Of all the wearables Samsung is launching in 2024, the $299.99 Galaxy Watch 7 is the least exciting. It’s not a completely new category galaxy ring or new form factors, e.g. Galaxy Watch Ultra. Even during my briefing, Samsung waved and said, “Oh, the Galaxy Watch 7 is here too—and, uh, it’s really cool!”
In other words, if you have a Galaxy Watch 4, 5, or 6, you know what you’re getting. One year Samsung adjusts wearable product lineup, the Galaxy Watch 7 is its unwavering constant. I’ve come to realize this after using the Galaxy Ring and Ultra for the past three weeks.
That’s not to say I don’t like Ring or Ultra. Instead, and more importantly, classics like the basic Galaxy Watch can get boring after a while, and you need to take the time to remember what made them great again. It’s like trying a bunch of new viral cafes on TikTok with Instagram-worthy latte flavors, and then craving an iced latte from your local grocery store. Both are good, but only one offers comfort.
Speaking of comfort, wear resistance is a big plus for the basic Galaxy Watch. The Ultra is clunky on my wrist, and I had trouble adjusting to the new FDA-approved sleep apnea detection feature, which depends on a tight fit. That’s not the case with the Galaxy Watch 7. This is just my personal taste, but I also prefer a simpler round display on my wrist compared to the Ultra. The slimmer profile is another huge plus. Even though it’s summer, I know this watch won’t get caught on jacket sleeves or other clothing.
But just as my experience with the Ultra reminded me that the Watch 7’s chic, slim and lightweight design is a given, it also highlighted its biggest weakness: battery life.
Even after Samsung’s battery calibration period, I still only got about 24 hours of use on a single charge. This is not much different from the Galaxy Watches 4, 5, and 6. (People with the 44mm Watch 7 will get longer because of the larger battery.) Fast charging will solve some of the issues, but I will add that I’m a heavy GPS user and keep the display on most of the time. . You’ll get better mileage if you stick to the gym or turn off your AOD.
None of this is surprising, as the Watch 7 doesn’t change much in terms of hardware. The only difference is that it comes with a new 3nm Exynos W1000 chip and an upgraded 3-in-1 BioActive sensor – and it runs Wear OS 5 and One UI 6 Watch out of the box, but those will eventually come to older Galaxy models On the watch, too. (You can already download a beta version.) Overall performance is very fast, although I didn’t notice any meaningful improvement in accuracy with the new BioActive sensor.
Most of the new features come down to health features: AI-driven health insights, an energy score to measure recovery, sleep apnea detection, and the confusing AGE metric, which purportedly exploits the relationship between sugar and fat and protein. Interactions to measure metabolic health. I cover these features in more detail in my article ring and extremist comments, but the point is whether they were successful. Double pinching is another “new” feature that lets you use gestures to dismiss alerts, answer calls, or control the camera. Samsung has had it for a while, but this year it’s getting even more attention. I really like it, but again, the gesture isn’t limited to the Galaxy Watch 7.
Technically, Samsung is right: the Galaxy Watch 7 is also here, and it’s great. It’s for people upgrading from an older Galaxy Watch who would rather go with a future-proof 7th generation watch than buy a discounted 6th generation watch. Designed by people. It’s not exciting, but you know what you’re getting: a good smartwatch. This too has its value.
