Samsung tends to release a new Galaxy Watch model every year, and 2025 was no exception with the debut of the latest Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 series. Available in both a standard and a "Classic" edition (like the Galaxy Watch 6), the latter is our top choice as the best Samsung smartwatch overall.
That said, last year's Galaxy Watch 7, which offers nearly all the same features, including impressive AI-backed wellness insights and best-in-class sleep tracking, is still one of the best Samsung watches you can buy today, value-wise. Of course, if it's the longest-lasting or toughest-built Samsung smartwatch you're after, then the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is going to be the model for you.
Find details on all the best Samsung Galaxy smartwatch models in 2025 below.
Quick list
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, particularly the "Classic" edition, which features a rotating bezel and superior battery, is the best overall Samsung smartwatch you can buy today, with the latest holistic features and Google's handy Gemini AI voice assistant built right in.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 may not be the latest release, but it's still a fantastic smartwatch with class-leading sleep-tracking insights, reliable and actionable AI-backed fitness features, tools to detect common health conditions like sleep apnea and irregular heartbeats, and all the useful smart features you'd expect. I also find it more comfortable than the Galaxy Watch 8.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is built from the same foundations as the Galaxy Watch 7 and has the same features too, including an impressive suite of personalized fitness and wellness tools. The priciest Galaxy Watch model... ever, it's also the toughest-built and longest-lasting thanks to a premium titanium construction and 48-hour battery.
The best Samsung watch available right now
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Best overall Samsung watch
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is the best Samsung smartwatch you can buy today. Unlike the 40mm and 44mm standard Galaxy Watch 8 models, the Classic lasted for 40 hours per charge on average in my testing, compared to 30 hours for the others. It also features a rotating bezel for navigation, an extra customizable button, and a more attractive overall design, IMHO.
Those differences aside, all three versions of the Galaxy Watch 8 offer the brand's latest and greatest wellness monitoring tools, including Vascular Load monitoring, for insights into how your lifestyle may be impacting your cardiovascular health. It also has Samsung's surprisingly useful Running Coach feature, which can generate custom-tailored multi-week training plans to help you prepare for an event.
Like 2024's Galaxy Watch releases, the newest model offers my favorite sleep-tracking insights, an actionable daily Energy Score, and monitoring for common but potentially deadly health conditions like sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection.
- Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 review
Best budget Samsung watch
The Galaxy Watch 7 isn't Samsung's newest release, but it remains an outstanding smartwatch and one I continue to recommend frequently. Well-priced — you can usually find it discounted — comfortable, and offering almost all the same wellness, fitness, and smart features found on the newer Galaxy Watch 8, it's very much worth considering in 2025. Here's a closer look at the Galaxy Watch 8 vs. Galaxy Watch 7.
I also find the Galaxy Watch 7 more comfortable than the newer model, even though the Galaxy Watch 8 is a tad thinner. This is because the older model sports Samsung's arguably simpler circular case design, while the new model features the chunkier cushion case inherited from the Ultra series.
The Galaxy Watch 7 doesn't have Samsung's insightful new cardiovascular load monitoring tool or access to Google's Gemini AI voice assistant (for now), but it does have the same detailed and actionable sleep insights and nearly all the same fitness training tools as the Galaxy Watch 8 (save for Running Coach).
Battery life is roughly 24 hours per charge in my testing. That's a little less than the 30 hours per charge longevity of the standard Galaxy Watch 8 and a lot less than the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, which averaged an impressive 40 hours per charge. Even still, the Galaxy Watch 7 lasts longer than the Apple Watch Series 10 (eat your heart out, Cook and Co.), and can be pushed to closer to 40 hours per charge in low-power mode.
- Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 review
Best Samsung watch for battery life
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra launched alongside the Galaxy Watch 7 in mid-2024, and is the company's take on the Apple Watch Ultra 2, boasting better durability, a longer-lasting battery, and a bigger screen than the other Galaxy Watch models.
In 2025, only two flagship Android smartwatches surpass the 48-hour mark: the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the Google Pixel Watch 3 in 46mm. However, the Ultra can cruise for as long as 72 hours or more when using the battery-saver mode.
