Samsung Galaxy Watch Active is here to take on the Apple Watch

published 20 February 2019

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active is official, and has just been unveiled on stage at Samsung Unpacked.

It's a important launch for Samsung's wearable devision, with a sleek new design, new UI, and new focus on fitness.

Does this mean it'll finally allow Samsung to complete with the Apple Watch? Let's take a look at everything Samsung has changed…

The design is now much more streamlined, with Samsung opting to ditch the rotating bezel. It looks like a circular Apple Watch, which is certainly no bad thing.

It makes the watch appear more modern, and less like it's a cheap imitation of a traditional watch.

It's available in more colours than the previous model, with Samsung offering the Galaxy Watch Active in black, silver, rose gold, and a "sea green" blue. All crafted from aluminium.

Of course, the Samsung Galaxy Watch can do everything you'd expect a smartwatch to do, from receiving notifications and calls right on your wrist, to fitness tracking.

As we expected, and, as the name suggests, the Galaxy Watch Active has a big focus on fitness, and is able to offer even more workouts than before, such as yoga, and hiking.

In a first for smartwatches, the Samsung Galaxy active is also capable of Blood Pressure Monitoring. All you need to do it download My BP Lab, the research app jointly developed with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), directly to Galaxy Watch Active to monitor blood pressure and keep better track of your physical health every day.

The watch will also track your wellness routine while out for a run, following your route using the built-in GPS, and sync everything seamlessly with Samsung Health.

The watch will also keep track of your schedule, acting as a digital assistant, briefing you about all of your events and reminders for the day, before you have time to forget.

Bixby features on the watch, and will be able to send messages, set reminders and begin alarms all using your voice.

It measures 40mm in diameter, 39.5 x 39.5 x 10.5mm overall, and weights just 25g.

And finally, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active will also be able to connect with your SmartThings enabled devices, allowing you to control your smart home from your wrist.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active is available to buy in the UK from the 20th of March priced at £229, which is cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Watch.

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As the Style and Travel Editor at T3, Spencer covers everything from clothes to cars and watches to hotels. Everything that's cool, stylish, and interesting, basically. He's been a part of T3 for over seven years, and in that time covered every industry event known to man, from CES and MWC to the Geneva Motorshow and Baselworld. When he's driving up and down the country in search of the greatest driving roads, he can be found messing around on an electric scooter, playing with luxury watches, or testing the latest fragrances.