Galaxy Watch8 vs Watch8 Classic - Surprisingly Different!

The brand new Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is $150 more than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8. And yet, the differences are not that obvious. They have the same displays, the same processors, the same sensors, and the same software, but after wearing them both side by side for a little while, there are perhaps more differences than you may realize. So, in this video, I want to break down every little difference that I noticed between these watches to help you decide between the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic or the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 regular, the non-classic version.

These differences go beyond just spending or saving $150. Most of them will really affect the daily use of these watches. Maybe you're going to like one watch a lot more than the other. Maybe one's going to be uncomfortable or some other things I'll mention later in this video. So, it definitely is an important decision when you're buying a new Samsung Galaxy Watch. And on top of that, of all the previous generations where the Galaxy Watch Classic was basically the exact same watch as the regular, they actually have more differences now than ever between these two watches.

Rotating Bezel vs. Digital Bezel

So, let's start off with the most obvious difference being the rotating bezel versus the digital bezel. The Galaxy Watch 8 regular has what they call a digital bezel. So, you can navigate the interface, the UI, by spinning your finger around the outside of the display. And this is kind of nice to be able to get through without swiping a bunch of times. Just by rotating one ring, you can go through, you know, five different pages or something like that. So, it is a nice way to navigate the interface, but not nearly as nice as the physical rotating bezel you get on the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic.

So, on the outside, you can see the little ripples there. This entire thing spins. It's a really satisfying click. So, not only does it look more premium in my opinion, it feels significantly more premium. And kind of a little nuance associated with this is when you're doing this, you can use two fingers and just kind of go around the outside like that. Whereas with the digital rotating bezel, you're still using your finger and most of the time for about half of the ring, you are covering your display with your finger. So, you're going to be up there and you won't be able to see everything on your display. Whereas with the physical rotating bezel, your fingers are always out of the way as long as you're grabbing from the side. And I find that to be a significant improvement in the actual user experience.

Aesthetics and Build Quality

As far as the aesthetics go, again, tying into that as well, the Classic is, of course, going to look a little bit more dressy, a little bit more in line with an analog-style watch. But that doesn't mean you can't use it when you're working out. In fact, when you're looking at both of these, the watch bands that they come with are different out of the box, but you could easily swap them out however you would like. I've seen people put metal bands on either one of these. I've seen people put sport bands on the Classic. And of all the previous generations where the Classic always felt a little bulkier, I'll talk more about the weight in a minute, this one actually feels the most similar fitting on my wrist where I can use either one and I feel like I'm not worried about the Classic moving around as much and therefore losing accuracy. So, the accuracy I think with both of these really should be on par as far as the heart rate sensor goes and I think that's a big positive.

Stainless Steel vs. Armor Aluminum

You'll also notice the Classic has some tick marks around the outside and it is also shinier than the Galaxy Watch 8 regular. And the reason it's shinier is because it is actually made of stainless steel while the Watch 8 regular is made of armor aluminum. So, it's made of aluminum. Now, even though this aluminum alloy is fairly strong, it is not going to be as durable or as scratch-resistant or ding-resistant as the stainless steel on the Watch 8 Classic. So, if you end up bumping into something, this is definitely much more likely to take on some damage on the edges.

I think that's kind of a big thing to note in terms of durability, but aluminum is definitely lighter. I'll talk about weight in just a second, but one last note on the durability with this on the edges. Unlike previous generations of the Galaxy Watch 8, I don't think you have to worry as much about the display getting damaged because you do have that extra buffer of that aluminum all the way around there. So, it's going to be a lot harder to hit the top corner of the display. And I like that Samsung did add that.

The Third Button

Now, a major difference between these that I haven't mentioned yet, and maybe you did notice this, is that third button on the right side of the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. So, the Classic feels a lot more like the Ultra in many ways, where you have that extra button on the right side, and it's kind of hidden or kind of protected really well. So, you're not accidentally going to bump that if you flex your wrist back. Whereas on the Galaxy Watch 8 regular, there's nothing really to protect those buttons. It's a little tough to hit that if you bend your wrist back, but it definitely is possible, whereas I think on the Classic, you're less likely to hit buttons. That middle button, though, is called the action button, and you can program it to do a number of things. Out of the box, I believe by default, it opens workouts. So it opens your exercises, but you could program it to do a number of other things.

Sizes, Display, and Weight

So, getting back to the sizes and the weight and stuff like that. There's actually a really interesting difference that Samsung made this year. I'm not sure why they did that. There are the same two sizes for the Watch 8 regular, 40 and 44 millimeters, but the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic only comes in one size. It only comes in 46 millimeters. I think in the past it was 43 and 47 is what they used to do. So, it was always larger than the regular because you just have more going on there, but just one size now. And it's a little, like I said, smaller than the largest version last time.

