Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 (left) vs the Galaxy Watch (Picture credit score: Samsung)
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is the eagerly awaited successor to certainly one of our favourite wearables, the unique Samsung Galaxy Watch, which stays on our greatest smartwatch checklist regardless of being a few years previous. However how do they examine?
No, you didn’t miss a smartwatch – there isn’t a Galaxy Watch 2. Instead, Samsung has leapfrogged the sportsy Samsung Galaxy Watch Energetic 2 to name its subsequent top-tier wearable the Galaxy Watch 3.
The brand new smartwatch has a leaner design and higher specs, which is to be anticipated, given it’s been two years for the reason that unique Galaxy Watch got here out in August 2018. It has more well being and exercise features, an ECG, SPO2 blood oxygen monitoring, and blood strain monitoring.
The true query is whether or not there’s been sufficient enchancment to warrant the brand-new smartwatch’s excessive worth, or if customers ought to be happy with the dependable (and discounted) unique Galaxy Watch. We don’t have a simple reply, until you’re very budget-conscious – wherein case, the brand new watch seemingly isn’t worth it.
However in the event you’re seeking to substitute an getting old watch or are simply curious how the previous and new Galaxy Watches stack up, learn on for our class breakdowns.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch price and launch date
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 was introduced on August 5, 2020 and have become obtainable a day in a while August 6 in the US, UK and different ‘select countries,’ according to a Samsung press launch, with extra on the best way. No, we don’t know why they skipped ‘Galaxy Watch 2.’
The Galaxy Watch 3 is available in two sizes: 41mm starting at $399 and 45mm starting at $429, each pricing for the non-LTE versions in stainless-steel. These can be found in Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black, and Mystic White colours with leather-based straps. The watch additionally is available in titanium in a single colour (Mystic Black) with a metal strap.
The original Samsung Galaxy Watch was released in August 2018 alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, with launch costs for the non-LTE versions of $329 / £279 / AU$499 for the smaller 42mm model and $349 / £299 / AU$549 for the 46mm. The LTE-connected models cost $379 / AU$599 (about £290) for the 42mm model and $399/ AU$649 for the 46mm version – however, at this level, all of them have been discounted to extra affordable prices.
The original Galaxy Watch got here in Midnight Black and Rose Gold for the smaller 42mm dimension, and a single Silver color for the bigger 46mm model.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch design
The Galaxy Watch 3 is a sleeker model of its predecessor, coming in 14% thinner and 15% lighter than the unique Galaxy Watch, however many of the change is within the look: it merely seems much less cumbersome than the older wearable.
Particularly, the lugs (the arms connecting the watch’s case to the band) are thinner, with the open area around the watch band strap’s bar. There are different touches that make the watch look leaner – for example, the cylindrical aspect buttons are extra pronounced, jutting out somewhat than lining up flush with the sting of the case, as the unique Galaxy Watch’s buttons did.
A few of these modifications make the Galaxy Watch 3 merely look classier. The swap from a rubberized strap to a leather-based band is an apparent one, however, the rotating bezel does not have the triangle pips aligned with the inside bezel’s time intervals for an overall extra minimal look. Not everything has modified, fortunately – the bezel nonetheless bodily rotates, which was certainly one of our favorite features within the unique.
And the unique Galaxy Watch stays an attractive gadget, although it seems a bit chunkier as compared. Its lugs jut out a bit longer than its successor’s, however the 12.7mm and 13mm thicknesses for the 42mm and 46mm variations are larger than the 11.3mm and 11.1mm thicknesses of the 41mm and 45mm variations of the new Galaxy Watch 3 (not a typo, the bigger watch is thinner, by some means).
And whereas the smaller variations of both watches weigh about the identical (49g), the bigger variations packing extra battery have the largest disparity in weight: the 46mm unique Galaxy Watch weighs 63g, whereas the 45mm Galaxy Watch 3 weighs simply over 53g. And in the event you pony up for the 45mm titanium model, count on a comparatively featherweight 43g.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch display
Regardless of being smaller than the unique Galaxy Watch, the brand new Galaxy Watch Three has equal or barely bigger shows, with a 1.2-inch display screen on the 41mm model and a 1.4-inch display screen on the bigger 45mm model. Evaluate that to the 1.2-inch display screen on the 42mm and 1.3mm within the 46mm Galaxy Watch variations.
