Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Everything you need to know | ImFixed, The Best in Bolton

September 14, 2021

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Everything you need to know

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic with Wear OS and Body Composition properties. These functions are set to storm the market in a bid to boost Samsung's already burgeoning reputation. Launched alongside the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Series were the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the Buds 2, and the Flip 3. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Series comes in two variants of different sizes. Prospective buyers will be spoilt for choice.

The series is equipped with optional LTE connectivity. This offers flexibility like never before.The Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic are separate designs, with each having features that make them unique. They offer a fantastic user experience and a top-notch performance level with the addition of a Samsung-made wearable chipset.

The chipset was made in collaboration with Google and runs on the latest iteration of Wear OS.When can I get the Galaxy Watch 4?The Galaxy Watch 4 series was unveiled to much fanfare on the 11th of August at Unpacked. Unsurprisingly, it hit pre-order immediately and was live till August 26. The series has been on sale since August 27th.

It has since been a common theme for the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy series. Other Galaxy products, such as the original Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch 3, were all unveiled in August of their respective launch years, with the Galaxy Watch Active and Active 2 taking a different route. They debuted in April and September of 2019, respectively.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is a standout in the world of smartwatches, seamlessly blending style, functionality, and innovative technology. Whether you're a fitness enthusiast, tech aficionado, or simply seeking a reliable timepiece, the Galaxy Watch 4 is designed to cater to a wide range of needs.

Section 1: Unboxing and Initial Impressions

Unboxing the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is a delightful experience. Inside the box, you'll find the watch itself, a charging cable, and various user manuals. As you take the watch in your hands, you'll be struck by its sleek and modern design. The display, which varies in size depending on the model you choose, is vibrant and sharp, making it easy to read notifications, track your health, or simply check the time. The build quality is impressive, and the watch feels durable while remaining lightweight for comfortable everyday wear.

Section 2: Key Features and Specifications

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 boasts impressive technical specifications. It comes in two sizes, 40mm and 44mm, with a vivid AMOLED display, offering excellent resolution and vibrant colors. Powered by Samsung's dual-core Exynos processor, it ensures smooth and snappy performance. Key features include GPS for location tracking, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and water resistance up to 50 meters, making it suitable for swimming and other water-related activities.

Section 3: Health and Fitness Tracking

One of the standout features of the Galaxy Watch 4 is its comprehensive health and fitness tracking capabilities. It comes equipped with heart rate monitoring, ECG functionality, sleep tracking, and stress measurement. Whether you're an athlete or simply health-conscious, this watch provides real-time data to help you make informed decisions about your well-being. The watch also integrates seamlessly with popular fitness and wellness apps, allowing you to track your progress and set goals.

Section 4: Wearable OS and App Ecosystem

The Galaxy Watch 4 operates on Samsung's Tizen-based Wearable OS. This operating system offers a smooth and intuitive user experience. It's complemented by a wide array of apps available on the Galaxy Store, including productivity, health, and entertainment apps. Additionally, you can customize your watch with a variety of watch faces and widgets to suit your personal style and needs.

Section 5: Battery Life and Charging

Battery life can vary depending on usage, but on average, the Galaxy Watch 4 offers a full day of use on a single charge. It features wireless charging, which means you can simply place it on a compatible wireless charger to power up. Charging times are relatively quick, allowing you to get back to enjoying your watch in no time.

Section 6: Design and Build Quality

The Galaxy Watch 4 exudes a modern and stylish design, with a choice of aluminum or stainless steel cases and various color options. It's comfortable to wear, with a well-crafted strap that ensures a secure fit. The build quality is evident, and it's designed to withstand daily wear and tear while looking elegant on your wrist.

Section 7: Connectivity and Compatibility

The watch offers versatile connectivity options, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and, in some models, LTE. It's compatible with both Android and iOS smartphones, making it a versatile choice for users of different mobile platforms. The watch syncs seamlessly with your smartphone to provide you with notifications, calls, and more on your wrist.

