Are premium materials and a bigger battery enough reason to drop hundreds on the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro?
At its annual Unpacked conference, Samsung unveiled a bunch of new hardware, including its latest and greatest Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4. But some of us here at AP are incredibly excited about fresh updates to the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic, two of the best smartwatches on the market today. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is Samsung's high-end wearable offering this year. It boasts impressive specs like a titanium case, sapphire crystal glass over its display, and a positively massive battery. Do you have a Watch 4 Classic and wonder if the new version is worth your money? Read on to find out.
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro's specs are remarkably similar to the Watch 4 Classic's. The new Pro is practically the same size as the larger 4 Classic, though its case and display are about one millimeter narrower. The screen is still a 450 x 450 OLED, but this time, it's covered with sapphire crystal—a more premium, scratch-resistant covering than the glass that covered the Watch 4 Classic's display. Its case is also super-tough titanium, unlike the Watch 4 Classic's stainless steel—another splashy material upgrade.
The Watch 5 series uses the same Exynos W920 chipset as last year's Watch 4s did, and in our hands-on, we noted that "Performance doesn't feel hugely different" from the previous generation. Both the older Watch 4 Classic and the new Watch 5 Pro each have 1.5GB of RAM.
The most obvious upgrade from a usability perspective is the Watch 5 Pro's huge battery. Despite the Pro having a similar footprint to the 46-millimeter Watch 4 Classic, the newer model is packing a downright beefy 590mAh battery—a 63 percent increase in capacity from the larger Classic's 361mAh cell. We haven't had the chance to test battery life ourselves yet, but a July leak suggests the Pro can last more than 72 hours between top-ups. In a world where most smartwatches struggle to make it two full days on a charge, that's a big deal. It also charges faster with a 10-watt magnetic charging puck (last year's watches topped out at five watts).
There are smaller spec upgrades, too. The Watch 5 Pro has Bluetooth 5.2 as opposed to the Watch 4 series' Bluetooth 5.0, and Samsung says the new model complies to the MIL-STD-810H durability standard, which should mean it's nominally tougher than the MIL-STD-810G-compliant Watch 4 Pro. Finally, the Watch 5 Pro boasts a new skin temperature sensor, which should help it estimate your internal temperature if you're into that sort of thing.
The Watch 5 Pro looks a lot like the Watch 4 Classic. They have the same basic shape, and they're both styled to look more like conventional watches than their less-expensive Galaxy Watch counterparts. But the premium offering this year is indeed very premium, with a titanium case and a sapphire crystal display cover—each an upgrade over the Watch 4 Classic's stainless steel and glass.
The most noticeable change is the loss of the Classic line's rotating bezel—no built-in clicky fidget toy this year. The Watch 5 Pro still differentiates itself from the base Watch 5 with its styling, materials, and comparatively enormous battery—plus outdoor sports-themed watch faces and activity tracking features—but it's still a shame to see one of Samsung's most unique and playful wearable flourishes go missing.
The Watch 5 Pro comes in black or gray—a similar story to the 4 Classic, which is available in black or silver. Both the Watch 4 and the Watch 5 are available in more colors than their pricier cousins.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic starts at $350 for the Bluetooth-only 42-millimeter version, but the 46-millimeter model that more closely matches the 5 Pro costs $380. Adding LTE connectivity to either size costs an extra $50.
The new Watch 5 Pro comes in one size—45 millimeters—and starts at a positively premium $450 for the Bluetooth model. The LTE version costs $500. That's a lot to ask for a smartwatch, though one with such sturdy construction and such a huge battery should last quite a few years.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is available for pre-order now, with general availability starting August 26.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 series is only a year old. Considering the new Watch 5 Pro's upgrades are primarily nicer materials (titanium and sapphire crystal are very high-end) and a bigger battery, you probably shouldn't upgrade from your Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic to the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Unless you absolutely need your smartwatch to last as long as possible—possibly for outdoor sports like cycling or trail running, a use case Samsung is leaning on heavily in marketing—spending $500 on an iterative update seems like a bad deal.
Samsung's hardware unveiled at Unpacked this year is more about refinement than flashy new features, so if you're happy with what you've got now, know that you aren't missing much by sticking with your existing watch. The Watch 5 Pro may become an attractive option if you lose or break your Watch 4 Classic, but for most people, it's not a sensible upgrade.
For more about the Watch 5 Pro and its less expensive counterpart, check out our Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro hands-on.
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Taylor was a phone nerd long before joining Android Police in 2018. He currently carries a Pixel 6 Pro, which he uses mostly to take pictures of his dogs.