Samsung has several smartwatches on store shelves these days. The latest of which is the Galaxy Watch 6 series of watches, which we think are quite good. That said, the company hasn’t stopped selling its older model. Those include the Galaxy Watch 5 series and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic.
That gives consumers a few different options when it comes to Samsung smartwatches. The range comes at a few different prices and the older models tend to go on sale often. With the abundance of choices, which one should you choose? A quality smartwatch should have a high performance battery, some fitness or sleep tracking features, and convenient app compatibilities.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic vs Galaxy Watch 6: What’s the difference?
Samsung launched two new smartwatches in the summer of 2023, but just how different are they really?
We did the leg work assessing the value, bonus features, and quality of Samsung smartwatches using our experience with these impressive wearables and hands-on testing.
Best Samsung smartwatches: Our top 5 favorite picks
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
1. Best premium Samsung smartwatch
The best of the best
The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic includes all the features that make the Galaxy Watch 6 great, but it also comes with a more premium stainless steel case with a rotating bezel around the display for intuitive interface control.
- Beautiful design
- Rotating bezel
- Large, vibrant display
- Expensive
- Same internals as regular model
When it comes to features, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is identical to the less expensive Galaxy Watch 6. It has the same processor, battery, fitness tracking sensors and sizing options as its regular sibling. Where it differs is in design. While the standard model has quite a plain case made from aluminum, the Classic is designed to look like a traditional mechanical watch. The rotating bezel has a ridged perimeter, and the case is built from stainless steel.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic hands-on: The rotating bezel is back
The newest watch from Samsung brings back a fan favourite feature, with the rotating bezel adding intrigue to a classically designed smartwatch.
That rotating bezel does make it quite a different experience to use in that you don’t have to use the touchscreen for everything. You can simply turn the bezel to scroll up and down menus and lists or cycle through different screens. In some instances — where touching the screen gets fiddly — having that as a backup control method very much helps.
Otherwise, you have a solid Samsung watch with all the latest software features built into a package made with high-quality materials, which we think looks much nicer than the standard model. It’s built to the same durability standards and can cope with getting wet, too.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
2. Best basic Samsung smartwatch
A surprisingly good value
$240 $300 Save $60
Samsung increased the screen size and shrunk the bezel on the Galaxy Watch 6, delivering a sleek and attractive watch packed with a lot of great fitness tracking abilities.
- Big, bright, and colorful display
- Easy strap-switching
- Comprehensive fitness tracking
- Durable and waterproof build
- Plain design
- Average Battery life
The Galaxy Watch 6 is the latest base Galaxy Watch model, and we think it’s a great option for most buyers looking for new features at a lower cost. It’s relatively inexpensive but has all the top features that you’d want from a smartwatch in 2024.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: More of the same
With its larger screen, more durable build, enhanced fitness features and faster processing, is this finally the perfect Wear OS watch?
Samsung kitted out the Galaxy Watch 6 with a bigger display for both the 40mm and 44mm models. The company also upgraded the processor and RAM inside to make it faster and more responsive at just about every task. If you’re using them side-by-side, the Galaxy Watch 6 is definitely faster than the Galaxy Watch 5.
Add to that the advanced health and fitness tracking sensor — including all-day SpO2, stress tracking, and body composition sensing — and you have a fully-featured wrist-worn gadget that surely stakes its claim as one of the best smartwatches for Android phone users, again.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
3. Best Samsung smartwatch for battery life
Still Pro for charge longevity
$330 $450 Save $120
Because Samsung went a different route with the Galaxy Watch 6 series — offering a Classic model — the Watch 5 Pro retains its place in the range because it still offers the best battery life by far, making it great for long outdoor hikes and runs.
- Excellent battery life
- High-end charm
- Good durability
- More expensive than Galaxy Watch 6
- Outdated design
Because the Watch 6 Classic is entirely different, Samsung saw value in keeping the Watch 5 Pro in its product lineup. The reason: battery life. Its battery can go up to 80 hours of use, which is more than even the Galaxy Watch 6. Realistically, it can go a couple of days without the need to charge, which can be huge for some people.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro: Stepping up
Samsung has released two versions of the Galaxy Watch 5 – a regular model and this, the Pro, aimed at a more adventurous type.
