The Samsung Galaxy Watch wants to fix what's always been a sticking point for smartwatches: battery life.
Promising five days of power, the Tizen-based Galaxy Watch also offers fitness and sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, and intelligent notifications with Bixby integration.
It's expensive at $329.99, and adding LTE connectivity only drives the price up higher.
And while it offers activity tracking, its results aren't on par with dedicated fitness trackers or even hybrid models like the Fitbit Versa.
Still, it's one of the better alternatives out there to the Apple Watch.
Sharp Looks on a Round Face
The Galaxy Watch ($189.00 at Walmart) isn't that different from the Gear S3 in terms of physical appearance.
Available in 42mm and 46mm sizes, it looks stylish on the wrist, with a more professional look than the sporty design you get with many fitness-oriented wearables, including the Gear Sport.
Both sizes have a circular rotating bezel around a crisp 1.2- or 1.3-inch (42mm or 46mm) AMOLED screen.
The Watch is available in black, rose gold, silver.
The black and silver versions feature a black strap, while the rose gold has a blush strap.
The straps are textured and flexible, and can also be swapped out for new ones.
The 46mm version can use any 22mm strap, while the 42mm model works with 20mm straps.
We tested the 42mm rose gold model, which is stylish and comfortable to wear on a daily basis.
It looks great with casual wear, and is easily dressed up for something more formal.
Plus, the round face lends the Galaxy Watch a more classic feel than the square Fitbit Versa or Apple Watch.
But in terms of size, we found the 46mm to be on the chunkier side—almost like a small hockey puck on the wrist.
Compared with both versions, the Fitbit Versa and Gear Sport are both slimmer and slightly less obtrusive on your wrist.
All models feature 5ATM of water resistance, meaning you can safely wear them in the pool and shower.
They also meet MIL-STD-810G for durability, and a pane of scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass DX+ protects the screen.
Despite wiping out hard three times during a downhill mountain biking course, the Galaxy Watch had nary a scratch.
It also survived a day at a water park without any damage.
If you want LTE, T-Mobile is the only carrier offering the Galaxy Watch as of this writing, though Samsung says other carriers are forthcoming.
The LTE model costs $375 for the 42mm version and $400 for the 46mm.
Keep in mind, that's just for the hardware.
You also have to pay for a data plan.
Worry-Free Battery?
Battery life is a major draw for both versions of the Galaxy Watch.
The 42mm version is estimated to have up to five days of use on a single charge, while the 46mm can last even longer.
Naturally, using LTE and other features will zap your battery faster.
In testing, we found our 42mm, non-LTE review unit lasted closer to four days with heart rate monitoring set to once every 10 minutes.
On a heavy day of testing, with about 120 minutes of physical activity, push notifications, and intermittent heart rate monitoring, the watch used up about 30 percent of its battery.
That's actually quite good for a watch with a color touch screen, but you'll still probably need to take it off and charge it at least a couple of times a week.
Under the hood, the Galaxy Watch has an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, a barometer, a gyroscope, a heart rate monitor, NFC, and GPS.
It's powered by a 1.15GHz Exynos 9110 dual-core processor and runs Samsung's Tizen operating system.
The LTE model has 1.5GB of RAM and 4GB of storage, while the Bluetooth-only version features 768MB of RAM but the same amount of storage.
Interface and Apps
Samsung's Tizen offers one of the more intuitive wearable OS experiences out there.
It's assisted by the rotating bezel—turn it right to view widgets, or left to access notifications.
It's notably easier to understand and use than Apple's watchOS and Google's Wear OS.
As for apps, offerings are similar to Wear OS.
You'll find plenty of third-party watch faces, as well as some popular apps like Map My Run, The New York Times, Speedo On, Spotify, and Strava.
That said, the Apple Watch still has the most expansive ecosystem by far.
The watch supports Bixby integration such as daily briefings on the weather, news, appointments, and other important items.
It can also interact with various smart home devices if you use the SmartThings Hub.
For instance, you can use it to get notifications from compatible security cameras, refrigerators, or washing machines.
Fitness Challenged
As we experienced with the Gear Sport, the Galaxy Watch delivered mixed results in fitness testing.
On a one-mile treadmill walk at 3.5 miles per hour, it logged 1,679 steps compared with the 2,097 steps logged by a Yamax Digiwalker SW-200, our control pedometer often used in clinical studies.
That's a difference of 19.9 percent.
It fared slightly better on a one-mile treadmill run at 5mph, logging 1,630 steps to the Yamax's 1,927 steps, for a difference of 15.4 percent.
On all-day step count testing, the Galaxy Watch underreported results compared with the Fitbit Versa and the Garmin Vivosmart 4 by 1,500 to 2,000 steps.
