6 sourced reports, with what to check before you buy. Each one links to the page it was reported on.
Costly or dangerous
Galaxy Watch7 battery drain after software update, reported in Turkish tech news
Turkish tech site ShiftDelete reports users on Reddit seeing battery life roughly halve on Galaxy Watch7 (and Watch6/8/Ultra) after recent software updates, with Google Play Services suspected.
What to check. This is a post-update regression, not a hardware fault: a buyer may see battery life drop sharply after an update, and standard fixes (restart, cache clear, reset) are reported as inconsistent. Worth checking before assuming a faulty unit.
Galaxy Watch7 battery drops from 80% to 50% in minutes in second year of use
Owner review on Samsung's official product page (Samsung Poland review republished on Samsung SI). After about a year the battery became unstable, dropping from 80% to 50% within minutes during normal wear.
What to check. A buyer should not assume a healthy first year predicts the second; battery instability appeared in year two and the owner sent the watch back under warranty. Expect the battery to be the weak point and verify warranty terms before relying on it long-term.
Galaxy Watch7 display systematically freezes, only a factory reset helps
Same owner report on Samsung's official page: the display systematically freezes and the only fix is a factory reset from recovery mode without restoring a backup, meaning the watch must be reconfigured weekly.
What to check. A buyer should know that screen freezes on this unit were not fixable by normal means and forced weekly factory resets, which is a serious usability cost. This is a recurring, not one-off, fault for this owner.
Galaxy Watch7 owner reports watch heats up enough to burn the wrist
Same Polish owner report on Samsung's official page: the watch heats up so much it burns the wrist.
What to check. This corroborates the RTBF overheating reports: a buyer should treat strong heating as a reason to stop wearing the watch. It appeared in year two alongside the battery instability.
Galaxy Watch7 series overheating with red marks on wrists and full battery discharge
Belgian public broadcaster RTBF, citing Android Authority, reports users of the newer Galaxy Watch7/8/Ultra series seeing overheating, full battery discharge, and red marks on wrists.
What to check. A buyer should watch for the watch heating up and red marks on the wrist; RTBF advises stopping wearing it if it heats strongly. This is a safety-relevant durability concern, not just an inconvenience.
Galaxy Watch7 battery under 20 hours with minimal use, plus frequent screen freezes
Formal consumer complaint to Samsung filed via Italian consumer body Altroconsumo: within under a year the Watch7 battery lasted under 20 hours even with minimal use (just checking the time), alongside frequent interface/screen freezes.
What to check. A buyer should expect real-world battery life well under the advertised figure even with light use, and that Samsung's lab tests may not reproduce the fault, making warranty replacement hard to obtain. Screen freezes accompany the battery issue.
These reports come from the pages linked under each item: owner forums, repair guides and workshops. They are not a diagnosis of any one unit, and a careful check of the one you are buying still applies.
Text from the Kriko Smartwatches and Fitness Bands catalog, version 0.1.2, under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 license.
