I’m too drained to jot down this assessment. Final week, I penned a work-in-progress model as a result of I hadn’t but spent sufficient time to totally discover the brand new options Samsung packed into the Galaxy Watch 8. A kind of options is the brand new AI-powered working steering, which I adopted.
I’ve run extra previously week than I ever have earlier than. In my life. Ever. However I’m fairly certain my editors would nonetheless recognize the complete evaluation I’ve proposed, so I’ve plied myself with caffeine and can do my finest right here.
Fortunately, most of what I skilled in my first few days with the watch nonetheless stands: I used to be impressed then and stay so now. Not solely are there just a few helpful well being and health additions, however the redesigned {hardware} appears nice as properly. Plus, the on-watch integration with Google’s Gemini has confirmed surprisingly seamless. (When AI interactions truly yield constructive outcomes, I’m at all times greatly surprised.)
Samsung additionally mounted not one however two of the complaints I had with the Galaxy Watch 7. Because the firm in all probability didn’t base its updates on my private opinions, I think about others had considerations over the consolation of the Watch 7 — and I do know from different critiques that many individuals have been disillusioned in its battery life.
Earlier than I get to Gemini, the redesign and precisely how my watch exhausted me, I need to focus on antioxidants. It’s a compelling new well being metric the Galaxy Watch can now measure — and regardless of my laborious work, I scored miserably.
Antioxidant checks and my persimmon consumption
The Galaxy Watch 8 has the identical processor and sensors because the earlier technology, but it surely’s utilizing these to detect a brand new metric: antioxidant ranges. You need to take the watch off and maintain your thumb on the sensor node for 5 seconds to get a studying and also you’ll must check with the Well being app in your cellphone for detailed outcomes. The primary time I examined, I bought a rating of 60, which falls proper in the midst of the “low” section of the size. The one different outcomes are “very low” and “sufficient,” which can absolutely be a disappointment to the over-achievers on the market.
The Well being app recommended I “attempt consuming one (100g) persimmon right now.” When my grandmother was alive, she made persimmon cookies each Christmas and the final time she did so was additionally the final time I considered that fruit. Contemplating South Korea is without doubt one of the world’s largest persimmon producers, it’d make sense {that a} Samsung machine recommended them. The produce man at my native grocery retailer stated they solely carry them across the holidays (little doubt as a result of grandmas insist, plus that’s after they’re in season).
Seems persimmons are excessive in antioxidants similar to Vitamin C and beta-carotene (Vitamin A). Cantaloupe additionally has these vitamins — plus it’s orange like persimmons — so I purchased one. In truth, I went laborious on the antioxidants and did every thing I might to see if I might get a greater rating. I ate a bunch of cherries and a bit darkish chocolate. For breakfast, I had half a cantaloupe as an alternative of the very tasty-smelling breakfast hash my husband made, and I drank plain inexperienced tea as an alternative of my common oat matcha latte. I did yoga and went to my month-to-month medical therapeutic massage appointment (stress is claimed to extend oxidant ranges). I bought eight hours of sleep and drank my weight in water. I felt prepared.
So I took the check once more and my antioxidant ranges have been… two factors decrease. Sigh. I wasn’t anticipating in a single day transformation, however I’d hoped for a bit enchancment. Subsequent time, I’m consuming the hash. Taking the check on subsequent days — days that I did nothing particular to enhance my rating — I by no means scored greater than 60 and dropped as little as 56. So it appears it is a metric that will take some effort and time to budge.
Lastly, a brand new design!
Since its fourth technology, the Galaxy Watch has appeared just about the identical: a spherical glass display set in a spherical metallic case with massive prongs coming out of the highest and backside to carry the band. Whereas there was nothing incorrect with sticking with design, giving a tool a refreshed look lends the yearly replace cycle some that means — as an alternative of feeling like an compulsory transfer to appease stockholders.
This time round, the Galaxy Watch 8 appears markedly totally different due to a form borrowed from final yr’s Extremely mannequin (and a few high-end timepiece profiles). Samsung calls it a “cushion design” — a round glass show set atop an aluminum case that appears like a roundish sq. (or squircle as our personal Cherlynn Low calls it). The Sport band on my assessment mannequin curves to satisfy the width of the case, making a clean arch that I feel is extra refined than the clunkier pronged configuration. In truth, all the look is stylish — rather more so than the Apple Watch, which appears like a miniaturized iPhone 11 glued to a silicone strap.
The cushion design is nice in a method, but additionally worrisome. As a result of the glass show stands pleased with the case by a minimum of two millimeters, my first thought was: “I’m going to trash this display.” Instantly after taking the be careful of the field, I ordered display shields and, in the course of the course of this assessment, managed to crack one. That’s probably as a result of I used to be low cost and ordered off-brand display protectors, or maybe the protruding glass cushion is solely begging for misfortune.