See How We Test Fitness Trackers
The Watch also has a tendency to underreport distance.
It recorded my one-mile treadmill walk as 0.85 miles, and my run as 0.74 miles.
It did better outdoors, logging two 0.56-mile walks as 0.5-mile each time.
On the plus side, heart rate monitoring is solid.
I compared the watch with a Polar H10 chest strap as well as the Fitbit Versa.
The Polar H10 uses an electrical signal to measure heart rate, compared with the Galaxy's optical sensors, so it tends to be more accurate.
During both treadmill walks and runs, the watch was within five beats per minute of the Polar H10 and on par with the Versa.
I found it helpful to get a light buzz during walks lasting longer than 10 minutes.
The notification would encourage me to keep going, as well as let me know I was on a good pace.
I was also able to see how many calories I was burning and check up on my heart rate.
This is an excellent feature for anyone looking to up their general activity levels.
You can also manually track more than 30 different activities.
A new feature on the Galaxy Watch is stress monitoring.
Supposedly, when the watch notices something your heart rate rising, it will give you advice on how to get it under control.
In practice, however, this never happened despite multiple high-stress situations, like biking down a mountain, getting locked out of my apartment, and my daily New York City commute.
Sleep tracking is better.
After wearing the watch to bed, you can go to the Samsung Health app for a detailed breakdown of your night.
Not only does it measure your sleep stages, it also gives you metrics such as efficiency, actual sleep times, calories burned, and how long you spent motionless, in light sleep, or restless.
A Smart Pick for Android Users
While the Galaxy Watch isn't perfect, it's one of the best alternatives to the Apple Watch, especially if you aren't an iPhone user.
It earns points on style, and the rotating bezel and Tizen are more intuitive to use than Wear OS.
That said, Samsung still has a way to go with its fitness tracking.
If accurate fitness metrics are your top priority, the Fitbit Versa pairs top-notch tracking with a competent smartwatch experience, making it your best bet.
The Galaxy Watch isn't out of this world, but it's a solid pick for those who don't buy into the Apple or Fitbit ecosystems.
Pros
Lasts up to five days on a single charge.
Crisp AMOLED screen.
Rotating bezel.
Accurate heart rate monitor.
Resistant to dust and water.
View More
The Bottom Line
The attractive Samsung Galaxy Watch has better battery life and is easier to use than most smartwatches, but its fitness tracking features aren't up to par.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch wants to fix what's always been a sticking point for smartwatches: battery life.
Promising five days of power, the Tizen-based Galaxy Watch also offers fitness and sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, and intelligent notifications with Bixby integration.
It's expensive at $329.99, and adding LTE connectivity only drives the price up higher.
And while it offers activity tracking, its results aren't on par with dedicated fitness trackers or even hybrid models like the Fitbit Versa.
Still, it's one of the better alternatives out there to the Apple Watch.
Sharp Looks on a Round Face
The Galaxy Watch ($189.00 at Walmart) isn't that different from the Gear S3 in terms of physical appearance.
Available in 42mm and 46mm sizes, it looks stylish on the wrist, with a more professional look than the sporty design you get with many fitness-oriented wearables, including the Gear Sport.
Both sizes have a circular rotating bezel around a crisp 1.2- or 1.3-inch (42mm or 46mm) AMOLED screen.
The Watch is available in black, rose gold, silver.
The black and silver versions feature a black strap, while the rose gold has a blush strap.
The straps are textured and flexible, and can also be swapped out for new ones.
The 46mm version can use any 22mm strap, while the 42mm model works with 20mm straps.
We tested the 42mm rose gold model, which is stylish and comfortable to wear on a daily basis.
It looks great with casual wear, and is easily dressed up for something more formal.
Plus, the round face lends the Galaxy Watch a more classic feel than the square Fitbit Versa or Apple Watch.
But in terms of size, we found the 46mm to be on the chunkier side—almost like a small hockey puck on the wrist.
Compared with both versions, the Fitbit Versa and Gear Sport are both slimmer and slightly less obtrusive on your wrist.
All models feature 5ATM of water resistance, meaning you can safely wear them in the pool and shower.
They also meet MIL-STD-810G for durability, and a pane of scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass DX+ protects the screen.
Despite wiping out hard three times during a downhill mountain biking course, the Galaxy Watch had nary a scratch.
It also survived a day at a water park without any damage.
If you want LTE, T-Mobile is the only carrier offering the Galaxy Watch as of this writing, though Samsung says other carriers are forthcoming.
The LTE model costs $375 for the 42mm version and $400 for the 46mm.
Keep in mind, that's just for the hardware.
You also have to pay for a data plan.
Worry-Free Battery?
Battery life is a major draw for both versions of the Galaxy Watch.
