Wearables
Should you upgrade to Samsung Galaxy Watch 5?
The recently launched Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 series offers the best smartwatches in the market to date. It features two models – Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, both are almost the same, except for durability enhancements in the latter model.
In case you already have a Samsung smartwatch, you may have aware of the premium and flagship grade functionalities. As the company has officially introduced the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro for consumers, is it worth upgrading? Let’s discuss:
Galaxy Watch 5 vs Watch 5 Pro
The Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro come with a whole new sapphire crystal display, Samsung’s improved BioActive Sensor, and an Exynos W920 chipset with 1.5 GB RAM. The Watch 5 offers 284 mAh and 410 mAh battery in the 40mm and 44mm variants, respectively.
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro features a big 590 mAh battery, which can last around 80 hours. Compared to the Standard variant, the Pro model is slightly thicker due to its titanium casing. However, the Galaxy Watch 5 features an “Armor Aluminum” casing that protects the smartwatches greatly, but not as good as titanium.
Launched back in 2021, the Galaxy Watch 4 was the first Samsung smartwatch lineup to introduce Google’s Wear OS operating system, ditching the Tizen OS. Since the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 are just one year old, Samsung is offering better trade-in deals while upgrading to the Watch 5 or 5 Pro.
At the moment, the Galaxy Watch 5 is the latest smartwatch offered by Samsung, but it brings the same operating system as the Galaxy Watch 4, which is a year old now. The Watch 4 also debuted the first generation BioActive sensor, which consists of three chips in a small package.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 4 features a 247 mAh battery in the 40mm casing, while the 44mm size carried a 361 mAh pack, meanwhile, the same battery capacity is also offered in the small and large variants of the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, respectively, with up to 40 hours backup.
Similar to the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro, the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic packs lots of the same specifications such as the Exynos W920 chipset, 1.5 GB RAM, and 16GB of storage in addition to the battery capacity.
Galaxy Watch 4
In case you owned the Galaxy Watch 4 or Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, it’s a difficult decision to upgrade to the Galaxy Watch 5 or not. Meanwhile, the Korean tech giant has attractive benefits including big trade-in deals so you can get the Watch 5 by paying a minimal amount of around $200.
As mentioned, the Galaxy Watch 4 is not an older generation smartwatch, some basic features like sleep tracking work impressively. However, the Galaxy Watch 5 introduces promising battery life, which is at least 10 hours extra than the Galaxy Watch 4, on paper.
In addition, the Galaxy Watch 5 brings the new sapphire crystal display, which is much more scratch resistant than the Gorilla Glass found on the Galaxy Watch 4. We can take it as a big upgrade of the Galaxy Watch 5 over its predecessor when it comes to durability.
On the other hand, the Watch 5 Pro embeds the 2nd generation BioActive sensor which will provide you with better health stats and data for monitoring. Still, it remains a difficult decision whether you should upgrade to the Galaxy Watch 5 or not. Let us know through social media.
Galaxy Watch 3
Galaxy Watch 3 is now two years old and runs Samsung’s own made Tizen OS. While the company has already denied bringing the Wear OS-based One UI Watch upgrade to the Galaxy Watch 3, upgrading to the Watch 5 or 5 Pro would be a great decision.
Wear OS-powered smartwatch offers better support with Google and non-Google apps. The Watch 4 and Watch 5 series devices introduce even more possibilities we found in the Watch 3 or older watches by Samsung. Talking about trade-in benefits, you can grab up to $190 credit while upgrading to the Watch 5.
Galaxy Watch 5 & 5 Pro Price
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro comes with a starting price tag of $279, which is available in Bluetooth and Bluetooth + LTE configurations. Color options include Graphite, Pink Gold, and Silver for the 40mm and Graphite, Sapphire, and Silver for the 44mm model.
The price of the Galaxy Watch 5 pro starts at $449.99 for the Bluetooth version and $499.99 for the LTE version. The Golf Edition is also available on Samsung.com, price starting at $329.99. Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro offers three color options – Black Titanium, and Gray Titanium.
