The fourth is strong with this one

Samsung and Google team up to take down the Apple Watch. But is bringing Wear OS to this fight like squaring up to a Sith Lord with a toy lightsaber?

Samsung makes some of the best smartwatches in the world. So when it suddenly decides to change things up completely, we get a bit nervous.

The Galaxy Watch4 Classic is the first Samsung watch with Google’s Wear OS software since the 2014 Gear Live. Do you remember 2014? Barely? Same here.

We like to imagine Google came to Samsung with a bunch of flowers and a Bluetooth speaker dribbling out ballads, begging Samsung to take it back. And Google caved in to all its demands, letting Samsung turn this into a watch that keeps almost all the best bits of the Galaxy Watch3, but with added Wear OS clout.

Is the Galaxy Watch4 Classic miles better than last year’s Galaxy Watch3? No. Not yet, anyway. But the hope is that Wear OS is about to get a shot in the arm with renewed interest from third-party app builders. Google might even put in a bit of effort to ensuring its wearable OS doesn’t become a ghost town this time.

But even now there’s loads to like in this watch. You get a rotating bezel controller and it’s great for run and gym tracking; both 42mm and 46mm versions have super-bright and sharp screens; and these watches feel faster and slicker than any Wear OS watch we’ve used… ever.

1 Revenge of the kiff You get a clicky control wheel around the screen, as on the Galaxy Watch3. This is the main difference between the ‘Classic’ and the standard Galaxy Watch4. It’s one of our favourite features, but you do pay for it: Classics cost around R1 500 more.

2 The rise of sky-gawker A 1000-nit screen means sunny days are no trouble, and it adjusts its intensity according to ambient light. There’s an always-on mode, but it drains the battery of our 42mm watch pretty quickly; this feature is a better fit with the higher-capacity 46mm version.