Garmin Venu 4 edges out Pixel Watch 4 as readers' top Galaxy Watch 9 alternative
In an Android Authority reader poll, the Garmin Venu 4 was narrowly voted the best Galaxy Watch 9 alternative, beating the Pixel Watch 4 by just 12 votes.
The Galaxy Watch 9 series launched a few weeks ago at a starting price of $380, which is higher than its predecessor. The Galaxy Watch 8 regularly drops to around $300 at major retailers, making the new model's premium more apparent.
The Venu 4 received 22.9% of the votes, just 12 votes ahead of the Pixel Watch 4, which took second place with 22.3%. The survey was conducted before the release of the fifth-generation Pixel Watch, but the result indicates that Google's smartwatch line remains a strong rival to Samsung's.
In third place was the Amazfit Balance 2 with 20.7% of the vote. The watch offers 32GB of internal storage and a three-week battery life for $300, making it a strong value proposition, though its health-tracking software may not appeal to everyone.
Samsung's own older models brought up the rear. The Galaxy Watch 8 received 19% of the vote, while the Watch 7 accrued 9.9%. Combined, these results could suggest that some readers would still prefer an older Galaxy Watch over a competitor's device, but the individual figures also indicate that Samsung's wearables are losing some of their appeal.
A further 5.2% of respondents said none of the listed devices were worthwhile alternatives and offered their own picks in the comments, including the OPPO Watch X3, the HUAWEI GT6 41mm, and the Garmin Venu 3.