After investigating Samsung smartwatches, I’m usually near with a furrowed brow, wondering what could person been. It’s not due to the fact that they’re bad, ugly, oregon a symptom to wear. Actually, it’s the opposite. Hands down, Samsung’s smartwatches are the champion Android users tin bargain close now, and the $279.99 Galaxy Watch 5 is nary exception. (Though that whitethorn alteration erstwhile the Google Pixel Watch arrives.) If Samsung would hole 1 — maybe 2 — things, its smartwatches would marque the Apple Watch yesterday’s news. I was hoping to study that Samsung had yet nailed it, but for amended oregon worse, the Watch 5 is much of the same.

I don’t mean this figuratively. The Watch 5 is astir identical to its predecessor, the Galaxy Watch 4. It comes successful the aforesaid 40mm and 44mm sizes. Aside from a fewer caller strap colors, it looks the same. I’ve spent years reviewing astir each smartwatch nether the sun, and strap colour is the lone mode I could spot the quality betwixt my Watch 4 and 5 reappraisal units astatine a glance.

The Watch 5 besides has galore of the aforesaid specs arsenic the Watch 4, including the Exynos W920 processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of interior storage, contactless payments, GPS, optional LTE, contactless payments, and 5ATM of h2o resistance. You get the aforesaid wellness features via the somewhat improved 3-in-1 BioActive sensor — bosom complaint tracking, ECGs, assemblage creation analysis. Hardware-wise, the lone caller happening you’re getting is an infrared somesthesia sensor. That, by the way, doesn’t bash overmuch of thing yet. It will allegedly amended slumber tracking accuracy, but arsenic Samsung said during Unpacked, it added the sensor truthful developers tin tinker astir creating future wellness features. As acold arsenic bundle goes, it besides runs Wear OS Powered by Samsung (aka Wear OS 3 moving a Samsung skin). The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, which ships alongside the Watch 5 connected August 26th, is wherever you’ll spot caller plan choices and snazzy features similar turn-by-turn navigation, but the Watch 5 is simply a precise vanilla update.

I uncertainty astir radical volition announcement the fistful of tweaks Samsung has made. The 40mm and 44mm watches are a spot heavier — astir the value of a penny — due to the fact that they person somewhat larger batteries. It’s got a curvier backmost to guarantee amended tegument interaction for greater accuracy. That curved backmost doesn’t truly alteration however it feels connected your wrist. Samsung claims it’s 9.8mm thick, but YouTuber DC Rainmaker recovered that it’s actually person to 13mm erstwhile you see the sensor bump. But really, you won’t announcement it. The Watch 5 besides uses sapphire crystal solid for greater durability. That’s great, but it won’t beryllium appreciated by anyone who isn’t a klutz, an adventurer, oregon an adventurous klutz.

We similar the purple dragon.

Of course, determination are caller watchface options, too. Some volition drawback your eye. Some won’t. I hap to excavation that you tin present adhd complications to the blobby fig face. The caller purple dragon look appeals to me, arsenic I’m connected a purple gadget kick and a dragon successful the Chinese zodiac. But if you don’t similar a caller (or old) watchface, you’ll hardly announcement it’s determination due to the fact that you won’t usage it.

The Watch 5 is the explanation of an iterative update, but I’d beryllium remiss if I didn’t telephone retired 2 much-needed improvements.

The astir evident alteration is that you nary longer person to endure Bixby. On-watch Google Assistant was a vague committedness erstwhile the Galaxy Watch 4 launched past August, but it yet arrived a fewer months ago. The archetypal happening I did erstwhile I unboxed and charged the Watch 5 was download Google Assistant and reprogram the Home fastener to motorboat that alternatively of Bixby. The 2nd happening I did was download Google Wallet, Strava, Spotify, Calm, and a fistful of different fashionable apps. This instantly made for a amended acquisition due to the fact that I was nary longer shackled to Samsung Health, Samsung Pay, Bixby, oregon Samsung SmartThings. (The Galaxy Wearable app, however, is nonnegotiable.) I tin usage Strava to way my runs, Google Assistant to power my astute home, and Google Wallet to wage astatine the drugstore. While the Watch 4 was precise overmuch a Samsung smartwatch, the Watch 5 is little so.

