Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 vs Apple Watch Series 10 — I Wore Both for a Week

I've been a smartwatch skeptic for years. I owned the original Pebble back in 2013, then an Apple Watch Series 3 in 2018, then nothing for a long time. I got tired of charging things. I got tired of notifications buzzing my wrist. I wanted to go back to traditional watches. But then my Casio broke — the strap snapped during a hike — and I found myself in the market again. I figured: if I'm going to replace it, I should see what 2026 has to offer.

Last week, I bought both the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 and the Apple Watch Series 10. I wore one on each wrist for seven days. Yes, I looked ridiculous. Yes, people stared. But I needed to know which one was actually better for a normal person — not a tech reviewer, not an athlete, just someone who wants notifications, fitness tracking, and decent battery life without spending $800 on something that'll be obsolete in two years. Here's what I found.

Design and Comfort — Samsung Wins the Hardware Battle

Let's start with how they look and feel. The Galaxy Watch 7 comes in two sizes: 40mm and 44mm. I got the 44mm version. It's round, which I prefer. It looks like an actual watch, not a mini iPhone strapped to your wrist. The rotating bezel is back — Samsung brought it back after removing it on the Watch 6, and I'm glad they did. It's satisfying to spin. It clicks. It feels mechanical in a way that the Apple Watch's digital crown just doesn't match. The display is a Super AMOLED panel that gets bright enough to read in direct sunlight, which was a problem I had with older smartwatches.

The Apple Watch Series 10 is 46mm (there's also a 42mm version). It's square, as always. The screen is slightly larger than last year's model — Apple claims it's the biggest display they've ever put on a watch. It's gorgeous. The OLED panel is sharp, colors pop, and the always-on display is noticeably brighter than Samsung's. But the shape is still a compromise. It's a rectangle on your wrist. It doesn't look like a watch. It looks like a gadget. That's fine if you're okay with that aesthetic, but I'm not. I want my watch to look like a watch.

Comfort-wise, both are fine. The silicone bands that come with each are standard. I swapped them for third-party leather bands after two days because the stock bands irritated my skin. That's a personal thing — I have sensitive skin. But I'll say the Apple Watch felt lighter on my wrist, which makes sense because it is: the Series 10 is 42 grams versus the Galaxy Watch 7's 52 grams. Ten grams doesn't sound like much, but after eight hours of wear, you notice it. The Samsung is a chunky boy.

Battery Life — Samsung Cleans Up

This is the category where Samsung clobbers Apple. The Galaxy Watch 7 has a 590mAh battery. I charged it to 100% on Monday morning. By Friday evening — five days later — it still had 18% remaining. That includes sleep tracking every night, workout tracking for four 30-minute runs, and constant notifications from my phone (I get a lot of emails). The always-on display was turned on for the first three days, then I turned it off to see how much it saved. With the display off, I probably could have gotten six days. That's insane.

The Apple Watch Series 10? I charged it every single night. Every. Single. Night. Apple claims 18 hours of battery life, and that's accurate — I'd take it off the charger at 7 AM, and by 10 PM, it would be at 15-20%. If I did a workout, it would be lower. Sleep tracking was possible, but then I'd have to charge it in the morning while I showered and got ready. It's a chore. I know Apple expects you to charge it daily — that's how it's always been — but once you experience a watch that lasts five days, going back feels like a downgrade. Samsung wins this category by a landslide.

Software and Ecosystem — Apple's Lock-In vs Samsung's Flexibility

Here's the thing: the Apple Watch only works with iPhones. The Galaxy Watch only works with Android phones. So for most people, the choice is made for them — you buy the watch that matches your phone. But I use both. I carry an iPhone 17 Pro and a Galaxy S26 Ultra. So I was able to test both ecosystems simultaneously.

The Apple Watch experience is seamless. Setup took three minutes. All my apps synced automatically. Notifications appeared instantly. The integration with Apple Health is deep — it tracks steps, sleep, heart rate, blood oxygen, and even mental health check-ins. The new Vitals app, introduced in watchOS 11, gives you a daily summary of your health metrics and flags anything unusual. I woke up one morning with a high resting heart rate, and the watch suggested I might be getting sick. Three days later, I had a cold. It was spooky accurate.

The Galaxy Watch runs Wear OS 5, co-developed with Google. It's better than it used to be — Samsung and Google have been improving it for years. But it's still not as polished as watchOS. Animations stutter occasionally. Some third-party apps are buggy. The Google Play Store for watches is a mess — half the apps haven't been updated in years. That said, Samsung's Health app is excellent. The sleep tracking is more detailed than Apple's. The body composition sensor — which measures body fat, muscle mass, and bone density — is something Apple doesn't offer. And Samsung Wallet works with Google Pay and Samsung Pay, giving you more flexibility than Apple Pay's walled garden.

The winner here depends on your priorities. If you want an effortless, polished experience and you're already deep in the Apple ecosystem, get the Apple Watch. If you want more health features, longer battery life, and you're willing to tolerate some roughness around the edges, get the Samsung.

Fitness Tracking — Closer Than I Expected

I ran the same 5K route four times with both watches on. The results were surprisingly close. GPS accuracy was within 0.02 miles between the two. Heart rate readings during runs were within 2-3 bpm of each other. The Apple Watch detected a run automatically after about 10 minutes of continuous movement — a feature I love. The Samsung watch also has auto-detection, but it took longer, usually 15 minutes. Both log your route, pace, heart rate zones, and recovery time. Both show elevation gain. Both offer guided workouts.

For strength training, the Apple Watch is better. It has automatic rep counting for exercises like bicep curls and bench presses, and it recognizes which exercise you're doing. The Samsung watch has a similar feature, but it's less accurate — it missed about 20% of my reps and struggled to distinguish between different types of presses. If you're a serious lifter, the Apple Watch is the better choice.

For swimming, both are water-resistant to 50 meters. But the Samsung has a better swim-tracking mode — it logs your strokes, SWOLF score, and even detects which stroke you're using (freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly). The Apple Watch does this too, but Samsung's implementation has been refined over more generations. I'm not a competitive swimmer, but I tested both in a pool and the Samsung's data felt more detailed.

Price and Value — The Deciding Factor

The Galaxy Watch 7 starts at $349 for the 40mm Bluetooth model. The 44mm model with LTE is $429. The Apple Watch Series 10 starts at $399 for the 42mm GPS model. The 46mm LTE model is $499. So Samsung is cheaper across the board. And you get more battery life. And a rotating bezel. And a round screen. If price is your main concern, Samsung is the easy choice.

But value isn't just about price. It's about how long the device will last. Apple supports its watches with software updates for 5-6 years. Samsung guarantees 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security patches. That's close enough. Both will feel outdated in 3-4 years anyway — that's the nature of tech. But I'd rather spend less upfront and replace it sooner than spend more and feel obligated to keep it longer.

My Verdict — Buy the Samsung, Unless You're Stuck in Apple's Garden

After seven days of wearing both, I'm selling the Apple Watch. The Galaxy Watch 7 does everything I need — notifications, fitness tracking, sleep tracking — and does it with better battery life, a more comfortable design, and a lower price. The Apple Watch is a fantastic product, but it's held back by its daily charging requirement and its square aesthetic. If Samsung had a few more years of software polish, the Galaxy Watch would be the undisputed king. As it stands, it's the better watch for most people — provided you have an Android phone.

If you're an iPhone user, you don't have a choice. Get the Apple Watch. It's the only smartwatch that works properly with your phone. But if you're on Android, or if you're willing to switch phones, the Galaxy Watch 7 is the smarter buy. I'm keeping mine. And I'm finally selling that Casio.