Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 review: plus battery life, minus physical bezel

Traditionally, at the time of its release, Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 are among the most functional smartwatches for Android smartphones, and especially Samsung smartphones. The watches have a nice, stylish appearance and high-quality materials: sapphire crystal in both models and titanium in the Pro model. But, unfortunately, Samsung for some reason decided to abandon the physical rotating bezel, which was very convenient to use and added uniqueness to Samsung smartwatches. Galaxy Watch5 has the maximum set of functions for health tracking, finally even ECG and blood pressure measurement are available. And for sports there are many different training programs. The hardware component has not changed much from the previous line, but it is enough for fast operation of smart watches. The latest version of Wear OS with a very convenient and understandable One UI 4.5 shell is used as the operating system. Although, unfortunately, the number of applications for Wear OS is still very small. A significant advantage of the new line of Samsung Galaxy Watch5 compared to the previous one is a significantly increased battery life, especially for the Pro version. In general, we can say that the new Samsung smartwatches turned out to be successful and interesting, but if you already have Samsung Galaxy Watch4, then there is no critical need to update. Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro now costs 440 $. Samsung Galaxy Watch5 40 mm - 280 $.

5 reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5:

• Durable cases made of quality materials, water protection and interesting design
• Full set of health tracking functions, including ECG and blood pressure
• Many training programs
• Bright high-quality screens
• Significant increase in battery life (compared to Samsung Galaxy Watch4)

2 reasons not to buy Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5:

• Lack of rotating bezel
• You already have Samsung Galaxy Watch4

1. What's new in Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 and what versions are there?
2. What's in the box?
3. What do the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 look like?
4. What's with the screen and hardware filling?
5. How convenient is the interface and what are the features?
6. What about ECG, pressure measurement and other new features?
7. How long do Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 last on a single battery charge?
8. In dry balance

What is new in Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 and what are the versions?

Samsung recently released an updated line of Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 smartwatches. And this update turned out to be somewhat unusual compared to the Galaxy Watch4 line. The company decided to abandon the Classic model, instead releasing the Pro version. This time, unfortunately, neither model has a rotating bezel. I sincerely hope that in the future the company will return to this extremely convenient solution, but for now let's see what Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 offer. Galaxy Watch5 Pro is available in one size of 45 mm, Galaxy Watch5 - 40 or 44 mm. From the hardware point of view, almost nothing has changed: 5-nanometer Exynos W920 processors are responsible for the performance, the amount of RAM is 1.5 GB of RAM, built-in - 16 GB. There is dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth has been updated to 5.2 (was 5.0), there is an NFC module for contactless payment, GPS. LTE-version with eSIM support is also available. From the sensors there is an accelerometer, gyroscope, heart rate monitor, light sensor, Samsung BioActive, which measures ECG and analyzes the structure of the owner's body. Last year, ECG and pressure measurement were not available in Ukraine. Now they can finally be used. SpO2 level measurement is also available. Of the important hardware improvements, it is worth noting the increased batteries. Galaxy Watch5 40 mm received a 284 mAh battery compared to 247 mAh in Galaxy Watch4. 44 mm version - 410 mAh against 361 mAh. Galaxy Watch5 Pro received an impressive 590 mAh battery. So there is hope for increased battery life. All three models now support fast wireless charging at 10W. The materials used have also changed. Instead of Gorilla Glass DX and DX+, more durable sapphire crystal is now used. In Galaxy Watch5 Pro it has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale. In Watch5 - 8. In general, Samsung promises that it is stronger compared to last year's models by 1.6x and 2x respectively. The case of Galaxy Watch5 is made of reinforced aluminum, Galaxy Watch5 Pro has a titanium case. The screens remained unchanged: SuperAMOLED, the resolution in the 1.2-inch version is 396x396 pixels, in the 1.4-inch version - 450x450. The operating system is Google Wear OS with its own One UI Watch shell.

What's in the box?

