Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy Watch 7 at the Galaxy Unpacked 2024 event in Paris. If you’re wondering whether it’s worth upgrading from your Galaxy Watch 6, here are the key reasons to consider.
The new smartwatch ships with One UI Watch 6.0 powered by Wear OS 5. This update introduces many new features, including Galaxy AI for improved sleep detection, personalized wellness tips based on your daily activities, and activity scores using metrics like sleep time, heart rate, and previous day’s activity. For the health-focused people, you can make the best of features like a self-competition mode for outdoor trainers, Functional Threshold Power measurement for cyclists, and an enhanced sleep scoring system. Additionally, the FDA-approved sleep apnea feature allows users to monitor for moderate or severe episodes.
However, all these features will arrive for the Galaxy Watch 6. But here are the top 5 features the Galaxy Watch 7 offers that you won’t find on your Galaxy Watch 6.
Table of Contents
1. More Storage Space to Install More Apps
The Galaxy Watch 6, 5, and 4 – all have 16GB of storage, but the operating system and pre-installed apps take up more than 5GB of that space. If the current storage space isn’t enough for you, the Galaxy Watch 7 with 32GB storage is a worthy upgrade. With that extra space, you can install more apps, store more photos, add watch faces, and keep more offline music.
However, we don’t know what storage type does the Watch 7 have. Most smartwatches typically use eMMC (embedded MultiMediaCard) storage because it’s compact and provides good performance for wearable devices.
2. Faster Performance Overall
The Galaxy Watch 7 features an upgraded 3nm Exynos W1000 chip, a significant jump from the Exynos W930 in the Galaxy Watch 6. According to Samsung, this new processor delivers 2.7 times faster app launches, 3.4 times better single-core performance, and 3.7 times better multi-core performance compared to its predecessor. This translates to faster and smoother operation across all tasks, from opening apps to browsing health insights.
With Samsung adding features like Galaxy AI that work right on the watch, this faster chip makes the Galaxy Watch 7 smoother to use every day. You can consider Galaxy Watch 7 to be almost 3 times faster than the Galaxy Watch 6.
3. New BioActive Health Sensor for Better Accuracy
The BioActive Health Sensor on the Galaxy Watch series typically refers to a suite of sensors that monitor various health metrics. This includes heart rate monitoring, blood pressure monitoring (in some models), ECG (Electrocardiogram) capabilities, sleep tracking, and stress monitoring.
With the Galaxy Watch 7, Samsung packed a new BioActive Health Sensor that claimed to be up to 30% more accurate in tracking health metrics. This is a welcome change to use Galaxy Watch to track health and get fitness insights. But the benefits go beyond better numbers. This upgraded sensor unlocks new functionalities, like the ‘Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) Index.’ This index provides a clearer picture of toxic molecules that can accumulate in your body and cause serious health problems.
4. Dual GPS for Better Location Tracking
With Galaxy Watch 7, Samsung packs a Dual GPSfor the first time. The single GPS uses only band L1, whereas the Dual band uses two, which are L1 and L5 for smart watches generally. The code chip rate is the key parameter in GPS and in the L5 band, the chip rate is 10 times faster compared to L1. In simple terms, Dual GPS uses two frequencies, providing better GPS positioning. While a regular GPS provides an approximate 5-meter accuracy, the Dual GPS narrows it down to approximately 2-meter accuracy.
So if you want to improve your location tracking accuracy during outdoor workouts, then Galaxy Watch 7 is the way to go.
Galaxy Watch 7 vs. Watch 6 Specifications
Overall, there are four major improvements on the Galaxy Watch 7 compared to the Galaxy Watch 6. For more details, here’s the detailed specs comparison between the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch 6 in a table format:
| Feature | Galaxy Watch 7 | Galaxy Watch 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions and Weight | 40mm: 40.4 x 40.4 x 9.7mm, 28.9g 44mm: 44.4 x 44.4 x 9.7mm, 33.8g | 40mm: 40.4 x 38.8 x 9.0mm, 28.7g 44mm: 44.4 x 42.8 x 9.0mm, 33.3g |
| Materials | Case: Aluminum Armor Front: Sapphire Crystal | Case: Aluminum Armor Front: Sapphire Crystal |
| Display | 40mm: 1.3-inch Super AMOLED, 432 x 432 resolution, 330 ppi 44mm: 1.5-inch Super AMOLED, 480 x 480 resolution, 327 ppi | 40mm: 1.3-inch Super AMOLED, 432 x 432 resolution, 330 ppi 44mm: 1.5-inch Super AMOLED, 480 x 480 resolution, 327 ppi |
| Processor | Exynos W1000, 5 cores, 3nm process | Exynos W930, 2 cores, 5nm process |
| RAM | 2GB | 1.5GB |
| Storage | 32GB | 16GB |
| Battery | 40mm: 300mAh, 44mm: 425mAh, WPC-based wireless charging | 40mm: 300mAh, 44mm: 425mAh, WPC-based wireless charging |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3, LTE, Wi-Fi (2.4 & 5GHz), NFC, GPS dual frequency (L1+L5), Glonass, Beidou, Galileo | Bluetooth 5.3, LTE, Wi-Fi (2.4 & 5GHz), NFC, GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo |
| OS | Wear OS 5, One UI Watch 6.0 | Wear OS 4, One UI Watch 5.0 |
| Sensors | Samsung’s new BioActive sensor (Optical Bio-signal sensor, Electrical Heart Signal, Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Temperature sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Light sensor | Samsung BioActive sensor(Optical Heart Rate, Electric Heart Signal, Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis), Temperature sensor, Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic sensor, Light sensor |
| Health Features | Energy score with galaxy ai, Wellness tips, Heart monitoring, Sleep coaching with apnea detection, Irregular heart rhythm notifications, Personalized heart rate zones, Automatic workout detection, Body composition cycle tracking | Heart monitoring, Advanced sleep coaching, Irregular heart rhythm notifications, Personalized heart rate zones, Automatic workout detection, Body composition cycle tracking |
| Durability | 5ATM, IP68, MIL-STD-810H | 5ATM, IP68, MIL-STD-810H |
| Compatibility | Android 11.0 or later, RAM 1.5 GB or higher No iOS support | Android 10.0 or later, RAM 1.5 GB or higher No iOS support |
| Colors | 40mm: Green, Cream 44mm: Green, Cream | 40mm: Graphite, Gold 44mm: Graphite, Silver |
Should Your Upgrade to Galaxy Watch 7?
With upto 3 times performance improvement, more storage space and RAM, 30% improved accuracy and the option to use the new features right away with One UI 6.0, upgrading to the Galaxy Watch 7 is a good choice.
