Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic are here to take over the smartwatch world

This is truly exciting. Samsung has officially announced both the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. The former is the successor to the Galaxy Watch Active 2, with the latter being the successor to the Galaxy Watch 3. But even more exciting than some new smartwatches is the fact that this is the first series of smartwatches powered by the new Wear OS 3 in collaboration with Google.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 / Watch 4 Classic Specs

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 / Watch 4 Classic: Spec Breakdown

As we expected, there are a total of four different sizes for Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 lineup. The standard Watch 4 comes in either 40mm or 44mm casing, with either a 1.2-inch or 1.4-inch Super AMOLED display. The Watch 4 Classic also comes in two different sizes, offering a choice of either 42mm or 46mm with the same two display sizes.

Ahead of today’s event Samsung took everyone off guard and announced the Exynos W920 chipset. This is the world’s first wearable processor built on a 5nm process, the same process used by the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s Snapdragon 888. This is how Samsung was able to slightly increase the battery size in its new smartwatches, while maintaining a sleek design. The Exynos W920 is said to offer 20% faster CPU performance, along with an incredible 10x increase in GPU performance.

Paired with this new SoC, Samsung has bumped up the RAM to 1.5GB, while increasing the storage capacity to 16GB on all four models. And as you would expect, you’ll be able to pick up LTE versions of the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic.

Since Samsung was able to increase the battery size, offering a 361mAh cell, the company claims you’ll get up to 40 hours on a single charge. This is great to see, but falls a bit short of what the Galaxy Watch 3 was rated for. But for those times where you need a quick top-off to get you through the rest of the day, you can charge the Watch 4 for 30 minutes and will get up to 10 hours of juice.

The main differentiating feature between these two smartwatch models, other than the size, is the rotating bezel. Since the Galaxy Watch 4 is the successor to the Galaxy Watch Active 2, it makes sense for there to be no hardware bezel. However, the rotating bezel makes its return with the Watch 4 Classic.

And if you’re interested in the different colors, here’s how that shakes out:

• Galaxy Watch 4 40mm: Black, Pink Gold, Silver
• Galaxy Watch 4 44mm: Black, Green, Silver
• Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 42mm: Black, Silver
• Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 46mm: Black, Silver

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 / Watch 4 Classic: Features

Before jumping into the software, let’s take a look at the features included from a health perspective. One of the great things about these new smartwatches is that all of the same sensors are being used across the board. This means that you won’t miss out on something included with the Watch 4 Classic or vice-versa.

Health

The Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic are the first Samsung Galaxy smartwatches to offer the all-new BioActive Sensor. This is said to offer a smaller and more compact design than other sensors, without taking away from accuracy levels. The BioActive Sensor actually consists of three total sensors — Optical Heart Rate, Electrical Heart, and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis. With these three senors built into one, you can monitor your blood pressure, detect an irregular heartbeat, measure SpO2 levels, and calculate body composition.

Samsung’s also including a new Body Composition measurement tool to help give you a better understanding of your overall health and fitness levels. But this includes measuring key features such as body fat percentage, basal metabolic rate, and more. According to Samsung, the Watch 4 will capture about 2,400 data points in just 15 seconds.

In an effort to seemingly compete with Apple’s Fitness+, Samsung announced you can connect your Galaxy Watch 4 to a compatible Samsung Smart TV and get some workouts done. Various health metrics will appear on the screen, including calories burned and your heart rate.

Software

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 series is the first smartwatch to feature the all-new Wear OS 3. As expected, this isn’t exactly the same interface that we’ll see on future Wear OS 3 smartwatches. Instead, Samsung is calling it One UI Watch along with “Wear OS Powered by Samsung”.

With the new interface, any compatible apps will automatically download to your watch after they’ve been downloaded to your phone. Plus, any of your other settings, such as DND and blocked callers, are synced between devices.

Unfortunately, despite rumors claiming Google Assistant would be an option alongside Bixby, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, Samsung is sticking to its guns with Bixby providing all of your smart assistant needs.

But thanks to the integration with Google, you’ll have a fine-tuned experience with apps like Google Maps and YouTube Music. Meanwhile, Samsung’s best apps and services will be front and center such as Samsung Pay for making payments on the go and SmartThings to control your smart home.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 / Watch 4 Classic: Price and availability

As is the case with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3, pre-orders for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic begin today. If you pre-order between now and August 26th, Samsung is offering $50 in Samsung.com credit that can be used to pick up another charger or some extra bands.

Pricing for the Galaxy Watch 4 starts at just $249.99 for the 40mm Bluetooth-only model, and goes up to $299.99 for the LTE version. As for the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic with its rotating bezel, pricing starts at $349.99 for the 42mm Bluetooth-only version or $399.99 for the LTE model.