Section 8: Pricing and Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is competitively priced, with variations depending on the model you choose, such as the regular and Classic versions. It's widely available through Samsung's official website, as well as through various retailers and carriers, ensuring accessibility to a global audience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 stands out as a feature-packed, stylish, and versatile smartwatch. With its impressive health and fitness tracking capabilities, beautiful display, and extensive app ecosystem, it caters to a diverse range of users. Whether you're looking for a companion for your daily workouts or a sophisticated timepiece, the Galaxy Watch 4 has you covered. It's a testament to Samsung's commitment to delivering high-quality wearable technology.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Everything you need to know

How much does the Galaxy Watch 4 cost? Every Samsung product in the August lineup appears affordable; it seems like Samsung is trying to up the ante. Compared to its predecessors, the opening prices are pretty respectable. The Galaxy Watch 4 series' smallest model costs a reasonable £249/€269/US $249.99, while the Classic starts at £349/€369/US $349.99. For the international market, the price range is below. This allows prospective buyers to know what to go for from the comfort of their homes. Galaxy Watch 4, size-40mm Bluetooth-enabled-€269/£249/USD249.99 4G-enabled-€319/£289/USD299.99 Galaxy Watch 4, size-44mm, Bluetooth -enabled-€299/£269/USD279.99 4G-enabled-€349/£309/USD329.99 Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, size-42mm, Bluetooth -enabled-€369/£349/USD349.99 4G-enabled-€419/£389/USD399.99 Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, size-46mm, Bluetooth -enabled-€399/£369/USD379.99 4G-enabled-€449/£409/USD429.99 Like the Galaxy 4, the Galaxy Watch 3 series also came in two variants, a trend that is being followed religiously by Samsung. The Galaxy Watch 3 was released in 2020, and it came in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm. Compared to the Galaxy 4 series, the two Galaxy 3 sizes cost £399 and $399 and £419 and $429, respectively. However, the Galaxy 3 came with a cellular version, which is slightly costlier. Its two series go for £429/US $449 and £459/US $479, respectively. Before the Galaxy 3 and 4 series came the Galaxy Watch Active and Active 2, which cost £199/US $249.99 and £249/US $249.99, respectively.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Everything you need to know

Features of the Galaxy Watch 4 The standard Galaxy Watch 4 sports a contemporary design and features brushed aluminium lugs. These aluminium lugs were used to enclose the black-polished metal body of the watch. Concerning the Galaxy Watch 4 classic, it made use of a style similar to the Galaxy Watch 3. A conventional style is evident with the use of stainless steel for the body and a physical rotating bezel for interaction. The display quality on both Galaxy 4 models is the same. The display has a pixel density of 330ppi and is equipped with a 1.19in or 1.36in circular AMOLED. Compared to previous versions, the physical buttons on the watch's right side now work with the Bio-Active Sensor branding concerning the overarching fitness hardware inside the watch. The top button now functions as the home key, while the bottom key, when tapped, brings up an interface that sources information regarding the body's water retention, bone density, and BMI. Essentially, the watch has been equipped with a new Body Composition app. According to Samsung, the Watch 4 can take blood oxygen readings and track your sleep. Just like the Galaxy Watch 2, it has something like the ECG, which has now been approved for usage in over 40 regions of the world, especially those that already feature the previous editions of Samsung products. Furthermore, Google has teamed up with Samsung to fuse Wear OS and Tizen OS into a single entity. As confirmed by Samsung, it is set to power the next generation of Samsung watches coupled with features like wellness and fitness apps (supplied by Fitbit, which Google owns).Following Galaxy Watch 4's announcement, Samsung quickly clarified that Samsung powers Wear OS on the Watch 4 Series to stand out from the crowd as other manufacturers will adopt the OS platform in the foreseeable future. Tizen, called One UI Watch, was prominent in previous Galaxy watches, and the Korean company is making the most of the incredible platform. In the Galaxy 4 classic, it made use of a physical bezel. This makes it easier to access Google Maps, use the Google Play store, and use Google Pay, which improves the user experience. As regards hardware, the Watch 4 Series debuts new components. They include Samsung's latest wearable-centric chip, the 5nm Exynos W920, which promises to be better than the best Qualcomm currently offers, the 12nm process Snapdragon Wear 4100+, and the Galaxy Watch 3's 10nm chip. Also, Samsung promised that this latest silicon would be 1.25x faster in processing information than the Exynos 9110 and "8.8x smoother in graphics performance." It has 1.5GB of RAM and doubles the storage of the Galaxy Watch 3-from 8GB to 16GB, and the battery experience has also been improved. Samsung noted that the Galaxy Watch 4 series could last up to 40 hours per charge; that's the next level. The full specifications

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 (stylized as Samsung Galaxy Watch4) is a smartwatch developed by Samsung Electronics. It is the first Samsung watch to run Google's Wear OS since the Samsung Gear Live, and the first watch to run Wear OS 3, co-developed by Samsung and Google. The device largely followed the design language of the preceding Samsung Galaxy Watch Active and Galaxy Watch 3, but including all new software. The watch also included EKG, body compositional analysis, and blood pressure monitoring via the new Samsung BioActive sensor.It was announced on August 11, 2021, at Samsung's Unpacked Event alongside the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Buds 2. The watch was released worldwide on August 27, 2021.

