Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
The Galaxy Watch 6 takes a great formula and improves it. Smaller bezels allow for bigger screens within the same physical footprint, and the new processor and battery should lead to stellar battery life.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
The Galaxy Watch 4 might be two years old, but it’s still a fantastic wearable. Performance and battery life have held up well, and all the accessories for newer models are backward compatible, so giving it a fresh lease on life is easy.
Alongside its 2023 foldable updates, Samsung unveiled theGalaxy Watch 6. The two previous generations had been some of themost successful Wear OS devices, so this new model has a lot to live up to.
TheGalaxy Watch 4revitalized Wear OS as the first smartwatch to ship with Google’s reinvented wearable platform. Two years on, how does it compare to the new kid on the block?
Price, availability, and specs
The Galaxy Watch 6 is now on sale at $300 for the smallest non-cellular model. Going up to 44mm will cost $320, while the LTE models come in at $350 and $380, respectively. The Watch 6 is available worldwide from most major retailers.
The Galaxy Watch 4 is two years old, but Best Buy and Samsung still sell it brand new, at $220 for the 40mm LTE model and $250 for the 44mm LTE version. The non-cellular versions of the Watch 4 are no longer available.
As you’d imagine, the specs have come a long way in two years, and you can see that in the spec table below:
The Galaxy Watch 6 hasn’t changed much. It’s recognizably a Galaxy Watch, and that’s a good thing considering the Watch 4 still looks great today. The main difference you’ll notice is the display size. Thanks to smaller bezels, each watch size gets a display 0.1-inch larger than the older model despite the casing being the same size.
Another welcome change is the strap mechanism. Both the Watch 4 and Watch 6 take standard straps, but the ones Samsung has made for the new model have a quick-release button that’s far easier to use than the little pins you had to use before. These new straps are backwards compatible, so you may buy them for your older Galaxy Watch.
Depending on size, the Galaxy Watch 4 came with a 1.2-inch or 1.4-inch display. The Watch 6, thanks to the previously mentioned slim bezels, has bumped those numbers up to 1.3-inch and 1.5-inch along with a small resolution bump. The bigger difference you’ll notice is brightness. The Watch 4 could reach a more than respectable 1,000 nits, but the Watch 6 doubles this to 2,000 nits, making it superb for use in direct sunlight.
The new watch is also better protected, switching away from the Gorilla Glass DX+ that the Watch 4 uses in favor of sapphire crystal, which is much harder to damage.
Performance and battery life
Performance was never an issue for the Watch 4. The Exynos W920 was a fantastic chip that balanced performance and efficiency, unlike the Exynos chips we see in smartphones. Paired with 1.5GB of RAM and either a 257mAh or 361mAh battery, the Watch 4 could easily last about a day and a half between charges, and it offered smooth performance the whole time.
The Watch 6 has so far proven even better than the Watch 4 in that regard, lasting a full two days with typical use. The new Exynos W930 is faster and more efficient, the RAM has gone up 2GB, and the batteries are now 300mAh and 425mAh. The efficiency of the new chip and the larger battery make this an easy win for the Watch 6.
The Galaxy Watch 4 launched with Wear OS 3.0 and One UI Watch 3 and has since been updated to Wear OS 3.5 and One UI Watch 4.5. The Galaxy Watch 6 has launched with Wear OS 4.0, andOne UI Watch 5, bringing minor changes and improvements. This will arrive as a software update for the Watch 4 and Watch 5 in the coming weeks.
Samsung watches are promised four years of updates, so the Watch 4 will continue to get software support until 2026, with the Watch 6 getting updates until 2028.
Should you upgrade?
Yes, you probably should. I’ve had my 44mm Galaxy Watch 4 since launch, and I love it. The performance is still great, but battery life isn’t. Two years is when battery cells start to degrade, and I now have to charge my Watch 4 every night instead of every other night. That’s fine for now, but it’ll only worsen as the watch ages.
The Watch 6 has a larger, brighter screen, a larger battery, and, most importantly, faster charging. All of those things together make it a compelling upgrade for those of us still using the older Watch 4.
Upgrades all over
The Galaxy Watch 6 takes a great formula and improves it. Smaller bezels allow for bigger screens within the same physical footprint, and the new SoC and battery should lead to some stellar battery life.
That said, the Watch 4 still provides a fast and smooth experience, and the pricing should fall pretty quickly now that the Watch 6 is here. If you don’t mind settling for fewer updates and features, grabbing a Galaxy Watch 4 in a sale would still be worth it - and if you already own one and the battery is going strong, there’s no harm in getting the most out of it for a little longer.
Time’s not run out for the Watch 4 yet
The Galaxy Watch 4 might be two years old, but it’s still a fantastic wearable. Performance and battery life have held up well, and all of the accessories for newer models are backward compatible, so giving it a fresh lease on life is easy.
