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# A Galaxy of Confusion
- URL: https://birchtree.me/blog/a-galaxy-of-confusion/
- Published: 2019-04-19T22:37:45.000Z
- Updated: 2019-04-19T22:37:45.000Z
- Author: Matt Birchler
- Tags: Links, #Import 2023-06-01 22:41, #Import 2025-03-29 19:29

[Apple Watch Series 4 vs. Galaxy Watch Active: What's the best smartwatch? - CNET](https://www.cnet.com/news/galaxy-watch-active-vs-apple-watch-series-4-how-to-choose-best-watch/?ref=birchtree.me#ftag=CAD0610abe0f)

> For the price, it's hard to go past the Galaxy Watch Active, especially considering compatibility across Android and iOS. It offers a great range of fitness features, a comfortable fit for smaller wrists especially and a strong showing in battery life. 

This article baffles me. I own both of these smart watches and I find the Galaxy Watch Active to be quite a poor product for someone who enjoys using their smart watch for smart watch-y things. And if you’re thinking this article focused more on the fitness aspect, no it did not.

> Winner: Tie. Galaxy Watch Active has the best cross-platform support, but the Apple Watch has the flexibility of an LTE-option and a built-in speaker for making calls. 

Listen, there are some people who will enjoy the Galaxy Watch Active, but every piece of the user experience as a smart watch is miles behind what watchOS has going on. I bought the Active with hopes it would show me some things Apple could steal for updates to watchOS. Instead, all I discovered was that Apple is further ahead of everyone else than I realized.

And finally, who the heck cares about a smart watch working with multiple platforms? Very few people change platforms so the fact that the Galaxy Watch Active works with iOS (poorly) and Android (slightly less poorly) is not a point in its favor to anyone besides a tech reviewer. Same with the Apple Watch; why is this even in the conversation if someone has an Android phone?

This article completely befuddles me.