The Watch 5 is inactive amended with a Samsung phone, but you person much options than past year.

To beryllium clear, the Watch 5 is inactive better if you’re connected a Samsung phone. For starters, the ECG relation only works with Samsung phones, and you’d request a half-dozen third-party apps to replicate each the wellness and fittingness features of Samsung Health connected a non-Samsung phone. Samsung Pay is besides hardcoded arsenic a shortcut erstwhile you long-press the backmost fastener — and determination doesn’t look to beryllium a mode to reprogram it to motorboat Google Wallet instead. One UI Watch 4.5 — Samsung’s ticker interface connected apical of Watch OS — besides gives the Watch 5 the quality to person 2 telephone numbers, but lone if it’s paired to a Galaxy telephone with dual-SIM support. But if I want to flip Bixby the digit oregon download fractional a twelve apps to regenerate Samsung Health, the Play Store is my oyster. It’s not ideal, but it’s advancement from past twelvemonth and the twelvemonth earlier that.

Speaking of One UI Watch 4.5, the updated interface adds a ton of caller accessibility features and puts them each successful 1 easy-to-find menu. Some of the caller features see visibility enhancements, similar high-contrast fonts, colour filters, colour correction, and the quality to toggle animations oregon blur effects. You tin besides tweak Bluetooth headphone settings to set the audio equilibrium betwixt each ear. (Though, you can’t bash this during calls.) Samsung’s besides added the quality to set pat duration and disable repeated taps.

The Galaxy Watch 5’s changes are iterative.

As a hearing, able-bodied person, I can’t talk authoritatively astir however good each of these accessibility features enactment successful mundane life. However, the visibility enhancements importantly improved my quality to work connected the 40mm Watch 5. I was calved with eyeballs truthful cursed my oculus doc said “sometimes you person to settee for bully enough” erstwhile I got my past prescription. I’m besides idiosyncratic with tiny wrists. As a reviewer, I’m truthful bushed of having to take betwixt a tiny ticker that’s comfy to deterioration and a humongous ticker that has an easy-to-read screen. My imaginativeness and wrist size aren’t things I tin control, but it’s astir comical however overmuch of a quality high-contrast fonts and adding a colour filter made. Wearables person a agelong mode to spell connected the readability front, and I privation much smartwatch makers would travel Samsung’s pb here.

Samsung besides made it easier to benignant connected tiny screens with caller keyboard inputs. You tin present usage dictation, handwriting, and swipe-to-type options. Your mileage whitethorn vary, however. I recovered dictation and handwriting to beryllium useful, but swiping to benignant connected a 40mm surface is conscionable not perfect nary substance however you portion it.

There’s an improved 3-in-1 BioActive sensor and an infrared somesthesia sensor that doesn’t bash overmuch yet.

These are immoderate large improvements, but I can’t assistance but consciousness Samsung dropped the shot successful a large mode erstwhile it comes to the interaction bezel and artillery life.

The interaction bezel mimics a carnal bezel by letting you descent your digit astir the rim of the show to scroll done menus. It was finicky connected the Watch 4, but it astir seems worse connected the Watch 5. I distinctly retrieve getting the bent of it connected the Watch 4, but I struggled to bash truthful again this year. (I ever reached for the Watch 4 Classic whenever I needed to effort retired caller features during the past year, truthful it’s been a while.) If I swiped excessively quickly, tiles would zip by faster than my feline moving for 2nd breakfast. If I went excessively slowly, it wouldn’t registry astatine all. It was besides overmuch excessively casual for my digit to gaffe disconnected the borderline oregon extracurricular the interaction bezel area.

Technically, the Watch 5 doesn’t need the interaction bezel astatine all. Wear OS 3 mightiness have immoderate of Tizen’s DNA, but the UI is missing the playfulness that Tizen had erstwhile it came to circular menus. Wear OS 3 tin beryllium easy navigated with directional swipes alone. (Taps and swipes didn’t registry rather arsenic good connected the Watch 5, either. That said, I property that to my fingers being sweatier than accustomed acknowledgment to the caller heatwave.)

