Hoo boy, wasn’t that a great Galaxy Unpacked? The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 are two devices that still seem futuristic despite being around for over half a decade now. The Galaxy Ring brings smart jewelry to the masses and is the subscription-free competition the Oura Ring needs. And what about the Galaxy Watch Ultra? Samsung’s answer to the Apple Watch Ultra 2 may be derivative, but it’s clear that Samsung is throwing absolutely everything at it.
What a show. What an incredible showcase of new technology and new ideas. What do you mean I’ve forgotten something? Oh, you’re right. I forgot about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7.
I guess Samsung and I have that in common.
Seriously, what happened with the Galaxy Watch 7?
To say the Galaxy Watch 7 was overshadowed at Galaxy Unpacked is understating it. A lot.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra was highlighted at the start, alongside the new Galaxy Ring, and it was the second product to be launched on stage. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a big, beautiful new step for Samsung. Yes, Samsung has copied a lot from the Apple Watch Ultra 2, including the hyper-sporty band, but it would be a lie to say it’s not impressive. The new Samsung smartwatch has a huge battery, a super-rugged case, and can even detect sleep apnea. It’s a big leap for the Android smartwatch world, and it will be exciting to see what Samsung does with it.
At the end of that presentation, Samsung said something to the effect of, “Oh yeah, there’s a Galaxy Watch 7, too. Moving on.” It was a mention, a casual aside. I’m not even joking; I was watching the live stream and phased out for a second — and when I looked up, the Galaxy Watch 7 was on the screen. Then it was gone, barely to be mentioned again.
But to be fair to Samsung, I can see why the company didn’t bother talking about it all that much. And it’s not because it’s a bad watch. It’s likely to be a very good smartwatch — and I can say that with some certainty because the Galaxy Watch 6 is a good smartwatch.
But the Galaxy Watch 7 reeks of low effort. Samsung took the Galaxy Watch 6 and added the Energy Score made for the Galaxy Ring, as well as the Exynos W1000 made for the Watch Ultra, squished in Galaxy AI, and called it a day. Recycled features from other products are as far as Samsung could be bothered to go with its flagship smartwatch range this year, and that’s pretty poor.
Oh, wait, sorry, it’s not identical. For some unknown reason, the Galaxy Watch 7 is larger than the Galaxy Watch 6, but doesn’t add a large display or battery to make up for it. So, really, it’s actually worse than last year’s watch if you want a small, subtle smartwatch.
Honestly, I’m a little baffled that they bothered to release the Galaxy Watch 7 at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually find out Samsung intended the Ultra to be this year’s big release and realized late into the process that it would be too expensive to ship out as a baseline Galaxy Watch and scrambled to throw together the Watch 7.
The Galaxy Watch 7 is really the “Galaxy Watch 6 Plus”, and it doesn’t even add that much.
Thankfully, there’s an alternative.
The Samsung smartwatch I’m buying instead
The Classic model has been my go-to for Samsung’s smartwatch range since it debuted with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, and while it clearly won’t be releasing a new version every year, last year’s Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is still good enough to buy in 2024.
Just think about it: The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic has most of the same features, the same excellent exercise tracking, and it packs that into a much more desirable watch-like design, with a rotating bezel that can be used instead of the touchscreen. For me, there’s no doubt the Watch 6 Classic is the better buy when it comes to a standard Samsung smartwatch, and it’s probably the reason Samsung has kept it around. Sure, it doesn’t have the new Exynos W1000 processor, but who cares? It’s counting steps, not rendering Assassin’s Creed.
Samsung isn’t offering any sort of discount on the Watch 6 Classic, even now that the Watch 7 is out, which feels like it should be against some sort of international law. New product comes out, old product gets cheaper — even Apple gets that. But even that lends credence to my argument; Samsung clearly sees the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic as an equal product to the Galaxy Watch 7. It’s close enough and still really good, so why not keep charging the same price?
But regardless of how salty I get about discounts, the facts of the matter don’t change: The Galaxy Watch 7 is a Galaxy Watch 6, but with a few borrowed features. It’s lazy. Don’t buy it. Buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic instead, you won’t regret it.
