Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 wishlist: All the features I want to see

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is easily one of the best smartwatches you can buy, though it’s not a dramatic improvement from its predecessor. While there’s still more than a half year before we get newer watch hardware, I’d love to see Samsung make a few bolder moves in 2024 with the next Galaxy Watch. There are certainly more than a few things on my Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 wishlist, so let’s jump right in.

The latest Galaxy Watch 6 (and Watch 6 Classic) offers approximately 30 hours of battery life when utilizing the watch’s advanced sensors and features on a regular basis, allowing for about a day and a half of usage before needing a recharge. If you disable most of the health sensors and a few other features you can extend the battery life to a few days, though this comes at the expense of a significantly reduced experience.

What’s worse is that the Samsung Watch 6 actually has lower battery life than its predecessor. I really want to see Samsung switch directions here. If Samsung can improve processor efficiency, it wouldn’t even require a massive increase in size or weight. Ultimately, the Galaxy Watch would better distinguish itself from the competition by consistently providing at least 36-48 hours of battery life for the average user without the need to turn off a lot of the best features to get there.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is a good smartwatch, but its health and fitness features could use some work. Specifically, I’m focused on the accuracy of its sensors. As noted in our Galaxy Watch 6 review, the heart rate data on the Watch 6 is extremely inconsistent. The same applies to GPS accuracy in runs and other activities. While it can be reasonably accurate in many neighborhoods, it sometimes produces wonky and unexpected results.

Samsung needs to focus on improving its sensor accuracy. A bigger Health feature push could attract fans who are interested in Samsung’s watch but find its health features lacking compared to Garmin watches, Fitbit, or the Apple Watch.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 needs a variant with more storage

It’s time for Samsung to embrace a 32GB storage variant, or simply upgrade its storage across the board on all models. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is falling behind the competition in terms of space for apps, music, watch faces, and other files. There’s just 16GB on all models, and this has been the case for a few generations now. For perspective, the Pixel Watch 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 both offer 32GB of storage.

Samsung prioritizes its Galaxy phones over other Android devices, which isn’t too surprising, but it’s something I’d like to see change. The Galaxy Watch is easily one of the best, if not the very best, Android watches for generalist users, so Samsung shouldn’t limit its appeal.

What kind of features are currently unavailable to non-Samsung phone owners? There are three main features that are only for Samsung phone owners: on-demand ECG readings, blood pressure detection, and irregular heart rate notifications. To use these advanced features, you need the Samsung Health Monitor app, which isn’t available outside of the Galaxy Store on Samsung phones and tablets.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Pixel Watch 2 are basically the gold standard products for Wear OS, largely thanks to their decent features and mainstream appeal. While the Pixel Watch 2 and Galaxy Watch 6 come in a few fun colorways, the same can’t be said for the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. I’d like to see that change with the Galaxy Watch 7 Pro (or maybe that’ll be the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro?). Instead of just offering black and silver or black and gray. Give us a splash of color!

How likely is it we’ll get a Pro model with the next Galaxy Watch 7? Very confident, actually. For those unaware, following the return of the Classic line, Samsung previously confirmed it would rotate out Classic and Pro every year going forward. We saw a Galaxy Watch 6 Classic this year, so next year we are due a Pro variant again.

• Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 — August 11, 2023
• Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 — August 26, 2022
• Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 — August 27, 2021

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 has proven to be a success for the company and is the latest addition to an extensive lineup of past smartwatches, spanning multiple lines outside of the current Galaxy Watch brand. In other words, yes, there’s definitely going to be a Samsung Galaxy Watch 7.

Adding to the anticipation, there is compelling evidence suggesting that the Watch 7 is currently in development. An October rumor indicated that the Watch 7 is set to feature a new 3nm chipset, marking an improvement over the 5nm Exynos W930 used in the current model. Admittedly, it’s a shakey rumor and an early one, so we wouldn’t necessarily trust it. Still, it’s clear that the Galaxy Watch 7 is at least popular enough to attract leakers, which bodes well for its chances of getting another model.

Regarding the potential Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 release date? Based on the company’s historical patterns, it is likely to be unveiled in August of 2024 unless the company makes a dramatic change to its plans.

If you’re in the market for a good smartwatch, there’s really no need to wait for the Galaxy Watch 7. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and 6 Classic have been available for just under four months and still offer a robust set of features and plenty of future software support. Despite minor issues with sensor accuracy, they stand out as excellent smartwatches overall.

Alternatively, if you’re open to exploring beyond the Galaxy ecosystem, there are several impressive smartwatches to consider, such as the Google Pixel Watch 2 ($349.99 at Amazon) or the Garmin Venu 3 ($449.99 at Amazon). While the latest Apple Watch ($389.99 at Amazon) is a top recommendation, it’s worth noting that it’s only a feasible option if you’re contemplating a switch to an iPhone, as Apple’s smartwatch does not support Android.