I would respectfully disagree. Samsung already gates features for it’s phones and now it is gating features to GW 8 despite there being no new sensor upgrade from previous generation. The Antioxidant Index and Vascular load, is just gated to GW 8 for the heck of it and one is not even sure how accurate it is.
There was the Stress thing which I don’t even use on my GW 6 because it’s err, completely useless. It aims to measure physical stress using HRV but is completely out of touch to how I feel. The only thing it does decently is music streaming and sleep tracking.
And then there is the Achilles’ Heel, Battery life. Samsung 's Tizen watches used to last for two/three days and Wear OS is a significant downgrade even the Ultra variants. They have not taken any cues either from Mobvoi or Oneplus (either dual display or dual chip). Charging sucks as well. On GW 4, it was so slow that I wished to throw it. 10W WPC is better but it again overheats and throttles in hot climate.
I had an apple watch before. It’s an SE iirc. It get annoying for me at least to charge it at least a day. Plus, it cranked up my unhealthy obsession to fill those rings.
It was fun seeing those number but deep in my mind i know i dont really care much. Stopped using it and havent missed it much. Mind you, Im a casual runner and weightlifter. I go to gym, sweat it out and go home. That’s about it.
Although, i missed listening to music with it. No need to bring my phone.
Garmin honestly makes some great smartwatches that you don’t have to charge daily tho and have a great health suite. If I didn’t have my Android smartwatch, I’d prob pick up a Garmin tbh. Kind of fixes that problem of daily charging that Android and Apple smartwatches have.
I don’t think I could go for a casual run without my watch lol I need to know my distance and speed for motivation! Weightlifting tracking is not great on smartwatches tho I’ve heard.