Samsung Galaxy Watch 4: Price, Release Date, Specs, and News
Tim Fisher has more than 30 years’ of professional technology experience. He’s been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.
Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12 years’ experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.
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Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 was announced on August 11, 2021. It closely resembles the Watch 3 with its circular design, and there are two size options for both the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic.
Below is everything you need to know about the watch’s price, when it was first released, the specs, and more.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Release Date
Samsung first revealed all the details on this smartwatch on August 11, 2021, at Samsung Unpacked. The Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic were announced.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Price
There are two watches, and the price varies depending on the size and connectivity you choose:
- Galaxy Watch 4 (40m): 249.99 (299.99 for LTE)
- Galaxy Watch 4 (44m): 279.99 (329.99 for LTE)
- Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (42mm): 349.99 (399.99 for LTE)
- Galaxy Watch 4 Classic (46mm): 379.99 (429.99 for LTE)
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Features
One of the biggest changes is Wear OS support, so Google apps like Google Assistant, Google Maps, and Google Pay are supported. This is the same operating system used in the Pixel Watch. All previous Galaxy watches have used Tizen OS.
The watch is equipped with Samsung’s BioActive Sensor. According to Samsung, it uses a single chip to power three sensors that, together, work to monitor blood pressure, detect an AFib irregular heartbeat, measure blood oxygen level, and calculate body composition.
The body composition tool, which you can check directly from your wrist, provides a deeper understanding of general fitness, with measurements like skeletal muscle, basal metabolic rate, body water, and body fat percentage.
Here are some other features:
- Wellness features to help you stay motivated, such as Group Challenges you can set up with friends, and a TV-connected home gym that shows stats as you work out.
- Comprehensive sleep tracking by combining snoring analysis from your phone with blood oxygen monitoring from your watch, that together can provide sleep pattern information.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Specs and Hardware
While the watch shadows the design of the previous version, the size and other hardware are different. This is the first Galaxy Watch with a 5nm processor, which Samsung says provides a 20% faster CPU, 50% more RAM, and a GPU 10x faster than the previous generation. Like any hardware with faster internals, this makes it easier to multitask and do everyday things like scroll through the various screens.
There are two case sizes for both watches: The Watch 4 is available in 40mm and 44mm, while the Classic comes in either 42mm or 46mm. The former comes in black, green, silver, pink, or gold, depending on the size you choose, while the Classic is offered in either black or silver.
The resolution on the display is 450×450 pixels, and there’s 1.5 GB of RAM with 16 GB of storage. Both watches have Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth, but they can be ordered with or without LTE connectivity.
The Latest News About the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
You can get more Smart and connected news from Lifewire. Here are some early rumors and other stories about this Galaxy Watch:
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic review
The best smartwatch on the market right now, hampered only by the fact that some of its latest and greatest features are exclusive to Samsung Galaxy users. You also pay a premium for that Classic styling.
Samsung’s August Unpacked event was something of a transformative affair, with the Z Fold 3 acting as a stand-in for the Galaxy Note line, while the company’s new Galaxy Watch 4 family served as the debut for Google’s jointly-revitalised Wear OS platform.
Not since 2014’s Galaxy Gear Live has a Samsung smartwatch run on Google’s wearable operating system. In the interim, the Korean company has forged ahead with its own Tizen OS; landing itself the number two position in the global wearables market while Wear OS was relegated to the platform of choice for lesser-known manufacturers and newcomers.
As such, the Watch 4 line doesn’t just demonstrate Samsung’s proficiency in creating compelling smartwatches but the company’s ability to collaborate and reshape an unloved rival platform into something that users may actually come to embrace.
Design and build
Samsung hasn’t used the ‘Classic’ naming convention since its smartwatches bore the ‘Gear’ name, however, the Watch 4 line re-establishes the trend with two distinct styles, manifesting in the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic.