Nevertheless, the raised glass solves one challenge with the Galaxy Watch 7. One option to scroll is by working your finger alongside the outer fringe of the display. In truth, on-screen cues recommend that gesture when there’s extra content material to view. On the Watch 7, my finger was at all times getting in the way in which of the textual content I wished to learn. Now that the show is elevated, there’s room for my finger to journey additional out alongside the periphery and keep out of the way in which.
Look apart, my favourite {hardware} replace is the rather more comfy design. The Watch 7’s underside had a large sensor node, and it took me per week to get used to the texture — I wrenched it off the primary night time I attempted to put on it to sleep. The Watch 8, nevertheless, felt good the primary time I put it on. And now that I’ve spent extra time with it, I can say it’s probably the most comfy watch I’ve examined. I usually overlook I’ve it on and don’t thoughts sporting it to mattress, which is saying quite a bit. In truth, once I slept with it on one wrist and an Apple Watch Collection 9 on the opposite to match sleep information, I awakened in the midst of the night time and took off the Apple Watch, however felt no compulsion to do the identical with Samsung’s mannequin.
Gemini in your wrist and Put on OS 6
The Galaxy Watch 8 is the primary smartwatch to ship with Google’s Put on OS 6, although Samsung overlays it with its personal One UI interface. The primary time we’ll get a have a look at the unfiltered wearable software program can be on Google’s upcoming Pixel Watch 4. The headline function is Gemini integration. Now, most issues you are able to do with the Gemini app in your cellphone might be finished by means of your watch. Simply word that you just’ll must have your Gemini-compatible cellphone close by to make use of it.
Google’s AI was fairly snappy at fundamental duties like setting reminders and timers. Requests that required extra “thought” took solely marginally longer (and accomplished extra shortly once I was utilizing my house Wi-Fi versus counting on cell indicators out on this planet). I requested for the most effective document shops in my metropolis and place to eat lunch. I used to be pleasantly shocked to listen to of a new-to-me reply for every class. The document retailer turned out to be two bins of LPs inside a guide store, however nonetheless, I hadn’t heard of it earlier than. I requested why my eight-year-old talked about lava hen on a regular basis and was accurately knowledgeable about Jack Black and A Minecraft Film.
The assistant shows solutions in textual content type on the watch display and likewise reads out each phrase. That may flip into numerous speaking, however tapping the display stops the chatter when you favor to learn. Gemini can deal with follow-up questions and duties, however because it doesn’t normally preserve listening after it speaks, you must faucet the mic icon to make your subsequent request.
I reached out to Samsung to ask if I might change a setting to make Gemini preserve listening, however there isn't one presently. For now, you'll must faucet or say "OK Google" once more for followups like, “Add that to my Google Hold” or “Remind me about that.” If Gemini asks you a query, nevertheless, similar to verifying a textual content it’s about to ship, it does preserve listening for the reply. You can too mix instructions on the outset, similar to asking to lookup an deal with and textual content it to somebody.
I requested some pretty particular duties and didn’t hit any snags. I requested it to textual content the deal with of an area restaurant to my husband and it verified which location I wished then despatched the message. I requested when the Albuquerque Isotopes have been taking part in the Sacramento River Cats and it gave me the upcoming dates. I tapped the mic and stated, “Add that to my calendar,” which it did.
It solely let me down twice. Once I requested whether or not it was going to rain, it simply learn me the final climate forecast as an alternative of answering the query. All the opposite assistants in my life (Alexa and Siri) can reply these questions — although technically that’s a Gemini drawback, not the watch's fault.
The opposite disappointment is a matter of integration. I used to be out on a stroll and I requested for instructions to a close-by grocery retailer. Gemini gave me the deal with and the space, however instructed me to take a look at my cellphone for the precise instructions. Once I requested Siri the identical factor on the identical stroll, instructions merely confirmed up on my Apple Watch. (Sure, I’ve been sporting two watches and carrying round two activated telephones like a double agent, simply a lot much less cool.)
Along with Gemini, Put on OS 6 introduces up to date and bigger tiles which set up and show info in your watch. By default, the tiles are separated into classes: Well being, Health and Fundamental (climate, media playback, calendar) with every field displaying a little bit of pertinent information — exercise metrics, present temp, your subsequent occasion and so forth. If the restricted information isn’t sufficient, tapping a tile opens the respective app. You may categorize, rearrange, swap out and add as many pages of those playing cards as you need within the Put on app in your cellphone. I spent a while tweaking the format to my liking, however actually didn’t alter the defaults an excessive amount of. Already this looks like a a lot smarter means of interacting with a watch. Now you possibly can glean key info from the apps which might be essential to you simply by searching your tiles.