The opposite distinction is curious: the Galaxy Watch’s display is protected by Gorilla Glass DX Plus, which was additionally used for the Galaxy Watch Active 2’s display. The Galaxy Watch 3, then again, has Gorilla Glass DX.
In any other case, each watches’ shows are full-color, always-on Super AMOLED with a 360 x 360 decision.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch fitness
The large addition to the Galaxy Watch 3 is its SpO2 monitor, which tracks the oxygen ranges in blood. That’s a characteristic discovered within the Withings ScanWatch and is rumored to be coming within the Apple Watch 6, which boosts sleep monitoring. The Watch Three additionally provides an electrocardiogram (ECG) app and has blood strain monitoring.
The latter requires medical certification in each area the Watch Three is launched – which suggests the characteristic can be disabled till it’s licensed, as is going on within the US till the FDA clears that specific a part of the gadget, because it accepted the ECG app. (Each are stay in South Korea, for example.)
Given the Watch Three inherits many of the unique Galaxy Watch’s health software program, including seven new exercise actions for a complete of 40. The Watch Three provides the potential to activate exercises by voice in addition to forged the Samsung Well being app to Samsung TVs.
Coaching mode means that you can customise which metrics you’d prefer to show as issues, from VO2 to stability and stride. Samsung consulted with the Nationwide Sleep Institute to enhance the sleep monitoring characteristic, which routinely tracks your sleep cycle and offers a report on sleep high quality within the morning.
However don’t promote the unique Galaxy Watch quick – it nonetheless auto-tracks six main exercises like strolling, working, biking, and rowing, nudges you to maneuver in the event you stay sedentary too lengthy, and has ample sleep monitoring. However once more, the Watch Three builds on all this and provides extra, which means its health capabilities exceed an already respectable choice within the unique Galaxy Watch.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch efficiency and battery
The Galaxy Watch Three packs the identical Exynos 9110 chipset as the unique Galaxy Watch – the enhancements lie within the new smartwatch’s 8GB of storage, which is double its predecessor’s 4GB. That’s extra room for media and apps. The Watch Three packs 1GB of RAM, which is greater than the unique Galaxy Watch’s 42mm model (768MB RAM) however lower than the 46mm model (1.5GB RAM). (That is not precisely worrying: the Apple Watch 5 runs on 1GB of RAM.)
Battery is the place the Galaxy Watch Three could lose tempo with its predecessor. The capability for the bigger 45mm model of the brand new smartwatch is 340mAh, whereas the 46mm Galaxy Watch packed a whopping 472mAh that lasted over three days with out recharging in our testing. We haven’t extensively examined the Watch 3, however that decrease worth is regarding and we’ll make sure to push it to its limits in our full evaluate.
We’re consciously evaluating the bigger fashions of each watches, which have noticeably extra capability than the smaller variations: for example, the 41mm model of the brand new Galaxy Watch Three has a 247mAh battery, whereas the 42mm model of the unique Galaxy Watch has a 270mAh battery.
Once more, we haven’t examined each variations of the brand new watch, however the older watch noticed a noticeable distinction in battery life – from two days within the smaller smartwatch to a few, 4, and generally even 5 days and not using a recharge.
Takeaway
It’s arduous to not like the brand new Galaxy Watch 3, with its main specs and cleaner look over the unique Galaxy Watch. It’s additionally noticeably lighter, which is an unsung high quality in a watch you may use casually and in exercises.
However do these enhancements warrant the elevated worth? That’s as much as the buyer, as the brand new Galaxy Watch Three does have sure perks – ECG, SPO2 monitoring, improved health – that is perhaps value the fee.
For many who desire a sturdy smartwatch to pair with their Android phone for fundamental monitoring and duties, it’s arduous to see the Galaxy Watch Three being value the additional expense. But when the unique Galaxy Watch is something to go by, the brand new smartwatch could substitute its predecessor to high our greatest smartwatch checklist for years to return – and be definitely worth the funding.