First look with the Galaxy Watch 9: I took it on a run in London - here's what I learned
ZDNET's Nina Raemont tested the Galaxy Watch 9 on a London run, finding it lighter and more comfortable than the Watch Ultra 2, with useful hydration alerts.
Intelligence analysis by Llama
Samsung's Galaxy Watch 9 trades the chunky build of the Ultra 2 for a flatter, classier design and adds hydration nudges during workouts. The watch is pleasant to wear, but Samsung still trails Google on AI health coaching.
Samsung made a new smartwatch called the Galaxy Watch 9. It's lighter and looks nicer than last year's chunky model. While you run, it can tap your wrist and tell you to drink water, like a helpful coach reminding you to take sips on a hot day.
Analysis
A Lighter, Classier Samsung
The Galaxy Watch 9 is, first and foremost, a comfort play. The author, who had been testing the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 for about a week before switching to the Watch 9, describes the Ultra 2 as "a honker of a smartwatch" whose "chunky build doesn't necessarily work with my wardrobe or vibe." The Watch 9, by contrast, ships with a white band and silver case that she calls "just the type of exercise smartwatch I want, something that's style-minded but still functional as a workout companion." Samsung's flattened display design, which the author also prefers over the Pixel Watch's curve, is paired here with a 3,000-nit super AMOLED panel that makes pace and text easy to read mid-run.
Hydration Alerts on the Wrist
The most tangible new feature is hydration tracking inside the nutrition function. About 40 minutes into a run through Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, the author received an alert telling her she had lost 0.5% water and should rehydrate with one cup of water. For casual exercisers, that level of hand-holding may feel intuitive, but the author argues the feature is more useful for marathon runners and long-distance cyclists, who can configure the alerts inside the Samsung Health app. The bigger battery life that Samsung is marketing alongside the launch also matters here, because a hydration coach is only useful if the watch survives the long workout that triggers it.
The Missing AI Coach
What the Watch 9 does not yet do is what makes the preview interesting for anyone tracking the smart wearable space. The author notes that Google has been pushing an AI health coach on its Pixel Watches, and she sees the puzzle pieces for a Samsung equivalent assembling inside Samsung Health, with hints that a beta of an AI health coach may arrive soon. Samsung's pitch for the Watch 9 is therefore largely a hardware and design story — lighter body, flatter display, longer battery, and a targeted wellness feature. The intelligent coaching layer, which is where rivals are spending the most marketing energy, is still on Samsung's to-do list.
Key points
- The Galaxy Watch 9 is smaller, lighter, and more stylish than the Watch Ultra 2, with a 3,000-nit super AMOLED display.
- A new hydration tracker pings users mid-workout when they lose water, configurable inside the Samsung Health app.
- Samsung is marketing improved battery life alongside health feature upgrades in Samsung Health.
- Author Nina Raemont tested the watch on a run through Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace during Galaxy Unpacked.
- The author notes Samsung still lacks an AI health coach comparable to what Google offers on Pixel Watches.
If Samsung ships the hinted AI health coach beta, the Watch 9's comfortable hardware and longer battery could give the company a credible counter to Google's Pixel Watch. Hydration tracking, while simple, is a small but real step toward more proactive fitness guidance.
Without an AI coaching layer, the Watch 9 risks being seen as a stylish but incremental upgrade, and hydration alerts may feel redundant to casual runners who already know when to drink water. Battery and comfort claims will also need to hold up in longer independent testing.
