Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 hands-on review: Return of a Classic

With the launch of a pair of new wearables – the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and the Watch 6 Classic – Samsung appears to be playing to the gallery. Having removed the much-loved Classic model from the range, rotating bezel and all, back in 2022, it has reintroduced it in 2023, while making some other, more subtle improvements to the formula.

The two new watches replace the old Watch 5 models but Samsung has decided against updating the Watch 5 Pro, which it says still represents the pinnacle of the range.

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Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 specifications

• 44mm or 40mm body sizes
• Sapphire crystal glass: 1.5mm thick on 44mm, 1.3mm on 40mm
• 432 x 432 (43mm) or 480 x 480 (47mm) Super AMOLED display
• 1.4GHz dual-core Samsung Exynos W930 processor
• 2GB RAM and 16GB storage
• Sensors: Optical heart rate and ECG, temperature, accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, light
• 5ATM water resistant, plus IP68 and MIL-STD-810H rated
• Up to 40hrs battery life (AOD off)/30hrs (AOD on)
• Battery capacity: 425mAh (44mm); 300mAh (40mm)
• WPC-based wireless charging
• Wear OS 4 with One UI 5 Watch overlay
• Price: £289/£319 (40mm Wi-Fi/5G); £319/£369 (44mm, Wi-Fi/5G)
• Availability: Pre-order from 26 July, on sale from 11 August

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic specifications

• 43mm or 47mm body sizes
• Sapphire crystal glass: 1.5mm thick on 43mm, 1.3mm on 47mm
• 432 x 432 (43mm) or 480 x 480 (47mm) Super AMOLED display
• 1.4GHz dual-core Samsung Exynos W930 processor
• 2GB RAM and 16GB storage
• Sensors: Optical heart rate and ECG, temperature, accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, light
• 5ATM water resistant, plus IP68 and MIL-STD-810H rated
• Up to 40hrs battery life (AOD off)/30hrs (AOD on)
• Battery capacity: 425mAh (44mm); 300mAh (40mm)
• WPC-based wireless charging
• Wear OS 4 with One UI 5 Watch overlay
• Price: £369/£429 (43mm Wi-Fi/5G); £399/£459 (47mm, Wi-Fi/5G)
• Availability: Pre-order from 26 July, on sale from 11 August

Key new features and first impressions

At first glance, the Watch 6 doesn’t look all that different from its predecessor. Its minimalist design is appealing and, as before, it’s focused on fitness and wellbeing features. There are quite a few changes here, however, if you look hard enough.

The Watch 6’s Super AMOLED display, for one, is bigger this time around. In fact, at 1.5in for the 44mm model and 1.3in on the 40mm model, it’s 20% larger than it was on the Galaxy Watch 5. As before, it’s topped with hard, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass up to 1.5mm thick and the bezels are 30% slimmer, too, lending the watch a slicker look overall.

Elsewhere, Samsung has bumped up performance with a new processor – the Exynos W930 – and you have more RAM, up from 1.5GB to 2GB, across both models. As before, the watches are 5ATM (50m) water resistant and rated to IP68 and MIL-STD-810H standards.

What’s more, Samsung has changed the quick-release system for its own watch straps in this generation; instead of pulling back a pin, there’s a small, centrally located button to release the strap. I’m not sure this improves things all that much, although it is nice that you can still swap in your own choice of wristband as the Watch 6 uses standard 20mm spring pin attachment points on the watches’ lugs.

As for the Watch 6 Classic, there are several physical differences between it and the standard Watch 5. The main difference, of course, is the rotating bezel. This is 13% slimmer than on the Watch 4 Classic, and it looks and feels lovely to use, allowing you to view what’s on the screen while scrolling through lists of items, and speeding up setting timers, alarms and the like.

The Watch 6 Classic is also larger than the standard model, with body sizes of 43mm and 47mm available for those who prefer a chunkier look.

Alas, neither of the new models has made significant progress when it comes to battery life, with fairly unambitious estimates of 40 hours with the always-on display disabled, and 30 hours with it enabled. That’s a bit better than the Apple Watch Series 9, but you’ll still need to be charging them most days.

Still, there are changes afoot on the software front. For those who run, there’s a new “Track Run” mode, which promises more accurate distance tracking when training at the track. Meanwhile, a new custom workout mode lets you combine different types of activity in one workout session.

Samsung is also introducing automatically generated heart-rate zones, which should help ensure you’re training at the correct level of intensity. There’s also enhanced sleep tracking, cycle tracking for women and irregular heart rhythm/high heart rate alerts this time around, to add to the already extensive feature set of the Galaxy Watch 5.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 review: Early verdict

It’s a little too early to say whether we love or hate the new Galaxy Watch 6 and 6 Classic, but the return of the rotating bezel is welcome – it sets the Galaxy Watch apart from its rivals – and it’s good to see Samsung continuing to develop the fitness and wellbeing features across its smartwatch range.

Battery life, however, continues to be a concern and is one area where Samsung would do well to draw inspiration from rivals, especially Huawei. Having to charge your watch every day is not something we should be doing in this day and age.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic will be available for pre-order from Wednesday, 26 July and will officially go on sale from Friday, 11 August.