Galaxy Watch 4 long-term review: highs, lows, and the body composition measurement

I’ve now had the Galaxy Watch 4 in constant use for a good four weeks and I’m super happy with it. Here are my highs and lows. I take a particularly close look at the body composition measurement, where I had alarming results beforehand.

My highs

• Case: Thanks to the aluminum frame, the watch is super light. I haven’t had a single scratch on the case or display.
• Display: It’s really nice and bright and can still be read clearly and distinctly even in sunlight.
• Google Maps on the watch: On foot and especially by bike, I get reliably navigated with a quick glance at my wrist. That’s one of my top features.
• Camera control: I can control the camera of my Galaxy Z Flip 3 or S21 Ultra with the watch. It serves as a kind of second monitor with a preview of photos and videos. That’s handy for group pictures or when you’re photographing or filming yourself and don’t have a camera operator.
• Google Notes: I read my shopping list off the watch in the supermarket, tick items off, or add to it by voice command.
• Fitness tracker: The watch convinces across the board here, especially with the Samsung Health app. The recordings are super accurate, and there’s tracking for a great many sports.

Body composition: big deviation

The measurement is simple: you place two fingers on the side buttons, and after about a minute your body composition is measured. The first time, my body fat percentage was 29%. According to the watch, for my height and weight that already put me in the slightly obese range. I didn’t want to accept that, so I went to the gym to have it measured professionally.

For the comparison, I measured again with the watch:

1. Select “Measure” in the function on the watch.
2. Enter your current weight, 59 kg in my case.
3. Place your middle and ring fingers on the two buttons. Your hands must not touch, your arms go away from your body, and you don’t move.

I looked at the results in the Samsung Health app on the Z Flip 3:

For basal metabolic rate, the measurements aren’t that far apart. For body fat percentage, though, the difference is clear in my view. According to the watch I’d be in a higher range, according to the gym still in the normal range.

I’m not at all happy with this result. With two such small sensors, measuring a complete body composition is certainly not 100% accurate. But here the watch is miles away from reality. The feature is great. If you can’t get it to be halfway reliable, you’d better leave it out.

Battery and comparison with the Apple Watch SE

I much prefer wearing the Galaxy Watch 4 to my Apple Watch SE, because it’s simply much smarter. Two days of battery life is acceptable for me. The Galaxy Watch 3 lasted much longer, though.

I hope the Google Assistant comes to the Galaxy Watch 4 soon. That would make voice control of the watch much easier.

Verdict

For me, the Galaxy Watch 4 is a very good fitness tracker and a smart watch with useful functions, from Google Maps to camera control. I find the body composition measurement weak, as it deviated strongly from the professional measurement for me. I bought the watch myself.