Display Differences

But the displays are changed. So, the Watch 8 regular has a 1.34 or a 1.47-inch display. Of course, depending on which model you get, whereas the Classic, even though it's larger than both of the regulars, has the smaller display. It has a 1.34-inch display. Now, you have a lot of nice-looking bezel and everything around there, it's not really that obvious that it's smaller if you hold them side by side, but all things considered, you're getting a heavier, larger, more expensive watch and a smaller display at the same time. So, I think that is definitely a drawback in my opinion when you're considering these two watches, especially if you're like running and you want to glance at your wrist real quick. That extra little bit of size in the display can make a real difference.

Weight Comparison

As far as the weight goes, it is definitely lighter than the older Watch Classic series. This is 63.5g, whereas the Watch 8 regular is less than half of that, starting at 30 grams, going up to 33.8 grams for the larger version. So, that weight is going to make some difference, but like I said, they both fit quite well. So, if you're running, it doesn't feel like it moves around that much. So, I wouldn't be worried about accuracy. If you are doing something more like swimming, maybe lap swimming, then yeah, the Classic is going to be a little bit more intrusive having that extra weight on your arm every stroke. But it's not really that significant in my opinion. It feels almost on par with like, yeah, kind of like a Garmin Epix watch. Like there are other watches that are kind of heavier watches. So, I don't think it's really unreasonably heavy.

Thickness and Durability

Now, mentioning that this is lighter than the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and also the display size and everything. I actually will be making a comparison between the 6 Classic and the 8 Classic. I think that's going to be really interesting for the major redesign we saw on the 8 Classic. If you want to see that comparison, definitely get subscribed. Ask any questions in the comments below that you want me to cover in that video, and that's going to be a full test, a really deep and in-depth comparison there.

Now, the thickness of these watches is also different, and this is going to really matter if you're wearing gloves or maybe sleeves. If you have tighter sleeves, it might be a little bit more likely to get hung up on the Classic being a larger watch. It's 14.7mm thick versus 11.7mm for the regular. So, it's only a 3mm difference. And most of that, as you can see, is in that bezel. And speaking of that bezel, another thing to note is the bezel does go beyond the display. So, not only is stainless steel going to be stronger in protecting your watch, but also the raised bezel is just a little extra buffer to hopefully protect your display from anything possibly hitting it and damaging the display. But both these do have sapphire glass, so they really should be quite durable. But still, having that extra buffer of stainless steel really can go a long way.

Internals and Storage

Inside these watches, as I mentioned, we have a lot of similarities. They both have 2GB of RAM. They both have the same processor. But there is a significant difference in the storage, which I mean, I've always been asking for more watch storage when it was like 8 gigs or something like that. It's 32 gigabytes on the Watch 8 regular, which I think for most people is definitely more than enough. That's awesome. I love seeing that. But the Watch 8 Classic has 64GB of storage on there. So, I'm not sure exactly what you will do with all the extra storage. If you're saving like an enormous library of music on here, like that's kind of awesome that you can do that. Maybe you are, I don't know, like downloading a lot of offline maps or apps. I'm not sure exactly what you're going to do with all that storage, but it's nice that you do have the additional storage on the Classic that you don't have on the regular.

Straps and Bands

And as far as out of the box, I mentioned that you can change out the straps. These both have the new strap design, which is a little unfortunate. It's not compatible with the older Galaxy Watch straps, which were like the 20mm pin straps. It's also not compatible with the Ultra straps, which are a little wider. But the 8 and the 8 Classic both do have the same strap that you just push this little button in the back. It comes off. It is honestly kind of easy to swap out bands. I have to say I don't hate the design. I would like to get an adapter so I could use my old straps.

But when you get these watches, the regular is going to come with this sport band. So a real silicone band obviously meant more for working out. Whereas the Classic comes with this like hybrid leathery band. Like it looks like a leather band from the outside. And I think they did quite a good job on that. But on the inside, you can see it is silicone. So, you can wear this when you're working out and you're going to look really classy working out, but it's going to be fine if you're sweating. It's like a regular silicone band. It just really looks convincingly like leather.

Battery Life

Now, the batteries on these, finally, we're seeing a difference between the Classic and the regular. So, the Classic will definitely have a significantly better battery life. Remember, this is the smaller display. So, the same processor, the same display size as the base model watch. And the base model Watch 8 has 325 milliamp hours of battery whereas this has 445 milliamp hours of battery. And even the larger Galaxy Watch 8 regular has 435 again compared to 445 on the Classic. So extra battery life can maybe get you, I don't know, maybe two-ish days depending on like always-on display and what you're doing with this and stuff like that.

Conclusion

They do both have LTE or non-LTE versions. So that's nice that you have that option. I was kind of expecting Samsung would maybe only do this in LTE, but again, kind of helping to bring the price down a little bit. The non-LTE version is available. So, that is the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic versus the Galaxy Watch 8. Like I said, I have a lot of comparisons coming. I'll include the Ultra. I'll include some older Galaxy watches. Leave a comment and let me know what I should compare to next. Thanks for watching and I'll see you in those next videos.