Photo: libre-software.net. License: CC BY-SA 4.0
The Thinnest Smartwatches for 2022 (iPhone and Android)
Last updated on October 10, 2022
I have been searching for a thin smartwatch for years, and here is what I found. Setting up this page has been a lot of work, as the information about smartwatch thinness/thickness is scarce and often outdated. Before I go on with numbers and specs, here are some of my findings:
- Most smartwatches are clumsy, but some are less clumsy than others. A thin smartwatch even existed: the Pebble Watch Round was only 0.3 inch (7.5 mm) thick, but is no longer available.
- There are notable differences in the thickness of “sister” models: for example, the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 standard is thinner than the classic model.
- The official depth measurements almost always exclude the health sensors. As a consequence, most smartwatches are thicker than advertised.
- The Apple Watch Series 6 and 7 are slightly thinner than the equivalent Samsung Galaxy Watch3 and Watch4 models. The classic Samsung models are definitely thicker.
Now let’s go on with facts, specifications and actual measurements.
Top thinnest smartwatches 2022 (for Men and Women)
Apple Watch Series 7: thinness is relative
While the Apple Watch Series 7 is thinner than most smartwatches, it can’t be called thin yet
Thinness rating: almost thin
The Apple Watch Series 7 have been announced on September 14, 2021, but the official dimensions – especially depth measurements – have not been released yet.
Both the 41mm and the 45mm models (replacing the 40mm and the 44mm Apple Watch Series 6 sizes) should be exactly as thin or slightly thinner than their predecessors.
Apple Watch Series 6: almost reasonably thin
There are no official side view press picture of the Apple Watch Series 6
Samsung Galaxy Watch4: one of the thinnest Android smartwatches
Samsung Galaxy Watch4 – How thin it really is
Thinness rating: almost thin
Official thickness (depth): on the official Samsung website, Samsung only gives the thinness of the Watch4 in millimeters – no alternative measurements in inches. The stated thickness of 9.8 mm is equivalent to 0.3858 inches, rounded correctly to 0.39 inches (though some reviewers write 0.38 inches):
- 44mm version official thickness: 0.39 in | 9.8 mm
- 40mm version official thickness: 0.39 in | 9.8 mm
The thickness (or thinness) above are the „official“ dimensions provided by Samsung, excluding the health sensor. In reality, the Galaxy Watch4 series are not as thin as mentioned in the official specifications.
In a review of the Galaxy Watch4 published in pcmag.com, the author mentioned that her review unit (a 42mm classic version) was almost 0.07 inches (1.78 mm) thicker in reality than stated in the official specifications.
Adding this thickness to the Samsung specifications gives us following thickness (for the Watch4 non-classic models):
- 44mm version actual thickness: 0.46 in | 11.58 mm
- 40mm version actual thickness: 0.46 in | 11.58 mm
The “real life” thickness (including the protruding health sensor) of these models make them slightly thicker than the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE.
Dimensions (except depth)
- 44mm version dimensions: 1.75 x 1.70 in (44.4 x 43.3 mm)
- 40mm version dimensions: 1.59 x 1.55 in (40.4 x 39.3 mm)
Weight
- 44mm version dimensions: 1.06 ounces (30.3 g), Armor Aluminum, without strap
- 40mm version dimensions: 0.91 ounces (26 g), (GSMArena writes 0.92 oz / 25.9 g) Armor Aluminum, without strap
Samsung Galaxy Watch3: a rather bulky smartwatch
The Samsung Galaxy Watch3 (released 2020) is thicker than the Galaxy Watch4 (2021)
Thinness rating: bulky
- 45 mm version thickness: 11,1 mm (0.44 in)
- 41 mm version thickness: 12,7 mm (0.5 in)
Beware that according to the specifications,3 the smaller version (41 mm) is thicker than the bigger version (45 mm) by 1,6 mm (0.06 inches).
Which is the best thinnest smartwatch?
There is no such thing as THE best thinnest smartwatch. Many excellent smartwatches are not thin, whereas some of the thinnest smartwatches are – unfortunately – not the best.
Among the best smartwatches, the Apple Watch Series 6 and 7 are the slimmest (and marginally slimmer than their Samsung “non-classic” counterparts).
To me, the best compromise between thinness and quality are the Galaxy Watch 4 (non-classic) or any Apple Watch Series 6, 7 or SE.
Thin smartwatches Q&A
Are the Apple Watch Series 6 (and Apple Watch SE) thinner than the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Series?
To answer this question, we have to differentiate between the “standard” and the “classic” Watch4 series:
The Apple Watch may be slightly thinner than the Galaxy Watch4 (non-“classic”)
On the paper, the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 (40 and 44 mm without rotating bezel) are thinner than the 6th generation Apple smartwatches. Both Watch4 models are 0.39 inches (9.8 mm) thin versus 0.42 inches (10.7 mm) for the Apple Watch.
However, Samsung’s “official” depth measurements exclude the health sensor that protrudes slightly off the back. In reality, the Galaxy Watch4 Series are up to 0.07 inches (1.78 mm) thicker than in the specs4, which makes the Apple Watch Series 6 and SE slightly thinner – 0.04 inches (0.88 mm) thinner to be exact.
