Samsung Galaxy Watch8 and Watch8 Classic review: A strategy of unique abundance

Samsung’s approach with smartwatches is clear — a lot of features for fitness, health and wellness tracking, to define an identity in a space that’s cluttered with many watch options

If ever there was a smart attempt at finding middle ground that’d work best for a broader demographic of potential buyers, this would be it. There may be distinct preferences otherwise, between a round smartwatch face or a squarer one. Samsung has blended the best of both worlds in the new Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic, with a chassis that is square-ish while the display remains a familiar circle. This is something Samsung calls the cushion design, and this isn’t purely a visual trick, for this opens up space for components and a stronger watch band attachment mechanism. An inspiration from something introduced in last year’s Galaxy Watch Ultra and there’s little wrong with it.

The Galaxy Watch 8 series is Samsung’s attempt at keeping its smartwatch lines fresh. (Official image)

The Galaxy Watch 8 series is Samsung’s attempt at keeping its smartwatch lines fresh, without wholesale changes so to speak of. Two distinct personalities to choose from, with the lighter Galaxy Watch 8 (prices are ₹32,999 onwards; LTE also available) in smaller 40mm and 44mm sizes, alongside the 46-mm Watch 8 Classic (costs ₹46,999 onwards) that also has a rotating mechanical bezel. There are more sensors, more AI and more health metrics to work with, but if you’ve been a Galaxy Watch user in the previous couple of years, familiarity is abound too. If you want functionality, the former may be a prudent pick. Visual appeal? The Classic sets up better for that. That rotating bezel, which has been a favourite for generations, simply adds to the charm of tactile navigation, an art lost in the era of touchscreens.

There’s a perceptible weight and thickness difference between the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic, and preferences will be subjective. It is the Classic that feels closer to a Galaxy Watch Ultra (if you pair this with an orange band, more so), without being one. The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic adds something Samsung calls a Dynamic Lug System on the bands, the idea being the thicker watch design should still not get in the way of the band attaching closer to the wrist. It has worked to an extent, but not something I’m entirely used to even after wearing the Classic for a few days regularly. This doesn’t take away from the top-heavy design the Classic has overall, and can feel a bit unplanted as there is a moving part in the chain.

Samsung’s work to optimise hardware and software never goes unnoticed, and this isn’t also an exception. The Exynos W1000 chip, the 3-nanometer architecture, has more than enough power to keep things moving along without stutters or pauses. Gemini on-board is quick, to invoke and respond — quick AI summaries, message dictation and map navigation, for example. That also extends to how well optimised some of the more prominent health metrics are, such as the step counter, which clocked within 50 steps of my Ultrahuman ring, daily. On both the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic. Automatic activity tracking is faster to kick in as well.

The only problem with the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic’s health tracking is the Samsung Health app, which has a bit too much data and that often without context, can lead to anxious moments. Do most users need as much data immediately when they open the Health app? Perhaps a secondary layer is needed, which will open space for Samsung to add explanatory notes on what each score means and how to read it. There is a lot happening in the Samsung Health app around health, wellbeing and activity, and that is mighty impressive yet considerably overwhelming at times.

Vascular Load is a new addition, for instance, that would require you to wear the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic to bed while sleeping for three consecutive nights before it can make a baseline. The idea behind this data is to get a reading on how stressed the body’s vascular system is, that is the blood vessels that move blood along. You’ll see a reading after three nights, but there may be chances the watch misaligns with your wrist and there may not be enough heart rate data to get this score by morning. There’s also an Antioxidant Index, for which you need to take off the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic and place your thumb on the sensor underneath the watch. This will tell you whether the balance of fruits and vegetables in your diet is adequate or not. Quite what to make of this data, and its accuracy, is anyone’s guess. You’ll know if you’ve eaten enough greens or not.

While both Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic have AMOLED screens, the former and the latter also have parity with 3000-nits of peak rated brightness. These are brilliant canvases to look at. Battery stamina varies depending on usage — close to 30 hours with always-on display, and add another 8 hours or so with that off. However, if you are regularly using this to track the night’s sleep, you’ll get about a day’s worth of runtime before quickly charging this again before hitting the bed.

Samsung’s approach with smartwatches is clear — a lot of features for fitness, health and wellness tracking, to define its identity in a space that’s certainly cluttered with many watch options across price points for Android phones. It may well work for Samsung in the long term. And the short.