Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 vs Galaxy Watch 7: All the differences

Design & Sizes

A pretty major design shift

This year, Samsung is treating all of its wearables to a new squircle-like design language, which is mostly similar to what we got with last year’s Galaxy Watch Ultra. We get a cushion-like Armor Aluminum 2 case paired with your standard circular screen. No rotating bezel here, just the standard dual buttons on the right-hand side, but the bezel is touch-sensitive once again. 

This design change not only ensures that all of Samsung’s watches going forward will employ the same design, but has also allowed the company to put a slightly larger battery inside the wearable, which is always nice to have.

Here’s the kicker: the Galaxy Watch 8 is also the thinnest Galaxy Watch so far, spanning 8.6 mm in comparison to 9.7 mm on last year’s Galaxy Watch 7.

All of that is in contrast with the Galaxy Watch 7, which is a standard circular smartwatch, just like most wearables Samsung has released in the years prior. It’s the most recognizable shape for a watch that translated well for the smartwatch offshoot, too, and the South Korea-based giant knew that well.

Bands

Another band attachment change

Called Dynamic Lug System, it improves the attachment angle and minimizes the gap between your wrist and the watch, ensuring a snug fit that improves heart-rate accuracy by up to 11%. With this new system, it’s even easier to swap bands on the fly, but there’s one major change: old Galaxy Watch bands are incompatible with the new attachment standard, so wave goodbye to your old bands. 

At least Samsung has brought a lot of variety in terms of new band offerings. The Galaxy Watch 8 comes with three new band types, dubbed Athleisure, Fabric, and Sport. These utilize different finishes and will be available in multiple colors.

Software & Features

First Gemini-powered smartwatch 

But the most essential new feature here is Google Gemini. Yes, the Galaxy Watch 8 is the first smartwatch with Gemini on board, and it can execute multistep actions straight on your watch. For example, you can tell it to start a 5K run and play your workout playlist. As Gemini is cloud-based, this feature will only work well on the cellular version of the watch, or on the regular Bluetooth one if you keep your phone close by. 

As usual, the Galaxy Watch isn’t compatible with iOS, and even some of its best health features are only limited to Galaxy phones. 

Both smartwatches have the same BioActive sensors, supporting ECG, heartrate monitoring, VO2, blood pressure, skin temperature, and more. 

New health-related features on the Galaxy Watch 8 tap into the capabilities of the same BioActive sensor and include Vascular Load and Antioxidant Index. The former aims to gauge the vascular load on your circulatory system while you’re asleep and provide you with ways to improve it. It tracks your sleep habits, exercise load, and stress levels to determine your vascular load. The other new feature uses sensor data to determine the levels of antioxidants accumulated in your skin. It also gives you recommendations on how to lower your antioxidants. 

Both of these new features are exclusive to the Galaxy Watch 8 series and won’t come to the older models. 

Another new activity-based feature called Running Coach will provide guidance and motivation to runners, give motivational messages, insights, and real-time feedback. 

Charging-wise, we have the same 10W wireless charging on the Galaxy Watch 8. It would take slightly less than two hours for a full charge. 

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch 7 started at $300 for the 40 mm Bluetooth version and $330 for the 44 mm one. The cellular versions cost $350 for the 40 mm and $430 for the 44 mm version.