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Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic Review

Charles TYK

Introduction

A couple of months ago, Samsung announced the Galaxy Watch4 series, which comes in two variants — the regular one and the classic one. Today, we have the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic, which is pretty much the successor of last year’s Galaxy Watch3. I’ve been using it for a few weeks, and here’s the full review.

Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic Specs

Design

My review unit is the smaller 42mm variant. In terms of design, the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic looks pretty much like the Gear S3 from 2016. Its rotating bezel has a gear-like design and the buttons are more rectangular. The top button brings you home while the bottom one is the back key. Of course, you can customize the functions in the settings. The buttons also come with built-in BioActive sensors to send an electrical signal through your body, more on it later.

Even though this is the smaller 42mm, it’s actually a huge watch. If you want something smaller, you can go for the regular Galaxy Watch4, which is available in even smaller 40mm size.

Samsung has also added a BioActive sensor on the back. This 3-in-1 sensor uses a single chip to run three powerful health sensors — Optical Heart Rate, Electrical Heart, and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis.

Display

The 42mm variant Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic comes with a 1.2-inch Circular Super AMOLED Always On Display with slightly higher resolution (396 x 396 pixel). The screen is sharp and bright enough for your daily usage, even outdoor.

Software & Features

Here comes the big change — the software. The Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic now runs on Wear OS powered by Samsung. Yup, it’s no longer running on Tizen OS, the watch now won’t work with iPhones. Not really an issue since iPhone users will purchase an Apple Watch.

You’ll still need to use Samsung’s Wearable app to customize the watch settings such as the watch faces, quick panel, and more. It’s an app that has already been pre-installed on Samsung phones, other Android phones will need to download the app from Play Store.

Samsung has changed the app layout, it’s no longer showing all the apps around the circular bezel, but the traditional scrolling interface, just like most Wear OS watches. Since it’s now running on Wear OS, you’ll get better third-party app support. When you are setting up the watch, you’ll need to sign in to your Google account. Even though it is now powered by Wear OS, there are still many Samsung pre-installed apps. That also includes Samsung Pay, meaning you can pay with your watch!

You can still use the watch to read and reply to messages, just like many other smartwatches. There’s one noticeable improvement that I really enjoy a lot! You can now also control the Spotify app playing on your phone using the watch without connecting to Wi-Fi, something that previous Tizen Wearable OS doesn’t allow me to do so.

Samsung claims that the Galaxy Watch4 series packs the company’s most advanced suite of health and wellness features. The company emphasizes many Galaxy Watch4 series features are related to health. It can do the usual pulse and step counting, as well as support 95 different kinds of workout tracking.

The Body Composition measurement tool gives users a deeper understanding of their general health and fitness. Basically, it sends an electrical signal through your body and measures the impedance. So now you can check your skeletal muscle, basal metabolic rate, body water, and body fat percentage. It also supports blood oxygen and blood pressure monitoring, but duly note that you should not use these features as diagnostic tools.

The watch supports ECG monitoring, but this feature is not available in Malaysia yet. All the data will be sent to the Samsung Health app, a tool for you to track those trends over time. Yup, turns out it’s actually a Samsung thing and you’ll need a Samsung account for robust health tracking.

Like most high-end smartwatches, the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic also has a fall detection feature, which will make an SOS call and send SOS messages to the contacts you assigned when a hard fall is detected. This is a handy feature especially if your house has elderly people.

Battery Life

The 42mm Samsung Galaxy Watch4 packs a 247mAh battery, the same as its predecessor. The watch charges through its magnetic charger. If you have a Samsung phone that supports the reverse wireless charger feature, it’ll also work with the watch. In terms of battery life, I charge the watch overnight and woke up with 100% of battery, then off to work at 7:30 AM and came home at around 7:00 PM, the battery left around 45%. You’ll definitely need to charge this watch every day, just like many other smartwatches.

Final Words

Retailing at RM1,299 (42mm) and RM1,399 (46mm), the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic is actually cheaper than the Galaxy Watch3 and its main competitor — Apple Watch. Even though it is now running on Wear OS, this is still a watch for those who are into the Samsung ecosystem. Sure, you can use it with other Android phones, but you’ll need to install multiple Samsung apps to get the full experience. The majority of the default apps are actually Samsung apps, and you can only use Samsung Pay for payments if your phone is a Samsung phone. After all, it’s an ecosystem thing.

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