Today’s review spotlights the Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic, which brings back the nostalgia of the Watch4 Classic and marks the return of the rotating bezel. Adding more firepower is a new Exynos W930 processor, specifically for wearables.
Inside the Box
The watch comes with a USB-C for the cable connection and user manuals.
Design
The top-tier Galaxy smartwatches, especifically the Pro and Classic series, have remained relatively consistent with their classic circular aesthetic. Design alterations have mostly been centred on the rotating bezel. A distinctive feature of the Galaxy Watch6 Classic is its weight. After the bulkier Garmin watches, the new Watch6 Classic felt comfortable on the wrist. This difference becomes even more apparent when compared to the lighter Titanium frame of the Watch5 Pro.
Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic | Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
The Watch6 Classic is also bigger, now sporting a 47mm form factor. This allows Samsung to expand the display to 1.5 inches, a noticeable upgrade. The rotating bezel is also slimmer. These changes make the previous iterations, the Watch4 Classic and Watch5 Pro, appear bulkier by comparison.
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A significant advantage for this watch is the ability to protect its display. It is common for users to inadvertently bump their watches on hard surfaces, and it is the bezel that usually absorbs the impact. Fortunately, this watch’s bezel is easily replaceable at home, and the display itself is shielded by a sapphire glass sheet.
The strap is a definite upgrade from previous models, although there is always room for more refinement, given the asking price. It is constructed from a soft-touch silicone, a step up from the Watch4 Classic. The underside is notably comfortable, while the outer surface mimics leather with stitching along the edge for a more authentic appearance. The strap also features tiny release buttons for easy strap changes.
The Galaxy Watch6 Classic is water and dust resistant (IP68 rating) and complies with the MIL-STD-810H standard, offering the same level of protection as previous models.
The buttons on the right side have morphed, for the better, offering a crisper feel. The upper one, highlighted in red, serves as the home screen return button, while the lower one functions as a back button by default; it can also be reconfigured to access to recent apps. A double press of the home button launches a selected app, and a prolonged press activates options like Bixby, Google Assistant, or the power-off menu.
Display
The new Galaxy Watch6 Classic boasts a 1.50-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 480x480 pixels, offering crisp visuals a notch higher than previous iterations. Its 9:9 aspect ratio provides a balanced viewing experience, and an impressive pixel density of 453ppi grants you sharp and vibrant graphics.
The display is always on, letting you check the time and notifications without needing to wake up the device, making daily use more convenient. It is also easy to type messages and replies on the screen.
Processor and OS
From the Exynos W920 of previous models, the latest Galaxy Watch6 Classic transitions to a supposedly more potent and efficient Exynos W930 processor. This updated chip maintains the earlier 5nm manufacturing process but sees a CPU boost, with the dual-core Cortex-A55 now operating at 1.4GHz, up from the previous 1.18GHz, although it retains the same Mali-G68 GPU. Internal storage remains at 16GB, but operating memory has been bumped up to 2GB from 1.5GB in earlier models.
The new Watch6 Classic comes with One UI Watch 5, based on Google’s Wear OS 4. The watch benefits from improved speed and smoother everyday navigation, perhaps attributable to the higher CPU clock speeds and the additional 0.5GB of RAM.
There isn’t a substantial overhaul of the user interface (UI), and the iconography remains largely unchanged. However, a subtle but noticeable modification is the font, which now appears bolder. This enhances legibility and viewing comfort.
Sensors
A variety of sensors embellish the Galaxy Watch6 Classic, including an accelerometer, gyro, compass, heart rate monitor, barometer, thermometer (for skin temperature), and a newly added 3D Hall sensor. It’s worth noting that the temperature sensor goes beyond skin temperature monitoring; for example, the Thermo Check app allows users to measure temperatures of various surfaces without requiring direct contact, thanks to the sensor’s infrared capabilities.
The watch also features a BioActive sensor that assesses body composition. Electrodes on the watch’s underside and within the buttons measure water content through impedance, providing data on lean muscle mass, body fat percentage, water weight, BMI, and basal metabolic rate. This comprehensive assessment takes just 15 seconds and involves 2,400 measurements.
Samsung has improved haptic feedback, resulting in more discernible vibrations and taps from the watch. This is particularly noticeable when interacting with the virtual bezel, receiving notifications, handling incoming calls, and navigating through menus. Additionally, the watch offers a seamless experience for contactless payments (NFC).
Health and fitness
Samsung’s Health app has seen notable advancements, both in features and performance. It has expanded its range of vital signs tracking and enhanced its fitness tracking capabilities, particularly on Android phones. However, certain features like ECG, blood pressure and personalised heart rate zone feature measurements are only accessible when paired with a Samsung phone.
Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic | Photo Credit: Haider Ali Khan
The watch introduces additional health monitoring features, such as irregular heart rate monitoring and skin temperature measurements during sleep-- again exclusive to Samsung phone owners.
Although Samsung improved sleep-tracking accuracy, there is room for improvement for some aspects. The Health app now includes a sleep score and offers personalised coaching based on a week’s worth of sleep data, aiming to tackle issues like inconsistent sleeping schedules, frequent awakenings, and insufficient deep sleep.
Another addition is the personalised heart rate zone feature, which is customised as per individual fitness levels and age. It helps users stay within their desired heart rate zone during workouts. Custom workout routines can also be created.
The Watch6 Classic also includes a Fall Detection feature, which can alert emergency services or contacts in case of a fall, during workouts, daily routines, or even while sleeping.
Battery
In the long-lasting battery department, Samsung still misses the mark. The battery power of the Galaxy Watch6 Classic 425mAh presents a mixed picture. While an improvement over the Galaxy Watch4 Classic, it is a noticeable step-down from the Galaxy Watch5 Pro with its 590mAh cell. In everyday use, we got approximately 42-44 hours on a full charge. However, if the Always-on-Display mode is enabled, the battery drains out a little quickly.
Verdict
The new Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic, with a starting price of ₹36,999 (43mm), is a significant improvement on its predecessor. Unlike its competitor Apple, the Galaxy watches can be paired with any Android or iOS device, making the Watch6 Classic a top choice within this segment. It boasts a larger display while maintaining a compact design, improved performance, new features, including a temperature sensor, and the return of the rotating bezel.
Other than the battery life, we feel it covers every aspect that you might need from a watch.
