The Samsung Galaxy Watch offers an always-on display, which truly elevates the experience of using the smartwatch.
In the before times, if you didn't have your wrist raised to look at your watch, the screen would turn off to save power.
These days, most smartwatches will have the option to keep the screen on, and it will dim to a low power mode when not being used.
That means when you glance at the smartwatch, you can quickly see the time without making a purposeful movement.
But there is an issue.
Why turn off the always-on display?
In our Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic reviews, we noted how the battery life was an issue.
Samsung itself says that you'll get an extra 10 hours with the always-on screen disabled.
So whether you want to turn on or off the always-on display – here's how.
What you'll need:
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 4/5/6
How to turn on/off the always-on display
Out of the box, the Galaxy Watch doesn't have the always-on screen mode enabled. If you want to check in on the time at all times, you need to do the following:
1. Open Settings tray
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Swipe down from the main watch face to reveal the quick settings tray. You can tap Settings (the cog) here, or hit the watch icon, which takes a shortcut to the display menu.
2. Access settings menu
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If you opted for Settings, then you'll see this screen. You need to scroll down until you hit Display.
3. Choose Display
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Tap Display in the settings menu.
4. Toggle on/off
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Scroll down until you find the option for the Always On Display. Tap to toggle on/off.
Refine display settings
Once this is done, you'll be able to view the home screen without having to raise it to wake it up.
You can also adjust the screen brightness here, and dimming the screen will give you precious battery life minutes.
When you head back to the main watch face by hitting the back button (top right) then your changes will be saved. Repeat the steps above in future if you want to make a change.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.