Samsung Galaxy Watch Extremely evaluation: in case you can’t beat ’em, be part of ’em

After Samsung introduced the $649.99 Galaxy Watch Extremely on July tenth, I noticed a few posts floating round on Threads. The gist was the identical. Every submit had two photos: on the one aspect, there was the Apple Watch Extremely, and on the opposite, the Galaxy Watch Extremely. Hmm, customers questioned. The place have we seen this earlier than?

It’s harsh, however it was my precise first thought as nicely. Whereas there are stylistic variations, it’s painfully apparent that Samsung made an inventory of every part the Apple Watch Extremely had that the Galaxy Watch 5 Professional — Samsung’s first try at a extra rugged smartwatch — didn’t. It then went down the record, ticking off every characteristic one after the other. By and huge, that was a profitable technique. It is a nice Android smartwatch. Arguably, it’s the finest Android smartwatch.

It simply doesn’t really feel good.

Extra particularly, the Extremely’s successes don’t all the time really feel earned. Samsung smartwatches have all the time had their very own distinctive aptitude (often within the type of a bodily rotating bezel, which is unfortunately lacking right here). Sure, there have been some Samsung-y quirks, however it gave the watches character. 

A few of that quintessential Samsung-ness remains to be there. However it’s additionally simple that Samsung overhauled its wearable technique to be the Apple of Android. My nerdy lil’ coronary heart isn’t damaged over it. However it does sting.

After sporting the Apple Watch Extremely 2 on one arm and the Galaxy Watch Extremely on the opposite for the final two weeks, it’s simpler to say what they don’t have in frequent. Not like Apple’s watch, the Galaxy Watch Extremely has a round face (although it’s set in a squarish case). There’s no digital crown. It has FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection, a 3nm processor, and an upgraded 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor, which measures EKGs, physique composition evaluation, and different coronary heart fee knowledge. (Apple has EKGs and coronary heart fee, however it’s nonetheless on a 5nm chip, and Masimo’s lawsuit has thrown a wrench in its sleep apnea efforts.) Naturally, the Galaxy Watch Extremely runs One UI 6 Watch and Put on OS 5 as a substitute of watchOS. 

Evaluate that to what they do have in frequent:

• An orange shortcut button (Motion Button versus Fast Button)
• Three band varieties based mostly on whether or not you do water sports activities, climb, or run
• An emergency siren (the Apple siren is 80db; Samsung’s is 85db) 
• A watchface that turns purple for simpler studying at evening
• 3,000 nits of display brightness
• Twin-frequency GPS 
• 10ATM of water resistance 
• New multisport exercise for triathletes 

I might go on as a result of there are even extra comparable options — like backtracking for hikes, racing previous routes for runners, and useful threshold energy for cyclists — however these are the key ones. 

It’s comprehensible why Samsung has adopted this route. The Apple Watch Extremely has been profitable in a method that the Galaxy Watch 5 Professional has not. And as a lot as I hate to say it, I can’t say it was a nasty concept. All of those additions and upgrades add as much as a robust and succesful Android smartwatch. Total efficiency is snappy, battery life is sweet when you end calibrating (extra on that later), and there’s nice synergy in case you use it with the brand new Galaxy Ring. I might finish the evaluation proper now with “that is the Apple Watch Extremely for Android,” and also you’d in all probability have an honest understanding of the Galaxy Watch Extremely’s strengths and weaknesses. 

It’s simply that when Apple does it higher, it takes among the shine from Samsung’s model. As an example, it’s simpler to sync a customized mountain climbing route onto Apple’s Extremely through the Maps app than it’s to obtain a .GPX file from a separate app into the Samsung Well being app in your cellphone. Apple’s Extremely has a local depth app and can be utilized as a dive laptop. You may safely take Samsung’s Extremely for a plunge, however there aren’t any equal scuba diving capabilities. Programming and utilizing the Motion Button is a little more intuitive than the Fast Button. If I step right into a darkish closet, the Apple Watch Extremely’s evening mode kicks on robotically. Auto evening mode on the Galaxy Watch Extremely appears to be based mostly on the precise time. 

However comparability is the thief of pleasure. As an alternative, permit me to gripe about one of many Galaxy Watch Extremely’s extra distinct options: its polarizing squircle design. 

Lately, Samsung watches have been overwhelmingly round. The official line is that the Extremely’s new squarish case provides sturdiness, although I’d argue the Professional was loads sturdy with out it. My working concept is that it permits for a greater strap swapping mechanism — similar to Apple’s — and that Samsung was purposefully going for visible similarity. 

However after a number of weeks of wear and tear, I want Samsung had simply picked an oblong show or a round one as a substitute of splitting the distinction. Retaining the round design would’ve stored it extra visually distinct from Apple and, let’s face it, much less ugly. (Although, there is a component of colour desire right here. I discover the white titanium model to be way more fetching than the silver or my Halloween-y evaluation unit. The black case is okay, however the strap is so orange.)

Except for aesthetic sensibilities, Samsung’s 47mm Extremely is chunkier on the wrist than Apple’s 49mm Extremely. That’s as a result of Samsung’s sq. case appears extra squat on the wrist, even when the size are fairly comparable. It additionally wasn’t fairly as cozy for my petite wrists. The hole between the strap and my wrist was so huge, I might stuff precisely three pens or chopsticks into that area. The added chunkiness additionally made it troublesome to discover a good match. Both I strapped the watch on method too tight, leaving marks on my arm, or it was too unfastened and would slide up and down my wrist.

