Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro Smartwatch review - Simply lasts longer

The case of the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro is made of titanium and has a brushed surface. The material feel and workmanship are excellent. This impression is reinforced by the tight fit of the two buttons on the right side and their rich sound when pressed. The 1.36-inch display is protected by sapphire glass. In addition, the bezel clearly overhangs the display and thus protects it as well. The bezel is not rotatable, but sensors on the inside detect movements, which results in the digital usability of the bezel.

A microphone sits between the two buttons on the right side, and another one finds its place above the strap connector on the upper side. The speaker is located on the left side of the case. The underside of the smartwatch is dominated by a large number of sensors. It does not need charging contacts because the battery is charged wirelessly via a Qi charging pad.

The Galaxy Watch5 Pro is only available in one size with a case diameter of 45 millimeters. It weighs 76 grams with the D-Buckle Sport band on the test scale, and the case alone weighs 47 grams. The watch did not suffer any damage during the test. Only the titanium buckle of the wristband, which constantly touches the table or laptop when typing on a keyboard, got some marks during use.

The central platform for the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro's health features is the Samsung Health app. The program compiles all the essential data on the home page and provides an overview of the daily activity with the familiar circles - in Samsung's case they are hearts -, the steps run, an overview of past workouts, sleep data, pulse, stress level, body composition, and blood oxygen saturation. Clicking on the individual elements opens a submenu and provides an overview of the steps taken in the past days, weeks, or months.

The results can be compared via the Samsung community. In the Fitness tab, Samsung lists training plans from various providers like Blesslife, Keep, 300Fit and its own Samsung Health offers in different categories. Running workouts are possible, but also strengthening or fat-burning exercises. The training plans can be individualized in terms of time. The workouts are visualized as videos on the smartphone, and the watch measures the training load.

In the Profile tab, the app displays personal best times and collected badges. In addition, a weekly summary of active time and sleep time is given. It is not possible to synchronize the data with Google Fit without a third-party app. However, Samsung Health can be connected with Strava and Technogym accounts.

Samsung uses a so-called BioActive sensor to collect the data. This processes optical heart rate, electrical heart signal, and bioelectrical impedance analysis on one chip. The Watch5 Pro can also measure blood oxygen with this chip and calculate a stress level from it. A measurement of the skin temperature is missing.

Both the watch and the Health app display the status of activity goals in the form of data and diagrams. In pie charts, the Samsung watch shows steps walked, time in motion, and calories burned. The goals can be individualized in the app. In addition, the watch also informs about the total distance covered during the day and the floors climbed. The data gets even more specific, so the watch indicates the most active hour of the day, and the app shows on a map the area where the wearer was on the move. Stress levels are also measured throughout the day and each hour is graphically classified on a bar. In addition, the watch can measure and break down the body's composition into body fat, skeletal muscle, fat mass, and body water.

A big plus of the Samsung watch is the possibility to measure ECG and blood pressure. However, the measurements are only possible in conjunction with another app - Samsung Health Monitor. This is problematic because this program only works on Samsung smartphones. Installing the APK file on smartphones from other manufacturers is possible, but the program does not start. Therefore, the measurement of these two parameters only works on Samsung smartphones. However, the accuracy of the blood pressure measurement is convincing when compared with our reference device, the Braun ExacFit 5 Connect. The values only deviated by a few mmHg in two of three measurements. On average, the systolic values from the three measurements differ by 2.64 percent, and the diastolic values by 8.07 percent.

The Watch5 Pro also measures blood oxygen saturation. We also compared these values with a reference device, in this case, the Braun Pulse Oximeter 1. The smartwatch's values are also convincing in this discipline, because the deviation is 2.39 percent on average in three measurements, and the watch's values are below those of the reference device in each case.

We also examined the accuracy of the heart rate measurement of the Galaxy Watch5 Pro. In this case, the values are compared with those of the Polar H10 chest strap on a bike ride. The deviation is 3.64 percent for the resting heart rate, but the values are only 1.40 percent apart for the performance heart rate. With one exception, the values of the watch are higher than those of the chest strap in each case. It is interesting that the measurements of the normal Watch5 without Pro are much more accurate than those of the chest strap, although the same sensors are installed. This suggests a slightly worse fit of the large Pro model on the tester's arm.

