Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, the classic with a modern twist
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. Pic: Samsung.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic has a rugged exterior thanks to its stainless-steel body. I received the 46mm, black classic model with brushed metal, and silicone strap for a couple of weeks. I’m not sure why Samsung decided to use a less than ‘classic’ style strap rather than something more traditional for the Classic model but it’s a pity.
One of my favourite design features of the Galaxy Watch has been the rotating bezel that surrounds the watch face and it’s still present on the Watch 4. There are also two physical clicky buttons on the right that can be used to navigate the UI but the top one is also used for biometric measurements.
The Samsung BioActive sensor that combines the heart rate sensor, SpO2 sensor and a few others, is located at the back of the watch.
The 1.4-inch Super AMOLED display is circular with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass DX to protect it. The screen is recessed and the dial adds an extra layer of protection.
The circular display is more akin to a traditional analogue watch and it looks great on the wrist. You change up the look and style with custom straps (20mm not the more common 22mm) from Samsung or third-party vendors.
The Watch 4Classic is jam-packed with sensors including an accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor and heart rate sensor. There’s also blood oxygen and ECG options but the latter doesn’t work unless you have the watch paired with a Samsung phone since it needs an additional app that’s only available from the Samsung Galaxy Store. If you really want to get the most from this watch you’ll need a Samsung phone. It doesn’t seem fair that those who want to use this watch without a Samsung phone should have to pay the same as those who do since they’re not getting all of the same features.
Other watch features that are new to the Galaxy Watch 4 are BIA measurements which measure the rate at which a painless low-level electrical current travels through your body. Based on that rate, a calculation is used to estimate fat-free mass. It requires some user data such as your height, your gender, and weight measurements to determine your body fat percentage.
The watch walks you through the rather convoluted but necessary process that involves moving the watch up your wrist and placing your two middle fingers on the watch buttons. You then need to hold your position while it passes a very weak current through your body. I’ve used this on smart weighing scales and it’s a convenient way of tracking body composition.
You get a ton of different types of physical workout-tracking modes too, as well as detailed sleep tracking. It auto-detects a few workouts, too. The watch is 5ATM water-resistant and you can wear it while you swim.
Samsung Pay is installed by default but this doesn’t work in Ireland. However, you can install Google Pay and this works flawlessly here. This is one of the most useful features and is more convenient than using your phone and way more secure than using a card.
The Watch 4 Classic has a decent speaker and mic for taking calls if you’re phone isn’t near you. You can also record short voice notes too that are then synced with your phone.
Google Wear OS 3.0 is new to Galaxy Watch 4 and it looks a lot like the previous Tizen OS from previous iterations of Galaxy Watch. However, you still need to install the Galaxy Wearable and Samsung Health apps.
Unfortunately, unlike so many other smartwatches, there’s no support for iOS. On a more positive note, the Samsung Health app is basic and intuitive, so even a newcomer to the platform will have no issue navigating it. All of your fitness data, as well as specific details about your workouts, are conveniently displayed there.
The UI is fast and snappy with smooth scrolling and swiping thanks to the Exynos W920 dual-core CPU with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.
The rotating bezel can be used to side-scroll through menus and options. It isn’t necessary and some users may not even use it but I found it very satisfying to have a physical control especially when your hands are wet or if you’re wearing gloves. It also works great in apps like Google Maps to zoom in and out.
Thanks to Wear OS 3.0 there’s a version of the Google PlayStore on the watch. The new OS is excellent overall and there are lots of options to tweak as well beautiful watch faces pre-installed and lots more to download.
The Watch 4 Classis has Bluetooth 5.0 and dual-band wifi.
I found I could get nearly two days from the battery with very light use but as soon as I enabled the always-on-display — which is great — GPS tracking, the screen brightness turned up to where I like it and heavy use in testing features and mucking about in the OS, I was lucky to make it to the end of a day.
The charge time is rated at two hours but I generally found it only took me 1.5 hours. While you’re supplied with a puck style magnet charger, it can be wirelessly charged with any Qi-compatible charger which is great.
The Samsung Watch 4 Classic comes with a one-year warranty, excellent health and fitness tracking features. Wear OS 3.0 is so much better than previous versions but still needs some tweaking to feel as polished as WatchOS from Apple. Samsung has to be applauded for packing so much into this watch but ultimately, this may be at the sacrifice of battery life.
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is easily the best you can buy for Android for most people. Yes, there are better alternatives for those who need better battery life or more enhanced fitness features but the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic does everything so well it’s hard not to look past it.
Prices start at €379 for the 42mm although it’s currently on a special offer of €289 for Black Friday. For more, visit Samsung
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