Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

amazon Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 reviews

Galaxy Watch 4 can be considered the most optimal smartwatch product of Samsung at present.

This smartwatch is geared towards a more comprehensive connection with newer wearable devices, and these efforts have also yielded many positive results. The operating system innovation has surprised many people, and of course, there is no shortage of eager anticipation. But is giving up the proprietary operating system Tizen to Google’s Wear OS 3 the right move?

Key Specifications and Features

Size: 44mm/40mm (Watch 4) and 42mm/46mm (Watch 4 Classic)

Largest Watch 4 / Watch 4 Classic models will feature 396×396. Super AMOLED displays

W920 dual-core Exynos chip with 1.5GB RAM and 16GB internal memory

Up to 40 hours of battery life

Runs on Wear OS with Samsung One UI Watch 3

Support Samsung Pay or Google Pay

Get the app from the Google Play Store

ECG, PPG, and BIA sensors

Built-in GPS / Glonass / Beidou

LTE version for all sizes

Water resistant 5ATM

Design and display

Sizes 40mm and 44mm

1.4-inch Super AMOLED screen, 450 x 450″ resolution

Galaxy Watch 4 has two versions, which are likened to the Galaxy Watch and Watch Active.

The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is inspired by traditional watches and looks like the previous generation Galaxy Watch 3.

The standard Galaxy Watch 4 (the one we experienced) is the successor to the Active 2. It feels lighter and more comfortable to wear when swimming, jogging, doing burpees, or HIIT exercises. Case sizes are 40mm and 44mm respectively, the same as the Active 2.

The 40mm version comes in black, rose gold, and silver cases, and the 44mm version comes in black, green, and silver.

There are two physical buttons on the right with the upper one to return you to the main screen, and the lower one to open the screen. They are also used to enable the heart rate readings of the ECG sensor.

20mm silicone strap with buckle, interchangeable strap.

The only problem here is the design of the strap, and attaching it to the watch is quite difficult, especially with older models. The standard strap should have a few more loops to fit comfortably on the user’s wrist.

With the buttons on the side, this is an interface commonly found in many other smartwatches, but on the Watch 4, it feels very refined. The black version is nothing new, but it looks quite polished, well-finished, and left no scratches during our experience.

Featured screen

The display has the best display of any current smartwatch we’ve ever seen: Bright, and sharp, colors are eye-catching and accurate, and the new animations are nice too. Overall this screen is extremely stable and very easy to see.

The 44mm version that we tested has a 1.4-inch Super AMOLED screen, 450 x 450, while the 40mm version has a 1.2-inch screen with a lower resolution of 396 x 396. There’s an always-on mode, allowing you to keep the screen on 24/7.

Surrounding the screen is a thick, black bezel like the previous physical rotating bezel, which you can swipe your finger around to navigate the Widget Tiles and drag down the screen to read all notifications.

While it doesn’t feel as comfortable as the physical rotating bezel on the Watch 4 Classic, it makes sense for the watch to keep a neater, more refined look.

Samsung hasn’t changed anything in terms of water resistance and durability. The 5ATM standard makes the watch safe to swim at a depth of 50 meters, and the MIL-STD-810G durability standard ensures a high level of ruggedness. The display is also protected with Corning Gorilla Glass DX+.

Overall, the Galaxy Watch 4 is a nice and user-friendly watch. Comfortable wearing feel and sharp and clear screen, especially the 44mm version. The unique strap style makes it a bit difficult to change external straps, and there is no longer a physical rotating bezel.

Wear OS and smartwatch features

Wear OS offers much better apps

Retain the classic Samsung look

Some features are still not available

The Watch 4 runs on Google’s new Wear OS 3, the version of the operating system that Samsung has incorporated and still draws inspiration from Tizen itself. Samsung uses its One Watch user interface, which feels as familiar as you’re used to when using a Samsung smartwatch.

Tizen OS is not bad at all, even more, popular than Google’s Wear, but in terms of application, support is quite poor. Wear OS 3 promises to bring third-party app features, revamped Strava and Spotify apps, and even more fitness tracking capabilities from Fitbit.

For those who don’t know, the Galaxy Watch 4 with the new operating system has a big technical change: It won’t be compatible with the iPhone. This is a surprising move from Samsung, it is not clear if there will be any changes in the future, but for the time being, Android phone users, or Samsung smartphone users will receive the best experience.

