Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic Review – The smartwatch for watch people

We’ve come a long way in the world of Smart watches haven’t we? Samsung’s latest release is the Watch 8 series and while there’s a slim new “Watch 8” and a slightly updated “Ultra” it’s the “Watch 8 Classic” and damn, it’s a fine bit of gear.

Gear – get it? Remember Samsung’s Galaxy Gear range? I’ve still got somewhere the Galaxy Gear S? What a vision for a smartwatch! Announced a month before Apple announced their first Smartwatch this was something very different. But look, it’s a bit space-aged and futuristic, which is why I think where we’ve landed more than a decade later is a great spot.

Samsung’s new Watch 8 Classic brings back the “Classic” moniker – missing for a year or so, and with it the rotating bezel for some navigation around the menus.

But, it also draws from the Ultra in a design sense with a squared off main back area, with the circular watch face sitting on top of it, and I’ve gotta say, loving that design.

Fast following with Sleep Apnea detection

While Apple was the first to publicly speak of their TGA approval and their update dropped a week or so back, Samsung quietly also has sleep apnea detection approval on it’s latest Watch 8 series.

That was something I wasn’t suspecting. Good news, According to the Watch 8 Classic I don’t have signs of Sleep Apnea.

Detection takes just 2 nights of sleep (compared to the 10 nights out of 30 on the Apple Watch)

This is a game changer for health and wellbeing.

Interestingly, despite the apparent size of the Watch 8 Classic I found it to be very comfortable to wear in bed.

My only issue now with Sleep Tracking is the charging – You’ve gotta remember to take it off once a day and put it on charge. I found that best done during shower time..

Battery Life

You’re going to get more than a day of battery life on this, except if you’re big on sleep tracking – that will really make it a one day device.

My issue with that is we have devices like Nothing’s new CMF watch have almost two weeks worth of battery life – so what are Apple and Samsung doing wrong? Is it that these devices are literally so powerful with their tracking and sensors that they are just working overtime?

Could we perhaps turn off a bunch more of the features to get far more life from their devices?

Health

Those features we might want to turn off are likely and primarily Health related. Wellness and Wellbeing is all the rage, the ability to know all about your health right there on your wrist.

Aside from Sleep Apnea, the other feature I checked out was Blood Pressure. I don’t know any other smartwatch that can take your blood pressure.

Now, my doctor is monitoring my blood pressure, it’s a bit high so I’ve been checking it at home with my Withings Blood Pressure monitor. Thing is, if you’ve got a Blood Pressure Monitor, what you can do is teach your Galaxy Watch about your Blood Pressure. Basically you run your actual Blood Pressure machine on the arm you’re not wearing your watch on, you trigger the watch to measure at the same time as the Blood Pressure machine.. From there it’s registered and you can do a Blood Pressure check at any time, any where just with the watch!

I’ve done maybe 20 checks, and they come up in the same rough numbers each time. Fascinating.

Then there’s the Antioxidant levels – have you eaten your veggies?

Testing this on the Galaxy Watch 8 is easy, take the watch off – set the Health app on your Galaxy phone to start the test, the sensors light up, place your thumb there and 5-10 seconds later you get a score. In my case, low. Very low.

Do we need this? I really don’t know, but it’s another tick in a box that no one else has.

The User Interface

One of the key differences between this watch and the previous generations is the user interface. While the general inclusions and use are the same, there’s a new look to the modules.

The most noticeable I saw time and time again were the overlayed little notifications at the bottom of the clock-face. Set a stopwatch and on the main watch-face you see it ticking away down the bottom near the 6 mark on the clock.

I like it, its pretty slick.

The whole thing is very usable, easy to understand and to navigate. Larger “button” like actions making it ideally suited to the small screen of a Smart Watch.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic Pricing

This is an 9 watch. Not cheap. Of course it’s not TAG Connected level pricing, but when you look at the lower end this really is a mid-range smartwatch.

In the world of Smartwatches you’ve got the harsh very tech savvy looking Apple Watch, then you’ve got circular faced variety like Google, Garmin et al.

For those looking for a “Watch” that does Smart things, then the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is the ideal choice. It looks like a classic watch – pardon the pun, yet it has some of the most advanced features on any wearable today.