I would respectfully disagree. Samsung already gates features for it’s phones and now it is gating features to GW 8 despite there being no new sensor upgrade from previous generation. The Antioxidant Index and Vascular load, is just gated to GW 8 for the heck of it and one is not even sure how accurate it is.
There was the Stress thing which I don’t even use on my GW 6 because it’s err, completely useless. It aims to measure physical stress using HRV but is completely out of touch to how I feel. The only thing it does decently is music streaming and sleep tracking.
And then there is the Achilles’ Heel, Battery life. Samsung 's Tizen watches used to last for two/three days and Wear OS is a significant downgrade even the Ultra variants. They have not taken any cues either from Mobvoi or Oneplus (either dual display or dual chip). Charging sucks as well. On GW 4, it was so slow that I wished to throw it. 10W WPC is better but it again overheats and throttles in hot climate.
Waiting patiently for the arrival of my pebble time 2 with its moderate array of features and its 21+ day battery life.
My coworker and I pre-ordered both. We’re excited. To this day no other smartwatch does what my Pebble did in the way that met all my hot buttons.
Yes, I hope Pebble launches internationally (availability in most countries). I hope to daily drive my Galaxy Watch until it’s battery gives away and then looking for another alternative.