My first days with Samsung’s smartwatch have been promising

Samsung introduced its latest units throughout its Galaxy Unpacked event on July 9. That occurred to fall on the second day of Amazon’s Prime Day occasion. Do massive tech corporations not know what the others are doing? Do they care? Do they like making the lives of tech reporters troublesome? I didn’t have time to contemplate. Solely after I was completed protecting Amazon did I’ve time to start correctly testing Samsung’s newest wearable. Which means I’ve been dwelling with the Galaxy Watch 8 for 4 days now.

Whereas that’s not sufficient time to finish a complete evaluate and tally a good rating, I used to be in a position to collect a superb quantity of first impressions — and let me let you know, they’re practically all optimistic. I’ll proceed to guage the watch over the following few weeks or so and return for a remaining evaluation. Within the meantime, there’s so much to say concerning the expertise to date.

Samsung packed a variety of updates into its newest smartwatch, by way of each {hardware} and software program. However I put further effort into testing one function particularly — and it’s one of many extra fascinating.

Antioxidant exams and my persimmon consumption

The Galaxy Watch 8 has the identical processor and sensors because the earlier era, nevertheless it’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 confer with the Well being app in your cellphone for detailed outcomes. The primary time I examined, I received a rating of 60, which falls proper in the midst of the “low” phase of the size. The one different outcomes are “very low” and “satisfactory,” which can certainly 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 thought of that fruit. Contemplating South Korea is among the world’s largest persimmon producers, it would make sense {that a} Samsung gadget recommended them. The produce man at my native grocery retailer stated they solely carry them across the holidays (little question as a result of grandmas insist, plus that’s after they’re in season).

Seems persimmons are excessive in antioxidants resembling Vitamin C and beta-carotine (Vitamin A). Cantaloupe additionally has these vitamins — plus it’s orange like persimmons — so I purchased one. In reality, I went exhausting on the antioxidants and did all the pieces I might to see if I might get a greater rating. I ate a bunch of cherries and just a little darkish chocolate. For breakfast, I had half a cantaloupe as a substitute of the very tasty-smelling breakfast hash my husband made, and I drank plain inexperienced tea as a substitute of my typical 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 received eight hours of sleep and drank my weight in water. I felt prepared.

So I took the take a look at once more and my antioxidant ranges had been… two factors decrease. Sigh. I wasn’t anticipating in a single day transformation, however I’d hoped for just a little enchancment. Subsequent time, I’m consuming the hash.

Lastly, a brand new design!

Since its fourth generation, the Galaxy Watch has seemed just about the identical: a spherical glass display screen set in a spherical metallic case with giant prongs coming out of the highest and backside to carry the band. Whereas there was nothing fallacious with sticking with a superb design, giving a tool a refreshed look lends the yearly replace cycle some which means — as a substitute of feeling like an compulsory transfer to appease stockholders.

This time round, the Galaxy Watch 8 appears to be like markedly completely different because of a form borrowed from final 12 months’s Ultra model. 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 evaluate mannequin curves to satisfy the width of the case, making a clean arch that I believe is extra refined than the clunkier pronged configuration. In reality, the complete look is stylish — far more so than the Apple Watch, which appears to be like like a miniaturized iPhone 11 glued to a silicone strap.

The cushion design is nice in a method, but in addition worrisome. As a result of the glass show stands pleased with the case by at the least two millimeters, my first thought was: “I’m going to trash this display screen.” Instantly after taking the be careful of the field, I ordered display screen shields and, through the quick course of this evaluate, managed to crack one. That’s probably as a result of I used to be low cost and ordered off-brand display screen protectors, or maybe the protruding glass cushion is solely begging for misfortune.

Nonetheless, the raised glass solves one criticism I had with the Galaxy Watch 7. One option to scroll is by working your finger alongside the outer fringe of the display screen. In reality, on-screen cues counsel that gesture when there’s extra content material to view. On the Watch 7, my finger was all the time getting in the way in which of the textual content I needed 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 how far more comfy the watch is. The Watch 7’s underside had a large sensor node, and it took me every week to get used to the texture. Even then, I hated sleeping with it. The Watch 8, nonetheless, felt good the primary time I put it on.

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 headline function for the brand new software program is Gemini integration. Now, most issues you are able to do with the Gemini app in your cellphone may be completed by means of your watch. Simply notice that you just’ll must have your Gemini-compatible cellphone close by to make use of it.

Google’s AI was fairly snappy at primary duties like setting reminders and timers. Requests that required extra “thought” took solely marginally longer (and accomplished extra shortly after I was utilizing my house Wi-Fi versus counting on cell alerts out on the earth). I requested for the very best document shops in my metropolis and a superb 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 screen and likewise reads out each phrase. That may flip into a variety of speaking, however tapping the display screen stops the chatter in case you favor to learn. Gemini can deal with follow-up questions and duties, however because it doesn’t normally hold listening after it speaks, you need to 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 hold listening, however there is not one presently. For now, you will 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, nonetheless, resembling verifying a textual content it’s about to ship, it does hold listening for the reply. You may also mix instructions on the outset, resembling 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 needed then despatched the message. I requested when the Albuquerque Isotopes had 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 a substitute of answering the query. All the opposite assistants in my life (Alexa and Siri) can reply these questions — although technically that’s a Gemini downside, not the watch’s fault.

The opposite disappointment is a matter of correct integration. I used to be out on a stroll and I requested for instructions to a close-by grocery retailer. Gemini informed me the deal with and the gap, however pointed 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 manage 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 data — exercise metrics, present temp, your subsequent occasion and so forth. If the restricted data isn’t sufficient, tapping a tile opens the respective app. You possibly can 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 didn’t have time to get the defaults tweaked precisely how I needed, nevertheless it already looks like a a lot smarter means of interacting with a watch. Now you’ll be able to glean key info from the apps which are essential to you simply by looking your tiles.

