Tech

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: the smartwatch that (almost) everyone would like to have

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, video analysis:

Elegant and well finished design

As I always do in my analysis, I would like to start by talking to you about the physical appearance of this new Samsung watch. But first, let me make a little clarification for you.

The Galaxy Watch 4 is available in two crown sizes: 40mm and 44mm. Something that not only affects how big or small it is made on your wrist, but also in the experience when using it and, above all, in the autonomy. In addition, we can buy it in 4 different colors: black, silver, rose gold and green. And also, we will have the possibility to choose between the Bluetooth version or with LTE connectivity. Specifically, the exact model that I have been testing is the Galaxy Watch 4 44 mm, in green color and with the LTE connectivity module.

That said, now is the time for me to tell you some details about the design that have caught my attention. The case of this smartwatch is made of armored aluminum, and the curvature that makes up the closure fits perfectly with your strap. A tape that is manufactured in a gummy material very silky and pleasant to the touch. In addition, the closure of this seems very successful without being the typical clock closure of a lifetime. Of course, the bracelets have a standard size, so we can change them for any of those offered by Samsung or even for other models.

The screen, in this model, is a 1.36 ″ panel with technology superAMOLED that looks amazing in any situation, with vivid colors and deep blacks. And much of the fault is that it has automatic brightness, which makes the brightness of it adapt well to everything. Although, of course, we can configure it to always maintain the brightness if we want it.

Something that I like but that, at the same time, worries me a bit are the bezels. It is true that the finish of these is very well finished, giving the feeling of a very good watch. But, concerns arise when I think that this model is really intended to be a sports watch. A situation in which it is easy for it to receive some kind of blow and that, therefore, it is taken directly by the screen, with the risk that this means. To alleviate this a bit, and give it greater security, Samsung has endowed it with the Corning Gorilla Glass DX protection.

On the side of the sphere we find 2 buttons. The first, in addition, has a small red line around it to differentiate it with the naked eye. This button, in particular, will have several functionalities:

  • With a single touch it will allow us to return to the home screen.
  • With a double click we can open a specific app that we configure among almost all its functionalities.
  • By leaving it pressed for a few seconds we will invoke the Samsung assistant: Bixby. And, although this is useful for certain things, perhaps it would have been nice if this manufacturer had allowed us to configure other assistants if we wanted.

Then, in the case of the second button, this will also have several possibilities depending on how we use it:

  • With a single press it will return to the previous screen. Not at the start, but it would act as a “back” button.
  • If we hold down, we will automatically launch the payment system Samsung Pay. Because, as you can imagine, this smart watch has NFC.

Throughout its body we can also notice, if we look at the details, that it has several holes around it. This is because it has so much microphones like speaker. Which means that we can answer calls and even speak through it either by phone or to interact with the assistant himself. Something that I personally appreciate and that has worked very well for me in every way.

To finish with this section of the design, if we turn it around we find at a glance the entire set of sensors that it has. In addition to being this the charging base together with the magnetic charger that accompanies you when you purchase it. I liked this charging system a lot, more than those that need to connect the dots or fit the watch. Although, if it is true that I would have appreciated a little more strength in the magnetic base.

Personally I can tell you that, in this section of the physical aspect and design, this Samsung watch is one of the ones that I have liked the most so far. It seems to me that they take great care of the lines, all the details are very well finished and it gives me the feeling of being an elegant watch without losing the sporting possibilities that we will now see.

Performance at the height of the best

Now I would like to go on to tell you more details about what the experience is like when using this smartwatch on a day-to-day basis. Although, contrary to what I usually do, in this case I would like to tell you about some of its internal characteristics so that you understand my experience well. This watch features:

  • Processor Samsung Exynos W920. A 5nm processor with spectacular performance.
  • 1.5 GB of RAM.
  • 16 GB of storage.
  • Gps
  • IP68 protection against water and dust. We can submerge it without any problem.

