Samsung Galaxy Watch9 review
Competition
As expected, the Galaxy Watch9 is pricey. The standard 40mm version goes for $380/€410, while the 44mm variant sells for $410/€440. Throw in $50/€50 extra, and you can get either of those with LTE connectivity. That's a $30/€30 price bump over the Galaxy Watch8 series last year.
Now, if you are aiming for the 44mm variant, you can find a handful of alternatives to the Watch9 with Wear OS - the Xiaomi Watch 5, the OnePlus Watch 4, the Google Pixel Watch 4 (although the Pixel Watch 5 is just around the corner) and the Oppo Watch X3, for example. All three offer superior battery life, but the health-tracking and fitness-tracking features are not on the same level as Samsung's.
Moreover, the OnePlus Watch 4 and the Xiaomi Watch 5 are both significantly more affordable than the Galaxy Watch9, while the Oppo Watch X3 undercuts it by a little. Surely, after a couple of months, the Galaxy Watch9 will become more competitive.
And in case you are not dead-set on Wear OS, you might want to look into the Honor Watch 6 and the Huawei Watch GT 6, which also come in a 41mm flavor if you are after the smaller size in particular. They offer exceptional battery life, great health and activity-tracking features, but come with proprietary software that can't run actual apps.
The 40mm Galaxy Watch9, on the other hand, has far fewer natural rivals. Most manufacturers make their smartwatches at least 44mm big. Still, the Google Pixel Watch 4 (and 5) and the Huawei Watch GT 6 come in female-friendly 41mm variants, and it's hard to compete with Huawei's exceptional battery life and lower price. The Galaxy's only advantage is the software and the full-fledged support for Wear OS apps and deep Android integration.
For those of you looking for a Galaxy Watch upgrade from an older Galaxy Watch, then maybe consider the previous Galaxy Watch8 series, including the Classic version. All three Galaxy Watch8 options (40mm, 44mm and the 46mm Classic) can get you a lot of the way there at a much lower price. The battery upgrades this year don't seem to be all that effective at the end of the day, and you will be missing only some of the health-tracking features like the Fitness Index, Daily Cardio Load, Vitals, and the Heart Health scoring. Admittedly, none of those are all that essential to the experience, so save a few bucks and get the older Watch8 instead.
Verdict
Unlike the Galaxy Watch Ultra2, which introduced meaningful changes and upgrades this year, the Galaxy Watch9 fails to impress. Despite the updated battery capacity, the Watch9's battery life remains one of the weak points. There are also no design changes and no new core features to get you excited, just some additional health-tracking functionalities that hardly justify the price premium of the smartwatch.
Sure, you get a new Snapdragon Wear Elite chipset, but to be honest, that doesn't meaningfully contribute to the overall user experience.
In isolation, the Galaxy Watch9 is a great smartwatch, but not necessarily unique anymore. There are a handful of other alternatives that bring more value to the table, including the previous Galaxy Watch8 lineup.
Pros
- Thin and lightweight body; you can barely feel wearing it (Watch8).
- A wide selection of sensors with advanced health-tracking features.
- One UI Watch 9 is one of the best takes on Wear OS on the market, with 5 years of software support.
- Native Gemini AI support on the watch itself with raise-to-talk function.
- The Dynamic Lug system is extremely convenient and easy to use.
Cons
- Steep pricing at launch.
- Uses proprietary strap attachment, making standard straps incompatible.
- The wireless charger is also proprietary.
- ECG, irregular heart rate alerts, Blood Pressure, and sleep apnea measurements work when connected to Samsung phones.
- Battery life is not stellar on either watch (sub-2 days).
- The watch lacks compelling upgrades.
| 32GB 2GB RAM | $ 379.99 |
€ 313.83 |
| Show all prices | ||
