Samsung recently released their latest line of fitness trackers, featuring several interesting new additions for the active user. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is a great continuation of the company’s lineup, but the watch is not yet perfected. However, as a feature-rich smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 7 is sure to impress.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 comes in two sizes, 40mm and 44mm, with the latter being the model I tested. While this isn’t Samsung’s fault, the band provided barely fit me. If you have a larger wrist, it’s worth noting that you may want to download their measurement tool to ensure you choose the right size so you won’t be stuck on the very last notch of the watch band, hoping your wrist doesn’t swell on a hot day.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 features a 425mAh battery on the 44mm version (and a 300mAh battery on the 40mm version) along with a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display (1.3 inches on the 40mm version) that can reach a peak brightness of 2000 nits. It is powered by a five-core Exynos W1000 processor and runs Samsung’s Wear OS 5 with the One UI 6 interface. The watch has an IP68 weather resistance rating and a 5ATM waterproof rating, meaning it can withstand underwater pressure equivalent to a depth of 50 meters.
“The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is a great continuation of the company’s lineup, but the watch is not yet perfected.”
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 also boasts several feature improvements, including enhanced heart rate monitoring with an optical sensor, now FDA-approved to detect sleep apnea in its users. As someone with sleep apnea and family members who also have it, the ability to receive an early indication of this condition is crucial. Detecting it early allows you to consult a doctor and address the issue appropriately.
Another great feature is Samsung’s Galaxy AI, which generates an energy score between 0 and 100. This provides a big-picture view of all the stats your watch can measure. It also offers tips on improving your score based on areas where you might face challenges. This feature is an excellent way to set realistic goals for yourself, aiming to be a little healthier each day without getting bogged down by individual numbers.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 now automatically tracks a number of new exercises without the need to select them in a menu, including a full triathlon, tracking each of the three events and when the switches are taking place. This is peak tracking for athletes as it’s the one thing that most watches can’t seem to nail down, particularly those transitions. As the husband of a triathlete, when she found out about this feature, she stared at her own watch with what could only be described as a disappointment, as one would be disappointed with the black sheep in their family.
When it comes to battery life, this is where the biggest brands continue to disappoint. If I may stand on my soapbox for a moment: why is it that companies like Xiaomi and Huawei can offer watches with most, if not all, of the features provided by brands like Samsung, Apple, or Garmin while also delivering a battery that lasts up to two weeks—yet with top North American brands like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, you can barely get more than two days?
And if you want those two days of battery life, you’d better not be too active. If you’re tracking your triathlons, you’ll need to charge your watch daily, possibly overnight, which takes away the ability to track your sleep.
It’s not the end of the world; we’ve all managed to live with watches at this level of battery life. However, I’d love to see some effort put into improving this so an active person can go on a week-long hiking trip and track their entire hike.
“While the Galaxy Watch 7’s battery life gets you about 40 hours on a lazy day, it drops to just over half that if you use it for everything it’s designed to do.”
While the Galaxy Watch 7’s battery life gets you about 40 hours on a lazy day, it drops to just over half that if you use it for everything it’s designed to do. And that’s with the 44mm model. For the 40mm version, with its considerably smaller battery, I’m not convinced you’d even get 30 hours sitting still. If you exercise regularly and need to rely on your watch, I’d avoid the smaller battery at all costs.
The 44mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 costs $329.99 USD, while the 40mm model costs $299.99 USD. The prices are good, especially compared to the $600+ Galaxy Ultra, which, while it has a considerably larger battery and is a more durable and robust watch, offers all of the same tracking.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, with its large feature set and improved overall tracking, combined with the ecosystem bonus of matching it with other Samsung devices, makes it a strong choice and worth picking out the latest model over earlier, less expensive models, because you simply won’t get all of what this watch offers in anything older.
