Key Takeaways
- The Samsung Galaxy Watch FE affords complete options for simply $200.
- The brilliant AMOLED display is nice for outside use.
- Battery life might be a priority down the street.
Samsung’s funds units do not typically obtain a lot fanfare, however should you ask me, they’re incessantly the corporate’s most compelling choices. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is a formidable cellphone, however let’s be trustworthy, exterior of Samsung diehards, most individuals are higher off shopping for the Galaxy S24 or one of many firm’s much more reasonably priced A-series handsets. So it is shocking that it took Samsung until this past June to announce a Fan Version (learn: funds) model of its in style Galaxy Watch smartwatch. Much more shocking is how straightforward the Galaxy Watch FE is to advocate.
Really helpful
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
Regardless of costing solely $200, the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE appears like the whole package deal. It affords practically all the pieces somebody who needs to enhance their well being may must get extra out of their exercises and sleep.
- Solely $200
- Strong health and sleep monitoring
- Vivid AMOLED display
- NFC included
- Giant show bezel
- Battery life might be higher
- Solely obtainable in 40mm dimension
See our course of
How we test and review products at Pocket-lint
We do not do arm-chair analysis. We purchase and check our personal merchandise, and we solely publish purchaser’s guides with merchandise we have truly reviewed.
Value, specs, and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Watch FE is on the market in three colours: Black, Silver, and Pink Gold. On the time of the writing of this assessment, Samsung is just promoting the Bluetooth model of the FE, which you should purchase for $200. An LTE variant will arrive later this yr and price $250. As issues stand, the Galaxy Watch FE is on the market in a single dimension: 40mm. I examined the Bluetooth mannequin in Black.
What I favored in regards to the Galaxy Watch FE
It does not really feel compromised
After spending two weeks with the Galaxy Watch FE, the factor that stood out to me was how full it felt. From a characteristic standpoint, there’s little that’s lacking right here. Take health monitoring, as an illustration: Like its dearer siblings, the FE can course of 100 totally different actions. With built-in GPS and coronary heart price monitoring, the monitoring is as sturdy as what you will discover on Samsung’s dearer wearables.
As a bike owner, I used to be capable of configure the FE for zone two training. As you may see from the pair of screenshots beneath, the watch made a dramatic distinction. On the experience the place the watch warned me once I was pushing myself too exhausting, I managed to manage my coronary heart price for practically 80 % of the exercise.
Pocket-lint / Samsung
I used to be additionally impressed by how rapidly the FE acknowledged once I was ready at a cease signal or pink gentle. Inside seconds, it could pause the exercise to make sure it wasn’t gathering junk knowledge. Equally spectacular are all of the supplementary well being options. Outdoors of a lacking temperature sensor, the FE affords all the pieces I might count on from a contemporary smartwatch, together with sleep monitoring and blood oxygen monitoring. It could possibly even take physique composition measurements, and throughout the board, all of those options work effectively and are useful.
The FE will not be missing in trendy smartwatch options both. It comes with an NFC modem, enabling assist for cell funds by way of Samsung Pay and Google Wallet. The one annoyance right here is which you can’t reassign the shortcut Samsung set to rapidly launch Samsung Pay, forcing you to make use of certainly one of your treasured few different shortcuts for Google Pockets should you choose to make use of that platform as a substitute. Fortunately, you may freely drop Bixby for Google Assistant.
Apart from a smaller 1.2-inch display, the FE shares the identical design because the Galaxy Watch 7. I did not thoughts the chunky show bezel, partly as a result of the FE’s AMOLED panel seems to be nice. It is vibrant, vivid, and straightforward to learn, even in harsh daylight. With a watch face that incorporates a black background, the bezel can also be straightforward to disregard, because of the deep blacks supplied by OLED tech. In contrast to the Apple Watch SE, the FE’s AMOLED show even comes with an always-on characteristic.
One other space Samsung didn’t lower prices on was safety. Along with being IP68-certified towards water, Samsung hardened the show towards scratches with sapphire crystal glass. I did not strive bumping the show, however I did take the look ahead to a swim in a cool Canadian lake, and it got here out simply tremendous.
After spending two weeks with the Galaxy Watch FE, the factor that stood out to me was how full it felt.