Feature-wise, from holistic tools to sleep tracking to smart features and apps, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is essentially a near-match with the newer Galaxy Watch 8. Of course, it's pricier and a lot chunkier.
Built from titanium alloy and boasting 100 meters of water resistance compared to 50 meters for all the other Galaxy Watch models, the Ultra also houses a comparably larger 1.5-inch display with 3,000 nits of max brightness. That's the same max output as the Galaxy Watch 8 and 1,000 nits brighter than the Galaxy Watch 7.
After wearing the Galaxy Watch Ultra for several weeks, I think the main thing you need to consider is the weight. It clocks in at just over 60g, which is almost double the weight of the Galaxy Watch 7.
- Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra review
Best Samsung Watch features comparison
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 | Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 | Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra | Samsung Galaxy Watch FE | Samsung Galaxy Fit3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starting price | $349 | $299 (but often on sale) | $649 | $199 | $59 |
case size | 40mm, 44mm, 46mm (Classic) | 40mm, 44mm | 47mm | 40mm | 42mm x 30mm |
Weight | 30 g (40mm), 34 g (44mm), 63.5 g (Classic) | 33.8 g (44mm), 28.8 g (40mm) | 60.5 g | 26.6 g | 18.4 g |
Screen | 1.34-inch AMOLED (40mm, Classic), 1.47-inch AMOLED (44mm) | 1.5-inch AMOLED (44mm), 1.3-inch AMOLED (40mm) | 1.5-inch AMOLED | 1.2-inch AMOLED | 1.6-inch AMOLED |
GPS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
NFC | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Battery life | 30 hours (40mm, 44mm), 40 hours (Classic) | 24 hours | 48 hours | 24 hours | 13 days |
Waterproof rating | 50 meters | 50 meters | 100 meters | 50 meters | 50 meters |
LTE | Optional | Optional | Yes | Optional | No |
Also consider
How we test the best Samsung watches
To help you decide between all of the best Samsung smartwatches, we wear them for several weeks to test out all the wearables' health and fitness tracking features and to see how the battery fares over an extended period.
Once strapped to our wrists, we see how well the watches fit, and how easy the displays are to navigate and read, especially in sunlight. Depending on its capabilities, we also test the watches' sensors, such as GPS and heart rate monitors.
As sleep tracking is a key feature on many of the brand's watches, we also wear them overnight to see if it's actually comfortable to wear in bed (and if it squishes into your face and leaves a watch-shaped outline on your face in the morning).
Since we also test the best Android smartwatches, we compare the performance against competitor models to see how consistent the Samsung watches are, within the brand's range and compared to the competition.
We play around with settings, install apps, and set up Samsung Pay for contactless payments to check everything works as it should and that these features are more convenient (or at least not more of a hassle) than just getting your phone out to complete a task.
The connection to your phone needs to be consistent and reliable, so we pair the watches with Samsung phones and other Android devices, checking to see whether the experience is comparable or if Samsung optimizes for its own devices.
How to choose the best Samsung watch for you
In most cases, the best Samsung watch will be the latest model. Generally, Samsung keeps its lineup pretty tight with a flagship device and a premium model. The latest iteration of the Galaxy Watch will have the latest features and generally the best performance.
But that doesn't mean you don't have other options to consider. If you're considering the Galaxy Watch 8, the Galaxy Watch 7 has similar features across the board. You miss out on some new health tools, like the Vascular Load and Antioxidant Index, along with Google's Gemini AI assistant built in, but the latter is promised to be coming to the Galaxy Watch 7 later in 2025.
That's not your only consideration, though. There's also the Galaxy Watch Ultra — a larger, longer-lasting version of the Galaxy Watch 7. It has the same sensors and the same features but double the battery life (48 hours), a larger display, and a titanium case design.
It's also a lot more expensive, so you need to balance your budget against how much you value these additions. And, generally, we don't recommend going more than a generation back on any Samsung watch, as it won't be supported for much longer, but may cost almost the same as the more recent models.
That's why we'd also never suggest picking up a Samsung Gear 2, the first Samsung watch we reviewed in 2014, unless you're looking for an experiment to see if you can get it working with modern phones.
