Galaxy Watch 8 Review: Samsung’s Smartest Android Watch Gets a Gentle Glow-Up

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 8 doesn’t shout “radical reboot”—instead, it quietly refines a winning formula. With a brighter screen, thoughtful comfort upgrades, smarter health tracking powered by Galaxy AI, and better everyday performance, it feels more polished than ever. Still, unless you’re upgrading from an older model, it might seem more evolutionary than revolutionary.

Here’s everything we learned from two weeks of using it daily – and how it stacks up in 2025’s smartwatch scene.

First Impressions: Design & Display

Gone is the plain round watch cover – Samsung opts for a stylish “cushion” case, first introduced with Watch Ultra and now brought to the broader lineup. It’s 11% thinner than Watch 7 and wears surprisingly light thanks to the Dynamic Lug design. That means snug bands and better health sensor contact on your wrist.

What you’ll notice most: a stunning Super AMOLED screen that reaches up to 3,000 nits brightness, making it vivid even under full sun. Both 40 mm and 44 mm versions feel sharper and more vivid than ever – ideal if you rely on glanceable clarity.

Performance & Everyday Use

Inside, Samsung packs the new Exynos W1000 chip built on a 3 nm process, paired with 2 GB RAM and thoughtful software in One UI Watch 8 (Wear OS 6). The result? Apps launch faster, animations feel snappier, and the whole UI runs cool, even during longer workouts.

In daily use, cycling through Samsung Health, voice queries via Google Gemini AI, music on Spotify, and message replies, performance never stuttered. Still, app support remains thinner than Apple’s ecosystem, though frequently used apps like WhatsApp, YouTube Music, and Google Maps work seamlessly.

Health & Fitness: Your Personal Coach

Samsung leans all in on wellness features – and Watch 8 raises the bar. It uses the BioActive Sensor suite for heart rate, ECG, SpO₂, body composition, skin temperature, and vascular load detection – many tools improved with AI.

Galaxy AI wellness insights adapt to you—offering tips based on sleep quality, heart rate trends, and workout performance. The Running Coach is especially smart: after a quick 12-minute baseline test, the watch crafts a dynamic multi-week training plan and hands real-time prompts mid-run.

Other perks: Bedtime Guidance, tailored menstrual and hydration tracking, spO₂ sleep monitoring, and improved fall detection that even blankets nighttime hours.

Battery Life: Finally Days, Not Hours

Samsung Watch battery life has long been a pain point—but Galaxy Watch 8 makes meaningful improvements.

• 40 mm model (325 mAh) and 44 mm (435 mAh) both deliver around 30 hours with Always-On Display (AOD), and nearly 40 hours with it off.
• The Watch 8 Classic (445 mAh) can easily stretch to 40+ hours with AOD on and over 50 hours without, depending on usage and watch face.

In real-life use, charging feels more relaxed: 30 minutes rakes in about 40–45%, and reaching full takes roughly an hour to 90 minutes—now a simple refresh while showering.

Still, heavy GPS use or brightness maxed means daily charging for most users.

Smart Features & AI Integration

The Galaxy Watch 8 is one of the first Wear OS smartwatches to integrate Google’s Gemini AI directly – extending beyond Google Assistant into layered AI assistance. You can ask for workouts, start timers, or create playlists with natural language – Gemini fills the role Samsung once reserved for Bixby.

Samsung also improves usability with:

• Swipeable tiles and glanceables
• Gesture shortcuts like pinch-to-notifications
• Offline music support, Samsung Wallet for payments, and SmartThings home control options.

Pairing with Samsung phones unlocks deeper perks like blood pressure tracking and camera remote functions. Note: iPhone compatibility remains absent—so this model is firmly Android-first.

Is It Worth Buying?

If you’re already rocking a Galaxy Watch 7, the upgrades may feel modest—unless galaxy AI insights or extra battery length matter. But anyone upgrading from Watch 6 or older (or even switching from inactivity) will feel the difference. The added battery, smarter software, and refined design make it a solid leap forward.

The Watch 8 Classic stands out as the premium pick thanks to its rotating bezel, larger battery, and more polished build. If value matters, the 40 mm Bluetooth model offers strong bang for your buck; LTE and Classic versions adds more expense comfortably.

FAQs

Q: Is Galaxy Watch 8 compatible with iPhone?
A: No. Galaxy Watch 8 only works with Android smartphones (Android 10 or later), and best with Samsung Galaxy phones.

Q: Does it support third-party watch faces?
A: Yes, through the Google Play Store and Galaxy Store, with hundreds of custom faces.

Q: Can I use it to take ECG or blood pressure?
A: Yes, but blood pressure tracking is limited to Samsung phones and may not be available in all countries due to regulatory clearance.

Q: Is the Galaxy Watch 8 better than Apple Watch Series 9?
A: For Android users, yes. But for iPhone users, Apple Watch is still the better-integrated option.

Q: How water-resistant is it?
A: The Watch 8 has 5ATM + IP68 rating, meaning it’s suitable for swimming, rain, and daily use.

Final Thoughts

Galaxy Watch 8 doesn’t disrupt the smartwatch world—but it smartly tightens and tunes what made Galaxy wearable offerings compelling to begin with. It’s a polished, capable Android watch with premium design, deep fitness tracking, and AI tools that feel genuinely useful in daily life.

If you’re deep in Google and Samsung services, it’s an easy recommendation. Just manage your expectations – this year’s Watch 8 is about smoothing the experience, not reshaping it.