The Apple Watch Series 7 is slightly thinner than equivalent Galaxy Watch4 models
Photo: libre-software.net. License: CC BY-SA 4.0
The Apple Watch is much thinner than the Galaxy Watch4 classic
The Apple Watch Series 6 and the Apple Watch SE are definitely thinner than both Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic models (42 and 46 mm with rotating bezel).
The 42 mm Galaxy Watch4 Classic is 11.2 mm (0,44 inches) thick, while the 46 mm is slightly thinner, measuring 11.0 mm (0,43 inches). With a depth of 0.42 inches (10.7 mm), the Apple Watch Series 6 and Watch SE are marginally thinner.
Here again, Samsung’s depth measurements exclude the protruding health sensor. These sensors make the Watch4 Classic series definitely thicker than the Apple smartwatches. To be precise, the Apple Watche Series 6 (and SE) are thinner by 0.08 to 0.09 inches (2.0 to 2.3 mm).
More Questions and Answers
Yes, both Watch4 models (40 and 44 mm) are thinner than their classic counterparts (42 and 46 mm).
There are still no official depth (thickness) measurements of the Apple Watch 7 Series. However, the 7th iteration should exactly as slim or even slimmer than its predecessor.
- Watch3 Series: 45 mm version thickness: 11,1 mm (0.44 in)
- Watch3 Series: 41 mm version thickness: 12,7 mm (0.5 in)
- Watch4 Series: 44mm version official thickness: 9.8 mm (0.39 in)
- Watch4 Series: 40mm version official thickness: 9.8 mm (0.39 in)
Discontinued thin Smartwatches
Pebble Time Round: the thinnest smartwatch of all times
The Pebble Time Round remains the thinnest smartwatch produced in the past years
- Thinness rating: super thin
- Pebble Time Round thickness: 0.3 inches (7,5 mm)
- Dimensions (except depth): 1.50 in × 1.50 in (38.1 mm × 38.1 mm)
- Weight: 0.99 oz (28 g)
The Pebble Time Round was by far the thinnest and lightest smartwatch available when it was released back in November 2015. Both versions (with 14mm or 20mm bands) were equally thin: 0.3 inches (7,5 mm). As of 2021, it is still possible to buy used or refurbished Pebbles, but I would not recommend it.
- Apple.com, Apple Watch Series 6 - Technical Specifications, retrieved September 27, 2021
- GSMArena.com, Apple Watch Series 6, retrieved September 27, 2021
- iFixit, Samsung Galaxy Watch3 Repair / Specifications, retrieved September 23, 2021
- PCMag, Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic Review, August 17, 2021
29 thoughts on “How to Install Firefox on Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Debian or any other Linux distribution”
I was wanting to update Firefox on my Ubuntu Trusty (14.04). I finally came across this article and … tahdah. Now I have Firefox 83 installed and working perfectly. Thank you so much for this article. One question – can I also install the latest Thunderbird in the same manner?
And please folks, no comments like – just upgrade to the newest Ubuntu. Trusty works perfect. I have Apache installed and it works perfect also. So why should I update/upgrade to a newer version when I have perfection now. You know the old saying – If it works don’t fix it.
Thank you John! Yes, Thunderbird can be installed/upgraded the same way 🙂
Hello, I’m French.
It’s hard to me to understand English so when it’s electronic language, it’s very very hard. But I tried (even if I doesn’t understand, even while translating). And when I tried, I succeed to extract the file (yeeaah!) but I can’t move Firefox to
/opt, it says “no such file or directory” like Kurman (an other user). But how am I doing now ? I search a lot of solutions and nothing works. Netflix doesn’t want to work with my old Firefox (the 66.0.3 version). Am I going to get there someday? After Netflix, it will be some important things…Please, help me. (Once I could watch Netflix…)
Thanks for the article!
You may have to create the
/optdirectory first:sudo mkdir /optGood luck!
Note: When the default version of Firefox is upgraded by the system, the symlink
/usr/bin/firefoxis overwritten and you will either have re-create it or just lock the currently installed version in Synaptic to prevent that from happening altogether:Great article. In the case of Firefox newer is better. Every update since Quantum debuted has brought it closer to perfection. Oh, I think it may be ‘inexperienced’, rather than ‘unexperienced’. Regardless, the advice is sound.
It’s always best for newbies to practice caution. Then again, it took a few self inflicted system meltdowns to really start getting the hang of this Linux thing.
Thank you for your comment and for the correction!
If I just remove the old Firefox folder in
/opt, what about my favorites settings? Am I gonna lost it all?@Rafael: no, you won’t loose your Firefox settings. These are stored in your profile folder. On Linux, you profile folder is in your home directory, in the
.mozilla/firefoxsub-folder. You may need to show hidden files and folders (use Ctrl + H or the “View” menu) to navigate to the profile folder.If you only have one profile, its folder has “default” in the name. The complete path of the Firefox profile folder will be something like:
/home/user_name/.mozilla/firefox/random_string.defaultThis folder allows for an awful lot of flexibility, for example you can:
Is easier get it there: https://packages.debian.org/sid/amd64/firefox/download
Thank you, this is indeed useful. Installing Firefox from .deb packages is also a viable option. Keep in mind that the recommendation is the same as when installing from the tar.gz archive: “it is strongly suggested to use a package manager like aptitude or synaptic to download and install packages, instead of doing so manually via this website.”
