Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 review: don’t you dare ignore it

Prepare yourselves, as I’ve written a lot about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 — a product Samsung itself hasn’t been very vocal about since its announcement. Why have I done this? Because the Galaxy Watch 7 doesn’t deserve to be dismissed or mistakenly viewed solely as a “small” update over the last models.

Let’s go into some detail about why it’s another excellent Samsung smartwatch, so you don’t get tricked into ignoring a great purchase.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: design and screen

Seen or worn the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6? Then you’ve seen and worn the Galaxy Watch 7, as there really aren’t any major differences between the two. This isn’t a terrible decision, as Samsung’s smartwatch range needs some consistency, and settling on this established, very attractive design once again for the Watch 7 works really well. It comes in either 40mm or 44mm case sizes and in several different colors to provide just the right amount of choice.

My silver 44mm Watch 7 is attached to a new ribbed Sport Band in cream, with fabric highlights near the lugs. It has a one-click quick-release button underneath and a simple clasp to keep it on your wrist. It looks great, and I love the way it curves around the watch case to give a cool, integrated look.

While it’s generally very comfortable, it can get quite hot and sweaty. That’s caused by the end of the band tucking underneath after the clasp, which can suddenly make the watch much tighter when your wrist gets warm. On some very hot nights in the U.K. recently (yes, they really can happen), the Watch 7 became too annoying to wear overnight because of this.

The case has 5ATM water resistance and an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. It meets the MIL-STD-810H toughness standard for resisting shocks and enduring hard use, and it has sapphire crystal over the screen for scratch protection. While the Galaxy Watch Ultra has it beaten in a couple of areas, the Watch 7 will likely be more than durable enough for most people unless you’re mountain climbing in freezing or boiling conditions.

The 40mm size has a 1.3-inch AMOLED screen, while the 44mm has a 1.5-inch AMOLED, the same as on the Galaxy Watch Ultra. I’ve had no problem seeing it on very sunny days, but I probably still haven’t seen its impressive 3,000 nits of maximum brightness. I find the ambient light sensor reactive and accurate to the conditions.

It’s a bit of a crime that the Galaxy Watch 7’s design hasn’t become as iconic or recognizable as that of the Apple Watch, as it’s not only more traditionally watch-like, but it’s also very attractive on your wrist. It’s one of the few other smartwatches I look down at and think how good it looks, especially in lighter colors. The silver case with the silver or cream Sport Band has just the right amount of attention-grabbing style without being as in your face as the orange or green bands. It looks excellent, it fits really well, there are plenty of personalization options, and it’s certainly tougher than I am.

I love the Galaxy Watch 7’s style, except for one thing: the watch faces. They’re almost all completely awful, and those that aren’t have become a bit boring because I used them endlessly on the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. I’ve used the new Spatial Number face, which is fine, though a bit garish, but at least it’s not yet another dull dashboard and it doesn’t make the Watch 7 look like a child’s watch with an emoji on it. Iconic status will never be reached with watch faces like these, Samsung.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: health and fitness features

Samsung’s BioActive sensor on the back of the Galaxy Watch 7 has been upgraded with more LEDs, additional features, and new data points (some using AI) in the watch’s software. There’s also a dual-frequency GPS system for greater accuracy in difficult areas, making it the most advanced Watch model yet. All your data is collected over different Tiles on the watch, plus it connects to the Samsung Health app on your phone, where you’ll find a dashboard with all your current stats.

Starting and tracking a workout takes just a moment, and thankfully, so does stopping one, too. There are 90 varied workout options to choose from in the menu, but I couldn’t find a fast way to lock the screen, meaning the side buttons can be accidentally pressed when your wrist is flexed. It has competently tracked my workouts and does record a higher calorie burn compared to my Oura Ring and the Apple Watch Series 9, but the average heart rate is within a few beats of both of those devices. The Galaxy Watch Ultra recorded a similar calorie burn to the Apple Watch Ultra 2 in a separate test.

Sleep tracking is excellent, with results appearing immediately on your watch and the Sleep Score appearing on the Tile, giving you the most important data at a glance. Weirdly, the Sleep Tile doesn’t show heart rate variability, but it does show up under the new Energy Score Tile. Much like the Oura Ring’s Readiness Score, the Energy Score is a way to assess how prepared your body is for the day and how hard you should push yourself during any exercise. It’s such a simple to understand, generally informative metric that I recommend moving the Tile to a prominent position on your watch to get the most benefit from it.

This is less applicable to the Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) Index metric now included in the Samsung Health app. It’s supposed to help you understand metabolic health and how your body is aging, which is somewhat vague in itself, but there are question marks over whether it’s accurate or if it even shows anything of value at all. I certainly haven’t gained anything from it. The electrocardiogram feature is similar in that only a few people will have a need to use it. The body composition reading may help show changes in your body over time, and it’s a nice addition that’s usually only found on smart scales. It’s not new, though, and has been on various Galaxy Watch models before.

What I like about the Galaxy Watch 7’s health and fitness tracking is the depth of data for different workouts, the speed with which it presents it, and the additional features that are inside the app. If you want training plans, they’re available. If you want the Watch 7 to help improve your sleep, there are plans for that too. And it’s one of the only smartwatches to have Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for sleep apnea detection. Even the Samsung Health app is laid out well, and contains everything from cycle tracking to a way to measure daily water intake.

