Technologies

Galaxy Watch 6 and 6 Classic Review: Small Updates, Big Screens

It’s more like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5.5, but screen size and that bezel make all the difference.

The Galaxy Watch 6 proves that what’s old can become new again. Samsung brought back the fan-favorite bezel on the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, while the regular Galaxy Watch 6 is an incremental update to last year’s model. These Android smartwatches are not exciting, but they can do almost everything you need.

I’ve been wearing both versions for a week to track everything from workouts to sleep. Inside, they’re practically the same watch with the same internal specs, sensors and sizing options. I tested the small version of both: the 40mm Watch 6 and the 43mm Classic. (My wrist measures 152mm.) You can see how they fit in the video on this page.

The main differences between the Galaxy Watch 6 versions?

Material: The Galaxy Watch 6 has an aluminum frame while the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is stainless steel
Rotating bezel: Only on the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. The Galaxy Watch 6 has a haptic touch bezel around the screen
Price: Starts at $300 for the 40mm Galaxy Watch 6 or $330 for the 44mm. The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic is $400 for the 43mm and $430 for the 47mm.

All the sensors on both are the same as the ones found on the Galaxy Watch 5: heart rate, body composition and skin temperature. Both the Watch 6 and 6 Classic have LTE options to stay connected when you’re away from your phone. They cost $50 more than the base price and you may need to pay an additional fee to your wireless provider to get service on your watch.

So, what’s different from last year? It’s as simple as software, screens and a slightly longer-lasting battery.

Better, brighter displays help you see more

It seems like a small upgrade on paper, but the larger 1.3-inch and 1.5-inch displays make a significant difference to the overall experience. When I compare the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic directly with the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (the last Samsung watch to have the bezel) the difference in usable display is night and day.

The screens are also twice as bright as the Galaxy Watch 5 and Pro, reaching a maximum 2,000 nits. I found them so much easier to see in sunlight. The always-on display is brighter too.

Galaxy Watch 6 Classic bezel makes the watch fun again

I love that Samsung listened to feedback and brought back the rotating bezel. Not only does it make navigation more fun, it’s a practical way to control the watch if you wear gloves, or have sweaty or wet fingers.

The bezel is also slimmer than the version we last saw on the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. But it doesn’t do anything new and it should never have left. The regular Galaxy Watch 6 has a touch bezel around the edge of the screen. Move your finger around to get the same effect as the physical bezel.

I wonder what Samsung will do about the next Pro watch. I speculated the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro could have had a slimmer rotating bezel around the raised edge of the watch. Now Samsung makes a slimmer version, I hope we’ll see it on the Galaxy Watch 6 Pro.

One design perk I wasn’t expecting is the new one-click watch band design. No more fiddling with spring pin toggles! The new bands are also backwards and forwards-compatible and I appreciate that they sit closer to the watch frame. The hybrid leather band on the Classic is particularly comfortable for all-day wear.

Galaxy Watch 6 battery life: Only slightly better than the Watch 5

Samsung is more conservative with its battery life estimates this year, claiming the Galaxy Watch 6 can last up to 30 hours with the always-on display, or 40 hours with it turned off. That’s for both sizes of both watches, even though the larger case sizes have a higher-capacity battery at 425 mAh compared to 300 mAh on the smaller version.

I wasn’t quite able to reach those numbers. With the always-on, getting a handful of phone notifications, one 30-minute workout using GPS and sleep tracking, I hit 27 hours on the 43mm Galaxy Watch 6 Classic before it went flat.

With slightly heavier use, like streaming music over Bluetooth headphones and a longer outdoor workout using GPS, that runtime is closer to 24 hours. I suspect LTE use will drain the battery even faster and will update this review once I’ve been able to test. It takes over an hour to charge the watch from flat to full using the provided USB-C charger, or you can use reverse wireless charging on a Galaxy phone for a top-up.

If you want the longest-lasting battery, that’s still the $450 Galaxy Watch 5 Pro that lasts two-and-a-half to three days with similar use.

