Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 44 mm Review, Specs, Features & Price: One of our Instagram users drew our attention to this deal, thanks for that! At MediaMarkt & Saturn you can currently get up to €75 direct deduction in the shopping cart and so the very good Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 for €159 at MediaMarkt. All offers can be found in the price overview.
Galaxy Watch 5 highlights:
- WearOS with Play Store
- Extensive fitness tracking
- Google Assistant
The currently most popular Google Wear Smartwatch is getting a successor generation. This time Samsung is releasing a Galaxy Watch 5 & a Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Particularly important: The battery has been enlarged!
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 44 Mm Review, Specs, Features & Price
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 44 Mm Shop Links:
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
- 40mm
- at Mediamarkt for €169 – discount in shopping cart | Amazon for €239.99 | Gomibo for €180.95
- at Mediamarkt for €229 (LTE) | Saturn for €229 (LTE) | Galaxus for €224.01
- 44mm
- at Mediamarkt for €159 – €75 discount in the shopping cart | Amazon for €232.90 | Gomibo for €203.95
- at Galaxus for €251.39 (LTE) | Mediamarkt for €230 (LTE) – discount in the shopping cart | Saturn for €230 (LTE) – discount in the shopping cart
- 40mm
- Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
- 45mm
- at Mediamarkt for €354 | Amazon for €326.90 | Gomibo for €302.95
- at Amazon for €389.99 (LTE) | Media Markt for €430
- 45mm
- You can find more prices on idealo.de from €164.89 (as of April 13, 2023)
- Specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 / Watch 5 Pro
| Galaxy Watch 5 40mm / 44mm | Galaxy Watch 5 Pro 45mm | |
| screen | 1.19 / 1.3 inch SuperAMOLED, 396 x 396 pixels / 450 x 450 pixels, 330 PPI / 321 ppi, sapphire glass | 1.36 inch SuperAMOLED, 450 x 450 pixels, 321 PPI, sapphire glass |
| processor | Exynos W920 Dual Core @ 1.18GHz | Exynos W920 Dual Core @ 1.18GHz |
| memory | R.A.M. | 16GB | RAM: 1.5GB | 16GB | RAM: 1.5GB |
| battery pack | 284 mAh / 410 mAh (up to 50 hours runtime) | 590 mAh (up to 80 hours runtime) |
| connectivity | Bluetooth 5, 2.4 / 5 GHz WiFi, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo, LTE (LTE version only) | Bluetooth 5, 2.4 / 5 GHz WiFi, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo, LTE (LTE version only) |
| operating system | Google Wear OS 3 + One UI Watch 4.5 | Google Wear OS 3 + One UI Watch 4.5 |
| apartment | Android: Galaxy Wearable | iOS: not supported | Android: Galaxy Wearable | iOS: not supported |
| water resistance | 5ATM + IP68, MIL- STD -810G (surface swimming) | 5ATM + IP68, MIL-STD-810G (surface swimming) |
| material | Aluminum | titanium |
| Colors / Editions | 40mm: Graphite, Pink Gold, Silver 44mm: Graphite, Sapphire, Silver numerous strap colors | 45mm: Black Titanium , Gray Titanium numerous strap colors |
| Dimensions | 40mm: follows 44mm: follows | 45mm: 11.5mm thick |
| Weight | 40mm: 28.7g without strap 44mm: 33.5g without strap | 45mm: 46.5g |
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 vs Watch 5 Pro: What are the differences?
If you released a normal Watch 4 and a Classic Edition in the previous generation, you now opt for the more typical naming. The Galaxy Watch 5 comes with a case diameter of 40 or 44 mm, while the Pro is only available in 45 mm.
However, the differences between the watches are not too big, although this time there are also some changes in terms of hardware. Because the Watch 5 Pro gets a titanium case and a 590 mAh larger battery than the normal model.
A physically rotating bezel Neither the Watch 5 nor the Pro hasFunctionally, the Watch 5 Pro also offers GPS track-back navigation, with which you can get step-by-step route information on the watch, load your own GPX routes onto the watch and also be guided back to the starting point.
Sapphire glass against scratches
You can quickly see that the Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro look more like the Watch 5 than the Classic Edition. The colorways are limited to silver, graphite and pink gold in the 40mm version, the 44mm version swaps pink gold for sapphire blue. This is ours test device, which I like very much optically.
The Watch 5 Pro, on the other hand, is available in black and grey, and we also liked the latter in the test. What’s particularly cool is that you can choose the color and style of the strap via the Samsung website. Smart by Samsung so you have an incentive not to buy from a third party.
The Galaxy Watch 5 is easy to carry and, with a total weight of 33.5 g, is quickly forgotten. The Watch 5 Pro measures a whopping 10.5mm thick and is relatively bulky. Both watches also differ in the bracelet clasp. The Watch 5 Pro relies on a magnetic closure, which is very tiring to set up for the first time and got on my nerves.
A little too complicated, although well intentioned. The Watch 5 relies on a classic pin buckle that works reliably. The M/L bracelet is actually almost too big for me, it just sits tight enough for a suitable measurement. With very slim wrists you should therefore take an S bracelet.
Not only inside, but also on the top something has changed. Instead of Gorilla glass, sapphire glass is now used , which is said to be 1.6 times more resistant to scratches. But the clocks are again ATM 5 water-resistant and can be worn for sports and swimming. I used both watches daily for showering in the respective test center. Here you can also activate a water mode that blows the excess water out of the speaker after showering.
Operating the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 44 mm is mostly operated via the touchscreen display. Regardless of whether it has a diameter of 40 or 44 mm, thanks to the careful resolution, both come up to 330 ppi. Our test device has a 1.3″ Super AMOLED panel with 450 x 450 pixels.
