The Samsung Galaxy Watch is now available for preorder

Evan Gower July 19, 2018

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Preorders for the Samsung Galaxy Watch have gone live, with Samsung offering customers a chance to secure a 42mm Bluetooth Galaxy Watch ahead of release.

Unfortunately, preorders haven’t opened for 4G or 46mm models of the Galaxy Watch and there’s no indication of just when that’s going to happen.

Samsung announced its latest smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch, at its Unpacked showcase in New York last week – where it also revealed the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. The South Korean giant gave us a brief overview of the new smartwatch while trying to prove just how good an accompaniment it is to the Note 9.

More information around the Galaxy Watch will come in due course, namely when it’s set to release and its final prices. But, until then, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about the new Samsung Galaxy Watch ahead of our hands-on.

Preorder the Samsung Galaxy Watch from the Samsung Store now

Samsung Galaxy Watch: Everything you need to know

Samsung Galaxy Watch release date: When’s it coming out?

We know the Samsung Galaxy Watch is coming, its unveiling at Unpacked 2018 confirmed that rather clearly. Unfortunately, we still don’t know when we can expect to get our hands (or, rather, wrists) on it.

In a press release sent out alongside the announcement, Samsung neglected to mention when the Samsung Galaxy Watch would be arriving on store shelves. However, as preorders for the 42mm Bluetooth version of the Galaxy Watch have gone live, Samsung lists expected shipping dates for its smartwatch to be the 6 September. As this is a Thursday, it’s likely those who preorder will receive their devices from 7 September or 10 September.

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READ NEXT: Samsung Gear S3 full review

Samsung Galaxy Watch price: How much will it cost?

Money is always the name of the game when it comes to smartwatches. Most perform the same tasks with reasonable efficiency, it’s just price that changes. As with release date, Samsung is keeping rather quiet about just how much we can expect to pay for all models of the Galaxy Watch.

Samsung has now made preorders available for the 42mm Bluetooth version of the Galaxy Watch. Picking one up in either Rose Gold or Black will set you back £279 – cheaper than the Samsung Gear S3 was when it launched in 2016. Currently, there isn’t a price point for the 4G-enabled version of the Galaxy Watch nor any indication how much the larger, 46mm Galaxy Watch will be – if there’s even a difference in price at all.

Preorder the Samsung Galaxy Watch from the Samsung Store now

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Samsung Galaxy Watch features: What you need to know

The Galaxy Watch is, in many ways, simply an evolution of the Gear S3. Like its predecessor it has 4G connectivity so you can leave your phone behind while you work out, enabling you to receive messages, stream music, check the weather and more. For UK users, however, this is a major selling point for the Galaxy Watch over the Gear S3 as, on British shores, Samsung decided it wasn’t worth their time putting 4G connectivity into UK Gear S3 smartwatches. However, it’s still not clear if this is actually going to make its way to the UK but Samsung did say that it’s “working with carriers around the world” to make it happen, so fingers crossed.

One improvement of the Galaxy Watch over the Gear S3 is its ruggedness. Unlike the Gear S3, the Galaxy Watch now has a waterproof rating of 5ATM (50m), just like the Gear Sport. Unlike the Gear Sport, however, the Galaxy Watch looks like a high-end watch so, if it’s just as waterproof and capable of swim tracking, it could be a fantastic purchase for fitness fanatics.

Samsung has also listened to feedback from users and is, for the first time, offering the Galaxy Watch in two different sizes. Now you can pick up the Galaxy Watch with either a 42mm or 46mm watch face. Compared to the Apple Watch, this is still pretty beefy as Apple offers its squared smartwatch in 38mm and 42mm sizes as standard.

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On launch Samsung will also offer the Galaxy Watch in three different colour options – Rose Gold, Silver and Black. All versions come with a layer of Corning Gorilla DX+ glass to keep the screen protected from scuffs and scrapes – just like the Gear S3.

On the pure features front it’s generally business as usual for a smartwatch. The Galaxy Watch contains everything you’d expect, such as sleep tracking, fitness tracking, directions, messaging, music streaming and automatic activity detection. Interestingly, though, it also contains “stress management tools”.

These tools, according to the Samsung press release, “automatically detect high levels of stress and offers breathing exercises to help keep users relaxed and focused”. This isn’t the first time Samsung has included a stress management tool in its smartwatches, but this does sound like the first time it’s been pushed to the forefront of a user’s experience with the watch.

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Preorder the Samsung Galaxy Watch from the Samsung Store now

The Galaxy Watch also supports wireless charging, which Samsung pushed with a new “duo” wireless charger that lets you charge your watch and – in this specific instance – a Note 9 at the same time.

Unfortunately, we don’t actually know how long battery life will last in the Galaxy Watch, even if wireless charging is now standard. It was rumoured that it was going to be much improved over the Gear S3 but, as Samsung has made no confirmation on that fact, you can at least assume that it won’t be any worse than the S3’s. In fact, all Samsung did say on the matter was that it’ll last up to a week between charges – although who knows what usage situations that’s under.

https://www.samsung.com/uk/wearables/galaxy-watch-r810/SM-R810NZKABTU/