I used the Galaxy Watch 8 for a long vacation and it’s better than the Apple Watch

I simply completed an extended journey that noticed me mountain climbing, sleeping by riverbeds, tenting within the foothills of the Himalayas, residing on tribal lands and staying as far-off from cityscapes as doable. It was a mandatory change of tempo. It was additionally my first prolonged spell the place the Apple Watch wasn’t my wrist companion.

This time, I gave the Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional an opportunity. Samsung’s $499 smartwatch is a mixture of luxurious seems to be and next-gen well being options, all constructed on a strong AI basis.

There’s rather a lot to love about this smartwatch along with its standard strengths, reminiscent of multi-activity monitoring, improved biosensing accuracy, customizable motion button, and extra. However over the course of a month, I spotted that the Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional is an evolution in a number of key methods.

It might probably truly get the job finished

“I do not need one other display on my wrist.”

It is a sentiment I hear typically within the smartwatch group. There’s additionally final FOMO within the phase. I do know many individuals who spend anyplace between $200 and $400 on a smartwatch, and barely use half the options accessible, not to mention the total suite of well being and wellness monitoring.

Quickly, they get uninterested in “yet one more gadget” demanding their consideration with charging hassles, notification chores, and extra. This obvious divide is not as a result of smartwatches had been unhealthy, however just because wearables could not serve a goal that is essentially totally different (or acceptable) than their trusty cellphone.

The Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional meets that objective, due to an extremely smarter assistant on board. Say hey to Gemini! This next-generation AI agent is an enormous step above Google Assistant, Bixby or Siri on the Apple Watch. The truth is, it may well deal with a handful of jobs with far much less trouble than utilizing a cellphone.

But it surely’s not simply Gemini’s paper advantages that set it aside. It is if you push it into tough conditions that you just understand how helpful it may be. You see, this isn’t a robotic phone machine. Gemini is a robust language mannequin that manages pure conversations with human-like ease and native entry to intensive data.

It understands advanced, multi-step questions and open-ended requests — whereas Siri typically fails or simply sends you to an online search. “Hey Gemini, discover me the closest clinic and open a map navigation view on it.” Using a scooter in a chilly rural panorama and doing the duty proper in your smartwatch is such a aid.

Not having to take my cellphone out of my denims pocket for quite a lot of duties is a large comfort. From checking the most recent information roundup, to having Gemini narrate the meals story of a tribal land whilst you’re strolling by a picturesque village, and simply having a pure dialog with fixed follow-up questions is extraordinarily handy.

Whereas touring, your route notes are a lifesaver. Gemini can dig into these and various different necessary Google companies, like Gmail, to drag up necessary info with only a voice command. I liked the way it may deal with my WhatsApp chats, too, as all I needed to do was converse voice instructions into my headphones with out ever touching my cellphone.

A handheld assistant that’s smarter, extra conversational and immersed within the companies used daily is nothing in need of a lifesaver. I solely realized the total consolation after I took the Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional out of my consolation zone and it exceeded my sensible expectations.

Delicate, for the longer term

We take smartwatches as a right, particularly well being sensing know-how. Each single functionality, from measuring oxygen saturation to one thing as superior as EKG and AFib detection, requires years of engineering work and meticulous medical validation. It isn’t arduous to see why, and it additionally explains the loud “FDA licensed” claims from producers reminiscent of Apple and Samsung.

However the slow-and-steady strategy to wearable sensing know-how additionally means breakthroughs do not occur yearly. Smartwatches began by measuring coronary heart price, and as of 2025, we’ve got reached a state the place they will additionally choose up any irregular adjustments in blood stress ranges.

The Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional pushes the envelope, due to its array of next-generation sensors and well being algorithms that may present further insights, reminiscent of power rating, vascular load, ectopic beat detection, and an industry-first dietary worth measurement system that may measure carotenoid ranges.

However these options aren’t simply “one other quantity”. As an alternative, they supply a extra accessible breakdown of the physique’s sleep, relaxation, and power standing that may be simply grasped by the typical individual. Let’s begin with the vascular load function.

