Samsung isn't reinventing the wheel with its latest flagship smartwatch, but it doesn't have to. The Galaxy Watch 4 was our favorite Android-compatible smartwatch from 2021, and the Galaxy Watch 5 (starting at $279.99) builds on that with a bigger battery, a more durable display, and an infrared sensor that's capable of measuring your body temperature (though at the time of this writing, there's no way to see your temperature data). Aesthetically, the Galaxy Watch 5 looks just like last year's model, with the same appealing design, gorgeous display, and functional digital bezel for fast navigation. It still runs Wear OS, too, which gives you access to all the standard Google apps. Google's own Pixel Watch promises to shake up the smartwatch landscape this fall, but for now the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is the best Apple Watch alternative for most Android users, earning it our Editors’ Choice award.
Assessing Samsung's 2022 Smartwatch Lineup
As it did in 2021, Samsung has two new smartwatches for 2022: The Galaxy Watch 5 and the more rugged, outdoor-focused Watch 5 Pro. Similar to how the Apple Watch works only with iPhones, the Galaxy Watch 5 series is exclusive to Android phones. Samsung's latest smartwatches run One UI Watch 4.5 (which is based on Google's Wear OS 3.5) and require devices running Android 8.0 (or newer) with more than 1.5GB RAM. Although you can pair the Watch 5 with non-Samsung Android phones, some features, including electrocardiogram (ECG) measurements, work only with Samsung handsets, according to a spokesperson for the company.
The Galaxy Watch 5 sports the same simple, minimalist design as last year's Watch 4. It features a 40mm (small) or 44mm (large) aluminum case. The Bluetooth/Wi-Fi model starts at $279.99 for the 40mm version, while the LTE version begins at $329.99. Both sizes are available with graphite (black) or silver case options. The larger and smaller models are also available in exclusive colors, sapphire (blue) and pink-gold, respectively.
Samsung sent me the 40mm Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Watch 5 in silver, along with the Bora Purple Sport band. All other case colors feature a matching strap, but you can customize your watch band color and style using the Bespoke Studio tool on Samsung's website. Note that the Watch 5 colors match Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 4 for those fashionistas who want to coordinate their smartwatch and smartphone.
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The rugged Watch 5 Pro, meanwhile, features a 45mm watch face, a more durable titanium case in either black or gray, and a matching D-Buckle Sport band. It starts at $449.99 for the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi model or $499.99 for the LTE version. Unfortunately, the Pro model doesn't come in a smaller size.
Fans of Samsung's smartwatches might be bummed that both the Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro lack a physical rotating bezel for quick scrolling, a feature available on many older Samsung smartwatches, including last year's Watch 4 Classic. I don't really mind this omission, however. Like the standard Watch 4, both Watch 5 models feature a functional digital bezel built into the screen that doesn't physically turn, but still allows you to navigate by simply running your finger along the outer edge of the display. In testing, the Watch 5's digital bezel worked well and let me quickly scroll through menus on the watch.
That said, the Watch 4 Classic, which features a 42mm or 46mm stainless steel case, remains on sale for those who want the rotating bezel.
Galaxy Watch 5: More Durable, Better Battery Life
The Galaxy Watch 5 features an exceptionally bright and beautiful AMOLED display with an always-on option. The screen on the model I tested measures 1.2 inches across and sports a 396-by-396-pixel resolution, while the larger model has a 1.4-inch panel with a 450-by-450-pixel resolution.
With the screen brightness set about three-quarters of the way to max, colors pop and even the smallest text is easy to read. The small model offers plenty of screen real estate and doesn't feel overly big on my petite wrist.
The Watch 5 is the first Samsung wearable with a sapphire crystal glass protecting the display, which the company says is 60% harder and 1.6 times stronger than the Watch 4's outer layer. This change in material makes the new model less susceptible to scratches. The Pro version features an even stronger sapphire crystal display than the standard model and promises twice the durability of the Watch 4. I didn't purposefully try to damage the Watch 5 to verify Samsung's durability claims, but I accidentally dropped it once on hard flooring, and it survived unscathed.
The watch retains its predecessor's 5ATM and IP68 ratings, meaning it's waterproof to a depth of 164 feet for 10 minutes, plus can withstand dust, dirt, and sand. It also meets the MIL-STD-810H standard, so it should survive extreme temperatures and other environmental stressors such as vibration and shock.