WearOS 4 and One UI 5 Watch: A good combo, but not complete

These are the first watches to run Wear OS 4. Some of the key updates promise better battery life and cloud backups. Apps like Gmail and Google Calendar will also come to the watch, but at the time of writing they aren’t available yet. Other Google apps like the Assistant and YouTube Music are there and WhatsApp now has a native Wear OS app.

They also run Samsung’s One UI 5 Watch on top of Wear OS 4 that brings Galaxy Watch-exclusive features including:

Sleep insights and sleep coaching
Personalized heart rate zones
Emergency SOS can send your location when it detects a fall
Fall detection active automatically for users over 55

Know that the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 will get the One UI 5 update later in the year. Other interface tweaks include a bigger keyboard, so typing is a little easier than the Galaxy Watch 5. Voice to text dictation works as well as it did before. But my favorite feature so far is that you don’t need to reset your watch when you switch to a new phone.

If you have a Flip 5 or Fold 5, you can control the camera in Flex mode from your wrist, but I found it was a bit laggy. Don’t feel left out if you have an older Galaxy phone: The camera controller still works. I tested it with the Galaxy S22 Ultra and got camera controls like zooming with the bezel, without the lag.

Universal gestures is a lesser-known accessibility feature that should get more attention because it works really well. Just like the Assistive Touch on the Apple Watch, you can control the Galaxy Watch 6 with gestures if you can’t touch the screen or press buttons.

Health, fitness and sleep is pretty much the same

The Galaxy Watch 6 has a few new fitness tools like a new track run workout type and the option to create custom workouts. Samsung quietly added back automatic cycling detection after it disappeared from the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5. The Galaxy Watch 6 still auto-detects activities like walks, runs, rowing machine and elliptical after about 10 minutes.

New to Samsung watches are personalized heart rate zones. They can help you train more effectively by helping you stay within a range based on your aerobic capabilities. To calculate custom heart rate zones, do a minimum 10-minute outdoor run at 4 kilometers per hour or faster. Then go into Settings > HR Zone Guide > Target HR zone. This feature also exists on the Apple Watch and Fitbit.

Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic Gallery: Details Up Close

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Sleep tracking features bring the watch up to speed with what other watches on the market offer, specifically the Pixel Watch and Fitbit. You can now see your sleep score on the watch and the corresponding sleep animals are cute. But they’ve been available on the Galaxy Watch 4 since early 2022. It will take more time to see if the Galaxy Watch 6 sleep coaching tips are helpful in the long term and if they’re any different from previous watches. I’ll update this review after several weeks with the final verdict.

Like other wearables, the Galaxy Watch 6 can check your blood oxygen readings while you sleep, but it’s the only smartwatch I’ve worn for sleep tracking that gives me very low blood oxygen readings overnight, sometimes as low as 87%. Low blood oxygen readings can indicate medical conditions like sleep apnea. Activating sleep mode is also supposed to turn on an invisible infrared sensor instead of using the green LED for heart rate, though I noticed when I woke up during the night, the green light was visible. I’ve reached out to Samsung for clarification on this feature.

The Galaxy Watch 6 has an ECG and now supports irregular heart rhythm notifications, like the Apple Watch and Fitbit, but only if you have a Galaxy phone. You can sideload the Samsung Health Monitor app on other Android phones by installing an APK, but technically it’s not supported.

I tested the heart rate monitor against a chest strap for accuracy and found that my resting heart rate matched up. During a cardio workout, the sensor was within a few bpm of the strap. Like last year’s watch, the GPS locked on to a signal within seconds of starting an outdoor workout and route accuracy is good.

Finally, the skin temperature sensor tracks during overnight sleep and can also be used to predict upcoming menstrual cycles.

Should you upgrade to the Galaxy Watch 6?

That depends. If you have a Galaxy Watch 4 or 5 it doesn’t make much sense unless you get a fantastic trade-in deal, or you really want that bigger screen. You get all the main software updates with One UI 5 Watch later in the year anyway.

If you have an earlier Galaxy or Gear watch that runs Tizen, the upgrade is more tempting as you’re getting access to Wear OS and the option to keep the beloved bezel.

