There are plenty of watch faces to choose from.
For years now, I have mostly recommended a Samsung smartwatch to the ones looking for one to pair with their Android smartphone. Samsung has always offered a great build quality and amazing software and health tracking. With the new Galaxy Watch 4, the company has worked with Google to bring WearOS on board. When I heard this, I was really excited to try it out.
I got my hands on the Galaxy Watch 4 nearly two weeks ago and I have been using it since then. Will I still be able to recommend a Samsung watch to Android users? Let’s find out from the experience I had with the Galaxy Watch 4.
Build and Design
The first thing that I noticed was that the Galaxy Watch 4 lacks the beloved rotatable bezels. It is not completely gone but it is now exclusive to the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. So, if you are into rotatable bezels, you should consider getting the Classic variant over the regular one.
It features an aluminium casing.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 comes with a 20mm silicone strap. It makes the watch feel quite comfortable in hand. One thing to complain about here is that the strap does not go all the way down, which makes the watch look bigger than it actually is while wearing.
The Galaxy Watch 4 features an aluminium body and Corning Gorilla Glass DX. Overall, the watch is well built and it clearly shows that the watch can last you for a very long time.
Pairing
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 now runs on WearOS with a customised UI. As soon as I turned on the watch, I got a popup on my Samsung Galaxy Flip 3 saying that a Galaxy Watch 4 is ready to pair. From there, I just had to hit ‘pair’ and it started downloading the necessary apps and paired the smartwatch in a few minutes.
It was quite easy to pair.
Unlike other WearOS based smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch 4 uses the Galaxy Wearables app to connect to the smartphone. As of writing this review, I was able to connect the smartwatch only to a Samsung phone. It refused to connect when I tried to connect it to my iPhone 12 Pro or the OnePlus 9.
User interface
Most of the Galaxy Watch 4 buyers will be the ones coming from a Samsung Gear S3 or the Galaxy Watch. This means that they would want to feel at home when it comes to the user interface but the new WearOS 3 would bring some questions. Due to the partnership between Samsung and Google, the company was able to apply its skin on top of regular WearOS. This means that the Galaxy Watch 4’s UI will not take a lot of time to get used to for long term Samsung watch users.
Galaxy Watch 4 brings support for many Android WearOS apps.
The interface is quite interactive and the watch is always quick to respond. It handles notifications well and there are a plethora of watch faces to choose from. Thanks to WearOS, users can now install a lot more apps than they were able to on their Galaxy Watch 3 or older.
Using the Galaxy Watch 4, you can even take phone calls. However, the experience is not that great due to the tinny speaker. The best you can do is to let someone know that you will be calling them back in a while.
Health tracking
In order to track the health-related stuff, you will need to install the Samsung Health app on your smartphone. It will show you all the basic information you need, which includes step counting, sleep tracking, workout sessions and more. During my time with the device, I felt the information that was being shown was more or less accurate.
Yes, there are wearables that can do this part better. However, when it comes to WearOS based smartwatches under Rs. 25,000, the Galaxy Watch 4 seems to be the winner.
Battery life
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 comes with a 247mAh battery. During my usage, I was able to get through two days of usage on a single charge. However, this was with minimum notifications and the always-on display turned on. As soon as I started getting more notifications and I turned on the always-on display, the battery life dropped to one full day of usage.
Should you buy it?
The interface is quite easy to use.
If you are looking to buy a new smartwatch for your Android smartphone, the Galaxy Watch could be a great choice. The smartwatch offers a combination of great build quality from Samsung and good software that comes with the partnership of Google and Samsung. It is also quite comfortable to wear for long hours.
In case you are looking for something more elegant or you want the rotatable bezel, you should lean towards the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. Otherwise, the Galaxy Watch 4 would be a great pick.
