I can't go back to a Samsung Galaxy Watch without this feature

Samsung introduced the Galaxy Watch Ultra as its most powerful and feature-packed smartwatch in 2024. This was the watch meant for extreme conditions, something you could wear while climbing mountains, diving in the ocean, or pushing your body in harsh environments.

It was positioned as a no-compromise smartwatch for people who push limits, and on paper, it had the credentials to back that up. But for me, what stood out was something far more simple: the Quick button.

The Quick button is a third physical button that sits between the power/home and back buttons. As the name suggests, this button gives you fast access to actions, like instantly starting a workout. And after using the Galaxy Watch Ultra, I don’t think I can go back to a Galaxy smartwatch without it.

If I were to make a wishlist for Samsung’s next smartwatch, this would be at the top. The Quick button should become standard on all Galaxy watches.

Right now, only the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic have this button. The regular Galaxy Watch 8 does not, nor does the Galaxy Watch 7 that launched alongside the Ultra.

That's not a good thing. Yes, the extra button helps certain models stand out. But a feature this functional that directly affects how you interact with the device shouldn’t be treated like an exclusive perk.

What Samsung is effectively doing is hoping you’ll always buy the more expensive watch if you’re upgrading from a model that has the Quick button. But when something becomes part of your daily routine, you can’t expect people to be okay with losing it.

Samsung has done this before. For years, the rotating bezel was a core interaction method on Galaxy watches. Then Samsung shifted to skipping it every other year. The difference is that the bezel had a virtual alternative, which made the transition easier.

The Quick button doesn’t have a real substitute. Pressing a physical button to instantly start a workout is simply better than swiping through menus, especially since it doesn't need the screen to be woken up. Like the rotating bezel, it essentially becomes muscle memory. And it’s unreasonable to expect users to give that up just because they didn’t buy the most expensive model in a newer lineup.

Hopefully, the Galaxy Watch 9, which is currently in development, will fix this.