Samsung Galaxy Watch4 review

Competition

The Galaxy Watch4 starts at €269 and goes to €299 for the BT/Wi-Fi model, 40mm and 44mm, respectively. A move to the LTE is €319 and €349 per size.

The Galaxy Watch4 Classic comes in 42mm and 46mm, priced €369 and €399 each. A move to the LTE models is €419 and €449.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch4 series has few rivals because of their early access to Wear OS 3. Only a few Wear OS watches are currently on the market and can be recommended, like the TicWatch E3 or the TicWatch Pro 3. They're packing the Snapdragon Wear 4100 platform, which should ensure they'll get Wear OS 3 eventually.

But even then, the Galaxy Watch4 offers more - like the premium build, the broader fitness and health tracking and the tighter integration with Galaxy smartphones.

Huawei has a trio of smartwatches that are worth looking at. The recent Watch 3 and Watch3 Pro with Harmony OS can't match the Galaxy on apps support, but are both more than a match in terms of display quality, performance and can double the Galaxy Watch4' runtime.

The Huawei Watch GT2 Pro is older now, but it's very cheap and provides a week's worth of battery life as well as a sapphire glass cover and stainless steel casing.

The Galaxy Watch3 series is still around and more than capable of going toe to toe with its successor. While technically more limited due to their now-older Tizen OS and their chipset, the Galaxy Watch3 boasts almost the same performance, the same battery life and barring BMI readings, the same fitness and health tracking - ECG and Blood Pressure included. And the pair of smartwatches are now cheaper because they're 1 year old, not to mention that the 45mm Galaxy Watch3 ships with a superior leather band, compared to the 46mm Galaxy Watch4 Classic and its rubber band.

Finally, and obviously, the Galaxy Watch4 series has a major rival in the likes of the Apple Watch Series 6. Like Samsung's currently closed-off smartwatches, the Apple Watch really only works with the iPhones. The Apple Watch is fast, and its selection of apps is unparalleled. You have a huge choice of materials, custom straps, both artsy and high-quality. And the Apple Watch has the health and fitness pedigree to rival the Galaxy Watch4 in almost every way. Price-wise, the Apple Watch Series 6 costs more in both its 40mm and 44mm variant. But really, if you're choosing between an Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch, you're choosing between an iPhone and a Galaxy, so sort that out first and then take the default watch for the platform.

Verdict

Samsung made a good set of watches this year. They're clearly based on their predecessors, and most of the focus went in on integrating with Google's Wear OS and achieving reliable data from the new BMI sensor. Still, the end result is a polished and mature product, if not drastically different than its predecessor.

Samsung's watches have always done things their own way, and in 2021 that's still the case, only with a little help from Google and its considerable wearable OS. Whether you go for a Galaxy Watch4 with a virtual rotating bezel or the Galaxy Watch4 Classic with a physical one, you're getting Samsung's way of doing a wearable, and that's no bad thing. The rotating bezel is in many people's minds the best way to do it. Using your fingers to navigate an OS and having that lovely, fine-tuned mechanical feedback is something we've forgotten in this age of touchscreens. Having that might justify paying a price premium for the Classic model all on its own. The Galaxy Watch4 does its best to mimic the mechanical bezel but ultimately falls short.

The Galaxy Watch4 series bring industry-leading processing, display technology, fitness and health tracking and deep integration with Galaxy phones that's only matched by Apple's watch and phone combination. Put simply, these are the best smartwatches for the general Android user - the one that likes to track health and fitness and keep an eye out on notifications.

We've already laid out this watch's rivals. But who is it for? Generalizing that it's for Android users doesn't feel right. It's for Galaxy users. Paying as much as Samsung asks for these smart timepieces isn't practical without getting all you've paid for - the deeper integration and the ECG and Blood Pressure functionality.

Pros

• Good build quality, especially on the stainless steel Classic model.
• Great OLED with higher resolution.
• The iconic rotating ring is here (on the Classic model).
• New BMI reading, ECG monitor, Blood Pressure, SpO2, VO2 Max, Sleep and Stress monitoring.
• New Wear OS Powered by Samsung adds features, yet feels familiar.
• Superb notification handling.
• LTE and loudspeaker for direct phone calls even on the 40mm version.

Cons

• Only average battery life of 1-2 days.
• Even the more expensive Classic model ships with a cheap-feeling rubber band.
• Expensive at launch.
• ECG and Blood Pressure measurements not certified in most countries.
• Galaxy Watch4 could've retained the curved glass of the Watch Active2.

If you're looking at the new Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 in a vacuum, they are expensive, but not unreasonably so. But if you factor in their predecessors and things take on a different look. All Galaxy Watch3 models came with a classy leather strap. With the Galaxy Watch4, the leather option is an add-on you pay for. Adding insult to injury, the provided rubber band is lacking character and feels cheap. We have our fair share of watch straps at HQ, both original and third party; the genuine ones have always been higher quality than the third party - this year, Samsung's feels just as cheap as a €7 knock-off you can grab online.

Of course, that issue can be remedied by simply grabbing any 20mm strap you like - it's part of accessorizing your watch. But with prices north of €260 and reaching €399 and even €449, the materials you get should be better.

People that use Samsung Health regularly should definitely consider this watch. It's the default choice, and it's deserving of it. It's better than its predecessor at taking care of your health, and it's faster and smarter, thanks to Wear OS. It's also future-proofed, while the Galaxy Watch3 is basically as good as outdated at this point.

However, if you own a Galaxy Watch3, you should probably hold onto it for a while.