Samsung made 1 of the astir important changes to its smartwatch lineup past year. The Galaxy Watch 4 ditched Samsung’s Tizen OS successful favour of the Android-powered Wear OS. This meant users could yet get Android apps and yet adjacent usage Google Assistant connected their smartwatches.

The institution usually releases 2 caller models of its smartwatch. It has a different strokes for antithetic folks attack for the lineup. Nowhere is that much evident than the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Though it has the aforesaid method specs arsenic the Galaxy Watch 5, the Pro is aimed astatine radical who unrecorded adventurous and progressive lifestyles.

Is it each that Samsung makes it retired to be? Can it beryllium the cleanable companion connected your hiking, biking and spelunking adventures? That the question we’ll beryllium answering successful our Galaxy Watch 5 Pro review.

TL;DR

Design

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is simply a smartwatch that announces its beingness connected your wrist. Available successful conscionable the 45mm size, it’s acold from a discreet smartwatch that slips nether the cuff. The titanium assemblage isn’t conscionable highly durable but besides lends a look of understated sophistication. The durability credentials are further backed up by the device’s IP68 h2o and particulate absorption standing arsenic good arsenic its MIL-STD-810G certification. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is acold from delicate.

Feels bully and sturdy with an wide refined appearance

The caller D-Buckle Sports Band deserves an honorable notation here. It goes a agelong mode successful improving comfortableness erstwhile wearing the ticker for extended periods of time. This is conscionable different illustration of however Samsung takes inspiration from long-standing solutions that person existed for accepted watches to elevate the smartwatch experience.

Unfortunately, 1 of those solutions that the institution antecedently embraced has present been shown the door. As Galaxy Watch fans had fears, the carnal rotating bezel is missing from the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. You get a thicker interior curved bezel arsenic good with a integer rotating relation that’s ne'er going to unrecorded up to the satisfying clicks and implicit power that the carnal bezel provided.

This touch-based navigation is bully capable but it could beryllium overmuch better. At times, determination is simply a flimsy hold erstwhile rotating astatine a definite complaint and speed. It won’t beryllium arsenic seamless if there’s been a batch of sweat buildup aft exercise. That’s conscionable 1 of the quirks of the integer bezel, thing that Galaxy Watch Active users are each excessively acquainted with.

Despite it’s rugged outlook, Samsung does connection options to personalize the look of your Galaxy Watch 5 Pro utilizing bands and ticker faces. The institution has introduced respective caller ticker look with enhanced complications for easiness of use.

Performance

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro fundamentally has aforesaid interior specs arsenic the Galaxy Watch 4. It’s powered by the Exynos W920 chipset and paired with 1.5GB of RAM with 16GB of interior storage. Given its “Pro” designation 1 would person thought that it would astatine slightest person much RAM and retention than the regular Galaxy Watch 5, but sadly that’s not the case.

Nevertheless, it’s large to spot that the bundle and hardware are successful implicit harmony. There’s hardly immoderate lag erstwhile navigating done the quality screens oregon launching apps. Fitness tracking features are speedy to occurrence up and instantly commencement doing what they’re expected to. It’s harmless to accidental that you won’t find this smartwatch lacking successful the show department.

Marriage of convenience betwixt One UI and Wear OS moving well

One UI makes this instrumentality distinctly Samsung portion Wear OS brings unmatched app compatibility and Google Assistant, which astir users volition decidedly beryllium swapping retired Bixby for. Look retired for Google Maps dependable navigation enactment that’s owed to get aboriginal this year.

One UI Watch 4.5 brings caller accessibility features and much customization for different ocular elements. You’ll request to usage the smartwatch with a Galaxy instrumentality for the champion imaginable idiosyncratic acquisition adjacent though the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro tin beryllium paired with immoderate Android instrumentality moving mentation 8.0 oregon up. There’s nary enactment for iOS.

Display

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro’s 1.4-inch Super AMOLED 450 x 450 solution show is perfectly gorgeous. There’s ever small to responsibility erstwhile it comes to Samsung’s smartwatch displays and it’s nary antithetic this year. It’s besides protected by sapphire crystal for added durability. Samsung says it’s 60% compared to the Gorilla Glass recovered successful erstwhile models. This is simply a measurement successful the close absorption arsenic users volition not person to interest excessively overmuch astir accidentally damaging the display.

One of my astir favourite things astir the smartwatch is however the 1.4 inch OLED show delivers successful clarity and interaction response.

Excellent haptic feedback besides deserves a peculiar mention

It unsocial had maine navigating astir the Watch for the involvement of it and besides made it consciousness acold little annoying erstwhile getting notifications from my Galaxy Fold 4 arsenic an hold to it arsenic astir of the clip my telephone is connected soundless and oregon vibrate lone during moving hours.

Interface

The One UI Watch 4.5 interface delivers an exceptional standalone bundle experience. The notifications are speedy and casual to entree with large haptic feedback. Navigating and swiping done the interface is creaseless and quick. The app grid astatine the bottommost tin beryllium easy accessed and rearranged. Swipe from the apical to entree speedy settings for important tasks specified arsenic adjusting brightness, web connectivity, and enabling bash not disturb mode.

