I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. Information gathered from the watch, Samsung Health app or related software is not intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent disease or other conditions. As an old-school watch collector, I love the look of the bezel, even as I acknowledge that there is no practical reason for it to exist. It’s big and bold as a classic wearable should be but the 47mm model we tested is almost too big and heavy.

But once you zoom in, you see how the Samsung is always off somewhere else, no matter which direction I’m heading. It otherwise has the same strengths as the Galaxy Watch 6, including zippy performance, all of the apps and connectivity features you could want, and robust fitness, sleep, and health tracking capabilities.

Within the watch you can create a basic interval workout, including cool-down, but nothing more complex.

I find I just end up swiping up/down/left/right depending on the scenario, which tends to work far better and more reliably. Camera Controller is supported on Galaxy Watch4 and later released Galaxy Watch models when paired with Galaxy S9 Series and later. Instead, you can download programs from the phone, where there are workouts that have variety in them, both for running as well as a slate of other gym sports.I have drawers full of classic analog, windup watches, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic would look at home next to any of them. The Classic also has a more eye-catching design with a gleaming stainless steel build and attractive stitching on its strap. The Galaxy Watch 6 series is a lot more durable than the Google Pixel Watch, which offers a 5ATM rating but no promised protection against dust or extreme temperatures. Meaning, I actually did an entire 6-lap warm-up before I recorded this file (on a different file, getting the track learning done), and despite that, it still failed the warm-up. Watch6 Classic gives detailed insights of your sleep activity, monitoring everything from time spent in different sleep stages to snoring – and even your blood oxygen levels.

I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.We see the pattern repeat itself as I begin the second climb, again taking about 10 minutes to finally lock. It’s even more odd because that would have been a really easy software port to these watches, and an obvious win against many other Wear OS watches, or even versus Apple (of course, very few people are directly deciding between Samsung and Apple watches, given the walled gardens of both platforms).

The Classic also gets the fun rotating mechanical bezel that I love, but the basic Watch6 uses a touch bezel, which Samsung used on last year's models. One new crucial addition in Wear OS 4 is the ability to finally switch phones without having to completely reset the smartwatch. While the company has made progress each year, it tends to be minimal, and usually lags years behind their competitors (any of them). Galaxy Z Fold5's Flex mode and Camera Controller let you easily switch between photo and video mode, or zoom in and out, all from the comfort of your wrist. Throughout the night, I would wake up, feeling the uncomfortable pressure on my wrist, usually because my hand was under my pillow and my head was pressing down on the pillow and the watch underneath.As I discuss in my Galaxy Watch 6 review, Samsung's latest smartwatches feature larger and brighter displays, but shorter battery life than the last generation. The touch bezel isn't as fun to use, but it works well on the Galaxy Watch 6 overall, letting you scroll by swiping your finger along the edge of the watch screen.