Samsung Galaxy Watch5 review – short distance watch

During the summer holidays, Samsung presented a number of premiere devices, including two smartwatches: Samsung Galaxy Watch5 and Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro. I got the first of these models, which can be called a modernized version of last year’s Watch4.

Overall, the appearance, processor and memory remained the same, while the battery capacity and charging speed increased. Samsung presented two variants of the Watch5 with BT or LTE options. The smaller version, with a 40 mm dial, was created with women in mind, while the larger one – 44 mm – for men. There is also the Pro version, which is 45 mm and is definitely heavier due to the titanium casing.

Specification, price and competition

• Screen : 1.2 inch, AMOLED, 60 Hz, 396 x 396 pixels, sapphire glass
• Processor : Exynos W920
• System : Wear OS 3.5 and OneUI 4.5
• Memory : 1.5 GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory
• Connectivity : Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi 2.4 GHz + 5 GHz, NFC, GPS
• Health : ECG, blood pressure, body composition analysis, SpO2, stress, pulse, sleep analysis, temperature sensor (so far without application and practical use)
• Durability : 5ATM, IP68, MIL-STD-810H
• Others : aluminum housing, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, light sensor, microphone and speaker
• Dimensions : 40.4 x 39.3 x 9.8 mm
• Weight : 28.7 g
• Battery : 284 mAh, wireless charging

The cheapest version of the Watch5, with a 40 mm dial, in the BT version, got to the editorial office – it was priced at USD $290. The version supporting LTE costs USD $330. The larger size of the watch – 44 mm – in the version without LTE it costs USD $310, while with LTE it will be USD $360.

How does the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 compare to the competition? If you have a Galaxy Watch4, switching to a new model will not be the best idea – the new version of the watch does not bring anything revolutionary here. But if you own any of the older Samsung models or want it to be your first smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch5 is definitely worth your attention. However, if you do not care about Wear OS and the Samsung ecosystem, a better solution may be Huawei smartphones, whose “women’s” versions even offer weekly working times (e.g. Huawei Watch GT 3 ), or Fitbit Sense , and if you care about sports functions then you can look at watches from Garmin ( Venu , Venu 2 or Venu 2S ).

Read Also: Wear OS 3 is Google’s first useful watch system – the changes are huge

What’s in the set?

The smartwatch is packed in an oblong box, the contents of which are quite modest. In addition to the watch, there is a handful of papers and a wireless charger with a USB-C cable.

Construction and operation

A noticeable trend in the visual aspect of smart watches is the pursuit of simplicity – the design is simple and elegant, dominated by a round screen, around which the metal case is less pronounced.

Samsung has already given up the rotating ring around the screen and I am not happy about this decision – unfortunately, we will not see it in the Galaxy Watch5 either. There is a substitute, i.e. a tactile version of this solution, but let’s face it – it’s not the same. The physical bezel allowed, in my opinion, more precise navigation on the smartphone – the touch is only to silence the dissatisfied. Therefore, it is more preferable to simply use a touch screen and physical buttons.

The screen is a strong point of the smartwatch – thanks to AMOLED technology it provides beautiful, saturated colors and deep blacks. The display protects the sapphire glass, which should be much more durable than the Gorilla Glass used in the Watch4. After two weeks of wearing the Watch5, no damage or scratches appeared, so it can be assumed that the manufacturer does not deviate from the truth here.

The displayed image is visible even in direct sunlight, and thanks to the automatic brightness, the user does not have to struggle with manual adjustment of this parameter. There was also AoD (always-on display) mode, which displays the clock face with reduced screen brightness – but here you can really not see much in direct sunlight. This feature is useful when you want to have a constant view for an hour, but it quickly drains the battery.

From the bottom you can see a round module with centrally placed sensors.

On the right side of the casing, two long, flat buttons for operating the watch have been added – but the convenience of left-handed people is also considered here. Well, it is possible to rotate the screen here, so when you wear the watch on your right wrist, you can have as easy access to the buttons as in the “right-handed” version.

The housing connects aluminum with plastic, while the strap is made of flexible, pleasant to the touch material. In the version sent to the editorial office, the housing is silver and the strap is purple. There are also other versions: graphite and rose gold. It must be added that the smartwatch is dust- and waterproof (IP68), and also meets the military requirements of MIL-STD-810H.

It is worth paying attention to the strap closure system – at first glance it may be surprising as it is inverted compared to most watches. There are no belt loops, and the excess belt, after fastening, is tucked inside, under the belt. In practice, it is a really practical solution that prevents accidental opening of the watch and ensures that no part of the strap will get caught on the clothing. I will add one more thing here – the simple mechanism of the telescopes allows you to easily replace the strap.

The operation itself is simple – a movement of your finger from the top to the bottom of the screen shows a panel with quick shortcuts to settings and functions. Movement in the opposite direction expands icons with applications installed on the watch. A swipe from left to right of the screen expands the notification screen, and the opposite movement takes you through a series of widgets that the user can select and arrange in the order of preference. In addition to touch operation, there are two more buttons: the upper one allows you to return to the main screen, the lower one is the back button. But they are editable so other functions can be assigned to them.

