Hardware

Published on October 29th, 2023 | by Andrew Paul

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Review (8T1B) #Watch6

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Review (8T1B) #Watch6 Andrew Paul
Score

Summary: The new Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is quite a clever smart watch that boasts a wealth of features.

4.5

Really smart!


Welcome to the new Galaxy Watch 6 (aka Watch6) that is available in different sizes (mm), colours, including Bluetooth only or Bluetooth with Cellular that successfully incorporates a wealth of useful life and health features plus smartwatch capabilities. With advanced sleep analysis to tracking your heart-rate or the ability to answer calls or check out notifications on the go, the Galaxy Watch 6 will become your new virtual companion. Prices for the Watch6 range from $549 to $849, depending on model and additional features which makes is a far better purpose than the new Google Pixel Watch.


Additionally it can track your exercise and even provide you tips for a healthier lifestyle by just wearing the watch.

If you have any underlining health conditions, functions such as the electrocardiogram can check for Ventricular Arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats) and it even checks if you have potential issues with your blood pressure. Further health features is the  Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis sensor which measure body fat and there is even a temperature sensor. However there is a caveat for the health features that this smartwatch is not a medical/therapeutic device and is only intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only… in other words it’s a guide but potentially could save someone’s life.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Key Features

  • Sleep coaching to help improve wellness1, with your eyes closed
  • Helps you listen to your body with personalised heart rate zone workouts and advanced running analysis
  • Monitor your heartbeat, ECG2 and blood pressure
  • Receive notifications, pay with your watch, access your Galaxy phone camera and even find your phone all from your wrist
  • Tough, powerful and scratch-resistant

Gallery

In terms of design, the watch itself does look like a smartwatch, however there are more glitzy models available from Samsung opposed to our Spartan black review version. The Galaxy Watch 6 also has a 5ATM and IP68 rating which makes it almost apocalyptic proof, including the ability of diving to the depth of 164 feet for 10 minutes. In order words, it is dirt and waterproof.

The screen quality of the smartwatch is exceptional and its 1.3″ AMOLED boasts crystal clear images, text and vibrant colours that works really well in bright light as well thanks to its 2000 nits. You can even tweak font sizes that makes accessing the watch easier for people who may have vision impairments. Also supporting the user experience is the responsive touch screen, including a touch bezel (sort of) that allows you to swipe along the edge to quickly navigate menus. Further, there are two buttons that include a home button and a Samsung Wallet button to make interactivity a more fluid like experience. As the watch supports audio, the sound quality was relatively good for such a small device which includes voice and even music.

The Galaxy Watch 6 will work on any Android 10 device and higher, however running it on the same Samsung infrastructure is a much smoother experience as you lose some of the functionality on non-Samsung devices which includes the camera app, irregular heart rhythm notifications and alert that your watch is no longer connected to your phone. In terms of setup, you’ll be up and running in around 5 minutes.

On the Samsung infrastructure (we tested the Watch6 on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5), it automatically finds the phone but you still need to download their Wearable App. Once connected, there is a tutorial to teach you the basics of the watch that is a combination of swipes and taps. The user interface is quite straightforward and easy to follow as well!

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The watch is also powered by the Samsung Exynos W930 dual-core 1.4GHz processor with 2GB of RAM plus 16GB of storage. The watch is fast and responsive—apps open quickly and I never encountered any lag when swiping on the touch screen or scrolling with the touch bezel.

The battery of the Galaxy Watch 6 is 425mAh for the 44mm model or 300mAh for the 40mm one, with both offering a power saver mode. I get around 2-days from using the watch with the always-on-display turned off. And  a quick 30 minute charge is great for a battery boost in the morning if I failed to charge it.

The watch does a decent job at tracking your exercises (almost 100), including steps, active time and calories burned. Additionally when linked with the Wearable App and Samsung Health ecosystem, the Watch6 becomes super motivating. Supporting female wearers is a period tracking app that allows you to record symptoms such as mood changes or cramping. Another fantastic feature is the SOS tool that you can activate or if something happen to you such a fall, it will share your location. The sleep tracking is probably on par to Fitbit and far superior to Hauwei that is a good guide and highlights the importance of sleep, including providing you tip and goals.

Final Thoughts?

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is a powerful smartwatch that comes with a wealth of features, including some excellent health features to monitor your body. Additionally it’s a well-designed smart device, however if you use religiously throughout the day, the battery will need to charged more often than not that unfortunately is a given for many of the more powerful smartwatches. Nonetheless, it successfully transfers your smartphone onto your watch that will become an extension of your own body. It’s also super fast and comes with an excellent screen to help immerse you in this new smartwatch.

Recommended!


About the Author

1andrewp@impulsegamer.com'



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