Samsung's smartwatches have been among the best in the market ever since the company switched from its in-house operating system to Wear OS. Last year's Galaxy Watch 5 was undoubtedly the best smartwatch for Android users, offering pretty much all the features you could expect from a premium smartwatch. Samsung aims to retain the throne with its new Galaxy Watch 6 lineup, which includes more improvements and brings back a much-loved feature that was removed on the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
Like previous years, the all-new Galaxy Watch 6 lineup includes two smartwatches. However, unlike the Galaxy Watch 5 series, there's no Pro model this time around. Instead, Samsung has reverted to the Classic branding for its premium smartwatch, and the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic brings back the highly-requested rotating bezel like the premium model in the Galaxy Watch 4 lineup. But, of course, that's not the only good thing about the latest Galaxy smartwatches. Read on to learn everything new about the Galaxy Watch 6 and the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
- Brand
- Samsung
- Battery Life
- up to 40 hours
- Operating System
- Wear OS 4
- Case Material
- Armor aluminum case with sport band
- Case size
- 40mm, 44mm
- Colors
- Graphite, gold (40mm) or graphite, silver (44mm)
The Galaxy Watch 6 is the latest and greatest from Samsung. It features Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, up to 40 hours of battery life, Wear OS 4, and a host of sensors to accurately record sleep, exercise, and more.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
- Brand
- Samsung
- Colors
- Black and silver
- Display
- 1.3-inch Sapphire Crystal Glass Super AMOLED 432x432 (43mm) or 1.5-inch Sapphire Crystal Glass Super AMOLED 480x480 (47mm)
- CPU
- Exynos W930
- RAM
- 2GB
- Storage
- 16GB
Samsung's Galaxy Watch 6 brings the largest screen in any Samsung smartwatch yet, and also features a new and improved rotating bezel, plus longer battery life.
Get up to $250 off with an eligible trade-in when ordering with Samsung.
Galaxy Watch 6 & Watch 6 Classic: Pricing and availability
The Galaxy Watch 6 series will be available for preorder starting July 26, 2023. The base 40mm Galaxy Watch 6 starts at just $300, while the larger 44mm variant starts at $330. The premium Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, meanwhile, will set you back at least $400 for the entry-level 43mm model, but you'll have to shell out $430 for the larger 47mm variant. The prices mentioned above are for the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi models. Check the table below for pricing details for all the variants.
|
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (40mm) |
Bluetooth/Wi-Fi: $300 |
Cellular: $350 |
|
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (44mm) |
Bluetooth/Wi-Fi: $330 |
Cellular: $380 |
|
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic (43mm) |
Bluetooth/Wi-Fi: $400 |
Cellular: $450 |
|
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic (47mm) |
Bluetooth/Wi-Fi: $430 |
Cellular: $480 |
As always, Samsung has preorder bonuses that get you a free fabric band and up to $250 off with an eligible trade-in if you order through the company's website before August 11. The Galaxy Watch 6 series will also be available on Amazon, Best Buy, and all major carriers in the U.S. You can check out our roundup of the best Galaxy Watch 6 deals for pre-order promotions offered by these retailers.
Galaxy Watch 6 & Watch 6 Classic: Design, sizes, and colors
Design-wise, the Galaxy Watch 6 looks pretty much the same as its predecessors. It still has a sleek armor aluminum case with a large AMOLED display on the front, two buttons and a mic on the right edge, and a host of sensors on the back.
The 40mm variant of the watch features a slightly smaller display and battery pack, and it's available in graphite and gold colorways with matching bands. The larger 44mm model comes in graphite and silver finishes, also with color-coordinated bands.
On the other hand, Samsung has introduced some highly-requested design changes with the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. Unlike its predecessor, the new model resembles the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. It features a stainless steel case with a rotating bezel, a hybrid eco-leather band with a traditional watch-style clasp, two buttons on the right edge, and the mic and sensors on the back.
The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is available in two sizes with minor differences in the display size and battery capacity. However, unlike the regular Galaxy Watch 6, both the 43mm and 47mm variants come in only black and silver finishes with matching leather straps.