The working coach made me mad, but it surely earned my respect
The Galaxy Watch 8’s built-in, AI-fueled working steering sounds a bit just like the upcoming Exercise Buddy that Apple introduced for watchOS 26. I plan to check that out subsequent and it will likely be attention-grabbing to match the 2. Google Pixel watches and Fitbits at the moment have the choice of an AI-powered working coach, but it surely’s restricted to Premium subscribers. Garmin provides an adaptive coaching program referred to as Run Coach as properly, so this isn’t a completely novel concept.
Samsung’s working coach begins with an evaluation: Run as quick as you possibly can keep for twelve minutes. You’ll then be awarded a efficiency stage starting from one to 10. Every stage comes with a tailor-made, four-week plan with 4 exercises per week meant to get you prepared to finish a 5K, 10K, half or full marathon. My 12-minute, 22-second per-mile tempo put me at a stage three. My plan was geared in direction of getting me to run a sub-35-minute 5K on the finish of 4 weeks.
The primary exercise was low-intensity interval working with 4 segments of working laborious, interspersed with cool-down walks — which felt straightforward and attainable. Two days later I did the second routine, which had me run for thirty minutes at my evaluation tempo (which it known as a “gradual jog”).
For the following session, I used to be instructed to run for half-hour on a hilly course. There was some strolling on the inclines, however I accomplished it. After that, I used to be startled to see it wished me to run for 3.1 miles with a goal tempo under 12 minutes. Sure, on exercise 4 (of 15 complete), I used to be purported to run a 5K sooner than my evaluation tempo. This felt unfair. Unhinged. Not good. However within the identify of correct gadget testing, I attempted.
Throughout each run, the AI coach chimes in every minute with a tempo replace, letting whether or not you’re going slower, sooner or proper round your goal. You additionally get updates in your completion stage, with a shout out at 30 p.c, half means and 80 p.c. Three or 4 occasions per session, the coach offers you some canned recommendation like telling you to deal with sustaining a constant tempo and never pace, reminding you that runs construct cardiovascular well being or suggesting that you just quiet down after a exercise to keep away from harm. You additionally get interjections like “You’re doing nice” or “You’re virtually finished, end robust.”
At first, I hated the fixed tempo checkins. As soon as I hit the midway level of the 5K, I began to lag. My watch instructed me again and again: “You’re working slower than your goal tempo. Attempt to pace up when you can.” I wheezed obscenities in response. However then, once I actually simply wished to give up, I began to sit up for the following replace, realizing it meant I’d stayed on my ft for yet another minute.
In the end, I ran sooner and farther than I might have and not using a coach. I wouldn’t have tried a 5K, as a result of that’s simply insane. In fact, I’m a reasonably straightforward win for Samsung’s working coach. I’m an optimistic particular person and I’ve by no means been coached earlier than, so something that claims it "believes in me” and pushes me to attempt one thing I don’t assume I can do is fairly more likely to get some outcomes. Samsung calls this an AI-powered routine — and certain, it knew my tempo, distance and coronary heart price and adjusted its encouragement accordingly — however I didn’t hear something uniquely personalised to me and my journey. However I nonetheless have three weeks to go.
Vascular load and bedtime reminders
Two new options require in a single day information gathering. Vascular load takes readings when you sleep to judge the well being of your circulatory system, then tells you when your load is greater or decrease than regular and provides suggestions. It requires three nights of information to set a baseline. After that, you’ll have the ability to examine whether or not your load is greater, decrease or regular.
My vary has been decrease or regular over the previous few days. The web tells me {that a} excessive vascular load can result in dangerous issues like hypertension and coronary heart assaults. And the Well being app provides strategies to enhance your vascular load, too — issues like getting higher sleep, being energetic, limiting stress and sustaining a wholesome weight. Personally, this isn’t an space I’m involved about, however contemplating the prevalence of coronary heart illness, it’s metric to regulate..
Three nights of sleep additionally triggers the Bedtime Steering function, however I didn't see any notifications. I requested Samsung why, and was instructed to show it on within the Well being app (Well being > Sleep > faucet three dots icon > Bedtime steering). I nonetheless didn’t get any steering, which I spotted was resulting from the truth that I’ve my bedtime set for 10PM, however I activate the watch’s sleep mode by 9PM most nights. What can I say, I like sleeping.
An even bigger battery makes the AOD A-OK
One of many prior mannequin’s shortcomings was battery life. The always-on show (AOD) tanked the cost, so I stored it off. The Galaxy Watch 8 has an even bigger 325mAh battery, in comparison with the 300mAh one on the Watch 7. Twenty-five milliamp hours isn’t an enormous soar, however in batteries, greater is at all times higher. And that’s true right here.
