Introduction and specifications
The ring is back, and no thanks to Frodo. Thankfully Samsung has reconsidered and brought back the unique rotating bezel for the new Galaxy Watch6 Classic after they scrapped it with the Galaxy Watch5 Pro. This is perhaps the biggest change in the new Galaxy Watch6 Classic, alongside the new Exynos W930 for wearables.
However, we can’t shake the feeling that Samsung can handle two separate flagship Galaxy Watch lines: Pro and Classics. After all, a two-year update cycle is the norm, and the company is likely targeting Galaxy Watch4 Classic owners with this one. Those not interested in the rotating ring (anyone?) can stick to the Pro Series.
The specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Watch6 Classic at a glance:
- Body: 46.5×46.5×10.9mm, 59g; Sapphire crystal front, stainless steel frame; MIL-STD-810H Compliant, 50m Water Resistant (IP68), ECG Certified, Blood Pressure Monitor.
- Screen: 1.50″ Super AMOLED, 480x480px resolution, 9:9 aspect ratio, 453ppi; Always-on display.
- chipsets: Exynos W930 (5nm): Dual-core Cortex-A55 1.4GHz; Mali-G68.
- Memory: 16GB 2GB RAM.
- Operating system/software: Android Wear OS 4, One UI Watch 5.
- Rear camera: NO.
- Front camera: NO.
- Video capture: Rear camera: NO.
- Drums: 425mAh; Wireless (Qi).
- Connectivity: LTE; eSIM; WiFi 4; BT 5.3; NFC.
- Various: Accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, heart rate, barometer, thermometer (skin temperature), 3D Hall sensor; Natural language commands and dictation, Samsung Pay.
The concept of two watch lines may well explain why Samsung sees no problem in reducing the Watch6 Classic’s battery capacity down to 425mAh from the Watch5 Pro’s 590mAh. It’s because it’s still an upgrade from 2021’s Watch4 Classic, which it had a 361mAh cell. Samsung believes the new chipset is more efficient, which we’ll put to the test in our battery section of the review.
Efficiency is one thing, but what about performance? Well, the new Exynos W930 offers higher clock speeds and is paired with 2GB of RAM, instead of 1.5GB in the previous two generations. This ensures smoother images and faster operation.
Speaking of graphics, the display is now bigger – 1.5″ and with a higher resolution (480 x 480px).
And on the fitness tracking front, not much has changed except for the added skin temperature measurements. Fall detection is also a new feature, which could be facilitated by the new 3D Hall sensor.
A new Wear OS 4.0 operating system with Samsung’s proprietary One UI Watch 5 software ties it all together while the rest of the device is virtually unchanged. Of course, there are nuances, which is why we have this review, so read on.
Galaxy Watch6 Classic unboxing
The device comes in a pretty standard retail box containing just the user manuals and the charging pad with a cable attached. The only change this year is that the cable is now USB-C instead of USB-A.
There’s no dedicated charger in the box, but you can use just about any USB-C wall charger or a PC/laptop. Again, it’s impossible to charge the watch with a third-party Qi charger, and another limitation is that you can’t reverse wireless charging with a non-Samsung phone.
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