Latest news with #rotatingbezel
CNET
2 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Samsung Brought Back My Favorite Feature for Its Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic
While competitors release predictable updates to their smartwatches, Samsung isn't afraid to surprise us (for better or worse) with design and feature changes each year. And with the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic in particular, announced at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, my favorite feature has made a welcome reappearance: the physical rotating bezel, a touch of romantic elegance that made me fall in love with Galaxy Watches in the first place. The Galaxy Watch 8 also has a new look and thinner frame, while the Galaxy Watch Ultra keeps the same functional, squared-off frame as before with a new Titanium blue color that will appeal to people who want a more rugged timepiece. But it's not just aesthetics that have changed in this year's revisions. The company is also stepping things up when it comes to health tools, including several features I've never seen on a smartwatch, like noninvasive skin analysis and AI-powered coaching for sleep and running. The Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic also have a smarter voice assistant and are the first smartwatches with Google's Gemini AI baked right inside, ready to handle complex tasks. Watch this: The Rotating Bezel is Back! A Look at Samsung's New Galaxy Watch 8 and Classic 04:31 Pricing and availability The Galaxy Watch 8 starts at $350 for the 40mm model and $380 for the 44mm one. The LTE versions are $50 more: $400 for the 40mm model and $430 for the 44mm watch. The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, with its rotating bezel and physical crown, comes in a single 46mm size and costs $500, or $550 for the LTE model. The Titanium Blue version of the Galaxy Watch Ultra is $650, the same price as the original 2024 model. This version gets the same internal upgrades as the Watch 8 lineup, including a 64GB storage bump. All models are available for preorder now with shipping starting July 25. If you reserve early from Samsung you can get $50 in Samsung credit; your wireless carrier may also have deals on the watches and Samsung's just-announced phones. The 40mm version of the Galaxy Watch 8 has a new design with a circular screen and squircle frame. Joseph Maldonado/CNET Health and fitness features Samsung continues to expand the Galaxy Watch's role as a health and wellness tool, building on existing features like ECG, SpO₂ (shorthand for peripheral capillary oxygen saturation), sleep tracking and its AGEs Index, which reflects your metabolic aging process. The headliner is a new Antioxidant Index, which measures carotene (one type of antioxidant) levels in your skin with a simple five-second press of your thumb on the sensor (no needle needed). Since antioxidants help clear toxins from the body, knowing your levels can offer actionable steps for improving your health. The watch will rate your levels on a scale from low to high and then offer generic recommendations on the Samsung Health app on how you can improve your levels if they're on the lower side. It's important to note that this metric isn't clinically verified and isn't meant to replace a medical-grade test. It's designed to offer a baseline reading that may help you make real-time lifestyle adjustments, but it won't provide the detailed or precise results you'd get from a traditional blood test. The Antioxidant Index on the new Galaxy Watches. Joseph Maldonado/CNET There's also a new metric called Vascular Load, which measures strain on your heart during sleep. These readings are translated into a low-to-high scale to help you understand how behaviors (like sodium or alcohol intake) may be contributing to long-term heart disease risk. Sleep tracking gets a serious upgrade, too. A new Bedtime Guidance tool uses a three-day analysis of your circadian rhythm and sleep pressure (aka sleep debt) to recommend an ideal bedtime window. It factors in heart rate, HRV, skin temperature, and even environmental cues like room temperature or brightness (if you've got connected SmartThings devices). The goal: Improve your sleep quality, recovery and energy throughout the day. The new Running Coach gives you a personalized training plan to help meet your goals. Samsung The coaching isn't just for sleep; the new Galaxy Watches are also debuting a Running Coach feature. It starts with a 12-minute running assessment that scores your fitness from level 0 (beginner) to level 10 (marathon-ready). From