Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Review: Design that grows on you

The Galaxy Watch 8 uses a brand-new "Dynamic Lug" mechanism that makes swapping bands just a bit easier, but the bad news is that straps from previous Galaxy Watches are not compatible. Those of you who have a collection of bands sure would be disappointed.

If you just want to use a traditional watch band with a spring loaded metal pin, we guess that third-party adapters would be all over Amazon soon.

Back to these new bands, Samsung pairs the Watch 8 with a sport band, but you can also select one of the other types offered: the comfortable fabric one, the athleisure one and our favorite, the hybrid, which mimics a leather band. All of these, as you'd expect, are quite pricey.

Galaxy Watches have been running on Wear OS for a few years now. But this being Samsung, it's a custom version so the typical Wear OS has an extra skin on top, called One UI Watch.

At launch, the Galaxy Watch 8 runs on One UI 8 Watch on top of Wear OS 6.

Additionally, we ought to mention that the watch connects to the Samsung Health app, which is completely free to use. Compare this to Google's Fitbit app, which hides some features behind a subscription, and you can appreciate Samsung's approach with this.

The big ticket software item this year is Google Gemini from your wrist.

And it's just as good as you think it is. Sure, the functionality is a bit limited without the larger screen of something like a phone, but the smarts are not toned down and Gemini on the Watch 8 can be very useful. We don't think that Gemini on your wrist will replace Gemini on your phone, but it's nice to have the option (it will work on the watch when it is connected to Wi-Fi or LTE, otherwise you would need your phone).

So what can you use Gemini for? Well, your typical knowledge questions work just fine, but don't expect to ask it for personalized training advice based on your training data (and this feels like a missed opportunity).

The sensor on the Galaxy Watch 8 has not changed, but since you have a more snug fit with the new cushion design, you get more accurate readings as well.

In our experience, the watch did better with heart rate accuracy than the previous model. We tested it with a few runs and it was in line with the usual heart rate readings we get with devices like an Apple Watch or Garmin watches.

Automatic workout detection on the Galaxy Watch 8 is probably the best we've ever seen on a smartwatch (and we've tested a lot). It is just so quick to pick it up when you are walking or cycling, impressive.

Last year, Samsung introduced “dual-band GPS,” and of course, this feature is also present on the Watch 8. Dual-band GPS is particularly useful when you live in a city where single-band GPS can be spotty. In our experience focused on running, the GPS signal was quite good and we did not have any issues with accuracy.

We mentioned this last year in our reviews as well, but Samsung does an excellent job presenting all of your workout data, with all the metrics and measurements properly explained. Garmin could definitely take some notes here.

One of the most useful new additions is the personal running coach. This is a high-intensity workout where you run for 12 minutes to get an evaluation of your running level/condition. We imagine it will be particularly useful to novice runners. After the initial test, the watch then builds a plan to reach your running goals, whether it's a full marathon or just running a 5K.

The suggestions all appear perfectly reasonable - a focus on slow runs with a sprinkle of tempo run efforts and intervals. Other watches have had such a feature for years, so it's not exactly new, but it's definitely a welcome addition.

The Galaxy Watch 8 gets a new trick called vascular load tracking, which sounds a bit scary, but is actually a way of monitoring how much pressure your arteries are dealing with over time. Give it three nights and it begins to map your results along a scale tailored to you (not just a bland national average).

In my case, the watch repeatedly informed me I was in the calming green zone. Which is great. I think. Reassuring, but also a little like being told your vibes are good — lovely, but could use a bit more detail. It would've been nice to see how I stack up against others with similar lifestyle choices and age.

The real star of the show, however, is Galaxy AI and its new role as a sleep coach. It now offers polite suggestions to put your phone down at 2am and go to bed already.

To be fair, Samsung's been sleep-savvy for a while now. Previous watches could already track sleep stages, log your skin temperature, and even detect snoring (with your phone nearby). From the Watch 7 onward, sleep apnea detection joined the party too.

The sleep reports walk the line between informative and overwhelming. There are sleep stages, apnea alerts, snore notes, and now that recommended bedtime window, based on your actual patterns. I genuinely appreciated this one.

You also have all the features from previous Galaxy Watches, such as ECG and Blood Pressure. Blood Pressure is still not available on an Apple Watch, but taking your blood pressure with a Galaxy Watch is probably still not the best way to go and measuring with a cuff would be far more reliable.

As you can see the OnePlus Watch 3 with its proprietary charging is just so much faster than the competition, but the Galaxy does not match up even with Apple Watch or Pixel Watch. The Galaxy is not too far behind, but it is not fast by any means.