Galaxy Watch 9 vs. Apple Watch Series 11: Comparison of the flagship fitness flagships

With Samsung announcement Galaxy Watch 9Now you have another option in the ever-growing field of smart watches. With more fitness features, a new processor and a larger battery than its predecessor, it looks like a solid upgrade. And in her smartwatch hands-on, CNET senior writer Katie Collins wrote, “Samsung has deftly improved its all-around smartwatch in a series of impressive and meaningful ways.”

But how does it compare to the famous and ubiquitous Apple Watch? Latest Series 11 The model is Editors’ Choice Award Winner and recipient of CNET’s Labs award for most accurate heart rate tracking.

If you’re committed to the iOS or Android ecosystems, your choice is much easier: The Apple Watch only works with Apple devices, and the Galaxy Watch only works with Android devices. If you’re looking at each platform through the lens of its smartwatches and are open to either, here’s how to compare side-by-side.

Galaxy Watch 9 and Apple Watch Series 11 pricing

The Galaxy Watch 9 and Apple Watch Series 11 represent the standard, non-premium option in their respective smartwatch families. For both, the price depends on the size of the body and whether the watch is equipped with a cellular radio to connect to the Internet and make calls independently of the paired smartphone.

The smaller 40mm Galaxy Watch 9 starts at $380 for the Bluetooth model and goes up to $430 if you opt for the LTE cellular model. The larger 44mm model costs $410 for Bluetooth and $460 for LTE.

The Apple Watch Series 11 comes in aluminum or titanium, so I’m sticking with aluminum prices for a better comparison with the Galaxy Watch 9. The 42mm aluminum model costs $399 for the GPS option and $499 for the cellular model. Bumping up the size to 46mm adds $30 to each configuration: $429 for GPS and $529 for cellular.

If you opt for the titanium Apple Watch, the price jumps to $699 for the 42mm and $749 for the 46mm; This model is only available with GPS and cellular communications included.

It’s also worth noting that the Apple Watch line also has a less expensive model, the Apple Watch C3which costs $249 for the 40mm size and $279 for the 44mm size. And for completeness, you can also buy the Apple Watch Hermès model, which is a Series 11 model with fancier straps and custom watch faces, starting at $1,249. For this comparison, we’re not really going there.

Size and design: Galaxy Watch 9 vs. Apple Watch Series 11

Watch models are measured by the longest diagonal distance of the case, which is why the Galaxy Watch 9 has 40mm and 44mm models, while the Apple Watch has 42mm and 46mm sizes.

In terms of physical dimensions, one of the key metrics is thickness, and each watch is fairly thin (especially compared to its bulkier counterparts: the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Ultra 3). Both Watch 9 models are 8.6mm thick, while both Series 11 models are 9.7mm thick.

Another important consideration is weight, and in both cases they are very similar: the Watch 9 weighs 31.5 grams and 34 grams for the 40mm and 44mm models, respectively, while the Series 11 weighs 30.3 grams and 37.8 grams for the 42mm and 46mm models, respectively.

For some people, overall appearance is as important as what a watch can do. Apple has stuck with a rounded rectangle design since the Apple Watch was first introduced, while Samsung’s watches are mostly circular — the display is a circle, but mounted on a “squircle” base that’s a cross between a square and a circle.

Each watch has easy-to-install strap systems that work with hundreds of watch straps available from the companies themselves and third-party vendors – but only in their own ecosystems.

Compare the displays on the Galaxy Watch 9 and Apple Watch Series 11

The screen is everything in a smartwatch.

The Galaxy Watch 9 uses a Super AMOLED (active organic light-emitting diode) display with a resolution of 438 x 438 pixels for the 40mm watch, and 480 x 480 pixels for the 44mm watch. It is capable of 3000 nits of brightness to view the screen clearly in bright sunlight.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

The Apple Watch Series 11 has an LTP03 OLED Retina display, which is also an organic LED that can adjust its refresh rate to 1Hz to save power (designated LTP03). With its rectangular shape, the 42mm model has a resolution of 446 x 374 pixels and the 46mm model has a resolution of 496 x 416 pixels. Apple also calls the display wide-angle OLED because it still has good visibility when viewed from the edges.

Vanessa Hand Oriana/CNET

Battery power: Galaxy Watch 9 vs. Apple Watch Series 11

Unlike a health tracker without a screen like whoop Both watches require frequent recharging, making battery life a valuable quality. Samsung and Apple have combined different strategies to get the longest time between charges, so these estimates depend largely on how you use the watch.

Samsung says the Watch 9 can last up to 30 hours between charges when the always-on display is enabled. With this feature turned off, it can take up to 40 hours before needing to charge. It also has a low power mode that turns off some features to save battery life, but Samsung hasn’t included those estimates.

When connected to power, the 40mm model will quickly charge to 50% of its capacity in 30 minutes and to 100% in 80 minutes. The 44mm Watch 9 will ramp up to 45% in 30 minutes and reach 100% in 90 minutes.

