The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is the best Android watch of 2024. We’ll help you decide if keeping the Watch 6 or upgrading to the Watch Ultra is better.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is one of the best Android watches of the year, and with the year winding down, you may be deciding whether to grab one as a last-minute holiday gift, whether to yourself or someone else — or if you should choose an alternative like the Pixel Watch 3 or OnePlus Watch 2.
OurGalaxy Watch 7 reviewlargely had a healthy range of positives and only a couple of nitpicky complaints, saying it lacked “pizazz.” You might be bored of its appearance without a Galaxy Watch 7 Classic or Pro as an alternative. But you can be assured that it’s a very good smartwatch.
>>>EB-BR965ABY Battery for Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic R965 47mm
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: Price, availability, and models
The Galaxy Watch 7 was announced on July 10 and shipped to customers on July 24; you can order it from Samsung.com, Amazon, Best Buy, and select U.S. carriers. TheGalaxy Ring and Galaxy Watch Ultra shipped out on the same date.
After the Galaxy Watch 5 and 6 both got minor price bumps, the Galaxy Watch 7 remains at the same price point as last year: $299 for the 40mm Watch 7 and $329 for the 44mm Watch 7. Samsung lets you upgrade to an LTE version for $50 extra.
Both Galaxy Watch 7 sizes ship in Green. The 40mm Watch 7 also has a Cream option, while the 44mm Watch 7 has a Silver option. You can choose a Sport, Fabric, or Athleisure watch band as your default option.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: Specs and sensors
| Category | Galaxy Watch 7 40mm | Galaxy Watch 7 44mm |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 1.3-inch Super AMOLED, 432 x 432 resolution, sapphire crystal | 1.5-inch Super AMOLED, 480 x 480 resolution, sapphire crystal |
| Processor | Exynos W1000 | Exynos W1000 |
| RAM | 2GB | 2GB |
| Storage | 32GB | 32GB |
| Size | 40.4 x 40.4 x 9.7 mm* | 44.4 x 44.4 x 9.7 mm* |
| Weight | 28.8g | 33.8g |
| Colors | Green, Cream | Green, Silver |
| Battery | 300mAh | 425mAh |
| Charging | Fast charging (WPC-based wireless) | Fast charging (WPC-based wireless) |
| Software | One UI Watch 6 (Wear OS 5) | One UI Watch 6 (Wear OS 5) |
| Communications | NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz and 5GHz | NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz and 5GHz |
| Sensors | Samsung BioActive Sensor (Optical Bio-signal sensor+ Electrical Heart Signal + Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Temperature Sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor | Samsung BioActive Sensor (Optical Bio-signal sensor+ Electrical Heart Signal + Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Temperature Sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor |
| Water and dust resistance | 5ATM + IP68 / MIL-STD-810H | 5ATM + IP68 / MIL-STD-810H |
| Price | $299 | $329 |
The Exynos W1000 is Samsung’s first 3-nanometer CPU used in a smartwatch, built with five cores instead of the usual dual-core design: one Arm Cortex-A78 and four Cortex-A55 clocked at 1.6GHz. Samsung promises it loads apps 2.7x faster than the Exynos W930 in the Galaxy Watch 6, while outperforming it in single-core and multicore benchmarks by “3.4x and 3.7x, respectively.”
Samsung told us that much of that extra processing power goes into the revamped health sensor array. Although the Galaxy Watch 7 tracks the exact same data as theGalaxy Watch 5or Watch 6, the bottom sensor has 13 LEDs for heart rate and blood oxygen readings instead of four LEDs. Samsung says this new “multi-optical path” gives the Watch 7 94% accuracy during high-intensity workouts, compared to 88% on the last generation.
OurGalaxy Watch Ultra fitness testshowed real-world improvements in heart rate accuracy during workouts, and the Galaxy Watch 7 has the same sensor array, so this health & fitness reliability applies to both watches.
Most smartwatches have red, green, and infrared LEDs for capturing your health data, but Samsung addedblue, yellow, violet, and ultraviolet LEDsto the Galaxy Watch 7 to “pursue unexplored aspects of health monitoring on wearables.” The Watch 7 and Ultra launched with an experimental metric called AGEs Index that Samsung says is “one of the many new advanced features planned” with these LEDs.
