Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 8.
Photographer: Halie Chavez/BloombergSamsung Galaxy Watch 8 Review: AI Everywhere in a Polarizing Design
If users can tolerate the bold new look, they’ll find the included artificial intelligence features are actually useful.
Samsung Electronics Co. isn’t having an easy time in the smartwatch space. Apple Inc., despite seeing declining sales, dominates the category with its namesake device. And while the overall market is expanding, the South Korean tech giant’s share isn’t growing much either.
With its $350 Galaxy Watch 8, available July 25, Samsung is leaning heavily on artificial intelligence and a divisive design to stand out. The company is also rolling out a $500 Galaxy Watch 8 classic — and both smartwatches are the first to hit the market with Google’s Wear OS 6 operating system, which has the search giant’s Gemini AI chatbot built in. This allows you to do things like ask for the name of the new coffee shop your friend recommended without needing to pull out your phone.