Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Review

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch5 Series is out. Order your Samsung Galaxy Watch5 or Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro from Optus today.

The Galaxy Watch5 series consists of the Galaxy Watch5 and Galaxy Watch5 Pro. Here we delve into the Galaxy Watch5 to give you a glimpse of how the smartwatch works.

You can also read my review of the Galaxy Watch5 Pro or read my take on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4.

Contents

• Galaxy Watch5: Design, look and feel
• Galaxy Watch5: A watch for fitness and health enthusiasts
• Galaxy Watch5: Helps you achieve more in personal health care
• Galaxy Watch5: Advanced sleep tracking and coaching
• Galaxy Watch5: Processor, audio, storage and the rest
• Galaxy Watch5: Final thoughts

I have a Galaxy Watch4 and expect a certain level of design sophistication with Samsung. The Galaxy Watch5 does not disappoint in that department - it’s a stylish piece of work, although retains the same overall physical design as its predecessor.

Galaxy Watch5 comes in 40mm and 44mm dial (display) sizes. Both sizes feature a 20mm sports band and have a wireless LTE variant. Samsung’s got two colour variations in the 40mm category – ‘Pink Gold’ and ‘Silver’. The 44mm variant is available in the ‘Graphite’ colour.

Galaxy Watch5 case is made of aluminium and sports a matte look. The display face is made of Sapphire Crystal Glass, known to be resilient to wear and tear. But what I really love is the 40mm watch variant wallpapers that display the time in a dual colour tone, notching up the “playful” factor in the watch. Personally, the Watch5 is a FUN watch to look at and play with.

With the 44mm Galaxy Watch5, the display again stands out, this time marked by a visually striking font design which vaguely feels like the watch is in motion (I can’t explain it better than that – take a look at the photo below). 

Everything about the 44mm Watch5 display evokes the theme of sports and movement. For the 44mm Galaxy Watch5, the colour ’Graphite’ is available.

Looking at the features, some of which have been carried over from the previous Galaxy Watch4 with improvements, it is clear that the Galaxy Watch5 is geared towards fitness and wellness enthusiasts.

With its health tracking features, Watch5 helps you monitor key health indicators so you can set your health goals and work towards them at your own pace.²

Note - to collect and access health data, you need the Samsung Health app. Data that can be collected includes steps tracking, exercise tracking, body composition (water, muscle mass and fat), measuring heart rate,⁹ time spent on the exercise and calories burned and more.

In the health department, Watch5 behaves a bit like my hubby - nagging asking me to get up and start moving every hour or so, tracking calories, suggesting exercises, reminding me to walk even when in office (yes, we’re trying to be healthier and yes, he is clearly better at it than I am).

During the long work from home stint, I developed neck and back issues from working long hours on the computer. In that sense, Watch5 is a blessing (as is my hubby, of course). Sometimes we need reminders the world won’t end if we get up from our seats once in a while.

The 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor that was released with Galaxy Watch4 is also present in the Watch5 series. The sensor, at the back of the watch, lies on your wrist and helps track your blood pressure^2,[1] and analyse body composition in terms of the fat to muscle ratio.⁴

With the continuation of these features from Watch4, the Watch5 theme also includes a continued focus on personal health tracking and goal setting.

This extends to personal care in terms of tracking some body vitals, sleep monitoring and the new advanced sleep coaching now.

The Watch5 advanced sleep coaching feature is an interesting one. You need to wear the watch for seven nights in a row to use the advanced sleep coaching feature. The watch clocks your sleeping habits including different phases, duration and quality of sleep, finds out patterns and gives you insights.^5,6,7

Sleep tracking becomes more advanced as compared to Galaxy Watch4 with Samsung introducing a feature called advanced sleep coaching.¹  As explained above, the watch undertakes what Samsung refers to as a sleep survey to put together a personalised coaching plan aimed at helping you improve sleep quality.

The data is collected in your Samsung Health app. There’s a short sleep survey about your sleeping habits (like how many times do you wake up to go to the bathroom) ending with you setting your target sleep time.

Based on your answers, you are assigned a sleep symbol - my hubby got the “Unconcerned Lion” (honestly, no surprises there) while I became the “Sensitive Hedgehog” (*eyeroll*).

Next, Samsung builds a coaching schedule for you for about 4 weeks and takes you through a guided process of nudges and alerts, helping you become an incrementally better version of yourself in terms of sleep related habits.

It could be as simple as a nudge that asks you to switch off from your phone a couple of minutes early or build up healthy habits like not drinking caffeine after a certain time, not indulging in late-night snacking (the toughest one for me).

This feature is certainly an intriguing one and one of my highlights when it comes to the Galaxy Watch5.

The Galaxy Watch5 offers the same processor as the Galaxy Watch 4 series - Exynos W920. Performance wise, I did not find anything faulty - speed was great, there were no lags, the watch did not freeze in the middle of something. I am impressed with how intuitive the Galaxy watches are in general, recognising when I’ve been walking or working out and offering to record the distance, calories and route.

Bluetooth connectivity worked well for me as did calling, reading messages and checking notifications.

The latest Galaxy watch from Samsung adds some great refinements to an already popular watch. The focus on health and fitness is the most noticeable feature of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. If you have a Samsung phone, this is a really wonderful wearable accessory choice. 

You can pair your Galaxy Watch5 with a compatible device so you don’t have to be tethered to your phone all the time.⁸ Take a run at the beach without your phone while staying connected.

Order your Galaxy Watch5 or Galaxy Watch5 Pro from Optus today.

_{[1] Compared to Galaxy Watch4}

_{[2] Galaxy Watch5 is not a medical/therapeutic device. Fitness and health functions are for informational purposes only. Samsung recommends that you consult with your doctor before participating in any exercise program. Using Samsung Health App with Galaxy Watch5 requires signup and pairing with your compatible smartphone.}

_{[3] BLOOD PRESSURE: Blood pressure feature only to be used by adults 22 years+. Intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Not intended for use in detection, monitoring, diagnosis, treatment of any medical condition or disease. The measurements are for your personal reference only. Please consult a medical professional for advice. For accurate BP readings, a calibration is required every 4 weeks by BP monitor & arm cuff. Requires a Galaxy smartphone running Android 7.0 or above.}

_{[4] Intended for general wellness and fitness purposes only. Not intended for use in detection, diagnosis, treatment of any medical condition or disease. The measurements are for your personal reference only. Please consult a medical professional for advice.}

_{[5] The Galaxy Watch5 must be paired with a smartphone to use the sleep management function.}

_{[6] For best results in detecting and recording snoring, place your smartphone on a stable surface near your head with the bottom of the smartphone pointed to your head.}

_{[7] The default setting for snoring detection is off. Users can turn the setting on with their smartphone at anytime using the Samsung Health App 6.18 version or above.}

_{[8] Samsung Health Women's Health is an over-the-counter (OTC) software-only, mobile software application that facilitates ovulation prediction by displaying the user's cycle, fertility window, and ovulation days.}

_{[9] Galaxy Watch5 is not a medical/therapeutic device. Fitness and health functions are for informational purposes only. Samsung recommends that you consult with your doctor before participating in any exercise program. Using Samsung Health App with Galaxy Watch5 requires signup and pairing with your compatible smartphone.}

_{[10] Compatible phone and eligible plan/s required}

Angelique Thakur works with Optus. She loves to play around with gadgets and is a dog lover. She also enjoys going on hikes and annoying her partner.