The Best Samsung Watch for 2026

The Galaxy Watch 8 offers all the connectivity and health features that you'd expect of a flagship Samsung smartwatch, and it adds a few useful extras to the mix. New features to this generation include a Galaxy AI coach to help you train for a marathon and get a restful night’s sleep. The Galaxy Watch 8 also features Google's Gemini built in for responding to voice commands.

Additionally, it can measure your antioxidant levels to provide insight into your dietary health and your vascular load, offering an understanding of your arterial health. The Galaxy Watch 8 and other recent models can even measure your blood pressure if you're willing to calibrate those readings with a separate cuff. Samsung's latest smartwatch features a refined design, with a thinner case and a brighter screen than its predecessor, along with a larger battery.

It otherwise rolls forward the impressive feature set of previous Galaxy Watches. When you exercise, it goes beyond the basics of heart rate and pace tracking with the ability to measure advanced outdoor running metrics like asymmetry and vertical oscillation. While you sleep, it tracks your blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) level, skin temperature, and even snoring if you have a nearby Samsung phone, in addition to more common overnight metrics. It can even calculate your body fat percentage, similar to a smart scale.

Aside from its robust health-tracking tools, this Wear OS-powered smartwatch offers a range of useful lifestyle features, including calling, texting, and mobile payment support, as well as a wide selection of downloadable third-party apps via the Google Play Store.

Most Samsung fans: The Galaxy Watch 8 offers the best smartwatch features that Samsung has to offer at a relatively affordable price, making it the top pick in the Galaxy Watch lineup for most people. Like the other watches on this list, the Galaxy Watch 8 works best when paired with Samsung phones, as doing so enables its AI-based Running Coach, irregular heart rhythm notifications, phone separation alerts, gesture controls, and snoring detection.

Health enthusiasts seeking detailed metrics: If you're in the market for a new Wear OS-based smartwatch, you won't find one with more health features than the Galaxy Watch 8. Antioxidant detection and vascular load sensing are exclusive to the Galaxy Watch 8 series, building on existing features like body fat calculations and snore detection.

Wellness seekers who could use a little coaching: Both the running and sleeping AI coaches introduced with this model are genuinely helpful. You can utilize their unique insights to develop an effective exercise plan and routine that helps you sleep better.

Running Wear OS, the Galaxy Watch FE is an excellent lifestyle and health companion at a reasonable price. It offers nearly all the health-tracking features of its more expensive siblings, including heart rate, pace, and VO2 Max measurements, as well as advanced outdoor running metrics like asymmetry and vertical oscillation. It even offers Samsung's more unique wearable features, including snore detection and body fat measurements. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) index tracking, dual-frequency GPS, Galaxy AI, skin temperature sensors, and sleep apnea detection are the major omissions here compared with its more expensive siblings.

Budget-conscious buyers: If you’re looking for an Android-compatible smartwatch on a budget, the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE offers unbeatable bang for your buck, with most of the features of the company's flagship models for much less money.

Anyone spooked by AI: The main features missing from the Galaxy Watch FE when compared with the Galaxy Watch 8 are related to AI health assessments and coaching. If you prefer not to have AI analyze your habits, consider this model instead.

While not a full-fledged smartwatch with the same app support and lifestyle features as the other options on this list, the Galaxy Fit3 is a strong, budget-friendly wearable for fitness tracking, capable of keeping tabs on more than 100 different types of workouts. It accurately records heart rate, and when you're not working out, it measures daily activity, sleep, and stress. Like the models on this list, it can even monitor snoring when paired with a Samsung phone.

Budget-minded fitness enthusiasts: The Fit3 is the best wearable in Samsung's lineup if you're focused on tracking workouts and health stats, and don't want to spend a lot of money.

Smartwatch naysayers: If you just want a wearable to track your workouts and sleep, and you'd rather wear an old-fashioned timepiece for its fashion during the rest of your day, go with this affordable option, as it fills that role perfectly.

The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic brings back the popular rotating bezel from the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, and puts it into an updated body with a cushion (aka squircle) design for a more comfortable fit. In terms of features, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic matches the flagship Galaxy Watch 8 with robust health tracking and lifestyle capabilities. Galaxy AI powers a Running Coach to help you prep for a 5K and a Sleeping Coach to guide you to a better night's rest. Google's Gemini is on board to answer your questions. In addition to the extra style boost, it boasts the best battery life of the line. With the always-on display enabled, it can last just over two full days on a charge.

Style-minded shoppers: Thanks to its timeless rotating bezel, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic boasts the most elegant look among Samsung's current smartwatches. If you're looking for a watch that strikes a balance between classic charm and modern conveniences, this is the one.

Anyone who wants to go days between charges: If you dislike the idea of having to charge your smartwatch every day, go with the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. It lasted even longer than the more expensive Galaxy Watch Ultra in our battery tests and should survive over two full days of moderate use before needing a charge.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra combines Galaxy AI-powered insights with a large, durable body and a few extra features specifically designed for hard-core athletes. It features a multi-sports tile for triathlons, Functional Threshold Power (FTP) measurements for cycling, and an 85dB emergency siren that can be sounded if you get lost or into trouble. The Galaxy Watch Ultra boasts a 10ATM rating, meaning it can withstand water pressure at depths up to 328 feet. On land, it works at extreme altitudes ranging from -1,640 feet to 29,527 feet above sea level and temperatures between -4 and 131 degrees Fahrenheit. It powered through 46 hours of moderate use in a single charge during testing.

Adventurers: If you're planning your next mountain biking or hiking trip, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is an ideal wearable for you. The extra durability will help it survive bumps and bad weather, the extra brightness will keep it visible in direct sunlight, and the extra button will allow you to control the watch more easily while wearing gloves.

Hard-core athletes: The multisports exercise tile and the cycling power measurements will help you train for big events like triathlons. You can pick a preset trio if training for a triathlon (swimming, biking, running), a duathlon (running, biking, running), or an aquathlon (running, swimming, running). You can also create a custom trio with options including biking, indoor biking, mountain biking, open-water swimming, pool swimming, outdoor running, and treadmill running.