Is the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic a meaningful upgrade?

Samsung stuck to its set pattern and released a Classic edition for the Galaxy Watch 8 series two years after the last model. But what’s actually different between the more traditional Watch 6 Classic and Samsung’s newest flagship? Does it come down to software alone, or is it worth it to make the jump a couple of generations?

Above all, Samsung’s new watch has a substantially different look. The cushion case design is from the Watch Ultra released last year, which means the “squircle” look is back. That isn’t the case with the Watch 8 Classic alone. The Watch 8 and Watch Ultra 2025 bring the same general shape to the table, whether users like it or not.

The design is nothing if not divisive. Samsung was aiming for a refined and modern look with the new Watch 8 Classic, but some users have expressed frustration with the company for abandoning the circular case shape in favor of something more edgy.

Beyond that, the Watch 8 series as a whole makes use of Samsung’s new features, like Advanced Sleep Coaching and the Antioxidant Index. More on that later.

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What’s different?

For starters, and from what we’ve touched on, the general case shape is entirely different. For some, that’s where the decision is made – full stop.

The cushion case design is not for everyone. On a personal level, I think the Watch 8 Classic looks fantastic, melding design features from existing analog watches with something much more modern. I do wish a black variant existed, rather than stainless steel and white alone. The Watch 8 Classic’s rotating bezel equips much broader knurls than the fine teeth on the Watch 6 Classic, and the watch looks more premium.

The Watch 6 Classic, on the other hand, feels like a bigger watch. They both come in at 47mm, but the Watch 6 Classic has less bezel to play around with. The Watch 8 Classic centers its screen between a few millimeters of bezel, and the overall screen size feels smaller in comparison. In reality, the Watch 8 Classic has a bigger display at 1.34″, but the earlier model brings an image that stands out further.

Internally, the Galaxy Watch 8 uses Samsung’s Exynos W100 SoC over the Exynos W930 found in the Watch 6 series. With that, the RAM count is the same in each device.

Where is starts to matter more is in sensor capabilities. The Watch 8 Classic seems to have one metric over the Watch 6 Classic, and that’s temperature sensing, according to the device’s specs. This is an interesting one considering Samsung lists “skin temperature” under the Watch 6 Classic’s features.

Here’s a list of each device’s capabilities:

The feature set is clearly much larger for the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, and that makes sense given the two-year gap between releases. Still, if those specific features like Continuous SpO2 tracking, the Running Coach feature, and Sleep Apnea tracking are important to you, it might be worth the upgrade. Those changes alone might be big for some users, and they round out One UI 8 for the device.

That same OS will be available on the Watch 6 Classic at some point in the not-too-distant future.

In general, the question of upgrading comes down to whether or not you’re happy with Samsung’s existing hardware. If the looks of the Watch 8 Classic don’t do it for you, maybe stick to the Watch 6. After all, it’s going to be on your wrist on a lively daily basis.

To play devil’s advocate, the Watch 8 Classic is going to be a better-performing device with more features and a better battery, hands down. Still, that’s a $499 watch. Of course, Samsung’s trade-in deals are worth checking out if the upgrade is favorable to you.

The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic might be the last Classic edition for a couple of years. Next year, we’re expecting Samsung to release a fitness-based edition much like the Ultra. Until then, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is what Samsung has to offer for the traditionalists, and that’s only a bad thing if you hate squircles.