Ever since Samsung and Google teamed up for Wear OS, the best Samsung watches have ascended to new heights of quality, both for hardware and software. We appreciated the Tizen OS options, but with these older models slowly losing support, you'll want nothing older than the Galaxy Watch 4.
Still, choosing which Samsung watch to buy is a challenge. Our top pick is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, easily the best Android smartwatch on the market with few rivals. But you may prefer the style and improved controls of the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, or the superior battery and durability of the last-gen Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
You may also wonder whether you can make do with the excellent Galaxy Watch 5 or 4, both of which remain on sale and have years of software support remaining. They're downgrades from the Galaxy Watch 6, but if saving money is your priority, you may accept those downgrades.
Keep reading to explore the best Samsung Watch options out there — as well as the Galaxy Watches you shouldn't buy anymore.
Michael Hicks is Android Central's resident smartwatch geek, having reviewed or tested dozens of wearables from Samsung, Google, Apple, Garmin, Fitbit, Coros, Polar, Withings, Amazfit, and others. In particular, he reviewed the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, Watch 6, and Watch 6 Classic, plus several Samsung phones and tablets.
At a glance
Best overall
Despite a small price increase, the Watch 6 is still a bargain compared to most flagship smartwatches. It comes with faster performance, a gorgeous display, and solid battery.
Best design
The Classic is a classier version of the Watch 6 with stainless steel casing and a useful rotating bezel for easier controls. It's attractive, but also quite heavy for smaller wrists.
Best battery
No other Galaxy Watch lasts nearly as long as the 80-hour Watch 5 Pro, both for casual use and GPS tracking. Plus, it has an exclusive tool to download Routes for hikes or cycling.
Best last-gen watch
Our favorite Galaxy Watch before the 6 supplanted it, the Watch 5 has the same health sensors, durability rating, and software, plus a longer battery life estimate to make up for its age.
Best bargain
Samsung's original Wear OS template doesn't actually look or perform that different from its successors. If you spot one at a deep discount, the Watch 4 isn't a bad purchase.
Best premium design for less
Although the Watch 6 Classic is our favorite premium option, the Watch 4 Classic has the same rotating-bezel perk and is frequently available on sale for much less.
Best overall
You likely won't be shocked that we consider the newest Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 the best Samsung watch available. Even though there's a clear through-line between the Watch 4, 5, and 6, and the 2023 watch isn't that different, it does have some key upgrades that make it a better long-term investment.
If you compare the Galaxy Watch 6 vs. 5, the newer model adds the Exynos W930 chip with 2GB of RAM, which Samsung says delivers 18% faster performance, 25% faster switching between apps, and a more compact design. Our reviewer found that it delivered ultra-fast speeds with smoother transitions than the last generation, and appreciated the 1mm-thinner design than the Watch 5.
Perhaps most significant, the display has a significantly thinner border, giving you 1.3- or 1.5-inch options instead of 1.2 or 1.4 while keeping the Watch 6 the same size (more or less) as the Watch 5. The new 2,000-nit maximum ensures you'll never have problems with outdoor readability, and our reviewer noted that the capacitive bezel for scrolling through Tiles — while less reliable than the Classic's physical bezel — is "much more useable" with this generation.
Overall, unless you really care about style (the Classic) or hate daily charging (the Pro), this is the watch to choose. It'll get at least four years of software support, so it'll last you through the summer of 2027. Your only other option is to wait another few months for the Galaxy Watch 7, with its alleged Exynos upgrade and new Galaxy AI tricks.
Best design
You'll find very little different between the Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic. It has the same CPU, battery and display sizes, sensors, and so on. The difference is that it brings back Samsung's classic physically rotating bezel that gives you tactile clicks as you turn it instead of the mainline watch's touchscreen simulation of a bezel.
As our Watch 6 Classic review explains, the Classic's bezel provides "a sleek look and a control scheme you can always rely on." It's more reliable than the capacitive bezel because you can feel when you've turned it enough instead of just guessing with your fingertip. At the same time, you do need two fingers to turn it instead of one with the capacitive bezel, so you may prefer simplicity to accuracy.
Samsung built the Watch 6 Classic with stainless steel instead of the base watch's aluminum, making it look more premium but also weigh more than 20g heavier than the Watch 6. It's among the heavier Android watches we've tested, and so people with smaller wrists may want to steer clear; but it's still lighter than some Garmin watches or the Apple Watch Ultra, so it won't be a dealbreaker for some.
The current rumor is that Samsung will launch a Galaxy Watch 7 Ultra this year, bringing back the rotating bezel but with a more square-shaped redesign. Depending on your taste, you may want to look at Watch 6 Classic deals rather than wait for this new, more expensive version.
Best battery
When Samsung first unveiled the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro back in August 2022, plenty of people weren't thrilled at losing the Classic design and bezel. Now that the 6 Classic is available, Samsung is still selling the Watch 5 Pro for "adventurers" as part of its main lineup. Leaks suggest we may not get a Pro watch this year, so you may still want this model today.
