Unleashing the Authenticity: Samsung Galaxy Watch FE vs. Its False Counterpart
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch FE: A Budget Smartwatch That’s a Steal… or Is It?
Everybody loves a deal. That’s the whole point of budget devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Watch FE: it may lack the flagship watch’s flashy features and premium hardware, but you save a good chunk of cash in exchange. It’s a fair, sensible tradeoff — but only when companies strike the right balance between price and features. And with the $199.99 Galaxy Watch FE, Samsung is way off the mark.
The Good and the Bad
The Watch FE is a lot like the brand-new Galaxy Watch 7, which sells for $299.99. They look nearly identical, and you get nearly all the same health tracking features and software on both. But while the Watch 7 offers more advanced health features like EKGs and body composition analysis, the FE falls short.
The Problems
Here are a few of the issues we found with the Galaxy Watch FE:
- It has the guts of a Galaxy Watch 4, a three-year-old watch
- Battery life isn’t great, requiring daily charging
- Performance is noticeably laggy
- There’s only one size option available
- The budget-friendly price tag comes at the cost of fewer features and quality compromises
A Watch That Requires Daily Charging
In our testing, we found the Watch FE to be a watch that requires daily charging. With normal usage ( sans low-power mode), we got around 18-20 hours of use, which is definitely not enough for a smartwatch that’s meant to be always-on. In contrast, the 40mm Watch 7 can get us through the day without us thinking about it.
Samsung: Missing the Mark?
The Galaxy Watch FE feels like Samsung getting its branding ducks in a row to mirror Apple. With a one-to-one analog of Galaxy Watch to Apple Watch, Samsung is clearly trying to compete. But while the Watch Ultra is egregious in its copying, the FE is less so. In the end, it’s a watch that’s more focused on features than performance, which doesn’t quite work.
The Verdict
If you’re in the market for a budget smartwatch, there are better options out there. The Galaxy Watch 6, for example, is a better value with its newer processor, multiple size options, and larger battery. The FE, on the other hand, feels like a step backward, with too many compromises and not enough value. As it stands, it’s simply a better value to buy last year’s Galaxy Watch 6 on sale.
