Giving us what we want, mostly

Right on schedule, Samsung launched a new flagship series of smartwatches featuring a few improvements and an upgraded Wear OS. Like the last two years, 2023’s lineup includes a sporty base model and a pricier, elevated offering. Unlike the Galaxy Watch 5 family though, the more expensive smartwatch in the Galaxy Watch 6 series reintroduces Samsung’s Classic moniker. Find out more in this Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic review.

As with each of the last two Galaxy Watch generations, there’s a lot to like about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series, and specifically the Classic model. The design is sleek, elevated, and timeless, mostly because the company caved to the cries of users and brought back the rotating bezel. MIA since the Galaxy Watch 4 series, the bezel’s impact is immediate, upgrading Samsung’s smartwatch to a traditional aesthetic rather than a sporty one, and I couldn’t be more satisfied with the tactile navigation. It’s the little things, Samsung. The feature also keeps screen interaction to a minimum, meaning fewer smudges and fewer frustrated taps.

In addition to using the bezel, I tested the touchscreen regularly. It was generally responsive, though less usable once sweat or sunscreen was introduced (which is daily for me). The display is protected by sapphire crystal as well as its raised bezel, and after a week, my watch still looks brand new.

Both the 43mm and 47mm Galaxy Watch 6 Classic offer crisp AMOLED displays, each of which is slightly larger than its Galaxy Watch 4 Classic counterpart. With a 60Hz refresh rate and 2,000 nits maximum brightness (compared to 1,000 nits on the Galaxy Watch 5), the 1.3-inch display is simply easy on the eyes. The newer cases feature slightly shrunken bezels around their displays to offer more screen real estate. The cases themselves are also very slightly wider but not noticeably bulkier, though you may still want to consider a protective case to keep it scratch- and damage-free.

The Galaxy Watch 6 unit I tested shipped with a luxe Hybrid Eco-Leather band in white that felt comfortable throughout and looks great on the wrist. Personally, I don’t love leather bands long-term as they’re difficult to clean (white being a bold choice in this regard) and can sometimes trap sweat. In the past, Samsung bands were swappable but not entirely convenient, especially for anyone lacking in fingernail length. This time around, Samsung made it easier than ever to swap bands with a quick-release button on its latest straps. This button might be one of my favorite upgrades to the lineup. It’s a game-changer for me when it comes to mixing up my look rather than committing to one sport band for the foreseeable future, usually in green.

When the device is flipped over, you’ll notice a familiar sensor pack compared to the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, as health tracking on the watch is largely the same as last generation. Still present is the Bio Active sensor, including ECG capability and blood oxygen monitoring, plus a skin temperature sensor. In fact, it certainly doesn’t warrant an upgrade if you’re already wearing last year’s model. However, this is the first Classic model to feature a temperature sensor. If both a bezel and beauty sleep stats are priorities, the 6 Classic is the play. This sensor specifically differentiates the device from the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. It can track everything from overnight body temperature stats to environmental temperatures. The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic also offers period predictions and detailed cycle tracking, which can’t be found on the 4 Classic.

On the sleep tracking front, Samsung has joined the chorus of companies letting users know that, as a society, we are really bad at resting. The biggest difference you’ll find in the new series is in sleep data presentation (as opposed to leaps in data quality). The Galaxy Watch 5 already provided a hearty range of overnight data, and the 6 Classic fared on par in terms of accuracy. I was also already won over by the introduction of sleep animals last year. Now though, Samsung offers advanced sleep coaching in addition to snore detection, sleep stages, and a daily sleep score. This feature requires more data than I yet have, but I will update this review once I am able to experience the added tool. However, I am already appreciative of any tool that will help me improve my sleep habits.

On the flip side of rest is activity. The watch still tracks more than 90 sport modes and adds more detailed performance metrics for running. Everything from pace to cadence to asymmetry should keep users busy breaking down stats to their heart’s content. Samsung even added the option to build custom workouts. It’s not a Garmin watch just yet, but it certainly offers a robust experience for casual athletes. I was particularly happy to see personalized heart rate zones, as nothing motivates me faster than color coordination. HR zones have been making their way to more and more wearables, and they are a valuable way for users to build efficient and effective workout habits.

Meanwhile, if you forget to start a workout, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic will automatically detect walks and runs as well as cycling, elliptical, rowing, and swimming workouts. This usually keys in around the five-minute mark. The device will even detect Dynamic workouts, but I must not be dynamic enough. My device never clocked me for one during this review period. Given that I regularly walk entirely too many miles for someone who doesn’t have a pup to show off, I really appreciate automatic workout detection, and Samsung’s is consistently reliable.

Of course, beyond the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic’s bezel, the series’ headline feature is Wear OS 4. The devices are the first to run Wear OS 4 out of the box, and this type of head start has served Samsung extremely well in the past. The watches also run Samsung’s One UI 5 Watch skin over the top, so this isn’t a stock Wear OS experience. Instead, it’s pleasantly Samsung. It’s not remarkably different from Wear OS 3.5 at this point, but I’m hopeful that once Calendar and Gmail arrive, the watch will be an even more useful daily companion. In the meantime, the option to transfer the watch between phones without resetting it is much appreciated.