there, it builds a personalized four-to-six-week training plan tailored to your distance or performance goals. Similar to Apple's new Workout Buddy, Samsung's Running Coach offers real-time, contextual feedback while you're running, like pointing out a major milestone. But unlike Apple's version, Samsung's tool goes a step further by actually adapting your future training plans based on your progress. Design The two new Galaxy Watches take a page out of the Galaxy Watch Ultra's playbook ditching the traditional circular watch face for a "cushion" design that has a round screen set inside a "squircle" frame (square with rounded edges). As someone who thought the Ultra looked too big and masculine for my wrist, I'm still not totally sold on the design shift. But I'm a sucker for that rotating bezel on the Classic (the Ultra's is static), so I can't help but love the look, even if it doesn't feel like it was made for me. The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic brings back the rotating bezel in two color options: white or black. Joseph Maldonado/CNET The Classic also adopts the customizable quick-action button of the Ultra that also doubles as a crown wedges between the two navigation buttons. Despite my preference for the sleeker, edgeless circular design of past Galaxy Watches, there may be some benefits to the new design, including a slimmer form factor. According to Samsung, the Galaxy Watch 8 is 11% slimmer and lighter than its predecessor. When trying it on, I was blown away by how light it felt on my wrist without the usual belly bump bulge of the body. Pair that with a new band system, which reduces the gap between the watch and your wrist and you have a noticeably more comfortable fit. Thanks to the tighter sensor-to-skin contact, it's also more accurate at capturing heart rate data. This is still subject to testing, but if it holds up, it may be a justified design trade-off. Width comparison between the Galaxy Watch 8, Galaxy Watch 8 Classic and Galaxy Watch Ultra. Both the Ultra and the Classic have the crown that doubles as an action button. Joseph Maldonado/CNET The Galaxy Watch 8 comes in silver and graphite with an aluminum frame, while the Classic opts for a stainless steel finish in just silver. Size-wise, the regular Watch 8 comes in 40mm and 44mm options, while the Classic is only available in 46mm, which looks pretty large on my 6-inch (15cm) wrist and definitely leans more masculine. I can't help but miss the days when Samsung offered more feminine options like rose gold or even just plain gold, though it's been a while since those were part of the lineup. The new Galaxy Watches are the first smartwatches to debut Google's Gemini AI assistant out of the box. Joseph Maldonado/CNET Gemini on the watch The new One UI 8 software brings a refreshed user experience that is easier to navigate. Notifications are separated by app and instant access to your six most-used apps. The Watches also takes a page from the Galaxy phone with a new "Now bar" at the bottom of the screen for quick access to active apps like timers or media controls. But the most important software update is the addition of Gemini AI. The new Galaxy Watches are the first with Google's AI assistant built-in, bringing more complex commands and contextual understanding to your wrist. You can ask it to check your most recent running pace, start a five-mile run and launch your workout playlist simultaneously, set a timer to boil pasta based on a recipe in your notes, adjust the font size on the watch, or have it draft a text letting a friend know you're running late. Since Gemini requires an internet connection to work, you'll need to have your phone paired nearby or use an LTE version of the watch. Battery and storage Let's set expectations: Just because the Galaxy Watch 8 looks like the Ultra doesn't mean it matches the Ultra's three-day battery life. But there's still good news to share. Samsung says the Watch 8 has an 8% larger battery than the Watch 7: 325 mAh vs. 300 mAh (for the 40mm), and 435 mAh vs. 425 mAh (for the 44mm). The Classic tops out at 445 mAh, which is still well below the Ultra's 590 mAh battery. How much that translates into real-world use remains to be seen, but any boost is welcome, especially paired with the efficiency gains from the new Wear OS 6 update. Storage also doubles across the board, with 64GB now standard (up from 32GB), including a new Titanium Blue version of the Ultra. This is just a first look based on hands-on time. We'll find out if these features live up to the hype when put to the test in our full review, coming soon.
