Copyright VICE
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch8 launched back in July 2025, but the Galaxy Watch7 has continued on sale for cheaper than its successor. There’s no question that the Galaxy Watch8 is a better watch. The question is whether it, at $330, is worth the $120 premium over the Galaxy Watch7. Let’s dive into the differences and similarities… Samsung’s made mostly aesthetic changes If one difference jumps out at you straight away, it’ll be that the Galaxy Watch8 is about 10% thinner. Samsung didn’t need to give up any features or performance to obtain that, either. The display’s peak brightness rises from 2,000 nits (a measure of brightness) to 3,000 nits, making the Galaxy Watch8’s screen easier to read outdoors in bright sunlight. Both watches come with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, although the Galaxy Watch8 has a slightly newer processor, the Exynos W1000. Both the Galaxy Watch8 and Galaxy Watch7 are IP68 rated for a high degree of dust and water resistance. They both come in similar display sizes, with sapphire crystal for excellent scratch resistance. I’ve scraped and banged watches with both regular mineral glass and sapphire crystal, and the latter is far better able to handle abuse. Battery life is also similar between the two smartwatches. Many of the health monitoring tools are also the same, such as a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, and a blood oxygen monitor. The Galaxy Watch8 adds antioxidant readings, but not much else has changed or been added in the newer model. If you want the latest and greatest and don’t mind paying a premium for it, then the Galaxy Watch8 is the obvious pick. But if you want something priced more like a budget smartwatch, but which is only just a premium, big-name smartwatch from last year, then it’s hard to argue that $209 for the Galaxy Watch7 isn’t the savvier buy.