Samsung says both versions of the standard Watch 5 measure 9.8mm (0.38 inches) thick, but that seems to exclude the health sensor that slightly protrudes from the back. When I put the Watch 5 and the Apple Watch Series 7 (which officially measures 0.42 inches thick) beside each other, to my eyes Samsung's watch seems to be a hair thicker.
The Watch 5 weighs just an ounce (1.1 ounces for the larger size). It feels light and comfortable on my wrist and I don't find it a bother to wear to bed either, which is good because the watch offers ample sleep-tracking features. The Sport Band feels soft and secure; there should be minimal risk of the clasp accidentally coming loose or the strap accidentally separating from the watch.
As for the internal hardware, the Watch 5 features the same processor, memory, and storage specs as the Watch 4 (an Exynos W920 chip with 1.5GB RAM and 16GB storage), but offers a battery life bump. The small and large Watch 5 models have 284mAh and 410mAh batteries, respectively, up from 247mAh and 361mAh on the Watch 4.
Samsung says the Watch 5 lasts up to 50 hours on a charge, or 10 hours more than its predecessor. In my testing, the Watch 5 lasted about 30 hours with the always-on display feature enabled, which calculates to just six hours longer than the Watch 4. The Apple Watch Series 7, which features a 309mAh battery, similarly lasted 29 hours in my testing with the always-on display enabled.
I haven't been able to replicate Samsung's 50-hour battery claim on my Watch 5 review unit. Disabling the always-on display bumped the battery life to 36 hours, which included two full nights of sleep tracking. If you plan to keep the always-on display enabled, you probably need to charge it every day, like last year's model.
Battery life is one area where the Watch 5 Pro model offers an advantage. It features a comparatively massive 590mAh battery that Samsung says should last 80 hours on a charge (or 20 hours if you enable the GPS). I don't have the Pro model yet, so I can't verify that claim. Samsung didn't provide battery life guidance for the LTE/cellular model, which we did not have for testing.
The Watch 5 also promises 30% faster charging than last year's model. In my testing, fully charging the Watch 5 takes around 75 minutes, similar to the Apple Watch Series 7.
Samsung says that snapping the Watch 5 onto its charger for just eight minutes before bed should give it enough battery life to track your sleep for eight hours. This capability was obviously inspired by Apple, which advertises the same battery performance for the Series 7.
Hands On With The Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 at Samsung's NYC Pop-Up
Unboxing and Getting to Know the Galaxy Watch 5
In testing, I had no problem setting up the Watch 5 via the Galaxy Wearable app on a Galaxy S21 FE smartphone. In the box with the Watch 5, you get a quick start guide and a puck-style USB-C charger. You need to provide a power adapter.
Happily, the watch arrives partially charged. A minute or so after attaching it to the charger, I glanced at the watch face and it was already at 81%. From there, it took just four minutes to reach 100%.
To set it up, you need to download the Galaxy Wearable app (available for Android only) if you don't already have it on your phone. When I opened the app on the Galaxy S21 FE, it automatically started scanning for devices to add and quickly found the Watch 5. Next, it displayed a number on the watch's screen and in the app. The app asked me to confirm that the numbers were the same. After I did, the app began downloading the Galaxy Watch 5 Manager tool.
In a series of pop-ups, the Galaxy Watch 5 Manager asks for permission to access your contacts, calendar, phone call logs, and your photos and media. It also asks for permission to make and manage phone calls, as well as send and view SMS messages. Next, you must agree to Google's terms of service and sign into your Google account.
At this point in the setup process you select which apps you want to install on the watch. I included all the apps on my phone, as well as the recommended third-party watch apps such as Calm, KakaoTalk, Shazam, and Strava.
Just like any feature-rich smartwatch, you have to spend some time exploring the Watch 5 to figure out where everything is and what it does. But if you're familiar with the Watch 4, the new model is organized the same way.
From the watch face, you swipe left to access app tiles (up to 10, including daily activity, workout tracking, body composition, sleep, weather, calendar, heart rate, and stress), swipe right for notifications, swipe down for the quick panel menu (to enable Bedtime mode and the always-on display, connect Bluetooth headphones, and more), and swipe up for all your apps (which you can reorder however you like).
To go back, swipe right or press the physical back key (the lower button). To go to your most recently used app, double press the home key (the upper button). In Settings, you can customize the function of the home and back keys.
