Samsung’s wearable lineup just got a nudge forward — and for once the change isn’t only about a new paint job. The Galaxy Watch 8, unveiled in mid‑2025, pushes two clear ideas: brighter, more legible screens and tighter AI-driven health smarts. But if you already wear a Watch 7 (or want a bargain), the older model still packs a lot of value — especially while retailers trim prices for the holidays.
Design and screen: small leap, noticeable payoff
Look at the Watch 8 and you’ll spot the difference before you read the spec sheet. Samsung moved toward a “squircle” silhouette — think a softened square that keeps a circular dial — and a brushed bezel finish that gives the watch a slightly more premium feel than the smoother aluminum of the Watch 7. The Classic returns a physical rotating bezel for fans who like tactile controls.
The display is where the upgrade matters day‑to‑day: Samsung claims the Watch 8 can hit up to 3,000 nits peak brightness versus the Watch 7’s roughly 2,000 nits. That translates to clearer notifications and workout stats in bright sunlight — a practical improvement if you spend time outdoors.
Under the hood: similar hardware, tuned software
Internally Samsung largely kept the performance foundations the same: comparable processors, storage options and the BioActive sensor array that measures heart rate, SpO2 and more. You’ll still get dual‑band GPS, Bluetooth/LTE options and the usual IP68/5ATM endurance.
What differs is software and system-level polish. The Watch 8 ships with One UI 8 Watch on top of Wear OS and introduces Gemini-powered features for more natural voice interactions, smarter suggestions and new Galaxy AI health insights. If you follow how Google and partners are folding Gemini into devices, it’s an example of that effort moving from phones and maps onto wearables (see how Gemini is expanding elsewhere in Google products) — and it matters because it makes the watch feel less like a notification screen and more like a tiny assistant. For more on Gemini’s broader ambitions, readers may find context in articles about Gemini’s deeper search capabilities and AI integrations with maps and apps.
Health tracking: incremental, but meaningful
Samsung didn’t strip away features from the Watch 7 — it built on them. The Watch 7 already offered ECG, blood‑pressure estimation, sleep apnea screening and body composition readings. The Watch 8 adds new wellness metrics and AI‑driven signals: vascular load, antioxidant index and a more proactive “readiness” or stress alerting system powered by on‑device and cloud processing.
That means you’ll see more proactive tips (think: suggesting rest after a hard week) rather than raw numbers alone. Important caveat: these are lifestyle and screening tools, not medical diagnoses. For anything serious the watch is a prompt to see a clinician, not a substitute for one.
Battery and charging: slight tweaks, similar day‑to‑day life
Battery sizes ticked up a bit on the Watch 8 models, but Samsung still targets roughly a day to a day‑and‑a‑half of active use with Always‑On enabled. Charging remains fast over a Qi puck; Wireless PowerShare (charging from a phone) appears absent on the Watch 8 — something to note for travel‑convenience fans.
Hidden features worth trying (even on older models)
If you own a Galaxy Watch already, a couple of underused tools are worth exploring:
- Body Composition Analysis: available since the Watch 4, this uses bioelectrical impedance to estimate body fat, muscle mass and water. It’s noisy as a single reading but helpful if you track trends consistently.
- Gesture shortcuts: double‑pinch to answer calls, knock motions to launch shortcuts and wrist shakes to silence alerts — small conveniences that become surprisingly addictive once you trust them.
- Sleep apnea screening: on compatible Galaxy phones and watches, the overnight blood‑oxygen patterns can surface warning signs that are worth discussing with a doctor.
- Buy the Watch 8 if you care about peak outdoor readability, the new One UI/Gemini integration and the extra AI health nudges. The Classic also adds extra storage and the rotating bezel if that’s your thing.
- Buy the Watch 7 (or hunt a sale) if you want most of the core health and fitness features for a lower outlay; gesture controls and body composition still work great and will likely see software improvements.
Those features are tucked into Samsung Health and Settings, and switching them on can change your daily experience more than swapping a case color.
Price and where to save
This is where the story gets sticky for shoppers. Launch pricing for the Watch 8 positioned it above the Watch 7, but aggressive holiday discounts and Boxing Day sales have closed that gap. Retailers in different markets were offering sizeable cuts: previous‑gen models like the Watch 7 have been reduced heavily (one U.S. retailer listed it at roughly $150 during the season), and Australian sales showed the Watch 8 discounted for Boxing Day shoppers. Meanwhile, broader price drops across Samsung’s smartwatch range have made the lineup more accessible generally.
If you want the newest screen, the freshest UI and Galaxy AI features — and don’t mind paying a premium — the Watch 8 is the clear pick. If you care primarily about core health tracking, excellent displays and a lower price, the Watch 7 remains a smart bargain and is likely to be discounted further as retailers clear inventory.
Check latest prices before you buy — deals change quickly and the discounts can make the decision for you: check latest price.
Which one should you pick?
Whichever model you pick, spend five minutes in the Samsung Health app: enable body composition checks, try the double‑pinch gesture and, if relevant, set up sleep apnea screening. Those small toggles often move the needle more than a cosmetic upgrade.
For background on how Gemini is being folded into other Google products and why that matters for device interactions, see coverage of Gemini’s broader integration efforts and the way maps and assistants are changing with conversational AI (/news/gemini-deep-research-workspace) and (/news/google-maps-gemini-ai-copilot).