Editor’s rating: 4/5 Samsung and Google both tried to challenge Apple’s supremacy in the wearable space in their own ways, but only with limited success. Samsung, with its Tizen-based Galaxy watches, stood second to the Apple Watch series and couldn’t satisfactorily challenge its dominance. Google started with its WearOS3 but slammed a temporary brake on its development as several of its key partners including Samsung were not keen to join in. Display Software Fitness tracking Battery Cut to 2021, Samsung and Google have found a common working ground to combine forces to introduce Wear OS3 powered by Samsung. Following this new arrangement, Samsung announced – the Galaxy Watch4 and Watch4 Classic. These first-ever Android Wear smartwatches from Samsung come in two designs and four sizes, starting at ₹23,999 for the Watch 4 and ₹36,999 for the Watch 4 Classic. Now the question is, will this partnership be able to change fortunes for Google’s Wear OS and Samsung Galaxy Watches? Well, that only time will tell. Is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 the best smartwatch Android users can buy? Let me address that and share other thoughts in this Galaxy Watch4 detailed review: Navigate this review:
Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Unboxing
The new Galaxy Watch4 landed on our doorsteps in a simple package including the watch itself along with a tiny charging pad. There’s no adapter in the box so you will have to plug the USB-A cable in a power bank or a laptop or any other wall charger.
Samsung Galaxy Watch4 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic: what’s different?
Apart from slight design changes, both these smartwatches are more or less the same. They feature the same chipsets, AMOLED screens, and same features sets. While the Classic version gets a rotating jog dial which is far more satisfying than moving fingers around edges to navigate. Now that is out of our way let’s dive deep into our detailed review.
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The Galaxy Watch4 that I was loaned for the review reminded me of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active2. It follows the minimalistic design approach offering a rounded dial with two oblong shape push buttons on the right side. There is a slight bezel all around the display which is made to act like a touch-sensitive bezel similar to Watch Active2. What’s different here is that the glass on top is flat whereas the one on the active 2 had curved edges. As compared to the Watch Active 2, the Watch4 bezels appear bigger, and swiping fingers across the periphery is noticeably less gratifying. If you prefer sporty design the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic should be your go-to option. At the bottom there it has a slight protruding bulge which ensures all the sensors at back remain in contact with your wrist even when strapped loosely. The new watch4 has fluoroelastomer made 20mm bands. To me, they felt sturdy and comfortable. I wore it for long hours and didn’t feel any skin irritation. If you wish, you can swap these straps with any 20mm straps of your liking. Samsung attempted to keep the Watch4 design light and slim. It is made of armour aluminum (claims it’s 10 percent sturdier than regular aluminum) weighing a total of 25.9 grams for the 40mm version and 30.3 grams for the 44mm variant. During this review, we tested the 44mm version and found it comfortable to wear for long hours. It not only looks and feels good, but it is also sturdy enough to deal with any miss handling in day-to-day life. It is IP68 rated and conforms to MIL-STD-810G military-grade standards. The Galaxy Watch 4 44mm version boasts a 1.4-inch Super AMOLED display with 396x396px resolution and a Corning Gorilla Glass DX protection. Samsung being a pioneer in display technologies leaves no room for complaints. The screen offered here is brighter than before, looks sharper than before, and has better sunlight visibility than before. Watch faces on the Galaxy 4 also look amazing thanks to its peppy colors. Software on the Galaxy Watch 4 offers the best of both WearOS and Tizen OS. It’s the first smartwatch to come running on Google’s Wear OS co-developed by Samsung. It has android’s app ecosystem with Samsung’s signature look and feels. Apart from the default watch face, swiping right displays notifications, while the left swipe will take you to information tiles. With a swipe up from the home screen, all installed apps are displayed as circular icons. There are several watch faces preinstalled and some of them are really fun to play with. You can also customize these watch faces via the Samsung wearable app. With play store onboard, some of Google’s most