Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 review: Using AI for good

Take one look at the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and you could easily mistake it for its predecessor, the Galaxy Watch 6. There are barely any differences when it comes to design, with only slight changes in the strap options differentiating the two smartwatches. 

But has no one ever told you it’s not all about looks? Beauty is only skin deep, so it’s good that while the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 looks exactly like the Galaxy Watch 6, there are several differences under the skin that make this a cracking smartwatch. From Energy Score to more accurate heart rate tracking, I wore the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 for over a month before I wrote this review, and here’s what I learnt.

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The Disconnekt Downlow

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is a great smartwatch with plenty going for it, making it a super choice for Samsung and Android users alike. There’s a great build quality, it’s lightweight and very comfortable to wear and the interface is sleek and fluid in use delivering a great overall experience. Some of the features require one of the more recent Galaxy phones and the battery life is definitely not the best in the smartwatch market but otherwise, there’s not a huge amount to complain about. Activity tracking is great, it’s stylish to look at and the implementation of AI in some of the features finally presents some positives for artificial intelligence. If you’re a Samsung user and you have one of the latest Galaxy phones, the Galaxy Watch 7 is a super wrist companion well worthy of your attention.

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The reasons you should choose Samsung Galaxy Watch 7

I’ll admit that when I first put the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 on my wrist, I thought it was far too big. I had the 40mm Green model in for review with a Green Sport Band, but I’m used to the 40mm Apple Watch Series 9 and that is a considerably smaller device. Still, after a couple of days, the Galaxy Watch 7 grew on me. Its aluminium build is premium and lightweight, but more importantly, it’s very comfortable to wear, so much so that I barely noticed it on my wrist, day or night.

The round Super AMOLED display is gorgeous with rich and vibrant colours and plenty of pop, just like you’ll find on Samsung’s Galaxy phones. It’s slightly raised above the watch casing too in a “floating” design, which doesn’t sound like anything to write home about but I found it meant the Galaxy Watch 7 was harder to scratch and that is always a win.

The Galaxy Watch 7’s interface is also easy to use and incredibly slick as you scroll through the various menus and options. It glides through the screens as you swipe, and there are a good range of watch faces, though I have to say nothing quite beats the Snoopy watch face on Apple Watch for me. 

All of that is important of course, but none of it is the sole reason for buying a smartwatch. As I said, it isn’t just about looks, it’s about what’s inside, and the Galaxy Watch 7 is packed with features, alongside a new processor that helps with some of that fluid interaction you get. A few of the features come directly from the Galaxy Watch 6, like blood pressure monitoring, SpO2 measuring, sleep tracking and activity tracking, but others are new for the Galaxy Watch 7, like dual-band GPS and an enhanced BioActive Sensor. 

The latter is designed to improve the accuracy of things like heart rate monitoring and it works a treat. The Galaxy Watch 7 was quicker to react to heart rate fluctuations during HIIT workouts than the Apple Watch Series 9, and while the two watches had the same average heart rate and calories burned at the end, during the workout itself, the Galaxy Watch 7 was speedier in responding. 

The Galaxy Watch 7 was very good at automatically recognising when I was walking too, registering the workout without me having to do anything. There’s also a multi-sport mode which is great for those that like to create a customised workout programme and there’s a feature that allows you to compete against a previous route for the runners and cyclists out there too.

It’s the AI features offered by the Galaxy Watch 7 that set it apart, along with the simplistic approach to delivering data. I’ll talk more about the AI features in a second, but it is worth mentioning that the Galaxy Watch 6 will get many of them in a software update so you don’t necessarily need the new hardware to get access to things like Energy Score. What I will say is the Galaxy Watch 7 executes a few of the AI features really well, while activity tracking and general use are all superb.

What Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 could do better

There are a few areas the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 could do better of course, and one of those is battery life. It’s not great in the 40mm model. The 44mm model might be a little better, but there are days the 40mm struggled to get through to the end of the day. 

Samsung is aware of the issue and it’s possible a software update could improve the battery, but at the time of review that hadn’t been deployed and the battery life definitely needs some love. The Apple Watch Series 9 needs charging every day too, so it’s not uncommon for smartwatches to only deliver a day of use, but in the past, Samsung’s smartwatches have been considerably better on the battery front so the company is capable of more.

