• Source: Samsung

  Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

  New and improved

  $180 $280 Save $100

  Samsung’s fifth-gen Galaxy smartwatch doesn’t look much different from the last one, but it’s been updated to address rampant battery and charging concerns. It also sports much more durable face glass, making it a fantastic choice for long-term wear in all conditions.

  Pros

  • 60% stronger Sapphire Crystal Glass
  • All-day battery with fast charging
  • More consistent readings

  Cons

  • No more rotating bezel option
  • Almost identical to the Galaxy Watch 4
  • Not cheap

• Source: Samsung

  Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

  Older, but still great

  $170 $200 Save $30

  It was Samsung’s first Wear OS watch and, by most accounts, a successful and useful wearable. If you’re pressed for cash and can find a great deal on one, it’s worth considering. Just beware of the subpar battery life and charging speed.

  Pros

  • Sleek, slim, lightweight design
  • A wide range of exercise and health monitoring
  • Often found much cheaper than the 5

  Cons

  • Barely 24-hour battery life in some cases
  • Charges pretty slowly
  • Face glass is prone to damage

An upgrade to one of the best Android smartwatches we’d seen in years, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 fixed some of the few flaws with the Galaxy Watch 4, like screen durability and charging time. Granted, both have now been upstaged by new Galaxy Watch 6, but just because they’re not the latest and greatest doesn’t mean they’re worthless. In fact, even the two-year-old Galaxy Watch 4 is still an excellent watch if you catch it with the right deal, but now that the Galaxy Watch 5 is starting to get $75-$100 discounts regularly, it becomes a matter of how much more bang for your buck you’ll get depending on their ever-shifting sales.

Pricing, specs, and availability

As just mentioned, these are previous generations and thus should only be dealt with when on sale; do not touch either of these if they cost more than $230. Over $230, you really will get a better value with the twice-as-bright screen, newer processor, and even more efficient battery of the Galaxy Watch 6. The originally $250 Galaxy Watch 4 routinely sells for $160-$200, and the Galaxy Watch 5 is just now starting to come down from its list price of $280. When the Galaxy Watch 5 is $200 — or $180, which is becoming more frequent — it’s the obvious choice over a $140-$180 Watch 4 due to the Sapphire Crystal Glass screen, longer battery life, and newer, faster magnetic charging cable with USB-C.

The only problem facing the Galaxy Watch 5 is that Samsung seems to have completely discontinued it. Samsung still sells the Galaxy Watch 4, but the day the Galaxy Watch 6 went on sale, the Galaxy Watch 5 vanished from Samsung’s website. Amazon, Best Buy, and most major retailers are still stocking the Watch 5 — with Amazon and Best Buy frequently discounting it — but Watch 5 supply might dry up compared to the somehow-still-kicking Galaxy Watch 4.

The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and 5 Pro are a more complicated matter, but from a design and hardware perspective, the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 are essentially twins. Both come in 40mm and 44mm sizes, in three colors, and in either Bluetooth or Bluetooth+LTE — though the size and color options have been drying up for the Galaxy Watch 4 after two years. Both use the same processor, the same design, the same excellent 20mm watch straps, and the same software, One UI Watch.

• 	Samsung Galaxy Watch 5	Samsung Galaxy Watch 4
  Case Material	Aluminum	Aluminum
  Display	1.19″ Sapphire Crystal Glass AMOLED 396x396px (40mm) or 1.36″ Sapphire Crystal Glass AMOLED 450x450px (44mm)	1.2″ Super AMOLED 396×396 (40mm) or 1.4″ 450×450 (44mm)
  CPU	Exynos W920	Exynos W920
  RAM	1.5GB	1.5GB
  Storage	16GB	16GB
  Battery	284mAh (40mm) or 410 mAh (44mm)	247mAh (40mm) or 361mAh (44mm)
  Connectivity	NFC, GPS, Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi (2.4Gz & 5Ghz), LTE (optional)	NFC, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, LTE (optional)
  Durability	IP68, Waterproof to 50m (5ATM), MIL-STD-810H	IP68, Waterproof up to 50 meters (5ATM)
  Software	One UI Watch (Wear OS 3 powered by Samsung)	Wear OS 3 Powered by Samsung
  Health sensors	Optical Heart Rate, Electrical Heart Sensor (ECG), Bioelectrical Impedance (BIA), Continuous SpO, Skin Temperature Sensor	Heart Rate, EKG, Bioelectrical Impedance, Built-in GPS
  Strap	20mm	20mm
  Dimensions	40.4 x 39.3 x 9.8 mm (40mm) or 44.4 x 43.3 x 9.8 mm (44mm)	40.4 x 39.3 x 9.8mm (40mm) or 44.4 x 43.3 x 9.8mm (44mm)
  Weight	29 (40mm) or 32.8g (44mm)	25.9g (40mm) or 30.3g (42mm)
  Mobile payments	Samsung Pay, Google Wallet	Samsung Pay, Google Wallet
  Workout detection	Yes	Yes
  Exercise modes	90+	90
  Color options	Silver, Graphite, Pink Gold (40mm only), Sapphire (44mm only)	Black, Green, Silver (44mm only), Black, Silver, Pink Gold (40mm only)

Similar hardware and design

You’ll notice somewhat of a recurring theme, starting with nearly identical hardware inside the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5. They both use identical Exynos W920 SoCs, as well as the same RAM and storage configuration. The Watch 5’s Bluetooth did see an upgrade to 5.2, but that won’t make a real-world difference. For that matter, the only difference in sensors is the Watch 5’s new Skin Temperature sensor.

