Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (and Classic) first look review

In a release that’s a surprise to exactly nobody, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is here.

Samsung devices always leak widely before launch, so there were few shocks at Samsung Unpacked 2023.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, in terms of hardware, is not a big departure from the Watch 5 – nor the Watch 4.

It’s joined by a renewed Watch 6 Classic, which sees the return of the rotating bezel.

The Watch 6 Classic doesn’t technically replace the Watch 5 Pro, which remains part of the current gen Galaxy Watch line-up, supposedly aimed at adventurers, and boasting the best battery life of the range.

What’s more, Samsung confirmed to Wareable that One UI 5 Watch and Wear OS 4 will be rolling out to the Galaxy Watch 5 and 4, so most of the new Watch 6 features will arrive on the older range.

With all that in mind, here are our first impressions.

> Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 review

> Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro review

Price

The Galaxy Watch 6 is priced as follows:

Galaxy Watch 6 40 mm: From £289 (LTE: £339)
Galaxy Watch 6 44 mm: From £319 (LTE – £369)
Galaxy Watch 6 Classic 43 mm: From £369 (LTE – £429)
Galaxy Watch 6 Classic 47 mm: From £399 (LTE – £459)

It’s a slight bump over the Watch 5, of around $30/£20 per device, which could be worse given the macroeconomic situation.

The Galaxy Watch 6 family just shades the Apple Watch Series 8 which had a price hike last year. And the standard Classic 47mm is priced the same as the Huawei Watch 4, which just reviewed well in our testing.

Design and screen

WareableSamsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic

There’s no big visual departure for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, and that’s evident as soon as you pick up the new smartwatches.

Of course, there have been refinements. The display is 20% larger thanks to an improved screen-to-body ratio, and the bezels have also been reduced on both the standard and Classic versions.

The sizes also remain the same, with 40mm and 44mm standard Watch 6 and 43mm and 47mm Watch 6 Classic.

The standard Watch 6 44mm comes in graphite and silver, with the 40mm getting graphite/gold. The Watch 6 Classic comes in black and silver colorways.

Fans of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic will be pleased to note that the rotating bezel is back after being omitted from the Watch 5 Pro. That’s the device we’ve been living with over the past few days.

Remember, there was no Watch 5 Classic, with the Watch 5 Pro being launched instead – so this is the first Classic since 2021, and it feels like the fresher device.

We’d forgotten how good the bezel control is to use, and it feels so natural to scroll through longer screens of data, quickly access Tiles just by twisting from the watch face or navigate the specially designed One UI 5 Watch menus.

Both smartwatches ship with a rubber strap, although the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic’s is a faux leather style, which looks convincing at a glance. Unlike leather, it’s good for a workout and is sweat-resistant.

WareableWatch 6 Silver

Samsung has changed its supplied straps to have a button, which enables easy removal and replacement. But the lugs still accept standard 20mm straps with the pin mechanism if you want to get some cheap replacements.

Under the hood is a tweaked Exynos W930 processor, which has been overclocked for an 18% bump in performance – although it’s not something we’ve noticed without time with the Galaxy Watch so far.

In truth, Wear OS is still a tad slower than we’d ideally like, and we noticed some apps take a few seconds to load or have a little think before opening in full. But generally, it’s a decent all-round experience.

New features

WareableWatch 6 Classic body composition tool

There are a bunch of new features bundled in with Wear OS 4 (which is wrapped up in One UI 5 Watch) – Samsung’s skin.

Sleep tracking has got a big overhaul, and there are all-new sleep insights as well as snoring detection. What’s more, you can listen back to your snoring, if you’re so inclined.

Sleep insights include:

• Actual sleep time
• Sleep score
• Sleep stages
• Blood oxygen under 90%
• Skin temperature
• Bedtime and wake-time consistency
• Sleep animal (chronotype)
• Snoring detection

Samsung also offers sleep animal chronotypes and you can opt into a four-week sleep coaching plan as well.

Health and fitness features

Body composition, blood pressure tracking (which still requires validation by a cuff), and ECG are all on board, as well as menstrual tracking and Fall Detection. What’s more, there are also new irregular heart rate alerts.

Samsung has also added some new running smarts, and it will generate personalized heart rate zones. You can then opt to follow training sessions that target particular zones, and get alerts if you stray too high and low – as you can see below.

We’ve already taken it for a spin and were pleasantly surprised by how clear and easy it was to stay within range – and by the accuracy of the heart rate sensor when compared to a chest strap. We’re still early in our testing, but we found both MaxHR and average HR to be within 1bpm of a chest strap over an hour of running. So the Galaxy Watch 6 seems to have upped its games in terms of fitness features. 

WareableHeart rate zone training

Battery life

Samsung says that it has boosted battery capacity by 20%, but admitted to Wareable that users are unlikely to see any meaningful difference between versions.

Battery life on both devices amounts to just a single day, if you turn on all the health and display features. We got around 25 hours, including a one-hour GPS-tracked workout, which drained the battery around 20%. That included turning on the always-on display, stress tracking and nightly SpO2.

Both the Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic are estimated to offer around 40 hours of use, without the always-on display turned on – so this seems about accurate.

Likewise, Samsung estimates 30 hours with the always-on display turned on. Without working out, this feels realistic from our testing.

It’s not particularly inspiring battery life but remember the Watch 5 Pro offers nearly three days – and will be getting all of the new features from Wear OS 4.

Early verdict

WareableSamsung Galaxy Watch 6

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is still a standout member of the Wear OS line-up – and one of the best smartwatches for Android users. But the elephant in the room is that not much has changed, and what is new will land on Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 4 devices soon.

There will be plenty of great deals to be had over the coming weeks.

Having skipped a generation, the Watch 6 Classic feels the standout addition – and the return of the rotating bezel and the more refined look makes it a lovely smartwatch to wear.

Oddly, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro could still be the best Samsung Galaxy smartwatch thanks to the battery life, even though a new generation has arrived.

Galaxy Watch 6 spec sheet