Samsung - Galaxy Watch8

I was offered a smart watch for my birthday from my mom. So since the release of the Google Pixel Watch 4, i have been waiting for the announcement of the Garmin Venu 4. Yesterday my daily (multiple times a day) Google search finally returned with the desired result. The Venu 4 was finally out. And honestly, i am just really disappointed. I am in no way an aspiring athlete, i never run or jog and only do some strength exercies and mountain biking. The smart watch would be mostly an extension of a smartphone that would also track my sleep and energy levels. ECG is the function my mom wants my watch to have the most. For me it is an okay bonus function, together with the GPS. The leaks teased a longer battery life and a bunch of new functions, but for me, the only new function that has any value is the flashlight and expanded GPS. And the price increase together with the new design makes it even more desirable. So i think the most logical thing is to just go with a Venu 3. **UPDATE** After reading many constructive comments here, I do think that I may rather be going for a OnePlus watch 3. It seems like the best WatchOS alternative out there without looking like a bubble or an entire computer on the wrist. While also keeping the activity features up to par with my needs. Thanks everyone! **UPDATE 2(The Final)** I ended up buying a Galaxy Watch 8 40mm LTE. I got it with a very nice discount at my carriers webshop(200 usd). It is one of the few WearOS watches that look good on my wrist. (I have almost never had any issues with regular watches, but apparently in the smart watch world it is go big or go home or something) I am so far very pleased with my choice and feel in no way that I am missing anything.

Ended up buying a Galaxy Watch 8 40mm LTE. The fitness functions on it seem superb for my needs and the WearOS 6 out of the box is pretty much a must after a lot of research and weighing. Got a really nice discount on it through my carrier(190 USD), otherwise i would maybe go for a OnePlus watch 3 43mm. (a BIG problem on the smartwatch market right now is the watch sizes IMO, most of them will look quite bulky on my wrist)

Bought a Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 for the price of SE with promotion and the discounts. Missing out on ECG doesn’t sit well with me, even though all I use my watch is for step tracking.

From an older Galaxy Watch? Yeah the Pixel Watch will be more accurate. From a Galaxy Watch 7 or 8? It will be roughly the same. GPS was an area of difference but the GW7 has been improved with updates and the GW8 is pretty much par with PW. For most cases any of the major smart watches like the GW, PW or even AW are close. So I wouldn't make your decision on that basis. Comparing the Galaxy Watch and Pixel Watch I'd look at what device you're pairing it with and the unique features each offers.

Thank you for your comment. I thought about creating a new thread to ask my question, but I'm sure it's tiresome for everyone to keep seeing me threads with similar questions so I thought I'd try and partially highjack a thread or two since I have a slight variation on the OP's question. I have run Pixel phones since the pixel 1 XL (and only bought Nexus phones before that). That said, I've owned a Galaxy watch 4 and a Galaxy Watch 5 Pro LTE (which I still wear). I've taken a hard look at the Galaxy Watch 8 series and now the PW4. There are things I like about both, but on an even playing field, I'd lean toward another Samsung since that's where my data is. However, I'm trying to see if the playing field is actually even. I've read some comments here about the PW being more accurate in areas and Samsung offering features that Google doesn't in other areas. The biggest question/concern that's nagging at me is this: I know I miss out on certain things because I don't have a Samsung phone. How does this compare to the fact that Google pay walls certain features in it's Fitbit premium subscription? Also, if you have any general advice or think I'm asking the wrong questions I'd appreciate any comments you or anyone else can make on the subject.

Well now I'm left wondering why my heartrate data doesn't sync? I am using a watch 8.