But the Galaxy Watch 6 has a lot more competition than last year, thanks to the likes of the Pixel Watch and Mobvoi’s TicWatch 5 Pro. The Galaxy Watch 6 is one of the most refined Android smartwatches, but it could be a lot more exciting, especially when it comes to battery life.

Galaxy Watch 6 vs. 6 Classic

	Samsung Galaxy Watch 6	Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
Shape	Round	Round
Watch size	40mm, 44mm	43mm, 47mm
Materials/Finishes	Aluminum	Stainless Steel
Display size, resolution	40mm: 1.3 inch, 432×432 pixels, Super AMOLED; 44mm: 1.5 inch, 480×480 pixels, Super AMOLED	43mm: 1.3 inch, 432×432 pixels, Super AMOLED; 47mm: 1.5 inch, 480×480 pixels, Super AMOLED
Dimensions	40mm: 38.8×40.4×9.0 mm; 44mm: 42.8×44.4×9.0 mm	43mm: 42.5×42.5×10.9 mm; 47mm: 46.5×46.5×10.9 mm
Weight	40mm: 28.7g; 44mm: 33.3g	43mm: 52g; 47mm: 59g
Colors	40mm: graphite, gold ;44mm: graphite, silver	43mm: black, silver; 47mm: black, silver
Always On	Yes	Yes
Interchangeable bands	Yes	Yes
GPS	Yes	Yes
Automatic workout detection	Yes	Yes
Compass	Yes	Yes
Altimeter	Yes	Yes
Water resistance	5ATM, IP68	5ATM, IP68
Calls	Yes	Yes
Microphone	Yes	Yes
Speaker	Yes	Yes
Voice assistant	Yes (Google Assistant, Bixby)	Yes (Google Assistant, Bixby)
Mobile Payments	Yes (Samsung Wallet)	Yes (Samsung Wallet)
Sleep tracking	Yes	Yes
Period tracking	Yes	Yes
Sensors	Optical heart rate + electrical heart signal + bioelectrical impedance analysis, temperature sensor, accelerometer, barometer, gyro sensor, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor	Optical heart rate + electrical heart signal + bioelectrical impedance analysis, temperature sensor, accelerometer, barometer, gyro sensor, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor
Emergency features	Emergency SOS, fall detection	Emergency SOS, fall detection
Compatibility	Android 10 and above	Android 10 and above
Software	WearOS 4	WearOS 4
Processor	Exynos W930 dual-core 1.4GHz	Exynos W930 dual-core 1.4GHz
Connectivity	LTE6, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 2.4+5GHz, NFC, GPS/Glonass/Beidou/Galileo	LTE6, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 2.4+5GHz, NFC, GPS/Glonass/Beidou/Galileo
Memory and storage	2GB memory + 16GB storage	2GB memory + 16GB storage
Charging	Fast charging (WPC-based wireless charging)	Fast charging (WPC-based wireless charging)
Battery life	Up to 40 hours (Always On Display off); up to 30 hours (Always On Display on)	Up to 40 hours (Always On Display off); up to 30 hours (Always On Display on)
Battery capacity	40mm: 300 mAh; 44mm: 425 mAh	43mm: 300 mAh; 47mm: 425 mAh
Price (USD)	40mm: $300 (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth); 44mm: $330 (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)	43mm: $400 (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth); 47mm: $430 (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth)

Technologies

The Duskbloods Is New FromSoftware Gaming Action Coming to Switch 2 in 2026

Talk about a surprise for the new Switch.

FromSoftware had a big day with the Switch 2 Direct. The company revealed a new game called The Duskbloods and confirmed that its smash-hit action RPG Elden Ring is coming to the new console, which launches on June 5 for $450.

The Duskbloods is exclusive to the Switch 2, which was a surprise announcement during the Switch 2 Direct. According to FromSoftware, the game is a player vs. player vs. enemy, or PvPvE, online multiplayer game similar to the developer’s upcoming Elden Ring: Nightreign.

