The new Galaxy Watch 4 launches with Wear OS 'Powered by Samsung'

What you need to know

• Samsung launches the Galaxy Watch 4, the first smartwatch to run the new unified platform.
• The Galaxy Watch 4 comes in two styles, a regular and "Classic" model with a physical rotating bezel.
• The smartwatch features a new 5nm chip from Samsung, a BioActive Sensor for body measurements, and up to 40 hours of battery life.
• The Galaxy Watch 4 is available for preorder now, starting at $250.

After a couple of glimpses into the unified Wear OS update, Samsung has finally launched the Galaxy Watch 4. It's the first smartwatch to feature the new Wear OS "Powered by Samsung" and marks the company's transition back to Google's wearable platform.

Thanks to the new customization options, the Galaxy Watch 4 features Samsung's One UI Watch on top of Wear OS. This creates a seamless experience between Samsung smartphones like the new Galaxy Z Flip 3 and the smartwatch. For example, when an app is downloaded onto the smartphone, the compatible app will automatically download onto the watch.

Settings will also sync between devices, and the Galaxy Watch 4 can be used to control other devices using gestures or Bixby. It's also compatible with Auto Switch, so audio will automatically toggle between devices based on usage.

Of course, because it's Wear OS, Google highlights how you'll find plenty of its services present on the watch, such as Google Maps, Google Pay, Messages, and more.

The Galaxy Watch 4 comes in two styles, standard and "Classic," the latter of which features a physical rotating bezel for easy navigation. Both styles feature 1.19-inch or 1.36-inch AMOLED displays, depending on the case size, and are protected with Gorilla Glass DX+.

Samsung's enhanced BioActive sensor powers the watch's heart rate and ECG monitor, as well as a new Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) sensor, which can help measure body composition. Samsung says the new BIA sensor "gives users a deeper understanding of their general health and fitness, with key measurements like skeletal muscle mass, basal metabolic rate, body water and body fat percentage." Measurements can be taken in just 15 seconds using two fingers.

Powering the smartwatch is Samsung's new Exynos W920, a 5nm chipset that offers a major boost in performance thanks to its more efficient process node. This should make Wear OS run even more smoothly when compared to smartwatches powered by the already impressive 12nm Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100.

There's also 1.5GB of RAM and a whopping 16GB of storage for apps, music, and photos, twice the amount of storage found on any of the best Wear OS watches. The watch also offers decent battery life, with up to 40 hours on a single charge, depending on usage. Samsung says you only need a 30-minute charge to get up to 10 hours of battery life.

The new Galaxy Watch 4 will come in 40mm and 44mm case sizes with Bluetooth and LTE (eSIM) models starting at $250 and $300, respectively. The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic will come in 42mm and 46mm case sizes, and connectivity options will start at $350 and $400, respectively. Larger sizes for both models will increase the price by just $30.

Preorders start today, and the watch will be in stores starting August 27.