Samsung Galaxy Watch

Introduction

The Samsung Galaxy Watch is the company's most recent smartwatch to feature a physical rotating bezel as one of its input methods. It remains an interesting choice even today because of this characteristic, despite the fact that it's been succeeded by two newer models.

The follow-up models aren't necessarily considered to be direct sequels to the Galaxy Watch, either. They're known by the Galaxy Watch Active moniker, and they abandon the iconic physical bezel that makes the original Galaxy Watch somewhat of a timeless piece.

Design

The Galaxy Watch was released in two sizes including 42mm and 46mm. It has interchangeable straps and was introduced in three color options, namely silver, Midnight Black, and Rose Gold.

The 46mm model is available exclusively in silver, whereas Midnight Black and Rose Gold are reserved for the 42mm model. This wearable can look both sporty and classy, and the choice of color plays a big part in this.

Aside from the rotating bezel, the Galaxy Watch features two side buttons (Back and Home). Of course, users interact with the software not only through these buttons but also via the circular touchscreen.

The internal components – detailed below – are wrapped in a durable case with 5ATM protection and IP68/MIL-STD-810G rating. Without the strap, the 46mm model weighs 64 grams, while the smaller variant tips the scales at 49 grams.

Specifications

Samsung's Galaxy Watch comes in two sizes, as mentioned above. In turn, this means the 42mm model has a 1.2-inch (30mm) display, while the 46mm variant has a 1.3-inch (33mm) display.

The circular panels are of the Super AMOLED variety and have a resolution of 360 by 360 pixels. They are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass DX+.

Other internal specs include an Exynos 9110 dual-core AP with a maximum frequency of 1.15GHz, 4GB of internal storage, and 1.5GB / 768MB of RAM for the LTE and Bluetooth-only models, respectively. Indeed, the Galaxy Watch is offered with and without LTE, but both variants also benefit from Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi b/g/n, and NFC connectivity.

The 42mm model has a 270mAh battery while the 46mm variant relies on a larger 472mAh unit. Both of these batteries can be recharged wirelessly in both cases. Meanwhile, the list of sensors includes an accelerometer, gyro, barometer, a heart rate monitor, and ambient light sensors.

Software and Features

Unlike smartwatches launched by other manufacturers, Samsung's Galaxy Watch is based on Tizen OS 4.0. It's integrated with Bixby, meaning the watch can be voice-activated. It also supports the Samsung Pay platform in markets where it's available.

The smartwatch's user interface was updated to One UI 1.5 in late-2019. The update introduced a number of new features that were originally released alongside the newer Galaxy Watch Active 2. In other words, the user experience is different now compared to day-one. The UI offers more watch faces and emoticons, better display legibility in battery saving mode, and Samsung Health improvements among other benefits.

The Galaxy Watch offers a wide variety of fitness and health-tracking features. It can monitor the wearer's sleep patterns, offers stress management, and it detects different types of movement and exercises, from walking to running and rowing.

It's also one of Samsung's few smartwatches to offer Camera Controller compatibility. This mobile app lets users connect the smartwatch to a smartphone and use the wearable's screen as a remote viewfinder and shutter button for the smartphone's camera.

Price and Availability

The Galaxy Watch was released in August 2018 in a variety of markets. At launch, the 42mm model carried a price tag of $329/$379 for the LTE and Bluetooth variants, respectively. The 46mm model was priced at $349/$399.

Since the Galaxy Watch has already been succeeded by two newer smartwatch models (at the time of writing), prospective buyers are now looking at lower prices than before. The 42mm Bluetooth/LTE models cost $259/299, while the 46mm variants are priced at $279/$319.