The Apple Watch 6 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 face fierce competition to be the top smartwatch on the market. With unique innovations and novel features, these two smartwatches provide numerous benefits to the user through features such as always-on displays, quick charging, water resistance, fast processing, and ergonomic design.
Given the incredible utility, each smartwatch provides to the user, determining which smartwatch to purchase can be challenging. This article will break down the pros and cons of each smartwatch. We will also compare the features between the two and recommend the best smartwatch for your use.
Apple Watch 6 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Comparison
Since each smartwatch offers functional features, smooth performance, and several health and fitness related benefits, choosing the best smartwatch to fit your daily needs can be challenging. To determine the best smartwatch for you, it is important to compare and contrast pricing, features, reliability, and reputation.
| Apple Watch 6 | Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 | |
| Pricing | Starting at $399 | Starting at $249 |
| Battery | 18 hours of battery life | 2 days of battery life |
| Sizing | 40mm, 44mm | 40mm, 42mm (Classic), 44mm |
| Storage | 26GB internal memory | 16GB internal memory |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Altimeter, Blood Oxygen, Electrical Heart, Gyroscope, Light, Optical Heart Rate, Noise | Accelerometer, Barometer, Light, Optical Heart Rate, Electrical Heart, Gyroscope, Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis |
| Water Resistance | Resistant up to 50m (meets ISO) | Not water resistant |
| OS | watchOS (Apple) | Wear OS (Google) |
| Design (colors) | Silver, Space Gray, Gold, Blue, Graphite, Titanium, Space Black | Black, Green, Silver |
| Design (material) | Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Titanium | Aluminum |
| Wireless Charge | Yes | Yes |
For more in-depth information on Apple Watch Series 6 technical specifications, check out the Apple Watch 6 technical guide.
For more on in-depth information on Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 technical specifications, visit the Galaxy Watch 4 technical guide.
Apple Watch 6: Pros and Cons
The Apple Watch 6 has proven to be a capable smartwatch for performance, safety, and various health and fitness features. Owning about 34% of the global smartwatch market, Apple Watch 6 is popular among consumers for its numerous pros and few cons.
What’s good: Of its many features, consumers enjoy the variety of health and fitness features integrated into the Apple Watch 6. With features such as sleep, ECG, Blood Oxygen, and exercise tracking through the Apple Fitness app, consumers can use the Apple Watch 6 to pursue healthier lifestyles. Additionally, the Apple Watch 6 excels at bringing users into the greater Apple ecosystem, since the smartwatch is seamlessly compatible with other Apple products and operates off of the Apple iOS.
The Apple Watch 6 also evolved to provide new design variations and material, given the lack of design variation in previous models. The Apple Watch 6 comes in a variety of colors, like Blue, Gold, Graphite, and Silver. The smartwatch can be composed of materials other than aluminum, including stainless steel and titanium.
What’s not so good: Consumers hope Apple improves on the short battery life of the Apple Watch 6 in the future with the Apple Watch 7. With its competitor, Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 has an average battery life of 1-2 days, and other smartwatches lasting days, the Apple Watch 6 has one of the shortest battery lives on the market.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Pros and Cons
With the Galaxy Watch 4 released on August 27, 2021, Samsung introduced several new features while also improving on existing features from the previous Galaxy Watch 3. Both hardware and software applications were upgraded, providing users with a reliable Android smartwatch. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is not without flaws, however, as there are some lasting cons that still impact users.
What’s good: Of its benefits, consumers appreciate the several new tracking sensors introduced with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4. With its predecessor lacking certain sensors, the Galaxy Watch 4 is now brought up to speed with its Apple Watch 6 competitor in terms of health features. Equally improved was the processing power and speed of the Galaxy Watch 4, which now offers incredibly smooth, reliable, and lasting performance.
What’s not so good: Consumers dislike the lack of Google Assistant the most. Given the new Google Wear OS the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 operates on, consumers expected the functional utility of Google Assistant to be present as well. Instead, Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 comes with Samsung Bixby, a personal voice assistant lacking the same coherence as Google Assistant.
Which One Should I Buy?
Each smartwatch provides unique features to the end-user. Between new health and fitness benefits to improved reliability and performance, both Apple and Samsung have brought incredible benefits to the table. Based on the strengths and weaknesses of each smartwatch, however, we can make informed recommendations on which is best for you.
Recommended for Best Overall: Apple Watch 6
For consumers seeking the best overall smartwatch, we recommend the Apple Watch 6. Even with new features introduced, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 still falls short of the smooth performance and seamless accessibility of the Apple Watch 6.
With a supportive fitness infrastructure, reliable operating system, incorporation into the greater Apple ecosystem, and unique water-resistant hardware, the Apple Watch 6 is a smartwatch packed full of benefits to users. We can say confidently that you get the incredible value of what you pay for when purchasing the Apple Watch 6.
Recommended for Google Integration: Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
For customers instead of searching for a smartwatch providing an integrated experience with the Google ecosystem, we recommend the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4. Given Samsung’s adoption of Google Wear OS into its most recent smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 4 now offers users access to a wide range of wearable apps on the Google Play Store.
