Samsung's new Galaxy Watch 4 enters a crowded wearables market that includes lots of choices. One of its competitors is the Fitbit Sense that debuted in 2020 and now retails at the same price tag as the Galaxy Watch 4. So if you have $250 to shell out, which of the two smartwatches makes more sense to buy? We'll find out in this comparison.

Navigate this guide:

• Specifications
• Design and Display
• Internals
• OS and Smartphone Support
• Health and Wellness Features
• Pricing and Colors
• Which one should you buy?

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs Fitbit Sense: Specifications

Design and Display

The Galaxy Watch 4 and Fitbit Sense look really different from each other. The Samsung watch has a circular armored aluminum dial and a 20mm interchangeable strap. It also features two regular buttons on the side and a touch bezel for navigation.

On the other hand, the Sense features a squircle stainless steel dial and an interchangeable strap with a proprietary mounting system. In addition, it comes with a single capacitive button on the left.

Coming to the screen, the Galaxy Watch has a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED display on the 40mm model and a 1.4-inch Super AMOLED panel on the 44mm variant. In comparison, the Fitbit Sense comes in just one size with a 1.58-inch OLED display. Although given the larger display on the Sense, it may seem the smartwatch is significantly larger than the Samsung smartwatch, there isn't much difference in the size of the 40mm Galaxy Watch 4 and the Fitbit Sense.

Overall, while the design of the Galaxy Watch 4 is more like a traditional timepiece, which many people will appreciate, Apple Watch has made the squircle dial very common. So it is up to your personal preference to pick one over the other.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs Fitbit Sense: Internals

Samsung uses its dual-core Exynos W920 processor in the Galaxy Watch 4, making the smartwatch snappy and responsive. But there is no word on the chip present in the Fitbit smartwatch. You also get Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, Accelerometer, Gyro Sensor, and Light Sensor in both smartwatches. In addition, Samsung offers an LTE variant of the Watch 4 that includes cellular connectivity, a feature that isn't present in the sold variant of the Fitbit Sense.

Moving on to the sensors, which govern what kind of health and wellness features a smartwatch can offer, Samsung has included a BioActive Sensor that can read optical heart rate, electrical heart rate, blood oxygen level, and calculate body composition. On the other hand, the Sense features an optical heart rate sensor, electrical sensors for ECG and EDA (electrodermal activity), and a skin temperature sensor.

OS and Smartphone Compatibility

As you might already know, the Galaxy Watch 4 uses the new 'Wear OS Powered by Samsung' platform. The platform includes elements of both the Wear OS and Tizen. In addition, Samsung's One UI Watch interface is also present in the smartwatch.

According to Samsung, the Watch 4 will only work with Android 6.0 or above devices with Google Mobile Services (GMS). Meaning iPhones and Huawei Android phones with GMS are out of luck.

The Fitbit Sense runs on the company's Fitbit OS 5.0 and is compatible with both Android and iOS. You'll need either an iPhone with iOS 12.2 or newer or an Android phone with version 7.0 or newer. That said, you lose some features when you use an iPhone with the Sense.

Finally, you get a decent selection of the apps and the watchfaces on both smartwatches.

Health and Wellness features

Like most premium smartwatches in the market, the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Fitbit Sense come with many health and wellness features. In addition, the smartwatches can act as a companion to your smartphone and show messages, incoming calls, and app notifications.

In terms of the specific health and wellness features, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic's BioActive Sensor can monitor your blood pressure, detect an AFib irregular heartbeat, and measure blood oxygen levels. It can also calculate your body composition with details about skeletal muscle, basal metabolic rate, body water, and body fat percentage. Further, you get a wide range of guided workouts and advanced sleep tracking with the ability to detect and record your snores.

The Fitbit Sense can track your stress levels, detect an AFib irregular heartbeat, monitor your skin temperature, and measure blood oxygen level. It also offers sleep tracking and comes with a free six-month subscription to Fitbit Premium that provides advanced tracking details and deeper insights. In addition, you can get a paid personal coaching service from Fitbit for help with your fitness goals.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs Fitbit Sense: Pricing and Color Options

The Galaxy Watch 4 comes with a price tag of $250 for the Wi-Fi version, whereas its LTE version retails at $300. Although Fitbit had launched the Sense at $330, it has since been discounted to $250. Unfortunately, there's no LTE variant of the smartwatch.

You can buy the Watch 4 in Black, Silver, Green, and Pink Gold, whereas the Sense comes in Carbon, Sage Grey, and Lunar White.

Which smartwatch should you buy?

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Fitbit Sense offer a lot of similar features. The health and wellness tracking options are solid on these smartwatches. But if you want a smartwatch with cellular connectivity, the Galaxy Watch 4 is your only option out of the two. Otherwise, choosing between these two smartwatches will depend a lot on which smartphone you use.

The Galaxy Watch 4 provides far better integration for Samsung users than any other smartwatch, including the Sense. For the rest of the Android users, the Fitbit Sense is a better option unless you want to be a part of the Samsung ecosystem.

Which smartwatch are you planning to buy? Let us know in the comments section. Meanwhile, make sure to read our Galaxy Watch 4 comparison with the Apple Watch Series 6.