I love the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic so much I didn’t even take it off for my wedding — so where’s my Watch 9 Classic Samsung?

Stylish, sophisticated, smart

by · TechRadar

Features By Hamish Hector Published 3 August 2026

(Image credit: Future / Hamish Hector)

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When I got engaged a couple of years ago my wife asked if there was anything I’d want in return to symbolize it: she gets to wear a ring, would I want a new accessory or piece of jewellery to match her. My immediate answer was a watch, with the plan that it’d be the one I wear on our wedding day.

I’d need something smart and sophisticated. Something that I wouldn’t regret seeing immortalized in our wedding photos for decades to come, and something I’d want to wear often.

I had ideas for the watch I'd get, but as wedding costs grew the idea of splashing out on a pricey timepiece felt less and less sensible. Even less so when I was also considering grabbing a smartwatch — as my pre-wedding fitness regime kicked into high gear and a more sophisticated tracker than my smart ring was feeling increasingly essential.

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That’s when my eyes settled on a gadget that I thought might be both: a classic I could wear to the gym and on my wedding day. My wife was skeptical, but after seeing it in person she agreed that it did look the part.

So she let me wear a Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic to our wedding. It might be my current favorite gadget, and I can’t understand why there isn’t a Galaxy Watch 9 Classic.

A winning design

The Classic doesn’t look like your basic utilitarian smartwatch. It dodges the simplistic look of the regular Watch 8, the Pixel Watch, or Apple Watch, and also the overly sporty designs of a Garmin or similar running companion.

Besides offering a larger screen size — 46mm vs the base model’s 40 or 44mm options — the Classic boasts a chunkier design than the regular Watch 8, and comes with a rotating metal bezel controller which provides some extra detailing and also a smoother way to navigate watch menus besides swiping.

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