Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 lands with temperature tracking
Samsung has officially unveiled the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Watch 5 Pro as it kicks the Classic version of its smartwatch to the curb for one that’s made for outdoor lovers.
The new Galaxy Watch duo offers a more unified looks with the Watch 5 coming in the same 40mm and 44mm case size options as the Galaxy Watch 4.
And we’ve been treated to an early look a the Galaxy Watch 5. Read our Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 hands-on review for our first impressions.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 in depth
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Both Galaxy Watch 5s come in Bluetooth or LTE versions, and Samsung is also launching a Watch 5 Golf Edition, though details are scarce on that model.
As with the Galaxy Watch 4, the GW5 only works with Android smartphones. That’s despite the Montblanc Summit 3 being confirmed to support iOS on Wear OS 3.0.
In terms of display, the GW5 features a 1.4-inch, 450 x 450 AMOLED display on the 44mm Watch 5, and a smaller 1.2-inch, 396 x 396 resolution on on the 40mm Watch 5.
In typical Samsung fashion, there’s plenty of band options available including silicone, leather and metallic mesh looks, while both watches will now offer sapphire crystal lenses to provide 60% stronger protection against scratches than the Watch 4. Samsung boasts a whopping 1,032 possible style combinations.
Much of the same
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 40mm and 44mm
Features across the watches are largely the same and Samsung retains much of what featured on the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic. You do get some extras on the Watch 5 Pro that you won’t find on the standard 5.
It runs on Google’s Wear OS 3.5, which Samsung helped to rebuild for the launch of the GW4 last year.
It features Samsung’s own UI layered on top. So you still get Google apps and the presence of features like Tiles and Google Assistant, but with a distinctly Samsung style.
The Galaxy Watch 5 still includes Samsung’s BioActive sensor, which measures heart rate, blood pressure and can perform body composition analysis thanks to the trio of PPG, ECG and BIA sensors. Samsung says that body composition analysis will now come with tips to help stick to target goals. It also says it’s increased the surface area of that sensor to improve accuracy on all fronts.
Galaxy Watch 5 collection and options
But it’s now introduced an infrared temperature sensor into the mix, which the company claims will offer more accurate readings, even if the temperature of your surroundings change.
Sleep tracking has also been bolstered, with an improved sleep mode interface, sleep habits analysis and the watches will also assign you a sleep animal. These are similar to the sleep features that were recently added to the Galaxy Watch 4. You’ll also be able to follow month-long programs to help improve that sleep time.
Sleep tracking modes
On the exercise tracking front, Samsung is adding new interval workout support for activities like running and it’s also going to provide real-time recovery insights for cardio-based workouts 2-3 minutes after the workout and recommend ideal fluid intake based on sweat loss data.
Samsung is adding new static and enhanced watch faces with bigger complication support and it’s also offering rich SmartThings integration to automatically take control of smart home kit like connected lights when it’s time to go to bed.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
The Watch 5 Pro replaces the Watch 4 Classic, in a solitary 45mm case size, and sees Samsung ditch the physical rotating bezel that featured on the Classic and previous Galaxy Watch models.
The Watch 5 Pro offers an enhanced version of that sapphire crystal to increases its durability over the Watch 5.
It features a titanium case that comes in black or grey and also includes a protruding bezel to add further protection to the AMOLED display. Samsung is also introducing what it’s calling a D-Buckle sport band to make the Pro better suited to more rugged outdoor tracking use.
The Watch 5 Pro is being offered up in an aluminium case option only and is bundled with a sport band with graphite, sapphire, silver and pink case color options.
The Watch 5 Pro matches the 44mm Watch 5 offering the same 1.4-inch, 450 x 450 resolution screen.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro outdoors features
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro outdoor modes
The big feature difference between the Watch 5 and the Watch 5 Pro is the Pro’s added outdoor tracking abilities. It’s equipped to let you upload routes to the Samsung Health app, which you can sync over to the watch to enjoy turn-by turn navigation with vibrations and audio alerts to keep you on the right path.
It supports the popular GPX route file format and also offers a track back feature to quickly get you back home or your starting point.
It seems those added outdoor features have an influence on the level of battery life you can expect from the Watch 5 and the Watch 5 Pro.
Samsung says the Watch 5 has a 13% bigger battery than the Watch 4 and adds a quick charge feature that will give you 8 hours of battery from just 8 minutes on a charger. Though it seems likely it’ll max out to around the same two days we experienced with the Watch 4.
Read this: Apple Watch Pro latest rumors and speculation
The Watch 5 Pro features a 590mAh capacity battery, which is 60% larger than the one featured on previous Samsung smartwatches. It should offer 80 hours of battery in total and 20 hours of GPS battery life.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 pricing and availability
In terms of pricing, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro pricing starts at $450/£429 for the Bluetooth only model or $500/£479 for the LTE version.
The standard Galaxy Watch 5 pricing starts at $280/£269 for the 40mm version with Bluetooth only, which jumps up to $329/£319 when you add in LTE.
The 44mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 costs $300/£289 or $369/£339 if you add LTE into the mix.
All Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 models are available to pre-order now and will go on sale on 26 August. We’ll be getting our hands on one of those watches very soon to see if this is a Samsung smartwatch to get excited about.
