GALAXY WATCH 4 (Problems and Best Features after 1 Month of Daily Use)

Follow me on social media! (it's always just @mikeobrienn)

TOP TECH DEALS (Updated Continuously):

Please comment below with any questions you might have. Thank you all for watching! I appreciate you!

ADDITIONAL REVIEW NOTES:
The Galaxy watch active 2 came out one month ago and in the first month, there was a lot of noise and a lot of excitement surrounding this new smartwatch.

There were a lot of very positive reviews, strong competitor to any other smartwatch in 2021
Now that it has bbeen 1 month, it is time to set the spec sheets aside and see how this watch actually performs under daily use

Now I have been wearing this watch every day since it came out and I found a lot of things that werent mentioned in original reviews as well as some changes that have been made. In this video, I want to shaer with you what I found to be the most annoying features adn the most positive features that you might not notice when you first put the watch on

(Intro music)

Changes since it first came out
Samsung released an update to improve the touch bezel. I just disabled it though
I disabled touch bezel since this is the smaller model
Squared off edges make touch bezel less cool
Rotating bezel does not work on some Google apps?
2. Band Design
This new band design is intended to prevent third party straps from working (at least at first) because a 20mm strap would look REALLY small on this
Get the Extreme Sport strap. It is the right one. It looks amazing, feels lighter and dryer, and is all around a better strap than the default
3. Hidden Features
Theater mode has a timer
Shake arm twice to answer calls, twist twice to reject (when use this?)
Enable Show Media Controls to have them automatically appear when you play media on phone
Fantastic accessibility enhancements compared to competition (also fall detection, SOS, etc.)
It took me a while to realize how to take screenshots. You want to press both buttons simultaneously
I love how the bottom icon on the watch face takes you to workouts or music
Replying to messages - handwriting, voice, emojis, T9 (I recommend installing GBoard)
4. What

Startup lag - much better now. Might happen for about 30 seconds when it first turns on

The display is amazing - very bright and very dim!

Bixby (not Google Assistant yet?)

You can use Samsung or Google pay (but Samsung pay is default)

Google Maps is great! Syncs perfectly with my phone

Watch faces

EXERCISE
Rep tracking has gotten really good actually (you can aggregate workouts by pausing and then tapping “new” instead of stopping
There are great advanced metrics for running

Stairs climbed is VERY wrong. I counted and after climbing 17 flights of stairs, it said I climbed 7
No blood pressure monitoring here in the USA

App support
Getting Google stuff (what is here and what is yet to come)

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 i've been wearing this for one month
1:07 some new changes
2:00 straps
2:58 favorite hidden features
6:40 startup lag
7:35 not favorite features
8:41 health tracking
13:00 i like this watch overall

Disclaimer: This video is purely based on my experiences, research, and opinions. You and only you are responsible for your actions. I made this channel to advise viewers and I truly hope to help you all out. I love making these videos and connecting with my viewers!
This channel is monetized via YouTube ads as well as some affiliate links. If a purchase is made after clicking the link, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to the buyer. Thank you all for watching!

[MikeOBrienMedia]

So what are your thoughts on the GW4 and GW4 Classic?

[george]

Boss, if you want accurate body compensation you have to do it only in the morning before you drink water or have breakfast. If you drink glass of water, result will be different immediately. Also you should take off any metal like ecklace or anything, in order to have better accuracy.

[jkwon]

I also have the watch 4classic 46mm since it came out here in the US. And I am really satisfied, it's my first smartwatch and I went all Samsung with a new z flip 3 and the watch. They work together seamlessly. Look and feel are worth the money for me, I can't say about the fitness part because I don't work out that much, but Its pretty good with the step counts, heart rate, ECG, and spo2, and sleep tracking. I actually listened to my snoring that it detected lol. All in all I like the watch and can't wait for more software updates and Google assistant to come, I also got a lot of watch faces to choose from with facer and watch maker premium! It does a good job of not having to always pull out my phone which is a big reason why I got it. Thanks 👍!

[weekendwarrior]

I've used the BIA sensor taking it in the morning after bathroom, but before I eat. Arms always chest level and not touching my body, not hands (like Mortal Kombat). Measuring this way consistently, it is very accurate.

[ZIMMERHEILER]

Really like your content, especially since it's more real life-use oriented! Keep it up!

[Nonresponder]

I use mine daily with the media controls and messaging, plus general health tracking to complete my circle. My battery by the end of the day is usually around 74% so battery for me is not an issue. I actually love this watch. I had an active 2 before this.

[sergiosandoval]

Well, in default settings, theres an option to select the default voice assistant, maybe in a future update we gonna be able to use google after all

[purplelisa]

I pre ordered mine and when it arrived I loved it, after about 3 weeks noticed a nipping through the night where sensors are, ended up with a burn mark on my wrist, contacted Samsung who collected the watch and took it away for testing, tests came back clear so they not going to do anything and sending the watch back, disappointed in how they have handled things especially as I sent photos etc over

[olufemiajayi]

For me this is the most beautiful Samsung smartwatch I have seen. These guys are indeed creative.