Specifications


Model	Galaxy Watch 4		Galaxy Watch 4 Classic
Size	40 mm	44 mm	42 mm	46 mm
Part No.	SM-R860 (Wi-Fi) SM-R865 (LTE)	SM-R870 (Wi-Fi) SM-R875 (LTE)	SM-R880 (Wi-Fi) SM-R885 (LTE)	SM-R890 (Wi-Fi) SM-R895 (LTE)
Colors	Black, Green, Pink Gold, Silver	Black, Green, Silver	Black, Silver
Display	1.2" (30.4 mm)	1.4" (34.6 mm)	1.2" (30.4 mm)	1.4" (34.6 mm)
Resolution	396 x 396 pixels	450 x 450 pixels	396 x 396 pixels	450 x 450 pixels
Glass	Corning Gorilla Glass DX+		Corning Gorilla Glass DX
Chassis	Aluminum		Stainless Steel
Processor	Exynos W920 dual-core 1.18 GHz Cortex-A55
Operating System	WearOS (OS 3.0)
UI	One UI Watch 3
Size (Excluded the health sensor)	40.4 mm x 39.3 mm x 9.8 mm	44.4 mm x 43.3 mm x 9.8 mm	41.5 mm x 41.5 mm x 11.2 mm	45.5 mm x 45.5 mm x 11.0 mm
Weight (without strap)	25.9 g	30.3 g	46.5 g	52.0 g
Strap Size	20 mm
Water Resistance	5ATM + IP68 / MIL-STD-810G
Memory	1.5 GB RAM + 16 GB flash memory
Connectivity	4G/LTE with eSIM (Galaxy Watch 4 LTE-Version only) Bluetooth 5.0 Wi-Fi a/b/g/n 2.4+5 GHz NFC A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
Sensors	Heart Rate Monitor Blood Oxygen Monitor Electrocardiography (ECG) Blood Pressure Monitor Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Accelerometer Barometer Gyro Sensor Geomagnetic Sensor Light Sensor
Battery	247 mAh	361 mAh	247 mAh	361 mAh

Software

The smartwatch was the first watch released by Samsung to use Wear OS instead of Samsung's own Tizen OS. This smartwatch is region locked in mainland China, unlike past models. Features of the Galaxy Watch 4 Series are

1.19in circular 396x396 Super AMOLED always-on display (for 40mm and 42mm Watch 4 Classic models)

1.36in circular 450x450 Super AMOLED always-on display (for 40mm and 42mm Watch 4 Classic models)

Samsung Exynos W920 5nm processor, 1.18GHz dual-core

Gorilla Glass DX+

1.5GB RAM and 16GB ROM.

Wear OS (Operating System) is powered by Samsung.

One UI watch (user experience)

Bluetooth 5.0

NFC, WiFi, GPS, and 4G LTE via eSIM (optional).

barometer, accelerometer, geomagnetic sensor, gyro sensor, and light sensor.

Compass

The Microphone and Speaker

Haptic Motor

Knox security from Samsung

Electrocardiogram (ECG), Optical heart rate sensor (PPG), Bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor (BIA), AFib irregular heartbeat detection, heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, body composition analysis, blood oxygen tracking, snore detection, and guided workouts are all features of the Samsung BioActive Sensor.

Bixby Voice Support and Gesture Controls

compatible with Android 6.0 or later (devices must have more than 1.5GB of RAM).

Stainless steel casing (Galaxy Watch 4 Classic).

Aluminum Casing for Galaxy Watch 4 (Galaxy Watch 4)

5ATM swim-proofing, IP68 dust and water-resistance

MIL-STD-810G tested

Wireless charging (supports Qi charging).

247mAh battery (for Watch 4 Classic models 40mm and 42mm)

361mAh battery (for the 44mm Watch 4 and 46mm Watch 4 Classic) A 40-hour

battery life and a 30-minute charge gives you 10 hours of usage.