The ‘Classic’ name speaks to this watch’s more traditional styling and design influences – swapping out the standard Watch 4’s contemporary geometry and flat glass front for a timepiece that leans more heavily on the aesthetics of a typical mechanical watch.
While the sensor placement, buttons and screen remain consistent across both styles of Watch 4, the Classic sports a more substantial stainless steel casing and – more importantly – a physical rotating bezel in place of the standard model’s touch-based alternative.
Like the Apple Watch‘s Digital Crown, the physical bezel acts as a means of rotational input and the satisfying ‘clunk’ that it provides each time you twist it adds a pleasing level of tactility that you don’t get with the haptic feedback of the virtual alternative on the standard Watch 4.
Similarly to last year’s Galaxy Watch 3, the Classic can be had in two casing sizes: 42mm and 46mm, with both being notably heavier and thicker than the sleeker aluminium-bodied Watch 4. The standard model comes in four colours (across both casing sizes), while the Classic comes in just two: either black or silver, regardless of casing size.
The smaller 42mm Watch 4 Classic (tested here) also happens to be the thickest entry in the line (at 11.2mm), however, the variant’s added weight and thickness – compared to the standard models – doesn’t really translate into real-world wear; still feeling like a relatively unobtrusive Smart timepiece that looks the part. All I would say, with regards to its proportions, is that the 46mm model makes for a better fit on my near-7in/17cm wrists, compared to the smaller casing size featured in this review.
By default, the Watch 4 Classic comes pre-fitted with the Galaxy Watch 4 Ridge-Sport Band, however, in markets where the Samsung Design Studio is available, buyers can pick their Band type, size and colour at purchase, which also includes the option of the Sport, Hybrid Leather and Extreme Sport Bands too. Bands can also be bought separately, so you can mix and match as desired.
You’re not restricted to Samsung’s proprietary quick-release bands either, although the unique crescent shapes on their ends hug the curves of the Watch 4’s body more seamlessly than you’ll find with a generic straight-ended strap.
Like the Watch 3, there are two physical buttons on the Classic’s right side (although they’re less prominent and rectangular, rather than round), with a red accent surrounding the edge of the top button. The hardware here is also IP68 dust and water-resistant, swim-proof up to 5ATM and MIL-STD-810G certified (which tests against extreme temperatures, shock and the like); repelling scratches and nicks surprisingly deftly too.
The only main gripe about the Classic’s design is that dust tends to accumulate at the point where the rotating bezel meets the display and some marks proved difficult to remove from the surface of the included Ridge-Sport Band. Beyond that, however, the Watch 4 Classic felt nothing but comfortable and stylish to wear when both working out and going out.
Opt for the Classic if you’re after a smartwatch that looks more watch than wearable tech and if you think you’ll appreciate the greater level of tactility offered by its physical bezel, otherwise the contemporary stylings of the standard Watch 4 might make for a better fit.
Display and audio
Two casing sizes means two display sizes too, with the 42mm build sporting a 1.19in 396×396 circular screen and the 46mm version toting a 1.36in panel, with a 450×450 resolution – resulting in comparatively crisp pixel density across both sizes. These are identical to the displays found on the 40mm and 44mm standard Watch 4’s respectively, too.
The Super AMOLED panels used deliver a rich viewing experience, facilitated by excellent contrast and wonderfully vibrant colours, while the use of OLED tech means they’re ideal for supporting the watch’s always-on display functionality too.
In terms of control, Samsung has gone above and beyond expected features – like automatic and manual brightness control, its various screen wake settings and screen timeout options – including extras like enhanced touch sensitivity for use with gloves and a wealth of accessibility features, including colour and magnification controls.
There are over 20 watch faces available on-watch out the box, practically all of which feature some degree of personalisation or customisation, such as complications that convey additional information like steps, weather, battery percentage and more. If you want even more faces, they can be downloaded directly on-watch, straight from the Google Play Store.
