The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is now official: the wait was worth it

Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 design

The Galaxy Watch 3 design is an obvious evolution of that of the original Galaxy Watch. The most distinct Galaxy Watch element - the rotating bezel is kept, but everything, including the bezel, is reimagined and refined to make a new product that looks gorgeous.

Samsung has put a lot of effort to reduce the bulk of the watch. As a result, the Galaxy Watch 3 is 14% thinner, 8% smaller and 15% lighter while having a display larger than its predecessor.

Samsung is obviously trying to move away from the rugged feel of the Galaxy Watch and towards a more luxurious experience. Part of that is not only the slimmer body but also the leather strap that now comes as standard.

The body of the watch is made from stainless steel, but for those that want something even better, Samsung is also adding a titanium body option this time around.

As last time, there are two sizes you can choose from: 45mm and 41mm, as well as three colors: Mystic Black, Mystic Silver and Mystic Bronze.

But this is a smartwatch and what it can do is even more important than how it looks.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 features

Samsung hasn’t wasted any time since the release of the Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy Watch 3 it stacked with useful features. From the slightly helpful ones to the potentially lifesaving ones, it has a lot to offer.

Watch faces and complications

One of the best things about smartwatches is that you can choose from all sorts of different watch faces and change them as often as you want. And if that’s your thing, you’ll love the Galaxy Watch 3. In the Galaxy Store, you find more than 80,000 watch faces but if you don’t feel like searching for the perfect one, you can just make it yourself. You can choose from 40 different complications to customize the watch face until it fits your needs like no other.

Body vitals tracking

Besides the standard heartrate tracking, the Galaxy Watch 3 comes with a few advanced features:

• Blood oxygen saturation tracking
• Blood pressure monitoring
• Electrocardiogram

Your access to these features may vary depending on the market you’re in, as they’re subject to regulatory approval. To track them, Samsung has made a new Health Monitor app which will help you make sense of the data your watch is providing.

Fall detection

Another new feature coming to the Galaxy Watch line, Fall detection will activate whenever the watch senses that you’ve fallen and unless you take action, it will send an emergency notification to contacts of your choice.

Running form tool

To bring your workout game to the next level, the Galaxy Watch 3 will give you real-time feedback while you’re running, as well as six-factor post-workout reports. Basically, the Galaxy Watch 3 will be closer to a critical personal coach more than ever. Whether or not that’s a good thing, we’ll leave for you to decide.

Hand gestures

Getting down to the more gimmicky part of the features list, we have the new hand gestures. For now, there are two supported gestures:

• Fist clenching(and unclenching), which will allow you to accept calls.
• Wrist rotation, which can be used to stop alarms and deny calls.

Samsung will probably extend this functionality to other features in the future, but for now that's what the company is highlighting.

The Galaxy Watch 3 is a massive improvement over the original Galaxy Watch and we can easily say it was worth the wait. Of course, there’s much more the Galaxy Watch 3 can do and we’ll cover all of it in our review, so keep an eye for it.

The Galaxy Watch 3 Bluetooth only versions start at $399 for the 41mm and $429 for the 45mm model. For the LTE version, prices start at $449 for the smaller 41mm model and $479 for the 45mm model. Shipping starts August 6 and you can order yours today from the links below: