I have worn the last three generations of Samsung's Galaxy Watch series and reviewed two of them. I'm now reviewing its newest iteration, the Galaxy Watch 7, but since it won't be ready before this $140 discount turns back into a pumpkin, here's the ten-cent tour.
There is not a single rational reason in the world to buy the $300 Galaxy Watch 7 over a $160 Galaxy Watch 6 today on Amazon Prime Day.
"But they say the new processor is 3 times faster!" Yes, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is a few milliseconds faster, but the rest of the watch is 99% the same, right down to the same screens. "But I don't want to wait for the Wear OS 5 upgrade to get the new featuers!" Are you so impatient that you're willing to pay double for your smartwatch?
Look, the double-pinch and knock-on Universal Gestures are cool — and I'll gush about them in the review — but they're not $140 cool.
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After a full year of use and abuse — including wearing it to bed almost every night — my own Galaxy Watch 6 has no damage and no performance slowdowns to speak of. It's been a trooper, and thank goodness, because I am a depressed, ADHD scatterbrain who will otherwise forget that phone notifications even exist. When I'm gaming or reading, my Galaxy Watch 6 ensures that even if the notifications are hidden from my phone screen, they're still front and center on my wrist.
Both watches look the same on the surface, and the only external change is actually in the Watch 6's favor. See, when you forget to charge the Watch 6 — and if you wear your watch to bed like I do, you absolutely will — you can turn on reverse wireless charging on your Galaxy S-series or Z-series phone and charge the watch using the phone as an impromptu cradle. The Watch 7 has a curvier bottom sensor array, and that few millimeters of extra distance precludes it from working with reverse wireless charging.
Both watches use the same 2,000-nit screens. Both use Samsung Health for subscription-free fitness tracking. And while it'll take a few weeks/months, Samsung confirmed that the Galaxy Watch 6 is getting almost every software feature that the Galaxy Watch 7 does.
So unless you are the most impatient early adopter around, cut your watch costs in half and use that money for a better watch band. If your wrist is as narrow as mine is, the in-box band's sculpting around the lugs will make for an awkward fit. You can fix that with any plain-old 20mm watch strap, but it's Prime Day, so treat yourself to a couple of nice ones. My set of silicone straps, like the "best multipack" Lerobo, has held up beautifully over the last three years, but Samsung's official fabric band is so comfortable that I bought the Lavender myself after reviewing the cream-colored one.
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