Samsung announced a whole mess of new hardware at itsGalaxy Unpacked eventin Korea today, includingtwo foldable phones, and not one, not two, butthreenew tablets. It also unveiled its newest wearables: the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. There’s no newProwatch this year; the higher-end Galaxy Watch 6 model is a sequel to 2021’s Galaxy Watch 4 Classic — and the leaks were right, it does come with a clicky, rotating bezel. Thank goodness.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
As the third consecutive generation of Samsung Galaxy Watch that looks and feels very similar, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is sticking close to Samsung’s established formula. To the untrained eye, the base-model Galaxy Watch 6 might look indistinguishable from its predecessor, but it’s not without upgrades. Most visibly, the Watch 6 has a larger, higher-resolution display than the Watch 5 did — both the 40 and 44mm models retain the same case sizes as last year, but Samsung’s managed to shrink the bezels, allowing for a bigger display in the same footprint.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is one of Samsung’s new wearables for 2023, introduced at Galaxy Unpacked. It sports a very familiar look to the Galaxy Watch 5, but packs upgrades in its display, chipset, and battery.
There are upgrades under the hood, as well. While the previous two generations of Samsung wearable both used the company’s Exynos W920 chipset, the Watch 6 series debuts the Exynos W930, which should bring with it modest improvements in performance. There’s also two gigs of RAM this time, up from the 1.5GB in the Watch 5 (and Watch 4).
Battery capacity has been improved from the Watch 5 series: while last year’s watches featured 284 and 410 mAh batteries in the 40 and 44 models, respectively, the Watch 6 boasts 300 and 425 mAh cells. Samsung is sticking to the same battery life estimate it gave with the Galaxy Watch 5, however: about 40 hours per charge with the always-on display off, or 30 hours with it on.
The 40mm model comes in Graphite and Gold colorways. The larger 44mm Galaxy Watch 6 is available in either Graphite or Silver.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
Classic is back this year. While the Watch 5 series missed out on Samsung’s Classic styling in favor of the outdoor-centric Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic has the same kind of clicky, rotating bezel as Samsung wearables past. That rotating bezel is thinner than it was in previoius generations, though, allowing for the same enhanced screen-to-body ratio as seen in the vanilla Galaxy Watch 6.
Samsung’s latest generation of the Galaxy Watch 6 comes in a larger Classic version. It sports a bigger case and a physical rotating bezel to control the watch, alongside all the other welcome improvements in the vanilla Watch 6.
As was the case in 2021’s Galaxy Watch 4 series, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is functionally the same as the standard Galaxy Watch 6. The Watch 6 Classic’s case is a little larger, coming in at 43mm and 47mm, and it comes with a “hybrid-eco leather” band, rather than the silicone “sport” band the regular Watch 6 has. But aside from the Classic’s more traditional styling and rotating bezel for navigating menus, everything here is the same as in the non-Classic version: both models have the same displays, chipsets, RAM, storage, and batteries.
Both the 43 and 47mm versions of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic come in the same two colors: Black and Silver.
Pricing and preorder details
Both the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic are available for preorder beginning today, with general availability starting on August 11. The standard Galaxy Watch 6 starts at $300 for the 40mm version and $330 for the 44mm, marking a slight increase from Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 pricing.
The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic starts at $400 for the 43mm and $430 for the 47mm version. That’s a little less expensive than the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, which launched at $450, but considerably pricier than the Watch 4 Classic was when it was first released at $350.
Samsung is offering decent trade-in values toward its new watches. A Galaxy Watch 5 Pro trade will net you $250 off the Watch 6 Classic or $200 off the standard Watch 6; a standard Watch 5 will knock $200 off the 6 Classic or $150 off the regular Watch 6. Interestingly, you’re able to trade in a Galaxy Watch 4 Classic for $200 off either new watch, and “any smartwatch” in “any condition” will get you $100 off the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic or $50 off the vanilla Watch 6. Preorders also come with a free additional fabric band.
