{"id":10271,"date":"2022-08-24T18:50:50","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T16:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/2022\/08\/24\/samsung-galaxy-watch-5-pro-review-pro-price-amateur-upgrades\/"},"modified":"2022-08-24T22:02:47","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T20:02:47","slug":"samsung-galaxy-watch-5-pro-review-pro-price-amateur-upgrades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plus.maciejpiasecki.info\/index.php\/2022\/08\/24\/samsung-galaxy-watch-5-pro-review-pro-price-amateur-upgrades\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro Review: Pro Price, Amateur Upgrades"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Samsung first announced the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, you, like us, probably expected all kinds of upgrades and exclusive features that would differentiate it from the Galaxy Watch 5 and last year\u2019s 4 series models. That\u2019s not exactly what Samsung is offering though. Even if it wants you to think that. It\u2019s almost to the point that we question Samsung\u2019s choice to call this a Pro watch. Don\u2019t get us wrong, it does make sense on some level.
\nSamsung didn\u2019t want to call this the Galaxy Watch 5 Classic, and it needed a way to tell consumers that this was the better model. But is it? The better model? Perhaps in a few areas. But we weren\u2019t exactly sold on whether or not those improvements warranted spending the extra money. I mean, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is still a perfectly fine watch with many of the same capabilities. And even if we\u00a0did\u00a0want to upgrade, the Galaxy Watch 5 is cheaper than the Pro. Again, with most of the same features.
\nAnd after spending the past two weeks with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro we finally have a good grasp on how it works, and whether or not it\u2019s worth your hard-earned money. So, let\u2019s dive in.
\nThe Galaxy Watch 5 Pro design loses the best Galaxy Watch feature
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Let\u2019s just start things off with one of the areas where Samsung took a step backwards. At least in our opinion. The rotating bezel. Or in this case, the lack of one. The rotating bezel is far and away one of the best features of the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and the original Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch 3.
\nNavigation of the watch UI is simply easier and more precise than the touch bezel. And that\u2019s especially true on the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. While the touch bezel works and does what\u2019s intended, it\u2019s quite sensitive. If you aren\u2019t dragging your finger across it dreadfully slow, then you\u2019re whizzing through menus at what feels like lightspeed.
\nPerhaps Samsung can fix this with a software or firmware update, but at the moment the touch bezel feels so overresponsive that I just opt to use the touchscreen entirely through swipes and scrolling. While it\u2019s impossible to get away from touching the screen on a smartwatch, features like the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro\u2019s touch bezel are supposed to help you minimize stamping fingerprints and smudges right in the middle of the display. Unfortunately, the touch bezel moving as quickly as it does feels like it defeats the purpose of it being there.
\nThe touch bezel isn\u2019t an awful idea. And although we feel the rotating bezel is better, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro\u2019s touch bezel could come close as long as Samsung can tone it down a bit. You can also opt to turn the touch bezel off completely if you just don\u2019t want to use it at all.
\nWear OS at its finest, so far<\/p>\n

Wear OS has certainly had its fair share of hurdles over the years. And for what it\u2019s worth, it\u2019s always had some really stiff competition in the Apple Watch. But with Wear OS 3, Google\u2019s smartwatch operating system is finally starting to come into its own and stand up tall. The Galaxy Watch 5 pro might just be the best representation of that so far.
\nWear OS powered by Samsung, as the company likes to refer to it, is Wear OS 3 with Samsung\u2019s latest version of its own smartwatch user interface on top \u2013 One UI Watch 4.5. And honestly, we don\u2019t have anything to complain about here. The software feels a bit snappier than on the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and even though some of that has to do with the newer chip inside, Wear OS 3 and One UI Watch 4.5 deserve recognition here too.
\nSure, there was the occasional snag when dragging down the quick settings menu or launching an app. But these issues were mostly nonexistent. And one thing that can\u2019t be understated is how nice it was to have access to things like Google Assistant right out of the box. Battery life, too, sees an improvement. Even if it\u2019s not as significant as I was hoping it would be.
\nOverall, Samsung has once again shown it can help make Wear OS a worthy smartwatch platform.
\nBattery life is decent but could be better<\/p>\n

