Galaxy Watch 7 Showcases Samsung’s Quiet Command of the Android Wrist Without Breaking the Bank

Samsung’s latest smartwatch comes with a confidence born from knowing exactly what it’s good at. The Galaxy Watch 7 (40mm), priced at $149.99 (was $249.99), shows up with a snazzy aluminum case that looks and feels way more premium than you’d expect, without drawing any more attention to itself than you’d want.

The circular Super AMOLED screen is front and center, really putting to the test at up to 2,000 nits of brightness to make sure you can still see what’s going on in the middle of a run or quick peep outside at lunchtime. Topping that display is some seriously tough sapphire crystal, which is far better at withstanding scratches than the glass on a Google Pixel Watch 3, and the buttons on the side are clicking along with a satisfying crunch, all while the whole thing weighs a featherlight 28g for the smaller model, so you can almost forget you’re even wearing it after an hour.

Setting up the watch with a Galaxy phone is a breeze, almost like an extension of your existing phone. Notifications pop in on demand, texts appear in an instant and are ready for quick reply, and music controls sync up with any apps you’ve got on your phone with a smooth-as-silk ease. Even if you’re using an Android phone from someone else, things still stick together – just there’s a few extra steps to get everything running smoothly via the companion app. Storage jumps to 16GB, or double what the previous model managed, which leaves you with plenty of room for offline maps, a long playlist, or all the podcasts you need to get through that long roadtrip.

Fitness enthusiasts in particular will love how the Galaxy Watch 7 turns running, yoga and other exercise into something totally approachable yet still super detailed too. The dual-frequency GPS is a lot faster and more accurate than before, which means it locks onto signals and maps your route without any hiccups during an urban jog or hiking in the woods. Heart rate readings stay steady across all your favorite exercises, and the watch even auto-detects activities like walking or swimming without having to prod it all the time. There are built-in sensors to measure your blood oxygen levels and track ECG readings too, providing data that you can trust to identify patterns over the long haul. Swimmers, don’t forget, the 5ATM water resistance means it can handle pool sessions, including a neat little feature that lets you get rid of water in the speaker with a few quick taps.

Sleep tracking takes the watch from mere accessory to proper bedtime buddy. Overnight, it monitors breathing disturbances to flag up potential apnea risks, a feature that’s been cleared by the regulators after some reliable lab tests, and with morning reports that give you suggestions like earlier bedtimes to get better recovery. If you pair it with a Samsung Galaxy Ring, the two devices can pool their resources and give you a more complete picture of how you’re sleeping – especially since the ring can fill in any gaps that the watch might miss during the day. Once you’ve got all that data, the watch gives you an energy score that wraps up the day’s activity, sleep quality and heart rate variability into a single number, giving you a quick snapshot of where you stand for the next day’s demands without overwhelming you with too much detail.

Galaxy AI sneaks into these tools with little tweaks that make sense of the numbers. Workout advice will suggest recovery days after a string of hard sessions. Personalized heart rate zones adjust automatically so you hit the right effort without guessing. Messaging gets a hand from the system too, drafting replies or summarizing long threads when you’re in the middle of a run. These are all built on Wear OS 5, but Samsung’s custom layer keeps it all smooth and intuitive, with a double pinch to answer calls being a nice touch for one handed use. Best of all, the battery life is 24-30 hours on a full charge, enough to get you through the day and sleep without having to go on a mid-afternoon cable hunt.