Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: price, release date, features and everything you need to know

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is official after being unveiled at the July 10, 2024 Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event, alongside a bevy of other Galaxy devices, including the Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Ring. Much like previous iterations of the Samsung smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch 7 builds upon its predecessors without straying far from its working formula.

Like the Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Z Flip 6 – both also unveiled at Unpacked – the Galaxy Watch 7 gets a hefty dose of Galaxy AI to power new wellness features including an Energy Score, and a zippy 3-nanometer processor inside to speed things up. 

For our initial impression of the new smart watch, check out our hands-on Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 review. 

If you were hoping to see a continuation of the impressive movable bezel, a landmark achievement with battery life, or even a change in design, you’re not in luck this year. However, one saving grace is that Samsung keeps the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic on sale. 

Below, we’re breaking down everything you need to know about the Galaxy Watch 7 – and keep an eye on our best smartwatch round-up to see how Samsung’s latest  stacks up against the competition – including the new Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The next Samsung smartwatch
• When is it out? July 10 for pre-orders, July 24 release date in the US and UK. July 11 for pre-orders in Australia.
• How much will it cost? Starts at $299 / £289 / AU$549
  

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: price and release date

Unlike Samsung’s folding phones, the Galaxy Watch 7 isn’t getting a price increase over the Galaxy Watch 6. The 40mm Galaxy Watch 7 in either Green or Cream is $299 / £289 / AU$549 for the Bluetooth model and $349 / £339 / AU$649 for the LTE version. The larger, 44mm Galaxy Watch 7 comes in Green or Silver, and costs $329 / £319 / AU$599 for Bluetooth and $379 / £369 / AU$699 for LTE.

The Galaxy Watch 7 is already available for preorder from Samsung and authorized resellers like Amazon and Best Buy. Shipments will begin on July 24, 2024 in the US and UK, and July 31 in Australia. If you preorder before then you’ll receive an extra band for free.

It’s nice to see that the Galaxy Watch 7 isn't going up in price, which makes it a bit more attractive for the feature set you’re getting. While it’s very similar to the Watch 6, it boasts a new double-pinch gesture for easy one-handed controls, and a new BioActive Sensor on the back. That new processor will hopefully lead to some more efficiencies in everyday use.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: Specifications

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: design and display

From looks alone, and even with the interface, considering it’s still running Wear OS powered by Samsung with One UI 6, the Galaxy Watch 7 looks nearly identical to the Galaxy Watch 6. That’s not bad, as the Galaxy Watch 7 is still a stunner with a sleek circular front watch face that is almost entirely screen and smooth, brushed aluminum sides. 

Samsung has also introduced a new band release mechanism, making swapping these a super-easy experience. You still get two buttons on the left side for easily going back home, and you can swipe on the main screen to access quick settings or various tiles for applications. 

As I wrote above, the Galaxy Watch 7 does not offer a rotating bezel option, and Samsung has already told this story before. The Galaxy Watch 5 did not have a rotating bezel model, but the Watch 6 did. In fact, the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic with that unique control stays in the lineup. 

Both the 40mm and 44mm displays on the Galaxy Watch 7 are still sharp and vibrant, as it’s the same Super AMOLED display as the Galaxy Watch 6. The smaller 40mm boasts a 432 x 432 resolution, while the larger 44mm sits at 480 x 480. Both can be used in an Always-On display fashion, but that will result in shorter battery life. We’re curious to put that to the test to see how long the Galaxy Watch 7 can truly last.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: features and software

However, Samsung’s first 3-nanometer chip in a smartwatch could improve battery life. The Galaxy Watch 7 is powered by the Exynos W1000 with 2GB of RAM, and Samsung touts that it has a three-times faster CPU and a 30% improvement in power efficiency for applications. That could makefor a fast, responsive experience but might also help stretch the battery life further. 

The 5-core chip will also help power some new Galaxy AI features on-device and the new BioActive Sensor on the rear. It’s completely redesigned with more sensors and will be used to power new experiences. One of those features is AGE or Advanced Glycation End Products, which can now be tracked on the Galaxy Watch 7. That new health feature still sits alongside more expected ones like heart rate tracking and low, high, or irregular notifications. The Galaxy Watch 7 can also take an electrocardiogram and track general activity like steps, calories, and even active minutes.

That can be viewed on your wrist or within the Samsung Health app on a connected smartphone. We also have two new features: Energy Score and Wellness Tips, which aim to contextualize your health data and make it actionable, similar to Oura, Fitbit, and Whoop. 

The Energy Score will combine your activity and sleep metrics – including length, heart rate, and heart rate variability – and spit out a number between 0 to 100 of your overall level. It’ll also provide some details about what’s impacting it, and Wellness Tips will be paired with this and provide tangible recommendations for improvements. 

Samsung notes that these leaps in data analysis are made possible through the new BioActive Sensor and the on-device processing of the new chip; of course, the Galaxy Watch 7 will also be able to track a bevy of workouts and even automatically detect them like previous models. One enhancement for workouts is the ability to see your historical metrics in real-time and race against yourself.

It’s worth noting that Samsung providing this extra context without a monthly subscription is a pretty nice touch and ups the value of this smartwatch. 

Like the Apple Watch Series 9, the Galaxy Watch 7 will soon have gesture control. The “Double Pinch Gestures” feature will let you control aspects of the interface with a press of your thumb and forefinger. This means you can control music playback and answer or decline a call, among other tasks. 

When you use the Galaxy Watch 7 in conjunction with a Galaxy Z Flip 6 or Galaxy Z Fold 6 though the functionality will arrive on other Galaxy smartphones when the next One UI update rolls out – it will provide smarter, suggested replies by analyzing the conversation to gain context. This could be helpful, and we’re keen to see what other Galaxy AI experiences might arrive. 

The last hardware change with the Galaxy Watch 7 is a second band for GPS connectivity – it will now support L1 + L5, making pinpointing your spot much easier and providing greater accuracy in more congested areas.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: battery life

While Samsung isn’t touting an improvement in battery life, we’re hoping this new processor might help to increase it. The 40mm Galaxy Watch 7 features a 300mAh battery, and the 44mm has a 425mAh, which Samsung says should last up to 40 hours. That was the same promise with the Galaxy Watch 6, but it didn’t stretch as long in our testing. Hopefully, the Galaxy Watch 7 lives up to the 40-hour claim or closer to it.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 7: outlook

That about sums up all that is new and ultimately impressive about the Galaxy Watch 7 on paper. It’s not a redesign but rather some key improvements to the overall experience with AI-infused health and wellness features that will likely impress users. 

Still, it will combine all the power of Wear OS 5 with a Samsung skin and likely be one of the best options for a smartwatch for folks with a Galaxy phone or Android at larger, considering it succeeds the Watch 6. 

We’ll be back soon with a full review and updates to our best smartwatches list, but in the meantime, if you’re keen to score a 40mm or 44mm Galaxy Watch 7, Samsung is taking orders now. Chances are, if you're still rocking a Galaxy Watch 4 or even Watch 5, the performance boost and gains from the BioActive Sensor will offer a marked improvement day-to-day and extend it for many more years of use.

More Samsung Galaxy articles

• Samsung Galaxy Ring: price, release date, features and everything you need to know
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6: price, release date, specs and everyhing you need to know
• Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra: the rugged new watch's price, release date, new features and more