popular apps can be downloaded on watch. Users can also install watch faces from the Playstore. Both the new Galaxy Watches are driven by a new 5nm Exynos W920 dual-core chipset ticking at 1.18GHz. It gets 1.5 gigs of RAM and 16GB of eMMC ROM for a lag-free experience. The UI is quite snappy and apps loaded quickly which is a good start and we hope the watch doesn’t slow down with time. One of the biggest talking points of this year’s galaxy watches has been its newly developed BioActive sensor which combines an Optical Heart Rate Sensor (PPG), electrocardiogram reader (ECG), and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) sensor for Body Composition analysis. In fact, these are the first smartwatches to offer body composition analysis. Usually, all popular Smart scales have BIA technology where electrodes inside release weak electrical pulse through the soles to measure body composition. It’s astonishing to see how Samsung manages to make these complex technologies work through two tiny buttons. Well, It is a scientific process which is also known as bioelectrical impedance analysis where six vital factors of body composition namely body fat, fat mass, skeletal muscle, body water, basal metabolic rate (BMR), and body mass index (BMI) are calculated for analysis. It will allow you to understand our bodies better. Further, it can help you defend yourself from long-term health risks, osteoporosis risks (diabetes and high cholesterol), and figure out whether you’d need to lose fat or gain muscle for a healthier life. Each time you do Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis on the Galaxy Watch4 it takes 15 seconds to complete the process. To do so, you’d need to enter your current weight and then place your ring and middle finger of your freehand on two buttons on the side. If you are a fitness enthusiast or looking to lose weight, readings from the BIA sensor could help you move in the right direction. Having said that, it’s not for clinical diagnostic and even Samsung acknowledges that. Apart from BIA, Samsung also offers continuous heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen tracking as well as sleep and stress monitoring. It is capable of measuring ECG and BP but it doesn’t have the necessary certification for India yet. Samsung may unlock these essential features in the future after approval from concerned authorities. Watch 4 can track sleep and breaks down numbers in different sleep stages – Awake, REM (rapid eye movement sleep), Light sleep, and Deep sleep. It delivers useful insights and was able to record my sleeping data more or less accurately. I wish it could also track afternoon naps as separate sleep stats and break down that data accordingly. The watch also has stress tracking showed a stress meter. It seems to track your breathing pattern to graph your stress levels. After each reading, it encourages you to do a breathing exercise for any stress relief. When it comes to battery life, Samsung claims ‘up to 40 hours of battery life, which didn’t quite match up in our personal use. For us, the Watch lasted for a day and a half at most. If you can live without features like always-on display and notifications from your phone then you might extend the mileage a bit more. If I could change one thing about the Galaxy Watch 4, I will undoubtedly go for faster charging speeds. The bundled charger takes two hours which is an awfully long time to fully refill the 361mAh power unit.
[Review verdict] Should you buy the Galaxy Watch 4?
If you are tied into the Android ecosystem then the Galaxy Watch 4 is a watch that I wholeheartedly recommend you to buy. You can pick up either one – Galaxy Watch 4 or Galaxy Watch 4 Classic – as they are the best android watch options in the market right now With Wear OS, Samsung’s watches gain Google’s developer ecosystem support. The new Galaxy watch owners can enjoy ever growing playstore ecosystem. You can always pin your hopes on endless possibilities and relish seamless integration with Android. In the Indian context, these watches only lack ECG and BP measurement features that too because of reasons beyond Samsung’s control. Expert rating: 4/5 Q- Does the Watch 4 support custom watch bands? A- Yes, you can use third-party custom bands on this watch. Q- Does the Galaxy Watch 4 supports Qi charging? A- As per Samsung, it does. However, we tried a couple of other wireless charging pads and none of them really worked for us. Q- Can I download third-party watch faces on Galaxy Watch 4? A- Yes, you can. Q- Is calling feature available on the Galaxy Watch4? A- Yes, it has a microphone and speaker in build so you can make call using the Galaxy Watch 4.
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