Samsung Brings Backs Watch Classic with Rotating Bezel

Samsung has announced its new lineup of smartwatches for this year, including a Galaxy Watch6 Classic with a "fan-favorite" rotating bezel, a model that was conspicuously missing from the Watch5 lineup. The Watch6 series brings a long list of upgrades over last year's models, including significantly thinner bezels that allow the displays to be 20% larger. The displays are also brighter and higher resolution. To compensate, the batteries are larger and the watches have "reduced battery consumption". Eight minutes of charging can deliver eight hours of battery life, ideal for the improved sleep tracking and coaching features. A new fabric band (free with pre-order) improves comfort for sleep tracking. For runners, the watch now supports personalized heart rate zones. The heart tracking also now provides FDA-certified Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification. The watch now supports full Samsung Wallet features, including IDs, event tickets, and boarding passes. Find My Phone now works directly on the watch, including a map to your lost phone. New APIs support custom deployments in healthcare and enterprise settings. Both watches come in two sizes, two colors, and are available with or without 4G LTE. The Galaxy Watch6 starts at $300 while the Watch6 Classic starts at $400. Add $30 to either for the larger size. Pre-orders are now open, with full availability on August 11. Samsung will also continue offering the Galaxy Watch5 Pro with its larger battery and titanium case.