Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs Galaxy Watch 5

Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 vs Galaxy Watch 5

That time of the year is here when your ever favorite brand comes up with new arrivals in the Smart watches segment, probably the time of the year we always wait for. Samsung has finally launched their new series of Galaxy Watch, the watch 5 and the all new watch 5 pro which has taken place of the classic series.

For the past year, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 has been one of the best smart watches, and the overall best smart watch for Android. Not only was it the first device to launch with the unified version Wear OS, replacing Tizen, but it offered ample health upgrades and design options compared to earlier Galaxy Watch models. Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 was one of the best available android watches in the market until the launch of galaxy watch 5 in August 2022 which has some more features introduced in it.

Galaxy watch 4 series had two main models that were Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 classic. Galaxy watch 4 has two different size options i.e. 40mm and 44mm while Galaxy watch 4 classic is also available in two size options differing from the previous one i.e. 42mm and 46mm. Galaxy Watch 5 can be said as the direct inheritor of Galaxy Watch 4 series. Galaxy watch 5 series has two main models which are Galaxy watch 5 and Galaxy watch 5 pro which are different mainly in their sizes. Galaxy watch 5 has two sizes i.e. 40mm and 44mm while Galaxy watch 5 pro also has a single size option which is 45mm.

Specs: 

Display size of Galaxy 4 series is 1.2 inches (40mm) and 1.4 inches (44mm) on the other hand, same is the display size for 40mm and 44mm size options of galaxy watch 5 series. Galaxy watch 5 pro display size is also 1.4 inches. There is a use of sapphire crystal in watch 5 series which is claimed to be more scratch resistant. The body size of Galaxy watch 4 series size options 40mm and 44mm is same as that of watch 5 series which is 40.4*39.3*9.8mm and 44.4*43.3*9.8mm respectively. However, Galaxy watch 5 pro has slightly different dimension of body size which is 45.4*45.4*10.4mm. The build of this watch is also with a glass front and titanium frame. The weight, resolution, touchscreen, storage and depth for both the series and their models is same and the storage is 16GB for all the variants. The resolution is 396*396 pixels (40mm) and 450*450 (44mm) for both Galaxy watch 4 and 5 series. Touchscreen has super AMOLED display in all the variants of both series. Some other features which are common in both the series’ variants are accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, heart rate sensor, barometer, and water resistance. The Galaxy watch 5 pro has some additional features which are thermometer, natural language commands and dictation.

Design and Display & Colors:

Both the watches have pretty similar look as Samsung has not introduced anything new in its design and only improved some of the features. The watch 5 has a comparative modern design with a decent look with a weight of 28.7 and 33.5 grams for 40mm and 44mm size variants respectively. The same sizes are available in case of watch 4 series with weights 25.9 and 30.3 grams.

Due to the presence of Sapphire crystal in watch 5, Samsung stated that it gives 60% harder external layer than watch 4 series and it is also scratch resistant. Watch 5 series also has titanium casing which is missing in watch 4 series. This casing provides protection from scratching during any outdoor hard work out. The plus point which the watch 4 series has over watch 5 is that galaxy watch 4 classic has a rotating bezel in it which allows to interact with interface of watch without the need to touch the screen. There are some new colors introduced in watch 5 series which include Graphite (Black), Silver & Sapphire for the 44mm and Pink, Purple & Graphite (Black) for the 40mm, whereas, the Pro version offers a Titanium Grey & Titanium Black option.

Fitness Characteristics:

There is a minimal difference in the fitness characteristics of both the watch series. Both have Bio-active sensor of Samsung but due to a slighter better and bigger display in watch 5 series, the readings are more accurate. The additional thing which watch 5 series has is temperature sensor i.e. thermometer. There is utilization of infrared technology which ensures the accurate measurements despite of the alterations in temperature in the surrounding environment. This can be used to indicate the onset of illness but the company has some further plans for it on which it is working so we might have to wait a bit longer to see its actual uses.

Both of the watches have sleeping tracking system but there is a slight upgrade in watch 5 series. In Galaxy 5, there is a Sleeping Coaching system which is a month long program with proper guidelines to make the sleeping schedule better.

Battery Life:

As mentioned earlier, battery life of watch 5 series is much better than that of 4 series. Battery timing is also greater in case of watch 5 series especially Galaxy Watch 5 pro. Galaxy watch 5 has almost 15% bigger battery than galaxy watch 5 which means 10 hours of more battery timing. The battery power of Galaxy watch 4 is 271 mAh (40mm) and 361mAh (44mm) which indicates a battery timing of up to 40 hours based upon the Samsung laboratory measurements. On the contrast, the battery life of Galaxy watch 5 series is better. It is 284mAh (40mm) and 410mAh (44mm) with a battery timing of up to 50 hours. The battery power of Galaxy watch 5 pro is even more better than all of these which is 590mAh with a battery timing of up to 80 hours or almost double but this fact is not tested, it is only a claim. Both of the series have WPS wireless charging feature.

An additional feature which is a plus point for watch 5 series is fast charging. The company, Samsung, states that with this type of fast charging, the battery can be charged from zero to 45% in about thirty minutes. Samsung also states that only eight minutes of charging is enough for eight hours of usage so this fact is good for the individuals who use the sleep tracking feature of this watch.

Unique Features:

Both of the watches have WearOS3 and Samsung’s one UI watch. Watch 5 has One UI Watch 4.5 with an additional accessibility character, better typing and dual SIM support. Besides this, there is only an improvement in sleep tracking feature. Nothing is new in watch 5 series regarding any special or unique feature.

Personal Opinion:

In my personal opinion the differences in Watch 5 series as compared to the last series are minimal but worth the upgrade, if you were a rotating bezel fan then you would surely miss it in the pro version, but you would love to realize getting better battery life, refreshing new colors, the all new style of strap in the pro version and much more features discussed above, won’t you?