Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Review: Solid but Unexciting

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It might have a new (albeit divisive) look, but it’s largely business as usual with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8.

We’re in a very strange place with the Samsung Galaxy Watch range. In a sense, Samsung’s smartwatches have never been better, and with four solid options currently available, ranging from the budget-friendly Samsung Galaxy Watch FE to the high-end Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, it’s a great time to be a fan of all things Samsung.

The problem is that when viewed up close, very little has changed over the last few years.

I absolutely adored the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 when that device came to market with its Wear OS overhaul and a bright future ahead of it, but after having the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 on my wrist for about two weeks, I can’t say that all too much has changed in the time since.

It means that unless you’re a devout Samsung user, you might want to see what else is out there from the likes of Google Pixel, OnePlus, Huawei and others. This is arguably the last time that the company can rest on its laurels before it becomes a much bigger issue.

Design & Build

• New, chunkier chassis echoes the Galaxy Watch Ultra
• Slimmer build allows for a more comfortable fit
• Dynamic Lug system can be a bit finicky

The only area where the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 has really taken a step in a new direction is with its design. Well, I say new in that it’s a different approach for the mainline watch, but it’s really an adaptation of the square-circle (aka ‘squircle’) design language of the Galaxy Watch Ultra.

far more comfortably than any of Samsung’s wearables before it

Now, instead of having the chassis form a perfect circle around the screen, there’s a bumper (Samsung calls it a ‘cushion’) protruding from the watch that is more prominent at the corners, making the watch look more like a rounded-off square.

Speaking to fellow tech journalists, it’s clear that the design is quite divisive, but much to my own surprise, I actually quite like the look of it.

I love a good two-tone colourway and the silver chassis only serves to heighten the black of the bezel and the display, especially if you have a watch face with a black background. The Watch 8 also fits my wrist far more comfortably than any of Samsung’s wearables before it, and that’s thanks to two key changes.

While it might be hard to tell just from the pictures alone, the Galaxy Watch 8 is actually 11% slimmer than the Galaxy Watch 7, and while that might not sound like much, it helps prevent the watch from catching on your clothing, which is more than I can say for some of the heftier watches I’ve tried over the years. There’s also a new system for attaching watch straps, which Samsung calls the Dynamic Lug.

On the one hand, I actually think that the Dynamic Lug is more difficult to attach and remove than before (it’s not supposed to be, of course), but it closes the prominent gap that used to exist between your wrist and where the strap would connect on previous Galaxy Watches.

It’s just a far more comfortable design overall, which is great if you plan on wearing the device overnight.

Even though it is slimmer, the watch is no less ready for the elements with an official IP68 rating alongside the ability to be submerged in a body of water up to 5ATM (50 metres).

In the time I’ve been using the watch, beyond a slight bit of dust collecting around the raised segments of the bezel, the device hasn’t picked up a single scratch, which is always nice to see.

The one thing I will say that’s a bit of a disappointment is that with the added real estate of the new chassis, I had hoped that it might bring about the space for a much larger battery but that hasn’t materialised here, which makes the shift feel more performative than substantial.

Screen & Audio

• The brightest display of any standard Galaxy Watch
• Very easy to read text, even on the smaller 40mm model
• Audio playback sounds good, but not as loud as the competition

Just like with previous generations of Galaxy Watch, there are two sizes available, 40- and 44mm, with the main allure of the latter being the slightly larger 1.47-inch display.

While I do typically go for larger size options, I’ve been using the 40mm model over the course of this review and I must say that I never felt shortchanged with the smaller 1.34-inch display.

it just makes for a far better visual experience when out and about

Text is very easy to read, so I never had to squint to see incoming notifications, and I always felt satisfied diving into workout data on the watch itself instead of using the larger display of my phone. Part of what makes the experience this time around is a massive bump to the overall brightness of the screen.

You might assume you get a bigger screen with the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, but it’s also 1.34-inch and instead uses the larger body for a rotating bezel.

Compared to the Galaxy Watch 7, the Watch 8 is now 50% brighter with a peak brightness of 3000 nits. That’s the same brightness level as the pricier Galaxy Watch Ultra, and it just makes for a far better visual experience when out and about. Not only do Samsung’s watch faces look better than ever, I never had any issues with getting a quick glance at the time when walking outside, especially with the always-on mode toggled.

On the audio side of things, if you don’t have a pair of earbuds or headphones to hand, then you can use the built-in speakers to play music and podcasts directly on the watch itself. While it doesn’t get quite as loud as the Garmin Venu X1 I reviewed before this, I was quite impressed with the sound quality on offer.

I’ve been using the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 soundtrack to fuel many of my most recent workouts and when taking that for a spin, the Watch 8’s speakers did a great job of highlighting the vocals and the percussion of each track, regardless of genre, so kudos to Samsung’s engineering on this front.

Of course, that quality also extends to taking calls on the watch, if your smartphone is out of reach.

Software & Features

• Wear OS has never felt or looked better
• Having Gemini on your wrist is a game-changer
• The set-up process needs refining

One of the big software changes for this year is that the Galaxy Watch 8 has officially done away with the Google Assistant, as Google Gemini takes its place. Admittedly, this shift will also be made available on older Galaxy Watches and many rivals, but this represents the first of the bunch that will have Google’s latest on AI right out of the box.

Having suffered for years through the lackluster presence of Siri on the Apple Watch, which was never used for much more than setting timers or asking for updates on the weather, having Gemini readily available on your wrist feels like Samsung has just leapfrogged Apple by several generations.

I’ve been able to use Gemini for all sorts, ranging from getting fashion advice based on the weather to getting suggestions for recipes after explaining which ingredients I have left in my fridge. I was able to get answers to all of it at great speed, too.

In both AI requests and everyday use, I’ve felt the Exynos W1000 chipset going above and beyond to keep up. It’s just excellent performance across the board, and a key reason why the Galaxy Watch 8, at its core, is a great smartwatch. This is despite being the same chip as the Galaxy Watch 7.

It no longer feels like a compromised experience when I take off my Apple Watch