Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic vs. OnePlus Watch 3: Battle of the heavy weights

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic may be on the horizon, and fans and smartwatch enthusiasts alike are quite excited for it, as it could finally bring back the rotating bezel. Samsung skipped the Classic model last year, but it's rumored to be back for the Watch 8 series with a new design and better features. It should offer better battery life than the standard Watch 8, and the interactive bezel should prove useful when using the touchscreen is not an option.

OnePlus has an equally enticing option for less with the OnePlus Watch 3. It may be more affordable than the Watch 8 Classic, features a rotating crown with haptic feedback, and offers excellent software and impressive battery life.

If you have to decide between the rumored Galaxy Watch 8 Classic and OnePlus Watch 3, which smartwatch should you pick? Let's break it down.

For more news and information on Samsung’s upcoming smartwatch, check out our Ultimate Guide.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic vs. OnePlus Watch 3: Design and display

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The OnePlus Watch 3 features a nearly 47mm stainless steel case with a titanium bezel and comes in black or silver. It's built extremely well and feels sturdy when you wear it. The watch case itself weighs almost 50g, so it's not the lightest on your wrist. OnePlus has given it good weather resistance with a 5ATM and IP68 ratings. You get rubber straps by default, but you can easily swap them out for any 22mm strap.

The display on the Watch 3 is incredible. It features a 1.5-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 466 x 466 resolution and Sapphire Crystal protection. Brightness levels are also very good, reaching a peak value of up to 2,200 nits. In our review, we found the display to be one of the best aspects of the Watch 3, as it's bright enough for outdoor use and the DC-dimming doesn't create any annoying flickering for PWM-sensitive users. OnePlus has also reduced the thickness of the bezels on this iteration, which makes it nicer to use.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic hasn't launched yet, but the render seen above allegedly gives us a pretty clear image of what we can expect. The Watch 8 Classic is expected to come in a single size, and this could be a 46mm or 47mm case. It should have the same AMOLED display size of 1.5 inches like the Galaxy Watch Ultra, along with a similar resolution of 480 x 480 pixels. Other expected specs include a brightness of at least 2,000 nits and a 60Hz refresh rate. This isn't wildly different from the OnePlus Watch 3, which means both could be evenly matched when it comes to display quality.

The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is expected to feature a design similar to the Galaxy Watch Ultra, including the inclusion of a third Quick Button. Samsung's watch (and phone) designs have started to feel a bit boring lately, so this pivot to a squircle design for the casing could add some freshness and will certainly help set it apart from the crowd. It should have similar durability ratings as the OnePlus Watch 3 as well, with a 5ATM rating when submerged under fresh water and an IP68 rating.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic vs. OnePlus Watch 3: Hardware and specs

The OnePlus Watch 3 costs $349.99 in the U.S., and it often goes on sale for a lower price. There's only one size and variant of the watch at the time of writing, which does not include LTE. Another feature that's present but doesn't work in North America is ECG.

The Watch 3 has a dual-processor system inside for Wear OS 5 and RTOS. There's a Snapdragon W5 SoC to handle Google's OS and the BES2800 MCU to power RTOS. This dual functionality is what gives the Watch 3 such amazing battery life. That, and the fact that it has a massive 631mAh battery, allowing it to last a full week on a single charge. This is something the Watch 8 Classic may not be able to keep up with, as even the Watch Ultra has a smaller battery. The Watch 3 is smooth to operate and use thanks to the 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.

One of the main ways to judge a smartwatch's performance is to gauge the accuracy of all the data it collects. In the case of the Watch 3, Android Central's Nicholas Sutrich was very happy with its performance. In his review, he mentioned that OnePlus has greatly improved the way the watch measures your vitals even when you wear it loosely on your wrist. The results were quite impressive, comparable to those of a Google Pixel Watch 3, which is quite notable considering the Watch 3's price.

We don't know the exact cost of the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic yet, but based on the pricing of the Watch 6 Classic, we expect it to be around $450. Samsung is expected to launch Wi-Fi and LTE versions of the Classic, but it will supposedly only come in one size.

The Watch 8 Classic may continue to use the Exynos W1000 SoC from the Watch 7 series, as Samsung has been known to reuse its chips across multiple generations. We might get a tweaked version of the chip for better efficiency, but we don't expect to see any massive changes. The Watch 8 Classic will probably have 2GB of RAM, along with 32GB of storage.

As for battery capacity, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is expected to have a 450mAh battery, so slightly larger than the standard Watch 8 (and Watch 7) but much smaller than the OnePlus Watch 3. Charging speeds will once again be either 10W or 15W, so nowhere near as quick as the Watch 3.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic vs. OnePlus Watch 3: Software

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is expected to have the latest One UI 8 Watch, which should be based on Wear OS 6. One of the big additions will be Gemini replacing Google Assistant. We'll also be seeing many new Samsung Health upgrades coming to the new Classic, like a "vascular load" metric and a "personal health coach," to name a few.

The OnePlus Watch 3 may also receive Gemini support, either before or alongside the Wear OS 6 update, allowing it to be on par with the Watch Classic in this regard. Of course, it will miss out on some of Samsung's Galaxy AI features. The Watch 3 will also be getting only two OS upgrades, which is still decent but not as good as the four generational updates that the Classic stands to get.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic vs. OnePlus Watch 3: Which one is better?

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic and OnePlus Watch 3 should be roughly the same size, which means you'll be looking at them as potential buys only if you're into large smartwatches. If you're not too picky about having LTE or using the ECG function in the U.S., the OnePlus Watch 3 offers incredible value. You get a great-looking watch, good health and fitness monitoring capabilities, a very good interface, and the best battery life you'll find on a watch under $400.

The Galaxy Watch 8 Classic could be pricier, but it should also offer more features like AI capabilities, longer software support, and a unique design. Whether that's worth coughing up an extra $150 or so, only time will tell once we get our hands on it and test it.