i need to get a new watch and I've been thinking about getting an actual smart watch (i have now a xiaomi mi band 5) but i dont know if the watch 4 is still a good purchase now that the watch 5 is a thing.

edit: misspelled a word

First time smart watch buyer here. I was wondering if the galaxy watch 4 series is still good in 2023. (mainly because its the only one in my budget).

Here is what I expect out of my watch:

• See & maybe answer notifications, calls etc.

• Accurately track my HR in mainly resting, walking and running.

• Enough battery to last me 18hrs with notifications and continuous HR turned on. (preferably with AOD as well).

• Decent enough Gps to track my runs. ( I heard it wasn't good when it launced)

• Sync with strava.

Also I heard the BIA, blood pressure and ECG were pretty accurate but I don't have a samsung phone, so is the workaround method on XDA still working? is it safe? ( im into tech.. but never owned a smartwatch before)

Currently getting GW 4 for 120$ (10k INR) and GW 4C for 150$ (13k INR). Anything newer is upwards of 350$. Is it worth getting the classic for 25$ more... ( what are the functions of the rotating bezel? )

Thanks in advance :)

So I have owned the Galaxy watch 4 for approximately 3 weeks now and overall my experience has been very good. I watched all kinds of reviews before I got it and I feel slightly mislead (but in a good way). So things I will cover are build, battery, charging, features, and how easy it is to use.

Build: I do think this is a very well made watch. I love this design. I do have a minor issue which involves getting it scratched, but that's my own fault. I happen to ding my writs on things a lot so I bought a screen protector for it which essentially mostly solved my clumsiness. So if you are someone as clumsy as me, you could either get a screen protector and case for the watch, or go for the stainless steel of the classic.

Battery: I will say, I am impressed. I'm not someone who really has a use for always on displays for the watch since whenever I need the time I always move my hand to see the time anyway, so having it off has helped with the battery life. I have heart rate monitoring, and sleep tracking on all the time as well. On average the watch can last me a full day pretty comfortably, and usually until about noon or so the next day. If you're very light on using the watch's, then you could get close to 2 full days. Workout tracking does give a hit to battery life, but fortunately in my case my workouts don't last hours so it's never enough to cause any real impact.

Charging: It takes me personally about an hour to go from almost zero to full battery, but I never really go all the way to full anyway. Usually around 85% does it for me. I do use a fast charging brick, so maybe that helped.

Features: I'm glad Samsung went with wearos since having so many apps to use has been an absolute joy. Although I do hope they eventually add Google assistant, since the best Bixby is able to do on the watch is start navigation, or maybe tell me the weather. Health tracking has been pretty accurate, but not exact. Expect a pretty small margin of error I'd say. It is good enough for a general benchmark though, so I'm satisfied. Being able to respond to all kinds of notifications from my watch is pretty nice. Helps me from feeling the need to pull out my phone.

Ease of use: I'd say personally I like the digital rotating bezel. I usually just go for screen touch anyway, but it's nice it works well (especially after the update).

Anyway, I hope this helps anyone that is considering it. My use case might not be exactly like yours, but personally I'm happy with the watch.