Software and applications

Already in last year’s watches, Samsung switched from its own Tizen system to Wear OS. This gives users a much wider field of activity – especially in terms of installable applications and games, as well as mobile payments. Everything works quickly and smoothly.

All activities related to the configuration of the watch or updating its software are carried out in the Samsung Wearable application, which is also used to manage other manufacturer’s devices in this category. The application allows for a fairly extensive personalization of the watch – there is a whole lot of dials to choose from, the ability to configure detailed settings, notifications and content on individual screens.

Selected functions

The smartwatch offers all the applications that you would expect in a modern smart watch. Firstly, there are a number of health applications that allow you to record various body parameters (heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, body composition, etc.), secondly, applications for analyzing user activity (steps, calories burned, sports modes, etc.), and third all the rest of utility applications (calendar, calculator, weather, compass, etc.), music player, and support for voice calls and smartphone notifications. And after all, we have access to the application store here – what is not available can be installed.

Health monitoring applications

Samsung has prepared a number of applications that monitor the parameters of the body and activity. They will count steps, record heart rate, ECG, stress, and also measure body composition (ie BMI, body fat and muscle measurement) and blood oxygen saturation. There was also a stress measurement and sleep monitoring with a great snoring recording option. Most of this data is collected by the Samsung Health application, while the blood pressure and ECG data are collected by a separate application – Health Monitor.

It is worth noting, however, that these are user-initiated measurements – they do not work in the background, they do not control heart parameters on a regular basis, so they will not alert you to an irregular heart rhythm (such a function is available, among others, to Apple or Fitbit watches). It should also be noted that the Health Monitor application is only available on Samsung smartphones.

Sports functions

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 offers training recording for a number of sports (90 sports modes) and some of them are automatically recognized and monitored. The results of measurements and analyzes can be viewed through the Samsung Health application.

After completing the training, the smartwatch provides a number of data on the distance traveled, pace, calories burned, number of steps, recorded heart rate and others, moreover, thanks to the built-in GPS, the route is also remembered.

For amateurs, such data will be completely sufficient, but in sports watches (e.g. from Polar or Garmin) an entire training plan can be created, which combines physical activity with health parameters, taking into account, for example, the quality of sleep or exercise intensity. You will not find it in the Samsung Galaxy Watch5.

Notifications and interactions

Many watches allow you to receive notifications from the phone, but do not allow you to react to them (and if so, only through a few pre-set responses). Samsung is an exception here – we have a full QWERTY keyboard with which we can reply to messages. I cannot write that using it on a small screen is a comfortable experience, but I am sure that many people will gladly take advantage of it.

Voice calls

The built-in loudspeaker and microphone allow you to make and receive voice calls – of course with an intermediary element in the form of a smartphone. It will be even easier in the LTE version. Then the smartphone uses the 4G cellular network for more autonomous operation, without the need to use the smartphone to make or receive calls, messages and application data.

The quality of the calls itself is correct – the interlocutor heard me well and clearly when I held the watch quite close to my mouth. The volume, on the other hand, is average – in noisy environments, even at maximum volume, I had to put the watch quite close to my ear, but when it’s quiet around, I didn’t have this problem. Nevertheless, it is not a very natural way of talking, but it can be useful in some situations.

Playing music

The smartwatch has 16 GB of internal memory, to which you can download some music to listen to during training – either through the built-in speaker, although I do not recommend this solution, or through paired headphones.

Working time and charging

The battery lasts for about one and a half days of work. Unfortunately, in relation to the Watch4 model, despite a slightly larger battery, there is no improvement in the Watch5. Of course, with frequent training using GPS and frequent measurements of body parameters, you need to prepare for daily charging.

With a full battery in the morning, with constant monitoring of the heart rate, stress, etc., receiving a dozen or so notifications, about 0.5-1 hour of activity recorded with the use of GPS and then monitoring sleep, the next morning I usually had about 30% of the battery. Around noon, I had to connect my watch to charging. Perhaps, by using the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 more economically, by turning off the energy-consuming elements, the working time would be closer to 2 days – but then what’s the point of buying such a well-equipped device?

The manufacturer has included a charging station with a USB-C cable in the set, but the charger itself is not included. Therefore, if you do not have a USB-C charger, the best option is to charge via a smartphone (supporting reverse charging) or by connecting to a laptop. A great option is also wireless charging (Qi technology) – here you can use, for example, a smartphone that supports wireless reverse charging.

Charging the watch with the included charger takes just over an hour. After 30 minutes, the battery power is 63%, after an hour, 96%, and after another 10 minutes, it is 100%.

About Post Author

Sankesh Verma

Sankkesh Verma is a technical guy who brings a unique combination of strategic, creative, and technical expertise to identify elements that constitute success, propose solutions, and help build them. He is the founder of “Webbpearl” which is a highly-acclaimed web development agency that offers web design and development, mobile app development, and digital marketing. More importantly, he is the admin of Techtiper.

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