Galaxy Watch 8 review: Hey, I like the Squircle design
Intelligent watches have a singular advantage over other devices: connectivity 24 hours a day. Connectivity to you, that is to say. Your phone is in your pocket; Your headphones are only worn when you listen to something. But a smartwatch gets on your wrist, with brief breaks for the load. This makes it an ideal health monitoring device.
Now, with the beginnings of the Galaxy Watch 8, Samsung has done everything about the health measures of your watch. From activity to sleep at stress levels with body composition, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 can follow just about anything you do. (Who needs a fitness tracker?) You need a holistic approach to determine what you feel and how it can help you feel better.
The data is not excellent unless you have it in a way that makes sense and that feels exploitable. Samsung’s approach becomes very good. I use a 40 mm Watch 8 Samsung Galaxy 8 (the smallest) for 10 days; Here are my thoughts so far.
Galaxy Watch 8 Design: Minance min and the return of “Squill”
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
The first notable upgrade on watch 8: it is thinner and is flatter on the wrist than the previous generations of the Galaxy watch. More specifically, this watch is 11%thinner at 11%, and the sensor pack at the rear is also flatter, which means that the watch is theoretically more comfortable to wear. Personally, as a bigger guy with a lot of padding, it is difficult for me to notice it.
Which is easy to notice: the overhaul of the mechanism of the strap. It is similar to the strap of the ultra 2024 galaxy Watch, although the straps of one do not hold to the other. The main change is how legs are attached to the case. While the Ultra Lugs watch has more naturally incorporated into the shape of your wrist, they go directly from the sides of the watch.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
The result, whatever the size of the wrist, is that the watch will be flatte. I find it more comfortable, and I think your wrists are little, the more you agree. However, I am certainly not a fan of LUG owners systems for third -party groups.
The other major overhaul implies the “cushion” of Samsung, as society calls it. Last year, Watch Ultra had a kind of “squirt” design with a round watch face on a rounded square base, and this year, the Korean technical brand doubles the squirlet.
In my eyes, the black face on a silver background is a chic look. I originally wore the watch with the white silicone band included, but I went to a metal connection bracelet after about five days. I was surprised by the quality of Watch 8 with this more dressed metal group.
Normally, I am not a type of metal group. I generally bow to fabric and velcro, but when I saw how good the watch was with the metal strap, I had to try it. I am not a complete convert, but I certainly do not mind on this watch.
Credit: Joe Maldonado /.Mashable
The main difference between watch 8 and the 8 Classic watch is the absence of the rotary telescope. Watch 8 always has a edge sensitive to the touch around your face that you can make your finger work like a “pretender” rotary telescope, but it is not the same thing. This can also be problematic if you try to slide with your finger. If you are too close to the edge, you accidentally trigger the telescope instead.
There are two buttons on the side of the watch that I barely used, preferring the sweeping navigation system. The main thing I used the buttons was to activate Google Gemini AI, which is fun to use on a watch. And as the Apple Watch has a very limited AI functionality (at least for the moment), it will be a much better intelligent watch for AI Nerds in search of a laptop.
Galaxy Watch 8 software modifications
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
This is the first smartwatch to execute Gemini on the face of the watch. It is a big victory for Samsung, especially with the new Google equipment that will probably arrive soon. According to my experience, Gemini and Google Assistant are mainly six of half a dozen of the other. However, if the death of Google Assistant is all that will ensure the appetite of Google for the murder of products, then it is another step in this direction.
Besides the Gemini, Oneui 8 brings some new improvements, including the “pill”. It is essentially the version of Samsung on the dynamic island of Apple. He shows you information at a glance in a pill -shaped graph at the bottom of the watch. This seems to belong to the face of the watch, even more than on a phone screen. I dig it.
There is also a complete set of widgets that you can configure in the widget panels to the right of the watch’s face. You can choose the widgets you want to see and reorganize them if necessary. This is very similar to the cover of the Galaxy Z Flip 7 – but again, which was boring on a phone screen works better on a smartwatch.
