Samsung unveils Galaxy Watch 4
The Galaxy Watch 4 is finally here. Here’s everything you need to know.
Launching alongside the Galaxy Z Fold3, Flip3 (page 93) and Buds 2 (page 103), the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Series offers up what looks like more choice than ever before, with two variants, each in two sizes and all available with optional LTE connectivity.
The Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic serves up two distinct design styles while all delivering on performance (by way of a new Samsung-made mobile chipset) and user experience, by debuting the latest iteration of Wear OS, which the company has co-developed with Google.
RELEASE DATE
It’s available to buy now.
PRICE
Samsung’s Unpacked line-up arrived with markedly more affordable opening asking prices than their respective predecessors, with the smallest Watch 4 variant kicking things off at £249 and the Classic starting at £349. Here’s key pricing across the whole range:
Galaxy Watch 4 (40mm)
Bluetooth only: £249 4G: £289
Galaxy Watch 4 (44mm)
Bluetooth only: £269 4G: £309
Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (42mm)
Bluetooth only: £349 4G: £2389
Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (46mm)
Bluetooth only: £369 4G: £409
FEATURES
The standard Galaxy Watch 4 features a contemporary design, with brushed aluminium lugs that extend to encapsulate the black polished metal body of the watch, while the Classic sports more conventional timepiece styling (similar to the Galaxy Watch 3), with a stainless steel body and – most prominently – a physical rotating bezel for interaction.
Depending on whether you opt for the smaller or larger-bodied version of either Watch 4, you can expect a 1.19in or 1.36in circular AMOLED display that sports a pixel density of 330ppi.
The BioActive Sensor branding that relates to the overarching fitness hardware inside the Watch 4 now extends to the two physical buttons on the watch’s right side. While the top button serves as a home key and the bottom a back key, soft-pressing both after tapping ‘Measure’ on the new Body
Composition app lets the Watch 4 get a read on things like your body’s water retention, bone density and BMI.
Samsung says blood oxygen reading can now take place passively, while the Watch 4 tracks your sleep and functionality like the ECG – first seen on the Watch Active 2 – which took time to reach approval in various markets around the world, should be available to users from the get-go (in markets where previous Galaxy Watches had already received approval – Samsung suggests this includes nearly 40 regions).
Back in mid-May at Google I/O 2021, Google officially revealed that it was teaming up with Samsung to fuse Wear OS and Tizen OS into a single platform, which Samsung then confirmed would be powering its next Galaxy Watches; pulling in additional wellness and fitness features supplied by the now Google-owned Fitbit.
Following the Watch 4’s announcement, the Korean company was quick to highlight that Wear OS as it appears on the Watch 4 Series is ‘Wear OS Powered by Samsung’, which doesn’t reflect the experience as it might appear on forthcoming wearables from other manufacturers that choose to adopt this latest Wear OS release.
Samsung’s take, which it calls One UI Watch, embraces much of what made Tizen (which ran on its previous Galaxy Watches) so approachable; like interaction by rotation (using the physical bezel on the Classic or the digital haptic alternative on the standard Watch 4), while Wear OS means the Google Play Store and experiences like Google Maps and Google Pay can now be accessed and can leverage the Watch 4’s hardware.
Speaking of hardware, the Watch 4 Series also serves as the debut for Samsung’s newest wearable-centric chip,
the 5nm Exynos W920, which is expected to be a huge leap forward compared to the best Qualcomm currently has to offer – the Snapdragon Wear 4100+, with its 12nm process and even the 10nm chip at play inside the Galaxy Watch 3.
According to Samsung, this latest silicon promises “1.25x faster processing times compared to the Exynos 9110” and “8.8x smoother graphics performance”. 1.5GB of RAM and double the storage (16GB up from 8GB on the Watch 4’s predecessor) also features, while longevity should be greatly improved too, with Samsung quoting 40 hours of wear per charge across the Watch 4 line.
SPECIFICATIONS
• 40mm Watch 4, 42mm Watch 4 Classic, 1.19in circular 396x396 Super AMOLED always-on display; 44mm Watch 4, 46mm Watch 4 Classic; 1.36in circular 450x450 Super AMOLED always-on display (
• Gorilla Glass DX+
• 1.18GHz dual-core Samsung Exynos W920 5nm processor
• 1.5GB RAM
• 16GB ROM
• Wear OS Powered by Samsung (operating system)
• One UI Watch (user experience)
• Bluetooth 5.0
• NFC
• GPS
• Wi-Fi
• 4G LTE via eSIM (optional)
• Accelerometer
• Barometer
• Gyro sensor
• Geomagnetic sensor
• Light sensor
• Compass
• Microphone
• Speaker
• Haptic motor
• Samsung Knox security
• Samsung BioActive Sensor:
• Optical heart rate sensor (PPG)
• Electrical heart sensor (ECG)
• Bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor (BIA)
• Heart rate tracking
• Blood oxygen tracking
• AFib irregular heartbeat detection
• Sleep tracking
• Snore detection
• Body composition analysis
• Guided workouts
• Bixby Voice support
• Gesture controls
• Aluminium casing (Watch 4)
• Stainless steel casing (Watch 4 Classic)
• 5ATM swim-proof
• IP68-certified dust and water-resistance
• MIL-STD-810G tested
• Wireless charging (supports Qi
charging)
• 40mm Watch 4, 42mm Watch 4 Classic, 247mAh battery; 44mm Watch 4, 46mm Watch 4 Classic, 361mAh battery
• Up to 40 hours battery life
• 30 minutes charge = 10 hours use
• 40mm Watch 4, 40.4x9.3x9.8mm; 44mm Watch 4, 44.4x43.3x9.8mm; 42mm Watch 4 Classic, 41.5x41.5x11.2mm; 46mm Watch 4 Classic, 45.5x45.5x11mm;
• 40mm Watch 4, 25.9g; 44mm Watch 4, 30.3g; 42mm Watch 4 Classic, 46.5g; 46mm Watch 4 Classic, 52g
• 40mm Watch 4, black, pink gold, silver; 44mm Watch 4, black, green, silver; 42mm & 46mm Watch 4 Classic, black, silver
• Compatible with Android 6.0 or higher (devices require more than 1.5GB RAM)