Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Review: Can It be The Best Android Smartwatch?

In the ever-evolving world of wearable technology, Samsung has established itself as a leading contender with its Galaxy Watch series. The recent release of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 has sparked excitement and curiosity among tech enthusiasts and consumers alike. With an array of new features, impressive hardware, and an upgraded operating system, the Galaxy Watch 4 has the potential to claim the crown as the best Android watch on the market. In this comprehensive review, we will delve into the key aspects of the Galaxy Watch 4 and evaluate whether it lives up to the lofty expectations.

Design and Displa

Samsung has always been known for its commitment to elegant and ergonomic designs, and the Galaxy Watch 4 is no exception. The watch is available in two sizes, 40mm, and 44mm, ensuring a perfect fit for wrists of all sizes. Its circular AMOLED display is a visual delight, showcasing vibrant colors and crisp details. The touch responsiveness is excellent, allowing for seamless navigation through the user interface. With its sleek and durable construction, the Galaxy Watch 4 exudes both sophistication and resilience. Additionally, the watch carries an IP68 water and dust resistance rating, making it suitable for various outdoor activities and everyday use.

Performance and Software

Underneath its stylish exterior, the Galaxy Watch 4 houses a powerful Exynos W920 dual-core processor, complemented by 1.5GB of RAM. This combination significantly improves performance, resulting in swift app launches and smooth multitasking. The watch effortlessly handles various tasks, ensuring a lag-free user experience. An exciting development is the adoption of Wear OS 3, a collaboration between Samsung and Google. This new operating system offers enhanced app compatibility, improved battery optimization, and a more intuitive interface, making it a noteworthy advancement for Android smartwatches.

Health and Fitness Tracking

Samsung has consistently prioritized health and fitness features in its wearable devices, and the Galaxy Watch 4 continues this trend. Equipped with an extensive range of sensors, including an optical heart rate monitor, blood oxygen saturation measurement, and an accelerometer, the watch offers comprehensive fitness tracking capabilities. These sensors work in conjunction with the revamped Samsung Health app, delivering accurate and detailed health insights. Moreover, the Galaxy Watch 4 introduces a groundbreaking 3-in-1 BioActive sensor, enabling users to monitor body composition metrics such as skeletal muscle mass, body water percentage, and body fat percentage. This innovative feature sets the Galaxy Watch 4 apart from its competitors and positions it as a valuable companion for those seeking to prioritize their well-being.

Battery Life

While the Galaxy Watch 4 impresses in many aspects, its battery life might be considered its Achilles' heel. With typical usage, the watch lasts approximately two days before requiring a recharge. However, it's important to note that actual battery performance can vary depending on individual usage patterns and settings. To mitigate concerns, Samsung has implemented a fast-charging feature, allowing users to quickly replenish the watch's battery for extended use. While it may not offer the most extended battery life in its category, the Galaxy Watch 4 compensates with its other remarkable features and capabilities.

Samsung gives a one-year warranty but doesn't specify how long the Watch 4's battery can last without needing to be replaced. Batteries in comparable devices typically retain at least 80% of their initial capacity after at least 500 full charge cycles.

Sustainability

The Watch 4 can often be repaired for general issues, and licensed service providers can swap out the battery as well. Its predecessor received a score of seven out of ten from the repair experts at iFixit, making it one of the most repairable smartwatches currently on the market. There is no rating for The Watch 4.

Although Samsung offers recycling and trade-in programs, publishes an annual sustainability report, and has made pledges, it has not commented on the use of recycled components in the manufacture of the watch.

One UI 3 on Wear OS 3

The major adjustment for Samsung is the move from its own Tizen operating system to One UI 3, a customized version of Google's Wear OS 3 that the two firms jointly created to restart the Android maker's smartwatch initiatives.

A seamless and polished experience is provided by the software's superficial resemblance to that of Samsung's prior watches in terms of appearance and behavior.

Notifications are shown in panes on the left of the watch face, while customizable "tiles" on the right provide quick access to information about various applications and features. To switch between them, swipe or rotate the bezel. When you tap a tile or notification, it expands so you can open the app or view the content. This allows you to quickly respond to messages using voice dictation, voice-activated preset responses, the keyboard, or by hand-drawing letters or emojis.

There are mainly two buttons on this watch, upper (top) and lower (bottom). The top button is red in color and serves as the home button while the bottom button serves as the back button. To talk to Samsung's voice assistant Bixby, which is faster than ever but still not as polished or functional as rivals, tap and hold the top (upper) button. Pressing this button once returns to the main screen, and pressing it twice opens the most recent app you used.

Contribution of Samsung and Google

The majority of the applications and services in the watch are from Samsung despite the fact that it is based on Google Wear OS. While Google Assistant is still unavailable, Google Maps Google Pay are notable additions.

Access to the Google Play Store expands the selection of third-party applications available for the watch, including YouTube and Spotify Music, both of which enable offline listening, as well as several watch faces and health, fitness, and weather apps like Strava, Citymapper, and Accuweather. The existing 40-watch faces available for customization are also a great addition.

The Watch 4 differs from previous Wear OS watches in that it was not possible to use them with an iPhone, and many of their more sophisticated capabilities, including the ECG function, strictly required a Samsung phone to connect. In addition, it does not use the usual Wear OS app/software that other smartwatches based on Wear OS use, but instead uses the Samsung Galaxy Wearable app to pair, connect, and manage settings.

Additional Features

Beyond its core functionalities, the Galaxy Watch 4 offers a host of additional features to enhance the user experience. It includes NFC for convenient contactless payments, a built-in GPS for accurate tracking during outdoor activities, and a built-in microphone and speaker for calls and voice commands. The watch also supports a vast library of third-party apps, providing users with access to a plethora of functionalities and customization options. Samsung's ecosystem of apps and services seamlessly integrates with the Galaxy Watch 4, creating a cohesive and interconnected experience.

Observations

With a wrist shake, you can answer or reject calls and notifications, although people aren't sure whether it's a hit or a miss.

By using around 5% of the battery life of the phone it is linked to each day, the watch has a negligible effect on the phone's battery life.

Price

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 costs around $249 for the 40mm model and $269 for the 44mm model at launch. Priced at �349 ($349.99) for the 42mm model �369 ($379.99) for the 46mm model, respectively, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic may seem a little bit costly. An additional �40 ($50) is charged for a data contract on the 4G model. Despite the steep price tag, the Samsung Watch 4 is worth buying considering its amazing features.

Pros

The best thing about this watch is that it is made by a well-known brand Samsung, assisted by Google for its customized OS. In addition, the watch includes a quick and fluid interface, a great display, an attractive classic watch style, minimum bezels, 50-meter water resistance support, comprehensive health and fitness monitoring, body composition analysis, Play Store, Google Maps, and Pay.

Cons

There is currently no Google Assistant, leaving the less functional Bixby as the only speech option. Furthermore, several top features are only available when the watch is connected to Samsung phones; they are incompatible with iPhones as well. The battery life with the screen on during the day is only 25 hours.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 sets a great stage for the future of powerful Android smartwatches. Its sleek design, powerful hardware, and the introduction of Wear OS 3 make it a formidable contender in the wearable market. With its comprehensive health and fitness tracking capabilities, extensive features, and user-friendly interface, the Galaxy Watch 4 has the potential to claim the title of the best Android watch available. While its battery life might leave some users desiring more, the overall experience and wealth of features make it a worthy investment for those seeking a versatile, feature-rich smartwatch. If you're in search of a wearable device that seamlessly combines style, functionality, and health monitoring, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 should undoubtedly be at the top of your list.