Samsung's Galaxy-brain play: leaving Tizen behind for Wear OS.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, one of the best Android smartwatches, may have only just launched in November 2020, but after dozens of leaks in recent months, it's all but guaranteed that a new Galaxy Watch is on the way, whether it's called the Galaxy Watch 4 or Galaxy Watch Active 4. And it'll run the new Wear OS 3.0 OS from Google, the first smartwatch to do so.
Anyone excited to learn more about the Galaxy Watch 4 should tune into Samsung Galaxy Unpacked on August 11 at 10am EDT/ 7am PDT / 3pm BST, as multiple leaks have suggested Samsung will unveil its new watches there. That includes a rumored Galaxy Watch 4 Classic with a premium design.
With leakers indicating the Galaxy Watch 4 could get a newer-and-faster chipset, plus some new health monitoring sensors, it could easily top our best Wear OS watches list as soon as it launches.
Here's everything we know so far about Samsung's new smartwatch, including specs, design leaks, sizing, and pricing.
Samsung's best — so far
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
The Galaxy Watch 3 offers stunning hardware and various health-focused features, including an ECG and blood pressure sensor. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the widest third-party app support, but you'll get good battery life, a bright display, and Samsung's zippy Tizen OS software.
$350 at Amazon $400 at Samsung $350 at Best Buy
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Availability
All signs point to the Galaxy Watch 4 releasing in August. According to various leaks and rumors, the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event will showcase the Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy S21 FE, and Galaxy Buds 2.
We also suspect that the Galaxy Watch 4 release date will be August 27, just a couple of weeks after the announcement. This theory is based on a recent leaked Galaxy Watch 4 Amazon CA listing showing specs, pricing details, and a late August release date.
According to recent leaks, Samsung will also launch the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic at the same time. They will have a more traditional appearance but will run the new Wear OS as well. These watches also appeared in the Amazon Canada leak and should ship out at the same time.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Price
We've seen a couple of credible Galaxy Watch 4 price leaks so far, but we'll know for certain how much it costs in just a few days.
The most recent came from tipster Evan Blass, who tweeted screenshotted prices for the Galaxy Watch 4 40mm (€279) and 44mm (€309) and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 42mm (€379) and 46mm (€409). Converted US prices would come out to $330/$365 and $450/$485, but pricing will likely vary from territory to territory — and these prices might not be final or real.
In the aforementioned Amazon Canada leak, the Galaxy Watch 4 44mm watch had a listed CA$346.82 price (about $275 USD), while the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 46mm cost CA$463.88 (about $370). Again, prices will vary by territory, and it's unlikely the Galaxy Watch 4 will cost less than $300 in any size.
An earlier Galaxy Watch 4 price rumor suggested the Galaxy Watch 4 40mm would cost between €350–€370 (~$415–$439), while the 44mm could sell for €380–€400 (~$450–$475). These prices would be significantly higher than Blass's estimates and the Galaxy Watch 3's launch prices.
If the Galaxy Watch 4 retains the same features as its predecessor while adding more advanced ones like a BIA sensor for bodyweight monitoring and a brand new operating system, it makes sense that Samsung would price it like a luxury watch. But Samsung may instead price it more affordably like an Active Watch to push the new OS. We'll find out in just a few days.
Whatever price Samsung settles on, keep in mind that you'll likely add an extra $50 to the price if you want a cellular-enabled version of the watch.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Design
We've seen several leaked renders of both the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic in past weeks, giving us an unconfirmed but intriguing look at what the watch could look like.
If the above Galaxy Watch 4 leaked renders prove accurate, they suggest that Samsung has removed the Galaxy Watch 3's rotating bezel, which many will find disappointing. But the alleged Galaxy Watch 4 Classic may have the rotating bezel in exchange for a higher price.
Another possible leaked Galaxy Watch 4 design suggests the watch will ship in Black, Silver, Gold, and Green at launch; however, the other leaked renders show a Mystic Bronze color as well.
Based on various leaks, the Galaxy Watch 4 will likely ship in 40mm and 44mm case sizes. One leak suggests slightly larger case sizes than the Galaxy Watch 3 with 42mm/46mm, but this likely referred to the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, which allegedly will ship in those sizes.
We've also seen recent leaks for the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, pictured above. It could ship in three sizes (42mm/44mm/46mm), three colors (white, gray, and black), and two materials (stainless steel and aluminum).
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 New Features and Specs
Details are still scarce on Samsung's newest watch, but we've heard some key rumors about it. The company was planning to add a non-invasive, reliable blood glucose monitor but apparently abandoned its plans.
As for the new operating system, we noted in our review of the Galaxy Watch 3 that the Tizen OS is very intuitive, even "zippy," but has terrible third-party app support. However, with a new Wear OS operating system being developed by both Google and Samsung, your Galaxy Watch 4 could get access to the best Wear OS apps, Google Pay support, and better integration with non-Samsung smartphones.
Along with the new OS, the Galaxy Watch 4 could sport a Exynos W920 chipset with 1.25X faster speeds and almost 9X better graphical performance than the chipset found in the Galaxy Watch 3. It may also up its RAM to 1.5GB and storage to 16GB, compared to 1GB and 8GB on the Galaxy Watch 3.
As for Galaxy Watch 4 battery life, Samsung may claim up to 7 days of performance according to another leak, though we don't know if this estimate will hold up to tests.
Below, we've collected every potential Galaxy Watch 4 spec we've found in various rumors. We can't confirm any of this info until Galaxy Unpacked 2021, but we've seen many of these specs across multiple leaks, which may add to their authenticity.
| Category | Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Wear OS |
| Chipset | 5nm Exynos W920 |
| Sizes | 40mm, 44mm |
| Display | 1.19-inch (40mm)/ 1.36-inch (44m) AMOLED |
| Memory | 1.5GB RAM |
| Storage | 16GB |
| Battery | 361mAh battery "7 day battery life" estimate |
| Voice assistants | Google Assistant or Bixby |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5, cellular (optional) |
| Rotating bezel | Classic models only |
| Sensors | HRM, BIA, EEG, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, ambient light sensor |
| Onboard GPS | ✔️ |
| Blood oxygen monitoring (SP02) | ✔️ |
| VO2 Max | ✔️ |
| Protection | IP68 / 5ATM water resistance MIL-STD-810G certification Corning Gorilla Glass DX |
Out of all the rumored specs, we mainly hope the Galaxy Watch 4 gets the rumored battery boost. The Galaxy Watch 3 barely lasts a day with an always-on display, so there's plenty of room for improvement. We'd also really appreciate the extra storage; for comparison, some Apple Watches get 32GB of storage, so this new model will close the gap.
Finally, we'd love to see blood pressure monitoring enabled in the US. While the Galaxy Watch app is supported in 32 different countries, Samsung has yet to get FDA approval here in the states.
In our recent poll, most AC readers said how excited they were to get the Galaxy Watch 4 and Wear OS 3 as soon as possible. We can only hope the watch lives up to the hype once Samsung announces it.
Samsung's best — so far
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
The Galaxy Watch 3 offers stunning hardware and various health-focused features, including an ECG and blood pressure sensor. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the widest third-party app support, but you'll get good battery life, a bright display, and Samsung's zippy Tizen OS software.
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