Hands-on: Galaxy Watch 6 series brings nice evolution, but even Wear OS 4 isn’t all that exciting yet

Ben Schoon | Jul 26 2023 - 6:45 am PT

The new Galaxy Watch 6 series has arrived with the revival of the “Classic” model that brings back the fan-favorite rotating bezel, and it’s better than ever, but the big upgrade might just come from the thinner hardware.

On the whole, the Galaxy Watch 6 series is rather boring. There’s a slightly faster chip under the hood with the same basic design, and also thinner bezels on all models. That leads to bigger displays and a really nice look.

But there are only two major points of interest here.

That starts with the return of the rotating bezel on Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. The new bezel is slightly thinner, but it’s the hardware itself that feels better. Samsung has made the mechanism a bit more tactile, which leads to a better feel when scrolling with the wheel. It’s not a massive change, but it’s a nice evolution on the whole.

The other change is that the standard models are much thinner. Galaxy Watch 6 now measures just 9mm thick, while Watch 6 Classic is 10.9mm. That’s down from 9.8mm on Watch 5. Of course, Samsung’s spec sheets exaggerate this figure, but the difference in person is quite noticeable.

Beyond that, Samsung has also introduced a new band on the Watch 6 series. This new band is backwards compatible and uses the same pin, but has a button that you can press to detach and attach the band. With my short nails I didn’t find it particularly easy, though, and would argue the previous mechanism was easier. Still, it’s not a terrible idea by any means.

Oh, these are also the launching point of Wear OS 4.

Google’s new update will eventually make its way to the Pixel Watch and other wearables, but it will start out by serving as the base for One UI Watch 5. That said, there’s really nothing all that new going on here. Samsung’s skin feels basically identical, but that’s not to say it’s a pointless update. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes changes, such as being able to switch phones without a full reset. Expect more on this update very soon.

The Galaxy Watch 6 starts at $299 with Watch 6 Classic starting at $399.