While looking for a smartwatch, you would certainly want it to be stylish as well as stacked up with all the latest health sensors and technologies. And, if you want one, the first brands that are likely to cross your mind are Apple and Samsung. Nevertheless, the Apple watch series is always on the hype and seems fascinating for many. So, we decided to turn your focus to the galaxy watch instead and show you the ups and downs of the galaxy watch that gradually evolved.
Though the galaxy watch series wasn’t the company’s first foray into smartwatches, it was certainly a notable step forward compared to its previous offerings. Hence, in this article, we will be showing you the full evolution of galaxy smartwatches.
Back in 2013, Samsung released their very first wearable smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear. Having a square-shaped display with huge bezels on each side, the watch didn’t offer much of an impressive look. Since then, Samsung has introduced a new variant of the smartwatch almost every year with massive improvements. The main purpose of Samsung gear was to get instant notifications on your wrist so that you do not miss important updates while on the move. Though Samsung launched some more variants of the galaxy gear, they were not enough to stand out in the smartwatch market. Then Samsung decided to step up their smartwatch game and introduced the Galaxy Watch series with more health sensors and upgrades.
The first generation of the Galaxy Watch series was unveiled in 2018, and it was certainly a groundbreaker. The watch combines style cues and durability from its previous gear models with a more sophisticated design, rounded bezels, and corning gorilla glass. Samsung provided new health and fitness sensors embedded into the latest Tizen OS. Besides, this brought out Bixby for the first time on your wrist.
According to a report, Samsung gained a massive 121% annual growth in the wearable market after launching the galaxy watch and seemed more like a brand to be able to compete with Apple. Well, this was only the beginning of a new galaxy era, and with every new generation, the overall growth kept increasing. Following the trail, Samsung released the next generation in 2019, which was named the galaxy watch active. The watch active was more focused on fitness and health-tracking features, incorporating a minimalistic design. Samsung released the next-generation version of the galaxy watch active later that year. The new watch contained more health sensors making it a perfect fitness tracker.
Well this time, the watch didn’t get much popularity like its previous predecessors. And, Apple started to rule the smartwatch market without much of a hassle. Things could have changed with the launching of the Galaxy watch 3, but Apple watches series 6 was launched with massive upgrades. The new watch from Apple came with a more accurate health sensor and better features. According to Statista, Apple had the most watch shipment in 2020. So there was still a long way to go for the Samsung watch.
Nevertheless, Samsung decided to ditch their Tizen OS for the first time and develop the wear OS collaborating with Google. And, finally, they launched the most anticipated android smartwatch, the galaxy watch 4, in the last quarter of 2021 with the latest wear OS 3. The watch was certainly a huge upgrade in every aspect. It featured a stylish design, an all-new Exynos W920 Wearable Processor, and Samsung’s Bio-Active sensors that ensure pinpoint accuracy. Watch 4 was made of all the essential features, with excellent design and performance.
Based on the report from Counterpoint Research Senior Analyst Sujeong Lim, “ Samsung performed better than expected in the third quarter. Although the Galaxy Watch 4 series shipments were much higher than expected, more than 60% of the total shipments were sold in North America and Europe”. Besides, another report showed the huge growth of wear OS among the smartwatch operating system. The wear OS climbed high, covering 17% of the watch OS market share, compared to only 3.2% of the previous year. This was due to the huge sales and popularity of the Galaxy Watch 4.
Though the Apple watch series still sits on top as the best-selling smartwatch, Samsung is quite efficiently closing the gaps with the galaxy watch. And, with such growth and upgrades, undoubtedly, the galaxy watch 4 turns out to be the best android smartwatch till date. Moreover, the latest Apple Watch 7 hasn’t had much of an upgrade compared to the Apple watch series 6. Hence, if Samsung keeps on bringing innovative features like they have been doing, it shouldn’t take much time for them to dethrone Apple from the smartwatch realm. Which galaxy smartwatch is your favorite?