Tilt-to-wake felt pleasingly responsive to the point that – outside of testing – I felt no need to switch on the always-on display, however, it’s there for those who prefer such functionality (at the expense of some longevity).
In most cases, always-on faces retain an impressive amount of information compared to their standard iterations, with most only dropping more demanding elements (such as a constantly animated second hand) while still delivering colour and detail that you might otherwise expect to fall by the wayside.
The Watch 4 Classic also supports direct Bluetooth audio pairing, which works simply enough with most Bluetooth headphones, but can start to fall apart more readily than a connection to your smartphone if there’s significant interference or obstruction between buds and watch.
An integrated microphone and speaker also feature, with surprisingly good performance – in terms of firing queries to the assistant or taking calls directly on the watch. The speaker is clear but lacks any sort of bass – which isn’t surprising given the tiny amount of room Samsung is working with here – making it a functional inclusion but certainly not one to enjoy music with.
Software and features
Wear OS – Google’s long-standing but unloved wearables platform – has only ever really existed as an awkward background character in the smartwatch space, while Apple’s watchOS and Samsung’s Tizen-based wearables have held the spotlight.
In something of a surprise move, Google announced its partnership with Samsung on the next iteration of Wear OS back at Google I/O 2021, and the Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic are the first smartwatches to market that represent the fruits of this newly-minted tag team.
That said, it’s definitely Samsung steering the ship with regards to the Wear OS experience that the Watch 4 line offers up; so much so, in fact, that this isn’t Wear OS 3 as it’ll appear on smartwatches from other manufacturers down the line (including Google’s own Pixel Watch) but rather ‘Wear OS powered by Samsung’, with the company’s own One UI Watch interface design onboard too.
As such, while those who’ve used Wear OS watches in the past will recognise that apps come from the Play Store and Google-made offerings like Google Fit and Google Maps are supported too (something previously not possible on Samsung’s Tizen-powered watches), Samsung Pay is the only NFC payment app accessible by hardware shortcut (even if you have Google Pay set up) and a number of other apps and icon designs mirror that of One UI, as it appears on Samsung’s phones.
Even though you can pair the Watch 4 series with any compatible Android smartphone, two of its biggest health features (more on those later) are locked to Samsung Galaxy phones, specifically. So while this is the latest and greatest Wear OS watch yet, only Samsung Galaxy smartphone owners will truly benefit from its full feature set.
Speaking of feature set, the Classic serves up obvious entries like a calendar, contacts, phone, messages, weather, timers, alarms and the like, alongside some more specialist offerings, such as a compass, voice recorder and Samsung Pay. As with watch faces, apps are now sourced from the Google Play Store, addressing perhaps one of the biggest shortcomings of previous Galaxy Watches – third-party app support.
Assisted by Google’s renewed FOCUS on making Wear OS a success, the Watch 4 and Classic gain access to a host of new apps; some previously unavailable to the company’s Tizen-based watches and some that are completely new to Wear OS itself, like YouTube Music.
Companies like Spotify have also promised new functionality (initially exclusive to the Watch 4 line) in offline playback support, which reinforces the industry’s reawakened awareness of Wear OS and Google’s/Samsung’s efforts to try and ensure the platform remains capable and competitive.
Wear OS’ Tiles finally find purchase on the Watch 4 and Classic too. Essentially widgets – available to the right of your chosen watch face – Tiles have been part of Wear OS since 2019, however, it wasn’t until earlier this year that Google opened Tiles up to third parties and Samsung has made sure to include Tiles for all of its key experiences; from timers to weather, working out and alarms.
For those familiar, it’s arguably one of the most consistent UI elements to carry over from Sammy’s Tizen-based smartwatches and better yet, they’re intuitive to work with; easily added, removed and reordered on the fly.
Update (20 October 2021): During Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked Part 2 event, which streamed on 20 October, the company announced a new update (coming to the Watch 4 and Classic on the same day) boasting additional watch faces and functionality.