It retains a watch on the blood stream in your vessels whilst you sleep, and the way stiff your arteries are to this motion. The broad thought is to estimate how a lot “work” the center is doing throughout the time the eyes are closed. The outcomes are displayed on three broad ranges, however most significantly, they supply a glimpse into the standard of sleep, stress ranges and dietary habits that may have an effect on regular coronary heart exercise.

Briefly, it is a extra accessible option to perceive the well being of your coronary heart’s exercise. As an alternative of fuzzy numbers, you get a score on a scale of upper, barely larger, secure, barely decrease, and decrease. On the same observe, you have got the Power Ranking system, which mixes information from sleep high quality, stress ranges and exercise historical past to provide you a day by day abstract of your bodily and psychological readiness.

On the same observe, the Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional affords a first-of-its-kind Antioxidant Index system. With a finger press on the light-activated BioActive sensor, the Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional can measure the extent of an necessary class of antioxidants often known as carotenoids.

General, carotenoid ranges present perception into your consumption of greens and fruits, which provide the physique with important vitamins that preserve us wholesome. In simply 5 seconds, the Samsung smartwatch can classify your carotenoid ranges into three ranges and likewise affords strategies reminiscent of consuming some carrot juice or consuming an orange.

It isn’t as correct as these giant laser-based antioxidant sensors that depend on Raman spectroscopy. Samsung, nevertheless, claims the function maintains “a excessive degree of accuracy.” As a daily smartwatch consumer, what’s most necessary to me is that the wearable on my wrist can measure a vital biomarker and immediate me to make wholesome dietary adjustments.

I needn’t clarify the significance of a weight loss program wealthy in antioxidants and its interplay with the well being of the physique. And if my smartwatch can present a scientific evaluation of that essential metric, I would be blissful to make use of it. For me, this function was an necessary reminder to take care of a balanced meals consumption whereas touring.

The usually ignored design scenario

I’ve damaged or broken extra smartwatches than I care to confess. Nevertheless, I can not think about going out with out sporting one. However accidents occur and are unannounced. That is one space the place the Galaxy Watch 8 is a lot better than its Apple or Google rivals.

On the Apple Watch and Pixel Watch, you have got a smooth show with sloping sides and skinny bezels. It’s a dessert, however fairly fragile. A small bump right into a railing or wall, and also you’re left with a nook crack that wants an costly substitute. You may match a bumper field, however they’re hideously ugly.

The Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional affords a sublime resolution to sturdiness points. This seems to be nearer to a well-designed mechanical watch (with gorgeous watch faces in addition) than the typical smartwatch. However most significantly, it’s extra scholarly.

To offer you an thought, the Apple Watch Collection 11 comes with an IP6X score, that means it may well solely deal with publicity to water. The Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional, however, affords an IP68-cleared chassis with a military-grade MIL-STD-810H construct.

As an alternative of uncovered glass, you have got a metallic platform protecting the edges and defending the display on prime with a rotating bezel. That body is not simply eye sweet. It is a bodily UI ingredient that may be rotated in each instructions to change between exercises, scroll previous notifications, or discover the app gallery and system menu pages.

Contact inputs will be tough, particularly when coping with a moist display (rain or swimming). Or, if you put on gloves. Mixed with a system-wide gesture management system, the rotating bezel affords a totally totally different option to management each facet of the machine with out ever interacting with its touchscreen.

Oh, talking of the show, it is an extremely vivid OLED panel that hits a formidable 3,000 nits mark, properly above your common high-end. Merely put, what you have got is a smartwatch that is more durable, classier, and able to tackle difficult terrain with none critical usability or sturdiness points.

General, the $100 price ticket you pay over a top-of-the-line Apple Watch will get you a watch that is stronger, a lot smarter, and extra sturdy by way of wellness capabilities. And after taking it on an extended journey, I do not see myself parting with the Galaxy Watch 8 Traditional anytime quickly.