Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Bluetooth (40mm)

Replaced Galaxy active 2 with Galaxy 4 40mm (Step up from older model) – My wife has been running a galaxy active 2 for 3 years – it was an LTE model but battery life was failing and screen resolution deteriorating – looked at the galaxy 5 for bigger battery life and sapphire crystal glass etc. but settled on the galaxy 4 non LTE model 40mm – this was the sweet spot – the galaxy 4 is thinner than the galaxy 5 by about… Read more ·  10

3mm (because of larger battery in the 5) and the battery in the 4 is the same capacity as the active 2, but with the new processor operating system (Samsung's Exynos W920 over the older Exynos 9110 and Google’s wear OS over Tizen) the galaxy 4 operates much faster and seems to use less power than the active 2, so battery life is an improvement though jury is still out. Ram in the active 2 and the galaxy 4 are the same (1.5gb, but storage has increased from 4gb on the active 2 to 16gb on the galaxy 4)

The galaxy 4 is definitely non IOS and is built for Android, operating seamlessly with the Samsung phone. Receiving phone calls on the watch is easy and the clarity of voice talking and listening is excellent – no faults at all.

The watch is full of apps, plenty of fitness and health apps (all pair nicely to the Samsung health and wearable apps downloaded from play store – covers steps, ecg, s02, blood pressure, sleep patterns, jogging, swimming etc. etc. Have checked heart rate on BP monitor and it seems pretty close as do the steps (calibrated against another watch which is known to be pretty accurate as a reference – it is also waterproof with the caveat to switch on Water lock mode (which takes about 5 seconds to do) but otherwise IP68 rated for immersion up to 1 metre for up to 30 minutes.

The screen is very, very good, very clear and bright and colourful (30.4mm, circular, super AMOLED (396x396) full colour, “always on” option, Corning Gorilla Glass DX+)) – running it at higher brightness consumes battery life as does leaving on the unused apps and the Wi-Fi when it’s not needed. Previously my wife struggled to get a day’s use on the battery with using it a fair bit, but the galaxy 4 exceeds performance of the active 2 by a fair margin though running Wi-Fi and apps would probably not get to the 2 days advertised – it’s a step up in every way, but if you had a galaxy 4 the step up to a galaxy 5 would be less contrasting – the 5 has the sapphire crystal glass, a bigger battery (making the case thicker) and some additional apps that may be useful, but otherwise we have found the galaxy 4 to be an exceptionally good watch in almost every way.

The 44mm version of the galaxy 4 offers a bigger battery at 361ma with the trade-off being a thicker case.

One thing that is different in the galaxy 4, is that when you load your credit card into Samsung pay, you no longer input the pin number when the card is activated on the screen (when you call up the card first time) but you have to unlock the watch with a pin number – have seen some reviewers criticise the watch for this, but it seems if the watch happens to be off your wrist, every time you want to access the watch for apps, adjust settings or to use the Samsung pay, you have to input the watch pin number – if the watch is on your wrist, you only have to input the pin number once to access the watch settings or Samsung pay and so long as the watch is not removed from your wrist it stays open. It’s not difficult to get used to this and it’s actually a pretty good security feature – nobody can steal your watch, or f you misplace it, use it access your credit card without the pin number, so it actually makes some sense.

All in all, a very good watch that functions very well, very fast with an operating system that it intuitive, functional and closely aligned to the Samsung phone it is paired to. The silicone band also tucks neatly back under the watch band after being fed through the buckle and is neatly out of the way.

This watch is still available but in runout as the galaxy 5 is the newest edition – the 5 builds on the very good galaxy 4 with galaxy 4 still being advertised and available, some at bargain prices!

Pros • Good size watch at 40mm • Band is silicone and very comfortable • Watch is available in 4 colours (Black, Silver purple, green, pink gold) • Google wear operating system improvement over Tizen • Very nice screen, good resolution, super AMOLED display • Pairs and operates nicely to Samsung Android phone • Waterproof to IP68 (1m for up to 30 minutes immersion) for rain, washing etc. and 5ATM when water lock mode on for greater depth and water resistance (see the manual for correct application) Cons • Depending on your expectation battery life may be considered and issue by some (you basically have to charge it once a day) – you can opt for 44mm models with bigger battery (in both galaxy 4 and 5) – I doubt it will run 2 days between charges (at least not running Wi-Fi and apps, just as a watch maybe?) • Some may see having to input the pin to access Samsung Pay a burden – we didn’t, it actually improves security, but some may find it frustrating.