Four new watch faces: Info Brick (which focuses on fitness), Basic Dashboard, Weather Centre and Live Wallpaper debuted as part of the update, while the MyPhoto face added animated GIF support, the Watch 4 line’s existing Animals watch faces gained additional glanceable information and the Steps Challenge animated differently, depending on if you succeeded or failed to reach your goal on a given day.
Gesture controls for accepting or declining calls, cancelling alarms or quick-launching an app of your choice, alongside fall detection – with SOS notification functionality – were also implemented.
Update (24 May 2022): At launch, Samsung’s mediocre Bixby was the only option of virtual on-wrist assistant, however, Google Assistant support was promised for a future date. This date came nine months later, on 24 May.
According to Samsung, Google Assistant support has been made available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, the UK and the US, with compatibility for 12 languages, including English, Japanese, Spanish and more.
Note: These features were added after the review period for the Watch 4 Classic.
Fitness and tracking
What Samsung calls its ‘BioActive Sensor’ is really an umbrella term for the multitude of sensors that the Watch 4 Series possesses; tracking metrics including heart rate and blood oxygen.
The ECG feature and Afib (irregular heartbeat) detection – which took time to find approval on the Watch 3 (and Watch Active 2) – are available from the get-go on the Watch 4 line (market dependant), while this year’s wearable also debuts a new BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) sensor, which adds body composition analysis to the Galaxy Watch’s already long list of fitness and wellbeing features.
In a similar fashion to most Smart scales, by gently holding your ring and middle fingers against the buttons on the side of the Watch 4’s casing, you’ll be served a number of new metrics; including body fat percentage, skeletal muscle weight, BMI and more.
As ever in the consumer wearables space, metrics like this are only ever meant to serve as a handy guide and don’t constitute as medically approved data, however, for fitness fanatics that hold value in ‘the quantified self’, the Watch 4/4 Classic’s body composition analysis feature is an impressive new addition to have on a wearable.
There was some divergence when compared to the results from my Withings Body Smart scales, however, not so much that the data was rendered useless (Body Water percentages showed the biggest discrepancy but even those only deviated by about 3%).
With the exception of ECG and blood pressure functionality, which (somewhat frustratingly) operate via a separate Samsung Health Monitor app (that only works on compatible Samsung Galaxy devices), all health tracking is recorded via Samsung Health.
In truth, it offers an impressive amount of depth, even when viewed on-watch. The beauty of the Wear OS move is, of course, support for a wider array of third-party fitness apps but for most looking for general workout insights, the native experience should be more than enough.
Samsung Health on the Classic comes pre-loaded with 13 trackable activities but there are over 80 to choose from in all; with both phone-free route tracking and elevation tracking available (when appropriate), thanks to the watch’s integrated GPS and baro-altimeter.
Automated workout detection proved impressively responsive – logging even brief walks when stepping out to the shops – while metrics from the watch’s various sensors across several weeks of wear proved consistent with themselves and (where comparable) other recent rivals, like the Huawei Watch 3. Samsung Health also doles out awards based on progress, fundamentally tied to steps, active time and active calories burned, each day.
Sleep tracking – with the addition of snore detection (thankfully, there were no reports of me sounding like a chainsaw in the middle of the night) – also features, with a detailed breakdown of sleep stages, blood oxygen and quality of sleep, along with insightful information on how to improve sleeping habits and general wellbeing, based on your tracked data.
Performance and battery
Hardware-wise, perhaps one of the biggest upgrades to the Galaxy Watch 4 Series comes in the form of Samsung’s new Exynos W920 chipset, which moves from the Watch 3’s 10nm process down to a significantly smaller and more efficient 5nm process.
On a technical level, Samsung claims the W920 offers “1.25x faster processing compared to the Exynos 9110” and “8.8x smoother graphics performance”, while 1.5GB of RAM and double the onboard storage (now 16GB) cumulatively paint the Watch 4 family as something of a powerhouse in the current wearables space.
