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.