The working coach believes in you

The Galaxy Watch 8 now comes with built-in, AI-fueled working steerage. This sounds a bit just like the upcoming Exercise Buddy that Apple introduced for watchOS 26, so it will likely be fascinating to match the 2. Google Pixel watches and Fitbits at present have the choice of an AI-powered working coach, nevertheless it’s restricted to Premium subscribers. Garmin affords an adaptive coaching program known as Run Coach as nicely, so this isn’t a wholly novel thought.

Samsung’s working coach begins with an evaluation: Run as quick as you’ll be able to preserve 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 the direction of getting me to run a 5K on the finish of 4 weeks.

The primary exercise was low-intensity interval working with 4 segments of working exhausting, interspersed with cool-down walks. As I ran, the AI coach informed me when and what to anticipate on the following phase and what my objectives had been for every. It spouted occasional phrases of encouragement and let me know when my tempo began to lag. The steerage wasn’t intrusive and I appreciated the preview of and expectations for the following phase. I attempted it relying simply on the watch’s audio system, and I might hear OK so long as the streets had been quiet, however I undoubtedly advocate utilizing earbuds.

I discovered myself working quicker than I’d have with out a “coach” and now I’m truthfully questioning whether or not I, an individual my athlete sister describes as “not an athlete,” might truly full a 5K. Possibly there’s some worth on this idea in any case. In any case, I discover myself wanting ahead to taking it additional. My subsequent exercise is a straight up, 30-minute jog. I’ve by no means repeatedly run for a half an hour in my life, so we’ll see how that goes.

Vascular load, bedtime reminders and battery life

The fast turnaround on this text means I didn’t get to correctly take a look at a number of the new options. Vascular load takes readings whilst you sleep to guage the well being of your circulatory system, then tells you when your load is larger or decrease than regular and affords suggestions. It requires three nights of knowledge to set a baseline, however after the third night time of sporting the watch to mattress, it stated I nonetheless wanted another.

Three nights of sleep also needs to set off a Bedtime Steering function, however I did not see an notification letting me know the steerage had begun. After asking Samsung why, I used to be informed I wanted to show it on within the Well being app (Well being > Sleep > faucet three dots icon > Bedtime steerage). So I am going to report again on the expertise after utilizing it for a couple of days.

One of many prior mannequin’s shortcomings was battery life. The always-on show (AOD) tanked the cost, so I saved it off. The Galaxy Watch 8 has a much bigger 325mAh battery, in comparison with the 300mAh one on the Watch 7. Twenty-five milliamp hours isn’t an enormous bounce, however greater is all the time higher. As a result of I used to be testing each attainable function (sleeping, working, exercises, antioxidants, Gemini and extra), I used to be continually dropping the watch on the charger for partial refills in between exams. That meant I didn’t have the chance to methodically take a look at the battery’s runtime simply but.

I did notice what I might. The primary day of testing, the battery was at 100% at 4PM. The following day at 4PM it nonetheless had 17 % remaining. That 24-hour interval included driving instructions, three exercises, a number of Gemini requests, watch face modifications and a full night time of sleep. I’d toggled the AOD on and off all through that point, however the outcomes had been nonetheless higher than what I tracked on the Watch 7.

The Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional is tremendous swank

I didn’t have a ton of time to spend with the Traditional model of the Watch 8, nevertheless it’s 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 primary benefit it has over the usual Galaxy Watch 8 is the safety the spinning bezel affords the raised show. The glass is shielded on the edges and it’s even inset barely which can keep off scratches. It’s a bit chonky for my style, nevertheless it’s surprisingly comfy for its measurement and is extraordinarily engaging. I might see this interesting to model fanatics who need a smartwatch however don’t wish to appear like they’re sporting a wrist gadget.

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 12 months) and the Traditional variant is $500 for the one 46mm measurement. For reference, there was no Galaxy Watch 7 Traditional and the Galaxy Watch 6 Traditional 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 almost certainly on the way and might be costlier.) The Apple Watch Sequence 10 begins at $399, nevertheless it went as low as $279 throughout Prime Day. And, in fact, a brand new Apple wearable is probably going coming this September with a possible value bump as nicely. So Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 8 might find yourself being probably the most inexpensive of the main smartwatch releases as soon as the mud settles from 2025’s launches. And in case you’re a Samsung smartphone consumer, it’s simply your greatest guess.

All the things else and an eventual rating

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 review of the Galaxy Watch 6 and coated the notable perks of Samsung’s wearable in our Galaxy Watch 7 review and our Galaxy Watch 5 review. So I’ll simply level out that the exercise monitoring remains to be correct — and it’s quicker to suss out after I’m on a stroll than my Apple Watch. The companion Well being app, the place you view all the information your watch gathers, is useful and a delight to make use of with its common sense solutions and pleasant animations. And the day by day Power Rating is a helpful indicator of how I’m doing with my sleep and motion objectives.

The Watch 8 covers the fundamentals nicely, performing as an industrious accent for a Galaxy cellphone. Though, as with the Watch 7, I want the notifications had been extra intrusive as they’re simple 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 screen. I exploit it usually and the watch nearly all the time registers the movement. And at last, I like how customizable the watch faces are. While you mix all that with a considerably refreshed look, some succesful Gemini integration, a couple of new well being options and a extra navigable interface, Samsung’s newest wearable turns into a really succesful wrist companion. I nonetheless must dwell with it some time longer (with a brand new display screen protector firmly in place) to assign a evaluate rating, however to date, I’m impressed.