Unfortunately, the new metric isn’t especially useful — we found that Samsung gave everyone near-identical AGEs Index scores regardless of differences in health — and we don’t know what to expect from future health metrics yet.
A more exciting upgrade is dual-band GPS, which triangulates your position from multiple satellite angles to avoid obstacles like buildings, foliage, or mountains. It’s vital for accurate outdoor workout results, and it’s rare to find in affordable smartwatches. Thankfully, this new GPS system did excellently in our fitness test, living up to Samsung’s promises.
Samsung also gave the Galaxy Watch 7 32GB of storage. That might sound like overkill, but we noticed that the Galaxy Watch 6’s 16GB of storage was closer to 6GB thanks to the default OS. With extra storage, you’ll have plenty of space for large music playlists or podcasts, if you like to leave your phone at home during walks or workouts. It also leaves room for all thebest Wear OS appsyou could want.
>>>EB-BR890ABY Battery for Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 SM-R870NZGAXAA SM-R870NZSCXAA 44mm
One UI 6 Watch (Wear OS 5) key features
All of the recent Galaxy Watches have or will receive One UI 6 Watch soon, based on the latestWear OS 5update. So these features aren’t necessarilyspecificto the Galaxy Watch 7, but they’re worth explaining for anyone unfamiliar withWear OS watchesor considering another brand like thePixel Watch 3with “stock” Wear OS software.
The Galaxy Watch 7 offers an Energy Score, calculated by Galaxy AI algorithms based on your recent sleep, stress, and activity data, indicating if your poor sleep or hard activities are impacting your body, and tracking new metrics like movement during sleep or sleep latency.
Galaxy AI also takes your Watch 7 data and generates wellness tips for how to improve your health, tracking specific metrics like your resting heart rate over time to help you judge your progress. Plus, the Watch 7 has FDA-approved sleep apnea detection.
Another new Galaxy AI feature is AI-powered suggested replies, making it potentially easier to respond to your Google or Samsung Messages without having to pull out your phone or type on the small QWERTY keyboard. You’ll need a Galaxy phone to use these, however.
While past Galaxy Watches had shortcut gestures like double-tap in the accessibility menu, One UI 6 Watch makes those gestures more readily available to all users.
>>>EB-BR890ABY Battery for Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic 46mm SM-R895 SM-R895U
Galaxy Watch 7 vs. Watch 6
The Galaxy Watch 6 40mm (left) and Galaxy Watch 7 44mm (right)
Before we highlight theGalaxy Watch 7 vs. 6differences, let’s look briefly at what’s the same:
- Both ship with 1.3- and 1.5-inch displays and the same resolutions
- Memory (2GB)
- Battery capacity (300/425mAh)
- Health sensors (HR, SpO2, ECG, skin temp, BIA)
- Connectivity (Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, WiFi, optional LTE)
- Protection (Sapphire Glass, IP68, MIL-STD-810H)
As for the biggest changes, we’ve already noted how the new Exynos W1000 beats the Exynos W930. However, our Galaxy Watch 7 reviewer noted that, while “this is the zippiest smartwatch I’ve ever used,” she’s “not seeing” the 2.7x boost over the Galaxy Watch 6 that Samsung promises. “In the day-to-day, it’s faster, but not noticeably.”
We think the Exynos W1000’s biggest impact is its efficiency; despite having the same battery capacity as the Watch 6, the Watch 7 consistently lasts about two days per charge, while the Watch 6 falls closer to 1 to 1.5 days. We suspect the Watch 7 will stand the test of time a little better.
As we said above, the Galaxy Watch 7 will deliver more accurate heart rate and GPS results. OurGalaxy Watch 6 fitness testdisappointed us, so we welcomed these upgrades, but if you’re not much of an athlete or just don’t need exact results, then you don’t necessarily need the Galaxy Watch 7.
The Galaxy Watch 7 launched withWear OS 5and the One UI 6 Watch skin and will get consistent software updates through summer 2028. Theofficial Wear OS 5 rolloutbegan on November 19 for the Galaxy Watch 6 series, with older models receiving it by early December.
As mentioned above, the Galaxy Watch 7 has more HR LEDs and LEDcolorsthan the Watch 6. Although Samsung’s first use of these sensors — the AGEs Index — didn’t impress us, their team has promised future health metrics using this data, which the Galaxy Watch 6 won’t be able to access. It’s a vague reason to upgrade, but still worth mentioning.
