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Samsung has finally brought back the much-loved rotating bezel in the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. With a meatier design, the new Watch 8 Classic presents a confluence of old school and new age artificial intelligence merged in a stainless-steel dial of 46mm. Watch 8 Classic asks ₹50,999 for its new rugged design. Let’s discuss, if it’s worth it.
Design
The Watch 8 Classic shows its dominance with a 46mm dial which is big and borrows its prominence from the Watch Ultra. Watch 8 Classic weighs around 63.5 grams. Sometimes, you have to make adjustments with it if wearing for sleep tracking, but within couple of days, you will get used to it. The revamped rotating bezel making a comeback after Watch 6 Classic gives the same ease and tactile feel it was known and missed for. Going through the watch becomes much more convenient and natural. Watch 8 gets three buttons the right, home and back, and a flat programmable button in between them. By default, the Quick Button can be programmed for apps or workout, and a long-press triggers Google Assistant.
Watch 8 Classic strap looks like leather etched upfront but beneath is a silicone to make it more weather-proof. It comes in Black or White case options and they look premium. I have the Black which looks more classic and sober. Overall, the build quality overall is sturdy with a stainless-steel frame and a sapphire crystal over the display. Watch 8 Classic bears the IP68 rating and 5ATM+ standards which makes it swimproof.
Display
The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic sports a 1.5-inch AMOLED circular touchscreen display with up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness. You are never going to miss anything on it, even in the sun. It offers 60 Hz refresh rate. Colours come out quite well on it. With multiple watch faces, the always-on-display says things effectively. The bezel around has been elevated a bit to offer protection to the display from accidental bumps and scratches.
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OS
The Watch 8 Classic runs on Wear OS 6 with Samsung’s One UI Watch 8. Instead of swiping through a long carousel of individual tiles, you can now stack multiple widgets in one tile slot and scroll within that stack. By default, Samsung groups some health and fitness widgets together, but you can customize and stack whatever you like.
Samsung also added the “Now Bar” which appears as a small persistent widget when a task is running in background. So, if a timer is going or you’re navigating somewhere, a tiny bar on the watch face shows that ongoing task and you can tap it to jump back into the app. Overall, the interface feels fresh yet familiar if you’ve used a recent Galaxy Watch.
For the first time, Samsung has used Gemini as the default assistant, and most of you know already how to use it by now. You can ask and it will get things done for you like calling or messaging.
Health and Fitness Features
Samsung Watch 8 Classic can do heart rate monitoring, ECG with a compatible Samsung phone app, blood oxygen, stress tracking, sleep tracking with detailed sleep stage info, Body Composition analysis and automatic workout detection for lots of activities. The Sleep Coach feature gives you animal-based sleep profiles and suggestions on improving sleep habits. There is an Antioxidant Index which tells you the level of antioxidant carotenoids in your body.
For running, it has over 160 different training plans. It accurately maps routes and locks on GPS. The Track Back feature can guide you back to your start point. With Wear OS, you also get third-party apps to expand functionality.
Performance
Under the hood, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic runs on an undisclosed penta-core Exynos chip with 2 GB RAM and 64 GB storage. Apps open smoothly, scrolling is fun, and multitasking is as easy as the rotating bezel. In terms of everyday use, the Watch is a fantastic companion. Calls on the watch clear. You can respond to messages with voice dictation, on-screen keyboard or preset quick replies. If you’re in Samsung’s ecosystem, you’ll benefit from extras like camera control and SmartThings integration to control smart home devices from your wrist.
Battery
The Watch 8 Classic claims 30 hours of use with a 445 mAh cell and it proved right in my case. I have been using it for a fortnight and have been consistently getting more than a day of battery life on normal use. This is considered decent because you’re constantly interacting with the watch and it is monitoring the user as well. Without AOD, it can last two days but then you have to miss the gorgeous display. However, you have to charge it daily for your workday. The charging speed is fine with over 80-90 minutes from 0 to 100%. It also supports wireless charging.
Verdict
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic brings back the old charm of rotating bezel which makes engagement much easy and fun. It marries durability and authenticity in a classic style. The meatier look gives it an ‘Ultra’ flavour, the deep rich black display is immersive, the new health features and refreshed user interface work well in favour of Watch 8 Classic. This is not a Garmin type smartwatch where you get a longer battery life, but you get advanced AI features and brilliant display. This is a worth an upgrade for the older generation of Galaxy Watch users.
Published – August 23, 2025 02:17 pm IST
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