You still need to use Samsung’s Galaxy Wearable app to set up and install some plugins to pair your watch.

There are a few extra steps to setting up a Wear OS smartwatch like adding your Google account, but most are still Samsung’s process.

Swiping left and right from the watch home screen takes you to the apps or widgets available on the watch. The interface of these applications has been changed, is more polished, and has support for third-party applications.

Samsung has introduced dynamic watch faces on its previous devices and continues to apply them to the Watch 4 with its extensive collection of watch faces, which you can choose from from the Galaxy Wear app.

You can swipe down to see the quick dashboard, and it’s customizable from the associated app. In general, these experiences are still quite similar to the Tizen operating system.

In the apps screen, you’ll see a mix of Samsung and Google apps. Like the phone, calendar, and messaging apps. There are virtual assistants Bixby, Samsung Health, Samsung Pay, and Samsung Health Monitor for ECG and blood pressure measurement.

Google’s presence is demonstrated through the Google Play Store and Google Maps.

The Google Maps app is a pretty straightforward addition. You can open the app to see your surroundings, with a blinking blue circle showing your current location. You can use the physical borders to zoom in or out of the map, which, although not too detailed, is enough to help you move around.

With Google Play, you can get apps directly on your watch just like on Wear OS 2. It’s pretty straightforward, letting you select Wear-compatible apps from your phone or a list of apps used by Google. Installing apps wasn’t fast, but apps like Spotify and Strava worked without any problems.

In addition, features such as notification support, music control, and Samsung’s smart assistant Bixby also work similarly to previous generation watches.

Samsung will give users the option between Bixby and Google Assistant, but you’ll have to wait a little longer.

where can you get a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 online

SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch 4 40mm Smartwatch with ECG Monitor Tracker for Health, Fitness, Running, Sleep Cycles, GPS Fall Detection, Bluetooth, US Version, SM-R860NZKAXAA, Black: Buy it now

SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 46mm Smartwatch with ECG Monitor Tracker for Health, Fitness, Running, Sleep Cycles, GPS Fall Detection, Bluetooth, US Version, Black: Buy it now

SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 42mm Smartwatch with ECG Monitor Tracker for Health, Fitness, Running, Sleep Cycles, GPS Fall Detection, LTE, US Version, Black: Buy it now

SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch 4 44mm R870 Smartwatch GPS WiFi Bluetooth (International Model) (Green): Buy it now

SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 46mm Smartwatch with ECG Monitor Tracker for Health, Fitness, Running, Sleep Cycles, GPS Fall Detection, LTE, US Version, Silver: Buy it now

SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch 4 40mm R860 Smartwatch GPS Bluetooth WiFi (International Version) (Pink): Buy it now

Sports exercise tracking

Dedicated sports tracking features

Accurate heart rate monitoring

Advanced step counting

The fitness tracking features on the Galaxy Watch 4 are nearly identical to those on the Galaxy Watch 3 and Watch Active 2. You’ll get 24/7 fitness tracking and automatic sleep tracking.

There’s continuous heart rate, stress, and blood oxygen monitoring, plus built-in GPS to track outdoor activities.

A new BioActive sensor with ECG, PPG, and BIA with body composition analysis is available for the first time. This isn’t a new feature for wearables, but it’s the first time Samsung has added the kind of analytics typically found on smart scales you see in gyms.

Measurements require you to place your ring finger and middle finger on two physical buttons and after about 20-30 seconds you will see details of your body fat, skeletal muscle, fat mass, body fat, BMI, body water, and BMR.

We compared the measured results with Garmin smart scales and found that some of the data matched and some did not. The BMI will usually be the same, although the body fat percentage on the Watch 4 is much higher.

For fitness tracking, you have a dedicated interface to display your steps, active minutes, and calories burned.

You’ll get an inactivity alert with reminders of simple exercises you can do right away and always. Automatic exercise recognition quickly detects activities like walking, or you’ll be prompted to switch to manual tracking if you want more data from your walking.

We found that the step counts almost matched the measurements from Fitbit Sense and Garmin Enduro for most of the day, but at the end of the day reported about 2,000 more steps. The inactivity alert is more useful than fitness trackers or other smartwatches, and it does a great job of trying to keep you active in simple, targeted ways.

In terms of sleep tracking, it will track the duration and stages of sleep, generate a sleep score, and measure blood oxygen if you choose to track it at night.

