Review – Samsung Galaxy Watch5 44mm

The Samsung Galaxy Watch5 was launched alongside the Galaxy Z series of foldable devices a few weeks back. Those who followed closely to the news might point out that the Galaxy Watch5 is essentially the same as the outgoing Galaxy Watch4. Technically you are correct because both models share the same chassis design, display and chipset. This year, Samsung has been focusing on battery life and software user experience improvements, read on to find out if the Galaxy Watch5 is for you.

Disclaimer: Samsung has provided the Galaxy Watch5 44mm for review purposes. Samsung has no say in the direction of the review and we are not obliged to review the watch in a positive manner.

Similarities

Chassis

This is pretty obvious, if you put both Galaxy Watch4 and Watch5 side-by-side, it is impossible to tell them apart unless from the unique colour choices unique to the Watch4 and Watch5. Generally, I don’t really mind if watch manufacturers retain the chassis design if the current works. Besides, we can reuse the casings and accessories that are made for the previous generation which indirectly reduces waste.

It is also worth mentioning the band size support remained the same – 20mm. Rejoice as you can further grow your band collection if you’re into that. The band I’m using right now is the metal milanese loop watch band.

Display

The 1.4-inch Super AMOLED display with 450 x 450 pixel resolution remained on the Watch5. In terms of the display quality, you don’t really have to worry too much. The colours are vibrant and the text appears to be sharp. That should meet almost all the general usage requirements. I was hoping the minimum brightness could go slightly lower, so I won’t feel blinded when using the watch in extreme low-light situations.

Chipset

This is not really a surprise given how rarely wearables receive new chipset upgrades. The Exynos W920 is a reasonably new SoC that was launched in 2021. It was introduced alongside the Watch4 to replace the ageing Exynos 9110 that first made appearance on the first-gen Galaxy Watch. Given how powerful and efficient the Exynos W920 is, I believe we will see it once again in 2023.

New Upgrades

Armour Aluminium frame(?)

Samsung claimed the “Armour Aluminium” frame has higher resistance against drop and scratch. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury to destroy both Galaxy Watch4 and Watch5 just to find out the frame’s durability. Nonetheless, I think it is something good to have if the frame at least has better scratch resistance.

Sapphire Crystal Glass

My wife’s Watch4 with Corning Gorilla Glass DX+ has got a deep scratch by just bumping on a concrete wall. That’s probably why my colleague has been advising me to get a screen protector for the Watch4 previously.

Samsung has committed to the Sapphire Crystal Glass which is more scratch resistant compared to any tempered glass panels. It is a welcomed upgrade considering how the Sapphire crystal glass is the benchmark for a watch’s glass. Having worn the Galaxy Watch5 every single day for the past two weeks, I have not observed any scratches yet. Yet again, if you don’t want to risk it, there are plenty of screen protectors available and you can always change one if it is scratched up.

Higher Capacity Battery & Faster Charging

Here comes the key highlight of the Watch5’s update – a higher capacity battery, aka longer battery life. The  Watch5 now packs 410 mAh battery, a 13% increase over the Watch4’s 361 mAh battery.

While the Watch4’s battery can last for at most 1 day and a half, the Watch5 now can safely last for 2 days, which means you can skip the daily charging routine and make it once every two days. In my usage scenario, I always charge my watch when I got home from the office. So here’s how the battery life goes:

• Monday 7 pm – 100% fully charged and removed from the charger
• Tuesday 7 pm – 63% left, skipped charging
• Wednesday 7 pm – 10% left, proceed to charge

That is pretty impressive, especially since I have all the health tracking features turned on. The included charger also got an upgrade. It is now using USB-C and outputting 5V2A instead of 5V1A.

Skin Temperature Sensor

Samsung has introduced a new sensor underneath the watch. There’s a little infrared skin temperature sensor located at the side of the bottom panel. Strangely, Samsung didn’t mention anything about the sensor during the launch and you can’t find any feature or function in the Samsung Health app to utilize the sensor. Perhaps Samsung is still working on the software fine-tuning before officially they talk about the sensor. My best guess would be women’s health and period tracking.

That being said, I hope Samsung Malaysia should do something about getting their watches certified so that the ECG and blood pressure monitoring features can be used in Malaysia.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 – Who is this for?

If you’re still using the Watch3 or older model watches, the Galaxy Watch5 will be a splendid upgrade for you. As for those who are using the Watch4, maybe not since the only benefit you will be getting from the Watch5 is the slightly extended battery life at a higher price tag.

As for those non-smartwatch users, the Galaxy Watch5 is not just excellent for health tracking but also for notifications, media playback control as well as SamsungPay on the watch. This is probably the best platform to fully enjoy the Google Wear OS 3.5 features.

Finally, the price. The Samsung Galaxy Watch5 44mm is at RM1,199, an RM200 increase from the RM999 of the Watch4 44mm. It is due to the weakened MYR currency and there’s nothing much we can do about it.