The best smartwatch I've ever used is $50 off for Black Friday

The Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic is great, and now's a great time to buy one

Wrist-mounted computers were, at one time, an exciting, new thing, and ever since the first Moto 360, I've wanted to be a smartwatch guy. But on Android, smartwatch generally means Wear OS (or, back in the day, Android Wear) — and historically, that meant frustrating performance, cruddy battery life, and stagnant software that went ages at a time without any meaningful development.

Still, I pressed on. I wore the Moto 360 every day before trying a series of fitness trackers from other brands like Fitbit and Jawbone, then more modern watches from Fossil and Mobvoi, not to mention the handful of wearables I've reviewed here at AP. I'd be hard pressed to say I enjoyed any of the wearables I'd used, but I always figured any smartwatch was better than no smartwatch, and assumed that the only way to get a meaningfully better wearable experience was to drop way more money than I was willing to get an iPhone and an Apple Watch.

Then the Galaxy Watch4 Classic came along. Along with the non-Classic Galaxy Watch4, it's the first device to run the new-and-improved Wear OS 3 — in fact, they're still the only two watches that have it. I gave a it a glowing review: its build quality is great; performance is seriously fast compared to older Wear OS watches; the battery lasts more than 24 hours, even on the smaller version; and the display is vibrant and smooth at 60Hz.

It's technically running Wear OS 3, but it's got Samsung's Tizen-style skin over it (though if you're used to Tizen from older Galaxy Watches, that might be a plus for you), and it only has Bixby so far — still no Google Assistant. It also requires using a couple Samsung apps on your phone to get all the features, and it's a full $100 more expensive than the base-model Galaxy Watch4. But that additional hundred bucks gets you much more attractive styling (in my opinion, anyway), a stainless steel case, and the ever-so-enviable rotating bezel for scrolling and adjusting settings.

I've worn this watch every day for months. I'm finally a smartwatch guy, and I've largely got Samsung to thank. The Watch4 Classic is just nice to use in a way so few Android wearables are — which makes its $50 discount for Black Friday really appealing. You can pick up a Watch4 Classic starting at $300; both the 42- and 46-millimeter versions are discounted. If the Classic is still too pricey, the regular Galaxy Watch4 is also on sale right now.

Buy the Galaxy Watch4 Classic

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On the prowl for more seasonal savings? Check out our ongoing Black Friday weekend coverage.

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