When the Apple Watch first launched in 2015, it did operate in a wide open space with little competition. Fast forward, and numerous other tech brands are producing their smartwatches. Is Apple Watch still top-of-the-line in the smartwatch market? How do the competitors fair?
A good way to put things into perspective is to look at Apple Watch Series 8 vs Galaxy Watch4. Can Samsung’s newest smartwatch hold a candle to the latest in Apple’s long-running smartwatch series? Let’s find out.
Side By Side Comparison: Apple Watch Series 8 vs Galaxy Watch4
| Apple Watch Series 8 | Galaxy Watch4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | September 2022 | August 2021 |
| System on a Chip | Apple S8 | Exynos W920 |
| Available Size(s) | 41mm; 45mm | 40mm; 42mm; 44mm; 46mm |
| Dimensions | 41mm x 35mm x 10.7mm; 45mm x 38mm x 10.7mm | 40.4mm x 39.3mm x 9.8mm; 41.5mm x 41.5mm x 11.2mm; 44.4mm x 43.3mm x 9.8mm; 45.5mm x 45.5mm x 11.0mm |
| Screen Size | 352 x 430 pixels (41mm) 396 x 484 pixels (45mm) | 396 x 396 pixels (40mm; 42mm) 450 x 450 pixels (44mm; 46mm) |
| Water Resistance | 50 meters | 50 meters |
| Battery Life | Up to 18 hours | Up to 40 hours |
| Color(s) | Midnight, Starlight, Silver, (PRODUCT)RED, Graphite, Silver, Gold | Black, Green, Pink Gold, Silver |
| Price Range | $399-$799 | $199-$429 |
Apple Watch Series 8 vs Galaxy Watch4: Key Differences
Moving away from their specifications, let’s dive deeper into the most significant differences between the Apple Watch Series 8 and Galaxy Watch4. From their chips to their sizes, screens to their batteries, customizations to their average prices, what difference do these finer details make in this Series 8 vs Galaxy Watch4 debate? Let’s break it all down.
- Available in 41 mm and 45 mm sizes
- Battery lasts up to 18 hours or 36 hours on Low Power Mode
- Health features such as the ECG app, heart rate sensors, and blood-oxygen sensors
- Crash detection feature
- Numerous customization options
![Apple Watch Series 8 [GPS 45mm]](https://history-computer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/41lez0Kg9jL._SL500_.webp)
System Chip
Apple Watch Series 8 and Galaxy Watch4 have different system chips. Apple started making their chip sets back in 2010 — a good five years before the first Apple Watch. Now on its Series 8, Apple is still using its chip technology. The Apple Watch Series 8 uses the Apple S8 system-on-a-chip. The Galaxy Watch4, by comparison, uses the Exynos W920. If this name sounds unfamiliar, Exynos is Samsung’s new name for its series of ARM-based systems-on-a-chip (formerly Hummingbird).
Available Sizes
Both devices vary in size too. A millimeter or two might not seem like much, but it makes all the difference in this rival smartwatch debate. Apple Watch Series 8 has two options: 41mm and 45mm. The Galaxy Watch4, by comparison, comes in four options between its base model and Classic model: 40mm, 42mm, 44mm, and 46mm. It’s never bad for a brand to offer more options than its competitor.
Screen Resolution
It’s one thing for a smartwatch to be a certain size, but what about the screen? The Apple Watch Series 8 offers two screen sizes for its two Watch sizes: 352 x 430 pixels for its 41mm model and 396 x 484 pixels for its 45mm model. The Galaxy Watch4 also offers two screen sizes but spread out over its four models. These are 396 x 396 pixels for its 40mm and 42mm models and 450 x 450 pixels for its 44mm and 46mm models. Both of Samsung’s options are larger than Apple’s.
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Battery Life
Another key difference between the Apple Watch Series 8 vs Galaxy Watch4? Battery life. What good is a smartwatch if it dies on you halfway through the day? The Apple Watch Series 8 — like several Apple Watch models before it — offers a battery life of just 18 hours at most. Higher usage and brighter screens will reduce this significantly. Galaxy Watch4 offers a battery life of up to 40 hours. The same high-energy activities will also reduce the Watch4’s battery, but 40 hours is much better than Apple’s 18.
