Samsung had a big presence at MWC, but not when it came to watches. Logical: the Galaxy S23 is everything and the company wants to focus on that. But of course there are Galaxy Watch 5 watches here and there. Already own a Galaxy Watch 4 and wondering if it’s worth the upgrade? We put them directly opposite each other.
Galaxy Watch 4 vs Galaxy Watch 5
A smartwatch like Galaxy Watch is useful for a lot of things. You can keep track of your steps, register sports sessions, pay with it, read WhatsApp messages, listen to music, make calls, monitor other health factors and… see the time. Enough to do on your wrist. You currently spend 178 euros on a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4. Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 has a starting price of 299 euros: a considerable difference. There are three factors that make the Watch 5 very different from the Watch 4.
Price
The aforementioned price applies if we look at the suggested retail price. Both smart watches have now been on the market for some time and we see that the 4 is now available for 119 euros and the Galaxy Watch 5 for 217 euros. Still about 100 euros difference, so that is already a first factor to take into account. And: what exactly do you get for that 100 euros more? Note: for both watches we assume the normal, regular 44 mm variant: no Pro. Here’s what Galaxy Watch 5 has that Galaxy Watch 4 doesn’t.
Screen
The Galaxy Watch 5’s screen is made of sapphire glass. At 1.36 inches, it is smaller than the 1.4 inches of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, but that is negligible. Sapphire glass is a big plus because it is extremely strong. If you slap your wrist against the door frame once, or if you put your hand in your pocket and push a key against the glass, it is more likely to survive than if you can really only fall back on the AMOLED screen with normal glass of number 4.
Battery
The battery of the watch is larger. You get a 410 mAh battery in the Watch 5, while the 4 has a 361 mAh battery. In addition, the Watch 5 can also charge faster: it is already half full in half an hour, where the 4 still needs a little longer. Especially among smart watches, that battery life is essential. You have to charge an Apple Watch every night (if you go for the regular one). Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 can last two days on a single charge.
Upgrade or not?
Other than that, things like the storage memory, the working memory and even the processor are exactly the same: an Exynos W920 combined with 1.5GB RAM and 16GB storage. Both watches also have the same IP rating of IP68, which makes them water resistant to 50 meters. The strap is 20mm on both watches and, remarkably enough, the size is exactly the same. Only the 5 is slightly heavier at 2.5 grams, but you will hardly notice that at a total weight of 30.3 grams versus 32.8 grams.
Whether an upgrade is necessary depends on how quickly you find that your Galaxy Watch 4 is now finished, because they are also practically identical in appearance. After years of use, the battery life will probably have decreased slightly and then the Watch 5 is an upgrade. At the same time, we expect Samsung to probably pull out a Watch 6 in a few months, which will hopefully be a somewhat bigger upgrade than this one was. A device that hopefully gets even more out of the Wear OS operating system and comes with functions that we see with the competition, for example, such as being able to make official ECGs.
Laura Jenny
When she’s not tapping, she’s traveling around the wonderful world of entertainment or some cool place in the real world. Mario is the man of her life,…
