We’re still likely a month away from Samsung’s next Unpacked event, but that hasn’t stopped the company from making a surprise announcement today. Out of nowhere, Samsung has just announced the Galaxy Watch FE as its newest smartwatch.
As leaks suggested, the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE is a new budget model in Samsung’s smartwatch lineup. Like Samsung’s FE smartphones, such as the Galaxy S23 FE, the Galaxy Watch FE will give you a meat-and-potatoes smartwatch experience at the expense of a few higher-end features — but at a very attractive price.
The Galaxy Watch FE looks a lot like any of Samsung’s smartwatch releases from the past few years. It has a 40mm aluminum case with a circular 1.2-inch AMOLED panel. You get a 396 x 396 resolution, always-on display support, and the screen is covered by Sapphire Crystal glass — which Samsung says “provides users with protection against scratches during day-to-day use.”
You also get quite a lot in the way of health tracking. Samsung’s BioActive Sensor is here, allowing you to track your activity and your sleep. The HR Alert feature detects if you have an abnormal heart rate, while Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications (IHRN) can detect heart rhythms that may be a sign of atrial fibrillation (AFib). You can track over 100 different workouts, take an ECG reading, and use Samsung’s Body Composition tool to see your body fat, body mass index (BMI), and more.
It’s a surprisingly robust health suite, with the two biggest omissions being SpO2 tracking and a temperature sensor. Otherwise, it’s very similar to what you’d find on a Galaxy Watch 6.
Take a peek under the hood, and Samsung’s cost-cutting measures are a bit more apparent. Powering the Galaxy Watch FE is an Exynos W920. Announced in August 2021, it’s the same chip inside the Galaxy Watch 4 that was released the same year. It’s still a perfectly capable smartwatch chip, but it’s far from the newest. Also present is 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.
Another downgrade compared to other Samsung smartwatches is the battery. The Galaxy Watch FE has a 247mAh battery, which is significantly smaller than previous models. For context, the Galaxy Watch 6 has a 425mAh battery, the Galaxy Watch 5 has a 410mAh one, and even the Galaxy Watch 4 has a larger 361mAh cell. The Galaxy Watch FE should hopefully still make it through a full day per charge, but I am a bit worried about this one.
Let’s start winding things down with a quick lightning round. The Galaxy Watch FE has Bluetooth 5.0, LTE connectivity, NFC, GPS, 5ATM + IP68 dust/water resistance, and a MIL-STD-810G durability rating. It runs Wear OS with Samsung’s One UI 5 Watch interface, weighs 25.9 grams, and comes in three colors: black, pink gold, and silver.
So, how much is all of this going to cost you? A lot less than you might think! The Galaxy Watch FE is priced at $200 for the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi model, while the LTE variant is $250. That’s $100 less than the $300 Galaxy Watch 6, and outside of potentially short battery life, this looks like a solid deal.
The Galaxy Watch FE will be available for purchase starting June 24, though if you want the LTE version, you’ll (oddly) have to wait until October 2024.
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