Samsung/Screenshot by Joseph Maldonado/CNET

In comparison, the Apple Watch Series 11 has up to 24 hours of life before needing to be recharged or up to 38 hours in low power mode. Fast charging up to 80% in 30 minutes and 100% in 60 minutes. Apple also points out that when the battery is running low, a 15-minute charge should add 8 hours of normal use, or a 5-minute quick charge while brushing your teeth at night can add 8 hours of sleep tracking. (Disclaimer: Apple doesn’t specifically mention dental hygiene, but you should Brush regularly.)

Part of the Watch 9’s advantage is the larger batteries than those in the Galaxy Watch 8, which are 390 mAh (40mm size) and 445 mAh (44mm size). Apple doesn’t list the Series 11’s battery capacity.

Connection: Galaxy Watch 9 vs. Apple Watch Series 11

Both companies’ watches are available in non-cellular and cellular configurations. Samsung calls the former Bluetooth connectivity while Apple calls it GPS, but the idea is that the watch needs to have a phone nearby or be logged into a known Wi-Fi network to communicate with the outside world.

The Watch 9 includes Bluetooth 6.0 capability to communicate with its paired phone. The Series 11 uses Bluetooth 5.3 technology. You probably won’t notice a difference, but Bluetooth 6.0 has less demanding power requirements.

The cellular models, called LTE on the Watch 9 and GPS Plus Cellular on the Series 11, let you take the watch out of range of your phone and Wi-Fi and connect to the nearest wireless network — a benefit for runners who don’t want their phones hitting their legs with every step, for example.

Apple has a slight advantage here by including a power-efficient 5G radio in the Series 11, while Samsung is still using a 4G LTE radio in the Watch 9. However, in real-world conditions, you probably won’t notice a difference.

Fitness features on Galaxy Watch 9 and Apple Watch Series 11

Since companies discovered that smartwatches can track all kinds of health data, fitness features have grown exponentially over the years. For example, both watches track information during the night, such as heart rate, breathing rate, and wrist temperature, and calculate the results in the Vitals app.

Maybe 9 o’clock Blood pressure check Once calibrated using a separate blood pressure cuff, as another example. new Fitness index The feature acts as a guide to help you reach your fitness goals, and the Heart Health Score is designed to give you a snapshot of your wellness based on several metrics.

The Series 11 also tracks similar data and can alert you if there are signs of high blood pressure. The watch does not offer a blood pressure checking feature. Workout buddy It’s an Apple motivational coach that can talk you through workouts to keep you going (or interrupt the podcast you’re listening to).

Comparison between Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 and Apple Watch Series 11

	Apple Watch Series 11	Samsung Galaxy Watch 9
Design and sizes	Rectangular, 42mm, 46mm	Round, 40mm, 44mm
an offer	42mm: 446 x 374 pixels, LTPO3 OLED Retina display, OLED wide angle; 46mm: 496 x 416 pixels, LTPO3 OLED Retina display, OLED wide angle	40mm: 438 x 438 pixels, 1.3-inch Super AMOLED; 44mm: 480 x 480 pixels, 1.5 inches Super AMOLED
brightness	Between 1 and 2000 lumens	Between 1 and 3000 lumens
Thickness and weight	42mm size: 9.7mm; 30.3g (Aluminium), 29.7g (Aluminum GPS+Cellular), 34.6g (Titanium); 46mm Size: 9.7mm; 37.8g (Aluminium), 36.9g (Aluminum GPS+Cellular), 43.1g (Titanium)	40mm: 42.7 x 40.4 x 8.6mm, 31.5g; 44mm: 46 x 43.7 x 8.6mm, 34g
Materials and finish	Aluminum: space grey, jet black, rose gold, or silver; Titanium: slate, gold or natural finish	Aluminum. 40mm: cream, graphite; 44 mm: silver, graphite
durability	5ATM Waterproof + IP6X (Dust)	5ATM Waterproof + IP68 (Dust)
Battery life	Up to 24 hours, up to 38 hours on low power (always on); Fast charging: 80% in 30 minutes, 100% in 60 minutes	Up to 30 hours (AOD on); Up to 40 hours (AOD off); Fast charging: 40mm: 50% in 30 minutes, 100% in 80 minutes; 44mm: 45% in 30 minutes, 100% in 90 minutes
Sensors	Electrocardiogram (ECG), 3rd generation optical heart sensor, skin temperature, dipstick, SpO2, noise monitoring, water temperature, compass	Accelerometer, Barometer, Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Sensor, Electrical Heart Rate Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Infrared Temperature Sensor, Light Sensor, Optical Heart Rate Sensor
Emergency features	Satellite SOS, emergency SOS, fall detection, crash detection, check-in and tracking	Fall detection, emergency SOS
Artificial intelligence and training	Siri (voice assistant); Workout buddy	Google Gemini (voice assistant); Fitness Index (feature)
Processor	S10 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor, W3 Apple wireless chip	Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite
RAM/Storage	64 GB (storage)	32 GB (storage)
Payments	Apple Pay	Samsung Wallet, Google Wallet
Price (US)	$399 – $750 (titanium)	$379 – $459