- BODY COMPOSITION ANALYSIS: Galaxy Watch4 is the first smartwatch to off body composition data right on your wrist, On your own schedule, now you can get readings on body fat, skeletal muscle, body...
- BETTER SLEEP STARTS HERE: Wake up feeling refreshed and recharged with advanced sleep tracking; When you go to bed, your Galaxy Watch4 sleep tracker starts monitoring your sleep and SpO2 levels...
- BE SMART ABOUT YOUR HEART: Take care of your heart with accurate ECG monitoring and keep an eye on possible atrial fibrillation, a common form of irregular heart rhythm; Share personalized readings...
- MAKE EVERY WORKOUT COUNT: Get the most out of every exercise session with advanced workout tracking that recognizes 6 popular activities, from running to rowing to swimming, automatically in just 3...
- GO THE EXTRA MILE: Improve your runs with advanced running coaching technology; VO2 Max readings assess your oxygen levels to manage and track your heart and lung endurance
Customizations
Apple Watch Series 8 offers special customizations, including over half a dozen colors, watch band options, and innumerable lock screen options. The Galaxy Watch4 has fewer customizations by comparison, including both fewer colors and fewer watch band options overall.
Price
For some, the price can mean all the difference between an Apple Watch Series 8 vs Galaxy Watch4. What good is a perfect-looking smartwatch if it’s ultimately out of your price range? The Apple Watch Series 8 has a wide range of prices throughout all its different customizations, but they all fall within the range of $399 to $799. The Galaxy Watch4, comparatively, only ranges from $199 to $429 in all. Even the most expensive Galaxy Watch4 costs less than the most affordable Apple Watch Series 8. That’s a definite blow to Apple’s case here.
5 Must-Know Facts About Smart Watches
- While smartwatches might seem unnecessary or unjustifiable expenses to some, they could be life-saving devices for others. With sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, exercise tracking, blood pressure monitoring, and even fall or crash detection, smartwatches are quite important forms of healthcare for certain consumers.
- Though smartwatch uptake in the early part of the 2010s was slow, over 1 billion people worldwide wear a smartwatch daily. In America, one in five adults wears a smartwatch or other wearable fitness tracker.
- In 2022 alone, smart watches brought in more than 43 billion dollars in revenue worldwide. This total gross is expected to grow nearly 10% annually as smartwatches become more accessible and affordable industry-wide. That could mean more than $56 billion by 2025.
- North America is the world leader in smartwatch sales, with a quarter of a billion units expected to be sold annually by 2025.
- Smartwatches aren’t a newfangled invention. Their technology dates back to 1976m, with the release of the Pulsar Time Computer Calculator. Going for more than $2,000 at the time, the so-called first smartwatch was simply a glorified calculator that could tell the time and date.
The History of the Apple Watch
Apple fought off Apple Watch rumors for years before making it official. In 2011, the tech giant had to try and silence talks of a so-called wearable iPod. This task became more difficult when The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times published leaked reports in 2013. These reports all but confirmed Apple’s research and development of an upcoming wearable smart device. The Journal and the Times reports were later backed by the Financial Times and Bloomberg. At this point in 2014, there was no denying it: The Apple Watch was imminent.
It didn’t take long for Apple CEO Tim Cook to make things official. His big surprise had all but been spoiled. At Apple’s annual press conference in September of that year, Cook came out on stage with an Apple Watch prototype displayed proudly on his wrist. He declared that this 1st Generation Apple Watch would be available in April 2015. Due to the overwhelming anticipation, Apple estimated a reasonable 40 million Apple Watch units would be sold by April 2016. To their surprise, the tech giant only sold 10 million.
While these numbers exceeded early figures for both the iPhone and the iPad, it was nevertheless just a fourth of their projections. All they could do was do better next time. They had a new and improved Apple Watch ready by September 2016. Since then, they’ve had at least one new watch type. The most recent of the bunch? The Second Generation Apple Watch SE, the Apple Watch Series 8, and the Apple Watch Ultra launched in September 2022.
