In the UK, you can now buy the LTE version of the watch but it's exclusive to EE. In Australia it's only available with Telstra. In the US it began life as an exclusive to T-Mobile, but now you can get it on Verizon, AT&T and Sprint too. The LTE version of the Galaxy Watch cost a bit more at launch: $379 / AU$599 (about £290) for the 42mm model and $399/ AU$649 for the 46mm version. We've seen prices fluctuate a little too with it hitting $50 less than the above in the US and around the £250 mark in the UK. When it first came out the Gear S3 cost $349 / £349 (around AU$475), and only came in one size. Those in Australia had to wait a bit longer, but it's available there too.Īt launch, the Galaxy Watch started at $329 / £279 / AU$499 for the 42mm version, and $349 / £299 / AU$549 for the larger 46mm size. The Galaxy Watch launched in the US in August 2018, the same day the Galaxy Note 9 came out, and in the UK in September.
Samsung Galaxy Watch release date and price It’s an iterative update, one that adds fitness software, new sensors, and extra waterproofing to everything we liked in the Gear Sport and the Gear S3 before that. The Samsung Galaxy Watch is very much the Samsung Gear S4 that never was. The Bixby voice assistant is here, but it’s no better than S Voice at understanding us, and Samsung Pay doesn’t use Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) despite the fact the Gear S3 did. Samsung’s core apps are polished, sure, but the Galaxy Apps store lacks critical third-party apps, notably Google Maps, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. The Galaxy Watch does inherit problems from previous Gear watches, however – and what's bad is almost all software-related. To see the Samsung Galaxy Watch in action, watch our hands-on video below:
The older Samsung Galaxy Watch Active is cheaper than the Galaxy Watch, but it doesn't feature that rotating bezel. Your fingers won’t cover up the watch’s small, hard-to-accurately-target touchscreen (an issue with any smartwatch), and the rotating bezel: an idea exclusive to newer Samsung watches. This is the most satisfying way to navigate a smartwatch.