[jeffallinson]

I bought my watch 4 August 2021 and thankfully it has google assistant AND BP Monitoring too although I haven't set up the BP monitoring yet. This is a fab one month update, thanks Mike. I have to say I love the Watch 4. It does everything I want from a Smartwatch and my only gripe is with the Body Composition as I fing having to hold the 2 buttons, and move the watch further up my arm a pain, especially as more often than not it takes a few times to complete the reading. That aside, I love this watch and would recommend one to anybody looking to buy a smart watch first time, or upgrade.

[sidneysmith]

I was very disappointed with the battery life of the Galaxy Watch 4. Coming from a Active 2 that still lasts 2 1/2 days with continuous heart rate monitoring it was a let down for the only 40 hour rating. What makes it worse for me was with the same settings as my Active 2 I was only getting about 24-28 hours out of my watch. I know watches can't last forever but daily charging is so frustrating. Outside of battery, I think that the OS needs a bit more finish, I don't think Bixby should be included by default. I love the extra storage vs my old watch because I can keep a few spotify playlists locally and keep WIFI off. I also love the panel on the watch for managing the galaxy buds. However I wish they would add this for the Active 2.

[TranceCore]

outside of fitness tracking, I don't think I'm too crazy about smart watches

[PKyoshi]

I'm getting mine next week. In regards to the body index scan, I'll compare when I have it since my body is scanned every 4 weeks so I always have an accurate comparison.

[TravisJReed]

I know this is an older video but a few things for people watching it more currently. First thing, you said it doesn't have blood pressure monitoring, but it does and also ECG and to my knowledge it's the only watch in the world that does that and it only works with a Samsung phone. You also mentioned that Google assistant is not available on the four watch and it is now as of May 2022. A simple software update fixed that issue. You did mention the bezel, I hate it LOL, I have all these amazing faces from Facer and it drives me crazy that there's a thick black band around them. I probably should have bought the more traditional model to help hide that. It of course can also track your sleeping, if you snore, your blood oxygen levels while you sleep, the different stages of sleep including REM. It is definitely pretty high-tech.

[lorvylobo]

HEY MIKE, THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO! THIS IS A LONG COMMENT SO HERE I GO.

I have the GW4 Classic 46mm. It came out here in the PH Sep 22nd and bought it the 24th. So far, here is what I think.

Battery drains quick, the 40hrs it was marketed with, I never got. It also charges VERY SLOWLY.

The sleep tracking feature is way off in recording REM and deep sleep. But fortunately, if I wake up in the middle of the night, it will continue recording my sleep when I go back to sleep.

And Yes, thanks for mentioning the terrible lag that is going on when I just turn it back on. If takes maybe a minute before it is fully responsive.

Workout tracking for me is quite bad. It doesn't count the reps accurately. Sometimes it overcounts them, sometimes it doesn't count them at all. Push-ups recording is in duration! WTH??

Bixby is HORRIBLE in this watch. When I ask it to turn my Samsung Smart TV on, it does after maybe 45 secs to a minute, but the watch still says PLS WAIT or something, and stays there till I press something to exit.

BP and ECG still not available. That is terrible as these for me are 2 major features. HR and SPO2 are good, they seems pretty close to accuracy.

Speaker is not that loud, when I answer a call I litetlrally have to lean my ear close to it so I can hear. But good job in connecting my Buds Pro to it, it does connect to them seamlessly.

Very limited watch faces that actually look great. Most of them are not good-looking. Also, when I select Blood Oxygen and Stress Level as complications, IT LITERALLY indicates the words STRESS and BLOOD OXYGEN, and not the measurements. Whatever WF I select, it does this, not sure why!

Notifications are great, though not perfect. I just wish there was a way for notifs on my phone to be silent when they have sounds in my watch when I am not using my phone. Is there a way for this that I am not aware of?

So there! I am a loyal Samsung customer since 2012, everything Smart I owned are all from Samsung. Phones, Headsets (Buds), Washing Machine, Smart TV, Tablets, Gear VR.

I love the premium feel of wearing this watch, but after almost 3 weeks of using it, I can now conclude that I REGRET BUYING THIS WATCH. The features do not work properly and accurately, and I don't really use it so I just wasted $400 on this watch.

[MLMUSICA]

I just got my Classic 4 yesterday mainly because my active 2 was not G Pay capable, and what do you know G Pay is not working won't add my card

[cyanideshep]

As someone who also has the gw4 I can easily say this is the most accurate review I’ve seen

[trucker]

I live in Canada and I have the galaxy watch 4 classic. My watch does have the blood pressure monitoring. But it not right on. It is off by little bit when you do a blood pressure check with the watch and a actual blood pressure machine.

[prokashdebnath]

In the uk we have blood pressure monitoring on the galaxy watch 4’s.

[msv]

When rocking an AppleWatch it's funny to hear Brian complain about the lack of watchfaces ....