Samsung kicked off their Galaxy Unpacked event today with the launch of the new Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. It makes a big shift in smartwatches for Samsung, as they move away from Tizen to what they call the Wear OS by Samsung.
Google and Samsung have been working together to combine their respective smartwatch experiences into the a new generation of Wear OS, with the Galaxy Watch 4 lineup featuring ‘Wear OS Powered by Samsung’. It finally brings Google apps into the Samsung wearable ecosystem, and along with it third party apps as well.
On top of the operating system is the One UI Watch skin, Samsung’s own take on Wear OS. One UI Watch makes the user experience much more seamless as it automatically downloads compatible apps to your smartwatch if its on your phone too. It also lets users use gesture controls and has Bixby voice control too. Alternatively, you can use the buttons on the right and the bezel to control and navigate the Galaxy Watch 4 if you prefer.
But software isn’t the only major change in the Galaxy Watch 4 series. As rumoured before this, Samsung have developed a new Exynos W920 dual core chip for their smartwatches, built on their 5nm technology. According to Samsung, it’s 20% faster than their previous generation devices, with the GPU in it 10 times faster than before for a smooth user experience. And to make the most of the new SoC, Samsung have paired it with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.
Besides that, the Galaxy Watch 4 series come with eSIM support and LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC support. It has a 5ATM and IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, while you can expect a host of health sensors too like an optical heart rate sensor and impedance analysis for health tracking functionality.
Specifically, the Galaxy Watch 4 will come in two variants; a 44mm and 40mm version. The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic meanwhile will also have two models, with one 46mm and one 42mm. The larger models come with 1.4-inch, 450 x 450 AMOLED displays, while the smaller smartwatches have 1.2-inch, 396 x 396 AMOLED displays. Similarly, the larger smartwatches have a 361mAh battery, while the smaller two are fitted with 247mAh batteries. Samsung rates both smartwatches for up to 40 hours of battery life, with 30 minutes of wireless charging getting you up to 10 hours of use.
The Galaxy Watch 4 is priced from USD249, while the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic retails from USD349 onward. If you’re interested, stay tuned for Malaysian pricing, availability and pre-order details. In the meantime, you can check out the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic’s product pages on Samsung’s website.
