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Apple unveiled its Watch Series 11 alongside two other smartwatch models during this week’s iPhone event. The Series 11 gets sleep tracking (crowd roar), longer battery life, and all of Apple’s WatchOS 26 software, which is expected to be released to the public soon.
Also: I tried the Apple Watch Series 11, Watch Ultra 3 and SE – what the main one didn’t tell you
But how does it compare to its closest Android rival, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 ? I compare the two smartwatch icons and their specs. So, who wins? Keep reading to find out.
Specification
| Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 | Apple Watch Series 11. | |
| Brightness | 3000 nits | 2000 nits |
| Weight | 40mm: 30g; 44mm: 40g. | 42mm: 30.3g, 46mm: 37.8 grams |
| Processor | Exynos Core 1000 | S10 chip with 64-bit dual-core processor |
| Memory | 2 GB memory, 32 GB storage | 1 GB memory, 64 GB storage |
| Battery | 30 hours with always-on enabled | 24 hours with always enabled |
| Dimensions | 40mm, 44mm | 42mm, 46mm |
| Color paths | Graphite, silver | Rose gold, silver, jet black, space gray |
| Price | Starting at $350 | Starting at $399 |
You should buy the Apple Watch Series 11 if…
1. You want to monitor your blood pressure
Are you buying a smartwatch for its health features? Apple announced at its September iPhone event that the Apple Watch Series 11 will offer hypertension detection and will receive FDA clearance by the end of the month. It can’t take blood pressure readings, but it does monitor your blood vessels’ response to your heartbeats while you sleep. It monitors your blood pressure for 30 days using the watch’s optical heart sensor to provide an average rating of whether you’re in or above your threshold.
If the 30-day score exceeds the threshold, Apple recommends that users take the data collected to a doctor for a medical review. Neither Samsung nor Google has built this feature into their recent smartwatch lineup, and it addresses a major health condition that is often misdiagnosed.
2. You want a lower-profile AI approach
Apple is incorporating AI into several aspects of its smartwatch — but you wouldn’t really notice it if you weren’t paying attention. Thanks to an improved predictive algorithm, you’ll get more relevant Smart Stack recommendations that take into account your historical location and tracked activity. If the Apple Watch records users logging a Pilates workout every time they visit the studio, the Smart Stack will regularly suggest starting a Pilates workout in the Workout app.
Thanks to AI, smartwatch notification pings become self-aware: The device registers the amount of noise in your environment to deliver pings that don’t muffle quiet rooms or too much background noise. Smart replies get smarter with their own language model that delivers “accurate” and “relevant” responses to conversations.
Also: Should you upgrade to the Apple Watch Series 11? Here’s how it compares to older models
AI powers these features — and many more — but Apple isn’t interested in focusing on it. It’s a markedly different approach from Samsung and its Galaxy Watch 8, which is dripping with AI. More on that later.
This low-key approach to AI could be a long-term success or an Achilles heel for Apple. If and when the AI hype cycle dies down, Apple will continue to make relevant features powered by cutting-edge technology, as usual. It will be praised for not taking the hype bait and focusing its product around it and moving on. But if the way of the future is high-powered AI features, Apple could fall behind in the AI rat race.
3. You are obviously an iPhone user
If you have an iPhone, Android smartwatches like the Galaxy Watch 8 aren’t compatible with your smartphone. So, obviously, you’ll want to grab an Apple Watch to keep everything in the same ecosystem.
You should buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 if…
1. You want longer battery life
Samsung takes the battery life cake with its Watch 8, which offers 30 hours of battery life with the always-on display enabled and 40 hours with it disabled. Apple’s Series 11 gets a battery upgrade, just to be safe. But it’s improved to 24 hours with AOD enabled and 36 hours in battery saver mode.
2. AI training assistants
Both Apple and Samsung released AI workout assistants during their summer product launches. Apple unveiled the Workout Buddy, an in-ear assistant that provides stats, encouragement, and historical data during workouts, and it comes in eight different workout modes, including outdoor and indoor running, outdoor and indoor walking, outdoor cycling, HIIT, and functional and traditional strength training. Samsung’s Running Coach is more specific to, you guessed it, running, but provides more actionable feedback for people training for their first or next race.
Also: Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: I compared the two, and here’s the winner
Users complete an activity test, and Samsung scores them out of 10. It then provides a detailed training plan to help them move to the next level of training. Using recovery and exercise data, Samsung tailors its activity recommendations to the user. It feels more personalized than a workout buddy, and I hope Apple takes notes from Samsung when designing future health-focused smartwatch features.
3. You can benefit more from Gemini
The benefit of an Android watch is that it’s powered by Google’s Gemini. That means you can ask the AI assistant to search for restaurants in your area, call and make reservations for two, and find out about dietary restrictions — all with the wave of your hand. The Galaxy watch can handle multiple commands with less processing time. Apple’s AI is simpler and a little less advanced.
