Quick answer: Yes, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic supports the same standard 20mm bands as its predecessors.
Samsung finally announced its much anticipated Galaxy Watch 6 Classic at Galaxy Unpacked 2023, the follow-up to one of the best Android smartwatches available, and it sounds like they listened to criticisms of the previous generation and responded in kind. The Classic not only has a slightly larger face (1.5 inches compared to the Watch 5’s 1.36) but it’s also got smaller bezels than its predecessors, so the total real estate available is appreciably larger.
They’ve also returned the rotating bezel to the Classic model of the Watch 6, a favorite, tactile feature of previous models that was missing in action in the Galaxy Watch 5 (and, sadly, remains absent from the vanilla model of the Galaxy Watch 6). You may wonder, however, if the latest iteration is still compatible with standard watch bands, and if that’s the case, there’s even more good news.
Does the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic use standard bands?
Source: Samsung
Both sizes (47mm and 43mm) of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic are compatible with standard 20mm smartwatch bands. This is great news if you’re upgrading from the Galaxy Watch 5 and have a band that you particularly like, or even from another smartwatch that also supports 20mm bands. At this point, a lot of smartwatch enthusiasts have accumulated a collection of bands in various styles and materials, so being able to move that collection forward to the latest watch is great news.
What’s the difference between the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic and the vanilla Galaxy Watch 6?
If you haven’t pulled the trigger on a Galaxy Watch 6, you may be debating between the two SKUs available. The vanilla Watch 6 is a little smaller than the Classic, sized either at 44mm or 40mm compared to the Classic’s 47mm and 43mm options. However, the actual screen size is identical, either 1.5 inches or 1.3 inches, as are the resolutions, at 480×480 for the larger screen and 432×432 for the 1.3-inch screen (both options are Super AMOLED). The Classic case needs to be slightly larger to accommodate the physical rotating bezel, but the vanilla offering only includes a virtual bezel you can swipe to control the Watch.
The Classic also includes a 3D Hall sensor, which allows for 3D positioning by measuring the magnetic field, an intriguing feature lacking from the vanilla option. Outside of that, however, the two models are fairly similar, both boasting a 1.4GHZ Exynos W930 Dual-Core processor, 2GB of memory and 16GB of storage and up to 40 hours of battery life (or 30 hours if the display is set to Always On).
If you’re brand new to the smartwatch game, band support may not be a huge issue. But if, like me, you’ve got a drawer crowded with a stack of excellent bands just waiting to be put back into the rotation, the fact that the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic supports standard bands is welcome news. It also means that there are a ton of options for bands at launch, so you won’t have to wait around, fingers crossed, for someone to manufacture a band in the style, material, or fit you want. The market for 20mm bands is, if anything, overcrowded, so you’re almost certain to find something you like to strap your shiny new Galaxy Watch if the default band doesn’t suit you.
Source: Samsung
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic may act the same and look the same as its plain Jane little sister, the Galaxy Watch 6, but the rotating bezel adds both style and supreme functionality as it makes scrolling One UI Watch much easier. And thanks to standard band support, you can gussy it up with as fancy a band as you’d like.