You tin spot the curve amended here. Top to bottom: Galaxy Watch 5, Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 4 Classic.

I’ll admit that my disappointment is due to the fact that I’m a staunch card-carrying subordinate of Team Rotating Bezel. I don’t hatred touchscreens oregon swiping to entree menus. It’s overmuch much intuitive for immoderate things, similar scrolling done notifications oregon zooming successful connected a map. But carnal controls person their place. Not lone are they accessible but besides they’re large for outdoor athletes, arsenic they’re immune to sweaty fingers and gloves. In Samsung’s case, the carnal rotating bezel was an iconic calling paper that some harkened backmost to the aged Gear lineup and besides acceptable it isolated from each different circular smartwatch connected the market. Plus, the rotating bezel is truthful overmuch fun to use. Modern gadget plan seems each excessively blessed to sacrifice imaginativeness connected the altar of sleek minimalism.

Samsung says the carnal bezel hasn’t really gone anyplace due to the fact that the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic remains successful the lineup arsenic the midtier enactment betwixt the Watch 5 and the Pro. But this besides confuses me. You’re… charging much than the newer entry-level ticker for the carnal bezel, older sensors, and worse artillery life? That mathematics doesn’t adhd up.

Battery beingness was a large symptom constituent for users of the Watch 4, and Samsung made a constituent of expanding artillery size connected the Watch 5. I ne'er managed much than 20 hours with the Watch 4, The numbers I’ve heard from readers implicit the past twelvemonth ranged from good nether 20 to astir 40. I frankly don’t deliberation 24 hours connected a flagship smartwatch is needfully a deal-breaker. But respective of you asked if the artillery beingness connected the Watch 5 was worthy upgrading for, truthful here’s a snapshot of my artillery investigating this past week.

• Heavy usage day: always-on show (AOD) enabled, “Hey Google” aftermath connection enabled for Google Assistant, 60 minutes of GPS enactment without my telephone and nary euphony streaming. Started with 100 percent astatine 9AM, ended up with 9 percent astatine 5PM. Had to complaint earlier heading location and got 38 percent artillery aft a fractional hour. Woke up with 2 percent artillery the adjacent greeting aft wearing it overnight.
• Medium usage day: AOD disabled, “Hey Google” enabled, 30 minutes of GPS enactment without my telephone portion streaming euphony from an offline playlist to my headphones. That half-hour tally zapped 21 percent of the battery, and I ended the time with 55 percent left.
• Light usage day: AOD and “Hey Google” disabled, 50-minute GPS tally with nary euphony and my phone. Spent the bulk of the time connected the sofa oregon napping. My tally ate 12 percent of the battery, and I ended the time with 45 percent.

Battery estimates are heavy babelike connected idiosyncratic usage and preferred settings, but successful a full week, I ne'er got adjacent to Samsung’s 40–50 hr estimate. Even erstwhile I disabled battery-guzzling settings, minimized syncing, and turned disconnected notifications, I inactive had to complaint daily. And I didn’t adjacent person the LTE version! I fishy the larger 44mm volition execute amended simply due to the fact that it has a larger battery, but this inactive pales to the 2 to 3 days you utilized to consistently get connected the Watch 3.

The Watch 4 Classic (far right) retains the carnal bezel and remains portion of the lineup.

It helps that the Watch 5 has faster charging. (Also, the charger tin present plug into a USB-C brick!) You inactive request astir 2 hours to spell from zero to 100 percent, but a fractional hr gets you anyplace betwixt 30–40 percent. That’s capable to get you location oregon powerfulness a nighttime of slumber tracking.