Performance-wise, Samsung delivers another smooth user experience with minimal lag or glitching. I didn’t notice a significant difference from last year despite the new Exynos W930 chipset, but that’s not a knock. Both generations run efficiently and snappy with quick load times and plenty of power. The newest series also ups RAM to 2GB for the first time but offers the same 16GB of storage. Set up still requires the Galaxy Wearable app, which is mostly unnecessary once you’re up and running. I use the app occasionally to fine-tune watch faces on a larger screen or look into settings. Most things can also be done on your wrist.

During the first few days of wearing this watch, the battery life was… not great. I woke up to a dead watch twice after falling asleep with plenty in the tank. If you’ve ever owned a Galaxy Watch you probably already know that this is expected. When you first power up, Samsung watches adjust to usage patterns and the process drains the device. Typically, this takes around three days and it can certainly have an alarming impact on your battery life. Fortunately, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic was able to last longer than 24 hours by the end of the review period, but it still isn’t as good as it should be.

Samsung quotes 40 hours of use between charges and my results landed closer to 30 hours. That’s with multiple GPS workouts, notifications enabled, health features such as skin temperature enabled, and the always-on display turned off. I have continued fiddling with settings and am holding out hope that the watch is still adjusting. When it’s time to plug in, the watch supports wireless charging. Each device ships with a proprietary charger that looks exactly the same as the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro charger. It takes the watch roughly 70 minutes to reach a full charge from zero. I found topping off during showers to be the most effective way to avoid missing steps or overnight stats.

In reality, I’m coming to terms with the fact that shoppers have to choose between the Classic’s rotating bezel and the Pro’s better battery life. It makes sense that Samsung doesn’t offer both on a single device. The combination would diminish one of the 5 Pro’s biggest strengths. While I understand the decision, I’m disappointed. I wish companies were committed to creating the best possible devices instead of the best possible stable of devices, though we’ll perhaps have to wait for the inevitable Galaxy Watch 6 Pro for the best of both worlds.

The crux of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is that its biggest draw is a subjective design preference. For those of us eager to see the rotating bezel back on our wrists, the device is an immediate improvement. Beyond the bezel, though, there isn’t much else to set the watch apart. Once Wear OS 4 rolls back to older devices, the Galaxy Watch 4 series and Galaxy Watch 5 series will have even more in common with Samsung’s latest launch. It doesn’t have enough dedicated fitness tracking analysis to compete with Garmin’s lineups, and the app store is still not quite at the level of Apple’s ecosystem.

I was really hoping Samsung would blow us away this year, but instead, we’re left with iterative improvements. The watch hasn’t even been jailbroken from its exclusivity toward Samsung phone users, so anyone without one will miss out on a handful of features like ECG functionality.

The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is still a powerful smartwatch and a useful gym companion. It just doesn’t raise the bar in a market that is consistently heating up. For fitness tracking, GPS is still generally very good, though a few of my early runs recorded strangely short total distances. Heart rate tracking on the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic correlated well with my Polar chest strap during indoor cycling workouts. Occasionally, the watch deviated, grabbing higher heart rates than the chest strap.

Yet, when I tested the watch on trickier workouts, such as running and weight lifting, accuracy fell slightly. This could be due to the fit of the device on my wrist in particular. However, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is also a hefty device and manages slightly better heart rate accuracy, even during workouts with high wrist tension. Overall, the accuracy is likely good enough for the average user. I just wouldn’t recommend the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic for advanced athletes at this point. Samsung could also issue improvements via algorithm tweaks, so I’ll continue testing to see how the watch fares over time.

If you don’t already have a Samsung Galaxy Watch on your wrist and your budget is unlimited, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is a good buy. It’s technically the best Wear OS watch on the market, with great internal specs and a classy look. I’m particularly partial to the rotating bezel that helps the watch stand out among the masses.

If you don’t mind the sportier look of the base model, you can save a good chunk of change by opting for the standard Galaxy Watch 6 ($299.99 at Samsung). For the most part, all other specs are the same between the siblings, and the user experience is nearly identical. If the Classic’s bezel is important to you, but the cost is out of reach, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic ($167 at Amazon) is still a reliable device at a much lower price. As mentioned, none of the options offer battery life as good as last year’s Galaxy Watch 5 Pro ($374 at Amazon). The Pro is still the best pick for a rugged device built for sweaty gym workouts and hiking trails.

Outside of a Samsung roundup, Mobvoi makes a strong case for itself with the TicWatch Pro 5 ($349 at Amazon). The device boasts fantastic battery life, a rotating digital crown, and a unique dual display. Unfortunately, its raised bezel is just for show. The Google Pixel Watch should also be top of mind but only because its successor should hit wrists this fall. The first-gen Pixel Watch never really lived up to expectation, but the Pixel Watch 2 is rumored to pack more powerful specs and better battery life, as well as Wear OS 4. It may be worth waiting to see how the next generation compares to Samsung’s 2023 flagship before making any purchases.

If you are an iOS user reading this for fun, you’re likely content with the Apple Watch on your wrist. Or at least you should be. Both the Series 8 and the Ultra offer a better experience to Apple users, primarily because they are actually iOS-compatible, though you may want to wait for the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 at this point in their respective lifecycles. From Garmin, the only smartwatch worth recommending is the Venu 2 Plus ($449 at Amazon) but frankly, its app experience doesn’t yet hold a candle to that of a Wear OS device.