The Galaxy Watch 8 works with any contemporary Android phone, but it’s limited. Limited how?
Samsung’s Galaxy Watches are probably the best smartwatch for Android you can get — though, Google did just launch the Pixel Watch 4, so the verdict is out on that. Let’s call them „among the best“ (as if there’s a huge pool to pick from).
Which is why you may be thinking about getting one. But what if you are not on a Samsung phone? We do know that you can download the Galaxy Wearable app from the Play Store. But will a Galaxy Watch 8 Classic work exactly the same for you as it would for someone who’s on a Samsung Galaxy phone?
Well no, no it won’t. There’s a selection of features that are limited, meaning that you are essentially paying for them but don’t get to use them.
The good news is that Samsung has made this much more evident over the past years. Samsung Health is available on all Android phones, and you will get all the readings it features (some will give limited information). Samsung Health Monitor is a separate app available only for Samsung phones, and this one will unlock the more advanced features.
Getting your Galaxy Watch to read blood pressure is already hard enough. You first need to calibrate and „teach“ the Watch to do so with a cuff-based monitor. Needless to say, throwing another variable in the mix — like while different Android phone to pair the watch to — is definitely something Samsung didn’t want to deal with. So, Blood Pressure measurements are limited only within the Galaxy ecosystem. You can still enter blood pressure measurements manually within Samsung Health if you want to keep track of your info all in one place.
The same goes for ECG, and there’s good reason for that. In order to even put such functionality in consumer electronics, it needs to pass FDA approval. And you can only go through the process if you can show exactly how the devices will work. Samsung only has control over its own Samsung phones, therefore it has obtained FDA approval for ECG measurements with a Galaxy Watch paired to a Samsung Galaxy phone, period.