Phone Arena
24-06-2025
- Phone Arena
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic vs Galaxy Watch 6 Classic: Main differences to expect
Intro After a brief hiatus, Samsung is looking to reinvigorate its Galaxy Watch lineup with a premium smartwatch that comes with a fan-favorite favorite on deck: the signature rotating bezel. We haven't seen a Samsung smartwatch with these wonderful features since 2023, when the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic last treated us to one of the best ways to interact with a wearable. Aside from marking a return of the rotating crown, the upcoming Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is also getting a new design language. The new squircle shape will be universal across the Galaxy Watch 8 lineup and is heavily inspired by the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra. Is a new design the only thing that differentiates the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic and the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic ? New squircle case design vs standard circular case Single 46mm size vs 43/37mm size Rotating hardware bezel on both Exynos W1000 (3nm) vs Exynos W930 (5nm) chip 32GB vs 16GB storage Stainless-steel case and sapphire screens on both IP68/MIL-STD-810H certification on both Possibly non-invasive blood glucose monitoring (Watch 8 Classic) Table of Contents: Design and Sizes Bands Software Battery Models Specs Summary The new Galaxy Watch 8 Classic marks the return of one of the best hardware components ever fitted on a modern wearable: Samsung's superb rotating hardware bezel. Objectively, it's a great solution to the always-present problem of marrying a classic watch design with a modern digital interface, and Samsung nailed it with the rotating bezel, which debuted a decade ago. The case beneath it is different, though. Inspired by the Galaxy Watch Ultra's squircle design language, the new Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is also set to employ this design language. However, while the case is "squircly", the screen itself remains round, just like the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic . The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is most likely using a stainless-steel case, though there's the possibility for titanium here. The screen itself will most certainly be a scratch-resistant sapphire one. Galaxy Watch 8 Classic looks familiar yet perfected in leaked renders (Image by Evan Blass) The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic from 2023 was mostly similar. It combined stainless steel with sapphire in its mostly circular build. New on the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is a digital crown button, similar to last year's Galaxy Watch Ultra, and positioned between the standard dual buttons on the right side. However, it doesn't seem like this digital crown will be rotatable, so a standard customizable button is what we'll likely get. Both smartwatches will share the same IP68 and MIL-STD-810H certifications, meaning that both devices are very water-resistant and mostly rugged. Specifically, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic boasted 5ATM water-resistance (up to 50 meters), and we expect the Watch 8 Classic to boast the same. Colors-wise, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic was available in Black and Silver, and we don't really expect anything too different in terms of colors for the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. With the Galaxy Watch 6 series, Samsung introduced a new, quick-release band mechanism, which only requires you to push a button in order to swap the straps. This cool new system persisted on the Galaxy Watch 7 generation, and to no surprise whatsoever, will surely arrive on the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic as well. That said, back in December 2024, Samsung filed for a patent for another similar quick-release band attachment mechanism. However, as usual with patents, there's no realistic way of knowing if it will materialize in real life or will remain just that, a patent. In terms of new bands, we will definitely get some new ones to commemorate the launch of Samsung's new Galaxy Watch generation. We'd probably get new fluoroelastomer ones, though faux leather bands would certainly match the overall style of the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. Software & Features The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic and the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic both run Google's Wear OS with Samsung's One UI Watch interface running on top. The difference here are the versions: the new Galaxy Watch 8 Classic will possibly come with Wear OS 6 and One UI Watch 8 out of the box, while the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic will probably get this at a much later date. New in Google's Wear OS 6 will be a refreshed new design language thanks to Android 16's Material 3 Expressive. The latter will let you customize and personalize the interface in more ways than before. Aside from that, you will be able to experience Galaxy AI in additional apps and features, the rumor mill says, and possibly receive more AI-powered fitness and wellness recommendations. While both wearables are certainly sharing the same BioActive array of health sensors at the bottom of the case, an exciting rumor claims the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is getting blood glucose monitoring. No needles will be poking your wrist, thankfully: this feature will non-invasively use sensors to gauge your blood sugar levels. Due to the mostly similar design of the two wearables, it comes to no surprise that the batteries inside will be mostly similar. The rumors put a 445 mAh battery inside the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, a slight increase over the 425 mAh battery inside the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic . Thanks to the more efficient 3nm Exynos W1000 chip that will make it inside the Watch 8 Classic, we still expect better battery life than the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic , which featured an older 5nm chip. Charging-wise, we aren't getting any changes: the 10W wireless charging is here to stay. Models and Prices The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic will apparently be available in a single 46 mm size. The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic , on the other hand, was available in two sizes: a 43 mm and a 46 mm one. Either wearable is available with either 4G LTE or a Wi-Fi model. Of course, the cellular version will be much more independent than the standard Wi-Fi one, which requires the paired phone to be nearby at all times for normal operation. Here's how the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic vs Galaxy Watch 6 Classic specs compare: The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic thankfully marks the return of one of the most awesome Galaxy wearable ranges, which is arguably the best one, even when devices like the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and the Galaxy Watch Ultra exist. The core proportion appears to be unchanged, but many key areas seem to be improved. For one, we get a fresher new design that keeps all the essential elements in check, the rotating bezel included. We also get a more efficient new chip and a slightly bigger battery, which is surely giving us better battery endurance. Finally, in terms of health features, we might get a pretty important new blood glucose monitoring feature, which has the potential to be a game-changer, especially for people suffering from diabetes. Overall, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic shapes up to be the perfect update for Galaxy Watch Classic fans!
