Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic review

Design and usability

Essentially, the design of the top-tier Galaxy smartwatches (Pro and Classic series) hasn't changed much; it's a good old circular classic design with only minor changes mostly related to the rotating bezel. And to be fair, it's not as if Samsung can go wild with the design. There's not a lot of wiggle room.

Having said that, the Galaxy Watch6 Classic is unique in some ways. For instance, it's the heaviest Galaxy Watch ever, tipping the scale at 59 grams. That's true if you don't take into account the Gear series. Either way, the change is noticeable only when comparing it to the Watch5 Pro, which had a much lighter titanium frame.

The Watch6 Classic is also bigger now, technically 47mm form factor, or 46.5mm, to be exact. Samsung made good use of the extra space and grew the display to 1.5", which is surprisingly noticeable. The display is sensibly bigger compared to the older versions, and the thinner bezel (30% slimmer) makes the Watch4 Classic and Watch5 Pro look clunky, even. As a result, the rotating bezel is much thinner now too and as per Samsung, it's 15% slimmer.

Galaxy Watch4 Classic vs. Galaxy Watch6 Classic

We would like to once again point out one big advantage of Galaxy Watches with rotating bezel - it protects the display. Many people would often brush their watches in corners, furniture, walls, etc., and the bezel is usually the one to take most of the hits. The bezel itself is easily replaceable at home. Additionally, the display is also protected by a sapphire glass sheet.

The strap is a big step in the right direction, but it's still not there yet. For the asking price, the strap is still somewhat cheap. It's made of a soft-touch silicone, but it's much better than the Watch4 Classic. Firstly, the underside is very pleasant to touch while the outer surface imitates leather. There's even stitching running along the edges for a more convincing look.

There are even tiny release buttons for easier attaching and detaching if you need to swap the straps more frequently. The device uses 20mm standard straps like its recent predecessors, confirming the 22mm straps of the older models are a thing of the past.

Galaxy Watch6 Classic default strap

Depending on the market, Samsung itself offers a wide variety of strap designs in case the ones from third-party manufacturers don't cut it.

More straps from Samsung

As usual, the Galaxy Watch6 Classic is water and dust-tight (IP68) and complies with the MIL-STD-810H standard. There was no change in overall protection compared to the previous models. It's important to note that this military-grade standard does not guarantee ruggedness in extreme conditions.

All in all, the Watch6 Classic feels like a normal watch, doesn't get in the way if you have larger wrists, and despite the added weight, it is still light enough not to be obstructive.

Currently, the Watch6 Classic comes in just two colors - Black and Silver.

Usability and controls

We noticed a few changes to the bezel's behavior. It's a tad clickier and has longer travel between each click, which in turn, makes navigation feel a tad weird. There's less resistance to it. We can't say we are a fan of the longer travel because you now have to spin the bezel more to scroll down or navigate, compared to the Watch4 Classic.

Still, if you are a fan of the rotating bezel navigation, you will like this one too. It doesn't require getting used to at all and feels natural. Also, there are fewer smudges on the display as you won't be touching it for scrolling and most navigation.

The buttons on the right side are also clickier in a way and less mushy when pressing. The top, red-accented one is for going back to the home screen, while the bottom serves as a "back" button. The latter can be re-assigned to open the recent apps menu. A double press of the home button can launch an app of your choice, while a press and hold can summon Bixby, Google's Assistant or the power-off menu.