If Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 dreams of dethroning the Apple Watch 7 this year, it needs to bring exceptional wearable innovation to the wrist.

While the Galaxy Watch is generally aimed at a different audience than the Apple Watch, the direction of smartwatch trends is often determined by the new features both companies introduce in their flagship devices.

While I am drawn to the Apple Watch, I am not pledging blind allegiance to Apple's wearable. I have dabbled with several excellent smartwatches and usually settle on the one that best suits my needs at the time.

Thanks to my many hours of smartwatch testing and following the rumors leading up to major smartwatch announcements, I know exactly what it will take for Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 to skip the Apple Watch 7. Here are the main features I'm looking for when the next-generation Galaxy Watch debuts.

Neither the Galaxy Watch 4 nor the Apple Watch 7 will feature blood glucose monitoring, so I'm itching to see how both companies will push the limits of health monitoring this year, although the lack of wellness information on the Apple Watch 7 is disappointing

The recent Galaxy Watch 4 leak points to the smartwatch's support for body composition analysis.

While I have uncovered some concerns about the Galaxy Watch 4's body composition analysis, I mostly believe it has potential in terms of helping people better understand their bodies. by using the BIA sensor, or current system, the Galaxy Watch can estimate the user's fat and muscle composition. For those with targeted health goals, tracking changes in body composition may be more insightful than checking weight.

If body composition analysis becomes a reality and is as convenient and promotes responsible use as advertised, I am certain I would like to use it myself.

Furthermore, it could lead to better health tracking in Wear OS, as Fitbit pushed this feature the most last year.

From what we have seen so far, the new Google Wear OS (officially named Wear OS 3) may turn the tide on this controversial platform. It has received a major boost from the software provider Google once called a competitor, absorbing Tizen users and borrowing Fitbit's industry-leading fitness tools. And Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 is on its maiden voyage.

While the buzz surrounding Wear OS is generally positive, Samsung is taking a big gamble by ditching Tizen; while it didn't cherish Tizen, it performed better than the current Wear OS.

To keep things consistent, Samsung developed the One UI Watch skin to accompany the Galaxy Watch 4's Wear OS; One UI Watch was tailored to unify Samsung's device ecosystem, as Samsung has just announced, It looks great.

But the Apple Watch 7's watchOS 8 software promises to deliver the seamless cross-product experience I've long expected from Apple, and the Galaxy Watch 4's Wear OS software should do the same.

Samsung has yet to reveal a battery life estimate for the Galaxy Watch 4, but I know what I expect. At the very least, I expect Samsung's latest smartwatch to last even a few hours longer than the Apple Watch 7.

But I don't know if that will be enough; I want the Galaxy Watch 4 to last at least two full days, even with fitness tracking and other premium features. When we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, it barely lasted a full day.

The Apple Watch has made me more accepting of charging my smartwatch daily, but that doesn't mean I like it; if the battery life of the Galaxy Watch 4 is like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, which lasts 2.5 days I would be impressed.

It won't be long before the Galaxy Watch competes with the Apple Watch. The smartwatch, along with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, is expected to debut at the Samsung Unpacked keynote on August 11.