The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 brings a premium design, bright display, faster performance, and several new health features. Check out the review.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 comes with a starting price of Rs. 37,999
Samsung's Galaxy Watch series has become synonymous with premium design, seamless software integration, and a wide range of health features. The Galaxy Watch 9 builds on this legacy. The latest smartwatch from the brand comes with a host of interesting features, which makes it a contender for one of the best smartwatches for 2026.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 price in India starts at Rs. 37,999 for the 40mm Bluetooth model, and goes up to Rs. 44,999 for the 44mm Bluetooth + LTE model. That being said, does it make sense to spend on this latest smartwatch, especially when the Galaxy Watch 8 looks almost identical? Here's what you need to know:
The first thing you will notice about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 is that the design looks almost identical to the previous generation. The company has retained the cushion-shaped case that was first introduced with the Galaxy Watch 8, and frankly, I don't think that is a bad thing.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 is available in two variants: 40mm and 44mm.
The design gives the smartwatch a modern, stylish look, especially compared with older Galaxy Watches. The design looks premium without making the smartwatch feel too bulky. More importantly, the smartwatch is lightweight. The 40mm variant weighs just 31.5 grams, while the 44mm model weighs 34 grams.
This makes the smartwatch comfortable to wear throughout the day and even while sleeping. I also liked the soft-touch band, which sits comfortably around the wrist. However, my only complaint is that the loop has no hook mechanism, and it sometimes slides, making it hard to get a good grip on the strap and keep it in place.
The smartwatch features a premium design language, which is in line with older Galaxy models.
The smartwatch also features a sturdy design. It has IP58 certification and 5ATM water resistance. Moreover, it has an Armour Aluminium 2 case, which adds durability.
The smartwatch features a 1.34-inch or 1.47-inch display, depending on the watch size. Both screens offer the same feature set and brightness.
The 44mm model features a 1.47-inch Super AMOLED display.
The smartwatch comes with a Super AMOLED panel that reaches up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness. The screen is bright enough for outdoor use, and I had no trouble reading notifications, messages, workout information, and other content in direct sunlight. You also get an Always-On display, along with an almost bezel-less look and feel, which makes it an enjoyable experience while using the smartwatch.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 runs on Wear OS 7 with Samsung's One UI Watch interface. As always, you can connect your watch to your Android smartphone using the Samsung Wear and Samsung Health apps. The Wear app lets you customise the watch face, manage applications, change settings, and install updates. Samsung Health, on the other hand, stores most of your health and fitness data.
This year, the Galaxy Watch 9 also gets Google Gemini integration, which you can access by raising your wrist and talking to the assistant. I found the Gemini integration quite useful during my testing. You can ask it to set reminders, create timers, answer questions, and perform several other tasks without reaching for your smartphone.
Coming to the interface, the One UI Watch experience is simple to use. Samsung has kept its familiar tile-based approach, which lets you quickly access health information, workouts, music, weather, notifications, and other functions.
Samsung Health has received several new features with the Galaxy Watch 9. You get Vitals, Daily Cardio Load, Fitness Index, Heart Health Score, sleep tracking, Sleep Apnea detection, and several other health-related tools.
The latest smartwatch from the brand is powered by the latest Snapdragon Wear Elite platform, which claims to provide up to 32 percent improved CPU performance and 19 percent GPU gains. Additionally, the SoC also help improve GPS accuracy.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite processor.
In terms of performance, the smartwatch feels snappy when opening apps, moving between tiles, starting workouts, and checking notifications. The overall interface feels fluid, and you will not notice much lag or stutter during usage. The smartwatch comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB storage, which provides enough room for applications.
The Galaxy Watch 9 also comes loaded with health and fitness features. You get heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking, blood oxygen monitoring, body composition measurements, ECG, blood pressure monitoring, and multiple workout modes.
The new Vitals feature monitors several health parameters while you sleep and looks for changes in your normal readings. Then there is Daily Cardio Load, which provides an overview of your recent activity and helps you understand how much strain your body is experiencing.
Coming to tracking, the Galaxy Watch 9 does a good job with everyday activities. GPS tracking stayed consistent during outdoor walks and runs, and I found the overall workout-tracking experience dependable.
However, the only bone of contention I have picked up with the Galaxy Watch 9, and in fact with previous models as well, is auto cycling mode, which gets activated even when I am driving a two-wheeler. This kind of spoils the day's data.
Coming to battery life, this is where the Galaxy Watch 9 still disappoints. The 40mm model comes with a 390mAh battery, while the 44mm variant gets a larger 445mAh cell.
During my testing, the smartwatch lasted roughly a day with features such as Always-On Display, heart-rate tracking, notifications, sleep tracking, and other health functions enabled. On days with heavier workout usage, the battery dropped even faster. The gains are marginal at best compared to the battery life of the Watch 9 over its predecessor. For charging, the smartwatch takes more than an hour and a half to charge fully.
To conclude, the Samsung Watch 9 is a refined version of the Galaxy Watch 8, not a complete overhaul like the Galaxy Watch Ultra 8. The company played it safe with the design, bringing the cushion-shaped look to the latest smartwatch. It sure looks premium and lightweight.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch comes with a starting price of Rs. 37,999.
The health tracking features are comprehensive, and Samsung has added several new tools that make the Galaxy Watch 9 a more complete health companion. However, battery life remains the biggest weakness. Even with the larger battery, you will still need to charge the smartwatch roughly every day depending on your usage. The charging speed could also have been better.
At Rs. 37,999 for the 40mm Bluetooth variant and Rs. 40,999 for the 44mm Bluetooth variant, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 is clearly a premium smartwatch. For someone upgrading from an older Galaxy Watch, it sure looks like a good deal. However, if you already have a Galaxy Watch 8, these upgrades aren't much of a reason to upgrade.
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