As I discussed above, Samsung is providing the FE in three totally different colorways. Value noting right here is that every mannequin comes with a color-matched silicone band. Moreover, the FE makes use of the identical clasp mechanism as its dearer siblings, so it’s potential to make use of bands relationship way back to these Samsung initially designed for the Galaxy Watch 4. I discovered the band that got here with my assessment unit made the FE comfy to put on all day, together with once I went to sleep.
Associated
Heart-monitoring smartwatches may be causing AFib patients more stress, not less
A brand new examine within the Journal of the American Coronary heart Affiliation has related sufferers utilizing wearables with elevated anxiousness.
What I did not like in regards to the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
Battery life is a priority
Provided that the LTE variant solely prices $250, it is wonderful all of the options Samsung determined to pack into the Galaxy Watch FE. For essentially the most half, the corporate’s cutbacks really feel cheap.
Notably, the Galaxy Watch FE options an older Exynos W920 chipset, which Samsung has paired with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of inside storage. The corporate announced the W920 in 2021. On the time, it was the business’s first 5nm chipset for wearable units. However three years is sort of an eternity within the cell world, and the W920 is beginning to present its age in 2024.
Provided that the LTE variant solely prices $250, it is wonderful all of the options Samsung determined to pack into the Galaxy Watch FE.
From a efficiency standpoint, the Galaxy Watch FE is, at finest, serviceable. Navigating Put on OS does not really feel as snappy because it ought to, with animations which are gradual to render. I additionally observed quite a lot of hiccups within the two weeks I had the FE. As an illustration, once I went to log my day by day water consumption, the watch would typically register my tapping however not add to my whole rely.
If the Galaxy Watch FE is your first entry into the world of smartwatches, otherwise you’re coming to it from an older machine, I believe you will see the efficiency to be tremendous. Like I mentioned, it is serviceable. However what you’ll discover is the FE’s restricted battery life. That is as a result of, along with outfitting the watch with an older, much less environment friendly processor, Samsung gave the FE a 247mAh battery.
For context, the 40mm variants of the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 7 characteristic 300mAh batteries. In absolute phrases, a 247mAh battery may not appear a lot smaller than a 300mAh one, however neither the Galaxy Watch 6 nor Galaxy Watch 7 are identified for his or her battery life.
On standby, the FE can go about 34 hours on a single cost. After all, even reasonable use can dramatically have an effect on uptime. I take into account myself an lively particular person. My girlfriend and I stroll at the least 10,000 steps most days; within the spring, summer time, and fall, I experience my bike nearly day by day; and after a protracted, pandemic-enforced absence from the health club, I not too long ago obtained again to weightlifting. In case your days look one thing like mine, be ready to cost the Galaxy Watch FE day by day, particularly should you plan to benefit from its sleep monitoring.
I fear how effectively the FE’s battery will age and what the watch might be like to make use of a yr or two after somebody buys it.
On days once I wore the FE to mattress after which used it to trace my morning bike experience, it had about 35% battery once I arrived house at round 8am. Discovering time to cost the watch wasn’t a difficulty. Though the FE is proscribed to charging at 5W, the battery could be practically full by the point I sat all the way down to work at 9, supplied I took it off to cost shortly after strolling by way of the door.
That mentioned, I fear about how effectively the FE’s battery will age and what the watch might be like to make use of a yr or two after somebody buys it. Though I used the FE’s exercise monitoring characteristic day-after-day, there have been different capabilities I turned to much less typically. For instance, I did not measure my physique composition day-after-day, nor did I take advantage of the watch to take heed to music on my bike rides. I used to be additionally frugal with the show’s always-on characteristic. For those who’re an influence consumer, you are in all probability higher off contemplating certainly one of Samsung’s different smartwatches or a competing option from Garmin.
Must you purchase the Samsung Galaxy Watch FE?
As I discussed above, essentially the most outstanding factor in regards to the Galaxy Watch FE is how full it feels. Positive, it’s not the quickest smartwatch I’ve examined, however it does include practically all the pieces else I believe most individuals might need from a health tracker. Battery life might be a priority down the street, however should you’re somebody who’s simply beginning out on their health journey, that is the Put on OS watch to purchase.
Really helpful
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE
Trending Merchandise