Lots of Apps
Like its predecessor, the Watch 5 features popular Google-developed apps including Google Assistant, Maps, Messages, and the Play Store, alongside Samsung's Bixby, Buds Controller, Samsung Pay, and more.
In addition to the aforementioned, these apps were preinstalled or added to my Watch 5 during setup: AccuWeather, Alarm, Cardiogram, C25K (Couch to 5K running program), Calculator, Calendar, Camera Controller, Compass, Contacts, Easy Voice Recorder, Energy, Find My Phone, Fitbod, Gallery, Golf Pad, Hole19, Kamoot, Media Controller, Messages, Music, MyFitnessPal, Outlook, Phone, Reminder, Samsung Global Goals, Samsung Health (to view your metrics), Samsung Health Monitor (to take an electrocardiogram), Settings, Sleep Cycle, Spotify, Stocard, Stopwatch, Timer, Voice Recorder, Weather, and World Clock.
The Galaxy Wearable phone app lets you manage the content in the Music and Gallery apps on the Watch 5, and can optionally auto sync tracks and images. You can also use the watch to accept and make calls from your connected phone.
The Samsung SmartThings app is available on the Watch 5, but I had to manually download it from the Play Store. The SmartThings watch app lets you access and control any compatible smart home devices and scenes you set as favorites on your phone.
The Watch 5 doesn't feature a preinstalled handwashing countdown timer like the Apple Watch, but you can download the similar Samsung Hand Wash app via the Google Play Store. I think the Apple Watch handwashing countdown timer is one of the more useful recent smartwatch features, so I'm glad Samsung's equivalent also works well.
In the Google Play Store on the Watch 5, you can find many other Google standbys, including Gboard (the Google Keyboard), Camera (a camera app for Google devices), Fit, Keep, and Wallet. Other popular apps available for download on the Watch 5 via the Play Store include Adidas Running, iHeart: Music, Lifesum, Map My Fitness, Ski Tracks, Swim.com, and Todoist. Rest assured, there are many watch face apps, just in case you don't like Samsung's default options.
When it comes to third-party app support, Wear OS still trails Apple's watchOS and is missing notable titles including Amazon Music, Facebook Messenger, Pandora, and Telegram.
New and Improved Wellness Sensors
On the health front, the Watch 5 measures and tracks your active time, blood oxygen saturation, calories burned, exercise, heart rate, stress level, sleep, steps, and even your snoring. It also lets you record your food and water intake, measure and track your body composition (including body fat percentage), and take an ECG.
As mentioned, the biggest upgrade on the Watch 5 is the addition of an infrared temperature sensor for skin temperature tracking. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing skin temperature measurements weren't yet available, so I couldn't test this feature. Samsung hasn't offered any indication for when temperature data will be available, but says it's working with developers to create features that take advantage of the technology.
Several other wearable devices—including the Fitbit Charge 5, Oura Ring Generation 3, and Whoop 4.0—already track skin temperature variations, a metric that indicates whether you're running hotter or colder compared with your baseline. Apple's Series 7 doesn't offer this feature, but rumors suggest that Cupertino's next-generation wearable, expected this fall, will feature a body temperature sensor.
Samsung also reshaped the curvature of the back glass on the Watch 5 series. The increased surface area of the BioActive Sensor means more direct contact with your wrist. This change enables more accurate body composition, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), and electrocardiogram measurements, according to the company.
After wearing the Watch 5 to bed along with an Oura Gen 3 smart ring, the Galaxy Watch said I had a minimum blood oxygen saturation of 86%, which seems low. In comparison, the Oura reported my average SpO2 at 98% that same night. As the FDA warns, many factors can affect the accuracy of pulse oximeter devices that measure SpO2, including skin pigmentation and body temperature. In general, healthy individuals should have an SpO2 level between 95% and 100%.
I don't always find the Watch 5's SpO2 readings particularly accurate, so you should take them with a grain of salt. In the few days I've been wearing it, the Watch 5 has measured my SpO2 as low as 77%. Other devices like the Oura and Apple Watch rarely report my SpO2 below 95%. I reached out to Samsung to ascertain if perhaps my review unit isn't performing as intended for SpO2 measurements, and will update this section when I hear back.
The Watch 5 monitors your stress level, though it doesn't report your actual heart rate variability (HRV). It offers a stress-relieving, guided breathing tool, but the Watch 5 doesn't track your respiration rate either. Both of these metrics are available on Apple's Series 7, the Oura Gen 3, and many other wearables.