40.4 x 39.3 x 9.8mm (for Galaxy Watch 4 in 40mm)

44.4 x 43.3 x 9.8mm (for Galaxy Watch 4 44mm)

41.5 x 41.5 x 11.2mm (for the 42mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic)

45.5 x 45.5 x 11mm (for the 46mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic)

25.9 grams (for the 40mm Galaxy Watch 4).

The 44mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic weighs 30.3 grams and the 42mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic weighs 46.5 grams.

52 grams (for the 46mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic)

Color grading:

black, silver, pink gold (for 40mm Galaxy Watch 4) Black, silver, green (for the 44mm Galaxy Watch 4) Black, silver (for 42mm & 46mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic).

Design and comfort

Regardless of what color you choose for the aluminum frame, the Galaxy Watch4 series has a safe, generic round design that lets your watch face make the statement rather than the aesthetics of the overall watch. There are tons of options for watch faces and different watch hands, but one thing that bothers me is the limited color options for the faces and hands. I would have loved a green color option for the watch face below, for example, but it's not available for some reason.

The Galaxy Watch 4 has standard and classic versions that vary in thickness and strap design.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider The Galaxy Watch4 is the thinnest and lightest smartwatch of Samsung's recent smartwatches, and it's a comfortable watch for it. The Galaxy Watch4 Classic is a little thicker, thanks to its rotating bezel. The included silicone straps are also comfortable, but they're pretty stiff — the strap sticks out quite a bit where they connect to the watch itself. Specifically for the Galaxy Watch4 Classic's included strap, the loops that keep the excess strap from flailing around are ineffective. That's a shame, and I'd feel the need to buy another strap had I bought the Galaxy Watch4 Classic.

General usage

Telling the time with the Galaxy Watch4 is best with the always-on display

The Galaxy Watch4 doesn't reliably show you the time when you do the "raise-your-wrist-to-tell-the-time" gesture, unless you cartoonishly exaggerate the gesture, tap the screen, press a button, or rotate the bezel on the Classic version. The easy solution is using the always-on display mode, which reduces battery life, but the watch still lasts a full day with ease.

Notifications are helpful on the Galaxy Watch4

Smartwatches are great for checking notifications without having to look at your phone, as well as receiving messages and making calls from the watch. When the Galaxy Watch4 is connected to your phone via Bluetooth, all this works just fine. When you're beyond your phone's Bluetooth connection, however, the Galaxy Watch connects to your WiFi network (or LTE if you opt for that option. Almost everything still works fine when the watch is connected to a WiFi network, except for phone calls, which is a shame to find. In fact, I wouldn't even get a notification for a phone call when I was outside of Bluetooth range from my phone, but text and messaging notifications came through. There's also the occasional time when the Galaxy Watch4 struggles to find my WiFi network or stay connected to WiFi when I move around different parts of the house with a mesh WiFi system.

Google's Wear OS operating system, brought to you by Samsung

One of the biggest upgrades to come to the Galaxy Watch4 series is the adoption of Google's Wear OS smartwatch operating system instead of Samsung's Tizen smartwatch (OS). That may cause concern for anyone familiar with Google's neglected and poor Wear OS, but with Samsung's help, it's actually pretty great on the Galaxy Watch4 series. It looks and feels like Samsung's excellent Tizen OS, but Google's Wear OS means the Galaxy Watch4 is compatible with significantly more apps from Google's Play Store.

Health and fitness

General fitness tracking with the Galaxy Watch4 works well

The Galaxy Watch4 has an array of health and fitness tracking features you'd expect from a premium smartwatch, including workout tracking, heart rate monitoring, blood pressure measuring, an ECG feature, sleep tracking, blood oxygen measuring, and stress tracking.

The Galaxy Watch 4 is always ready to record a workout session, which can cause some issues.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider The basic workout and fitness tracking stuff work great, but it can be a little over-eager to automatically record a workout. For example, the Galaxy Watch4 thinks I'm working out while I'm taking a shower. Perhaps I shower more aggressively than the average person? Either way, it's annoying to delete my erroneous shower workout day after day to avoid messing with my actual workout tracking.

Sleep tracking with the Galaxy Watch4

For sleep tracking, it's impossible to tell if the Galaxy Watch4 is properly measuring my REM, light, deep sleep, and wakefulness without comparing its readings to a medical sleep test. Still, I can tell when I've been awake, as I'm waking up a couple of times a night to feed my baby, and the Galaxy Watch4 sometimes doesn't register those waking moments well at all. It makes me doubt that the Galaxy Watch4 is properly tracking the other sleep metrics.

