A lot has happened in technology, from 5 nm to 3 nm and from two to five cores. This watch runs many interactive graphic elements at the same time and always keeps them, all because the Exynos W940 chip is much more powerful, but also 50% more efficient, at least in theory.
The design language is the same as before: very industrial and sensible, without hard or obvious edges. I love the new straps; they fit well and precisely and do not pinch at all. Samsung calls it a floating glass design – I say the glass is lifted out of the watch case. It’s perfectly fine regardless.
What Samsung, for some reason, is not doing much about is that the internal storage space has been doubled to 32 GB. In addition, more RAM has also been added, so we are now up to 4 GB.
On the biometric side, there is now an “Enhanced BioActive” sensor. This means that heart rate, blood pressure and heart rhythm can be measured very accurately, which in turn means that you will have constant monitoring of your health, especially irregular heartbeats. I fully understand the GDPR issue, but in an ideal world the watch would be able to contact the emergency services with coordinates and request an ambulance in the event of unnatural and problematic fluctuations or measurements. But then you have to find a smarter way than using a real blood pressure monitor as a reference, and right now I’m disappointed.
Here’s a hint:
Speaking of coordinates, the GPS is now a dual band, L1 + L5, and the training part can track past times, like in video games where you can compete against a ghost which represents the past times – but only when you ride or run, which makes sense because it probably uses the GPS to record everything.
The operating system is Samsung’s new Wear OS 5, and of course it has integrated AI functionality with better adapted training, sleep analysis, energy accounting and a detailed overview of aerobic/anaerobic training. It can even warn you if you suffer from sleep apnea.
It is still ATM5 in terms of water. If you like hiking or diving, there is now a Galaxy Ultra watch with better certification and protection. It’s still a water trap, though, and Samsung should be commended for making their fitness interface very nice. The graphics and user interface in general is a huge step forward, especially for the price.
Here’s a hint:
The price is NOK 299, and for that you also get full NFC support, and it’s good that Samsung hasn’t increased the price from the Galaxy Watch 6, as I feared.
Galaxy AI is kind of funny; it can both create basic responses that you can use to reply to messages and, with a Samsung phone, create, yes, meeting links and more. There are many little things, such as control through special finger movements, bike tracking and a medication reminder function. In addition, Samsung has retained its simple but effective click system for new straps.
The dials are my main point of criticism, especially since I’ve been testing the watch primarily while it hasn’t launched yet. There are many flexible dials, but because I’m very picky, I couldn’t find the right one. Anyway, the point is: If you don’t have a Watch 6, this will be a big upgrade for most people. Whether it’s activity, exercise or health monitoring you need, it has full NFC support, plenty of space, and it’s surprisingly cheap, all in such a beautiful product.
2024-08-05 07:06:50
#Samsung #Galaxy #Watch
