With the fitness industry booming over the past couple of years, the need to track your regimes and diet has become a key way to measure progress. To make this tracking easier and more accessible, smartwatches have kept up with the pace of changing trends and introduced some incredible new features that make fitness tracking a breeze. But most smartwatches still look the same and feel more like tools rather than a part of your daily lifestyle. Also Read: Samsung One UI 8 Update: Galaxy F36, Galaxy M36, Z Flip 4, Z Fold 4 Get It - How To Update

To fix this, Samsung has really stepped up its game with the new Watch 8 series, giving the standard Watch 8 a complete design makeover. The watch hasn’t just changed on the design front but has also improved the overall user experience. With a refreshed design, powerful hardware, and some really interesting health features, it feels like Samsung has finally nailed the balance between style, performance, and utility. Also Read: Samsung One UI 8 Update Rollout Schedule In India: Full List Of Eligible Galaxy Devices

Also Read: Samsung One UI 8 Update Rolling Out This Week For THESE Devices: Check How To Update, Eligible Devices, And Features

But everything that glitters isn’t gold. So, are there gaps and deal-breakers? And is this upgrade really worth it for old Galaxy Watch users? Let’s dive in.

Design and Build: Slim, Strong, and Stylish

Starting off with the design, the Galaxy Watch 8 instantly feels premium the moment you hold it. The new squircle design makes the watch look super minimal on the wrist, which makes it perfect for both casual and professional wear. It’s also noticeably slimmer than the previous generation and feels light on the wrist, making it easy to wear all day. Even sleeping with the watch on was surprisingly comfortable, thanks to the soft silicon straps.

The only downside I felt was that Samsung has changed the strap locking mechanism. Now, users have to press a small button on the back to attach straps. While it’s definitely more secure, the downside is that older Galaxy Watch straps won’t work here.

The Watch 8 is built with Armor Aluminum, giving it a solid in-hand feel without weighing you down. Overall, it’s slim, lightweight, and comfortable enough to wear 24/7.

Display: Bright, Durable, and Smooth

The Galaxy Watch 8 comes with a 1.47-inch Super AMOLED display that hits a peak brightness of 3000 nits. The bezels are slim, and the display has vibrant colors that look absolutely amazing whether indoors or outdoors. Visibility is flawless even under direct sunlight and the screen remains perfectly readable.

The slim bezels also pack cleverly built-in sensors, allowing users to simply swipe along the edges to scroll through menus. On the protection side, the Galaxy Watch 8 gets Sapphire Crystal glass, making the display scratch-resistant. After wearing it during workouts and dealing with the occasional bump, I still didn’t notice a single mark. Adding to the durability, the watch is also IP68-rated, which means dust and water are no problem. Basically, you can wear it in the rain or even through intense training sessions without worry.

Performance: Super Smooth and Blazing Fast 

Under the hood, the Galaxy Watch 8 packs the Exynos W1000 chipset based on the 3nm process, paired with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. It’s the same processor seen in the previous generation, but it still delivers a super smooth experience. At least with smartwatches, Exynos chipsets perform much better compared to their smartphone variants.

Whether it’s switching between apps, tracking workouts, or even playing music while fitness tracking is active, the watch doesn’t lag. The animations feel fluid, and app launches are quick. Plus, the added gesture support makes navigation easier and more fun. The gestures are intuitive, and while there are the occasional misses, it mostly gets them right.

Talking about the software, the Galaxy Watch 8 runs on Wear OS 6 with One UI 8. This means you get smooth day-to-day performance along with access to third-party apps. Quick replies to notifications work well, and the improved gestures let you control the watch without even touching it.

This time, Samsung has also integrated Google Gemini AI. You can activate it in settings and then just say “Hey Gemini” to play music, set reminders, or send messages. It’s useful, though a little slow right now.

But where the Watch 8 really shines is in customisation. Samsung has provided an excellent collection of watch faces, with the Galaxy Avatar face standing out as a playful and fun addition that adds personality to the watch.

Health and Fitness: Packed With Features

Coming to the core of the Galaxy Watch 8, this time around Samsung has packed it with features. The Watch 8 comes with the same sensors as its bigger cousin, the Watch 8 Classic, which makes it excellent for all kinds of fitness tracking. It covers all the essential health-monitoring tools, including heart rate, ECG, blood pressure, sleep tracking, stress tracking, and even body composition analysis.

But the biggest improvement this year is in sleep tracking. The watch not only monitors your entire sleep cycle but also gives you a detailed sleep score and even tracks how long you stayed awake before actually falling asleep. These insights genuinely help with recovery. Most of the stats are impressively accurate, and the watch now utilises AI capabilities to analyse your sleep cycle and daily routine, recommending important lifestyle improvements along the way. 

There are also some new features, like vascular load monitoring, which measures vascular stress and recommends healthier lifestyle choices. Another addition is the antioxidant index, which evaluates the total antioxidant capacity of a person’s diet. It uses the Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index (CDAI), which sums up scores from several antioxidant-rich foods. This metric is mainly used in research to understand how overall dietary antioxidant intake impacts health outcomes.

But not everything is perfect. A big limitation is that ECG and blood pressure monitoring only work with Samsung smartphones. If you’re using another Android device, those features remain locked. Hopefully, with future updates Samsung enables these features for all other android users as well.

Battery Life: A Big Step Up 

Battery life has always been a weak point for smartwatches, but Samsung has stepped things up with the Galaxy Watch 8. It comes with a 435mAh battery that easily lasts up to 2 days with light use and around 1 to 1.5 days with heavy use. Even with the Always-On Display enabled and constant health tracking, the watch still delivers about 1.5 days of backup. Considering the slimmer design and brighter display, this is genuinely impressive.

Pricing and Verdict

The Galaxy Watch 8 starts at Rs 32,999 for the 40mm variant and Rs 35,999 for the 44mm. While that might sound expensive, when you factor in the premium design, brighter display, strong performance, and improved health tracking, it feels well worth the price.

For users with a budget of around Rs 40,000 who are looking for an all-rounder wearable that not only tracks fitness progress but also adds value to their lifestyle, this is definitely one to consider. For existing Galaxy Watch users, the Watch 8 feels like a meaningful upgrade with its new fitness features and software improvements. Overall, the blend of style, durability, fitness, and battery life makes the Galaxy Watch 8 one of the best smartwatches you can buy in 2025.