How the Samsung Galaxy Watch stacks up against the Apple Watch Series 3
Alongside the Note 9, Samsung has announced the Galaxy Watch, the newest addition to its line of wearables which ended with the Gear S3 two years ago. Samsung is offering the smartwatch in two sizes: a 46mm model that comes in silver, and a 42mm model which comes in midnight black and rose gold. The Galaxy Watch will be available as a Bluetooth-only version in the US on August 24th, and an LTE version, which will be available later this year.
Like the Gear S3, the Galaxy Watch runs on a Tizen OS, which is said to have better battery life than Android Wear. And that’s one of the most impressive updates to the Galaxy Watch: the battery is supposed to last for several days on a single charge, about 80 hours compared to the Apple Watch’s 18 hours.
As with all smartwatches running Android Wear or Tizen, the Galaxy Watch is compatible with more recent Android phones and iPhones, whereas Apple Watches are limited to iPhones. Other than those two big differences, both the Galaxy Watch and Apple Watch have your usual fitness features: heart rate sensor, GPS, water-resistance, and music streaming.
We don’t yet have pricing information for the LTE version, but given that the Bluetooth models will be available for $329.99 (42mm) and $349.99 (46mm), it’s likely to be within the $400 range. For more detailed specs on how the Galaxy Watch stacks up against its iOS counterpart, here’s a convenient chart. As always, specs don’t necessarily dictate how well a device actually operates, but they might be useful to see side by side.
Galaxy Watch vs. Apple Watch specs comparison
| Category | Galaxy Watch with LTE | Apple Watch Series 3 LTE |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Galaxy Watch with LTE | Apple Watch Series 3 LTE |
| Starting price | TBD | $399 |
| Digital assistant | Bixby | Siri |
| OS | Tizen OS 4.0 | watchOS 4 |
| Navigation | Built-in GPS and barometric altimeter | Built-in GPS and barometric altimeter |
| Water resistance | Water resistant up to 50 meters | Water resistant up to 50 meters |
| Music streaming | Yes (via Spotify) | Yes (via Apple Music) |
| Glass quality | Corning Gorilla DX+ | Ion-X glass (aluminum cases), sapphire crystal (stainless and ceramic cases) |
| Processor | Exynos 9110 Dual core 1.15GHz | S3 dual-core processor, W2 wireless chip |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE, NFC | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, LTE |
| Display | Super AMOLED | Second-gen OLED Retina display with Force Touch |
| Storage | 1.5GB RAM + 4GB Internal Memory | 16GB |
| Battery Life | Up to 80 hours (46mm), up to 45 hours (42mm) | Up to 18 hours |
| Weight | 63g (46mm), 49g (42mm) | 28.7g (38mm), 34.9g (42mm) |
| Dimensions (mm) | 46 x 49 x 13 (46mm), 41.9 x 45.7 x 12.7 (42mm) | 38.6 x 33.33 x 11.4 (38mm), 42.5 x 36.4 x 11.4 (42mm) |
| Compatibility | Android 5.0 or later, iPhone 5 with iOS 9.0 or later | iPhone 6 or later with iOS 11 or later |
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