Galaxy Watch 6 Classic Review After the Hype: The Good and the Bad
2023 has been a great year for smartwatches; the market is filled with hundreds of options that even brought the Apple Watch market share down to 26%. To disrupt the market, the Galaxy Watch 6 is here, bringing a lot of software and hardware upgrades with a little price increment as well.
So, can Watch 6 bring WearOS to the level of reliability that Apple Watch provides?
Let’s Inspect!
Summary
Pros
- Stunning design, solid build quality
- Rotating bezel for easy controls
- Precise health tracking
- Ability to watch pictures and play music easily
- Beautiful software integration
- Bright and colorful screen
Cons
- Complicated app ecosystem
- Short battery life
- Many features are restricted to some regions.
Galaxy Watch 6 – Price
With all the upgrades, Samsung has also increased the price of Galaxy Watch 6. I have the Classic edition, which costs 399$ for the 44mm version and 429$ for the 47mm edition. Overall, there is a 30$ increase in the prices of standard Watch 6. You will have to pay $ 50 more for LTE connectivity, which makes me a bit skeptical. Because the closest rival, the Ticwatch 5 Pro, costs 100$ less than the Galaxy Watch 6.
Galaxy Watch 6 – Unboxing
The unboxing experience is decent, nothing special, just a simple, nicely designed smartwatch box with Galaxy Watch 6 branding. I was among the early purchasers, so Samsung has provided some gifts and also offered lower prices in some regions. Even less than the Galaxy Watch 5. I have got an extra fabric strap, which looks quite good.
We have the smartwatch, user manual, and the charging cable inside the box.
Appearance and Build Quality
I have got the black hybrid leather edition. It has a premium finish with a traditional pin buckle mechanism. The first thing that immediately strikes me is the stunning design. It has sapphire crystal glass surrounded by a physical rotating crown. The rotating crown is my favorite feature; we have seen this implementation in Galaxy Watch 3, which was running Tyzen OS. It has two buttons on the left, and all the sensors are on the bottom to have a maximum connection with the skin.
The stainless-steel body is super strong, has an IP68 water resistance rating, and looks great. The straps of Galaxy Watch 6 are not traditional; instead of 22mm, it has 20mm straps.
Technical Specifications
- Chipset: Dual Core Exynos W930
- OS: WearOS 4.0
- Display: 1.5-inch display, 480×480 resolution
- Body: Stainless Steel Frame with Sapphire Crystal front
- Weight: 52 grams
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, Gyroscope, Compass, Heart Rate Sensor, Barometer and Thermometer
- Storage: 2GB + 16GB
- Battery: 425mAh
- NFC: Yes
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 5.3
- GPS: GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS and GPS
- Speaker and Microphone: Yes
- Apps: Samsung Health, Samsung Health Monitor, and Galaxy Wearable
Galaxy Watch 6 – Features
Samsung has brought many upgrades and changes to the Galaxy Watch 6, which has made WearOS more valuable and reliable. The rotating bezel is the first thing that does not have anything to do with WearOS. It is the simplest way to control your device. The bezel is smooth, responsive, and accurate, which makes it one of my favorite features of this smartwatch.
Unlike other brands that are going for premium and subscription for apps and watch faces. Samsung is providing its users with heaps of productivity apps, customization options, and watch faces for free. Play Store has every app you need and third-party options for stunning watch faces. Galaxy Watch 6 has a vast library, and you probably won’t need another app.
The smartwatch has a built-in gallery and music player, which makes uploading pictures, videos, and music straightforward. In addition, you can watch and listen to everything intuitively thanks to excellent software implementation by Samsung.
Speaking of music, the speakers are another positive for Galaxy Watch 6. They are loud and clear.
Software and User Experience
The buttons and rotating bezel have standard behavior. The bezel is used to scroll through the app list; the top button launches the menu, and a double press reveals the recently used apps. The other button is responsible for taking you to the previous screen and cannot perform multiple functions.
The software is snappy, smooth, and responsive. You will not sense any lagging or stuttering because of the fast and capable chipset. Samsung has integrated a lot of features into the WearOS ecosystem. The Things App, Samsung Health, Samsung Wallet, and Bixby exist. Moreover, you can visit the Play Store to download your favorite apps.
With a gallery and a music player, Samsung has made it convenient to upload music and pictures to the smartwatch. Galaxy Watch 6 also has the ability to connect the watch with a new phone without factory resetting the watch. It takes some time but works perfectly fine.
Fitness Tracking
Galaxy Watch 6 is a very capable smartwatch, and the fitness tracking is superb and extremely accurate. The steps tracking, HR Tracking, SpO2, and temperature measuring are precise. The app gathers a load of data and presents it in a friendly manner. Sleep tracking struggles a bit as the Watch 6 is unable to detect moments when I am awake during the night.
GPS is also great. It tracks accurate paths. The LTE version is perfect if you are doing a lot of outdoor workouts because it allows you to get rid of your smartphone. Allowing you to use the smartwatch for all kinds of outdoor activities independently.
Supporting Apps
Samsung is known for its complicated app ecosystem, and the situation is not much different with Galaxy Watch 6.
Firstly, we have the “Galaxy Wearable” app. It controls the smartwatch, allows you to customize it, and download new watch faces for your smartwatch.
Then we have “Samsung Health.” It has all the tracking data that the smartwatch accumulates. The app presents them in a friendly manner, showing all the data and also providing essential recommendations for better health.
The last app is “Samsung Health Monitoring.” The ECG is displayed in this app and has a bunch of other features.
Galaxy Watch 6 – Battery
The smartwatch has a solid 425mAh battery with 10W fast charging. Allowing it to recharge to 50% in just 30 minutes. There are many power-hungry tasks in the Galaxy Watch 6. So, the maximum you can get from the watch is 40 hours, which is respectable.
Drawbacks
- Many apps and features are region-restricted
- Bixby is not effective
- ANT+ is not supported
- Short battery life.
Conclusion
With Galaxy Watch 6, Samsung has really made WearOS usable, interesting, and effective. It is very close to the Apple Watch performance. Moreover, the design and appearance are supreme, especially the rotating bezel, making the smartwatch extremely easy and friendly. There are some things that can be improved, like the smartphone app ecosystem and battery life.
But overall, WearOS is very close, and the watch itself has tons of features, making it a worthy upgrade over previous generation and other WearOS devices.