Players will be part of the Bloodsworn, which is a group that has «transcended human strength thanks to their special blood.» Each individual will be playing against each other as well as taking on other foes.

The game features some mainstays for FromSoftware games, with a gothic tone and a focus on gore, like its popular Bloodborne game for the PS4. It does appear that characters have a few more abilities than seen in previous games from the cult developer.

The Duskbloods will release sometime in It will be released in 2026.

The Switch 2 will launch on June 5 and preorders will start on April 9 at retailers. The new console will feature plenty of third-party support, with major games like Borderlands 4, Madden and Civilization 7 coming from other publishers.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, April 3

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 3.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword has two similar clues, 5-Across and 6-Across. They both play off the same idea — using the first part of two words to make one, all food-related. I didn’t get that at first, so I struggled with those two clues. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Hit the ___ (go to bed)
Answer: SACK

5A clue: Misleading name for a sub/shish kebab restaurant?
Answer: SUSHI

6A clue: Misleading name for a taco/pasta restaurant?
Answer: TAPAS

7A clue: Certain sports bets
Answer: OVERS

8A clue: Cooped (up)
Answer: PENT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Almost *too* sophisticated and charming
Answer: SUAVE

2D clue: Upscale Colorado skiing destination
Answer: ASPEN

3D clue: Word after bar or pie
Answer: CHART

4D clue: Smooch
Answer: KISS

5D clue: Word on an eight-sided traffic sign
Answer: STOP

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2: Everything We Know About the Console, New Games, Release Date

The $450 console will get Mario Kart World at launch, 4K gaming when docked, Switch 2 Edition game enhancements and new mouse controls.

The Nintendo Switch 2 console’s biggest reveal yet arrived Wednesday morning as part of the company’s Nintendo Direct event. This teed up a day of Switch 2 reveals that include its June 5 release date, a $450 price, its specs, and its initial game lineup that extends from launch into 2026.

The console will be further buoyed by having Mario Kart World as a launch title, which will go on sale in either a $500 bundle with the Switch 2 or on its own for $80 — making the open-world racing game one of Nintendo’s most expensive yet. Other games announced, such as Donkey Kong Bananza, are being priced around $70, which matches the cost of 2023’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. That Zelda game and Breath of the Wild are among the original Switch titles that will get enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrades, a premium upgrade allowing players to get new features, modes and graphical enhancements that take advantage of the newer system’s capabilities.

Here are the top highlights from Nintendo’s console event, all of the games we’ve heard about so far (including new titles, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles and GameCube games coming to Nintendo Switch Online) and all of our coverage so far. You can also check out our Nintendo Switch 2 live blog for even more updates about the Switch 2 as we learn them.

Nintendo Switch 2 console

The Nintendo Switch 2’s specs saw a noticeable technical bump over the Switch. The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch, 1080p resolution LCD that supports a 120Hz refresh rate — matching what we now see on most Android phones. When the Switch 2 is docked, compatible games can run in 4K resolution. The new dock also includes a cooling fan.

The Switch 2 comes with 256GB of internal storage, and the new Switch 2 Game Cards will load games faster. For digital libraries, however, the Switch 2 will only work with microSD Express cards, which are different from the microSD cards that are compatible with the prior Nintendo Switch. Nintendo will have a Software Transfer feature available to help move games and data from the original Switch to the Switch 2.

The new Joy-Con for the controllers will support mouse controls, and a new C button will be part of a new GameChat communication feature that allows both voice and video chat. There’s also a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, allowing players to see each other.

The Switch 2 also adds a second USB-C port to the top of the system, which Nintendo says can help connect its new camera accessory or charge the console when playing in tabletop mode. Nintendo also revealed a new Switch 2 Pro Controller with the C button and customizable GL and GR buttons on the back.

Following the presentation, Nintendo unveiled the system’s price of $450 in the US. It will also sell the Switch 2 bundled with a digital version of Mario Kart World for $500.

Mario Kart World

Mario Kart World removes its traditional boundaries and lets drivers roam freely across an entire world of race courses. The game will get its own Nintendo Direct later this month, where we’ll see additional details, but we already know it’ll include traditional races and a Free Roam mode, much like in the Forza Horizon series.

