The Galaxy Watch 4 has just been announced as Samsung's latest smartwatch — touting an all-new OS and ample hardware upgrades at a seriously competitive price. The Watch 4 is one of many announcements to come out of the latest Galaxy Unpacked. In addition to its new wearable, Samsung also used the event to showcase the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, and Galaxy Buds 2. The gadgets still need to be put through their paces, but they're shaping up to create one of Samsung's strongest hardware launches in years.

When it comes to the Galaxy Watch family, Samsung's always had a strong showing here. Last year's Galaxy Watch 3 wasn't exactly the best fit for the gym, but it stood out thanks to a sleek form factor, excellent rotating bezel, robust health sensors, and fast performance. A year before that, the Galaxy Watch Active 2 was released as a fitness-focused wearable with ample smarts and a low price. Looking to bridge form and function together under one umbrella, the Galaxy Watch 4 lineup stands to be Samsung's best yet.

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Rather than releasing a single smartwatch like it's done for the past two years, there are two versions of the Watch 4 launching simultaneously — including the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. All the features are the same across both models, with the only difference being the case design. The regular Watch 4 has a distinctly minimalistic aesthetic. There aren't any numbers etched into the case, there's a digital bezel for navigating the UI, and it has an aluminum construction to keep it equally premium and lightweight. The Watch 4 Classic isn't gaudy by any means, but it does have noticeably more pizazz than its non-Classic sibling. The case is made out of stainless steel instead of aluminum, there's a physical rotating bezel, larger side buttons, and physical five-minute markers around the screen to mimic the appearance of a traditional watch. Both designs have their strong suits, so it's great to see Samsung offering two distinct styles this time around.

Galaxy Watch 4 Specs & Features

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

Elsewhere, the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic are virtually identical. Both have the same Exynos W920 processor, 1.5GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. The W920 stands out as being the first 5nm chip for a Galaxy Watch. With that new architecture, Samsung promises 20 percent faster CPU performance and a GPU that's 10 times more powerful. Combine that with 50 percent more RAM than past Galaxy Watch models, and there should be ample horsepower to get through just about any task. In regards to health features, Samsung's new 'BioActive Sensor' on the underside of the watches tracks 24/7 heart rate, irregular heartbeats (ECG), blood oxygen, blood pressure, and even body composition. The Galaxy Watch 4 takes just 15 seconds to analyze someone's skeletal muscle mass, body fat percentage, basal metabolic rate, and other key health points using the Body Composition app. There's also the usual array of exercise tracking, along with "the most complete" sleep tracking experience yet for a Galaxy Watch. When paired with a Galaxy smartphone, it works with the Galaxy Watch 4 to track blood oxygen levels, detailed sleep patterns, and even snoring.

Powering all of this is a brand new software experience for the Galaxy Watch. Samsung has ditched the Tizen platform of previous watches and is using the Galaxy Watch 4 series to debut "Samsung's brand-new One UI Watch, and Wear OS Powered by Samsung." The heart of the operating system is the new Wear OS Samsung co-developed with Google, whereas One UI Watch is the custom interface on top of it (think of it like One UI on a Samsung Android phone). Compared to older Tizen-powered Galaxy Watches, this means the Watch 4 is treated to improved notification handling and much greater app availability. With One UI Watch, specifically, Samsung's touting synchronized app experiences across Galaxy Watch 4 and a Galaxy smartphone, Bixby voice commands, and gesture controls to navigate the watch by moving your arm up and down. The One UI Watch interface is exclusive to Samsung watches, but the new Wear OS should soon make its way to other smartwatches. It's all a bit confusing right now, but the idea is that this new Wear OS will be the heart of future wearables from Samsung, Google, Fitbit, and others in the years to come.

And, of course, there's pricing. The Galaxy Watch 4 in a 40mm case starts at $249 for the Bluetooth-only model and $299 for the LTE variant. The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic in a 42mm case starts at $349 for Bluetooth and $399 with LTE. There are also larger cases available for each, including a 44mm style for the Watch 4 and 46mm for the Watch 4 Classic. Pre-orders are open August 11 thru August 26, with Samsung offering a $50 credit for anyone who places an order during that window.

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Source: Samsung