The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is available in 40 mm and 44 mm sizes. This review will focus on the 44 mm model.
The watch is powered by Wear OS 3.5, Google’s latest operating system for smartwatches. Samsung has historically employed various operating systems for its wearables, including early adoption of Wear OS and their own Tizen platform. We at Senses welcome Samsung’s return to Wear OS. Version 3 represents a significant improvement in the platform’s capabilities, and a consolidated ecosystem benefits users and developers alike.
Wear OS offers robust support from software developers, ensuring that most commonly used applications, such as Spotify, MyFitnesspal, and Strava, are readily available for installation.
The Screen
The Galaxy Watch 5 features a 1.4″ (34.6mm) Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 450×450 and a peak brightness of 1000 nits. We found the screen to be exceptionally clear and vibrant, with excellent visibility even in direct sunlight. The display is protected by sapphire glass, providing enhanced scratch resistance.
Users can choose from a wide variety of watch faces, ranging from minimalist designs that primarily display the time, as shown above, to more complex and information-rich options, such as the example below.
The touchscreen is highly responsive, facilitating smooth navigation through menus and notifications. The screen’s size is sufficient for composing replies to SMS messages and other text-based communications directly on the device.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is equipped with an Exynos W920 dual-core processor clocked at 1.18 GHz, complemented by 1.5 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. Approximately 50% of the storage is available for user content, including apps, music, and audiobooks.
The watch exhibits responsive performance. Apps install quickly, training programs initiate without delay, and notifications are promptly displayed. Throughout our testing period, the device consistently performed smoothly, with no noticeable lag or slowdowns.
Health
A key consideration for many users is the array of integrated sensors and their accuracy. Samsung has incorporated a comprehensive suite of sensors into the Galaxy Watch 5, including:
Accelerometer, barometer, bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor, electrical heart sensor, gyroscope sensor, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor, and optical heart rate sensor.
These sensors enable a wide range of health and fitness tracking features. The watch can measure steps, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and blood pressure (though the latter requires regular calibration against a validated blood pressure monitor). It also provides data on body composition, including body fat percentage and skeletal muscle mass, and performs ECG readings.
It should be noted that blood pressure monitoring and ECG functionality are limited to use with Samsung smartphones. This restriction of features for users with non-Samsung devices is a notable drawback.
When worn during sleep, the watch tracks sleep stages, heart rate, and blood oxygen levels. We compared these measurements against those obtained from Fitbit and Huawei devices worn simultaneously on the other arm, and the results were reasonably consistent. Despite its size, the watch is comfortable to wear while sleeping, owing to its light weight (33 grams) and the soft, pliable strap.
Samsung’s dedicated application for tracking fitness, sleep, and other health metrics is Samsung Health. The application presents data in a clear and accessible manner, providing an overview of completed workouts and automatically registering various activities without requiring manual initiation on the watch.
Battery
Battery life is arguably the Galaxy Watch 5’s weakest point. With always-on display (AOD) enabled, continuous heart rate monitoring active, and a short workout utilizing GPS, the watch lasts just over a day on a single charge. Extended runs with GPS tracking and Bluetooth audio streaming to Spotify will further reduce battery life, potentially requiring charging before the end of the day.
Disabling AOD and minimizing GPS usage can extend battery life to approximately two days under optimal conditions.
Charging is accomplished via a small magnetic charging puck, which securely attaches to the watch. However, a full charge cycle takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. The watch supports QI wireless charging, allowing compatibility with most QI-enabled chargers. Note that compatibility may vary; some chargers in our office failed to charge the watch, while others worked without issue.
A useful feature is the notification sent to your phone upon completion of the charging cycle.
Conclusion
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 offers a compelling smartwatch experience. Its stylish design is highly customizable through a wide selection of watch faces and interchangeable straps, allowing users to tailor the watch to their individual preferences. The extensive app ecosystem and comprehensive Samsung Health platform, which is available without a recurring subscription fee (unlike some competitors like Fitbit), further enhance its appeal.
However, certain shortcomings prevent us from awarding it a perfect score:
- Battery life is a significant limitation. A smartwatch intended for continuous wear should ideally last more than a day or two on a single charge, especially considering the relatively long 1.5-hour charging time. The need for frequent charging can discourage overnight wear, thus negating sleep tracking functionality.
- Feature limitations for users with non-Samsung smartphones are disappointing. We also encountered compatibility issues with some phones from Chinese manufacturers, such as the Vivo X80 Pro, although other Android devices connected without problems.
- Complete lack of compatibility with iPhones.
- The blood pressure monitoring feature feels somewhat gimmicky, requiring monthly calibration with an external blood pressure monitor.