Getting the game bundled for an extra $50 on the cost of the Switch 2 might be the move if you are interested in the game, because Nintendo announced on its website that standalone copies of Mario Kart World will cost $80.

Joy-Con 2 C button and GameChat

Nintendo’s rolling out its new C button across several new Switch 2 controllers. The button will be used for the new GameChat communication features without a headset. The button will be used alongside a microphone on the console itself, which Nintendo says can be used whether it’s docked to a TV or in handheld mode.

In its teaser video, Nintendo promises the microphone will be able to cancel out loud background noises. GameChat will also work with a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, allowing video chat and various camera-based game modes in supported titles. GameChat will be free at launch through March 31, 2026.

Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games upgrade titles

The Nintendo Switch 2 will play three types of games: original Switch games, Switch 2 games and Switch 2 Edition games that will receive substantial enhancements. For many of these Switch 2 Edition games, you’ll need to buy an upgrade pack if you own the original for Switch. Many of them will get more than just enhanced graphics in the upgrade; for example, Super Mario Party Jamboree will get new games that support the new Joy-Cons’ mouse controls, audio recognition and video camera gameplay options through the Switch 2 Camera.

Other Nintendo Switch games that are getting Switch 2 Edition options include The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Enhancements vary: The Zelda games will start working with a companion phone app for maps and sending schematics to friends, while Kirby will get a new story that’s exclusive to the Switch 2 Edition. On the third-party side, Civilization 7 will get mouse controls.

Nintendo did not announce what upgrade packs will cost. However, some Switch games will get free updates that will improve performance or enhance features when playing them on the Switch 2. The Switch games getting these updates include:

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a new game set in the world of Zelda that tells the story that leads into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This appears to be similar to how Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity told the story of a war that led to the events of Breath of the Wild. The teaser shows Zelda discovering that she’s arrived in the past of Hyrule, and the game will expand on how she gets involved in the corresponding Imprisonment War.

Nintendo Switch 2 games

Several other first- and third-party games were spotlighted during the Switch 2 Direct. These include Donkey Bananza, one of the first 3D platforming games featuring DK since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64. Kirby will also return to the racing genre in Kirby Air Riders, which comes more than 20 years after the GameCube racer Kirby’s Air Ride. DragXDrive will use mouse controls to control a futuristic wheelchair basketball game in which players will simulate push and pull motions to control their character.

An onslaught of Switch 2 third-party games were quickly shuffled through during the Direct, which I list below. An unnamed James Bond game is in development at Hitman studio IO Interactive, as is a darker title from Elden Ring creator FromSoftware called The Duskbloods, which will be exclusive to the Switch 2.

The full list of announced Nintendo Switch 2 games includes:

Borderlands 4
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion
Deltarune
Donkey Kong Bananza
Drag x Drive
EA Sports FC
EA Sports Madden NFL
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
Enter the Gungeon 2
Fast Fusion
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade
Fortnite
Hades 2
Hitman World of Assassination — Signature Edition
Hogwarts Legacy
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Kirby Air Riders
Kirby and the Forgotten Land — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Star-Crossed World
Kunitsu-Gai: Path of the Goddess
Mario Kart World
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
NBA 2K
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition
Pokemon Legends: Z-A — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Project 007
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Split Fiction
Star Wars Outlaws
Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions
Street Fighter 6
Super Mario Party Jamboree — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Jamboree TV
Survival Kids
The Duskbloods
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4
WWE 2K
Yakuza 0 Definitive Edition

Among these titles, you can see the full list of June 5 Switch 2 launch day games here.

Nintendo GameCube library coming to Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch Online game library will add GameCube games to the Switch 2. On launch day, these games will initially include The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, SoulCalibur 2 and F-Zero GX, with each game getting enhanced graphics. Online multiplayer will also be added to certain titles. Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Strikers and Luigi’s Mansion are among the games set to arrive later. At launch, Nintendo will also sell a GameCube controller, which will be wireless and include a C button for GameChat.