Samsung has found its way in the smartwatch space with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. No, it’s not too different from last year’s Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, but the handful of upgrades, while incremental, are still very appealing. Battery life on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is up to 10 hours longer, and the device is also more resistant to scratches thanks to a sapphire crystal glass display.
The bottom curvature has been redesigned to fit wrists more naturally and increase the surface area that actually comes into contact with the skin, improving the accuracy of sensor readings. Speaking of health sensors, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 has a new sensor to measure skin temperature. It doesn’t work yet, but once it does, it will support sleep monitoring and be open to third-party health developers.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]After spending a full week with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 device, it’s clear that it’s the best Samsung watch yet for most people, and the best smartwatch ever for anyone with a Samsung smartphone. We’ll go over all the important differences between the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. As you may recall, last year’s standard Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 offered an updated shape and feel compared to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3. It was still sporty and even reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, but it had a more refined case and a seamless transition from watch to strap. The overall look of the Galaxy Watch 5 is still somewhat sporty.
The most notable new internal feature of the Galaxy Watch 5 is the addition of a temperature analysis sensor, which appears to exist separately from Samsung’s 3-in-1 BioActive sensor. The BioActive sensor, introduced last year, measures heart rate, SpO2, and body composition via BIA. The skin temperature sensor sits somewhat off-center on the bottom of the Galaxy Watch’s case. Unfortunately, the skin temperature sensor will not work at launch.
However, Samsung has clarified what the skin temperature sensor of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 will do. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 runs Wear OS powered by Samsung, which basically means that Google’s smartwatch software forms the basis for the experience, but is complemented by many Samsung-owned apps, watch faces and menus. It also means that the smartwatch can effortlessly connect and sync with other Samsung devices in the same ecosystem.