I charged the watch to full at 12:30PM, turned the AOD on and after two auto-detected bike rides, one stroll, some Gemini requests, checking notifications and utilizing just a few timers, it was nonetheless at 75 p.c at 8:45PM. I enabled sleep mode shortly after and slept till 6:15AM. Then I did an AI-coached three-mile run and it nonetheless had 27 p.c at 9AM. At 2:30PM it hit seven p.c and I put it on the charger. Samsung guarantees as much as 30 hours of use on a cost with the AOD on. This was barely lower than that, but it surely was an activity-filled day and I used to be tremendous with the lifespan.
The Galaxy Watch 8 Basic is tremendous swank
The spinning-bezel model of the newest watch is clearly aimed on the luxurious watch-hound crowd. The knurled spinning bezel, inset diving bezel duplicate and the default chronograph watch face offers off critical Rolex Daytona/Omega Speedmaster wannabe vibes. It ships with a stitched leather-look band and the metal case has the heft and stature of an automated mechanical timepiece. The always-on show and chunky buttons solely add to the impact.
For me, the principle benefit it has over the usual Galaxy Watch 8 is the safety the spinning bezel provides the raised show. The glass is shielded on the edges and it’s even inset barely, which ought to beat back scratches. At first I assumed it might be too chunky, but it surely’s surprisingly comfy for its measurement and I actually like the way it appears. It’s an especially engaging watch. I principally examined out the usual model of the Watch 8, as a result of I feel most individuals will go for that mannequin, but when I bought one for myself, I feel I’d go together with this beaut
Pricing and the competitors
Samsung added $50 to the worth tag on the 40mm Galaxy Watch 8, bringing it to $350. The bigger 44mm mannequin is now $380 (versus $330 final yr) and the Basic variant is $500 for the only 46mm measurement. For reference, there was no Galaxy Watch 7 Basic and the Galaxy Watch 6 Basic bought for $400 for the 43mm measurement and $430 for the 47mm.
At $350, the bottom mannequin Galaxy Watch 8 prices the identical as Google’s Pixel Watch 3 (although the Pixel Watch 4 is sort of actually on the way in which and might be costlier.) The Apple Watch Collection 10 begins at $399, but it surely went as little as $279 throughout Prime Day. And, after all, a brand new Apple wearable is probably going coming this September with a possible value bump as properly. So Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 8 might find yourself being probably the most reasonably priced of the main smartwatch releases as soon as the mud settles from 2025’s launches. And when you’re a Samsung smartphone person, it’s simply your finest wager.
All of the small issues
The core features of the Galaxy Watch 8 haven’t modified all that a lot. We went in-depth on the health and well being options for our assessment of the Galaxy Watch 6 and coated the notable perks of Samsung’s wearable in our Galaxy Watch 7 assessment and our Galaxy Watch 5 assessment. So I’ll simply level out that the exercise monitoring remains to be correct — and it’s sooner to suss out once I’m on a stroll than my Apple Watch. The companion Well being app, the place you view all the info your watch gathers, is useful and a delight to make use of with its common sense strategies and pleasant animations. And the every day Vitality Rating is a helpful indicator of how I’m doing with my sleep and motion targets.
The Watch 8 is an industrious accent for a Galaxy cellphone. My solely lingering gripe is that the notifications aren’t as intrusive as my distracted mind wants them to be. They’re straightforward for me to overlook. The double faucet function is nice — a pinch gesture that dismisses or triggers actions with out you having to the touch the display. I exploit it usually and the watch virtually at all times registers the movement. The display has solely grow to be extra responsive and navigation is lots zippy. And at last, I really like how customizable the watch faces are.
Wrap-up: The most effective smartwatch Samsung has made in years
The considerably refreshed look was the primary indicator that Samsung was (lastly) doing one thing totally different with the Galaxy Watch. I used to be pleasantly shocked by how properly and the way shortly Gemini was in a position deal with features on the wearable itself, in addition to reply my questions. The tiles make looking down information on the watch a lot simpler and the brand new well being metrics like antioxidant ranges and vascular load might turn out to be useful for a lot of people. Additionally the Basic variant this yr is a very gorgeous timepiece, lastly bringing a real grown-up fashion to smartwatches.
The AI working coach bought extra out of me than I assumed potential (and ensured that I can be quick asleep earlier than any Bedtime Steering strategies kick in). However the adjustments that happy me probably the most have been the improved battery and markedly elevated consolation. These have been two elements that prevented the just-good Galaxy Watch 7 from being an incredible smartwatch. In fact, when you don’t have a Samsung cellphone, there’s no level in contemplating any Galaxy Watch (and if that’s you, you in all probability haven’t learn this far down anyway). However when you’re a Galaxy fan, this watch might very properly delight you and assist you to get probably the most out of your cellphone.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/galaxy-watch-8-review-samsungs-best-smartwatch-in-years-155857108.html?src=rss