sufficient in regards to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, it’s that it’s certainly an ideal smartwatch. Between Samsung’s nicely constructed tackle Put on OS, the graceful efficiency and brilliance of the always refined health monitoring options on supply, I’ve very a lot loved my time with this gadget.

The issue is that the Galaxy Watch 7 was an ideal smartwatch, as was the Galaxy Watch 6, and the Galaxy Watch 5 (I might preserve going).

The iterative updates of Samsung’s wearable line-up had been already beginning to really feel pretty stale this time final 12 months, however a design refresh isn’t sufficient to dispel them this time round. Add within the worth rise and issues get a bit of trickier.

Samsung completely has the software program facet of issues on lock right here, however that’s why, notably within the face of sturdy competitors from OnePlus, that the corporate wanted to present the battery bump that we’ve all been ready for.

For those who use the most effective Samsung Galaxy telephones and also you’re flush with money, then it makes good sense to choose up the Galaxy Watch 8, because it’s exhausting to think about that you just’ll be disenchanted by the expertise it supplies. You might even be a bundle deal that will get you the watch discounted or free.

For the oldsters who’re tied to a finances nonetheless (or use the most effective telephones that aren’t Samsung-made), you’re higher off choosing up the Galaxy Watch 7 at a diminished price till the Watch 8 will get a pleasant worth reduce, and even choosing the OnePlus Watch 3 to learn from the for much longer five-day battery life.

Samsung is aware of learn how to make a reliable wearable; I simply want that it paid a bit extra consideration to what was necessary right here.

Specs

• 40/44mm measurement choices
• 1.34/1.47-inch AMOLED show
• 3000 nits peaks brightness
• 32GB storage
• ECG monitor
• Blood stress monitor
• Twin-band GPS
• 325/435mAh battery
• IP68
• 5ATM water resistance