Galaxy Watch 6 & Watch 6 Classic: Specifications
While the Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic don't bring revolutionary changes on the design front, Samsung has packed some noteworthy upgrades inside. Both models feature the upgraded Exynos W930 dual-core chipset clocked at 1.4GHz, which should result in snappier performance.
In addition, the watches now pack 2GB of RAM instead of the Galaxy Watch 5's 1.5GB, so you can expect a smoother multitasking experience.The base model of the Galaxy Watch 6 features a 1.3-inch Super AMOLED display with a 432x432 resolution, which is slightly bigger than the panel on the base variant of last year's model. Similarly, the 44mm Galaxy Watch 6 features a marginally larger 1.5-inch Super AMOLED panel with a 480x480 resolution.
Both variants also get bigger batteries, with the 40mm model packing a 300mAh cell and the 44mm model featuring a 425mAh battery pack. Samsung claims that the bigger batteries will allow the smartwatches to last up to 40 hours on a single charge with the always-on display off and up to 30 hours with it enabled.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
- Workout detection
- Yes
- Brand
- Samsung
- Battery Life
- up to 40 hours
- Operating System
- Wear OS 4
- Case Material
- Armor aluminum case with sport band
- Case size
- 40mm, 44mm
-
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
- Workout detection
- Yes
- Brand
- Samsung
- Colors
- Black and silver
- Display
- 1.3-inch Sapphire Crystal Glass Super AMOLED 432x432 (43mm) or 1.5-inch Sapphire Crystal Glass Super AMOLED 480x480 (47mm)
- CPU
- Exynos W930
- RAM
- 2GB
Samsung's Galaxy Watch 6 brings the largest screen in any Samsung smartwatch yet, and also features a new and improved rotating bezel, plus longer battery life.
Get up to $250 off with an eligible trade-in when ordering with Samsung.
As you can see in the table above, the display sizes and battery capacity remain the same for the 43mm and 47mm variants of the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, and it even features the same chipset, RAM, and storage. Both models also get fast wireless charging support, the same array of fitness tracking sensors, and connectivity options. However, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic features an additional 3D Hall sensor. At the moment, we're not sure what features this sensor unlocks.
The Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic are slightly more durable than last year's models, thanks to the MIL-STD-810H rating (the Galaxy Watch 5 series had a MIL-STD-810G rating), but they're still IP68 rated for dust and water resistance.
On the software front, both smartwatches run Samsung's One UI 5 Watch based on the new Wear OS 4 and offer a wide range of fitness and health tracking features, exercise modes, and more. You also get NFC support to enable features like payments via Samsung Pay and Google Pay. The Wear OS 4 release for the Galaxy Watch 6 series should include support for the new Watch Face Format and additional features in Wear OS apps, but you'll have to wait for our full review for more details.
What's in store for us?
Although Samsung's latest smartwatches may seem like a small step up from last year's models, the Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic have the potential to be among the best smartwatches of the year. The upgraded SoC, displays, and battery packs should result in significant performance and usability improvements, making them great options for those still rocking older Galaxy Watch 4 models. However, we recommend waiting for our in-depth review to know if you should buy the new Galaxy smartwatches over alternatives from Google, Mobvoi, or Fossil.
-
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
- Brand
- Samsung
- Battery Life
- up to 40 hours
- Operating System
- Wear OS 4
- Case Material
- Armor aluminum case with sport band
- Case size
- 40mm, 44mm
- Colors
- Graphite, gold (40mm) or graphite, silver (44mm)
The Galaxy Watch 6 is the latest and greatest from Samsung. It features Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, up to 40 hours of battery life, Wear OS 4, and a host of sensors to accurately record sleep, exercise, and more.
-
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
- Brand
- Samsung
- Colors
- Black and silver
- Display
- 1.3-inch Sapphire Crystal Glass Super AMOLED 432x432 (43mm) or 1.5-inch Sapphire Crystal Glass Super AMOLED 480x480 (47mm)
- CPU
- Exynos W930
- RAM
- 2GB
- Storage
- 16GB
Samsung's Galaxy Watch 6 brings the largest screen in any Samsung smartwatch yet, and also features a new and improved rotating bezel, plus longer battery life.
Get up to $250 off with an eligible trade-in when ordering with Samsung.