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How the Galaxy Watch Compares
It took a few years for Samsung Electronics to release a smartwatch to the wearables market. Their first Samsung Galaxy Watch hit shelves in August 2018, three years after the first Apple Watch debuted. But is it possible that this long delay might be an advantage in Samsung’s favor? That waiting three years could have given Samsung the opportunity to watch and learn from Apple’s mistakes. It’s not completely out of the question. After all, this is what the whole Apple Watch Series 8 vs Galaxy Watch4 debate is all about.
The first Galaxy Watch came out of the gate with several impressive specs the Apple Watch just couldn’t offer. For one, its battery life ranged from four to seven days. The Apple Watch Series 4 — released the month after the first Galaxy Watch — had a battery life of just 18 hours by comparison. The Galaxy Watch was also several millimeters bigger on all sides, offering 42mm and 46mm options compared to Apple’s 40mm and 44mm options. With this, the Galaxy Watch was already amending some key complaints about the Apple Watch.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch series is more than just an Apple Watch competitor. It doesn’t exist simply to copy what Apple’s doing. As a matter of fact, Samsung beat Apple to the smartwatch sphere with their line of Samsung Gear smartwatches dating back to 2013. The Samsung Galaxy Watch series serves as the successor to Samsung Gear. This gives Samsung another advantage in the smartwatch sphere: they’ve already had years of trial and error from their own experiences and observing Apple’s. The Samsung Galaxy Watch5 is the latest model, released in August 2022.
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Apple Watch Series 8 vs Galaxy Watch4: Pros and Cons
| Pros of Apple Watch Series 8 | Cons of Apple Watch Series 8 |
|---|---|
| New temperature monitoring and car crash detection features | Expensive than other smartwatches in the market |
| Great new Apple system on a chip | Battery life is much too low |
| Larger 45mm watch size | Fragile glass screen |
| Many colors and bands to choose from |
| Pros of Galaxy Watch4 | Cons of Galaxy Watch4 |
|---|---|
| New Google OS | No support for iPhone users |
| A wider variety of sizes | Little storage |
| More affordable than the Apple Watch | Slow wireless speeds |
| Incredible battery life |
Apple Watch Series 8 and Galaxy Watch 4: What’s new?
The Apple Watch Series 8 and the Galaxy Watch 4 have received the following updates since February 2023:
- Apple Watch Series 8: There is a new body temperature sensor that can detect fevers.
- Galaxy Watch 4: New watch faces and features were added in a software update.
Apple Watch Series 8 and Galaxy Watch 4: What’s next?
The technology for smartwatches is constantly improving. Apple and Samsung have not released future plans for their watches, but there is a possibility the Apple Watch Series 8 and the Galaxy Watch 4 will receive some of the following updates in the next six to 18 months:
- Improved health tracking: Smartwatches may get new features like body temperature and blood pressure sensors, which would enable users to track their blood pressure, body composition, and blood sugar.
- Enhanced fitness tracking: Smartwatch users enjoy tracking their fitness activities and goals on their watches. We will most likely see enhanced fitness tracking features.
- Extended battery life: The technology for batteries is getting a lot better. So. We these watches should be getting batteries that last longer and charger faster.
- More storage space: Both smartwatches may have more storage space in the future, which would make it possible for users to store music, photos, and other files on their smartwatch.
©Ringo Chiu/Shutterstock.com
Apple Watch Series 8 vs Galaxy Watch4: Which Is Best?
So, between the Apple Watch Series 8 vs Galaxy Watch4, which smartwatch is the best overall? Samsung’s smartwatch offering has plenty to love, including a bigger screen, a lower price point, and a longer battery life overall. However, the Apple Watch remains a bestseller for a reason. It has a better chipset, a superior watch OS, a brighter screen, more advanced technical features, and numerous other advantages over the Galaxy Watch4. You can choose from a variety of options too. In the end, the Apple Watch Series 8 is a much better choice.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©ms_pics_and_more/Shutterstock.com.