The Watch 6 and 7 have nearly identical weights—the Watch 7 40mm and 44mm weigh 0.1g and 0.5g less, respectively—but Samsung notes that the newer watch is 0.7mm thicker, and its measurement doesn’t include the sensor array. The extra LEDs make the Watch 7 sensor bump more dome-like, so it “sits slightly higher on your wrist” than the Watch 6, according to our reviewer.
Galaxy Watch 7 vs. Watch Ultra
Despite the $350 price gap between the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra, the two watches aren’t all that different, aside from the obvious design differences.
Specifications
| Category | Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra |
|---|---|
| Display | 1.5-inch Super AMOLED, 480×480, 3,000 nits |
| Colors | Titanium Sliver, Titanium Gray, Titanium White |
| Processor | Exynos W1000 (1.6GHz) |
| RAM & storage | 2GB + 32GB |
| Battery | 590mAh |
| Software | One UI 6 Watch (Wear OS 5) |
| Sensors | Samsung BioActive Sensor (Optical Heart Rate + Electrical Heart Signal + Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Temperature Sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor |
| Dimensions | 47.1 x 47.4 x 12.1mm* |
| Weight | 60.5g |
| Connectivity | LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, WiFi 2.4/5GHz, NFC, GPS (L1+L5), Glonass, Beidou, Galileo |
| Durability | 5ATM + IP68, MIL-STD-810H, Sapphire Glass |
| Price | $649 |
The Watch 7 Ultra uses titanium grade 4 instead of aluminum, with a 47mm case that weighs 60.5g without the strap (26.7g more than the larger Watch 7). It feels significantly heavierandmeasures 2.4mm thicker; while you can wear the Galaxy Watch 7 for sleep tracking relatively comfortably, that won’t apply to the Watch Ultra.
Both the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Watch 7 44mm have 1.5-inch, 480×480 AMOLED displays, so there’s no visual upgrade except for a brightness boost from 2,000 to 3,000 nits on the flagship watch.
Like the Watch 7, the Watch Ultra has a digital bezel along the display edge. Unfortunately, while the Ultra’s side button is a crown,it’s inactiveso you can’t scroll through menus. On the other hand, the Quick Button lets you pause and restart workouts quickly instead of having to swipe through menus with sweaty fingertips.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra has the same 590mAh battery as theWatch 5 Pro, or 165mAh extra capacity compared to the Watch 7 44mm. On paper, Samsung says the Ultra lasts 60 hours with AOD, but our reviewer found it lasts closer to 48 hours with it. Still, that matches what the Watch 7 hitswithoutAOD; for the most battery life possible, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is the clear choice.
Like the Watch 7, it has 2GB/32GB memory and an Exynos W1000 CPU, plus the same sensors. The upgraded LEDs and dual-band GPS are the same, too. The Galaxy Watch Ultra has LTE capabilities built in, while you must pay extra for it on the Watch 7.
Mainly, you’re paying for some serious ruggedness. The Galaxy Watch Ultra passes the ISO22810 diving standard for 10 minutes in water at 100-meter depth. It has an 85-decibel siren and Samsung’s promise that it can survive elevations up to 29,527 feet or temperatures between -4°F and 131°F (-20ºC to 55ºC).
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7?
The main reasons to buy the Galaxy Watch 7 if you have a Watch 6 are the faster processor, more accurate health data, pinpointed GPS, and extra storage. Admittedly, the last three are more niche features that some users won’t need; the Exynos chip is the key upgrade, giving the watch more compute headroom that’ll make future Wear OS updates run more smoothly.
If you don’t like certain aspects of the Watch 6 like the design or digital bezel, that hasn’t changed with the Watch 7. Unless you want to hold out for theGalaxy Watch 8(which is rumored to switch to a squircle) or pay double the price for the Watch Ultra, your only other option is to look into the otherbest Android smartwatcheson the market.
We’ve seen reports of”ghost notifications” on the Galaxy Watch 7in recent weeks. We hope that Samsung will find the source of these and fix them, as it’s a bad look for this Wear OS watch to buzz users constantly with nonexistent notifications. Otherwise, most users have had few complaints about the Galaxy Watch 7’s software.