Best Samsung Galaxy Watch 2025: Samsung’s wearables, tested and ranked

If you ever needed proof that Samsung has now fully entered its age of iterative wearable updates then look no further than the Galaxy Watch 7. Don’t get us wrong, the Watch 7 is still a great wearable device and currently the top pick that we recommend to most users in the market for a future-proof Wear OS device, but if you already have the Galaxy Watch 6 then you may want to wait another year or two before making an upgrade.

For everyone else, the Galaxy Watch 7 is easily the most competent wearable that Samsung has put out yet.

For starters, as part of the company’s push to offer up more AI capabilities, Galaxy AI has been adapted here to offer a more substantial fitness tracking experience. This time around, Galaxy AI is able to analyse your workout data and provide personalised recommendations in return.

AI can also be used for handy, on-the-go features like more intelligent suggested replies to messages, and summaries for any speech to text recordings.

The core fitness tracking experience remains much the same to how it was on the Galaxy Watch 6 but this time around there’s a serious boost to location tracking. The Watch 7 boasts dual-band GPS for a stronger connection that, in turn, provides more accurate results that you can then pour over after your outdoor workout.

To get this feature without having to fork out for the far more expensive Galaxy Watch Ultra is a blessing, although true outdoor adventurers may want to give that device a look for the enhanced durability it provides. For everyone else, the Galaxy Watch 7 gives you almost everything you could want from a smartwatch.

After a short hiatus from the Watch 5 series, Samsung decided to revisit its ‘Classic’ timepieces with the new Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. With a few years’ difference between the wearable and its predecessor (the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic), Samsung’s created a worthy upgrade here that’s well worth checking out if your old Galaxy Watch is starting to show its age.

As its name implies, the 6 Classic has a more distinguished style that separates it from the more sport oriented look of the standard Galaxy Watch 6. This includes the use of a tougher stainless steel chassis as well as a new hybrid eco-leather band that’s best paired with a suit.

The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic also boasts the physical rotating bezel that helped to put the Galaxy Watch line on the map many years ago, letting you scroll through menus and apps just twisting the bezel like a dial. It works brilliantly and is definitely a step up from the digital rotating bezel on the Watch 6.

Beyond all of that however, there isn’t much else to lure users to the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, which is a shame given that it also brings a significant price bump over the entry level Watch 6 so if you’re not too fussed with the professional aesthetic here, then you might be better off saving your money.

The other specs are exactly the same as the Watch 6, boasting Wear OS 4 and the new Exynos W930 chipset, although this isn’t a bad thing per se. The watch works well in everyday use and while the battery life could definitely be improved, there’s a lot to like here.

If it’s loads of battery life you want in a Galaxy Watch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro offers it in spades.

It comes packed with a 590mAh cell, which is large for a smartwatch of this ilk and offered around two days of regular use before needing to be charged. In addition, its charge times are pretty decent, with it taking an hour and 22 minutes to go from dead to full, and from dead to 38% in 15 minutes – handy for when you need a quick boost and you’re about to head out.

The core feature set is the same as the standard Galaxy Watch 5, but the Pro model brings with it some noteworthy additions that serious fitness fanatics will appreciate. Particularly, the addition of GPX file support, as usually found on hardened fitness trackers from Polar and Garmin, will be useful for hikers and cyclists as it allows you to plot a root in an app like Strava and load it onto the watch. Once there, the Pro offers turn by turn navigation to ensure you follow the route exactly. Besides this, there’s the same handy BioActive sensor for health reporting, as well as its sleep-tracking animals and relatively accurate GPS. Even on this Pro model though, the new temperature sensor remains largely useless almost a year after its initial launch.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro’s design is largely the same as the standard Watch 5, but it offers a more rugged and hard-wearing appearance involving a raised edge display with a titanium bezel for protection as well as the same durable Sapphire crystal as the standard Watch 5. Like its sibling, the Pro is both IP68 and MIL-STD-810H certified, which is a testament to the watch’s durability.

The controls on the Watch 5 Pro feature a pleasing level of tactility and proved to be a welcome addition to such a fitness-focused device for a quick pause of a workout, and while there isn’t a rotating bezel as with other Samsung watches of old, the digital scroll is a somewhat worthy successor. The Watch 5 Pro opts to use a Super AMOLED display which is vibrant and one of the brightest we’ve seen on a wearable. Furthermore, all icons were readable and easy to see, thanks to the high brightness and excellent contrast.

Even though the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro offers a more predictable battery life and the standard Galaxy Watch 6 provides the best features for most people, there’s no denying that for those who can afford it, only the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra can deliver a flagship level experience.

Designed as Samsung’s answer to the high-end Apple Watch Ultra 2, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is easily the most durable watch on this list. Made from military level, grade 4 titanium, the Watch Ultra is designed to withstand depths of up to 10 ATM (100 metres), making it more than ready to handle even the harshest of outdoor elements.

The design itself, which combines Samsung’s signature circular display with a more squared off chassis, might not be for everyone but as far as we’re concerned, it’s one of the few Wear OS watches that really stands out from the crowd.

Speaking of Wear OS, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is among the first wearable devices to boast having Wear OS 5 out of the box. Even though it’s got some way to go before catching up to watchOS completely, it’s still the best version of Google’s operating system yet, with great functionality and tons of third-party apps.

Where the Galaxy Watch Ultra really comes into its own is with outdoor workouts. Because it comes with dual-frequency GPS, the device is able to deliver incredibly accurate route tracking, and that same level of accuracy can be found in the results for heart rate tracking. In our tests, the Watch Ultra performed brilliantly alongside the best Garmin watches as well as dedicated chest-worn HRM straps.

As great as these facets are, there’s still work to be done in the Body Composition app, which can provide notably inconsistent results. There’s also no sign of a physically rotating bezel which would have been a huge boon for the Watch Ultra, but these are minor issues on what is otherwise an outstanding Samsung smartwatch.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is in an interesting state at the moment. Samsung has officially discontinued the watch and more or less replaced its positioning in the company’s lineup with the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE. This budget-friendly model is designed to be Samsung’s answer to the Apple Watch SE 2 but the issue is that stock for the Galaxy Watch 4 can still be found at other retailers, usually at a cheaper going rate than the FE, making it even more of a bargain buy for most folks.

What helps the Galaxy Watch 4 is the fact that it’s still being updated to feature the most recent version of Wear OS. At the time of writing, the watch boasts Wear OS 5 which also features on the Galaxy Watch 5, 6 and 7, so you’re not really missing out when it comes to the overall software experience.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Galaxy Watch 4 in itself was a major leap in Samsung’s wearable strategy, marking a departure from using Tizen, instead favouring Wear OS as well as a sportier design. The Galaxy Watch releases since then have mostly focused on smaller iterations on the Galaxy Watch 4 concept, which is why it still works (and looks) great in 2025.

Throw in excellent fitness tracking software, access to key Android apps like Google Maps and WhatsApp on your wrist, not to mention the affordable price point it typically goes for nowadays, and the Galaxy Watch 4 becomes an easy one to recommend for budget conscious buyers, whilst it’s still available.