In real-world use, although the Watch 4 Classic takes a fair long while to initially boot up, once it’s running, it proves consistently smooth and responsive. Apps never crashed, UI elements never bugged out and performance seemed rock-solid over a month’s worth of wear. As mentioned before, sensor accuracy and automated workout and sleep detection proved competent too.
Even more so than phones, battery management on wearables is an incredibly tricky balancing act to pull off, especially with regards to such feature-heavy smartwatches like the Watch 4 Series (and rivals including the Apple Watch Series 7).
Despite the two different casing (and screen) sizes that the Classic comes in, Samsung quotes “up to” 40 hours of use per wear across the line. Longevity will obviously vary depending on your usage habits, with factors like fitness tracking, the always-on display and LTE connectivity (if you opt for the cellular model) all having a significant impact on wear time between charges.
Using out-of-box settings and wearing the 42mm Watch 4 Classic overnight (for sleep tracking purposes), this can be a two-day watch; lasting from 9:30am on day one to 9:30pm on day two (where charge reached 11%), just shy of Samsung’s quoted longevity.
The impact of enabling additional features – like blood oxygen monitoring and snore detection during sleep tracking – proved negligible on the watch’s 247mAh battery (the 46mm model features a 361mAh battery), with the watch suggesting a switch to power saving mode at 15% charge and watch-only mode at 5% charge.
For those considering the Watch 4 for its fitness tracking abilities, a 45-minute home circuit workout resulted in 3% battery drain on the Classic, while a 40-minute 5K run (which included GPS route tracking) amounted to an 11% drain, in testing.
As for recharging, the 42mm Watch 4 Classic refilled slower than I expected, reaching 100% in exactly 1 hour 25 on a regular basis, reaching about a day’s worth of charge after 30 minutes.
The Watch 4 Classic does at least remind you to charge it two hours prior to your expected bedtime, to ensure there’s enough juice for sleep tracking purposes; something I wish other watches with such functionality offered.
Price and availability
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Watch 4 family on 11 August 2021, and the 4 and 4 Classic later went on sale, starting 27 August 2021.
As with the standard Watch 4 – which costs £/€/US100 less – as well as two casing sizes, price is affected by the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi and LTE cellular connectivity split on offer; with 4G adding about £40/€50/50 to the asking price.
The 42mm Classic costs £349/€369/349.99 and the 4G model costs £389/€419/399.99, while the 46mm version costs £369/€399/379.99 or £409/€449/429.99 for the Bluetooth-only and 4G builds, respectively.
In most markets, the Watch 4 Classic is available from Samsung directly ( UK/ US/ France/ Germany/ Spain), as well as retailers, including Amazon ( UK/ US/ France/ Germany/ Spain), John Lewis (in the UK) and Best Buy (in the US). For more retailers and where best to pick up the cellular models, head to our ‘Best Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic deals’ feature.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 was already an incredibly capable foundation on which to build from. By splitting the Watch 4 Series into standard and Classic design styles, Samsung is giving users heaps more choice this time around, as well.
The balance of functionality, quality and performance here is practically unrivalled in the smartwatch space, however, the best experience is undoubtedly closed off to those who don’t already own a compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
There’s also the ‘Classic’ premium to consider. Beyond the more traditional styling and physical bezel that this iteration of the Watch 4 possesses, there’s little else that differentiates it from the standard variant, making the fact that it costs £/€/US100 more a not-insignificant consideration for those tempted.
