Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro Review: The best smartwatch for Android users

Price: Rs 44,999 (Bluetooth variant)

Exclusive to Android OS, the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro is the top-of-the-line smartwatch launched by Samsung this year. Featuring a titanium case and a 3-day battery backup, it has been priced aggressively at Rs 44,999. But if you are looking for something affordable, you might want to check out the Samsung Galaxy Watch5. 

Good looking

The design of the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro looks a cut above the rest. Even though designed for outdoor adventures, it doesn’t boast a sporty look. Instead, the raised case and an always-on display make it looks like an elegant timepiece.
 
The watch is available only in a 45mm casing. It features an exceptionally bright 1.4-inch, 450-by-450-pixel AMOLED display in a Titanium body with Sapphire Crystal glass for rough and tough use. Complementing the look is the new D-Buckle Sport band, made of soft silicon that doesn’t look cheap or flimsy. And unlike most silicon bands, including Apple’s, where my wrist starts to sweat, this isn’t the case with this watch band. At 46.5 grams, I found it comfortable to wear for longer durations. 

The watch band can be adjusted by opening the latch, adjusting the fit and locking it back. And while the lock buckle doesn’t appear to be too tight, over the one month of testing, not even once it popped over during workouts.

No rotating bezel

This year, Samsung has done away with the physical rotating bezel. The only ways to interact with the watch are the touch screen and the two buttons on the side. The one on the top is the home key, and the other is the back key. A single press of the home key takes back to the default watch face. App shortcuts can be assigned to the home key. My preferences were Maps on double press and Google Assistant on press and hold for the home key.

The Best of the Worlds:

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch5 Pro works only with Android devices using the Samsung Galaxy Wearable app. What I loved about the watch was the ability to add third-party watch faces that make it look much more elegant.

Although powered by Google Wear OS, the watch has the best of Google Apps and Samsung’s. This list includes Google Maps, Google Assistant, Google Play Store, and more. From Samsung’s stable, you get Samsung Pay, Samsung Messages, Samsung Health, Bixby, and other Samsung apps are provided. The user interface is neat – swiping down to access shortcuts, swiping up to access apps, swiping towards the left from the home screen shows notifications, and swiping right gives quick access to app tiles. The smartwatch successfully mirrors notifications for calls, emails and more. 

Fitness on your mind:

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Pro 5, like most smartwatches in the market, will keep an eye on vital stats while motivating you to achieve a healthier lifestyle. Starting with the basics, step count tracking is accurate. Over the last month, I used the watch to track my morning walks and runs. All the data, including time, distance, and heart rate zone, were easily accessible with just a tap. For those who often go cycling or hiking, you also get the route tracking, but the same requires importing GPX format workout routes from the smartphone to the watch and syncing the route list. 

Other than tracking workouts, it also measures body composition and shows body fat percentage, BMI, fat mass, skeletal muscle, and more. It requires placing the middle finger and ring finger on the two buttons measure BMI, which was in sync with the readings from the smart weighing scale.

Although a little uncomfortable to wear while sleeping (I have this habit of keeping my hand below my head), this watch can track sleep data. I found the sleep data to be accurate. Samsung Watch5 Pro can also detect snoring, for which the paired smartphone must be kept nearby. 

One big downside – the ECG feature is not accessible in India yet on this smartwatch.

Lasting battery:

Having a smartwatch means having an additional device to charge every day. Not with the Galaxy Watch Pro 5, as I got close to three days of battery backup on a single charge. This is impressive, given the bright display and constant notifications it fetched. 

Verdict: 

If you are looking for a smartwatch that you can wear to work daily and be your companion for adventure activities as well, look no further. The stunning design with crystal glass, outdoor activity tracking and 3-day battery backup make the Galaxy Watch5 Pro simply perfect. And for those wondering if it is better than the Apple Watch Series 8 or the Apple Watch Ultra, there is no competition. Samsung Watch5 Pro pairs only with Android smartphones, and Apple Watch is for iPhones.