Excepting the Watch 4 Classic (which is bigger, heavier, and more expensive to the point that it feels like a different watch), the Watch 4 and 5 come in the same size and look almost exactly the same on the outside. The later model does have some slightly redesigned curves that ensure more consistent contact for sensor performance, which reduces the frequency of annoyingly inconclusive or inconsistent readings.

One major upgrade to the Galaxy Watch 5, though, comes in the form of the Sapphire Crystal Glass covering the touchscreen. Samsung claims it’s a whopping 60% more durable, and while that’s hard to measure accurately, it holds up to minor damage considerably better than the Galaxy Watch 4’s glass. For a wearable that’s at its best when used all the time, the protection and peace of mind of the new glass are extremely welcome.

If you work with your hands a lot or engage in any kind of high-effort activity where bumps and nicks are inevitable, the Galaxy Watch 5 may well be the right choice. But if you’re just accident-prone and already own a Galaxy Watch 4, maybe keep it until that unavoidable shattering happens, then replace it. Or, look for a Watch 6 deal if your old one manages to hold out long enough.

Software and features

While the Galaxy Watch 5 isn’t a massive update from the Watch 4, one extra feature is included in the new smartwatch: sleep coaching. This feature tracks your sleep patterns for 30 days and provides extensive feedback and statistics based on the tracking — an amazing feature for those serious about monitoring their sleep and getting the most out of their Zs.

The Watch 5’s only other functional difference is the skin temperature sensor, with both sporting identical internals otherwise. As such, the software experience and feature set are identical. If your Watch 4 is still going strong, there’s no need to upgrade to the Watch 5. If you don’t yet have a Watch 4, don’t worry that you’ll miss out on any fancy features by not getting Samsung’s latest base model smartwatch.

Notable improvements in battery life

All-day fitness tracking and all-night sleep tracking don’t work very well if you can’t use your watch all the time. So battery life’s pretty critical for an effective smartwatch. This is where you’ll see the biggest benefit of the newer Watch 5. The battery capacity jumped by over 10% in both sizes, addressing one of the Watch 4’s two battery-related shortcomings. Few users, if any, were able to replicate Samsung’s 40-hour battery life claims. The newer Watch 5 still fails to live up to its 50-hour claims, but the bigger battery should be just enough to get most people through the day.

But the real key here is the overhauled charging system. The Galaxy Watch 4 was marred by remarkably slow charging times, with many users needing nearly two full hours from 0% to full. This time around, Samsung’s ditched the piddly USB-A charger for a USB-C one, which brings with it many of the charging updates that USB-C’s known for. The end result is that the Watch 5 can go from empty to 45% in just about 30 minutes. In fact, you can get enough juice for 8 hours of sleep tracking from just an 8-minute charge. This makes it incredibly more convenient to keep at a comfortable charge level, since a quick plug-in during a shower and your morning routine should do the trick until you get home.

Which is right for you?

The Galaxy Watch 5’s harder screen and bigger battery on their own didn’t make sense for Galaxy Watch 4 owners to upgrade, but for currently watchless buyers looking to cover their naked wrists, the choice between the two now comes down to price more than anything else. Deals are ever-shifting, but when the Galaxy Watch 5 has a good deal, it can easily justify an added $40-$60 over the Galaxy Watch 4’s sale price. At the very least, getting 24-hour battery life and faster recharging make a significant impact on the day-to-day experience with a smartwatch, and the Galaxy Watch 5 is getting basically all of the Galaxy Watch 6’s software features including the newly expanded sleep coaching.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

Better deal — when it has one

Long-lasting and durable

$180 $280 Save $100

A minor but necessary improvement over the Watch 4, the Galaxy Watch 5’s increased battery life, fast charging speed, and significantly enhanced display glass make it a no-brainer within today’s midrange smartwatch class. Now that it’s been around for a while, you can usually find it on sale.

The answer’s a little less clear if you don’t yet own a Galaxy Watch and want a dependable Samsung smartwatch but are especially frugal. This far into their life cycles, you can usually find one or the other at a discount. You can often find the Watch 4 at around $150, usually about $80 less than most Watch 5 deals. For that price, you can consider getting OG Wear OS 3 watch, provided you’re willing to top up the battery more frequently.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

Always on sale

Still an excellent smartwatch

$170 $200 Save $30

Hardly distinguishable from its replacement, the Galaxy Watch 4 remains a great smartwatch that doesn’t necessarily need upgrading unless you just can’t deal with its poor battery life and charging speeds. If those aren’t dealbreakers for you, then it’s still a great pickup when you can regularly find it for $80-$120 less than the Watch 5.