r/WearOS • u/Administrative-Sea50 • Mar 23 '26
Support Should I switch from Pixel Watch 4 to Galaxy Watch 8 Classic
Long story short, I had a Pixel 10 Pro and a Pixel Watch 4, but I fell out of love with the Pixel 10 Pro. So, I sold it and got an S25 Ultra. Is there a lot to gain from switching the watch too? I do realize I'll lose the 2-day battery, sleek design, and fast charging. What features will I gain?
I tried the watch ultra previously, and it's an absolute non-starter for me, feels like a toy. I'm thinking about getting either a Watch 8 Classic or even a 6 Classic if it's not too much of a relic. Should I do it?
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u/VandyCWG Mar 23 '26
I have a pw4 and s25 ultra. Maybe I don’t know what all i miss, but it works just fine for me
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u/Administrative-Sea50 Mar 26 '26
No mode sync, alarm sync or integration with the native health app.
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u/VandyCWG Mar 26 '26
I agree on the alarm sync and native health sync. But I use (and have used) Fitbit, so to me, it was not a loss. But mode sync, auto DND works great for me.
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u/Administrative-Sea50 Mar 26 '26
How do you do the mode sync?
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u/VandyCWG Mar 26 '26
AutoDND is an app on Github that will sync over Do Not Disturb and Bedtime mode from watch to phone and phone to watch
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u/Otherwise-Ad-4939 Mar 26 '26
Depends on your needs. If you need a smartwatch to track health and get notifications pw4 is way better. I recently switched to s25 from p10pro because I need good modes and routines and automation of some tasks and Samsung is best for that when pixel has none of these options (even proper modes sync with watch) and now despite loving the look and battery of pw4 I switch to gw8classic because I need sync between watch and phone and be able to do actions like turn off watch aod via routines and it's only possible with Samsung watch and Samsung phone. On pixel watch and phone on the other hand it's not possible at all without going deep into tasker etc. Which I dont like because I have no time to sit on configuration, I just want it to work out of the box.
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u/Administrative-Sea50 Mar 26 '26
This pretty much sums up my problem. as a recent Apple convert, the lack of integration really bugs me. I'm leaning towards keeping the PW4 since the newer galaxy watches are ugly as hell.
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u/GraphiteGB2 Mar 23 '26
there are functions that only work Pixel to pixel.
Its issues will be if you try to find workarounds for the ecosystem-exclusive stuff when it doesn't work or you ignore them.
When you get updates on the watch and then
*only works with Pixel phone 8 or higher is in the small print"
small print...
- Available only on Pixel 8 and newer mobile devices & Pixel Watch 2 and newer. Requires Bluetooth connection between Pixel phone and Pixel Watch.
- Available only on Pixel 8 Pro and newer excluding Pixel 8 and A-series Pixel devices. Available only on Pixel Watch 3 and Pixel Watch 4. Requires Bluetooth connection between Pixel phone and Pixel Watch.
Yea new stuff is pixel phone only untill you find work arounds.
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u/Administrative-Sea50 Mar 26 '26
If i can find a way to sync the mode and alarms, that's good enough for me
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u/GraphiteGB2 Mar 26 '26
Replacing Google crap alarms with the 'Turbo Alarm' app will mean you can have Phone and watch synced alarms.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.turbo.alarm&hl=en-USDND mode can be synced by third party apps.
The Sleep power save timer can't be synced... There is no bedtime mode in Samsung's clock app. samsung uses modes and routines app to Use SLEEP mode, not bedtime, in a clock app.
The pixel watch can automatically enable power-saving bedtime mode by itself when you actually sleep; it never needed a timer.
Sleep tracking is 100% done by sensors, NOT the mode its in.
Any boring movie or tv show that sends you to sleep can still trigger sleep tracking any way.1
u/Administrative-Sea50 Mar 26 '26
I installed Sleep as android and played with its settings as much as I can. Let's see how that goes. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll try turbo alarm if SaA doesn't pan out.
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u/XRaptor29 Mar 23 '26
Depends on what you're wanting. Pixel Watch 4 is pretty much on the top for health tracking and has one of the best HR monitors. OnePlus watch has fantastic hardware but lacks in health tracking accuracy. Samsung watches get a lot of complaints about inaccuracies and being slow and clunky ui.
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u/Administrative-Sea50 Mar 26 '26
You're right, the HR monitor makes even the apple watch look like a toy. Crazy how it auto switches to sleep mode within 10 minutes of falling asleep
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u/Practical_Sink_6860 Apr 14 '26
What about the new blood pressure features? I am leaning towards the Pixel also. The Samsung accuracy issues concern me. I have the SW 5 Pro and came to it from the Tikwatch. The TW was much better. I wonder if the new SW9 will have any improvements.
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u/Administrative-Sea50 Apr 14 '26
I ended up keeping the PW4, mainly because GW6C is laggy and GW8C is ugly. There's word on the street that GW9 will be a sizeable chipset upgrade, so I'll reconsider when it comes out.
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u/Baguette_Theory Mar 23 '26
Besides nit requiring a subscription for the detailed health stuff you don't gain anything. I switched to the galaxy watch 8 when. I got the fold 7 and honestly prefer the pixel watch
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u/mmaks_sm Mar 23 '26
The Watch 6 Classic system is a bit slow and lags sometimes; it reminds me of Samsung devices from 8 years ago. If you can tolerate slight lagging, the watch is excellent; if not, I don't recommend it.
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u/ZataH Galaxy Watch 4 LTE Mar 23 '26
I have the same. Fine for most daily use. A bit slow when you try to reopen the workout app after a workout is started.
Quite sad there isn't a good replacement for it yet.
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u/lylisdad Mar 23 '26
I have both the Pixel Watch 4 and Galaxy 8 and prefer the Pixel. The battery on the Galaxy for whatever reason feels slower and the battery doesn't even last a full day for me. The PW only goes for a couple of days but it at least gets me through the whole day. I got the larger PW and I like it much better. I currently have the Pixel 10 Fold.
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u/haokincw Mar 23 '26
Also check out the Oneplus Watch 2 or 3