Galaxy Watch 8 vs Watch 4: A Major Leap in Design, Hardware and Features

Back in 2021, Samsung took a major leap by switching from its in-house Tizen OS to Google’s Wear OS for its smartwatches, playing a key role in the development of Wear OS 3. The Galaxy Watch 4 series was the first to launch with the revamped platform. Now, just a few years later, Samsung is back with the Galaxy Watch 8 series, running Wear OS 6 with One UI 8 Watch on top.

But this update isn’t just about software — nearly everything has changed. From design to hardware to health tracking, the Watch 8 is a full generational leap in many ways, making the upgrade from the Watch 4 a no-brainer. Here’s a quick overview of what you get with the latest models.

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Galaxy Watch 8 gets a design refresh

With the Galaxy Watch 4 series, Samsung introduced its unified smartwatch design language that carried through the Watch 5, Watch 6, and even the Watch 7. While each generation brought performance boosts and minor design refinements, the overall look and feel didn’t evolve much. The company hinted at a new design direction with its first-ever Watch Ultra last year and has now adopted it across the lineup.

The Galaxy Watch 8 debuts with a noticeably refreshed look, featuring a new “Cushion Design,” which basically involves a squircle dial with a circular display. The bezels are thinner, the screen is bigger, and thanks to the new Dynamic Lug system, swapping straps is easier than ever. The watches themselves are thinner. For longtime Galaxy Watch users, especially those still rocking a Watch 4, this marks a major turning point.

Substantial hardware upgrades across the board

Beyond the fresh design, the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic are packed with significant hardware improvements compared to the Watch 4. The new models run on Samsung’s first 3nm chip, the Exynos W1000. It features five cores with a peak speed of 1.6GHz, compared to the dual-core Exynos W920 5nm chip in the Watch 4 operating at just 1.18GHz. You also get up to 64GB of storage and 2GB of RAM, up from 16GB and 1.5GB.

The screens are marginally bigger and can now hit a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, while the Watch 4 maxes out below 1,000 nits. Likewise, the Galaxy Watch 8 series has larger batteries that promise longer usage. While the battery capacity doesn’t get a huge boost, efficiency gains from the chipset and software optimizations should significantly add to the overall battery life. Samsung offers faster wireless charging as well.

On top of this, a more advanced BioActive sensor delivers better health and fitness tracking, with One UI 8 Watch bringing new features (while the Watch 4 will get One UI 8 Watch, some advanced health features won’t make the cut). The new models also offer better connectivity with Bluetooth v5.3 and dual-band GPS. The Watch 8 series builds on the MIL-STD-810G and IP68 build quality with an Armor Aluminum 2 frame and Sapphire Crystal glass.

A full One UI 8 Watch experience

Out of the box, the Galaxy Watch 8 runs One UI 8 Watch on top of Wear OS 6, offering Samsung’s most complete smartwatch experience yet. That includes features like the Antioxidant Index, advanced sleep tracking, personalized heart rate zones, and more. As mentioned above, the Watch 4 series won’t support every new One UI 8 Watch feature due to hardware limitations. Simply put, you’re not getting the full experience on older models.

Considering all this, the Galaxy Watch 8 and Watch 8 Classic are a massive leap forward in every aspect. Be it design, performance, battery, display, health tracking, or software, you get a huge boost over the Watch 4 duo. It’s not just a new coat of paint. It’s a whole new watch. Prices start at $349, but Samsung is currently offering up to $200 trade-in credit when you swap your Galaxy Watch 4 or Watch 4 Classic for the new models.

• Pre-order Galaxy Watch 8
• Pre-order Galaxy Watch 8 Classic