Once I had the basics down, I started exploring the health metrics. You’ll want to keep in mind that most of the biomarker detections aren’t automatic, so you can’t simply power on the watch and see your latest stats in real time. For example, calculating your antioxidant index requires you to take off the watch, press the pad of your thumb to the back of it, and wait a couple seconds. In a similar vein, measuring your blood oxygen level involves moving the watch up to the top of your wrist (so, taking it off yet again), placing your elbow on a flat surface, and holding the watch to your heart.
Every morning, the watch analyzes your sleep activity and heart rate from the day before to deliver your Energy Score. This number is designed to give you a quick overview of how you’re feeling, which you can then use to adjust your workouts, recovery, and sleep schedule for the day ahead. You can also tap into your Energy Score for a more detailed breakdown. (FYI, lots of other fitness trackers do this, including the buzzy Oura Ring 4.) I found that my Energy Scores were mostly accurate, but not the easiest to read (more on this in a sec).
All about the data
While most of the biomarkers were easy to figure out, I had trouble with a few. Maybe it was that I simply wasn’t all that familiar with the Samsung tech as opposed to my trusty iPhone, but I had difficulty viewing my Sleep Apnea and Energy Score stats specifically.
I also found myself wishing that some of the biomarkers delved deeper—especially the antioxidant index. Carotenoids—yellow, orange, and red pigments found in plant foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, and dark leafy greens—are hardly the only antioxidants out there (hello, flavonoids, polyphenols, and many others!), so treating them as the sole benchmark feels…flawed. Besides, what average Joe or Jane knows what a carotenoid is (or where to find them)? Without a follow-up message letting me know how to boost my intake when my levels are low, the feature struck me as gimmicky—more useful in theory than in practice.
I should note that my stress level as recorded by my watch often contradicted what I felt inside. While working on a story draft in the office one day, for example, I noticed that I was pretty tense—heart rate increasing, shoulders tight, the whole works—so I took the opportunity to test the accuracy of the watch’s stress level sensors. When I checked my reading (it seems to be based on your heart rate), I naturally expected to see a spike—but no, I was supposedly “relaxed.”
When I repeated the experiment a couple more times, I clocked the same results. Maybe I wasn’t as stressed as I thought I was? Maybe my mental stress wasn’t reflected in my physical stats (or I hadn’t been stressed long enough to see a change)? Regardless, I was disappointed to see that the watch hadn’t picked up on my emotional shift.
Bottom line
Would I buy the Galaxy Watch8 myself? Maybe—but probably down the line. While I did like a lot of the health features, I was a little dismayed by the apparent inaccuracy of certain sensors, the inconvenience involved in some of the detection processes (who wants to repeatedly take on and take off their watch throughout the day to check one specific biomarker?), and the lack of specificity in some readings (the antioxidant index, for example).
