I’ve been a fan of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Classic for about as long as the watch has been around. My first WearOS smartwatch was the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, and when a bargain popped up on Amazon for the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, I traded my old model for the new one, even though I knew not much had changed.
When I say the claimed leaks of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classicput me off, it means a lot. Samsung took everything I loved about the Classic series and threw it in the bin, replacing it with a design that’s not classic. Because of that, I won’t buy the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, and I know which watch will replace my Samsung smartwatch: the OnePlus Watch 3.
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The Galaxy Watch Classic has lost its way
From Classic to Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic.
Ask any Galaxy Watch Classic fan what they like about that watch range and the answer will be one of three things: the design, the rotating bezel, or both. I’m no exception to that rule. While I initially loved the rotating bezel, my ardor for that has cooled. Still, I adore the design, and that design always brings me back, no matter how many other watches I test.
When it debuted, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic wasn’t a new design, as it was the spiritual successor to the Galaxy Watch 3, where style was concerned. The Classic part was to indicate that the main Galaxy Watch had moved on, adopting a sleeker and minimalist approach, swooping lines, and smooth silhouettes.
The Classic was a throwback, but it was a throwback some people loved. Sales figures for individual models aren’t published, but I like to imagine that the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic was introduced two years later because the previous iteration had been a success.
I love the Galaxy Watch Classic line because it’s a throwback. It calls back to classic watches and isn’t afraid to look like them. If the rumors and leaks are to be believed, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic has lost all of that.
The alleged Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic.
In Samsung’s defense, the rotating bezel is still there. However, it’s been bolted onto what is the Galaxy Watch Ultra, a design that’s about as far from classic as it gets. The Ultra, which debuted last year, is a large smartwatch with a square-circle (squircle) body shape. It’s big, rugged, in-your-face, and perfect for the Ultra’s focus on adventurous outdoor pursuits. It’s not a good fit for a watch that’s supposed to represent the epitome of quiet, subtle style.
That’s not to say I don’t like that the Ultra exists. On the contrary, I like that Samsung has an outdoors-focused model. I especially enjoy that it was supposedly shooting for a “tick-tock” release approach of being an outdoors watch one year and a Classic the next, with a new iteration of the mainline Galaxy Watch every year.
It worked well because you don’t need a new version of the Classic, Pro, or Ultra every year. That now seems to have gone out of the window because the Classic now looks like an Ultra.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra.
It’s hard for me to say I recognize the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic as a Galaxy Watch Classic, because most of what defined the Classic has gone. The rotating bezel is still there, but it looks so comically out of place that it might as well not be.
I won’t be buying the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. However, that’s okay because I’ve found a smartwatch that’s even better.
Samsung is in danger of being made irrelevant by this smartwatch upstart
OnePlus one-ups
The OnePlus Watch 3.
I had a chance to try the OnePlus Watch 3 earlier this year, and I adored it. It made me reconsider my commitment to the Galaxy Watch Classic, even before the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic’s redesign was announced.
It wasn’t only that the OnePlus Watch 3 is the more powerful and smoother of the two to use. It’s the newer model, and I gave the older watch some leeway in that regard.
In many ways, the OnePlus is merrily eating Samsung’s lunch. I cooled on the Classic’s rotating bezel because I didn’t use it much. Moving my hand to use it properly never felt natural, and it fell by the wayside. However, I use the OnePlus Watch 3’s rotating crown all the time. I suspect it’s because I don’t need to move my hand to use it. Because it’s positioned by the buttons, where my fingers already are, it’s faster and easier to use than the touchscreen.
The design is gorgeous. While I love the design of the older Classic, the OnePlus Watch 3 is a beautiful smartwatch. It knocks the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic into a cocked hat, in my opinion. However, the battery life was the icing on the cake.
The OnePlus Watch 3 with its charging puck.
Smartwatches are known for their lackluster battery lives. A day’s battery life is fine for a phone you can put down, but a smartwatch is designed to be worn all the time, and you need to set aside time to let it charge. It’s been my major issue with them. Even my beloved Galaxy Watch 6 Classic needs daily charging.
The OnePlus Watch 3 regularly lasts three or four days on a single charge, blowing every smartwatch I’ve used out of the water. It still has a way to go to beat fitness watches, but in terms of a pure smartwatch, the OnePlus Watch 3 is almost unparalleled.
While it’s big and heavy, I can’t imagine that won’t be the case for the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, which .
The OnePlus Watch 3 stole my heart. However, it might not always stay that way.
Samsung could eventually win me back
But for now, my future is with OnePlus
It would be a lie to say Samsung has no chance to win me back. After all, the Korean company made a few missteps over the years, most notably when it almost blew everyone up. Still, we’ve always gone back to it. That’s because it’s really good at making smartphones and smartwatches. So while, for the moment, OnePlus has ensnared my heart through my wrist, there’s no reason why Samsung can’t win its place back again.
Samsung has some work to do. The battery life is the largest gulf that needs crossing. OnePlus has shown what’s possible, and it’s so hard to go back to daily charging after living with a multi-day powerhouse. If OnePlus can do it, so can Samsung.
Unless something major changes or I have a change of heart after seeing the reveal expected in mid-July, I suspect the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is a lost cause for me. That means Samsung has nothing to lose and everything to gain with the Galaxy Watch 10 Classic. Here’s hoping it’s a showstopper.
- Case size
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46mm
- Case Material
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Stainless steel
