Is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic the best Android Smartwatch you can get now?

Yes and no.

It’s been a month since I’ve been using this Smartwatch, and here’s my in-depth review.

 

Build Quality

Let’s take a look at what made me really love this watch – the build quality. During my month’s usage, I am happy to report that it maintained being super comfortable, even though the screen is huge.

And because it’s also very light on the arm for this 47mm variant, it’s like holding a balloon that tells the time. 

If you’re used to wearing big mechanical watches, you might be surprised that this one feels very light for its size.

I mentioned how easy it is to change the strap with the new one-click mechanism in my previous video.

But not only that, fun fact: if you are a lefty who prefers your watch on your right arm, just switch the top and the bottom strap to the opposite side, and voila, you have a left-handed watch, or a right-handed watch, I don’t know what’s the proper term is, but you get the idea.

Then, the rotating bezel is still super satisfying to use with its fidget spinner smoothness. It’s almost like having a DJ turntable.

And the glass is Sapphire Crystal, so no worries about scratches. I’ve accidentally bumped the watch into a few things more than a couple of times due to my instability of walking after my knee injury, and it is still in perfect condition, so thumbs up for that. 

 

Screen

The second best part for me is the huge display with more than 2,000 nits of maximum brightness. There’s definitely no issue using it indoors or outdoors directly under the sun.

The screen is nice and sharp with lots of information that can be displayed like one of the watch faces that I really like. It shows the day, date, and time prominently in the middle but also the battery, steps that I’ve taken, heart rate, and weather, all at the same time. 

When I’m casually heading out for dinner, I use this watch face either in white or blue background, which you can change according to your outfit, and it still looks like a regular mechanical watch from afar, thanks to its overall look. So it doesn’t scream: “Hey! I’m all techy and smart bro!”, but whispers: “Is it? Or isn’t it a smartwatch?”

 

Apps

One great feature, which was a pleasant surprise, is how easy it is to transfer from one phone to another but still use the same watch. My situation, unlike most users, is that I keep switching phones every week or so. 

But Samsung has made it so easy to move connectivity from one phone to another without needing to reset the watch, which was really nice.

If you’re a workout fanatic, you’ll be happy to know that Samsung has over 90 different workouts in the watch. It’s like having the Netflix of exercises, doing a different workout every single day for 3 months, which is crazy to think about. 

It can even auto-detect when you’re working out. So, if you just randomly start running or a random dog starts chasing you, and you forget to activate your run, it will still track it for you.

In my case, I’m in no condition to run and jump about, and I’m still crushed thinking about how I really miss the gym. But the good news is that I finally got an okay from the doctor to do some light machine upper body workouts now, and I’ve been using the stopwatch features to easily keep track of my sets when I’m doing my physiotherapy sessions in the medical center.

There are also many health apps like ECG, heart rate monitor, blood oxygen, body composition, and so on. But how useful it is depends on who is the person using it.

Like the stress tool, for example. I would know if I’m really stressed out, especially when I’m recording, making all these mistakes, and having people opening the grille, like having people screaming outside the door, to really tell and measure how I’m stressed. I guess that is validating, I guess. 

 

Sleep Tracking

The most prominent standout feature for me compared to any other smartwatch that I’ve reviewed is the Sleep Tracking features. Among all, I’ve been testing out my sleep the most because, given my recent boo-boo or injury, I’m less on the move but more on the pillow. 

The sleep tracking feature is super extensive. It tracks how many hours you’re actually sleeping, your sleep score, how long you’re awake, REM sleeping, light sleeping, and deep sleeping, and so much other information to help you figure out how to sleep better. 

The Sleep Coach has been the best when it comes to whispering bedtime stories to coach me on how exactly to sleep better. And guess what it told me? That I am a “Nervous Penguin”! Now, I did not see that coming in a million years. 

There are a total of 8 types of animals, and being a nervous penguin means that I’m a very light sleeper who can easily be rattled when sleeping and may have trouble going back to sleep. And yes, that is definitely true because I know for a fact that I’m an extremely light sleeper.

 

Responsiveness

So, the watch is also fast and responsive once I get it started, of course. When it’s on my arm and I look at the screen, there’s that 1-second delay for the screen to brighten up. Not only that, if I immediately turn the dial after not touching the screen for a while, it also has a tiny bit of delay for that as well. 

It does get smoother after a while, but that delay or sometimes needing to do the extra turn of the bezel to reactivate the watch feels a bit less seamless than it needs to be. 

And those gesture controls are like trying to high-five a cat – it’s a hit or miss overall when I was trying to use it. So, hopefully, Samsung will improve this later with software updates.

 

Battery

Finally, let’s talk about the battery life after using this for the past month. 

Now, depending on which “battery camp” you’re on, you may either dislike the battery or don’t mind it. 

Typically, I would get around a day and a half if I’m not really active in terms of working out. Sometimes I can stretch it further, but definitely not 2 days based on my usage. 

Here’s where the camp of people who are used to smartwatches that break the one-week battery life may find this a drawback. But for me, I’m kind of used to this kind of battery life on a smartwatch where I would typically charge the watch after I wake up in the morning, do my morning superhero transformation, and by the time I’m ready to seize the day, bam, 50% in about 40 minutes (which means that it takes me 40 minutes to get ready in the morning… That’s quite long…)

So yeah, that is something that I don’t mind at all but that is something worth mentioning and also keeping in mind about.

A weird quirk is that when I charge the watch, it takes a good 5 to 10 seconds to show that it is charging on the screen. You know that anxiety where you always ask yourself when you leave the house like, “Oh, did I lock the door? Did I close the fridge?” And then you go back and check whether or not that’s the case. Well, it’s the same anxiety feeling whenever I charge the watch, whereby I’ll always go back again to see if I have charged the watch properly. So yeah, I hope that this charging quirk will be fixed in a software update.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, to answer the question earlier in this video – YES, this is the Best Android Smartwatch that I’ve used, as there’s so much to like about this watch. But only if you’re able to forgive and don’t mind its battery life. 

Other than that, the watch aesthetics, the rotating bezels, and the endless number of apps available are great. With all the sensory magic built in, the watch makes for a really good purchase!