As acold arsenic wellness and fittingness tracking go, the Watch 5 is simply a bully but imperfect option. Heart complaint and region tracking were connected par with the Apple Watch Series 7 connected the 5 runs and six walks I recorded this past week. Samsung’s automatic locomotion detection besides remains 1 of the best. The Samsung Health app isn’t bully if you similar competing with friends, but I’ve seen overmuch worse. Samsung’s slumber tracking is the astir precocious it’s ever been, but it’s inactive a mixed bag. While you tin get in-depth slumber coaching, you request 7 afloat days of eligible slumber information to get a azygous insight. I’ve lone conscionable started getting tips, truthful I can’t accidental however good this diagnostic works semipermanent conscionable yet. I’ll person a amended thought erstwhile I reappraisal the Watch 5 Pro. (Long pb times are bully erstwhile collecting wellness information but not ever adjuvant erstwhile you’re penning merchandise reviews.) There were immoderate notable discrepancies with my Oura Ring and the Eight Sleep Pod 2 Pro Cover erstwhile it came to slumber stages, peculiarly REM sleep. I’m not excessively pressed by that, however. You should instrumentality astir slumber signifier information with a dense pinch of salt. What’s much important is that, similar Santa Claus, the Watch 5 knew erstwhile I was sleeping and erstwhile I was awake.

Sleep tracking is the astir precocious it’s been, but humor oxygen information isn’t presented good wrong the app.

I was little impressed with Samsung’s humor oxygen data. Nearly each night, the Samsung Health app said I had a “minimum” humor oxygen saturation betwixt 80 and 88 percent. For reference, a steadfast scope is considered 95–100 percent; 88–92 percent is considered the minimum harmless scope for patients with mean to terrible chronic obstructive pulmonary illness (COPD). A speechmaking of 80 percent warrants hospitalization. I’ve tested truthful galore slumber wearables that I cognize these aren’t reflective of my existent sleeping SpO2. It’s apt I got these numbers due to the fact that I’m a broadside sleeper, and person experienced akin results utilizing Garmin watches. But the mode Samsung presents this information tin origin unnecessary panic due to the fact that you don’t instantly spot a graph oregon acquisition substance adjacent to the scary number. You person to pat to get further accusation and adjacent past the graph doesn’t visualize the accusation well. You request look nary further than the interest that a breached SpO2 graph caused among Fitbit users to spot wherefore information presumption and acquisition matter. Hopefully Samsung addresses this successful a aboriginal update.

For each my gripes, this is the champion Android smartwatch close present for folks who privation superior connectivity, robust third-party apps, precocious wellness features, and casual fittingness tracking. Sure, the starting terms is $30 much than its predecessor, but these are inflationary times. For the diagnostic set, the Galaxy Watch 5 is simply a tenable terms astatine $279.99 for the 40mm and $309.99 for the 44mm. (LTE options outgo $50 more.) The Apple Watch SE starts astatine the aforesaid terms and has a akin diagnostic acceptable — truthful Samsung isn’t overcharging. Meanwhile, the Watch 5 has much precocious features and sensors that mostly outperform the $329.95 Fitbit Sense, the $299 Fossil Gen 6, and the $299.99 Mobvoi TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS.

Gotta admit, it inactive looks rather bully connected the wrist.

If you’re wondering astir upgrading from the Watch 4, I wouldn’t unless you spot a large woody oregon instrumentality vantage of a trade-in offer. You’ve already got what makes the Watch 5 large connected your wrist and the artillery improvements aren’t bully enough. It’s a antithetic communicative if you’ve got a Samsung telephone and person been holding onto your Galaxy Watch Active oregon Active 2. Samsung volition beryllium ending enactment for these devices soon, you’ve been without a carnal bezel this full clip truthful you won’t miss it, and you’re going to get a amended wide acquisition connected the Watch 5. Watch 3 and Watch 4 Classic owners should beryllium choky to spot if Samsung realizes it goofed by not making a Watch 5 Classic.

If you’re not already connected a Samsung phone, you should hold to upgrade. The Watch 5 is the champion you tin bargain close now, but that mightiness alteration successful a fewer abbreviated weeks. Google is launching the Pixel Watch this fall. Qualcomm’s yet getting its enactment unneurotic with the Snapdragon W5 Plus platform, meaning Wear OS 3 watches mightiness soon get an adjacent much almighty spot than the 1 powering the Watch 5. That spot could precise good powerfulness Fossil’s next-gen smartwatches. And if you’d similar to truly instrumentality your clip to spot however the particulate settles, definite Wear OS 2 watches are slated to get an optional upgrade to Wear OS 3 before the extremity of the year. Android users, y’all are astir to get much smartwatch options than you’ve ever had before. The Galaxy Watch 5 isn’t going anywhere. What’s the rush?