Black Friday 2024: my favorite smartwatch is a nice gift that is also budget-friendly
My phone pings incessantly from where it’s plugged in across the room. But I have my Galaxy Watch 4, and I can check who it is, which app the notifications are coming from, and whether it’s important enough to get up and walk the dozens of steps to unplug my dying phone — or just respond on my smartwatch (or swipe away the notification).
If you know someone who needs this help in their life, the holidays are just around the corner and it’s time to start thinking about what gifts to buy. It’s not too early to start making your shopping list, especially with the Black Friday sales in full swing, and one essential tech device that would make an excellent gift for just about anyone is a new smartwatch.
Apple Watch deals are few and far between, but our shopping experts have found some Black Friday treats to share.
One of the best ways to buy a thoughtful technology gift without spending too much money? Choose an earlier version of a current device, especially if the earlier model offers everything they need. So if you’re looking for a cool gift for the holidays, I can recommend my favorite smartwatch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4?
Sure, it’s not the latest model of the Samsung Watch – that would be the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7. But it still has all the important features, including ECG, blood pressure monitoring, sleep monitoring, Google integration for most things and Samsung Health — all for the tasty price of just $99 during Walmart’s Black Friday salea drop of $100 from the usual cost of $199 for the 40mm model.
I’m not a fitness fanatic, so I don’t need the latest tracking features, or even the improved battery life and larger screen size of the 40mm Watch 7, which has a list price of $300but currently costs just over $200 if you do want the upgrade. The Galaxy Watch 4 has the fitness tracking I need without being too complex. (Although it has advanced exercise tracking for six modes, including running, rowing, and swimming, if you like those auto-detected tracking features.)
For everyday use, I can check and respond to all my notifications, make hands-free calls, track my sleep, and skip between songs when listening in Spotify. Oh, and look at the time.
If you’re in the market for a wearable, I’d recommend checking this one out before looking at the latest iteration of the Galaxy Watch series. One caveat: some people have complained that their battery is draining quickly lately. Samsung has advice on this how to diagnose your watch and solve the problem.
Why the Galaxy Watch 4 is a nice gift
The Galaxy Watch 4 isn’t a gift you give to the tech enthusiast in your family, or to an Apple fan, but it’s perfect for anyone who wants a smartwatch but doesn’t want all the bells and whistles — or someone who doesn’t know at all what he wants in a smartwatch. And at this price, you wouldn’t even worry too much about handing one over to someone who might be a little rough with it.
Will the Galaxy Watch 4 price drop during Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
This is currently the best price the Galaxy Watch 4 has ever been, so whether it will get cheaper by the end of the week is anyone’s guess. I’ll keep an eye on Walmart’s page to see if there’s another price drop.
For more information, here are our other favorite smartwatches – and if you want to gift someone a new phone too, CNET has rounded up the best deals on the Samsung Galaxy S24 and the best Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 deals. If you need a pair of Samsung earbuds to go with the phone, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro Wireless are currently at their best price yet.
