The dust has settled on Samsung’s second Unpacked event for 2025, which paved the way for its new AI-packed Fold and Flip 7 foldables. Almost as an afterthought, we also got a look at the South Korean outfit’s new wearables: the Galaxy Watch 8 Series. Unsurprisingly, Samsung’s 2025 wearables features even more AI, more health tech, and most importantly, the return of the rotating bezel.
The company also took the opportunity to debut a hardly refreshed Galaxy Watch Ultra. We’ll give it about as much fanfare as Samsung did. Alongside a new colour (Titanium Blue!), the company also added more storage — 64GB. That’s… it. It’s up for pre-order, and will cost you R13,000 for the privilege.
Sticking with the basics
Available in Bluetooth or LTE versions, the Galaxy Watch 8 Series at least tries to distinguish itself from its older siblings, something that doesn’t shine through for all of Samsung’s tech. Rather than repeating the basic circle face, it’s opted for a squircle look we’re still having trouble adjusting to. If that’s your vibe, more power to you. We feel it gives the Watch 8 Series a rather bulky and somewhat distracting look.
More important is the tech it’s packing. Whether you choose the basic or Classic look, you’ll become familiar with the Exynos W1000, which helps it and the AI chug along (hopefully) smoothly. The 40mm model has a 325mAh battery that’ll immediately make you want the 44 mm version, which bumps that up to 425mAh.
Regardless of its dimensions, you’ll peer at your waning health through the Sapphire Crystal Super AMOLED display that Samsung reckons can hit 3,000 nits. Expect a 1.47in display with the larger 44mm model, while smaller wrists make do with the 1.34in display.
Running Gemini out of the box, and featuring a new Antioxidant Index that’ll keep an eye on your carotenoid levels and remind you to chow down on some veggies when necessary, the Watch 8 Series supposedly takes training to a whole new level. It’ll do so with an AI-powered coach that offers suggestions on everything from your technique to when you should shut off the games and go to bed.
Expect IP68-level durability and a 5ATM rating, meaning the Watch can survive a dip of up to 50m before succumbing to the pressure. There’s 32GB of storage and 2GB of physical memory, which should be plenty to run Wear OS 6. Oh, and it’ll be available in graphite and silver colourways.
Babe, wake up, the rotating bezel is back
Right on schedule, Samsung has brought back the rotating bezel the Watch 7 Series did away with. If that’s enough to convince you to pick up Samsung’s latest wearable tech, you’ll want to get it quick. Samsung typically nixes the rotating bezel in intervening years, with the sole proviso of bringing it back the following year to capitalise on a ‘new’ feature.
Aside from a slightly larger battery (435mAh), the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic relies heavily on the rotating form factor to bring sales in. Sure, it doubles the storage to 64GB, but most average Joes will hardly ever come close to touching that figure. It’s larger at 46mm — though still featuring a 1.34in Super AMOLED display — but it still features the same IP68 and 5ATM guarantees.
Both the Galaxy Watch 8 and 8 Classic are available for pre-order now, with the devices expected to arrive on 21 July 2025. You can check out local pricing down below:
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Series local pricing:
- Galaxy Watch 8 (Bluetooth, 40mm) – R7,000
- Galaxy Watch 8 (Bluetooth, 44mm) – R7,500
- Galaxy Watch 8 (LTE, 40mm) – R7,500
- Galaxy Watch 8 (LTE, 44mm) – R8,000
- Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (Bluetooth, 46mm) – R10,000
- Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (LTE, 46mm) – R10,500