As detailed in our Galaxy Watch 5 Pro review, this smartwatch boasts a rugged outdoor-ready construction with a three-day battery life, a durable titanium construction, and blazing performance thanks to some great internal hardware. Although it may be too bulky for some folks, it's lighter than the stainless-steel Classic.
When we compared the Watch 6 Classic vs. Watch 5 Pro, we noted that underneath the surface, these two watches are very similar in terms of health sensors, charging speed, protection, and so on. The Pro's 1.4-inch AMOLED display falls right between the two Classic options; it has a larger display border and no rotating bezel, making it harder to use with sweaty fingertips. It has a slightly slower last-gen processor with 0.5GB less RAM, as well.
Why still consider the Watch 5 Pro? You may happily trade away the Classic's perks in exchange for its three-day battery life, which it consistently delivered in our reviewer's tests; for comparison, the Watch 6 series can last up to 40 hours but mostly is a once-a-day charge with robust use.
Plus, Samsung has reserved its exclusive Routes tool for the Watch 5 Pro: it lets you search a database for offline GPX maps and download them to your watch, so you can follow along on hiking or cycling trails in areas with no cell reception. For more serious athletes, the Watch 5 Pro may be the best Samsung watch.
Best last-gen watch
Want to save a little money but still want the quintessential Galaxy Watch experience? With the right deal price, the Galaxy Watch 5 is worth a close look. As we noted in our Galaxy Watch 5 review, it's an excellent watch with solid performance (despite the older Exynos chip) and a comfortable design. And even though we found it doesn't live up to Samsung's 50-hour estimate, it still lasts longer than the Watch 6, which trades battery life for better performance.
As we already explained above, the Watch 6 doesn't stray too far from the Watch 5 template: it adds larger displays, but keeps the same pixels per inch. The health sensors remain unchanged. Both watches charge at a blazing 10W speed, taking only slightly above an hour to hit 100%. They both have aluminum casing, Sapphire Glass displays, and MIL-STD-810H protection. So if you can do without the slight Exynos performance bump and brighter, larger displays, the Galaxy Watch 6 is still excellent — our former "best Android watch" pick and due to receive updates through 2026.
Best bargain
If you want a great Samsung Watch at an even lower cost, the Watch 4 may be the pick for you. Like its newer siblings, it comes in 40mm and 44mm variants, and the lightweight yet durable aluminum build of the Galaxy Watch 4 won't weigh you down while getting your sweat on. It will keep track of your heart rate, SpO2 levels, ECG readings, skeletal muscle, and body fat percentages. And it has the latest Wear OS and One UI Watch software, just like the newer models.
Looking at the Watch 5 vs. Watch 4, you get the same Exynos processor, the same display size, and even the same 1.5GB of RAM. But you miss out on the more durable Sapphire Glass display and built-in skin temperature sensor for sleep tracking, and you have to settle for slower 5W charging.
Even though it's great that Samsung will support the Watch 4 through 2025, it'll eventually miss out on new Wear OS features coming to the later models. So while our Galaxy Watch 4 review points out how momentous its release was in saving Wear OS from years of stagnation — and while it's still a very good watch — you'll only want to buy one if you see a really good deal that tempts you away from the Watch 5 or Watch 6.
One last thing to keep in mind: we've heard credible rumors that Samsung will release a bargain-priced Galaxy Watch FE in 2024, based on the Galaxy Watch 4 design but with a newer Exynos chip. If you can hold out until later in the year, this Fan Edition watch may be what bargain hunters are looking for.
Best premium design for less
We've already discussed at length everything you need to know about the Watch 4 Classic. It has the same stainless steel casing and rotating bezel as the Watch 6 Classic, except the 6 Classic's bezel is 15% thinner, making it slightly more stylish and easy to turn. Otherwise, the Watch 4 Classic has all of the same perks and downsides as the standard Watch 4 above.
Why buy the Watch 4 Classic compared to its siblings? Quite simply, if you want a rotating bezel and that "classic" wristwatch look, but are balking at the $400-and-up price of the 6 Classic. Although the Watch 4 Classic may not be in stock at some retailers anymore, you can often find it at a hefty discount.
This model should still receive Wear OS 5 this summer, even if it won't receive any version updates after that.
How to choose
Which of the best Samsung watches are still worth buying?
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You'll notice that all six of the best Samsung watches are Wear OS watches. Anyone familiar with Samsung's older models knows they used to run the company's proprietary Tizen OS, before Samsung and Google joined forces.
We genuinely loved the Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch Active 2 for everything they offered at the time. But Samsung's software support for Tizen has essentially ended, as it goes all in on Wear OS instead. You won't see any new apps developed for them, they won't sync well with newer Galaxy phones, and you'll miss out on new perks like Google Assistant. So if you see them on sale, we recommend you steer clear.
For comparison, the Galaxy Watch 4 will get four years of software support — meaning it'll last through August 2025 before you have to start worrying about anything. So you can safely buy watches from one or two generations ago, if price is the biggest concern.
For the best longevity and features, of course, you'll want to choose between the compact, powerful Galaxy Watch 6 and the stylish Watch 6 Classic.
