Samsung announced the new Galaxy Watch 3 at its online Unpacked event Wednesday alongside the new Galaxy Note 20 phones and its latest foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 2. The newly unveiled Galaxy Watch 3 has the same sleek look and large, circular screen as the original Galaxy Watch, with all the fitness features of the 2019 Galaxy Watch Active 2. There’s also the promise of advanced health features like an FDA-cleared electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) and blood oxygen (SpO2) monitoring. But not all of these will be rolling out right away.
The Galaxy Watch 3 brings back the physical rotating bezel from the original Galaxy Watch and the Gear line before it, except the edges of the bezel are now smoother. This dial can be used to control the interface without touching the screen.
That’s probably the biggest, and arguably only, difference between the new Watch and the Watch Active 2 apart from physical size. It has no new sensors, and only a few new features that will actually be available at launch.
Like its predecessors, the Watch 3 has built-in GPS, is water-resistant up to 5 atm for both indoor and outdoor swims, and can track up to 40 different activities, seven of them automatically.
It also adds a new feature that lets you sync workout videos from the Galaxy Health app, so you get prompts for each exercise on your wrist while streaming that video on your phone or TV.
