Samsung Galaxy Watch6 series improves CPU, display, battery. Local price and promos here.

Note: This article was first published on 26th July 2023.

Galaxy Watch6 and Watch6 Classic

Samsung has just announced the new Galaxy Watch6 series along with phones and tablets at Unpacked 2023. There will be two models this generation, the standard Watch6 and the Watch6 Classic, which marks the return of the physical rotating bezel. But if you want to know more about the innovations underneath the new wearables, there will be an additional Wearables Livestream Special focusing specifically on the Watch6 series on 28th July 2023, you can watch it right here.

There is no "Pro" model this time around which can mean one of two things: Samsung is keeping the Watch6 Pro for a later date, or they're settling into an alternate cycle with a Classic model one year, and a Pro model another year.

As such, it might be easier to directly compare the improvements of the Watch6 and Watch6 Classic against the Watch4 series rather than Watch5. 

The first, and most important thing to take note of is the Watch6 series will finally see a chipset upgrade, featuring a dual-core Exynos W930 processor running at 1.4GHz, with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. Both the Watch4 and Watch5 were running on the same hardware (Exynos W920 1.18GHz, 1.5GB RAM, 16GB storage). The processor speed bump and increased memory should help the Watch6 feel snappier overall. It will run on One UI 5 Watch (based on Wear OS 4) out of the box, so it will support all the latest apps such as WhatsApp for Wear OS.

The Watch6 series will feature two case sizes per model: 40mm / 44mm for the Watch6, and 43mm / 47mm for the Watch6 Classic. The Watch6 has the same dimensions as the Watch4, while the Watch6 Classic is 1mm larger than the Watch4 Classic. The Watch6 case is made of Armor Aluminum and the Watch6 Classic is stainless steel, just like the Watch4 series.

Regardless of case size and type, both Watch6 and Watch6 Classic will feature a larger display. Samsung achieves this with 30% slimmer bezels and a 15% thinner rotating bezel. In the Watch4 and Wathc5 series, the smaller case had a 1.2-inch display with 396x396 pixels while the larger case had a 1.4-inch display at 450x450 pixels. With the Watch6 series, the 40mm/43mm case will come with a 1.3-inch display at 432x432 pixels, while the 44mm/47mm case will have a 1.5-inch display at 480x480 pixels. Not only that, the Watch6 series also boasts an incredible peak brightness of 2,000 nits! Like the Watch5 series, the Watch6 series will have sapphire crystal across all models. 

Lastly, we have larger batteries across all models too. The Watch6 and Watch6 Classic feature the same battery specs: 300mAh (40mm/43mm) and 425mAh (44mm/47mm). This is a bump up from the Watch4 (247mAh/361mAh) and Watch5 (284mAh/410mAh), but the Watch5 Pro still has the largest battery at 590mAh. 

The Watch6 series also gets Fall Detection and a new Track Run exercise option. The rest of the features haven't really changed from the Watch5. The Watch6 has the same BioActive sensor and temperature sensor, so all the physical tracking features remain the same. There are sleep tracking upgrades, such as more personalised Sleep Score Factors, Sleep Messages, Sleep Consistency reports, advanced Sleep Coaching, and a Sleep Animal Symbol gamification. These features are very similar to Fitbit's Sleep Profile and Sleep Avatars, with the exception that Samsung's features are free, while Fitbit's behind their Fitbit Premium subscription.

Pre-Order Promos

Pre-orders of the Galaxy Watch6 series will start from 26 July 2023, 7pm from:

• Samsung Online Store 
• Samsung Experience Stores
• Samsung Education Store 
• Telecommunication operators (Singtel, StarHub)
• Selected Consumer Electronics & IT Stores: Best Denki, Challenger, Courts, Gain City, Harvey Norman
• Samsung Official Store in Lazada, Shopee and Krisshop

All pre-orders of the Galaxy Watch6 Classic and Galaxy Watch6 will be entitled to a 

free Watch6 Fabric Band and Watch6 Hybrid Leather Band (worth S$146), and 

additional overtrade value of $50. Collection of pre-orders will start from 4th August, while free gifts can be redeemed from the Samsung Redemption Portal - while stocks lasts of course.

Specs, Price and Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Watch6 series will be available on 11th August 2023.

• Galaxy Watch6 Classic
  47mm
  LTE S$748
  
  Bluetooth S$648
  
  
  
  43mm
  LTE S$698
  
  Bluetooth S$598
• Galaxy Watch6 
  44mm
  LTE S$598
  
  Bluetooth S$498
  
  
  
  40mm
  LTE S$548
  
  Bluetooth S$448
• Watch6 Bands: Start from S$58

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.