Best of all, Samsung Health is free, with no subscription to pay. Furthermore, if you wear a Samsung Galaxy Ring with your Galaxy Watch 7, then not only does the smartwatch’s battery life improve, but Samsung Health uses the sensors in both to improve accuracy. The Galaxy Watch 7 is an all-around superb health and activity tracking package with few downsides. Just be aware that some features, such as sleep apnea detection and fall detection, are only available when you use a Samsung smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: software and performance

The software on the Galaxy Watch 7 is the fastest and smoothest I’ve used on any Galaxy Watch yet, showing the power of the new 3nm Exynos W1000 processor and Samsung’s refinements to One UI Watch. It’s a simple layout, and the gestures used to control the software are easy to learn and remember. There’s no physical rotating bezel like on the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, but there is a helpful virtual one so you can move quickly through Tiles and the menu.

However, the Galaxy Watch 7’s notification system is irritating. I’ve had it connected to a Galaxy Z Flip 6, the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and the HMD Skyline at different points, and the Watch 7 only showed notifications, but didn’t alert me. I missed them entirely at first and then was fooled into thinking everything was working because the stand reminder vibration worked. But it turns out that the smartwatch defaults to a Mute mode, and you need to change this to Vibrate or Sound if you want to actually know when alerts arrive.

Silly me, obviously, but my overanalysis of the problem comes from the multiple apps, menus, and settings required to make notifications work in the first place, and all of it is off-putting and needlessly complicated. The Apple Watch doesn’t need any changes to be made, and it works faultlessly from the start. I really expected the same from the Galaxy Watch 7 and a new Galaxy phone, but that’s not the case at all. Wear OS has never been good at notifications, and it’s still terribly unreliable here.

It’s not just notifications that are too complex, as setting the watch up for sleep is an equally step-filled pain, and I don’t trust the system not to throw an unexpected mode into the mix that wakes me up in the middle of the night. That said, swapping between phones is much easier than it was before.  Samsung’s Cloud works for smartwatches and Samsung Health backups, and it takes just a few minutes to pair the Watch 7 with a different phone. It’s a complicated process that may not be needed very often, so it’s great to see it has been simplified.

So as not to be outdone by Apple, the Galaxy Watch 7 has a “double pinch” gesture that can be used to dismiss notifications, answer calls, control music, and as a remote camera shutter release. It’s just as accurate as the same gesture on the Apple Watch, and I like how it controls the camera, too. The Watch 7’s camera preview, in general, rivals the Apple Watch’s similar system. There are also some Galaxy AI features to play with, such as suggested replies and voice-to-text summaries in the messaging app. Just be aware that they require a Samsung phone to operate.

Samsung’s new processor and refined One UI software makes the Galaxy Watch 7 a pleasure to use most of the time, but Google’s Wear OS (version 5, in its debut here) is the rusty cog, with the same old problems showing up even after years of updates. It needs careful setting up and attention paid to different menus and settings on the watch and phone if you want it to be a competent, reliable partner.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: battery and charging

The Galaxy Watch 7’s battery life has been inconsistent, and even when it’s working at its “best,” it’s not very impressive. When I started using it, a single night of sleep tracking and one short workout would see the battery ready to expire by the end of the day. This was using the always-on screen and all-day health-tracking features. You could turn all these things off and the battery will last longer, but then what’s the point of wearing it?

A software update arrived during my time with the smartwatch, promising some battery-related changes, and it does seem to have slightly improved overall usage time. When I first started wearing it, it took a while for the battery to settle down into everyday life, with the first week showing considerable battery drain from things like sleep tracking, which saw 20% of battery disappear overnight.

Now that it has gotten to know me and the latest software update has been installed, sleep tracking takes around 10% of the battery each night. A 30-minute workout with GPS takes about 6% of the battery. Even with the update, there’s never much left in reserve for the battery to last much more than a day, but with the battery saver mode active, you could stretch it out if necessary. Recharging is performed using an included proprietary puck, and it takes 85 minutes to fully charge the battery from flat.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: price and availability

The cheapest Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is the 40mm version at $300, while the basic 44mm model costs $330. You can add LTE connectivity to both sizes of Galaxy Watch 7 models, and the feature costs an additional $50 on top of the basic price. There are no additional charges for different bands during purchase, and you can choose between the Sport Band seen in our photos, two different fabric bands, or a metal Milanese Band.

It’s worth noting that to get the full benefit from the Galaxy Watch 7’s features, you should use a Galaxy smartphone, but the smartwatch still works with non-Samsung Android phones, just with a few feature caveats. Samsung’s main competition comes in the shape of the Google Pixel Watch 2 and the forthcoming Google Pixel Watch 3, the Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 5, and Pro 5 Enduro, which is the choice to make if you want long battery life.

For some slightly less obvious alternatives, take a look at the Xiaomi Watch S3 and the CMF by Nothing Watch Pro 2, both of which have fun customization features and cost a lot less than the Galaxy Watch 7. If you own a Galaxy Watch 6, Watch 6 Classic, Galaxy Watch 5, or a Watch 5 Pro, there isn’t any reason to upgrade, If you own an iPhone, the Galaxy Watch 7 does not work with it, and you should buy an Apple Watch instead.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: verdict

Faster, smoother, brighter, and more intelligent than before, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is a brilliant smartwatch. Yes, it looks the same as the Galaxy Watch 6, but if that bothers you, then you’re missing the fact that it’s an excellent design already and doesn’t need to change. Great design comes from continuity, and Samsung has rightly only updated the bands and colors here. What’s more important is that the technology inside has been refined and improved, making it a better product to own and use.

Google’s Wear OS is still problematic (and I don’t see that changing), you do need a Samsung phone to get the best from it, and the battery life is far too short, but look past these downsides and you’ll find little else wrong with the Galaxy Watch 7. Samsung is waving and pointing at the Galaxy Watch Ultra as the smartwatch it wants you to buy this year, but don’t be swayed. You get practically everything it does in a more wearable case for a lot less money if you choose the Galaxy Watch 7 instead.