Make friends with the terminal!
Sure, it’s been quite some time since 2015: Users must extract from the “tar” archive and use a password-enabled (root) terminal (or sudo) to perform the subsequent file actions. Simply invoking a file manager and then copying/pasting won’t work.
The reason Debian users end up here:
Note that Debian’s repository version of Firefox still is named “firefox-esr,” not simply “firefox” (Before, it was “iceweasel” – a legality, still in effect with firefox-esr): Debian proves perhaps the most conservative distro in the Linux realm. As was noted in an old saying: “They wear both a belt and suspenders!”
The problem is that institutions performing secure transactions (say, global financial corporations) – along with many still-perplexed users (who generally aren’t bare novices) – dislike legacy browser versions. Debian purists dislike the corporate bent of Mozilla’s Firefox development. (After all, it’s firefox.com, not firefox.org.)
Thank you. Simple, clear and helpful. Works for me on Linux Mint (64 Bit)
I’ve extracted the file but I can’t move it to
/opt, it says no such file or directory.Kumar, you’re probably in the wrong directory when running the
movecommand – or using the wrong file name. Using the TAB key to autocomplete the file name helps to know if you’re right: if it autocompletes the file or directory names, it’s right, else it’s wrong. Of course, listing files with thelscommand also shows if you have extracted the archive correctly.For future reference,
tar xf filewill deal with the compression without having to specify it.Pingback: Install the latest FireFox in CentOS 7 - UncleNinja
Pingback: Upgrade Firefox di Linux Mint | Catatan dan Wiki Personal
FF 45 in Mint does not open groups of tabs anymore. So that seems broken.
I went back to a former version. The repository only offered FF 28… But this one still works.
The Tab Groups (Panorama) feature has been discontinued. There are Firefox add-ons with similar features, check the official announcement from Mozilla:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/tab-groups-removal
I have other problem 🙂 I unpacked firefox (did same with thunderbird), created symbolic links and everything, but still, when I run firefox or thunderbird, it said it is not default browser/email client and I can’t turn it off. It is not really functional problem, but it is reaaaaaally annoying 🙂 in preffered applications is set firefox and thunderbird (the original mint firefox and thunderbird don’t have this problem), is there any way (and I am sure there is) how to set unzipped TB and FF as default? BTW I am using common profiles for windows and for mint 17.3 in both applications. THX 🙂
I figured out something, I turned off check for default application in settings (during start of application, it ignored it 🙂 ) I hope it will work
I really do try to like Linux… but I just can’t understand why I can’t just UPDATE my firefox in one click? The version is there – why do I need to start entering commands and copying folders for something as trivial as that?
Well, in fact this tutorial is for advanced users, most of which are installing Firefox on their own on custom Linux systems. Or trying Firefox Beta/Aurora or other special versions of Firefox.
In your case you’re probably using mainstream distributions such are Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian, OpenSuse, Fedora, … The package manager of your distro will take care of updating Firefox by itself, when when the new Ffox version has been tested for compatibility with your distro, so that it doesn’t break anything. On Ubuntu or Linux Mint, for example, it takes just a few days after the official release.
Please do NOT use this guide to update Firefox by hand if you’re just a “normal” user or a Linux beginner. Just apply the normal updates (as you should always do) for your distribution and you’ll get the new Firefox version. I’ll try to make a version of this guide for beginners and normal users soon, as it seems to be really confusing. Sorry for that.
You state here, and I’ve seen in other places, that Debian-based package managers will release firefox updates “just a few days after the official release”. That has not been my experience. I run Linux Mint 17.3, and as of today (4/30/2016), my firefox from the package manager is version 42.0. The following version (43.0) was released 4.5 months ago on December 15th, and version 46.0 was released this week. What am I missing?
I also run Mint 17.3, the Firefox version is 45 and it should be updated to 46 very soon. I can’t explain why you’re stuck with an older version. I suppose you ran
sudo apt-get update? If nothing else works, I would suggest to install the newest Firefox version manually as described in this guide.Update: The update to Firefox 46 just showed up in the update manager. It took 4 days to the Linux Mint team to check and distribute the update, which is fine.
Pingback: How to install Firefox 43 on Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Fedora - Free Networking Tutorials, Free System Administration Tutorials and Free Security Tutorials
How do I upgrade the current installation with the tar.b2? I’m on Ubuntu-Mate-15.10 & it doesn’t appear to be in the /opt directory.
Ubuntu will take care of Firefox upgrades automatically, you don’t have to do it manually. It may take a few days after the official release for the Firefox upgrade to show on, because the Ubuntu folks have to test the new release with Ubuntu.
There is no Firefox install in
/optby default, as this is where admins/users are supposed to install optional software. If you did not install anything in/optmanually, nothing show up there, which is normal.Hope this helps!