The eighth collection of the Samsung Galaxy Watch has made its method from my wrist to the assessment part right here. I’ve spent an excellent period of time with the watch, and it’s clearly top-of-the-line base variants of the Galaxy Watches. More than one other iterative tick, this looks like a real leap ahead in each {hardware} and software program. Prices in India begin at ₹32,999 for the 40mm and ₹35,999 for the 44mm, placing it proper within the candy spot for premium however attainable wearables. And one factor I like essentially the most? Battery life extension. While it nonetheless can’t match week-long endurance watches, the achieve right here is significant in real-world use. Let’s discover what else the watch has to supply.
Design and Controls
The second you place the Galaxy Watch 8 in your wrist; the lightness is apparent. The new cushion-shaped case design, borrowed from the Ultra, manages to look distinctive with out the boxy awkwardness, and at 11% thinner than its predecessor, it wears flatter and extra naturally. The Armor Aluminum construct balances sturdiness and weight, making it really feel each premium and simple to put on all day.
Samsung’s Dynamic Lug system reduces on-wrist motion, serving to the bands hug your wrist securely. Strap swaps are attainable, although fiddly for those who’ve acquired brief nails. The normal mannequin has a minimalist aluminium case with no bodily bezel, whereas the Classic retains the rotating bezel, plus an additional customisable motion button alongside the house and again buttons.
Durability and Safety
This 12 months’s Galaxy Watch 8 is constructed to deal with greater than desk responsibility. It’s rated 5ATM for water resistance, IP68 for mud/water ingress, and MIL-STD-810H for military-grade toughness. That means it might probably deal with pool swims, mud, sweat, and bumps with out flinching. Safety options embrace SOS and fall detection, giving peace of thoughts whether or not you’re out on a path or commuting within the metropolis.
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Display
Screen dimensions stay the identical at 1.3 inches on the 40mm mannequin and 1.5 inches on the 44mm mannequin, however brightness is cranked as much as an enormous 3,000 nits, that’s 1,000 nits greater than the Galaxy Watch 7 and equal to the Ultra fashions. It makes a visual distinction outdoor, the place exercise stats, maps, and notifications keep sharp even below noon solar.
Bezels really feel slimmer due to the brighter, extra vibrant AMOLED panel. Touch response is fast, and haptics give a delicate faucet with every interplay. Replying to messages immediately from the watch is clean and sensible, a small however impactful every day comfort.
Software
The Watch 8 runs One UI 8 Watch on Wear OS 6, and the adjustments are literally helpful. The Now Bar seems in your watch face everytime you’ve acquired a background activity operating, like a exercise or timer, and tapping it expands to a full view immediately. At-a-glance app views have been redesigned for cleaner navigation.
Google Gemini is on-wrist out of the field – a primary. It handles easy and multi-step instructions like “start a 20-minute run” or “find the best gym near me and text Julie.” While I didn’t use it for the whole lot, having immediate voice management for instructions, exercises, or fast texts made a noticeable distinction.
Processor and Performance
The newest Galaxy Watch 8 is powered by Samsung’s Exynos W1000 (5-core, 3 nm) processor with 5 cores, paired with beneficiant 2 GB RAM and 32 GB of storage, the identical spec ballpark because the Watch Ultra. That means immediate app launches, seamless multitasking, and room to retailer playlists, maps, and apps with out compromise.
The addition of L1+L5 dual-frequency GPS makes location monitoring extra exact, particularly in city environments the place tall buildings can intrude with weaker GPS alerts. Combined with the quicker chip, it’s a responsive, correct watch that feels prepared for something.
Health and Fitness
Samsung has leaned onerous into well being and health, including a couple of standout methods to its already sturdy arsenal. The Running Coach is especially spectacular, a 12-minute take a look at run assigns you certainly one of 160 coaching plans, adapting as your efficiency adjustments over time. The antioxidant index is a unusual however intriguing addition, utilizing your thumb to measure carotenoids and trace at your dietary well being. Sleep apnea detection joins the celebration too, alongside Samsung’s already stable sleep monitoring.
All the same old suspects are right here: coronary heart charge, physique composition evaluation, superior sleep cycles, every day power rating, computerized exercise detection, and a buffet of supported exercise sorts. But be aware, for Blood Pressure and ECG, you’ll must pair with a Samsung cellphone. And whereas the readings are attention-grabbing, I wouldn’t counsel counting on them as medical proof. Always again it up with lab checks if accuracy issues.
Battery
For me, that is the place the Galaxy Watch 8 quietly shines. The 325 mAh battery delivers as much as 30 hours with AOD on, and in combined use (exercises, notifications, sleep monitoring), I comfortably acquired by way of virtually 2 days earlier than needing a top-up. That’s nonetheless in need of devoted operating watches, however higher than many premium smartwatches.
Charging is slower than I’d like, a full 0–100% recharge took virtually one and a half hours with the proprietary puck. Still, the achieve in endurance in comparison with older Galaxy Watches and Apple Watches makes a sensible distinction in every day use.
Verdict
After an extended stretch of incremental updates within the smartwatch world, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 looks like a correct refresh. It’s lighter, smarter, and extra refined, with a brighter show, considerate software program tweaks and a battery that lastly provides you respiratory room. The AI options, whereas not life-changing but, trace at the place wearables are headed, and Samsung’s well being monitoring stays among the many finest within the enterprise.
If you’re upgrading from an older Galaxy Watch, this one will serve you nicely for the following two to 3 years. It’s a watch you may put on all day, day-after-day, with out fuss and that’s precisely what an excellent smartwatch needs to be. As I stated at first, the Galaxy Watch 8 doesn’t simply appear to be progress, it feels prefer it, and that’s what makes it price strapping on.