I Ran With Samsung's Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, And It Both Humbled And Motivated Me

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic starts astatine $499.99, pinch nan LTE exemplary priced astatine $549.99.
• The beingness rotating bezel is smooth, One UI contains caller wellness metrics, and nan cushion creation is elegant.
• The show shrunk to 1.34 inches, it's alternatively expensive, and nan bands are reliable to unafraid successful place.

Every different twelvemonth Samsung rolls retired a caller Galaxy Watch pinch a beingness rotating bezel. This year, we've sewage nan Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, pinch an charismatic analog aesthetic, cushion design, and nan aforesaid Quick Button we first saw connected nan Galaxy Watch Ultra. 

In summation to immoderate caller hardware changes, nan Watch 8 Classic is loaded pinch AI -- nan first caller Google Wear OS watch to motorboat pinch Google Gemini, alongside Samsung's Galaxy AI.

Also: I tested nan champion Android smartwatches of 2025 - these are my favorites

The watch provides you pinch wellness insights that lend to your Energy Score, arsenic good arsenic caller AI coaches to thief you execute your moving and slumber goals. Antioxidant levels, vascular load, ECG, slumber apnea detection, assemblage composition, and much each thief make nan Galaxy Watch 8 Classic your individual wellness and wellness advisor.

One characteristic of nan Google Pixel Watch 3 that I was very excited astir is nan precocious support for running. After astir a week of moving pinch nan Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, it is now my favourite watch to tally with, and dissimilar Google, Samsung does not complaint a interest for nan precocious Running Coach functionality.

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To commencement your travel pinch nan Running Coach, you request to execute a moving trial that consists of a short lukewarm up, 12 minutes of much aggravated running, and a short cool down. Samsung Health will guideline you done nan moving trial truthful link your Bluetooth headphones and deed nan road. 

Matthew Miller/ZDNET

At nan conclusion of nan moving test, Samsung Health will show you your existent moving level: excavation was 5 retired of 10. After accepting nan results, it will coming you pinch a play moving plan. As you complete each workout, a compliance people will beryllium awarded and you will request to walk to move connected successful nan training program. 

Workouts see jogging, intervals, gait runs, fartleks, and more. Follow-up tests are assigned arsenic you complete a definite number of workouts successful your level and past you move connected up. I'm not judge what happens if you complete each workouts astatine level 10, but I'll effort to activity my measurement location and fig that out.

In summation to Running Coach, Samsung Health useful pinch nan Galaxy Watch 8 Classic to service arsenic a slumber coach that guides you done a coaching programme to amended your slumber results. I'm presently a penguin sleeper and person a 3 week programme underway. Sleep search seems meticulous erstwhile compared to different wearables, and nan Watch 8 Classic moreover supports slumber apnea denotation monitoring.

Matthew Miller/ZDNET

The Watch 8 Classic supports nan antioxidant scale done measurements taken pinch your thumb connected nan backmost of nan watch. I've been successful nan debased region for nan past week, pinch immoderate wide guidance to eat much vegetables. Samsung representatives showed really much circumstantial guidance will beryllium provided, specified arsenic "eat 10 blueberries", arsenic nan Watch 8 Classic learns much astir your regular routine.

Also: I utilized each Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Series exemplary - and my favourite isn't nan Ultra

I emotion nan look of nan Watch 8 Classic hardware pinch a soft rotating bezel connected nan cushion creation frame, but nan show is simply a spot smaller than nan Galaxy Watch 7 and I can't springiness up nan large show and agelong artillery life of nan Watch Ultra. The UI is flawless and smooth, however, particularly arsenic you rotation nan bezel.

Matthew Miller/ZDNET

Samsung designed a caller move lug strategy for nan watch bands, and frankly I dislike it. I understand it was implemented to amended nan reliability and accuracy of wellness metrics, but truthful acold I find it difficult to region and insert nan bands into nan luges moreover pinch nan elaborate written instructions included successful nan package. 

ZDNET's buying advice

I bounce astir betwixt a batch of different smartwatches arsenic portion of my real-world testing present astatine ZDNET, but fixed nan awesome caller Running Coach characteristic connected nan Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, it will beryllium my regular driver for immoderate time. 

If you are a runner aliases a personification who is very willing successful each of specifications astir your wellness and wellness past it is reliable to hit nan latest Samsung Galaxy Watch pinch each of these metrics for free.