With the Galaxy Watch 8, Samsung wants to keep you healthy
The main objective of the software comes from Samsung Health, which works on the watch and on your Android phone. It is the house for all the biometric data that the watch collects, including a new metric: antioxidant levels in your skin. To measure your antioxidants, you must remove the watch and press your thumb against the sensor at the back of the watch while you launch the analysis of your phone.
To what extent is it useful? It’s questionable for two reasons. First, when you measure your antioxidants, the high -end of the scale is labeled “adequate” – as if to say, even if you eat all the vegetables in the world, you will never be enough. Secondly, after checking with other gadget revisers, no one I knew was assessed above “poor”.
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
I do not know if it is an indictment of the eaten meat culture here at the measures of the United States or Samsung. Just say that I don’t eat enough vegetables – and there is a good chance, either.
Much of the rest of the Samsung health software has been present for at least a year, including energy scores, sleep monitoring, age index, BMI, etc. Overall, I like the way Samsung organizes information in a set of easy to understand data that you can use to improve your health. For example, for sleep coaching, you first assigned a sleep animal, which represents the way you sleep. Apparently, my animal is a penguin because I wake up several times at night. Sleep coaching will give you suggestions on how to sleep better, like hitting your sleep time consistently.
What I don’t like is how easy it is to reject this information. A coach is as effective as the attention it requires, and most Samsung coaching instructions are easy to sweep. I do not know what the more Samsung could demand from someone apart from a “OK” button, but honestly, it looks like low fruit for AI, that’s what Samsung is supposed to be all about these days.
Samsung has a sleep coach who makes suggestions, but I would like it going further. For example, if a sleep coach appears on your watch and says “Hey, are you a little stressed and it’s almost time for the bed. And meditation?” And you reject it, you could tell you the following night, “hey, so you ignored our meditation suggestion and you slept last night. And tonight?” Or that might say: “Hey, you relaxed for 20 good minutes before bedtime, but you continued to use your phone for two more hours. Maybe let’s not do that tonight?”
The battery life is …
I tested this watch over a period of two weeks, which included two trips on the road. Often, I found myself far from the Wi-Fi and I use my phone and look frequently. I have not always been able to let my watch die completely day by day, which biased my battery longevity data. I had another day of fun activities scheduled for the next morning, so I would end up having to connect the watch when he had 30 to 40%, against 15%, which I normally use to determine the battery life. That said, I obtained good results from the battery tests.
Credit: Adam Doud / Mashable
There is no doubt that this watch can last a full day on a load. It won’t last you two days. I have an average of around 33 to 35 hours per load when I left the watch at around 5%. It took more than an hour to recharge in Full, which usually took between 65 and 75 minutes. Keeping in mind that it is the smallest watch with the smallest battery, it is not too bad. I don’t like how long it takes to load, but I cannot contest the battery life.
More than once, I wore the watch for a day and one night, then I loaded it the next morning when I went to have breakfast or take a shower. It was generally enough to complete the rest of this day. Which is good because I never wear the watch in the shower anyway. (However, I tested it in a swimming pool and on some water walks, however.)
Not long ago, I would have put this battery life for equality with other intelligent watches. But in the past 18 months approximately, OnePlus and Google have shown us what is possible with a double -chip architecture which discharges most of the basic health monitoring to a lower processor. These watches have a battery life measured in days rather than the hours.
I don’t know why Samsung did not follow this trend. However, 35 hours is an adequate battery life and certainly offers more energy than my vegetable intake.
Does the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 are worth it?
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
I say yes. I really like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, despite the battery life. I love the chic look, the software is really tight and the integration of Google Gemini is a great advantage. However, unless you Really I want this gemini application or the new antioxidant feature, there is also no a lot of incitement to upgrade if you already have Galaxy Watch 7 from last year.
Samsung is a brand popular enough so that it is not difficult to find third -party groups, but if you are like me and you have a shelf full of other straps that you have bought and that you will not have luck, unless you buy a third -party converter to use your third -party straps.
If you have an older smartwatch than the Galaxy Watch 7, then the new watch 8 is worth the upgrade. The look is polarizing, but I’m a fan, and I would like to see Samsung wear this design, personally. The rest of the watch is a data and health data treasure. In theory, if you follow the advice of the watch without rejecting it squarely, it can help you live a better life. And you will look good to do so.