Specs
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic: Specs
- 1.19in 396×396 or 1.36in 450×450 circular AMOLED always-on display (42mm)
- Gorilla Glass DX
- 1.18GHz dual-core Exynos W920 5nm processor
- 1.5GB RAM
- 16GB ROM
- Wear OS Powered by Samsung
- One UI Watch
- Bluetooth 5.0
- NFC
- GPS
- Wi-Fi
- 4G LTE (optional)
- Microphone
- Speaker
- Knox security
- Optical heart rate sensor (PPG)
- Electrical heart sensor (ECG)
- Bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor (BIA)
- Blood oxygen tracking
- AFib irregular heartbeat detection
- Sleep tracking
- Snore detection
- Body composition analysis
- Guided workouts
- Bixby Voice
- Gesture controls
- Stainless steel casing
- 5ATM swim-proof
- IP68-certified dust/water resistance
- MIL-STD-810G tested
- Wireless charging
- 247mAh battery (42mm)
- 361mAh battery (46mm)
- 41.5 x 41.5 x 11.2mm (42mm)
- 45.5 x 45.5 x 11mm (46mm)
- 46.5 grams (42mm)
- 52 grams (46mm)
- Colours: Black, silver
- Compatible with Android 6.0 or higher (devices require more than 1.5GB RAM)
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch — what to expect
The differences between the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch will be important to know if you’re considering buying a new Android smartwatch soon. Samsung’s next-gen smartwatch is on the way to challenge Google’s in-house Wear OS watch, after all.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 looks like it’s going to be the best Samsung watch, replacing the Galaxy Watch 5 with rumored performance and design upgrades. The Pixel Watch, meanwhile, might not be replaced until October. There aren’t many rumors yet about what the Pixel Watch 2 will offer, either.
Last year, the Google Pixel Watch crashed Galaxy Watch’s party in the Wear OS space, leveraging both Google apps and Fitbit fitness tracking to make for a rather capable first-generation device. Despite being a newcomer, the Pixel Watch is one of the best smartwatches you can get right now. The Galaxy Watch 6 could change that, though.
Here’s how the Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Pixel Watch might compare in terms of price, appearance, battery life and more.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Price and availability
The Pixel Watch is out now and costs 349 for a GPS Bluetooth-only configuration, while the LTE-compatible version costs 399. Since it’s been on the market for a while, you can usually check the top Pixel Watch deals for discounts.
But how will the price compare to the Galaxy Watch 6, which is expected to be announced at Samsung Unpacked on July 26? For the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, started at 279 for the 40mm Bluetooth model. The 40mm LTE model started at 329. The price goes up to 299 and 349 for the 44mm configurations for Bluetooth and LTE, respectively, though you can find this watch on sale, too.
We haven’t heard any rumors suggesting Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 will see a price difference. That said, the price of the Galaxy Watch has fluctuated every year, so we’ll just have to wait to see how it compares to the Pixel Watch.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Design
Based on what we’ve heard, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Google Pixel Watch will both be circular and rather minimalistic watches, with round faces and side buttons. But the Galaxy Watch 6 will have a flat display, while the Pixel Watch has a 3D glass dome.
The Pixel Watch comes in just one size: 41mm. The Galaxy Watch will have more options, perhaps both 40mm and 44mm configurations. Plus, rumors of a Galaxy Watch 6 Classic with a physical rotating bezel suggest that there will be larger size options available. Either way, both watches can be customized and fitted with interchangeable watch bands.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Features
The Google Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch 6 are both Wear OS watches, but the experience isn’t quite the same. Both should eventually run Wear OS 4, but Samsung curates Wear OS with One Watch UI 5 a skin that optimizes the Galaxy Watch for the Galaxy ecosystem.
Just as Samsung tailors Android OS for its smartphones, Wear OS powered by Samsung presents an exclusive user experience. It has several Samsung programs, and the primary fitness-tracking platform is Samsung Health. On the other hand, the Google Pixel Watch leverages Fitbit for all its fitness tracking,
The Galaxy Watch 6 is expected to continue sporting the Galaxy Watch 5’s array of health sensors, including a bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) system for measuring body composition and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 skin temperature sensor. The Pixel Watch only has a rate sensor and SpO2 sensor, for comparison.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Battery life
The Google Pixel Watch battery life is rated for 24 hours of battery life. But in our testing, we could hardly eke out that long, with GPS draining 20% battery life per hour. That said, on days we didn’t workout or use activity tracking, the watch did last the full 24 hours.
