Galaxy Watch 5 Pro review: The Wear OS smartwatch we’ve been waiting for

If you’re into smartwatches but there is no Apple Watch on any of your wrists, chances are that you’re using a Samsung wearable, or have at least considered one. That’s only natural – Samsung is one of the frontrunners in the wearables arms race, where it is actually collaborating with Google quite intensely in terms of software development, with the hopes of catching up with and even surpassing Apple’s positions.And with the new Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, Samsung is definitely enriching the smartwatch space with a rather intriguing offering that’s tough enough to endure harsher usage conditions but also live to tell the tale, unscathed at that. At the same time, it lacks the somewhat off-putting and gimmicky “rugged” design that many of those conventional watches possess, and it easily passes as a rather smart dress watch.With a battery to easily last you at least two days of mixed to heavy usage and a bunch of features that fit rather nicely with its durable nature, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is easily the best smartwatch you can get for your Android device, and the ultimate one to go with your Galaxy phone.

What’s new about the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro:

• Sapphire crystal glass and titanium body
• Larger 590mAh battery
• Exclusive GOS guidance + Track Back
• Improved sleep tracking
• New temperature sensor (disabled at launch)
• Enhanced Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity

Galaxy Watch 5 Pro Design, Models & Sizes

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is, to put things lightly, one imposing and large smartwatch, noticeably taller and heavier than, say, an Apple Watch, for example. It comes in a single, one-size-fits-all 45mm size. Fully made of titanium and sapphire glass, the latest flagship Galaxy Watch is a solid and rather sturdy cross between a dress watch and a heavy-duty trekking companion, which might look just a little bit intimidating when you first put it on your wrist.

Thanks to the large battery inside, it’s a rather thick gadget that literally and figuratively stands out, and it definitely might be a bit harder to hide that one up under your sleeve. Still, it’s not uncomfortable to wear this one, and I eventually got used to the weight. However, if it weren’t for the benefit of this review, I wouldn’t have forced myself to wear this smartwatch while I catch some zzz’s in bed, as it’s just a bit too big and unwieldy. The regular Galaxy Watch 5 is way more comfortable in this regard, and I wore than one with pleasure.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has certainly been devised with thicker wrists in tow. Surely, nobody’s stopping you from getting one even if you have narrower wrists, but it will stick out and definitely look a bit funky.

The rugged Galaxy Watch 5 Pro features a raised bezel with the purpose of protecting the display from accidental bumps and the such. Still, it won’t shield your screen from sharp objects, and I bet few will be willing to test out the durability of sapphire that way.

There’s no moving parts on this watch. Yep, none—the beloved rotating bezel of old,, which allowed for quick interactions with the interface without touching the screen, is now sort of gone. Shame, as it would have matched the rugged design of the Watch 5 Pro rather nicely! Still, the overall functionality isn’t totally axed. The inner part of the bezel is still capacitive, meaning that you can slide your fingertip around to emulate the same functionality, but the satisfaction, accuracy, and utility of the old rotating bezel is gone. 

Speaking of the display, it’s just as bright and vivid as you might remember from previous Samsung smartwatches. It’s a joy to look at this remarkable 1.4-inch OLED screen, which is perfectly legible even in the brightest daytime and makes content and interface elements just pop!

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is available in Gray Titanium and Black Titanium, both quite classy colors that look great in person. Samsung also introduces a new D-Buckle strap, which utilizes a clever mechanism to latch the watch onto your wrist. Potential adopters can also customize any other available watch bands within the Bespoke Studio, which expands this functionality to the Watch 5 Pro, similarly to Apple’s Apple Watch configurator, albeit with more variety in store.

True to its rugged nature, the Watch 5 Pro features some enhanced activity features, chief among which is the exclusive route-based GPS guidance, which uses gentle haptic feedback and voice-assisted messages to navigate you through the great outdoors. Track Back is another useful GPS feature only found on the Watch 5 Pro, which will get you back to where you started by retracing the route you took. In my experience, the GPS accuracy is more than acceptable, but have in mind that your mileage may vary if you’re using it in the city jungle with multiple high buildings around you messing with the accuracy. In the wild outdoors, however, you shouldn’t have such issues. 

• by using Google Maps and converting a custom map to .GPX,
• by downloading a sample route from Samsung Health,
• by using a third-party app, like Komoot.

Initially, the process of importing the necessary GPX file seemed intimidating and convoluted, but after a few tries, I could see it become a more intuitive task, though Samsung surely has some opportunities for a better experience in terms of route discovery.

Activity tracking is better than ever, with automatic detection of the most popular activities like cycling, running, and outdoor walking, as well as manual tracking of more than 90 other activities. 

With mostly default settings (Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth enabled), heart-rate monitoring set to 10-minute intervals, and always-on display disabled, I routinely get above 60 hours of battery life between charges, or nearly three full days. As a side note, I consider myself a regular user with mostly mixed usage: I usually get a ton of notifications throughout a regular business day, with mostly mail and DM notifications pouring in, some light activity tracking, heart monitoring, and so on.

Using the GPS guidance or actively tracking an ongoing activity naturally tends to drain the battery faster, but I was always confident that the battery will last until I reach the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro’s charger. 

In terms of charging, Samsung’s latest wearable pride and glory charges quite fast. Thanks to the 10W WPC-based charging (a different standard than the more widespread Qi solution), the Galaxy Watch 5 charges up more than 40% after a brief 30-minute charge, while a complete charge takes a bit over an hour. That’s fast enough considering how good the battery life is, and a few quick top-ups here and there will make sure you never run out of juice.  

Performance is adequate, though the watch might lag from time to time, especially if you’re frantically trying to get to a specific app or a functionality, as the interface might struggle to keep up with your pace. Not ideal. 

Haptic feedback is appropriate. It doesn’t feel cheap, but it has a tinny sensation that contrasts with, instance, the Apple Watch 7, which has deeper vibrations. It’s all a question of personal choice, since you won’t miss a notification with either the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro or the Apple Watch, for example.

Galaxy Watch 5 Pro Competitors

Given its supposed new-found penchant for rugged adventures, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro elevates itself above the traditional selection of wearables. The upcoming AppleWatch Series 8 will definitely be a rival, especially its rumored rugged variant which should match the Watch 5 Pro pound for pound. 

And if we look past smartwatches, Casio’s G-Shock Mudmaster series might come in as an unorthodox alternative to consider.

Galaxy Watch 5 Pro Summary and final verdict