Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Series Hands-On: Square Squad

One thing is immediately worth noting because I try ahead of Samsung Anapac on New Galaxy Watch 8 and Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. Squer has captured.

The circle-face-in-a-schwire-case design was introduced with the Galaxy Watch Ultra last year, and it has now made its way for the rest of the lineup. At a glance, this is the most noticeable change about this year’s galaxy watches. And I could not lie, I was resistant. Samsung had initial pictures and rendering shared with the press. Circular design was distinguished! Ultra was square and squat! But for my surprise, when I regularly slipped on 40 mm and 44 mm Galaxy Watch 8, the size of the square was not so bad.

It was, I say, like smooth? The side-by-side seemed to be a chanter compared to the previous version of the classic watch, but not so much that I felt that it had completely lost the specific design taste of the classic. (Speaking about, rotating bezel is here, it is satisfactorily clicking, and, oh, how have I missed it.)

Samsung’s senior product lead Jeffrey Kim told me why there are some reasons why Samsung went full square for this year’s lineup. This allows the watches to flatter on your wrist, and this allows the case to be 11 percent thinner when having a slightly larger battery. A little loud-loudly, depending on the model, 10–20 meters are talking around the additional battery.

You have to take my word for this, but square clocks to do Sit flattering on your wrist, and they Are More comfortable. I noticed more effects on large galaxy watches – 44 mm 8 and 46 mm classic, which is sad that only one shape comes. My colleague Elison Johnson also gave me an intestine check on flatness, so you can’t accuse us Both Of being stockhom syndrome.

Otherwise, hardware updates are minor. The classic gets a quick button of ultra so that you can program shortcuts. Watches also sports a new log system for exchange of straps. Samsung has refined it from last year, and it is quite easy to use the button mechanism (although I lost a press on nail in the process of trying it).

Ultra now comes in blue and has twice storage (64 GB), and it is about it. There are no new sensors. The processor is similar to last year’s model. The materials are also the same. If you are coming from the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, you will see a change, given that Samsung only updates those models every other year.

The bulk of the update is software-based. This includes goods like a running coach, which grades your capacity based on a 12 -minute running test and then generates a custom training plan. This is on the beginning and intermediate level runners, but Kim says you can use it to train for marathon. There is also a new bedtime guidance feature that estimates your circadian rhythm to suggest an optimal gold. The vascular load measures your stress levels when you sleep. I can’t comment on those features yet, as they were not available for a demo. However, I tried two new software features: Google Gemini and Antioxidant Index.

Mithun is part of Wear OS 6 and Google will replace the assistant. Kim tells me that a separate Gemini subscription is not required to use it, although it requires an internet connection. For example, LTE Galaxy watches will not require a nearby phone to use it, but will be Bluetooth. Gemini on the wrist can do everything that can help, and then something. In particular, you can ask it to do things that require several apps in sequential order. It is difficult to think about such questions from above my head, but there are some that I saw:

In each of these demos, I noticed that Mithun discovered an internet and then opened the related app to finish the action. These demos were prepared. When I tried to craf my own, things went slightly sideways. To be fair, I was in a vigorous site with spotted Wi-Fi on demo devices that were not fully installed with individual apps required for success. I am taking decisions until my review units are obtained and can test how Gemini works more systematically on the wrist – but I can see the ability, and I am excited to search for its limitations for myself. This is the first time we are looking at a common AI assistant Any smart watch.

For the antioxidant index, I am a little more alert. How does it work the nuts and bolts that you stick your thumb on the LED sensor, the algorithm beep bop, and you see a gauge whether you are eating enough fruits and veggies. If you are not, then you will find some recommendations for which antioxidant-rich plants are for adding to your plate. To dial a smij back it contains antioxidant molecules that prevent oxidation and manufacture free radicals – things related to aging and cell damage. Fruits and vegetables are chalkful of antioxidants! Galaxy watches, Kim tells me, is using a combination of LED colors to detect carotenoid levels in your skin. There are carotenoid pigments that make carrots orange and other plants make bright colors such as yellow and red. (So ​​why you can also be orange if you eat excessive amounts of carrots.)

My antioxidant index was waste. I tried it three times and scored three “very low” scores of 37, 40 and 43. (You can expect to see the variance in the lead in a short period.) I corrected this demo vegetarian after July 4, filled with colored vegies and stacks of strawberries. But I am not even eating last month, and Kim told me that it may take up to two weeks to see the change in the index and it is as a useful welfare feature. It is not prescriptive, and my initial is to look at it with a salt grain. Then, don’t we all know that we should eat more fruits and vegetables?

I have to see how the totality of these updates works together after some harsh tests. But here I dislike an update: everything is pricier. Base Galaxy Watch 8 is now $ 50 more At $ 349.99While the starting price of the classic $ 499.99Add a little more to LTE versions and large sizes WoofSamsung refused to say whether it was due to tariff, but any price has increased. But at least the ultra is remaining the same At $ 649.99,