I have owned a Galaxy Watch Ultra. I currently own a Watch 8, a Garmin Epix Pro 2 51mm, and an Apple Watch Ultra. I run about 20-40 miles per week depending on if I am preparing for a race or not. I have an iPhone and a Samsung phone (currently zFold 7 and an iPhone 13 mini) because I use one for work. I have LTE on the watches. I really like the Epix. It looks good. It is the best of all of the watches for fitness tracking (I do think it is harsh on sleep tracking though). I love the long battery, and the flashlight on it really does come in handy. However, when I wear it I always miss the smart features of the actual Smart Watches. Probably the watch that works the best for ease of use (easy to manage notifications, reply to texts from the watch) is the Apple Watch Ultra. But I like the screen better on Watch 8 and GW Ultra. For some reason I think playing music/podcasts on Spotify and audiobooks on Audible work better on the Samsung Watches. The Epix is fine with Spotify playlists I have downloaded, but with no LTE I cannot just play whatever. If I run with the Epix I either take a phone with me or wear one of the LTE connected smart watches in case I want to change up what I am listening to or one of the few contacts I don't have suppressed during workouts needs me (wife, kids, my admins). IMO the Apple Watch Ultra comes the closest to replacing all of these watches with one watch. My problem is that I prefer the Android phones available over iPhone right now. Maybe that changes if Apple comes out with a good folding phone next year. But if you can afford it, I don't see a problem with keeping the Fenix (very similar to the Epix I have but newer of course) and the 8 Classic. They each have their use cases. I haven't owned the 8 Classic, but I would guess it performs somewhere in between the 8 and Ultra. Like I said, keep them both if you can afford it. They each do some things better than the other, and you can have them both connected to your phone and switch back and forth easily enough.

Yep. We sound very similar. I like how light and thin the Galaxy Watch 8 feels on my wrist, so I'm trying it out to see if it can be a daily wear. The problem is I use Runna for my run training, and they don't have a native Wear OS app. In my experience the Galaxy Watches measure a little long on the distance. The Apple Watches are a little short, and the Epix is in between those two, presumably the most accurate. I'm excited to see what the Apple Watch 11 and Ultra 3 look like.

The most accurate Galaxy Watch for health and GPS right now is the 7, but I think money is a constraint for you. If you could get even the small 40mm one in sales it will be better,

I had a samsung galaxy watch and my bestie had an apple watch. We both switched to garmin. I have the forerunner 165, and she has the vivoactive. One of best features of the garmin watches is battery life - one charge lasts about a week with daily workout tracking

Same! Galaxy has a peloton app on it, activated automatically. Highly recommend.

I wore my galaxy watch for 3 years climbing with no protection on it and while it got some scratches, it never really got anything on the screen and nothing cracked, it's a pretty durable piece of hardware. The only time it really got in the way of climbing was on the occasional very large sloper where you get an arm on the hold and on crack climbs. I don't wear it anymore because I no longer enjoy smart watches in general, but it was a pretty solid piece of tech in terms of durability.

NRC does not require Apple products. Works just fine with my Samsung Galaxy Watch.

I wear a galaxy watch and it's protected by my glove.

I have Samsung as well. A 4+ yr old galaxy watch and the app on my lg phone lol

People have been claiming that Google was going to end fitbut over 2 years ago. It's still fine. I tried a galaxy watch, but you have to charge it every day, just like the apple watch. My fitbit goes for days. I just charge it every other day while I shower. I've never run out of battery.

There's nothing wrong with climbing with a watch on. I do it almost exclusively with my Galaxy watch that I like and tracks pretty much everything you mention. Throw a wristband over it to keep it from getting scratched up and you're good to go. Just make sure to loosen it a notch before your session to allow for muscle contractions.

I have a Galaxy watch now, but it's crap as a fitness tracker. When I want accurate data, I wear my old Garmin. I think it's a Forerunner 235? That may not be in production anymore, but any of the entry-level Garmins would work.

Built in speaker and microphone is compelling I won't lie.

That's fair. I've used my Galaxy Watch to answer calls before though so I'll choose this model for that feature.

