Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 PRO a Watch 5 Review – Better battery life, and what's next?

Tags: Review | Samsung | Smart

29.9.2022 | 7 MIN | 1x comment

Not so long ago, two new Samsung watches were released with the names Galaxy Watch 5 PRO and Galaxy Watch 5. And as probably every other brand, even Samsung wanted to take things outdoors and made the PRO model for exactly this group of people. How did Samsung do?

In the past, the name Samsung Galaxy Watch was a synonym of a pureblood city watch with amazingly loaded smart equipment and amazingly short battery life. The watches could last around one or two days without a charger. However, with this model, the producer tried to change it this time.

What's new:

• longer battery life
• sapphire glass
• adjusted case to fit your hand better
• navigation by track (only the PRO version)
• TrackBack option (only the PRO version)

Should you switch your 4 for 5 or 5 PRO?

The switch to five's is definitely not worth it. Besides a slightly better "bent" case back, I see no reason to do this switch. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 PRO is a whole another story and a whole different watch. Many people won't like the disappearance of a rotating crown, but it is what it is.

One same ol' design

The design of the "basic" 5 version is the same. The case comes in two sizes, 40 mm / 1.57" and 44 mm / 1.73", and it still looks like a Hi-Fi aluminium chip you get at a public swimming pool. Although, this minimalistic design is great for businespersons who need a simple watch in their wardrobe.

The only thing that's different is the small dot next to the heart-rate sensor on the case back which takes your temperature at night. Oh, and the sensor is now slightly above the case. Well, a bit more slightly, so I'm afraid it will make those not-so-pretty "tattoos", those imprints on your skin.

Let's go to yet another factor which has influence on many features of the watch. The strap and its tightness. The only watch which somewhat fits my hand is the smallest one, and it's quite a bad thing. If I choose a bigger one, there is a place between the watch and the strap, which affects heart rate detection, and it does not look nice. On top, the case's shape makes it so that no "original" strap would fit and would look quite bad.

But let's look at the more interesting model, that is the 5 PRO. I like this new watch concept very much. The minimalistic bezel sticking above the case caught my eye, and I don't even miss the rotating bezel anymore.

The titanium case might be smooth, but it leaves the impression of a robust watch and pure beauty. The diameter of the case is 45 mm / 1.77" (it won't fit everyone) and the height is 14.6 mm / 0.57", which is quite a lot. Especially since Samsung states 11 mm / 0.43"... I'm not sure who did the measuring, but it's safe to say that they did not measure twice and cut once.

The PRO version's strap also has a whole new system of fastening. The strap now works as a folding one with a magnetic clasp, which works very well. The only problem I had was with adjusting the strap because so far, I couldn't figure out how to set it up so that the strap is not choking my hand while also not being too loose to create free space.

Other than that, the design is well done, and the watch wears nicely despite its thickness. And its weight of 46 g doesn't bother you even at night.

I put together a chart to make it easier to navigate:

Sapphire instead of a gorilla

The loyal Gorilla has been swapped for a sapphire in all models, which I take positively for protection of the display. The bezel of the basic models does not stick out of the case, therefore there is a danger of scratching the glass. But with sapphire, you basically don't need to worry about that.

To make it more clear, I've got another table for you:

The larger the model, the larger the display, which makes sense. Keep in mind that the highest DPI is the smallest display as it has the same amount of pixels as its model-brothers.

Same sensors, same senses

All models have the exact same sensors, at least we don't have to go through them one by one. Theoretically, this category hasn't changed from the previous model. We've got the accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, heart rate sensor, pulse oximeter, ECG, compass, thermometre. And of course, GPS. Speaking of GPS, Samsung is probably the only company that does not allow multi-frequency GPS.

The thermometer is not only another sensor going off when you sleep, it measures your temperature and helps your watch to evaluate your sleep better. Unfortunately, I didn't notice whether it improved anything or even whether it was even helping evaluate...

PROfessional sportsman

Samsung tried to make an outdoor watch. The body (case) of the PRO version is almost comparable to a Garmin watch. But it's lacking the sporty soul. I was expecting something distinguishable, some different way of having a sport activity on with the PRO version. Like the starting of exercise not feeling like the starting of exercise using a certain half-eaten round fruit brand.

The only difference is that the PRO version offers track navigation, which you can only switch on when cycling or walking for now, which is honestly not a lot. Another thing is that uploading the GPX file is not yet without bugs, and I for example didn't manage to upload any of my files from the Czech map website Mapy.cz.

At last, I managed to upload one file from a different site and started the navigation. Everything worked just as it should. If your watch is connected to your phone (and you have data to use), it is also able to navigate using Google maps, where it downloads needed route.

Other than that, both models offer the same sport activities, and Samsung really thought about every exercise you might wish to at least try. None of the important outdoor and indoor activities are missing.

Goodbye, rotating bezel!

You might have noticed from the pictures, Samsung said goodbye (for now) to its rotating bezel surrounding the display. Meaning the watch can be used both using the touch display and the two buttons. But using the watch is the same – bar on the top hides the control centre, scrolling down gets you to the menu, swiping left and right shows you the widgets that you can choose yourself.

To make using the watch faster, you can also use the invisible digital bezel around the display.

Controlling the watch is very intuitive, so I think that there will be no problem with that. And if it happens that there is a problem, there is the basics "educational" programme to teach you right after pairing your watch with your phone.

Smart features as the core of the models

Samsung again shows how smart its things are. Whether it is support of Google Play apps or an LTE version with the option of having an e-SIM. Of course, also calling using Bluetooth connection, message replies (pre-set or your own reply) or paying by card.

I was a bit disappointed by the watch still not supporting voice control in Czech, as Bixby is probably still studying it. Despite that, it feels good to knock on Bixby (you can set this gesture), open it, and set a timer or something.

Advanced fitness features

The watch shows your daily actively burned calories, steps, active time, and naturally your heart rate. But it doesn't measure it every second, only every minute. When it comes to the fitness features widget, you can see a summary of all the activities and scroll down to see a graph about your most active time of the day.

Page for manual heart rate measuring.

What hasn't changed is that if you actually can measure more advanced things, like body composition, ECG, or manometer, provided your watch is connected to a Samsung Galaxy phone.

Page to record your ECG.

The watch also measures your stress levels and SpO2, without the condition of having a Samsung watch.

Model of mixed feelings and almost no changes

The model was as usual promising, but in reality, it kept about half of those promises. The real battery life is again around two days, and, honestly, if you already have the fourth generation, the new generation is not worth it.

Page showing you the graph of your activity throughout the day.

The classic version is basically the same, and the PRO one is a design masterpiece, but that's about it. I don't want to lie to you, it's just the facts. The watch looks amazing, but function-wise and battery-wise, not so much.

Calories burned and distance

Yes, the watch will find some who buys it since it is a smart watch for the city, and there are many people who don't mind having to charge their watches a lot more.

What about you? What do you think about the 5 and PRO?