The 42mm version is estimated to have up to five days of use on a single charge, while the 46mm can last even longer.
Naturally, using LTE and other features will zap your battery faster.
In testing, we found our 42mm, non-LTE review unit lasted closer to four days with heart rate monitoring set to once every 10 minutes.
On a heavy day of testing, with about 120 minutes of physical activity, push notifications, and intermittent heart rate monitoring, the watch used up about 30 percent of its battery.
That's actually quite good for a watch with a color touch screen, but you'll still probably need to take it off and charge it at least a couple of times a week.
Under the hood, the Galaxy Watch has an accelerometer, an ambient light sensor, a barometer, a gyroscope, a heart rate monitor, NFC, and GPS.
It's powered by a 1.15GHz Exynos 9110 dual-core processor and runs Samsung's Tizen operating system.
The LTE model has 1.5GB of RAM and 4GB of storage, while the Bluetooth-only version features 768MB of RAM but the same amount of storage.
Interface and Apps
Samsung's Tizen offers one of the more intuitive wearable OS experiences out there.
It's assisted by the rotating bezel—turn it right to view widgets, or left to access notifications.
It's notably easier to understand and use than Apple's watchOS and Google's Wear OS.
As for apps, offerings are similar to Wear OS.
You'll find plenty of third-party watch faces, as well as some popular apps like Map My Run, The New York Times, Speedo On, Spotify, and Strava.
That said, the Apple Watch still has the most expansive ecosystem by far.
The watch supports Bixby integration such as daily briefings on the weather, news, appointments, and other important items.
It can also interact with various smart home devices if you use the SmartThings Hub.
For instance, you can use it to get notifications from compatible security cameras, refrigerators, or washing machines.
Fitness Challenged
As we experienced with the Gear Sport, the Galaxy Watch delivered mixed results in fitness testing.
On a one-mile treadmill walk at 3.5 miles per hour, it logged 1,679 steps compared with the 2,097 steps logged by a Yamax Digiwalker SW-200, our control pedometer often used in clinical studies.
That's a difference of 19.9 percent.
It fared slightly better on a one-mile treadmill run at 5mph, logging 1,630 steps to the Yamax's 1,927 steps, for a difference of 15.4 percent.
On all-day step count testing, the Galaxy Watch underreported results compared with the Fitbit Versa and the Garmin Vivosmart 4 by 1,500 to 2,000 steps.
See How We Test Fitness Trackers
The Watch also has a tendency to underreport distance.
It recorded my one-mile treadmill walk as 0.85 miles, and my run as 0.74 miles.
It did better outdoors, logging two 0.56-mile walks as 0.5-mile each time.
On the plus side, heart rate monitoring is solid.
I compared the watch with a Polar H10 chest strap as well as the Fitbit Versa.
The Polar H10 uses an electrical signal to measure heart rate, compared with the Galaxy's optical sensors, so it tends to be more accurate.
During both treadmill walks and runs, the watch was within five beats per minute of the Polar H10 and on par with the Versa.
I found it helpful to get a light buzz during walks lasting longer than 10 minutes.
The notification would encourage me to keep going, as well as let me know I was on a good pace.
I was also able to see how many calories I was burning and check up on my heart rate.
This is an excellent feature for anyone looking to up their general activity levels.
You can also manually track more than 30 different activities.
A new feature on the Galaxy Watch is stress monitoring.
Supposedly, when the watch notices something your heart rate rising, it will give you advice on how to get it under control.
In practice, however, this never happened despite multiple high-stress situations, like biking down a mountain, getting locked out of my apartment, and my daily New York City commute.
Sleep tracking is better.
After wearing the watch to bed, you can go to the Samsung Health app for a detailed breakdown of your night.
Not only does it measure your sleep stages, it also gives you metrics such as efficiency, actual sleep times, calories burned, and how long you spent motionless, in light sleep, or restless.
A Smart Pick for Android Users
While the Galaxy Watch isn't perfect, it's one of the best alternatives to the Apple Watch, especially if you aren't an iPhone user.
It earns points on style, and the rotating bezel and Tizen are more intuitive to use than Wear OS.
That said, Samsung still has a way to go with its fitness tracking.
If accurate fitness metrics are your top priority, the Fitbit Versa pairs top-notch tracking with a competent smartwatch experience, making it your best bet.
The Galaxy Watch isn't out of this world, but it's a solid pick for those who don't buy into the Apple or Fitbit ecosystems.
Pros
Lasts up to five days on a single charge.
Crisp AMOLED screen.
Rotating bezel.
Accurate heart rate monitor.
Resistant to dust and water.
View More
The Bottom Line
The attractive Samsung Galaxy Watch has better battery life and is easier to use than most smartwatches, but its fitness tracking features aren't up to par.
