Making progress in any sport really comes down to knowing your numbers. If you want to improve, you need a solid idea of what you’re working toward and a convenient way to keep an eye on it. Whether you’re just getting into running and hitting your favorite trails, jumping in open water for triathlon training, or biking some hills, a reliable GPS watch can make all the difference. It helps you stay motivated, stay on track, and avoid losing steam. Conveniently, Samsung’s newly released 2025 version of its smartwatch—the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic—is still on sale post Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This watch normally goes for $500, but right now you can grab it for 20% off, bringing it down to $400. You end up saving yourself a whole $100.
Now this is the Classic model of the Watch 8. What’s different about it? First up, it’s much bigger. The standard models come in either 40mm or 44mm. This watch face measures across at 46mm. But more noticeable that that, the watch has a metal casing. The new lug system allows for easy band detachment and replacement. So when you’re not working out, this watch maintains a professional work you could even pair nicely with a suit. Then when it’s time to hit the pavement in your running attire, swap out the band for a silicone one, easily.
A Fitness Coach on Your Wrist
The Galaxy Watch 8 runs on Samsung’s Galaxy AI platform, which helps it deliver smarter health and fitness tracking. Whenever you head out for a ride, run, hike, or any sort of outdoor workout, the watch can keep tabs on how you’re performing in real time and compare it to your past sessions. Throughout the day, it can nudge you with personalized wellness suggestions to help you steadily move toward your fitness and health goals. The improved heart-rate tracking is also a big upgrade. It filters out the noise from natural body motion, giving you a more accurate reading than previous Samsung watches.
Your sleep gets just as much attention. The Watch 8 tracks your patterns closely enough to flag possible signs of sleep apnea and gives you a much clearer look at how well you’re actually resting each night. When you wake up, you get a quick snapshot of your energy level and readiness for the day. It combines details like your sleep score, steps, heart-rate behavior, and more to give you a realistic picture of where your body stands.
Of course, it’s not just about fitness. The Galaxy Watch 8 works great as a full-blown smartwatch for everyday life. You can read and respond to messages straight from your wrist without fishing your phone out of your pocket. And if it’s paired with your phone, the watch becomes a remote camera controller—perfect for group shots or selfies at a distance. You can change settings, hit the timer, and take the picture all from the watch.
The new Watch 8 can hit up to 3,000 nits, while the Watch 7 maxes out at 2,000 nits. That extra brightness makes a big difference when you’re checking stats under direct sunlight. Both models are still tough enough for all-weather training, whether you’re out in the cold, the rain, or the heat.
The Galaxy Watch 8 is also designed from the ground up to work with Gemini, the AI assistant built by Samsung and Google. You can use it to check your schedule, reply to texts, set reminders, and handle a bunch of everyday tasks with ease.