The Watch5 Pro establishes a connection to the satellite network within a few seconds when starting a workout. Since the corresponding antennas are built into the watch, no pairing with a smartphone is necessary for this. The track recording is very accurate, as Samsung's smartwatch proves in a comparison ride on the bike with the Garmin Venu 2. The route length is very similar, and the representation on the map is even more accurate than on the Garmin watch in most cases.

Navigation is also possible with the watch. On the one hand, GPX files can be imported, which can then be stored as destinations for hikes or bike tours. Completed routes can also be exported as GPX files. In addition, Samsung offers the option of a return path navigation for the first time with the Pro model, provided the feature has been activated in the workout settings beforehand. The Watch5 Pro can then show the exact route that was taken to the turning point. However, this function is only available for hiking and cycling - not for jogging, for example - and has to be started specifically in the settings for each workout

Google Maps is also installed on the watch. If navigation is started on the smartphone, the route can also be viewed on the watch, and navigation can either be done with arrows or visualized on the map. The route guidance can even be started directly on the watch, provided a paired smartphone is within Bluetooth range.

The 1.36-inch AMOLED display is the heart of the Galaxy Watch5 Pro and it impresses with a perfect black level and great contrasts due to its design. In addition, the panel is very bright and thus always easy to read in everyday use, even outdoors in full sunlight. We measured a maximum brightness of 813 cd/m² with the ambient light sensor enabled, and 583 cd/m² with the sensor disabled.

However, we noticed PWM in the test. The display flickers at a low frequency of 60 Hz. However, this is less problematic in everyday use than on a smartphone because the viewing time of the watch display is much shorter. We could not determine temporal dithering on the panel.

The Galaxy smartwatch also has an always-on display that can be customized in style. The sleep mode, which deactivates the display at night and mutes notifications, is also particularly successful. It has to be deactivated by pressing a button and confirmation on the display, so it is not turned off by mistake at night. In everyday use, the display is activated by a twist of the wrist or a touch. The response time is very good and there is no pause until inputs can be made.

Samsung installs its own Exynos W920 in the Galaxy Watch5 Pro, which was already used in the predecessor Galaxy Watch4. The Exynos performs very well in the benchmarks, especially in Sunspider and Mozilla Kraken 1.1, and is only beaten by another watch. However, the Galaxy Watch5 Pro falls behind in Google's Octane V2 benchmark.

The performance of the watch is convincing in everyday use. Inputs can be made smoothly, and there are no stutters when swiping between different maps or long waiting times when opening apps. Only the installation of apps from the Play Store takes some time, which could be due to the slow eMMC storage. At least the watch offers 7.5 GB of free storage in the factory settings. That leaves enough room for numerous apps from the Google Play Store or for pictures and music that can be stored locally on the watch. It is also possible to save albums and playlists for offline playback with streaming services like Spotify.

Thus, the watch can provide entertainment without a smartphone connection, for example, during workouts. The connection with various Bluetooth headphones worked smoothly in the test. Samsung devices can also control special functions like noise suppression from the watch. Thanks to built-in NFC, the watch can also be used for payment as long as a paired smartphone is nearby. The Watch5 Pro supports Samsung Pay and Google Wallet. However, Samsung Pay did not work on a non-Samsung smartphones.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro's feature set is impressive. It masters everyday tasks like telephony and notifications excellently. Especially the answering options via easy-to-use keyboard set it apart from many rivals. The smartwatch's fitness features are just as extensive, and the ECG and blood pressure measurements particularly distinguish the Galaxy watch. It is a pity that Samsung restricts these functions and only makes them available for Samsung smartphone users. After all, the Watch5 Pro's measurements are convincing in the respective comparison tests with reference devices.

The Watch5 Pro does not make any mistakes, however, the advantage of the Pro model is only the larger battery, the titanium case, and the way-back navigation in two sports.

The changes compared to the normal, cheaper Watch5, but also compared to the predecessor Watch4 are thus kept within narrow limits. If you are looking for a classy smartwatch with longer battery life, you should take a look at the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro. It also convinces with a fine titanium casing, but the response options are limited. The certified ECG function was added in an update.