The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is an important smartwatch for Samsung. For example, it’s the first smartwatch to run on Google’s Wear OS 3, as Samsung has said goodbye to its own Tizen OS. In this Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 review you can read whether the relatively affordable smartwatch is recommended.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
Price € 269 (40 mm) and 299 (44 mm)
Colors Black, Silver, Gold (40mm), Black, Silver, Green (44mm)
OS WearOS 3
Screen 1.2 inch AMOLED
Weight 26 grams (40 mm) or 30 grams (44 m)
Dimensions 40.4 by 39.9 by 9.8 mm
Storage 16GB
Battery 247 mAh
Connectivity bluetooth, wifi, nfc, gps
Other Waterproof, interchangeable straps
Website www.samsung.com 6 Score 60 
- Pros
- wearing comfort
- Many software features
- User-friendly software
- Choice of two different models
- Negatives
- Battery is empty after one day
- Battery charges slowly
- Some functions only work with Samsung smartphone
- GPS not accurate
- Doesn’t work with iPhone
- Sleep detection not reliable
Samsung sells the Galaxy Watch 4 in two models: Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic. I tested the first one, with a simpler design, smaller screen and a starting price of 280 euros. For the cheapest Classic edition you pay 380 euros. Solid prices for smart watches. After two weeks with the Watch 4, you can read my experiences below.
Design, screen and hardware
The Watch 4 is a very minimalistic smartwatch, something that some find a plus and others a minus. The watch contains no brand name or other frills and has a front-filling screen with two buttons on the side. The strap is (nicely) interchangeable. As you would expect from a smartwatch, the Watch 4 is waterproof and dustproof. At 26 grams, the model with 40 mm case is very light and I hardly notice it on my wrist. In any case, I find the smartwatch comfortable to wear, which is also thanks to the rubber strap.
The 1.2-inch OLED screen looks colorful and shows a sharp image thanks to the resolution of 396 x 396 pixels. A layer of Gorilla GLass DX+ should protect the display against scratches.
The smartwatch runs on a new Exynos W920 processor from Samsung with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of storage memory. In practice a good combination, because the watch feels fast and has enough storage space for offline music and some apps. If you want to use the Watch 4 without a connection to your smartphone, you can buy a (more expensive) 4G watch with e-SIM support. Thanks to its own built-in SIM card, it has internet everywhere, provided you take out a suitable subscription.
Wear OS 3: from Google or Samsung?
The Watch 4 is the first smartwatch with Wear OS 3, an operating system developed by Google and Samsung. Previous Wear OS versions were developed by Google. Samsung did not take advantage of it but installed its own Tizen software on its smart watches. Now Google and Samsung have joined forces and Tizen has disappeared from view. The Watch 4 should combine the best of the two operating systems.
In practice, that promise does not convince me. Let me start positive. Wear OS 3 is user-friendly, offers many watch faces and can show notifications from your smartphone in a nice way. You can also reply to this via quick replies, smileys and longer messages. Useful. Also nice is that you can use a number of popular apps on the watch, from Google Maps navigation and offline listening with Spotify to fitness apps.
Then the adjustments from Samsung. I don’t think many of those changes to the software are a step forward, but rather a step back. Because where all modern Wear OS watches have the fine Dutch-language Google Assistant on board, the Galaxy Watch 4 features Samsung’s Bixby. This speech assistant does not speak Dutch and therefore adds little. Surprisingly enough, switching to the Google Assistant is not possible. According to Samsung, this function will be available later, although the manufacturer does not want to say when.
It is a shame that the Galaxy Watch 4 does not work in combination with an iPhone. That is also a step backwards compared to other Wear OS watches, which can (albeit limited) be used with an iPhone.
Health features
Samsung’s interference is also reflected in the range of health functions. The smartwatch has (nicely!) a lot of them, but some only work if you have the Samsung Health app installed on your smartphone. I find that obligation less, although I can live with it if the app is well put together. However, Samsung Health has plenty of room for improvement. Because why does the registration of my workout start three seconds after I’ve indicated what I’m going to do? The GPS receiver takes longer than three seconds to determine my location and I just want to be able to press a start button myself. That way I can name more disturbing things. Fortunately, you can also use the Watch 4 in combination with other sports apps, including Google Fit and Strava.
The Watch 4 has many more health functions, including measuring your heart rate (which seems to be accurate) and your sleep (which does not correspond to reality almost every night). The built-in GPS that tracks sports activities is less accurate than hoped. For a double check, I went through some other reviews of the watch and here too I often read complaints about the sleep registration and GPS reception.
These functions only work with Samsung phone
Coming back to Samsung’s interference in the software: it goes further than I expected and find desirable. Because the Watch 4 can only make an EKG (heart film) or measure your blood pressure if it is linked to the Health Monitor app from Samsung. And that app only works on some modern Samsung smartphones. Not on devices from other brands. According to Samsung, because it must comply with medical laws and regulations. There is probably something to be said for that, but in practice you can not fully use the Watch 4 if you do not have a selected Samsung smartphone. A flaw that my colleague Joris also encountered last year when testing another Samsung smartwatch.
Short battery life, long charging time
When announcing Wear OS 3, Google spoke highly of the partnership with Samsung. The new operating system would, among other things, be more energy-efficient, which should benefit the battery life. A nice promise, but in practice the battery life of the Galaxy Watch 4 is mediocre. In mode with the always-on screen off, health functions that measure once every ten minutes and showing smartphone notifications, I have to charge the watch after one day and one night. In other words, every morning. Due to the poor sleep registration and the shorter battery life, I put the watch on the charger in the evening after a few days. Charging in the morning is not ideal because it takes almost an hour and a half to fully charge the smartwatch via the magnetic charger. I think that is very long, given the small 247 mAh battery.
Conclusion: Buy Samsung Galaxy Watch 4?
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is a minimalist-looking smartwatch with a beautiful screen, fast hardware and new Wear OS software. That software is in some ways an improvement over the Tizen software that Samsung installed on older watches. The new operating system is disappointing in other respects, especially because Samsung expressly promotes its own (software) functions and some health functions only work in combination with a Samsung smartphone.
In any case, not all functions of the Watch 4 work equally well. It is also a pity that the battery only lasts 24 hours and that charging takes relatively long. A big point of attention is that the watch does not work with the iPhone.
Bottom line, I therefore find the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 difficult to recommend if you do not use a Samsung smartphone. For 280 euros – or more, because I tested the cheapest version – I think the watch has too many drawbacks. A lower price makes the smartwatch more interesting, but I am especially curious whether Samsung can improve poorly functioning functions and the incomplete software with software updates. If that works, I can probably recommend the Watch 4. For now, I feel the Watch 4 cannot live up to expectations.
iPhone users can check out the equally expensive Apple Watch SE, where Android users can peruse our buying guide of the top ten smartwatches.
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