Technologies
Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 8: The Top Highlights of Each Smartwatch
Apple and Samsung are including a wealth of health and fitness features to pump up their flagship watches. Here is how they compare.

The Apple Watch has long positioned itself as a leader in the smartwatch space, and the new Series 11 watch includes several key updates that provide improvements over previous models. These include 5G connectivity for the cellular model and new health features like hypertension notifications and Sleep Score analysis.
Yet, Apple does face plenty of competition from other companies, with Samsung’s latest Galaxy Watch 8 providing a compelling alternative for people looking for a watch that pairs with an Android phone. The Galaxy Watch 8 has a lightweight design, access to the Gemini assistant and Samsung’s own suite of health features like its new Running Coach.
If you’re not tied to either the Apple or Android ecosystem, it’s worth taking a look at both to see which one you prefer. We’ve compiled several comparison points below to help make your decision easier.
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Design and display
Even before we delve into their features, the most obvious difference between the two watches is in how they look. The Watch Series 11 retains the same square frame that prior Apple Watch have always had, along with a thin profile and edge-to-edge display.
The Galaxy Watch 8, on the other hand, has a circular display that is more reminiscent of traditional watches and might appeal more to those who want a rounder shape. The Galaxy Watch 8 is not completely round, however. It has a square base, which makes the overall effect more of a squircle than a normal circle.
Size-wise, the Apple Watch Series 11 is available in 42mm and 46mm sizes while the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is available in 40mm and 44mm. The difference might be minimal, but if you have a smaller wrist, you might prefer the smaller Galaxy Watch 8. In terms of their displays, the Apple Watch Series 11 has an OLED Retina display while the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 has a Super AMOLED. The Galaxy Watch 8’s display gets brighter, with a peak of 3,000 nits while the Apple Watch Series 11’s brightness can range from 1 to 2,000 nits.
While the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is only available in aluminum (black or grey), the Apple Watch Series 11 is available in both aluminum and titanium in a variety of different finishes (jet black, rose gold or silver in the aluminium, and slate, gold or natural in the titanium).
Health and safety features
Both of these watches offer basic health sensors like ECG, advanced heart rate, blood oxygen and temperature tracking, with a few differences. The Galaxy Watch 8 offers a skin analysis feature that tracks carotenoids and advanced heart metrics, while the Apple Watch Series 11 offers a new hypertension warning if you’re showing signs of high blood pressure. It doesn’t replace a blood pressure monitor, but Apple says it could still be an important screening tool so you can look into the issue further.
They also have slightly different sleep features. The Galaxy Watch 8 has a Bedtime Guidance tool to help you figure out the best bedtime window depending on your circadian rhythm, which could improve your overall sleep quality. The Apple Watch Series 11, on the other hand, now offers a Sleep Score that’ll grade your sleep quality from 1 to 100 along with other sleep data like number of interruptions and sleep duration.
The Galaxy Watch 8 offers the Gemini voice assistant, which at this point is able to handle more advanced queries than Siri on the Apple Watch Series 11. As for the coaching apps, the Galaxy Watch 8 offers the Samsung Running Coach, which supposedly helps you with improving your runs, while the Apple Watch Series 11 has Workout Buddy, which offers motivation during workouts.
Both watches offer fall detection and SOS alerts, but the Apple Watch Series 11 has additional safety checks like vehicle-crash detection.
Battery life
When it comes to battery life, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and the Apple Watch Series 11 are about the same. Both easily last more than 24 hours, which is especially great for sleep tracking. In our testing, we found that the Galaxy Watch 8 lasts around 30 hours with a single charge, while we managed to get around 27 to 32 hours per charge on the Apple Watch Series 11.
Price
The Galaxy Watch 8 starts at $350 while the Apple Watch Series 11 is priced slightly higher at a starting cost of $399.
Check the below chart to see more comparisons between the Apple Watch Series 11 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8.
Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Samsung Galaxy Watch 8
Apple Watch Series 11 | Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 | |
---|---|---|
Design & sizes | Rectangular, 42mm, 46mm | Squircle (round screen), 40mm, 44mm |
Display | 42mm: 446 x 374 pixels, LTPO3 OLED Retina display, Wide-angle OLED 46mm: 416 x 496 pixels, LTPO3 OLED Retina display, Wide-angle OLED | Super AMOLED, up to 480 ppi |
Brightness | Between 1 and 2,000 nits | 3,000 nits |
Thickness & weight | 46mm size: 9.7mm; 37.8 g (aluminum), 36.9 g (alum GPS+Cellular), 43.1 g (titanium)42mm size: 9.7mm; 30.3 g (aluminum), 29.7 g (alum GPS+Cellular), 34.6 g (titanium) | 8.6mm; 30–34g |
Material & finish | Aluminum: jet black, rose gold or silver finish; Titanium: slate, gold or natural finish | Aluminum case |
Durability | 5ATM Water + IP6X (dust) | 5ATM water + IP68 dust |
Battery life | Up to 24 hours, up to 38 hours Low Power (always-on) + Fast charge: 80% in 30 min, 100% in 60 min | ~26 hrs with always-on |
Sensors | ECG, 3rd-gen optical heart sensor, skin temp, depth gauge, SpO2, Noise monitoring, water temperature, compass | ECG, SpO₂, bioelectrical impedance, infrared temp sensor |
Emergency features | Satellite SOS, Emergency SOS, Fall detection, Crash detection, Check in and Backtrack | Fall detection, SOS, siren |
AI & coaching | Siri (voice assistant); Workout Buddy | Gemini voice assistant; Samsung Running Coach |
Processor | S10 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor, W3 Apple wireless chip | Exynos W1000 processor |
RAM/Storage | 64GB (storage) | 2GB, 32GB (storage) |
Payments | Apple Pay | Samsung Wallet, Google Wallet |
Price (US) | $399-$750 (titanium) | $350–$430 |
Technologies
iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs
Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.
These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.
«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.
Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter.
The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.
IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

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 Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
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 to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Smokes, informally
Answer: CIGS
5A clue: «Don’t have ___, man!» (Bart Simpson catchphrase)
Answer: ACOW
6A clue: What the vehicle in «lane one» of this crossword is winning?
Answer: RACE
7A clue: Pitt of Hollywood
Answer: BRAD
8A clue: «Yeah, whatever»
Answer: SURE
9A clue: Rd. crossers
Answer: STS
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Things to «load» before a marathon
Answer: CARBS
2D clue: Mythical figure who inspired the idiom «fly too close to the sun»
Answer: ICARUS
3D clue: Zoomer around a small track
Answer: GOCART
4D clue: Neighbors of Norwegians
Answer: SWEDES
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