Samsung Android 13 Coverage:
- Samsung Android 13 One UI 5.0 Eligible Devices
- One UI 5.0 Update Progress Report
- One UI 5.0 Beta – Registration Guide
- One UI 5.0 Beta – Rollback Guide
- One UI 5.0 Beta ROM – Download Link
- One UI 5.0 Features and Tweaks
Samsung finally started the Stable One UI 6 Watch update rollout today. The company revealed all the eligible Galaxy Watch models for the update. There are many new features, Galaxy AI advancements, and functional improvements.
The Stable One UI 6 Watch update update will first rollout to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 series and then become available sequentially to previous generations. Feature availability and support may vary by market, carrier, model, and paired device.
Pay attention, the One UI 6 Watch is based on Google’s Wear OS 5. It aims to expand Watch 7 and Watch Ultra features to previous generations of Galaxy Watch including the Watch 6 series, Watch 5 series, Watch 4 series, and Watch FE.
The best features of One UI 6 Watch update:
Sleep Tracking
You will get a deeper and more accurate understanding of sleep with a detailed analysis powered by an advanced AI algorithm and new sleep metrics.
Sleep Apnea
- It helps users proactively spot potential signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea.
Race
- Monitor progress in real time when running or cycling with Race.
Workout Routine
- This feature lets users combine various exercises and create personalized routines.
Energy Score
- Users can better understand their physical and mental conditions through an intuitive score calculated from various health metrics.
New Watch Faces
- The One UI 6 Watch also brings a handful of new watch faces namely Spatial Number, Simple Digital and Ultra Info Board.
- Simple Digital watch face reflects a minimalist design
- Ultra Info Board watch face to check info at a glance without sacrificing style
Must Read:
While the One UI 6 Watch update contains Galaxy AI features, Samsung does not make any promises, assurances, or guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the output provided by AI features.
It is also advised that users should not treat any health-related info accessed through the Galaxy Watch as medical advice. Medical advice from a physician is highly recommended in case of any health-related sign shown on your wrist device.
Samsung’s new XR glasses are expected to launch in the second half of 2025. These glasses are being made in partnership with Google. A new report reveals that the glasses will share some features with the popular Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses but will not have a display.
According to the information, the upcoming XR glasses of Samsung will be powered by Qualcomm’s AR1 chipset, the same used in Ray-Ban Meta glasses. While details on the specific AR1 version remain unclear, the use of Qualcomm’s chip suggests a focus on lightweight, efficient computing.
Like the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, Samsung’s XR glasses will reportedly sport a 12MP camera and a 155 mAh battery, giving them a similar form factor. It also claims to weigh around 50 grams slightly heavier than the Ray-Ban model.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
There has been much speculation about whether these glasses would feature a display, and the fresh report suggests they will not. It would be hard to add a display while keeping the glasses lightweight, so Samsung is likely skipping this feature.
Even without a display, the Samsung XR glasses will still include some smart features. These include AI functions for making payments, scanning QR codes, recognizing gestures, and even identifying people.
Although the full details aren’t clear, it seems the glasses will offer more capabilities than the Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The Samsung XR glasses are expected to be released in late 2025, but Samsung might tease them off earlier.
Samsung crafting mixed-reality smart glasses with Qualcomm, Google
Samsung has rolled out a new beta update for the Galaxy Watch 6 Plugin app, introducing new features and fixes for users enrolled in the One UI 6 Watch Beta program. Identified as version 2.2.13.24110851, the fresh update enhances Galaxy Watch users’ functionality and customization options.
The fresh beta update adds the ability to install watch faces from the Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Watch 7, spotted on update notes. Now, Galaxy Watch 6 users can enjoy more watch faces that were previously available only on the newer Galaxy Watch models.
This new capability gives users more options to personalize the look of their watch, similar to the latest Galaxy watches.
Along with the new watch face options, this update also fixes some bugs and improves overall performance. However, the changelog does not mention specific details in the changelog.
The installation package size of this update is around 155MB. The new version aims to make the Galaxy Watch 6 Plugin app run more smoothly for those testing the One UI 6 Watch Beta.
By adding more customization options and fixing issues, Samsung hopes to give users a better, more enjoyable smartwatch experience.
If you’re testing the One UI 6 Watch Beta, you can download this update now through the Galaxy Store or from the third-party app link mentioned here. Once installed, you’ll be able to enjoy the new watch faces and benefit from the improvements that come with this update.