Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
Riding on the coattails of success the Galaxy Watch 4 series brought to its wearables department, at its Galaxy Unpacked Event on August 10, 2022, Samsung unveiled two new smartwatches, Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. While the latter showcases a spin-off into a new market segment for the lineup with its design and hardware, the basic model comes with iterative upgrades making the package more comprehensive for its starting price of $279.99.
If you’re on an older wearable like the Galaxy Watch Active and are planning on getting an upgrade, in this article, we pit the Galaxy Watch 5 against the Galaxy Watch 4 to see whether the new one warrants the extra cash.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Minor Refresh
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 features iterative changes that improve the package sold previously. This is the best option to consider if you’re looking for a reasonably priced WearOS-based smartwatch. It comes with improved battery life and faster-charging capabilities.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
The Predecessor
Galaxy Watch 4 is the device to pick if you’re looking for a fitness-centric smartwatch that doesn’t hurt your wallet. At $249, its assortment of features and assurance of quality make it worth buying.
Design and Display
Off the bat, the design changes between Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 4 are minimal. The aluminum frame and flat glass display remain identical on both devices, and even the overall dimensions don’t feature any change. But for those with razor-sharp eyes, you will notice an increased curve on the back of the smartwatch. The OEM states this change in design promotes better health tracking as the larger BioActive sensor can now come in contact with more surface area.
Except for this, the only other noteworthy changes are the availability of the new Sapphire colorway and Sapphire Crystal covering for the screen. The latter is 1.6 times harder than the Corning solution implemented on Galaxy Watch 4.
Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 4 remain available in 40mm and 44mm case sizes, housing 1.2-inch and 1.4-inch AMOLED displays, respectively. And yes, the display is still surrounded by the thick touch capacitive bezel. The wearable also continues to support traditional 20mm bands, and its durability rating doesn’t see a change, as it maintains its IP68, 5 ATM, and MIL-STD ratings.
Health Features
Regarding health and wellness tracking, Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 does boast some improvements. These would be its improved BioActive sensor which, combined with increased contact, is said to provide more accurate results, and an infrared-based temperature sensor. Samsung says the new hardware even enables more personalized sleep tracking and exercise data. Nevertheless, their wearable already did a great job tracking these metrics, and we can’t wait to test how much better the new readings will be!
Fortunately for those eyeing the last generation, except for the lack of the temperature sensor, Galaxy Watch 4 covers most of the bases that the Galaxy Watch 5 steps upon; keep this in mind when comparing the two devices for your use case.
Performance and Battery
The performance variance between the two wearables should remain close to nil as they feature an identical Exynos W920. During my time with Galaxy Watch 4, the SoC continued to handle applications and tasks without much of a hitch. Even the RAM and internal storage on Galaxy Watch 5 match the 1.5 GB RAM and 16 GB of Galaxy Watch 4.
With the software and most hardware components remaining similar, the number of differences that keep the two generations apart is far and few. Still, there is one change that will significantly impact your user experience: faster charging.
I mentioned in my comparison of Apple Watch Series 7 and Galaxy Watch 4 that even though Series 7 had worse endurance, the short period required to charge to 100% was part of why I went back to using it. In the case of Galaxy Watch 4, the device had enough power to last a day of use, but it took almost two hours to go from 0 to 100% when I did need to find a charger. This, in my books, was a huge bummer.
Galaxy Watch 5 seems to address this issue and further improve battery-related aspects with its support for faster wireless charging and a 13% larger cell. Samsung states the wearable will now last 40 hours on a single charge — it noted this last year, but Galaxy Watch 4 never hit the mark — and charge up to 45% in 30 minutes. The change is a significant upgrade, and I can’t wait to test the new watch to see whether there’s a marked upgrade when it hits the streets near the end of August.
Do you need an upgrade, or should you stick to Galaxy Watch 4?
So, with that breakdown, we come to the question of whether you need a Galaxy Watch 5 or if you should pick Galaxy Watch 4, which should be available at lower prices. And I think choosing the Galaxy Watch 5 should be a no-brainer if you’re going the pre-order route.
Samsung often features a variety of deals that make the cost of ownership significantly lesser, and in 2022 the situation isn’t any different. This time Samsung’s Wireless Charger Duo is included as a freebie, and with an eligible trade-in, you’ll be able to score a $75 discount on the retail price of $279.99. In addition, there’s the $50 Samsung Credit which you can put towards accessories like an additional band.
Suppose you’re going to wait out the pre-order period and then look for the wearables at a discount. In that case, the situation becomes one where you need to analyze it case by case. But we can tell you this; Galaxy Watch 5 features some meaningful upgrades, but if you’re able to score Galaxy Watch 4 for a low price, you can’t go wrong with choosing it as your smartwatch.
What are your thoughts on Galaxy Watch 5? Is it an iterative upgrade that you purchase, or will you wait for better deals on its predecessor? Let us know with a comment below.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Minor Refresh
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 features iterative changes that improve the package sold previously. It is the best option to consider if you’re looking for a reasonably priced WearOS-based smartwatch, and it promises improved battery life and faster-charging capabilities.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
The Predecessor
Galaxy Watch 4 is the device to pick if you’re looking for a fitness-centric smartwatch that doesn’t hurt your wallet. At $249, its assortment of features and assurance of quality make it worth buying.
