Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 review: I ran and hiked 100 miles to test this new smartwatch
What is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8?
The Galaxy Watch 8 is a health and fitness tracker that connects to Samsung and other Android smartphones. Think Apple Watch, but for the people who don't own Apple products.
This new model is the latest smartwatch from Samsung and at £319 it's at the upper end of the market. It has a brighter display than previous models with a simple, slim design, but the battery needs recharging regularly. It's also the first from Samsung to integrate Google Gemini AI smart assistance and can handle complex tasks with a single voice command, such as: 'Find my next nearest parkrun and save it to my calendar'.
The new running coach feature also includes 160 tailored training plans, a new antioxidant level estimate and sleep apnea detection, too. That's on top of traditional functions like showing incoming calls, notifications and music playback, and health fitness features like tracking your sleep and heart rate, and an integrated GPS.
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How we test fitness trackers
When I test smartwatches and fitness trackers I wear them non-stop, night and day, and only take them off to charge.
I test their general day-to-day performance, trialling unique features, testing the battery life and getting a feel for how easy they are to set up, interact with and use.
I assess how they handle intense exercise like a cycling workout or a run, more casual exercise like a morning walk, and how they manage notifications coming through from a connected smartphone.
I also wear them to bed as many health features rely on data like your heart rate and respiratory rate when you're asleep. I compare all of this combined health, sleep and fitness data against the readings on a Garmin Forerunner 970 high-end running watch, an Eight Sleep Pod 4 mattress and a Garmin HRM 600 chest strap heart rate monitor.
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Ease of use
Score: 8/10
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 was easy to set up and simple to use with my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 smartphone. There are some extra hurdles to jump setup if you're not using a Samsung phone, however, and this smartwatch isn't compatible with an iPhone.
The touchscreen and two-button controls on the side of the display let you tap and swipe through the screens. The set up of the display means its easy to navigation though the tools and health insights the smartwatch tracks, while manually tracking runs, cycles and swims is quick and easy.
I found the automatic workout detection was swift to detect when I was on a walk and I the Google Gemini AI assistant was genuinely helpful when I wanted to track my progress or navigate a route. The smartwatch seamlessly synchronises your data within Samsung's connected health apps, making it easier to dig deeper into you daily health stats.
Comfort and wearability
Score: 8/10
This is a fashionable design that I found comfortable to wear 24/7, even at night. It comes in 40mm and 44mm wrist sizes with a graphite or silver finish. I tested the grey silicone sport band but you can swap it out for a pop of colour. It felt comfortable against my skin and I had no rubbing or irritation (some Garmin straps can cause silicone burn). My only complaint was the tuck-under fastening, which requires an awkward pinch to attach.
This smartwatch adopts the Galaxy Watch Ultra's 'squircle' design (Samsung's words, not mine), putting a brilliantly bright, vibrant and responsive circular touchscreen on top of a square 'cushion' design, with a low-profile optical heart rate sensor that helps improve the overall comfort.
The result is a smartwatch that I found comparatively thin, light and more comfortable on my wrist compared to bigger Garmin watches.
Activity and movement metrics
Score: 8/10
The Galaxy Watch 8 tracks more than 100 sports with a focus on running, cycling, swimming and walking or hiking. It has a 'health heart' monitor that challenges you to log enough steps, active minutes and calories to complete your 'heart'.
I ran and hiked over 100 miles over multiple workouts and was impressed by the accuracy of its tracking when I compared it to other devices. The GPS was often slow to link up, but it mainly matched my Garmin Forerunner 970 for overall distances. It clocked 13.2 miles when I ran a half-marathon, while my Garmin measured 13.13 miles. The heart rate data was proved reliable. My Garmin HRM 600 chest strap logged a 105bpm average and 159bpm max, while Samsung's optical sensor clocked 106bpm and 159bpm, respectively on the same run.
Step tracking was a bit more topsy-turvy, not quite catching my different stages, while Samsung's step counts were often more than 2,000 steps higher or lower than the Forerunner 970.
Sleep and recovery tracking
Score: 7/10
Sleep tracking gives you a nightly sleep score, sleep duration information and a breakdown of your sleep stages. It also monitors blood oxygen levels, skin temperature and nightly heart rate.
I tested this against the Garmin Forerunner 970 and an EightSleep Pod mattress. Samsung's sleep quality readings and durations sometimes matched the Garmin and smart mattress, but were sometimes an hour off. The Watch 8 was often more optimistic with my sleep quality score, too. I also found Samsung's blood oxygen ranges sometimes provided readings from 78 to 100 per cent, which is incredibly broad.
The recovery scores were hit and miss, too. One morning, Samsung gave me a 68 Energy Score because of an 'elevated overnight heart rate', while Garmin suggested I had hit '100 prime readiness'. My own perceptions had me closer to Garmin than Samsung and my tests did little to alleviate my scepticism when it comes to the reliability of these scores.
Lifestyle and wellness features
Score: 9/10
The Watch 8 gives you electrocardiogram (ECG) heart rate and blood pressure readings, though you'll need some calibration using a regular blood pressure cuff and you need to have a Samsung phone to hand.
There's a body composition analysis to estimate how much fat and muscle you're carrying, monthly cycle tracking, plus a vascular load readout that monitors blood vessel strain over time. You can also measure stress, do journal-style mood check-ins and manually track food and water intake.
One intriguing new tool is the antioxidant index. This uses sensors to reveal if you're getting your recommended daily amount of fruit and vegetables to help boost your antioxidant levels. These are molecules that can help fight off health conditions like cancer and diabetes.
But in practice (and despite eating a lot of fruit and veg) my readings regularly came up 'low' even when I significantly upped my intake.
Technical specifications
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 was launched alongside the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. If you're looking for a more traditional style of smartwatch with a similar suite of features, it's definitely an alternative to consider.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8?
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is a highly capable smartwatch with a mixture of simple and serious health and fitness tools. Runners, cyclists and swimmers will find it a competent sports tracker, though it lacks the advanced tools you get from Garmin and Coros. The one-and-a-half-day battery life also falls short of the month-long staying power of some dedicated sports watches.
If you already own a Samsung phone and want a fashionable smartwatch that's comfortable to wear, is a comprehensive health and fitness tracker, the Galaxy Watch 8 is one of the best options available.
Yes, if:
You need an easy-to-use fitness companion for your smartphone
You're a Samsung or Android phone user
You're a runner or a hiker
No, if:
You use an iPhone
You want a smartwatch or fitness tracker with a week-long battery life
You want advanced training metrics for running, cycling and other sports
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 FAQs
What are the biggest new health and AI features of the Galaxy Watch 8?
The standout new health features include a readiness-style energy score that crunches sleep, activity, heart rate and other metrics to reflect how prepared your body is for activity or recovery.
There's an antioxidant index that uses sensors to estimate oxidative stress levels in your body. Those same sensors serve up body composition insights for body fat and muscle. A vascular load tool monitors blood vessel strain over time.
Is the Galaxy Watch 8 waterproof?
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is waterproof. It carries a water rating of 5ATM, which means it can handle being submerged up to 50 metres.
What are the differences between the Galaxy Watch 8 and the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic?
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 was released alongside a new Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. The Classic model has a more traditional look with a physical rotating watch face bezel and stainless steel case. The Watch 8 is aluminium, and the Classic comes in large sizes with 43mm and 47mm options.
When was the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 released?
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 was released in July 2025, alongside a new Galaxy Watch 8 Classic and a pair of foldable smartphones: the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Fold 7.
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