Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: Price, specs, features, and all you need to know

Though now outdone by the Galaxy Watch 7 series, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 series packs a powerful Wear OS experience plus fan-favorite tools and design features. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic in particular is still one of the best smartwatches available for anyone looking for a traditional aesthetic. Here’s everything you need to know about the lineup.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: Release date, price, and availability

Considering the sturdy foundation laid by the Galaxy Watch 4 and the improved Galaxy Watch 5, it was no surprise the Galaxy Watch 6 series arrived with two powerful devices. The base model Galaxy Watch 6 launched at $299 for the most affordable 40mm model. The 44mm variant launched at $329.  For the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, the 43mm model is priced at $399. The 47mm model is available for $429.

The devices officially launched at the Galaxy Unpacked event on July 26, 2023 and reached store shelves for general availability August 11. Now that the Galaxy Watch 7 has arrived, the older Galaxy Watch 6 can be found at reduced prices from third-party retailers such as Amazon. The 7 series does not include a Classic model however, so the 6 Classic is still available from Samsung.com directly, and likely still full price.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: Features

The Galaxy Watch 5 didn’t bring a remarkable design change to the Galaxy Watch line. In fact, we felt a bit of déjà vu when unboxing the device when reviewing the Galaxy Watch 5. At first glance, the Galaxy Watch 6 looks nearly identical to its predecessor. A closer 5 vs 6 comparison, however, highlights one notable design change: thinner bezels. According to Samsung, the active display area is 20% larger than that of the Watch 5, and the bezel is 30% thinner. The same is true for the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.

In addition to the larger display, the Classic brought back a fan favorite — the rotating bezel. This makes for incredibly satisfying and smudge-free navigation, and as mentioned, is the latest watch to offer the feature as the 7 Series does not include a Classic model.

The 40mm Galaxy Watch 6 comes in Gold and Graphite, and the 44mm model comes in Silver and Graphite. The Classic model is available in Silver and Black. The series also introduced a fabric band meant to be more comfortable for sleeping. This and other bands all feature a one-click removal button to make swapping between bands much easier.

We were very impressed by this small but effective upgrade during our review. Buyers can also access a host of third-party Galaxy Watch 6 cases to protect the device from nicks and plenty of standard Galaxy Watch 6 bands and 6 Classic bands to satisfy particular requirements and styles.

Software features

Out of the box, the Galaxy Watch 6 series devices feature the Wear OS 4 with Samsung’s One UI 5 Watch skin. The software is speedy and efficient, with Google’s powerful toolkit. One of the biggest highlights of the update is Fitbit-like sleep tracking. With a word-based numeric score, “Sleep Messages,” sleep consistency measurements, and a cute animal representing your sleep type, the sleep-tracking platform offers a detailed, personalized look at your sleep history. It even provides suggestions — or “Sleep Coaching” — for improving sleep habits. Unlike on a Fitbit, however, the feature is not locked behind a paywall.

On the fitness tracking side, the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic auto-recognize when you are running, rowing, or swimming. The devices also offer a Personalized Heart Rate Zone feature that provides even more advanced real-time training feedback. These zones are described as “warm up,” “fat burn,” “cardio,” etc. and help users manage their output during workouts. Samsung also added irregular heart rhythm notifications to the 6 series. This is an important addition for those with heart problems, as abnormal rhythm fluctuations could indicate atrial fibrillation (AFib).

Importantly, a newer Wear OS 5 is now available having premiered at the launch of the Galaxy Watch 7 series. Beta versions of this software are already available to older watch owners and an official rollback of the new software is imminent. This means you can upgrade your Galaxy Watch 6 or 6 Classic to the latest tools and experience Google has to offer.

All of these features and more are powered by the various sensors included in the smartwatch. As with the previous iterations, you’ll still find an accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor, and Samsung’s BioActive sensor (optical heart rate (PPG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) sensor package). In addition to these sensors, Samsung added a temperature sensor. A 3D Hall sensor can also be found on the Classic model for the use of the device’s rotating crown.

Finally, one feature we’ve been waiting to see for some time is the ability to transfer your watch from one phone to another. Previously, this would require a full reset of the watch, but that is no longer the case. If you buy a Galaxy Watch 6 and then upgrade to the Galaxy S24 later, you won’t need to reset your watch during the transfer.

Samsung also made a few new improvements to existing features. Gesture controls allow greater accessibility and ease, while the camera controller can remotely switch camera modes and zoom when paired with a Galaxy Z Flip 5. With map support, the Galaxy Watch 6 series can also show its location through Find My Phone. On the safety front, the company updated fall detection for even safer workouts and outings. When the feature is triggered, users can communicate directly with emergency services.

Display

As mentioned earlier, Samsung increased the active display area by 20% on both models and shaved off 30% of the bezel. Going into specifics, the 40mm Watch 6 offers a 1.3-inch Super AMOLED screen with 432 x 432 resolution. The 44mm variant delivers a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED with 480 x 480 resolution. The 43mm Classic has a 1.3-inch Super AMOLED display with 432 x 432 resolution, and the 47mm boasts a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED with 480 x 480 resolution.

All versions of the Watch 6 series feature a sapphire crystal screen and a full color Always On Display. The displays also boast a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, so you won’t have any difficulty seeing what’s on your screen when you’re outside. That’s double the peak brightness of the Watch 5 series.

Battery life

Battery life was a bit of an issue in the smaller models of the Watch 5 series. Size-wise, the tech giant managed to squeeze in some bigger batteries this time around. The smallest Galaxy Watch 6 model (40mm) now comes with a 300mAh battery, up from the 284mAh battery of the 40mm Galaxy Watch 5. Meanwhile, the 44m Galaxy Watch 6 has a 425mAh battery, a slight increase over the 410mAh battery of the 44mm Galaxy Watch 5. The Classic got the same minor but welcomed capacity bumps.

However, due to the drain of more powerful Wear OS features, we found battery life to be about the same this year despite the bigger cells. Implement a few battery-saving tips and tricks to eke out the most from your device between charges.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: Specs

The Galaxy Watch 6 series lands with a better processor — but only slightly. The Galaxy Watch 6 series houses an Exynos W930 SoC, an upgrade over the W920 seen in the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 4 models. However, the newer chipset is based on the same model number as the older one (S5E5515). That means the chipset is physically the same but altered just enough to warrant a new name. Interestingly, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and Galaxy Watch 6 offer the same chip. This is quite different from what we saw in the 5 series. Both models feature 2GB of RAM with 16GB of storage and have the same durability stats.

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