In addition, speaking of the sensors that we saw at the bottom, this equipment has a BioActive sensor, in addition to another set of sensors that allow you to measure:

  • Heart rate continuously
  • Blood oxygen saturation
  • Blood pressure
  • Do an electrocardiogram
  • Body mass index. This, in particular, it does thanks to the new BIA sensor that it incorporates. To do this, we will have to place the ring and index fingers on top of the buttons, separate the arms from the body and stay still
  • Sleep measurement. Accompanied by a new function for snoring detection and continuous SpO2 measurement
  • Stress
  • Much more accurate monitoring of sports activities

With that said, let me tell you a bit about what and how we can use this smartwatch. Like any other model on the market, we will interact with it through gestures and touches on the screen:

  • If we swipe from the top of the screen we will get to the shortcuts. Among them we find different functions such as the always on display (screen always on), putting the clock on silence, the brightness, the do not disturb mode, the flashlight and some other features. Also, at the top of this screen we have a quick view of the remaining battery and whether the watch is connected to the phone.
  • Sliding from the bottom we will reach an access to all the installed apps.
  • On the contrary, if we slide to the left we will see the pending notifications. Here we can answer them directly from the clock with a keyboard that will be displayed on the screen, although I already told you that it is not the most comfortable.
  • If we move our finger from right to left we can switch between the different widgets available to see: our daily physical activity, start one of the 100 different sports modes that the watch brings, measure BMI, heart rate, control sleep, stress, etc.

This watch also has the rotating dial that other Samsung models have to move quickly through this section of cards. But, specifically, the Galaxy Watch 4 has it in digital format. Therefore, we will only have to slide our finger around the edge of the screen so that it activates and begins to change the screen.

The truth is that moving through the menus, and options has been a delight. Everything flows perfectly, without jerks, without any or long waits. This is due both to that set of specifications that I mentioned before and, in addition, to a detail that I do not know if you have come to notice through the images.

If you are used to using older models of Samsung watches, you may have noticed that the menus, options and appearance have changed. And, until now, all the company’s smartwatches had their own operating system: Tizen. However, with the Watch 4 and the Watch 4 Classic Samsung has again made an agreement with Google to include Wear OS. And, about this his OneUI watch customization layer.

Personally, I would say that it has been a success on the part of the company. Now they have a clock that works better, in which the menus and options are very intuitive and which has all the possibilities of accessing Google Play (through its app) to install any Android-compatible app.

Returning to the possibilities of this device, all these cards, as well as the spheres on the screen, can be personalized through the clock itself, or from the app available only for Android phones. And yes, this watch is not compatible with apple phones, so if you have a better iPhone, think about another option.

The application is, of course, that of Samsung Wearable. And, as I was telling you, here we will have the possibility to modify the clock waits to our liking, reorder the installed applications, modify the cards we have in this computer, modify the clock settings such as brightness or activation time. Likewise, we will also have access to the function to find my watch if it is lost or the complete catalog of apps compatible with the system by entering the “Store”.

Hard to resist, if you don’t have an iPhone

After having told you everything important about this watch, I can only tell you about the price of giving you my final assessment / opinion about it.

As you can imagine, depending on the model we purchase, the prices of this Galaxy Watch 4 will change. The one that I have been testing, that I remind you is the one with the 44 mm box and LTE version, it has a cost of € 349. Although, the cheapest model of this may currently arrive up to 269 euros.

I have to tell you, although you will already be intuiting it from everything I have told you, that I have loved using this new smartwatch in recent weeks. Both in design, functionalities, sports capabilities, resistance and a long etcetera.

And it is that, if I had to put a problem (ignoring small things and details on a personal level) I would tell you that the only thing is that it is not compatible with the iPhone operating system. Something that I think Samsung should change with a possible update because, without a doubt, they are losing a potential audience for those who want a good, beautiful and relatively cheap watch.

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