Galaxy watches don't play nice with Strava. I used a Galaxy watch previously & liked it, except that I lost data several times & it would stop talking to Strava and I'd have to reset it. I'm not the only one. I eventually gave up and got a Garmin.

It's like Apples to Oranges. Galaxy Watch has better watch faces and more customization but the apple watch has more third party apps and the heart rate tracking was always better for me on the Apple Watch. Also Samsung health gives you far more insights than apple health app

I trashed one Galaxy Watch by wearing it in a dry sauna for 20 minutes and then immediately swimming laps in a cold pool. Since then, I don't chance it with my new watch. It's sits safely in a locker with my phone and ear buds, while I'm in the sauna.

I've used them all, not sure I agree that the aw is better, galaxy has some really important (for me) things that aw doesn't. Also, I like round for watches, the aw is basically a tiny iPad! If you are really into watches though, Garmin is miles ahead of both. Expensive but worth it, if you're an enthusiast.

Don't get Samsung Galaxy watch if you want to connect with H365. I just got it recently. The step sync with H365 is always less by atleast ~1000 steps. Doesn't sync sleep hrs and MVPA at all. I'm losing the points because of this. I tried to change some settings from online reviews and also tried reconnecting with app/watch etc. Still same. Checked with both Samsung and H365 customer service. Both useless and don't have a solution for this. Both sides blaming the other for this issue. I can't return the watch because the 14 day return period is over. I don't like it but still using because no choice. My previous apple watch and Garmin was great. Everything sync perfectly.

Yeah, especially because it supports the qwerty KB - probably the one thing I'll miss coming from my galaxy watch

I'm in the two watch gang, Galaxy Watch on the right as a tracker and my watch du jour on the left.

Aside from navigation, a dedicated bike computer will give all information you need on your handlebar. Like what the OP asked, real cyclists need to see the information when they need to as looking at your wrist while biking isn't ideal. Also, my experience with using my Galaxy watch which biking isn't that great as it drains the battery really quickly.

Its very dependent on your budget, what phone you have, battery life you want, and actual features you want it to have. If you have a samsung phone, you can get either a Galaxy Watch (high on features, but only 2 day battery) or a Galaxy fit (very limited features but 7 day battery life) If you have an iPhone, obviously the Apple Watch works best, but battery life is abysmal. If youre ok with a 3rd party watch that has its own app to sync, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro is pretty hard to beat. 10-15 day battery life. Has built in GPS, dive computer, and looks sleek as hell.

I used my Samsung Galaxy watch with it all the time and it's fine.

I have a Garmin vivoactive 5 and mostly love it. I use to have a Samsung Galaxy watch. Pros: Long battery life. 7+ days without GPS turned on. The outdoor rowing app is super nice and I love being able to see the output of my row after I get off the water. I'm not going to lie - this is the whole reason behind this new watch purchase. Lighter than the Samsung. Cons: Can't actually create individual text responses. HR monitor isn't as accurate as a chest monitor (I compared it once) but still better than my Samsung. I'm not an iPhone user so I can't offer a comparison. But I have no regrets with my Garmin watch purchase. Edited - added another Pro.

I've owned a samsung galaxy watch and currently rock a garmin vivoactive. The garmin's battery is 10x better. The UI isn't as good, though - but that's small potatoes.

I did. And 2 days later went back to galaxy watch lol

My galaxy watch got really bad during the end of its life. Couldn't rely on any of its data and battery only lasted 2 days max. My charge6 is less than a year old, so I'm planning on letting this one ride for a couple to a few years and see how the chips fall

Considering that it tracks steps/heart rate, I dont think it can really provide any useful information when doing curls or benching or etc. Do other watches provide any unique metrics there?

Ahh, I usually only track cardio with the watch. It looks like you can actually add custom workouts on the Samsung Health app. It can track specified data like Sets/Rest or calories burned. You can select free weights/machine etc Looks like you can also create routines. Shit, I might use this

But you can track a row machine on the galaxy watch...