There are caller keyboard inputs that purpose to marque the acquisition of typing easier. While it helps, typing connected a instrumentality with a 1.4-inch show is ne'er going to beryllium a amusive experience. Dictation and handwriting volition beryllium much utile if you privation to sprout speedy texts utilizing the device.

You’ll consciousness close astatine home

If you’ve been utilizing Samsung smartwatches for a fewer years now, you’ll consciousness close astatine location with the interface of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. If this is your archetypal time, the controls consciousness precise intuitive and casual to grasp.

Health and fitness

This is wherever the Pro truly comes into its own. Let’s get each of the worldly you’d expect to beryllium connected determination retired of the way. It has each of the aforesaid sensors arsenic the Galaxy Watch 4 and frankincense provides bosom complaint and electrical bosom awesome monitoring, ECG, blood unit monitoring, assemblage composition, slumber tracking, and humor oxygen monitoring. Samsung did accidental that the sensor bundle has been upgraded and present sits person to the tegument for greater accuracy.

The lone caller summation to this bundle is the infrared somesthesia sensor. It doesn’t execute overmuch astatine this constituent different than conscionable providing a somesthesia reading. Apparently it’s expected to amended slumber tracking but we’ve yet to spot that being implemented. This sensor volition beryllium unfastened to developers truthful third-party apps volition beryllium capable to leverage it to supply further wellness and fittingness features. That’s going to instrumentality immoderate time, though, truthful we can’t marque immoderate observations connected it for now.

The slumber tracking with snore detection is what worked truly good and really impressed maine arsenic it was close successful knowing erstwhile I slept and however agelong for, giving a bully elaborate breakdown of my slumber stages successful the Samsung Health app. It shows you a elaborate breakdown of the full magnitude of clip you snored and besides a signaling of the times it picked it up. Trust me, proceeding a playback of yourself snoring is some scary and embarrassing but I admit however good it works connected the Watch 5 Pro and the elaborate breakdown it gives successful the app.

Track Back is simply a large caller diagnostic that Samsung has introduced with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. If you’re mid-hike connected a way and would similar to instrumentality backmost to wherever you started from, this diagnostic volition usher you backmost to that aforesaid point. It works arsenic advertised but if you bash spell disconnected way erstwhile returning, the ticker whitethorn not prime that up. So if you’re hiking determination with aggregate routes, beryllium other careful.

This ticker is for the earnestly outdoorsy folk

The quality to load GPX files to navigate routes is simply a invited addition. You tin load routes for hiking and cycling, stock saved routes and adjacent stock them with your friends. Simply download the GPX record connected your telephone and import it into Samsung Health. The app automatically syncs it to the ticker and you’ll past spot a Route tile connected it.

In summation to these exclusive hiking navigation features, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro does a large occupation of auto-tracking prime workouts. You tin besides remainder assured that each of your gym sessions, whether cardio oregon strength, tin each beryllium accurately tracked with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro arsenic well.

Battery life

Samsung wanted this to beryllium the smartwatch you instrumentality connected your outdoor adventures without artillery anxiety. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has a large 590mAh artillery that delivers awesome longevity. It’s harmless to accidental that the artillery beingness expceeded expectations. The faster charging times are besides appreciated. I conscionable privation wireless charging wasn’t specified a large hassle.

We each usage our devices otherwise truthful your mileage volition surely alteration with the battery. However, artillery endurance is noticeably amended connected this device. For the astir part, it would beryllium bully for 2 afloat days with 2 afloat nights of slumber tracking without requiring different charge. This included outdoor GPS-tracked and indoor workouts successful summation to wide navigation.

Battery beingness is conscionable insane

It was adjacent imaginable to agelong it retired to 3 days by disabling Always-On Display and car brightness. If you’re not tracking workouts oregon different stressing retired the watch, it volition easy sail to 4 days connected a azygous charge. That’s conscionable insane coming from 1 of the older models. With artillery beingness being 1 of the concerns preventing radical from buying smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro perfectly smashes that retired of the window.

Verdict

This is possibly the astir susceptible smartwatch that we’ve seen yet from Samsung. With exceptional physique and design, a large display, improved durability, enhanced wellness and fittingness features successful summation to awesome artillery life, there’s not overmuch much you could inquire from a premium smartwatch.

The question remains, should you bargain it? At $449.99, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro isn’t inexpensive by immoderate agelong of the imagination. There are different smartwatches retired determination that supply akin hiking-focused features for less. However, they don’t supply everything other that the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro does, and stay incapable to utilize the afloat imaginable of the Samsung Health ecosystem.

Buy it lone if your manner volition alteration you to afloat capitalize connected its precocious functionality. Otherwise, a elemental Galaxy Watch 5 volition suffice. It volition person the aforesaid specs and bundle experience, conscionable with a smaller battery. For idiosyncratic who has the manner to utilize everything that the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has to offer, there’s nary amended instrumentality connected the marketplace close now.