In his official press launch for the Galaxy Watch 6, Samsung president TM Roh promised new “fitness teaching” and “customized exercises.” Galaxy Unpacked centered on the watch’s new customized coronary heart charge zones, however I deluded myself into pondering there is perhaps extra behind the scenes as soon as I may take a look at it for myself.
I’m within the midst of reviewing the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. My early ideas? The fitness {hardware} and One UI 5 Watch software program still go away a lot to be desired for runners. And I really feel silly for guessing in any other case.
I hoped that Samsung would lastly shut the fitness hole between it and different manufacturers. But the straightforward truth is, Samsung’s definition of “teaching” may be very totally different than what Garmin, Fitbit, Apple, and even Amazfit brings to the desk.
Most devoted fitness manufacturers have begun suggesting exercises, step objectives, or restoration time primarily based in your fitness stage. Samsung took step one with its new customized coronary heart charge zones, however beneath the floor, this new function is not very thrilling. In each different respect, from metrics to location monitoring, Samsung is not doing sufficient to maintain up with the pack.
What’s new with Galaxy Watch 6 fitness
Sunday Runday
In his new weekly column, Android Central Fitness Editor Michael Hicks talks in regards to the world of wearables, apps, and general fitness tech associated to working and well being.
Here’s what new fitness instruments you really get with the Galaxy Watch 6: customized coronary heart charge zones, Track Run, and Custom Workouts. That’s it. Everything else, like irregular coronary heart rhythm knowledge and sleep teaching, fall extra into Samsung’s love of well being monitoring, not fitness knowledge. Samsung did not even add the GPX routes which are unique to the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
My customized coronary heart charge zones are calculated off the max coronary heart charge Samsung detected on my first GPS-tracked run. So as a result of I hit 189bpm on my 10K exercise, all of my zones begin at 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of that quantity. In 2023, this is not groundbreaking fitness tech; and its “teaching” is simply telling you ways exhausting you ran primarily based on these numbers.
My precise max BPM is 196, so my numbers ought to modify as soon as I do a max-effort run sporting the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. But there is no choice to make use of lactate threshold or coronary heart charge reserve knowledge, or to edit your zone percentages as different manufacturers (like Apple and Garmin) enable.
As for Custom Workouts, Samsung has provided the choice to set objectives for a run primarily based on Duration, Distance, Calories, or Intervals because the Galaxy Watch 4. The solely new choice is to start out a run with an HR Zone Guide, telling you when you’ve fallen above or under your goal zone.
I do like that Samsung added a customized coronary heart charge vary, so I can goal for a few zones or simply guarantee I keep in my first three or 4 zones. I simply want this wasn’t the one Custom Workout Samsung provided.
Samsung’s Running Coach is for couch-to-5K runners
I complained about Samsung’s missed potential after I reviewed the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. One UI 5 Watch has a very cool Running Coach sport mode with guided runs like Calorie Burning Coach and Endurance Running Coach. But the issue is de facto skewed in the direction of rookies. “Intermediate” runs like Endurance jogging problem you to hit 2.85 miles in 50 minutes (17:30 tempo), whereas the very best issue is 5.37 miles in 70 minutes (just below 15-minute tempo).
Similarly, Samsung Health’s fitness tab has a number of Running Programs which are really nice couch-to-5K and first-10K guides for working newbies. They all set three exercises per week of accelerating issue throughout 8–10 weeks that can assist you hit your objectives. Again, most tempo targets are within the 10-to-15-minute vary, extra jogging than working; however for rookies, it is fairly darn cool!
Putting apart the dearth of higher-difficulty choices or personalization à la Garmin Coach, the larger subject is that these applications cannot be imported onto your Galaxy Watch 6. You have to start out a GPS exercise in your Galaxy cellphone, and then fitness knowledge seems in your watch to match it.
It’s a critically missed alternative that Samsung hasn’t employed some working coaches to create some generic coaching plans for severe runners. Even some new coached exercises that allow you to go sooner than 4 miles an hour, or an choice to obtain user-made exercises or applications with extra rigorous pacing onto your watch, would go a great distance in making the Galaxy Watch 6 extra viable as a working watch.
How the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic performs for fitness (up to now)
Enough complaining about lacking software program. Let’s discuss in regards to the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic itself, and how the {hardware} handles for working.
I took out my Galaxy Watch 6 Classic with the Garmin Forerunner 265 on my different wrist for a 10K run. Both watches gave me the very same 172bpm common — although the Galaxy Watch 6 appeared to lag behind my Garmin each time I climbed a hill and my coronary heart charge shot up. So far, so good.
Samsung’s automated exercise detection is spectacular, too. It registers fairly rapidly when you’re strolling or working, beginning the exercise for you. And when you cease at a stoplight throughout a run, it is actually responsive at pausing the exercise with out you having to set off it.
It’s not all good, nonetheless. Just like after I reviewed the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, I discovered that the GPS-only Watch 6 sequence struggles to maintain observe of me throughout runs, sending me on suspiciously straight strains off trails, by means of homes, and into streets despite there not being a lot tree cowl on my route. I needed to run an additional 50 seconds to hit the identical 6.2-mile mark as Garmin’s, which had dual-band GPS energetic for extra correct outcomes.
Plus, the registered elevation acquire was actually off: Across 6 miles of rolling, often steep hills, it solely registered 133 toes of acquire to Garmin’s 335 toes.
I’m not going to carry it in opposition to Samsung that my VO2 Max is decrease than Garmin’s estimate with so little knowledge. I do discover it weird that my rating dipped 0.4 (0.2 twice) after two fast-paced strolling actions, as if Samsung was holding it in opposition to me that I wasn’t working.
I’m side-eyeing Samsung rather more about my physique composition rating, which had my fats share considerably increased than what each my Withings and Renpho sensible scales inform me I’ve. This is the third era of watch to have a BIA sensor, and it still looks like it is hit and miss, various wildly from one studying to the following. I’ll maintain testing over the following week to make certain.
This is just an in-progress fitness overview of the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, as I have to put it by means of its paces extra to see if some drawback areas enhance or keep unreliable.
Beyond the wrinkles and lack of software program tricks, I like utilizing my 47mm Galaxy Watch 6 Classic greater than the 5 Pro for working, despite it weighing extra. The default band matches my wrist a lot better, giving me extra correct coronary heart charge knowledge. The efficiency enhance means much less lag when scrolling by means of menus and settings. And I really like the rotating bezel for skimming by means of my exercise knowledge, in comparison with how irritating the Pro’s contact bezel could possibly be.
Still, Samsung’s customized coronary heart charge zones are only a small step in the fitting path, a stop-gap measure. The Galaxy Watch sequence wants to enhance in some key fitness areas to show that Samsung is severe about all this.
With an Apple Watch, you may see extra knowledge throughout a run like your exercise rings, working energy, cadence, and elevation. You may even race a previous route, whereas Samsung will not even allow you to obtain offline maps on the Watch 6. And Apple has since introduced its customized coronary heart charge zones to biking, whereas Samsung’s new software is running-only.
I have never even touched on how Garmin’s coaching and restoration knowledge is a lot extra refined, nor how rather more correct its watches might be for GPS monitoring. You might not see this as a good comparability, however most trade specialists agree that Apple is attempting to catch as much as Garmin for fitness, slowly however absolutely. You hardly ever hear anybody say that about Samsung.
Samsung must do extra to make it possible for fitness followers who purchase Android watches do not go away the Galaxy Watch behind for different manufacturers. Whether they select the Pixel Watch for Fitbit or a extra specialised fitness gadget, they in all probability will not miss Samsung Health all that a lot. At least, I would not.