The packaging and equipment of the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 line are similar to the previous models. A long rectangular box with a picture of the watch and some technical information. The older model received a black box, the younger one - in white. Inside is the watch with a strap, charger and documentation. The design of the charger has not changed. It is a kind of magnetic "puck" with a non-removable cable ending with a Type-C connector. However, in the Pro model, this "washer" is metal, only the part that touches the watch during charging is made of plastic.

What do Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 look like?

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro turned out to be quite massive and significantly different from the previous Classic model. They look more minimalistic and sporty, while the Classic was more like a classic watch due to the bezel. The Galaxy Watch5 Pro has a high edge around the screen, which provides additional protection against shocks, as well as a plastic black frame inside. It has a concave shape, which is convenient when using a virtual touch bezel. Watch5 Pro is noticeably thicker than previous models, which is generally justified by the increased battery.

Except for the missing physical bezel, all other controls are in their usual places. On the right side of the watch there are two large mechanical buttons of rectangular shape. Due to their size, they are very convenient to use even with gloves on. The upper one is responsible for accessing the main screen, the lower one - one level back. They also serve as ECG and bioimpedance electrodes to analyze the body composition of the wearer. Between the buttons is a microphone for voice commands or calls.

On the opposite side is only a speaker for calls and voice advice during training.

At the top of the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 is an opening for the atmospheric pressure sensor next to the strap mount.

There is quite a lot on the back of the watch. In the last generation, it was all made of glass and ceramic. Now the main part is plastic, and only the sensor electrodes are glass. And there are a lot of them. Samsung BioActive biosensors, optical heart rate sensor and infrared temperature sensor. There is no direct temperature measurement function in the Galaxy Watch5 line (at least not yet), and the sensor is used in complex body condition tracking. In addition, there is a hole for pressure relief at the back.

The strap has a spring fixation. The width is standard, 20 mm, so you can use options from third-party manufacturers. It will be useful if the bundled one breaks, or you just want to replace it with some more "exotic" one.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro comes with a silicone strap of the appropriate color. It is pleasant to the touch, comfortable and quite elastic. The Pro version also has an unusual magnetic clasp, which is also made of titanium of the same color as the smartwatch itself. This clasp has both positive and negative points. It is very convenient when using Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro directly. But the design does not provide for the complete separation of the strap parts, which is not very convenient when charging from third-party wireless chargers or from a smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 is more similar to Galaxy Watch Active2. They are more compact and have two size options: 40 and 44 mm, so they are more suitable for women's hands. Instead of titanium, the case is made of reinforced aluminum, and the touch display does not have an additional edge for protection, as in the Pro model. The frame around the perimeter of the display is quite wide, but it is quite convenient when using the touch bezel.

All other design features are similar to Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro. Including the buttons and the location of other elements.

The strap used is standard.

In general, the appearance and materials (especially the Pro version) are very nice. Although it still lacks a rotating bezel, which was a kind of feature of Samsung smartwatches. Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 have IP68 protection and can withstand 5 ATM, which allows you to take a shower, swim in the pool and in an open body of fresh water. Both models meet the requirements of the military standard MIL-STD-810H. This is a more modern standard than MIL-STD-810G, which corresponded to the previous line.

What about the screen, hardware and controls?