Samsung made some bold claims about the battery life of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. Stating that it would last for up to 80 hours on a single charge. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that you generally aren\u2019t going to hit anywhere near that. Not if you\u2019re using the watch as it\u2019s intended. Which is to say making full use of the GPS and GPX features, enabling the always-on-display, and so on. In the image above the watch shows four days and twelve hours left after being fully charged to 100% and pulled off the charger.
\nBut you have to remember that indicator changes as you use the watch. It won\u2019t actually last four and a half days.
\nWhile the battery life certainly is better than any other Wear OS watch, I was at most getting maybe two and half days. Now, you can stretch that. But you\u2019ll need to turn off the always-on-display and keep the GPS\/GPX tracking to a minimum, or just not use it at all. At which point, is it worth spending the almost $200 extra if you aren\u2019t going to use those features?
\nThat really depends on much you value additional battery life. While we expect the Galaxy Watch 5 to at most last a day to a day and a half, you shouldn\u2019t have much trouble getting close to 48 hours (or a bit more) with the Pro model. And while that isn\u2019t exactly a whole lot of extra time, it\u2019s still extra time. And it definitely is nice not to have to toss the watch on the charger every single night. Speaking of the charger, the watch does charge up quicker than last year\u2019s model. So you can always juice it up some in a pinch.
\nThere is potential here
\nAll that being said, the battery life is going to vary pretty widely from person to person. It all depends on how you use it and even that could change from day to day. For instance, on average I was getting 48-52 hours on a single charge. However there was one charge cycle during my use so far that I was able to get closer to 72 hours. Which is great for a Wear OS device. Granted, I barely used the watch to its potential and it mostly sat on my wrist receiving notifications. At its busiest during that time it was merely tracking steps on a walk to the store down the street.
\nThe GPX feature will likely cost you money
\nThere are a few things about this watch that make it a Pro version of the Galaxy Watch 5. The longer battery life, the slightly tougher sapphire crystal glass, and the GPX routes feature. The thing is that last one is going to cost you a little extra money. Samsung highlights GPX as one of the features of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro but it isn\u2019t actually baked in.
\nUnlike GPS sport watches like those from Garmin, there are no topographical maps built into the watch. You will need to add them from your phone using a compatible app like Strava, and that won\u2019t be free. It\u2019s an interesting detail since one of Garmin\u2019s comparable watches comes in at a similar price and has the topographical maps built-in. You do still have to download them, but you don\u2019t have to pay for them or for an app subscription. Which isn\u2019t really the case with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
\nIt\u2019s just something to consider if you\u2019re looking at this watch for the GPX feature. That being said, if you already subscribe to an app that offers downloadable GPX files, then you\u2019ll probably find this feature of the watch to be quite useful.
\nThe D-Buckle Sport band is excellent
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I want to make sure that it\u2019s clear the D-Buckle Sport band with the magnetic clasp isn\u2019t exclusive to the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. You\u00a0can\u00a0optionally buy it for use with the Galaxy Watch 5. Heck, it\u2019ll even work with the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. But the point is in that case you\u2019re paying the $80 for it. However, it\u2019s the default strap with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. And opting to grab a different band when buying from Samsung doesn\u2019t lower the price any. So it\u2019s worth going with the D-Buckle Sport band because this is the best band Samsung offers.
\nThe one downside is that it doesn\u2019t come in anything other than the Black or Gray. Which means no fun colors. But I think that\u2019s a good trade off. The D-Buckle Sport band is much easier to secure on your wrist than the regular sport bands and it\u2019s just as comfortable.
\nAnd because of the way it\u2019s designed, you can set up how tight you want the band and know that once set, it\u2019ll always be that tight anytime you close the magnetic clasp. Is it worth the $80 for the non-pro watches? Maybe, maybe not. But it is worth highlighting here since the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the only one that comes with it by default. And since the strap touches more of your skin than the watch case itself, it\u2019s important the strap is good.
\nShould you buy the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro?<\/p>\n

Unlike with the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, which I recommended everyone go for instead of the non-classic model, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is a little harder for me to recommend to buy. If you\u2019re worried about damaging the display, the tougher sapphire crystal will probably help to get rid of some of those fears.
\nAnd the additional battery life is nice to have. Not to mention the D-Buckle Sport band is far better in my opinion than Samsung\u2019s other band offerings. All of that said, I\u2019m just not sure that spending the extra money is worth it. The only situation where I think I can suggest this over the regular Galaxy Watch 5 is if you want the two-day+ battery life that badly.
\nIf it doesn\u2019t bother you to toss the watch on the charger every day, then go with the Galaxy Watch 5. Even if you went with the regular model and wanted the D-Buckle Sport band, you could add it to your order and still end up spending less than the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. In short, if you\u2019re going to use the GPX feature and you want the longer battery life, the Pro is the watch to go for. Otherwise, go for Samsung\u2019s less expensive Galaxy Watch 5 option. Or, stick with the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. Which has the rotating bezel and Samsung will continue to sell for a while.
\nKeeping all of this in mind, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is a good watch. And I do think that it can only get better with updates and feature additions. It does feel a bit pricey at the moment, but there are certainly going to be users who prefer the Pro model over the regular model. And for those people, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is definitely worth buying.
\nGalaxy Watch 5 Pro – Amazon
\nGalaxy Watch 5 Pro – Samsung
\nThe post Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro Review: Pro Price, Amateur Upgrades appeared first on Android Headlines.
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\nSource: ndroidheadlines.com <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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