Compared to Fitbit Sense (our top-rated sleep tracker), the Galaxy Watch 4 provided pretty similar sleep data, especially in terms of sleep duration and stages.

The accuracy of Fitbit’s sleep tracking is one of the best rights now, and Samsung isn’t to be outdone.

Continuous monitoring of blood oxygen levels is recorded in the Samsung Health app.

These aren’t medical-specific metrics, and Samsung itself knows this so it’s mostly focused on your general health. The same goes for stress tracking, it simply collates stress data and integrates breathing guidance to help you relax.

Switching to Samsung’s sports tracking features, you can choose from workout modes that include running, cycling, swimming, and indoor activities like rowing and cycling. You still get the running training mode and the ability to add another workout from your phone.

This sports tracking experience is also quite similar to what we have on the Watch 3 and Watch Active 2.

For running, the built-in GPS is quick to pick up and there are multiple screens to show your stats. There’s a lot of data to consider during the run and even afterward.

Enhanced running stats have also been introduced on previous Samsung watches. But the total distance reports are rather superficial and often have much faster averages when measured with Garmin watches.

The average heart rate data measured during runs typically differ by about 1-2bpm from the Garmin HRM-Pro chest strap, and about 5-6BPM above the maximum heart rate readings.

If you’re interested in continuous heart rate monitoring, we compared the data from Fitbit Sense and found the resting heart rate readings to be similar, but the heart rate and pulse range data. The average resting heart rate is higher.

These data are presented not very easy to read for users in the Samsung Health app, nor do many useful insights.

We feel this device is more of a fitness tracker than a sports watch.

And it will also be interesting to see if this device is like a Fitbit running Wear OS 3, or if Samsung will continue to maintain its workout and fitness features.

Health tracking feature

Blood pressure measurement is still not available on the watch (in the UK)

Electrocardiogram and body composition

If you want to monitor your heart rate and blood pressure, the Galaxy Watch 4 does this through the new BioActive sensor, which is made up of an ECG sensor, a PPG sensor, and a BIA sensor as mentioned earlier.

ECG sensors provide more accurate heart rate measurements than PPG measurements, making them more useful in detecting signs of serious heart health problems such as arrhythmias.

Samsung says you also get the same blood pressure monitoring support as on the Watch 3 and Active 2, which uses the PPG sensor to provide measurements, once calibrated with a wrist-mounted sphygmomanometer. However, the ability to measure blood pressure was not enabled during our testing – and there is no word on when this feature will be available.

These features are tied to the Samsung Health Monitor app, which is only available with Samsung smartphones. So with other Android phones, you’ll need to set everything up. Calibration and the initial setup are the same as on previous Samsung watches, and you can access the Health Monitor app on the watch to start taking measurements.

For ECG data, you can view and share results as PDF files from the Health Monitor mobile app.

When blood pressure measurement is enabled, you need to make sure that you calibrate your watch every four weeks for the most accurate data.

While there are no rumors yet about non-invasive blood glucose monitoring capabilities, some calculations may have been added to the Galaxy Watch 4. Along with the Apple Watch, this is still one of the smartwatches according to the Best health tracker available today, if you’re “in countries where these important health features are supported.”

Battery life

Two-day battery life in real-world experience

A day with an always-on display

The Galaxy Watch 3 and Watch Active 2 offer several days of battery life in real-world use.

As for the Watch 4, it’s a pity that Samsung hasn’t improved battery performance.

Watch 4 44mm version has a battery capacity of 361mAh and 247mAh for the 40mm version.

Samsung doesn’t mention how long this watch will last, but we’ve found that with features like notifications, sports tracking, and the screen not set to always-on, it can only stay active for 2 days.

Using GPS tracking for 30 minutes of running saw the battery drop by more than 10%, the same drop as on the Watch 3 and Watch Active

However, if you turn on the always-on mode, you will only have one day of use.

There’s a battery saver mode with an always-on display off, Wi-Fi and wake-up gesture off, and screen brightness down. The rest still work normally, so this is not exactly a battery-saving mode that causes too many limitations, but you can only use it for a few more days. When your watch is running low on battery, you’ll be prompted to switch to basic watch mode to keep it going a little longer.

The charger has a magnetic disc-style charging stand on the back of the case. This is still not the safest charging solution available on a smartwatch, and it does not support fast charging, so it will take a few hours to charge the battery from 0-100%.