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 have similar screens in terms of main characteristics: SuperAMOLED 1.4 inches with a resolution of 450x450 and 1.2 with 396x396. At the same time, the pixel density is about 330 ppi in both cases. Perhaps the screens are a little brighter or more energy efficient than in the last generation, but Samsung did not focus on such details. It should be noted that sapphire glass is used instead of Gorilla Glass DX/DX+: it is stronger and probably has a different light transmission coefficient. There is a high-quality oleophobic coating, thanks to which the finger slides well on the surface of the display and helps to easily remove fingerprints from it. In general, the picture on the displays of the new Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 is excellent: with maximum viewing angles, rich colors and sufficient brightness. Information is clearly visible even in sunny weather. There is a manual brightness adjustment with 10 levels and automatic adjustment. The light sensor is traditionally placed under the display. There is an Always on Display function, although it is worth remembering that it significantly affects the battery life. Two buttons are used to navigate and control the watch. The upper one is "home/power", the lower one is "back". Additionally, you can configure actions for long and double pressing the buttons. For example - launching applications. In particular, it is convenient to configure the launch of Google Pay for contactless payment. You can navigate the interface using the touch display or touch bezel. Of course, it is not as convenient as the mechanical one in previous models. You can get used to it, at first the reaction speed seems too fast. For more comfortable use, it is worth enabling the touch response of the bezel to have at least some tactile sensations.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 received almost the same internal components as the previous line. This is a 5-nanometer Exynos W920 processor with a frequency of 1.18 GHz. It includes two ARM Cortex-A55 cores, a Mali-G68 graphics accelerator and an energy-efficient Cortex-M55 coprocessor for Always-on Display. The amount of RAM is 1.5 GB, and the built-in memory is 16 GB. About 2 times less is available for installing applications and downloading music or other content. In general, this is quite enough. On the one hand, it is somewhat strange to see that the hardware component remained almost unchanged. On the other hand, the interface and applications work quickly, so it is not critical. There is dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth is updated from version 5.0 to 5.2. For location and route recording there is GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO and BDS. There is an NFC module and Google Pay support. There are versions of smart watches with eSIM support and LTE networks for offline use. Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 support voice calls and can give advice during workouts using the speaker.

How convenient is the interface and what are the features?

Starting with the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 line, the company's smartwatches switched from its own Tizen OS to Google's Wear OS 3.0. The current Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 run on the new version of Wear OS 3.5 with its own One UI Watch 4.5 shell. Interestingly, it is very close both in design and logic to the same Tizen OS. And this is an advantage, because the interface is very convenient and logical. Compared to the previous generation, an updated version of the OS is used, although in fact there are almost no significant differences. the "home" screen of the interface is the selected watch face. There are quite a lot of them available and you can download additional ones (including paid ones). The watchfaces can be customized as you wish, both colors and displayed information. To the left of the home screen is a list of messages and notifications. You can respond to messages from the watch, there are several options for this: prepared templates, voice input, keyboard, or drawing characters on the screen. To the right - widgets, of which there are a lot: activity, pulse, sleep, blood oxygen level, weather, music player, start training, ECG, etc. Previously, there was a limit of 10 pieces, now you can do more. The curtain with quick settings and switches of wireless interfaces is called as on smartphones: by swiping from the top edge of the screen. The order and the list itself can be customized.

swiping up from the bottom of the display is responsible for calling the menu of installed applications. They are displayed as round icons. The list and order can be customized. In the Manager, you can close all applications or only some of them. Applications can be installed and updated both directly from the watch and from the smartphone. Unfortunately, since the review of Samsung Galaxy Watch4 there are no more applications. Mostly these are applications for running and sports. Among the really useful ones you should install Google Pay, Google Maps, Google Keep, Spotify, YouTube Music, Shazam, Calm, Viber, Samsung browser, Strava, Bring, etc.

The structure of the settings menu is the same as on Samsung smartphones. There are settings for wireless connections, notifications, screen, sounds and vibrations, automatic heart rate measurement, blood oxygen level, workouts, additional gestures and software updates. All this can be configured using a smartphone, which is more convenient on a large screen.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 have a variety of workout apps, including walking, running, swimming, weight training and even sailing or snowboarding with instructions and voice prompts. There is automatic recognition of some exercises. At the same time, the smartwatch measures the number of steps, calories burned, heart rate, blood oxygen level and can record the route thanks to GPS. There is also tracking of time and quality of sleep, and snoring can be separately enabled using a microphone. Based on statistics for a certain time, you can get tips for improving sleep in the application. The accuracy of most measurements is quite high. First of all, it concerns steps, distance (including the treadmill, where the accuracy does not depend on GPS). The error in heart rate measurement does not exceed 3%. The situation with blood oxygen levels is a little more difficult. The normal level is above 95%. And usually with manual measurement, such indicators are obtained. But with automatic measurement during sleep, the range can be from 84% to 98%. At the same time, 92% is already an indicator for hospitalization. This is quite easy to explain: for normal measurement, the watch should be tightly pressed to the hand. It is impossible to control the correct position during sleep.

