Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 review: tried and true

Of each the wearables Samsung launched successful 2024, the $299.99 Galaxy Watch 7 is the slightest exciting. It’s not a wholly caller class similar the Galaxy Ring oregon a caller signifier origin similar the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Even successful my briefings, Samsung benignant of waved its hands and said, “Oh, the Galaxy Watch 7 is here, excessively — and, uh, it’s truly great!”

In different words, if you person a Galaxy Watch 4, 5, oregon 6, you cognize what you’re getting. In a twelvemonth erstwhile Samsung shook up its wearable lineup, the Galaxy Watch 7 is its stalwart constant. And aft spending the past 3 weeks with the Galaxy Ring and Ultra, I’ve travel to admit that.

It’s not that I disliked the Ring oregon the Ultra. On the contrary, it’s much that, aft a while, the classics similar the basal Galaxy Watch tin get boring and you request to walk clip distant to retrieve what made them large again. It’s similar trying a clump of caller viral cafes connected TikTok, with their Instagram-worthy latte flavors, and past craving the iced latte from your section bodega. Both are good, but lone 1 offers comfort.

Speaking of comfort, wearability is simply a large positive with the basal Galaxy Watch. The Ultra was bulky connected my wrist and I had a hard clip getting a bully acceptable for the caller FDA-cleared slumber apnea detection feature, which depends connected a snug fit. That’s not the lawsuit with the Galaxy Watch 7. I person the 40mm Watch 7, and I had nary problems getting the slumber apnea diagnostic to enactment arsenic it should. This is conscionable my idiosyncratic taste, but I besides preferred however the simpler circular show looked connected my wrist compared to the Ultra. The slimmer illustration was different immense benefit. And though it’s summer, I cognize this ticker won’t get caught connected overgarment sleeves oregon different clothing. 

But conscionable arsenic my acquisition with the Ultra reminded maine of however I took the Watch 7’s chic slim and lightweight plan for granted, it besides highlighted its top weakness: artillery life.

Even aft Samsung’s artillery calibration period, I inactive lone got astir 24 hours connected a azygous charge. This, too, hasn’t changed overmuch from the Galaxy Watches 4, 5, and 6. The main quality with the 7 is that I tin reliably get done an full day, whereas earlier it was occasionally a conflict to bash adjacent that. (Folks with the 44mm Watch 7 volition person accrued clip since it has a bigger battery.) Fast charging takes immoderate of the sting out, but I’ll adhd the caveat that I’m a dense GPS idiosyncratic and support the always-on show enabled astir of the time. You’ll get amended mileage if you instrumentality to the gym oregon crook the AOD off. 

None of this is astonishing due to the fact that the Watch 7 hasn’t changed overmuch successful presumption of hardware. The lone quality is that it has the caller 3nm Exynos W1000 spot and an upgraded 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor — that and it runs Wear OS 5 and One UI 6 Watch retired of the box, but those volition yet travel to older Galaxy Watches, too. (You tin already download betas.) Performance wide is snappy, though I haven’t noticed immoderate meaningful accrued accuracy from the caller BioActive Sensor. 

Most of what’s caller boils down to wellness features: AI-powered wellness insights, an Energy Score for gauging recovery, slumber apnea detection, and a baffling AGEs metric that supposedly uses the enactment of sweetener with fats and macromolecule to measurement metabolic health. I wrote astir these features successful much item successful my Ring and Ultra reviews, but the gist is that they’re deed oregon miss. Double pinch is different “new” feature, successful which you tin usage the motion to disregard alerts, instrumentality calls, oregon power your camera. Samsung’s had it for a while, but it’s conscionable much successful the spotlight this year. I rather liked it, but again, the motion isn’t constricted to the Galaxy Watch 7.

Technically, Samsung was right: the Galaxy Watch 7 is here, too, and it’s great. It’s present for folks upgrading from an older Galaxy Watch who’d alternatively futureproof with a 7 alternatively of getting a discounted 6. It’s for radical who deliberation the Ultra is excessively overmuch ticker for their needs (or their wrist). It’s not exciting, but you cognize what you’re going to get: a bully smartwatch. There’s worth successful that arsenic well.