Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Review: AI Everywhere in a Polarizing Design

Samsung Electronics Co. isn’t having an easy time in the smartwatch space. Apple Inc., despite seeing declining sales, dominates the category with its namesake device. And while the overall market is expanding, the South Korean tech giant’s share isn’t growing much either.

With its $350 Galaxy Watch 8, available July 25, Samsung is leaning heavily on artificial intelligence and a divisive design to stand out. The company is also rolling out a $500 Galaxy Watch 8 classic — and both smartwatches are the first to hit the market with Google’s Wear OS 6 operating system, which has the search giant’s Gemini AI chatbot built in. This allows you to do things like ask for the name of the new coffee shop your friend recommended without needing to pull out your phone.

Later this year, Apple is adding some new AI features to its watches, including a new Workout Buddy feature. But its wrist version of Siri is still a far cry from a full-featured chatbot and always-on assistant, giving Samsung an opportunity in the space by integrating Gemini.

The Hardware

The smartwatches are thinner than the previous-generation models and borrow design cues from last year’s Galaxy Watch Ultra, giving the watches rounded screens that are more similar to the look of traditional watches but with an unusually square-shaped casing with curved edges.

That look is not for everyone. I found the design less jarring on the Watch 8 Classic, where the proportions feel more balanced, but it was still comically large for my small wrists. To its credit, the hardware at least feels sturdier and higher quality than previous editions.

For users with older Samsung watches, there’s one other major change to keep in mind: Old bands are not compatible on the newer models.  Earlier generations of the Galaxy Watch had a spring-pin mechanism on the strap itself, but a new “Dynamic Lug System” requires you to press a small release button on the back to swap out the bands, similar to Apple Watches.

The Super AMOLED screen on the Watch 8 reaches a peak brightness of 3,000 nits (up from 2,000 on the Galaxy Watch 7), making it more readable in sunlight. That specification now matches Ultra models from both Apple and Samsung itself. 

The 40-mm version of the Watch 8 has a battery rated for 30 hours. In real-world use, it took about an hour and a half to reach a full charge and lasted a bit more than a full day. (By the comparison, the Apple Watch Series 10 is rated for 18 hours with what Apple describes as  normal use.) A $380 44-mm version of the Watch 8 has a slightly bigger battery pack.

The Software

In practice, the Gemini integration had mixed results. While cooking, I ran out of cayenne pepper and asked Gemini for a substitute; it quickly listed hot paprika, chili powder and red pepper flakes. It also performed well when setting timers, telling me what time the Philadelphia Phillies were playing, and letting me know when rain was expected in my town. 

However, when I asked more complex questions — like what time I needed to leave my exact location to be in New York City by 8:30 a.m. the next morning — it said: “Sorry, I didn’t understand.”

While Google Gemini is a highlight, it’s also a work in progress. In order for Gemini to work at all, Android phones need to be in close proximity and connected to the web. You can, however, leave the smartphone at home when using a version of the watch with cellular connectivity, which costs $50 more.

This is also the first line-up to ship with Samsung’s new One UI 8 user interface, which is layered on top of Wear OS. It brings the so-called Now Bar to the watch screen so you can monitor certain activities at a glance, like timers and workouts. Overall, the interface feels more responsive to swiping through notifications and apps. 

The watches also include a series of health features first announced last month. This includes a running coach that helps people train for races after analysing baseline running performance. After completing a short survey, I ran for about 12 consecutive minutes to measure my “aerobic capacity.” Once the test was over, the AI suggested a plan for shaving about 10 minutes off my last 5K. The tool factors in previous activity, too, so it may choose to go easier on you than last time if your body needs a break.

One of the more novel additions is Samsung’s antioxidant feature — which aims to track your body’s ability to fight oxidative stress. You’ll need to remove the watch from your wrist, open the test via the Samsung Health app on the device, and place a thumb firmly on the sensors on the back of the watch for about five seconds. A score ranging from 1 to 100 will appear on the display, but you’ll need to open the app on your synced phone to view detailed feedback. I was advised, for example, to add one serving of spinach, one red pepper or five dried sheets of seaweed to my diet each day. Samsung said it takes about two weeks to improve scores with diet changes and will vary by person.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s vascular load feature measures pulse waves while sleeping determine the amount of pressure being put on a user’s arteries. Calibration takes three nights. There’s also a Bedtime Guidance feature that suggests when you should go to sleep, based on several days of data. Here, Samsung is playing catch-up with companies like Oura Health Oy and Whoop Inc., which also offer sleep-window recommendations.

The Takeaway

Samsung’s latest smartwatches lean on both a bold design and a mix of AI features to stand out, including some from Google that will ultimately be offered on other Wear OS-powered devices from other brands. It’s a shame, in a way, that the hardware is so potentially divisive: Consumers will love or hate the in-your-face look, and if they hate it, Samsung won’t have a chance to show them that the software tricks are actually useful.