Charging speeds aren’t the fastest on the Galaxy Watch 7 either. It takes over an hour to fully charge the Galaxy Watch 7 and while it depends on your charging routine as to how much of an issue that is for you, faster charging is something the Galaxy Watch 7 would benefit from.

A few of the features are also restricted to having a Galaxy phone, like sleep apnoea risk detection, Suggested Replies on messages (more on those in a second) and the ability to record thoughts on your Galaxy Watch 7 smartwatch and have a transcribed summary on your phone.

There’s also a Double Pinch gesture, which allows you to stop a timer, take a photo, answer a call or pause/play music on a connected Galaxy phone by double tapping your thumb and forefinger together on the hand you’re wearing your Galaxy Watch. It’s more advanced than the Double Tap feature on Apple Watch, even with the watchOS 11 additions coming soon, but it’s still restricted to Galaxy phone users.

That’s fair enough of course – the Galaxy Watch 7 is at least compatible with other Android phones unlike Apple Watch that is completely restricted to iPhone users – but it is something to consider before you buy this smartwatch if you don’t have a Galaxy S24 phone, Galaxy Z Flip 6 or Galaxy Z Fold 6. 

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 AI features 

Some of those features I’ve just mentioned usher in the use of that 2024 buzzword – artificial intelligence, or AI. At the moment, I think AI is overhyped with only a few of the features actually useful. I do however, think Samsung uses it very well in the Galaxy Watch 7. 

My favourite feature of the Galaxy Watch 7 was Energy Score and based on what I was told at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked in July by the company’s SVP and Head of Digital Health, Hon Pak, it’s just the beginning for this feature. Pak said this was “version 1.0” of Energy Score and he believes “there’s a lot more we can do and should do” and it will get “better and better”. 

Energy Score is a once-a-day score that you get in the morning on the Galaxy Watch 7. Pak said it “takes activity over the last day, sleep over the last seven days, sleeping heart rate on average and then sleeping heart rate variability” in order to calculate your capacity for that day. It’s similar to Garmin’s Body Battery and Fitbit’s Daily Readiness Score, though closer to the latter as Samsung’s Energy Score is a once-a-day score like Fitbit’s option rather than depleting throughout the day like Garmin.

I really liked Garmin’s Body Battery feature when I tested the Garmin Lily 2, and it’s something I wish Apple would bring to the Apple Watch, but it’s hard to get your “body battery” back up to 100 per cent, no matter how hard you try and that can be demotivating.

With Energy Score, small changes make quite a big difference, encouraging you to do more of those small changes, like a consistent bed time. Alongside the Energy Score feature, Samsung also offers Wellness Tips, highlighting some of those small changes you can make to get a better Sleep Score or improve your Energy Score and overall health. It’s all very well executed and an excellent example of using AI for a useful purpose. 

There are other AI features in the Galaxy Watch 7, like Suggested Replies as I mentioned, but they are less impressive and I wouldn’t say they enhance the overall experience. This smartwatch is good because it offers a solid build quality, fluid interface and accurate fitness tracking, along with some additional extras like Energy Score. It’s not defined as a good smartwatch because it gives you a suggested robotic reply for a message conversation with a friend.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7?

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is a great smartwatch with plenty going for it that makes it a super choice for Samsung and Android users alike. There’s a great build quality, it’s lightweight and very comfortable to wear and the interface is sleek and fluid in use delivering a great overall experience.

It’s bigger than some other 40mm smartwatch alternatives, some of the features require one of the more recent Galaxy phones and the battery life is definitely not the best in the smartwatch market. Some of its features – like Energy Score – will also come to older Galaxy Watch models so that’s worth keeping mind.

But all of those (apart from battery) are relatively minor shortcomings in an otherwise excellent smartwatch. Activity tracking is great, it’s stylish to look at and the implementation of AI in some of the features finally presents some positives for artificial intelligence. If you’re a Samsung user and you have one of the latest Galaxy phones, the Galaxy Watch 7 is a super wrist companion well worthy of your consideration.

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