As long as the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 lasts over a day, it will have the Pixel Watch’s battery life beat. The Galaxy Watch 5 promised up to 50 hours of battery life, so we expect the Galaxy Watch 6 to last at least as long on a full charge.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Google Pixel Watch: Outlook
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 could to introduce a collection of upgrades to make the best smartwatch for Android even better. We mostly anticipate it to outperform the Pixel Watch for the few months both watches are on the market. Things could change when the Pixel Watch 2 nears launch, though.
Be sure to follow along with all our coverage of Samsung Unpacked for the latest news and updates about the Galaxy Watch 6.
Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro Smartwatch review. Simply lasts longer
Outdoor Professional The Galaxy Watch5 Pro is the first Pro model in Samsung’s smartwatch universe. With its large battery and robust titanium case, it is primarily aimed at sports and outdoor enthusiasts. Our test shows what makes the Watch5 Pro a Pro.
Benedikt Winkel. Daniel Schmidt. ✓ Anton Avdyushkin (translated by DeepL / Ninh Duy), Published 10/05/2022
The Galaxy Watch5 Pro is the first pro model in Samsung’s wearable lineup. The top model is supposed to be particularly robust, have longer battery life, and is therefore particularly suitable for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. There is only one size of the 5 Pro with a diameter of 45 millimeters. The casing is available in black and gray. The choice of straps is more colorful, at least with the classic clasp, where five variants are possible. It gets even more colorful with the Bespoke program. an online configurator that helps to individualize parts of the watch. The D-Buckle Sport Band with a titanium quick-release is only available in black and gray. Samsung also offers an LTE version of the watch. Our review sample has a gray casing and a gray D-Buckle Sport Band and does not come with a cellular connection.
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NFC, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: Gyroscope, Barometer, Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Sensor, Accelerometer, Electrical Heart Sensor, Optical Heart Rate Sensor
Speakers: Mono, charging cable, manual, One UI 4.5 / R920XXU1AVH6, 24 Months Warranty, ATM 5, IP 68, MIL-STD-810H, GNSS-Networks: GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo, fanless, waterproof
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Case and features. The Watch5 Pro comes with titanium case
The case of the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro is made of titanium and has a brushed surface. The material feel and workmanship are excellent. This impression is reinforced by the tight fit of the two buttons on the right side and their rich sound when pressed. The 1.36-inch display is protected by sapphire glass. In addition, the bezel clearly overhangs the display and thus protects it as well. The bezel is not rotatable, but sensors on the inside detect movements, which results in the digital usability of the bezel.
A microphone sits between the two buttons on the right side, and another one finds its place above the strap connector on the upper side. The speaker is located on the left side of the case. The underside of the smartwatch is dominated by a large number of sensors. It does not need charging contacts because the battery is charged wirelessly via a Qi charging pad.
The Galaxy Watch5 Pro is only available in one size with a case diameter of 45 millimeters. It weighs 76 grams with the D-Buckle Sport Band on the test scale, and the case alone weighs 47 grams. The watch did not suffer any damage during the test. Only the titanium buckle of the wristband, which constantly touches the table or laptop when typing on a keyboard, got some marks during use.
Setup and operation. Only with the Samsung Wear app
The Samsung Wear app, which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store, is required for the setup. At least Android 8 should be installed on the smartphone. Linking with iOS devices is not possible. The Wear app is intended for all possible wearables from Samsung. If the watch is detected, the software has to load a specific plug-in. All paired Samsung devices are listed in the Wear app.
The basic settings of the watch are made via this app. This affects the notifications of individual apps, sounds, and vibrations, the display settings, or even the customization of the buttons. You can also select watch faces, change the app screen’s layout, and adjust the content, such as the arrangement of the tiles. The link to Samsung’s Cloud for backing up data or the implementation of Samsung Pay. the manufacturer’s own payment service. is also done via this app. Samsung also creates a link to the Google Play Store here, which has its own apps for smartwatches with Wear OS. However, Samsung provides its own program, the Samsung Health app, for collecting and analyzing fitness data.
