Samsung Galaxy Watch5

What to expect with the Galaxy Watch5

Samsung carries on much of what it set with the previous Galaxy Watch4, which included a key pivot to Google’s Wear OS running the operating system. On the surface, it still looked like Samsung’s prior Tizen-based watches, lending plenty of familiarity for anyone who made the jump. That familiarity expands even further with the Galaxy Watch5.

This watch isn’t radically different from its predecessor, and its purpose remains very much intact. It is both stylish and sporty at first glance, able to fit in just about anywhere once you swap out the strap and attach another band onto it. For workouts, you can always go with a silicone strap to absorb all that sweat. For casual settings or going out, you can strap on a leather or metal band to give it a more luxurious tone.

The Galaxy Watch5 comes in both 40mm and 44mm sizes to accommodate all genders and wrist sizes. A lot of sensory technology lies under the surface to track and capture pertinent data regarding your activity, as well as sleep and skin temperature. Samsung Health collects it all to provide a detailed view of where you stand.

Those are just the basics. Throw in notifications, messaging, phone calls, music playback, mapping, payments, plus a whole slew of other features, and this watch becomes a more valuable wearable on your wrist.

How is the Galaxy Watch5 different?

In keeping with is slimmer profile, the Galaxy Watch5 sticks with a touch-based bezel as one way to navigate your way around the interface and various features. An aluminum frame keeps the watch looking stylish and tough all the same.

That also goes for the watch’s screen, now protected by tougher sapphire glass. This marks the first time a Samsung smartwatch (along with the Galaxy Watch5 Pro) is outfitted with sapphire, firmer and more rigid than the glass previously seen in older Galaxy Watch models. Even the strap gets a change, as Samsung chose a silicone band with a D-Buckle design that has no holes and more flexibility in how it fits onto one’s wrist.

Samsung’s new skin temperature sensor will measure whether your skin is running hotter or colder than usual. That kind of information could prove useful as a clue if you’re coming down with a cold or flu. That should also fit in nicely with better overall tracking courtesy of a larger surface area for the BioActive Health sensor underneath. With a wider area making contact with your wrist, it should provide more accurate results for heart rate, ECG, blood oxygen and more.

You can still track Body Composition, combining body fat percentage, fat mass, skeletal muscle, and body water to give you a total score. Not to mention getting active in the water with the 5ATM protection that can reach depths of up to 50 metres, including in saltwater.

Who is the Galaxy Watch5 for?

The purpose of a device like the Galaxy Watch5 is for it to fit in your lifestyle, no matter how active you are. Even when you’re not, like when just sitting or sleeping, the watch still goes to work to keep tabs on your heart rate and sleep quality, among other things.

Wear OS opened up a lot of app compatibility with the previous model, and that’s very much the case with the Galaxy Watch5. Play music from Spotify, even without your phone coming with you. You will be able to download maps from Google Maps for offline use, helping you navigate unfamiliar places without using data or your phone.

Your chosen voice assistant is never far away, and when it’s your turn to pay, setting up the watch to do it is as easy as pointing your wrist. There are LTE and Bluetooth versions of the Galaxy Watch5 to stay connected with or without a phone, depending on what you prefer. Colour options also vary, coming in graphite, silver, sapphire, and pink gold.