Samsung's slimmer Galaxy Watch 8 series includes Gemini access

Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy Watch 8 at its Unpacked event today. This is a fairly major redesign with some nifty-looking features. It boasts a smaller profile, with the company claiming it's the slimmest smartwatch it has ever made. It's 8.6mm thick, which makes it around 11 percent slimmer than the Watch 7.

It ships with a new test that gauges the levels of antioxidants in the body. This is done by leveraging optical sensors. We gave this feature a try in a hands-on demo and came away fairly shocked, as it gave us a low antioxidant rating. It remains unclear if the data was correct, but it did motivate our tester to eat more vegetables. We'll need more time with an actual review unit to run the feature through its paces.

The Galaxy Watch 8 series includes some other new software tools that we didn't get to try. These give insights into vascular load, guidance when running and bedtime suggestions.

It's also the first Samsung smartwatch to ship with Wear OS 6 and this software impressed us. It changes up the UI, which our tester said "made the screen feel roomier." The new operating system helps to improve the battery life and enhances the always-on display functionality. It also allows for full integration of Google's AI assistant, Gemini.

Many visual elements have been refreshed, as part of the so-called "cushion design" that first arrived with last year's Watch Ultra. It looks like the round screen is encased in an aluminum squarish circle. We were kind of put off by this in pictures, but it looks better in person. These watches also include a new "dynamic lug system" that should make it easier to swap out different bands and minimize the gap between the device and a wrist.

The Watch 8 will be available in the standard configuration, but the company is also prepping a Watch 8 Classic. This one comes with the rotating bezel that has long-been popular with Samsung fans. Both versions feature brighter displays that get up to 3,000 nits. The standard Watch 8 series comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes, but the Classic is only available as a 46mm model.

The standard Watch 8 starts at $350 and the Classic starts at $500. Preorders are open right now, with general availability on July 25. The company also announced the new Galaxy Watch Ultra today, which features more storage and a new color option.

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