Life happens, and it will be a while before we have a full evaluation of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5. But so far, I’m satisfied with what I’ve brought. I’ve been testing the Galaxy Watch 5 to find out what Samsung has and hasn’t improved. I agree with some reviewers that it’s still the best and only Android smartwatch worth buying.
I’m also evaluating whether this particular smartwatch is worth the upgrade over its identical-looking predecessor. I’ve been wearing the Galaxy Watch 4 since it launched last year. Despite some of the issues I’ve had with the LTE-enabled model, it’s a great smartwatch and I’m in no rush to replace it with something else. Anyway, the one new feature I desperately want access to that’s available on the Galaxy Watch 5 hasn’t even been activated.
Until I can give you a full review of life with the Galaxy Watch 5, here are some things I like and some things I don’t currently like.
What I like: Not much has changed with the look
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
I liked the look of the Galaxy Watch 4. I thought it was simple, modern and accessible to most people. The chassis isn’t too bulky and the display is vibrant and easy to navigate day or night. The Galaxy Watch 5 is essentially the same style and dimensions, except for its slightly more reinforced sapphire crystal display. Another thing to note is that the Watch 5 has an all-screen digital bezel instead of a physical one. But I hardly notice it between the two.
The watches come in 40mm and 44mm flavors, so there’s something for small and large wrists. However, the color offerings are slightly different this time around: the 40mm comes in graphite, rose gold and silver, while the 44mm comes in graphite, sapphire and silver. Samsung sent me the 40mm rose gold variant, which looks almost identical to last year’s rose gold variant, except for the band, which was more khaki last year.
What I don’t like: The price has gone up
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
This year’s Galaxy Watch 5 starts at $499, which is $100 more than what the 40mm Galaxy Watch 4 started at when it debuted. The Watch 5 costs $599 for the 40mm LTE model, while the Watch 4 costs $499.
If you’re trying to save some cash on the newest smartwatch, consider trading in an old Samsung smartwatch or pair of headphones for a discount.
What I like: Samsung Health
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
Please don’t “@ me”. I know Samsung Health isn’t Apple Health, Google Fit, or even Strava, which I pay for even though I’m hardly athletic. But I’ve been using Samsung Health since I bought the company’s wearable ecosystem with the Galaxy Watch Active. I still like to use the app to aggregate all my health data.
Samsung Health’s new GPX import feature works best with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, as it can provide turn-by-turn directions based on the hiking or biking route you want to take. But everything else in Samsung Health is still as useful as it was on the Galaxy Watch 4. There are periodic reminders to move, plus instant confetti when you kick your butt off your chair and walk over to grab yourself a glass of water . Workouts are still tracked automatically, even if that workout chases your child down to the bathroom, and so are naps.
What I don’t like: The strap
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
I wasn’t a fan of the band on the Galaxy Watch 4, and since it hasn’t changed, I’m definitely not a fan of the band on the Galaxy Watch 5. It feels like the band squeezes me like an arm or something. . My wrist feels swollen at the end of the day with the watch.
Of course, I had to wear the Watch 5 on my right hand because my Watch 4 is on my left. But it immediately reminded me why I changed the default band to something third-party from Amazon.
What I really don’t like: The skin temperature sensor still doesn’t work
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
The first reason I’d suggest ditching the Galaxy Watch 4 for the Watch 5 is to have access to that built-in skin temperature sensor. But unfortunately, it is currently dormant. Samsung Health doesn’t use it yet.
I have a condition that raises my internal body temperature slightly every month. I hate having to track down my son’s ear thermometer to check. I’d love nothing more than to lift my wrist and see if my body is doing what I expect it to do. Anyway, I wear a smartwatch even when I don’t move much because I want data aggregated to my internals.
Now that the Watch 5 is available for purchase, I hope Samsung Health finally gets support for this feature.
What I’m still figuring out: sleep training
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
We knew sleep coaching was coming to Samsung watches. The company introduced it earlier this year via a software update that also introduced Google Assistant support, but now I have to wear the watch to find out what those capabilities look like. I currently track my sleep in Samsung Health based on when I put my phone down at night and when I first interact with it in the morning. I have a hard time falling asleep with accessories on my wrists.
Given that I don’t like the way the strap feels on my wrist, I think I’ll have to switch to a third-party one to get the Watch 5 to sleep with me at night. But I’m finally ready to try these sleep training features, almost six months later.
What I’m still figuring out: Battery life
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
The Galaxy Watch 5 has a 13% larger battery than its predecessor: 284mAh compared to 247mAh in the 40mm smartwatch and 410mAh compared to 361mAh in the 44mm.
So far, the Watch 5 battery has been comparable to the Watch 4, even though I also turn off location tracking and don’t use Google Assistant on standby. The real test will be seeing how much juice I get out of a charge after tracking a long walk and constantly pinging Google for smart home controls.
About which I remain neutral: Wear OS
Photo: Florence Ion / Gizmodo
For its part, Wear OS is still pretty simplistic. Much of its core use hasn’t changed over the years: you can still load up a playlist on Spotify to listen to music on the go, and just grab a pair of headphones for the road instead of bothering with your phone. You can quickly reply to messages using voice dictation or the swipe-and-tap method, which is surprisingly accurate considering how small the screen is when you’re typing.
I wish there were more widgets besides the Samsung built-ins. As much as I love having a place for the timer and Samsung Health, it would be great to have something for apps like Google Keep and Google Chat, which I still use to connect with my family. I would also love more watch faces for fans, which seems impossible to find on the Play Store. I decided to make my own with Samsung’s built-in watch face maker to get the desired result, but it’s not the same!
I wonder if there will be any software differentiation between the Pixel Watch and Galaxy smartwatches, just as Google’s Pixel smartphones have the Pixel Launcher and Samsung’s smartphones run their version of ‘Android called One UI. Like Android smartphones, the only way Wear OS-based smartwatches will compete will be in their hardware offerings. So far, Samsung remains the clear standout when it comes to Android watches.
Price and availability
Pre-order for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro is now open, with general availability starting September 2 in Australia.
- Galaxy Watch 5 40mm (BT) RRP $499
- Galaxy Watch 5 40mm (LTE) RRP $599
- Galaxy Watch 5 44mm (BT) RRP $549
- Galaxy Watch 5 44mm (LTE) RRP $649
- Galaxy Watch 5 Pro 45mm (BT) RRP $799
- Galaxy Watch 5 Pro 45mm (LTE) RRP $849