The Galaxy Watch Extremely does supply some notable enhancements over the Watch 5 Professional. For me, the 2 most impactful ones have been longer battery life and the double pinch gesture.

The Extremely sports activities a 590mAh battery, which is similar because the Professional. Nonetheless, software program updates between 2022 and 2024 — and a brand new train power-saving mode — assist lengthen the Extremely’s battery life. Battery life relies upon closely on particular person utilization, however in testing, I acquired roughly 70 hours on a single cost with heavy GPS utilization and power-guzzling options just like the always-on show enabled. If I enabled power-saving mode as soon as I hit 15 p.c battery, I might stretch it to about 76 hours. (Observe: Samsung watches take a number of cost cycles to calibrate and study your utilization patterns. The primary few days, I acquired a dismal 36–48 hours on a single cost.) I by no means fairly hit Samsung’s 100-hour estimate, however it’s nonetheless a marked enchancment over the 50–60 hours I acquired with the Professional. 

That is true multiday battery life, although it nonetheless falls in need of different multisport watches for actual outdoorsy varieties. Once I tracked a 3.5-hour hike in a distant space with no cell reception, the Galaxy Watch Extremely misplaced 22 p.c battery, whereas my year-old Extremely 2 misplaced about 34 p.c. When you may get away with leaving the charger at residence for a one- or two-day journey, however you’re rolling the cube for something longer.

Double pinch isn’t a brand new characteristic for Samsung watches — it’s been round for some time. It’s simply extra entrance and heart now. Not like Apple’s model, it’s not contextual, that means it’s restricted to largely dismissing alerts, accepting calls, and controlling your cellphone’s digital camera. However placing these limitations in place mockingly makes it extra clear-cut for each day use. There are a number of different gestures you should utilize, which expands your hands-free choices. As an example, I programmed the knock knock gesture to open the Digital camera Controller app after which used double pinch to snap selfies. That’s simply neat.

Samsung made an enormous hullabaloo about including Galaxy AI well being options this 12 months within the type of a brand new Power Rating and Wellness Suggestions. There’s additionally an upgraded 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor, which brings with it an experimental superior glycation finish merchandise (AGEs) metric to gauge metabolic well being. Sadly, AI doesn’t all the time know what’s finest for you.

I wrote extra in regards to the Power Rating metric in my Galaxy Ring evaluation, however the gist is that it’s broadly correct with some hit-or-miss AI-generated recommendation. The identical is true for the AI-generated Wellness Suggestions. For instance, the opposite morning, I acquired two suggestions that advised me that I each was and wasn’t sticking to my sleep schedule. 

In the meantime, the AGEs index metric is baffling. When you sleep, the watch measures for bodily compounds that accumulate when “protein and fats molecules are oxidized by sugar molecules.” Supposedly, that tells you the way nicely you’re metabolically growing old, however Samsung has been imprecise about how this truly works, the worth of even having this knowledge, and what you’re imagined to do with it. You’re graded on a spectrum from low to excessive — it advised me I’m within the center. To enhance my rating, the app advises me to eat wholesome, train, and prioritize sleep to enhance my AGEs index — which I’m already doing — whereas different components of the app inform me to cease figuring out so onerous. Is that this an actual factor? Perhaps within the analysis subject, however in a client smartwatch, that is little greater than a gimmick.

The brand new FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection characteristic is comparatively simple, however sadly, I discovered it troublesome to make use of. The characteristic requires you to put on the watch for 2 nights when you sleep to detect disturbances based mostly on blood oxygen ranges. I had a tough time getting legitimate readings, partly as a result of the Extremely’s dimension made it onerous to get a comfortable match. Ultimately, I used to be appropriately advised I don’t have sleep apnea. The caveat is that this characteristic is not a medical diagnostic software and should not catch each occasion of obstructed respiratory — so take from that what you’ll. Just like the EKG characteristic, it additionally requires you to have a Galaxy cellphone.

Actually, the perfect health replace was the addition of dual-frequency GPS. In comparison with the Galaxy Watch 7, the Extremely was way more correct at recording the space of my runs. I hiked a 4.99-mile route with heavy tree cowl, and the Extremely recorded a spot-on 4.99 miles, whereas my Apple Watch Extremely 2 logged a negligible distinction of 5.03 miles. 

I genuinely just like the Galaxy Watch Extremely. That is essentially the most full-featured Android smartwatch you should purchase proper now. I might wholeheartedly suggest it to Android customers who desire a longer-lasting smartwatch with a strong number of third-party apps. 

Nonetheless, I concern that in copying Apple so carefully, Samsung will finally cease marching to its personal quirky beat. As a result of it’s not simply this watch — the entire Galaxy Watch lineup now mirrors Apple. There’s a price range Galaxy Watch FE to match the Apple Watch SE, a Galaxy Watch 7 sits the place the Apple Watch Sequence 9 does, and on the high, there’s the Galaxy Watch Extremely. Samsung’s signature bodily rotating bezel is now restricted to final 12 months’s Galaxy Watch 6 Basic — which wasn’t up to date this 12 months. It’s unclear if it’ll get a refresh down the highway.

This really was a bittersweet evaluation to write down. I can’t deny the Galaxy Watch Extremely fills a void for Android customers who desire a smarter Garmin various. (For an inexpensive value, too.) I can’t fault Samsung for making an attempt one thing completely different now that it has a rival within the Pixel Watch. After coasting with final 12 months’s watches, it needed to do one thing to regain momentum. I simply by no means thought it will do it by making an Apple Watch. 

Pictures by Victoria Track / The Verge