Sleep tracking results from the Galaxy Watch 4. — Sleep tracking on the Galaxy Watch 4 doesn't seem to be very precise, though it does provide a decent summary.

Still, I guess I get an overall sense of my sleep quality — my sleep score in Samsung Health is consistently a poor 40 out of 100, which isn't surprising on account of my baby. But I don't need a smartwatch or health app to tell me I'm getting lousy sleep these days.

ECG on the Galaxy Watch4 can be hit or miss

The ECG works well, but it's extremely dependent on having the Galaxy Watch4 properly positioned on your wrist, and there seems to be a very narrow margin for that proper position. I'd easily get inconclusive readings when the watch wasn't well positioned, and I even got a reading saying that I was experiencing atrial fibrillation.

Heart rate monitoring on the Galaxy Watch 4, like most smartwatches, is often inaccurate.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider Thankfully, cardiologist and Director of Cardiology for Dallas-based State of the Heart Cardiology, Dr. John Osborne, debunked the reading and said I wasn't experiencing atrial fibrillation. Dr. Osborne attributed the erroneous reading to a confused algorithm caused by external feedback like motion, talking, or even simply breathing. It's not uncommon for smartwatches with ECG features to be "fooled," he elaborated. Here's what a normal ECG reading should look like:

The sensors require precise positioning, which isn't ideal for daily activity or excessive movement.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider

Measuring your body with the Galaxy Watch4 is an awkward experience

The big new piece of health-tracking tech in the Galaxy Watch4 is the Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) feature that measures body composition, like skeletal muscle, basal metabolic rate, body water, and body fat percentage. The fancy new body measurement feature with the BIA sensors seems fairly accurate. Every reading I took showed slightly different numbers, but they were largely pretty consistent, and that's fine to give you a general idea of your body metrics. With that said, taking a measurement was often a frustrating experience. Like the ECG feature, the BIA seems incredibly sensitive to where the watch is on your wrist to take a reading. Also, placing your middle and ring fingers on the two buttons on the side of the watch to take a body measurement is incredibly awkward.

The device's metrics, though no replacement for a doctor, can give you a sense of your body composition.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider The overall takeaway here is that sleep tracking, the ECG, and BIA features are just meant to give you a general idea, and they don't replace a doctor or real medical measuring devices.

Battery life

The Galaxy Watch4 has a solid day-and-a-half-long battery life with the always-on display mode enabled and with general use (without workout tracking). Enabling bedtime mode when I went to sleep, which turns off the display and puts the watch into "do not disturb" mode, helped with getting that extra few hours into the next day. Even with a good workout, the Galaxy Watch4 will comfortably last a day until you lay it down to charge overnight. Longer workouts, especially those that use GPS like a marathon or a 100-mile bike ride, will likely considerably run down the battery. The Galaxy Watch4's battery life shouldn't be rated with the always-on display mode disabled, as it's such an important feature to keep on for the basic function of telling the time. You can help extend battery life into the second day by enabling bedtime mode when you go to sleep, which turns off the screen and notifications.

Overall, the watch is a solid choice for Android users.

Antonio Villas-Boas/Insider

Should you buy it?

The Samsung Galaxy Watch4 is the closest option Android users have to the premium Apple Watch experience and is the obvious choice for those looking for a comprehensive and quality smartwatch. Although Samsung now has the Galaxy Watch5 Pro (our pick as the best Android smartwatch), the Watch4 remains a quality budget smartwatch for Android users. However, it's a shame the ECG feature is limited to Samsung phone owners. If you do want a smartwatch or fitness tracker that works with most phones, you may want to consider a Garmin instead. The Galaxy Watch4, starting at $220, is also very well priced, especially for such a premium and feature-packed watch.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Everything you need to know

FAQs:

1. Can I use an Apple Watch instead of my Iphone? Yes, some people tend to wear an Apple Watch instead of having a phone because it looks stylish and easy to carry. 2. how long will a 15 minute charge last me? 15 minute charge can last you you around 5 hours, depending on how much battery percentage it had before putting it on charge, but minimum 5 hours. 3. Can I wireless charge it? Yes, it can be charged wirelessly. 4. Can I change the Straps, if I get bored of the colour/style? Yes, the strap is removeable/changeable. 5. Can put Glass protectors on the screen? Yes, you can put glass protectors on the Galaxy Watch 4's screen.