More importantly, Samsung designed the Pro 5 to go on long outdoor exercise-tracking sessions. Thanks to its beefy battery cell, it’s far more capable of tracking a long, all-day hike in the hills than any of the other models.
Otherwise, it has all the same features as Samsung’s other watches, albeit based on a model with thicker bezels and a smaller display than the more recent Galaxy Watch 6 models.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
4. Best budget Samsung Galaxy Watch
Get it while you can
$186 $310 Save $124
If you can live with the chunkier bezel, smaller screen and slightly slower performance, the Galaxy Watch 5 from 2022 represents something of a bargain right now.
- Budget-friendly
- Durable, water-resistant design
- Vibrant display
- Subpar battery life
- Chunky bezels
While Samsung upgraded the performance and display in the Galaxy Watch 6 models, many of the fitness tracking capabilities are present in the previous model. The Galaxy Watch 5 has essentially all the hardware ingredients necessary to give you the same heart-rate sensing, SpO2, stress, sleep, activity, and even body composition measurements.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5: Marking time
Samsung has updated its Galaxy Watch, bringing more features and a longer battery life. But does it do enough to impress in this growing marketplace?
If you care about just getting the essential features and don’t care too much about the bigger display or more responsive processing, you can grab yourself a bargain with the Galaxy Watch 5.
It’s much cheaper than it was at launch and is still relatively easy to get hold of a year after launch. The only downside is that Best Buy lists this as being on clearance, so it may not be available everywhere for all that much longer.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic
5. Best value Samsung smartwatch
Older, but still good
$190 $380 Save $190
If you like the idea of a rotating bezel and a more traditional design, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic can still be bought at a fraction of the price of Samsung’s newer Classic variant.
- Really wallet-friendly
- Classic design with rotating bezel
- Full suite of fitness features
- Two years old now
- Slower performance
The last ‘Classic’ before the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 variant was the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, delivering the staple ‘Classic’ features. That means the more traditional watch design, a leather strap, and the always excellent rotating bezel.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Still the Android smartwatch to beat?
Samsung’s latest smartwatch features a return to Wear OS – is it still the best option for Android phone users? Here’s our verdict.
It’s a great-looking watch and one that’ll cost you about half of what the newest models cost. You still get plenty of fitness features too.
Although they’re not quite as advanced, consistent, or reliable as the new models, there’s enough here for you to get by with if all you want is basic movement, heart rate, sleep, and activity logs. The watch looks great and, with its age, goes on sale for surprisingly reasonable prices fairly frequently.
The bottom line: What’s the best smartwatch in the Samsung Galaxy line-up?
The best Samsung Galaxy watches are the newest ones, so those are the ones we recommend. The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and Galaxy Watch 6 represent the best that Samsung has to offer in terms of updated software, new features, and general responsiveness and reliability. That’s all there really is to it.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
Editor’s Choice
$340 $400 Save $60
If you like the idea of the rotating bezel and a more traditional design, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic can still be bought at a fraction of the price of Samsung’s newer Classic variant.
However, older models have their charm. The Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic can be had for under $200 consistently when on sale, although the Galaxy Watch 5 may leave store shelves sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the battery campion of Samsung’s lineup despite being a generation behind the latest watches. The choice is yours, but that’s how it shakes out.
How did we choose these Galaxy Watches?
Well, to be perfectly honest, the list above represents all the Galaxy Watches that you can buy today. It was just a matter of figuring out which ones work best for what kinds of shoppers. We have reviewed every smartwatch on the list, and each one is linked to each watch’s description above. It honestly wasn’t all that difficult to choose which ones were the best for which types of shoppers.
What’s the best Galaxy Watch for hiking, camping, and the outdoors?
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is probably your best bet there. It not only features a multi-day battery life, which isn’t easy to find in a smartwatch in 2024, but it also sports IP68 water and dust resistance, making it great for when you’re in an environment where those two things occur in great amounts. Of all the available Galaxy Watches, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro seems best suited for the outdoors.
With that said, all the Galaxy Watches listed above have an IP68 rating, so they’re all technically equal in terms of resistance to the elements. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro simply has the best battery life among them. If you intend to bring a charger, it doesn’t matter which one you pick. They’ll all survive a dunk in the local lake or stream.
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