Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic ZDNET's key takeaways The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is on preorder, starting at $449, with the LTE model priced at $499.
The physical rotating bezel is smooth, One UI contains new health metrics, and the cushion design is elegant.
The display shrunk to 1.34 inches, it's rather expensive, and the bands are tough to secure in place. $499.99 at Amazon
Every other year Samsung rolls out a new Galaxy Watch with a physical rotating bezel. This year, we've got the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, with an attractive analog aesthetic, cushion design, and the same Quick Button we first saw on the Galaxy Watch Ultra.
In addition to some new hardware changes, the Watch 8 Classic is loaded with AI -- the first new Google Wear OS watch to launch with Google Gemini, alongside Samsung's Galaxy AI.
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The watch provides you with health insights that contribute to your Energy Score, as well as new AI coaches to help you achieve your running and sleep goals. Antioxidant levels, vascular load, ECG, sleep apnea detection, body composition, and more all help make the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic your personal health and wellness advisor.
One feature of the Google Pixel Watch 3 that I was very excited about is the advanced support for running. After nearly a week of running with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, it is now my favorite watch to run with, and unlike Google, Samsung does not charge a fee for the advanced Running Coach functionality.
Matthew Miller/ZDNET
To start your journey with the Running Coach, you need to perform a running test that consists of a short warm up, 12 minutes of more intense running, and a short cool down. Samsung Health will guide you through the running test so connect your Bluetooth headphones and hit the road.
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