Apple Watch Series 11 (42mm, GPS) vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (40mm, Bluetooth)

For an iPhone owner, the Apple Watch Series 11 is the default answer, and the 2025 update fixed the complaint that followed earlier models. Apple now rates its battery at 24 hours, up from 18 on the Series 10, and a 15-minute fast charge adds about 8 hours, which makes overnight sleep tracking practical instead of a battery gamble.

The health list is the longest of the three. It takes an ECG, flags high, low and irregular heart rhythms, gives a daily sleep score, and can notify you of possible hypertension, a feature cleared by the FDA. Fall and crash detection call emergency services. The 42mm aluminum case weighs 30.3 g, the Ion-X glass is rated twice as scratch resistant as the Series 10's, and the screen reaches 2,000 nits for sunlight.

The limits are clear. It works only with an iPhone, so an Android switch strands it. A full day of battery is still well short of Garmin-style multi-day watches. This GPS model has no cellular radio, so calls and messages need the phone nearby, and the S10 chip and 64 GB storage add nothing you will notice over a Series 10.

The Galaxy Watch 7 is the cheapest real smartwatch in our catalog, meaning a full app store, Google Wallet, Gemini voice help and third-party watch faces rather than the fixed menus of a fitness band. Samsung built it on the 3 nm Exynos W1000 with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, the same chip that went into the Galaxy Watch Ultra, so menus and apps stay quick.

The 40mm model has a 1.3-inch Super AMOLED screen at 432 x 432 and weighs 28.8 g, which suits smaller wrists and overnight wear. It carries IP68 and a 5ATM water rating, so laps in a pool are fine.

Two limits shape who should buy it. First, the 300 mAh battery is small: Samsung quotes up to 40 hours with the always-on display off, and owners commonly report needing a charge every day with it on. Second, the best features are tied to Samsung phones. Galaxy AI insights and sleep apnea detection need a Galaxy phone with Samsung Health, so on a Pixel or another Android phone you get a plainer watch.

Price moves often. We saw $159 on Oct 12 and $234.99 a week later.