When worn to bed, the Watch 5 tracks your sleep and, after a few nights, offers personalized sleep coaching. If you pair the device with a compatible smartphone, the Watch 5 can track snoring, a sleeping metric Samsung introduced last year that is not currently available on the Apple Watch.
After tracking my rest one night, the watch said I slept 6 hours, 50 minutes and gave me a sleep score of 65 out of 100. The Oura said I slept for 5 hours, 55 minutes and gave me a sleep score of 70. I also checked the Nest Hub smart display, which contactlessly tracks your sleep from the nightstand, and its measurement (6 hours, 42 minutes) more closely aligns with that of the Galaxy Watch.
After sleeping in one weekend morning, the Watch 5 offered a notification about the importance of consistency, plus gave me the option to see more information and helpful tips on my phone. On the phone, it brought up an article from the National Sleep Foundation saying that sleeping in or staying up late on weekends can lead to a feeling known as "social jet lag," with effects similar to the traditional jet lag you get when traveling between time zones. I rebelliously stayed up late watching Netflix the next night, and in the morning, the Watch 5 again shamed me, pointing out that I've been falling asleep much later than my target bedtime.
Tracking Workouts With the Galaxy Watch 5
For fitness tracking, the Watch 5 offers more than 90 activity options, including basics like cycling, rowing, running, and swimming; specific exercises such as bench press, deadlifts, lateral raises, and squats; sports like baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, and golf; and even specialized activities like aqua aerobics, hang gliding, kayaking, snowshoeing, and water skiing.
It's a fairly comprehensive list, but I wish the Watch 5 offered a few of the more general fitness-tracking options available on the Apple Watch, including core training, high-intensity interval training, and traditional strength training. If the Watch 5 doesn't offer a tracking mode for an activity you plan to do, you can always use the "other workout" option.
The Watch 5 can automatically detect and begin tracking certain types of workouts, including walking, running, elliptical, rowing, swimming, and dynamic high-movement activities. A few minutes after you start one of these activities, the watch will alert you that it's tracking the workout. When you stop, the watch will automatically stop tracking, too. In testing, the Watch 5's automatic workout detection feature reliably tracked all of the walks I took with my dog Bradley, including accurate GPS of the route we followed (I had to manually enable the GPS).
To test its accuracy, I followed a 30-minute strength workout on the Forme fitness mirror, which I'm testing for an upcoming review, while wearing the Watch 5 on one wrist and Apple's Series 7 on the other. For that session, the Watch 5 said I had an average and max heart rate of 142bpm and 170bpm, respectively, plus burned 305 total calories. Interestingly, Apple's Series 7 said I had a higher heart rate (152bpm average, 188bpm max), but burned fewer calories (220 total). Variations in fitness data from one product to the next are expected, so it's a good idea to stick with one device to track your changes over time.
Following a workout, the Watch 5 offers beautiful graphs that show your heart rate throughout the session and other metrics like speed, depending on your activity.
The Watch 5 Pro offers a few outdoor-specific workout features not available on the standard model, including Route Workout, Turn-by-Turn Directions, and Track Back. With Route Workout, you can import GPX-format hiking or cycling routes from the Samsung Health app to the watch. When following GPX-format routes, Turn-by Turn directions guide you with vibrations, voice alerts, and a color-coded map on the watch. The Track Back feature reverses your route and directs you back to your starting point. This could be helpful should you become lost.
Note that the Watch 5 doesn't integrate with Fitbit, a feature that will be available on the upcoming Pixel Watch. We expect Google's wearable to be the first Wear OS device that supports Fitbit's Active Zone Minutes metric.
The Best Smartwatch for Android Users
Samsung's wearables will face stiff competition from the upcoming Pixel Watch this fall, but for now, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is the top option for Android users. It retains the bright display and attractive design of its predecessor, plus it has superior battery life and durability. It also includes a temperature sensor, though we're still waiting for software support on that front. These updates aren't necessarily significant enough to warrant an upgrade from last year's model, but if you're in the market for a new Android-compatible smartwatch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is our Editors' Choice winner. Outdoor adventurers might prefer the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, which offers a more durable titanium case, an even stronger sapphire crystal glass display, longer battery life, and a few outdoor-specific navigation features. We plan on testing it, so check back for our review soon.
Samsung's Galaxy Watch 5 improves on a winning formula with a more durable design and longer battery life than its predecessors, making it the best Android-compatible smartwatch on the market.
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