Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 line of smartwatches, was officially launched this Wednesday, and was the first novelty of the South Korean brand's Unpacked event. Presented before the foldable Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3, and the new generation of Galaxy Buds 2 headphones, the new Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic arrive full of new features.
Among the main ones are the presence of a new operating system and a new processor. The Galaxy Watch 4 family will be the first to use the Exynos W920 chipset. The processor is the first 5nm to equip a watch from the brand, and promises to improve performance compared to previous generations, especially when scrolling the screen and executing multiple tasks simultaneously.
According to Samsung, the Mali-G68 GPU will give the Galaxy Watch 4 models up to 10 times more power than the predecessor, equipped with the Exynos W9110 processor. And all this with an internal storage of 16 GB, the largest ever available in the brand's smartwatches.
Among the new features, it is worth mentioning gesture control. “Answer your phone by moving your arm up or down, or turn off a notification just by moving your wrist. This is the most advanced processor available today, and it will let you use the Galaxy Watch 4 your way,” said the official presenter of the first part of Samsung’s event.
WearOS 3
In addition to the new processor, the Galaxy Watch 4 launched today, as well as the Galaxy Watch 4, will arrive in stores equipped with the operating system WearOS 3. Announced at the end of July, it was developed in partnership by Samsung and Google, and combines the best of Tizen (previously used by Samsung) and WearOS. All running on the One UI Watch interface.
According to what was announced at the time, the combination of the “best of both worlds” will give the Galaxy Watch 4 launched this Wednesday greater battery life, smoother transitions between apps and other improvements. The idea is also to make the smartwatch more independent of the cell phone, enabling it to listen to music or answer calls without the need for pairing.
Personalisation
Those of you who are old-school will probably remember a watch that was a hit in the 1980s: the Champion. The analog watch was cute, and its main selling point was the ability to change the straps and thus match it to your clothes, shoes, etc.
The Galaxy Watch 4, released today, decades later, brought back this feature. There are many color options for the straps available, and the user can change them according to their look (or mood, if they prefer).
Health is what matters
Health-focused features are also in abundance, no matter which Galaxy Watch 4 model you choose. “Samsung understands that health is different for everyone, so we’ve built a robust suite of health and wellness features to give people a deeper and more actionable understanding of their overall fitness,” the announcement said.
Among the features is the BioActive (BIA) sensor, which analyzes Biometric Impedance. It allows the Galaxy Watch 4 to read the user's vital points using sensors placed on the bottom of the smartwatch. This allows monitoring not only heart rate, but also blood oxygenation. The idea is that these features will even help doctors and nutritionists to have better information about users' health data.
Colors, battery… And prices
The Galaxy Watch 4 will be available in two sizes (40mm and 44mm) and three different colors (black, silver and green). The Galaxy Watch Classic will come in 42mm or 46mm variants, but will not be available in green. Both have the same batteries, with Auto Switch function and promise to last up to 40 hours. Depending on the conditions, this autonomy can take up to 7 days.
Furthermore, we failed to mention the point that perhaps piqued the curiosity of those who waited so long for this launch: its price. According to Samsung, they will cost from 269,99 euros (R$ 1.652 at the current exchange rate). This will be the price of the entry-level variant of the Galaxy Watch 4, as the LTE version will cost 319,99 euros (R$ 1.959). The Classic version will cost between 369 euros and 419,99 euros (R$ 2.259 and R$ 2.571). The models will be available for purchase from August 27th.
And in Brazil? Both Watch 4 as much as Watch 4 Classic already appear on Samsung's website, but still without prices.