Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 review: better or equal

In 2021, Samsung finally released a smartwatch with Google's Wear OS. Now the company is back with a sequel, the Galaxy Watch 5. Last year's watch got a lot of buzz. Now Samsung is looking to refine the experience.

The Galaxy Watch 4 was Samsung's first departure from Tizen OS since all the way back in 2014 with the Gear Live. However, it wasn't a typical Wear OS smartwatch. Samsung has its own One UI skin and additional features. The Galaxy Watch 5 continues this approach.

There are two different models this year: the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Watch 5 Pro. This review is for the 5mm Galaxy Watch 40. The Pro model has a bigger battery and a more durable design, but the specs are mostly the same.

Material and design

You might have trouble telling the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Watch 5 apart. Samsung has kept the same design this year, but that's a good thing. The design works in many situations with a simple band change. It looks great with a silicone strap on the running track or a leather strap for drinks on a patio.

In terms of size, Samsung claims it's the same size and thickness as the Watch 4, but the latter is just plain wrong. I have both watches and the Watch 5 is noticeably thicker. However, I will say that is not the case to feel thicker. The contours of the back contribute to this. I'm not a fan of chunky watches and the Watch 5 doesn't fit that mold.

The Home and Back buttons are on the right side, and again they feel very solid and tactile. I mentioned strips earlier, and Samsung once again stuck with standard lugs. You can use any regular watch strap that matches the Watch 5 model you own. No proprietary straps here.

In terms of hardware, the standard Galaxy Watch 5 is aluminum, the Pro model is titanium. The bigger story, however, is the new sapphire display. Sapphire is significantly stronger than previously used Gorilla Glass screens. Theoretically, the sapphire screen should remain scratch-free forever, although it may still crack.

True to its durability, the Watch 5 has an IP68 water and dust resistance rating and is MIL-STD-810H compliant. The water resistance is up to 50m, making it a perfect swimming companion. It's a watch that can handle your daily life.

Beneath this screen is an Exynos W920 processor and 1,5 GB of RAM. Samsung watches work great with Wear OS. Even during the initial setup, where smartwatches can get bogged down installing apps, the watch felt fast. I did not encounter any lag or bug.

Overall, this is an attractive watch that can easily match your personal style. It has a very durable screen, nice-touch buttons, and solid performance.

Battery life

There's one area of ​​hardware that I haven't touched on yet: battery life. This is one of the main features of smartwatches. A smartwatch with bad battery life is almost worse than a phone with bad battery life because it is more annoying to charge.

The Galaxy Watch 5 has a slightly larger battery than last year's Watch 4. Whether or not it makes a difference to you depends on your usage. People who use their watch for sleep tracking may notice more improvements than others. As someone who charges every night, I've never encountered the "low battery" warning.

After an average day of removing the watch from the charger around 8am and using it without the screen still on, I end the day around 23-12pm with over 50% remaining. I could easily use the "Always-On Display" feature and still get through the day.

The days when battery life struggles a little more is when I'm doing activities. Tracking a run for an hour takes a good chunk of battery life, but I'm still able to get through the day. You may experience battery issues if you do a lot of workout tracking, sleep tracking, and always-on display use.

In general, I give battery life a passing grade. It's not what I would consider stellar battery life, but it's perfectly in line with what I expect from most smartwatches. Samsung has also finally switched the charger to USB-C, which allows for faster charging and easier travel.

Software

The Galaxy Watch 5 runs Wear OS 3.5 with Samsung's One UI 4.5 enhancements. Now that Google Assistant is finally available on Samsung Watches, you get the best of Google and Samsung in one device. It's a nice mix of features.

The software experience is very good. It's all just a few swipes away. I never feel like I'm using the watch too long to accomplish anything. From the watch face, each direction takes you to a different place: quick settings, widgets, apps, and notifications.

The biggest problem with Samsung watches before the company switched to Wear OS was the lack of apps. This is no longer a problem. You can now download apps and watch faces directly from the good old Google Play Store.

Bixby and a few other Samsung apps are still around, but it's easy to overlook the ones you don't like. Google Assistant can be set as the default assistant app and mapped to long press the home button. Samsung Pay is locked to long-press the back button, but you can select Google Wallet by double-pressing the Home button.

Wear OS with One UI is basically exactly what it sounds like. It's Google, it's Samsung, and they generally work well together.

Fitness Features

One of the main focus areas of smartwatches is fitness, and Samsung has plenty to offer. The combination of hardware and software makes the Watch 5 a worthy workout companion.

Samsung's Health app is much more comprehensive than Google Fit. You can track a wide variety of workouts and activities, log your sleep, measure heart rate, ECG, steps, blood oxygen, and even body composition.

The thicker design is thanks to an improved sensor, which Samsung says makes better contact with your skin. I didn't notice a huge difference in the data collected by the sensor, but I never felt like the old sensor was inaccurate.

Speaking of this new sensor, it includes the ability to measure temperature. However, this is not very useful. There is no way to take a temperature reading on demand. It is apparently used for sleep tracking and may see more use in the future.

Personally, fitness is one of the areas I care about most for smartwatches. Samsung Health is an impressive suite of fitness tools on its own, but it's even better when paired with a Samsung watch. For my money, Samsung is only behind Apple when it comes to consumer-friendly fitness smartwatches.

What about the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro?

Before we wrap up, we should talk about the second Galaxy Watch model this year: the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. So what is the difference? As briefly mentioned, there are a few things to note.

The Watch 5 Pro has a 590 mAh battery, while the Watch 5 40mm has a 284 mAh battery (the Watch 5 44mm battery is 410 mAh). That's a big difference, and it equates to the Watch 5 Pro being able to last nearly three days on a charge.

Size is another big difference. The Pro model has the same display size as the 5mm (44-inch) Watch 1,36, but the body is slightly wider and thicker. It is a large watch, with a diameter of 46 mm and a thickness of 10,5 mm. The body is also made of titanium.

Basically, the Pro version is a bigger and more robust version of the standard Watch 5. You get better battery life, a bigger footprint, and essentially all the same features as the standard Watch 5. All of this comes at a price – $450 to be exact.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5?

It's time to answer the big question: is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 worth buying? As always, it depends on where you're from and what phone you're using. However, I will say that the Watch 5 is a better choice than the Watch 5 Pro for most people.

The Galaxy Watch 5 is by far the closest competitor to the Apple Watch. Samsung has done an impressive job of competing with Apple's excellent fitness features. It's not quite on the same level, but it's very close. If you want the Apple Watch equivalent on Android, the Watch 5 is your game.

If you already have the Galaxy Watch 4, I don't think the Watch 5 is a meaningful upgrade. You won't notice a ton of improvements over the Watch 4. However, Tizen-based Samsung Watch owners will be see a big difference. Google apps and a much better app ecosystem cannot be overstated. Plus, you don't give up the Samsung features you know.

The Galaxy Watch 5 may not be as flashy as last year's Watch 4 and Samsung's long-awaited return to Wear OS. However, this is a super solid, polished and refined smartwatch. It perfectly blends the line between fitness companion and high-end watch.