After the setup, many settings are also possible on the smartwatch itself. It is not only about settings that affect the display on the watch, such as the font size or the activation of the screen, but also settings in the individual apps or the installation of new apps that are possible directly on the Watch5 Pro. At the end of each menu is the button show on a smartphone. Pressing it automatically opens the corresponding menu on the paired phone.
The Galaxy Watch5 Pro is operated via the 1.36-inch touchscreen, two buttons on the right side of the case, and a digital bezel. However, the bezel does not rotate, but rather a sensor is installed in the area between the display and the casing’s edge. When a finger runs over this ring, the watch scrolls through menus.
The function of the buttons can be customized in the Wear app. Not only a single press is possible, but the software also recognizes double presses or long presses. In the factory settings, a single press on the upper button always leads back to the home screen. Long pressing opens the voice assistant Bixby and double pressing opens the last used app. Pressing the bottom button takes you back one step in every menu and app.
From the home screen, a swipe from the top to the bottom leads to the short menu called QuickPanel. Similar to Android smartphones, you can access the display brightness, the always-on display, Bluetooth and WLAN connections, the energy-saving mode, the flashlight function, and various modes like airplane mode, movie mode, do-not-disturb mode, or sleep time mode here. The arrangement of the buttons can be customized.
A swipe from left to right leads to the notifications, on each tile notification is displayed, and if the message is clicked, more details open. An orange dot on the home screen indicates that unread messages have been received. Swiping from the bottom to the top opens the app menu with all installed apps. The arrangement of the programs can be customized on the clock and in the smartphone app. A swipe from the right leads to tiles that display essential information. Arrangement and content can be changed both on the watch and in the app. In factory settings, the Watch5 Pro provides an overview of the daily activities, workout menu, body composition, sleep values, weather, calendar, blood pressure, ECG, pulse, and stress level. A press on the respective tile opens a submenu with more details.
There is no widget for the Samsung Wear app, but there is for the Health app. However, it only displays the steps walked. A click on the widget opens the app.
Telephony and notifications. the Watch5 Pro is exemplary
In terms of telephony, the Galaxy Watch5 Pro is a model student among smartwatches. Incoming calls are reliably played back on the watch and can be answered directly on the watch, as long as the watch is connected to the smartphone. The voice quality is good. The watch’s speaker gets loud enough and the wearer’s voice is transmitted without interference. Calls can also be made from the smartwatch. The Watch5 Pro displays call lists as well as the smartphone’s entire phone book.
The smartwatch performs similarly well with notifications. In the Galaxy Wear app, each program on the smartphone can be selected individually to send push messages to the watch. The notifications arrive reliably, and long messages such as e-mails are not cut short. The entire chat history is displayed on the smartwatch when several messages are sent in a messenger, such as WhatsApp. The watch also displays emojis and pictures; only videos are not played back. Replies are possible with predefined short messages, but the Watch5 Pro also allows more complex replies. Input is possible via speech, recognition of drawn letters and a keyboard. The watch displays a full QWERTY keyboard on the small screen, and the inputs are surprisingly good.
Voice assistant. Samsung lets you choose between Bixby and Google Assistant
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch5 Pro has speakers and microphones, so all conditions for a voice assistant are given. And Samsung uses the hardware potential. The user can choose between the manufacturer’s own assistant Bixby and Google Assistant. Google’s software seems to be superior to Samsung’s solution in terms of functionality for many queries. Bixby also often closed itself after opening via speed dial before a search query could be spoken. The assistants can both be operated in parallel on the watch. While Bixby is installed on the watch from the start, the Assistant has to be installed and set up first. Amazon’s Alexa cannot be downloaded from the Playstore to the watch.