The function of analyzing the body structure based on bioimpedance has remained from the last generation of Galaxy Watch. The watch can determine the percentage of muscle, fluid and adipose tissue in the body by sending a weak current through the body. Simply put, this is possible due to the known standard percentage of fluid in different tissues and their different resistances. Of course, this is not a medical device and you should not expect perfect accuracy, but the watch displays an approximate picture. To measure, you need to move the watch closer to the elbow and touch the buttons with the middle and ring fingers. In this case, hands should not touch each other.

Previously, to fully use smart watches, you had to use two applications on your smartphone. Now there are three of them. Samsung Wearable is used for the basic settings of Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5. It is common for watches, bracelets, headphones, etc. It completely duplicates all the settings that are in the watch. Including dials, applications, software updates and more.

Everything related to training and health (except for ECG and blood pressure) is collected in the Samsung Health application (previously called S Health). In it you can see all your indicators, set goals for sports and much more.

What about ECG, pressure measurement and other new features?

Among the important innovations are the ability to measure blood pressure and ECG. It is worth noting that Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 are not medical devices, so they cannot be used for any diagnosis. These are only informative functions that can only tell you what to look for. To measure ECG, the electrode in the "Home" button is used. Unfortunately, it was not possible to use the pressure measurement function, because it requires first calibration with a blood pressure monitor, which was not at hand.

New features available only on Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro are Route Workout and Track Back. The first allows you to download your own routes in GPX format from your smartphone. Track Back - displays the route to return to the starting point.

For ECG and blood pressure data, a separate Samsung Health Monitor application is used, which has some explanations and tips on the measurement results.

How long do Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 last on a single battery charge?

A significant advantage of the new Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 is the increased battery. Recall that in the Pro version it is 590 mAh, in Watch5 40 mm - 284 mAh (in the past it was 247 mAh). The increase in battery life is really very significant, especially for Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro. The watch was used "to the maximum": auto-recording of walks, training, constant monitoring of oxygen levels in the blood during sleep, snoring tracking, constant measurement of heart rate and stress, Always on Display, many notifications, player control, one or two jogs for half an hour. In this mode, the watch can withstand 2.5-3 days. The previous generation in a similar mode could withstand 1-1.5 days, so the difference is very significant. The usual Samsung Galaxy Watch5 has a slightly smaller increase, but it is also there: 1.5-2 days. Yes, of course, there are fitness bracelets that can be charged once a week. But it is absolutely incorrect to compare the functionality.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro charges fully in about 1 hour 40 minutes. the 40 mm version of Watch5 is a little over an hour. We can assume that the charging time of the 44-mm Samsung Galaxy Watch5 is somewhere in the middle.

In the dry balance. Three things you need to know about Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5:

• Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro and Watch5 are equipped with bright round AMOLED displays with sapphire crystal glass, touch bezel and buttons for control, have IP68 protection.
• Smart watches run on the latest version of Wear OS 3.5 with One UI Watch 4.5 shell and support Google Pay.
• Autonomy has significantly increased compared to the previous generation: with a maximum load can withstand two days.

Go Deeper:

• Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic: finally with Google Pay!
• Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2: smart and sporty watch now with a touch bezel
• Apple Watch 5: smartwatch for the price of a starship
• Samsung Galaxy Note10: still the same flagship, but smaller
• Xiaomi Mi Band 4: the new benchmark for fitness bracelets