Samsung can do displays and that’s proven here too. I didn’t even have to adjust the brightness, the watch is always bright enough with automatic brightness and can also output an always-on display thanks to the AMOLED panel. There is also a large number of watchfaces, including ones with animated backgrounds. The Watch 5 Pro is no different.
Galaxy Watch 4 Classic fans will miss the bezel, which isn’t even found on the Pro version. Why? We want such a mechanic! Instead, you can take advantage of the digital bezel, which isn’t half as fun and reliable. Both models come with two function buttons and no crown. After testing Amazfit, Huawei and Apple smartwatches, the assignment of the buttons confuses me a lot!
Because if you are on the start screen of the watch, i.e. the watch face, none of the buttons have a function in the factory state. So often I just clicked into the void because I expected to be able to use the menu or a freely assignable app, for example. You can also use the “Back” button for the app overview, but then you give up the back function. The top button can only be assigned to double press or press and hold, but not to a single click. confusing.
Why the old processor?
Surprisingly, Samsung doesn’t change anything about the processor. Qualcomm finally introduces the 4nm process-based quad-core Snapdragon Wear 5100+ that’s already in the OPPO Watch 3 Pro, and what’s Samsung doing? You stay with the same processor, the in-house Exynos W920 with 2 cores.
This means that there is again an LTE variant that offers eSIM support. Not a step forward means the Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro are as “fast” as their predecessors. Fast enough, but there are stutters here and there. After all, I would have expected a new processor for the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Both variants come with 1.5 GB of RAM and 16 GB of mass storage.
Google Wear OS 3 is coming again is used, along with the new One UI 4.5 interface. This time the Google Assistant, which was delivered with the Galaxy Watch 4, is also at the start. The Play Store is also available with numerous WearOS apps. The watch is linked via the Wear app from Samsung, in which you can also access the watch settings. This way you can easily adjust watch faces and tiles on your smartphone.
Samsung’s OneUI is likely to be one of the better interfaces for smartwatches , even if it tends to be overloaded here, as with smartphones. Samsung Health, where you get a good overview of your fitness and workouts, can be positively highlighted. Amazfit needs three apps for this. Thanks to the open OS, you can also reply to messages – practical. For example, there is no dedicated workout app for that? If I want to start a run, I have to use a widget on the digital bezel or my watch face – funny.
Health Functions
Sensors on the underside of the watch should not be missing to measure heart rate, oxygen saturation and Co. to eat. An ECG and blood pressure function is also included again. Likewise the possibility of having the body fat percentage or the weight of the skeleton analyzed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA).
Nothing brand new for now, but they claim to have improved the accuracy of these sensors. We have not yet been able to find out more detailed information about the Samsung smartphone exclusivity of some functions, but we assume that the ECG and blood pressure functions are exclusive again.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 in the GPS test
Due to a current hip problem, I can only go jogging to a limited extent. However, I was able to complete two running units over about 5 km, which the Watch 5 disappointed me a bit. In direct comparison to Apple Watch SE, Samsung’s watch misses over 500 m, which of course has an impact on the pace, which adds over 30 seconds per km. At least the GPS seems to be a bit imprecise here, the heart rate measurement is on average and almost identical at the maximum heart rate.
I also had a slight deviation with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 44 mm Pro, but by 180m, which means that the pace differs only slightly. But I also expect that the GPS is even more accurate, after all, track-back navigation is now also offered, which we haven’t been able to test so far.
Finally a bigger battery!
Even though the same processor (Exynos W920) is in the watch, there is one particular innovation that critics of the Watch 4 have consistently pointed out. Because the Galaxy Watch 5 should run for up to 50 hours and the Watch 5 Pro even 80 hours Galaxy Watch 5 should offer.
The battery in the new smartwatch is increased from 247 mAh (40 mm) / 361 mAh (44 mm) to 284 mAh (40 mm) / 410 mAh (44 mm). The Watch 5 Pro even has 590 mAh. The Watch 5 Pro has an excellent battery life of three to four days, which more than doubles the life of its predecessor.
It should therefore offer the best runtime on the market for this type of smartwatch together with the Apple Watch Ultra. But the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 44 mm can now easily last two days, which I’m satisfied with. When I really only wore the watch as a watch, almost three days were even possible.
There is one more 10W quick charge function, in which a 45% battery level should be reached within 30 minutes. Charging is fast enough too. Fortunately, unlike the Watch 5 Pro, the Watch 5 can also be charged wirelessly on the back of an S22 Ultra. With the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 44 mm Pro, the case and bracelet fail.
Buy Samsung Galaxy Watch 5?
The changes compared to the predecessor are not that big with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, but criticisms are addressed. It improves the battery life , upgrades it with sapphire crystal and promises an improvement in the fitness sensors. Then of course there’s the Watch 5 Pro exclusive GPS track-back navigation feature, which can be quite useful. And not to forget the very good battery life. I also think it’s good that the portfolio is at least tidied up a bit.
But the entry price increases. The Watch 5 in 40 mm costs €299 (€349 LTE), the Watch 5 44 mm €329 (€379) and the Watch 5 Pro €469 (€519). For the money you have to care a lot about battery life, build quality and track-back navigation. I’m currently leaning more towards the Watch 5, because I simply like it better as a watch and it already offers a very solid runtime. But since there is no progress in the CPU, the Watch 4, which is much cheaper, can also do it. In a few months, the Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro should have dropped in price enough to get really interesting. Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 44 Mm Review, Specs, Features & Price video below:
