Samsung Galaxy Watch8 series hands-on
The Galaxy Watch series just got its newest members – say hello to the Galaxy Watch8 and Watch8 Classic. We got to spend some time with the newest Samsung wearables and these are our first impressions.
From left to right: Watch8 (40mm), Watch8 44mm, Watch8 Classic (white and black), Watch Ultra (Titanium Blue)
The Watch8 series gets Samsung's "cushion design," which premiered on last year's Galaxy Watch Ultra. This means a squircle-shaped casing and a round display on top.
Watch8 (left) and Watch8 Classic (right)
Samsung's Dynamic Lug system ensures less space between the watch casing and your wrist which should result in more accurate health and activity readings. The only downside is that the Watch8 series uses proprietary straps, so you can't just pop on any standard 22mm band like on the Watch7 series.
Samsung does provide a wide variety of strap options to choose from, as you can see.
Watch8 series straps
Watch8 comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes and two colors - Graphite and Silver. The smaller version boasts a 1.34-inch display while the larger gets a slightly larger 1.47-inch panel.
Watch8 Classic is available in a single 46mm size with Black and White color options. It brings back the fan-favorite rotating bezel, which Samsung oddly chose to omit from its Watch7 series.
For some weird reason, Watch8 Classic gets the same 1.34-inch diagonal as the smaller 40mm Watch8.
Regardless of which Watch8 series you go for, you're getting a bright and responsive AMOLED display with Sapphire Crystal protection and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits.
The casing on the Watch8 is made from aluminum, while the Classic gets stainless steel. Both feel premium enough, though the Classic is noticeably heavier, which is to be expected given its larger size and rotating bezel.
At 8.6mm thick, Watch8 is thinner and lighter than any previous Galaxy Watch, and it's refreshingly light on the wrist.
Samsung's new watches boot One UI 8 Watch based on Google's Wear OS 6. This update brings a few new features, including grouped notifications, multi-info tiles and Samsung's Now Bar. You're also getting Bedtime Guidance, Vascular Load, Antioxidant Index and a new Running Coach
Samsung's BioActive Sensor claims more accurate health and activity readings, which we'll make sure to test in our review. Both Watch8 members get the Exynos W1000 chip paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage on the Watch8 and 64GB on the Classic.
As for battery life, the smallest 40mm Watch8 gets a 325mAh battery while the 44mm model features a 435mAh cell. Watch8 Classic is outfitted with a 445mAh cell. Samsung claims 40 hours of usage without Always-on Display (AoD) mode, and 30 hours with AoD on for both models. Samsung Galaxy Watch8 32GB 2GB RAM £ 1,022.30 Samsung Galaxy Watch8 Classic 64GB 2GB RAM € 529.00
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