Samsung Galaxy Watch FE review: a bogus bargain

Everybody loves a deal. That’s the full constituent of fund devices similar Samsung’s Galaxy Watch FE: it whitethorn deficiency the flagship watch’s flashy features and premium hardware, but you prevention a bully chunk of currency successful exchange. It’s a fair, sensible tradeoff — but lone erstwhile companies onslaught the close equilibrium betwixt terms and features. And with the $199.99 Galaxy Watch FE, Samsung is mode disconnected the mark.

Here’s the thing. Design-wise, the Watch FE is a lot similar the brand-new Galaxy Watch 7, which sells for $299.99. They look astir identical! They stock astir of the aforesaid bundle features, like enactment tracking, notifications, and precocious wellness features similar EKGs and assemblage creation analysis. Most of the things you tin bash connected the Watch 7, you tin bash connected the Watch FE. 

But nether the hood, the Watch FE is truly conscionable a rebadged Galaxy Watch 4, which launched successful 2021. The FE comes successful lone the smaller 40mm size, uses Samsung’s last-gen smartwatch processor, lacks a tegument somesthesia sensor, and sports a somewhat smaller battery. The lone upgrade implicit the Watch 4 is simply a much durable sapphire crystal lens and the newer one-click strap mechanism.

Because it’s fundamentally a Galaxy Watch 4, it performs similar one, too. Swiping done screens is consistently laggy, which doesn’t instill assurance that the FE volition smoothly grip aboriginal versions of Wear OS. I might’ve written disconnected a jittery, dilatory surface if I were buying a refurbished Watch 4. But this is marketed arsenic a new watch, and paying $200 (or $250 if you privation LTE) for laggy show feels wrong.

Battery beingness isn’t rather arsenic bully arsenic the Watch 7, either. I got it to past 24 hours, but that was with the always-on show disabled and ample usage of the power-saving mode. You tin astir apt get much mileage if you tweak settings, but with mean usage (sans low-power mode), I got astir 18–20 hours. This is astir decidedly a ticker that requires regular charging. The 40mm Watch 7 isn’t that overmuch better, but I tin reliably get done the time without reasoning excessively hard astir it. I recovered myself needing to support an oculus connected the FE and often got caught by low-battery notifications.

The Watch FE feels similar Samsung getting its branding ducks successful a enactment to reflector Apple. If you look astatine the lineups now, there’s a one-to-one analog of Galaxy Watch to Apple Watch. The FE is little egregious of a clone than the Galaxy Watch Ultra, but I conscionable don’t deliberation Samsung nailed the close premix of features, hardware, and price. With the Apple Watch SE, you suffer the always-on show and immoderate precocious wellness features similar EKGs, portion inactive getting bully show and a larger $150 discount. Apple stake connected the aforesaid show and less features, whereas Samsung stake connected much features with worse performance. The erstwhile works. The second doesn’t.

Samsung wouldn’t person to tweak overmuch to get the premix right. Knock the terms down to $180, connection the aforesaid artillery arsenic the Watch 7, and absorption connected basal wellness and SOS features. I’m definite that mentation of the FE would merchantability similar hotcakes. Call it wishful thinking, but I person a gut feeling that the FE is the unfortunate of a messy modulation twelvemonth wherever Samsung scrambled to marque large changes to its smartwatch lineup. Down the line, I’m hopeful that aboriginal versions of the FE volition marque much sense.

As it stands, it’s simply a overmuch amended worth for bargain hunters to bargain past year’s Galaxy Watch 6 connected sale. Either way, you’d beryllium redeeming wealth portion getting a newer processor, aggregate size options, and a larger battery. Again, a large fund gadget should marque you consciousness similar it’s a steal. But close now, the FE feels little similar a woody and much similar overpaying for a “new” Galaxy Watch 4.