Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro are official with some sweet upgrades

The Watch 4 series was Samsung's first stab at a Wear OS-powered smartwatch since joining forces with Google to resuscitate the platform and today it announced the Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro. The new arrivals pack in bigger batteries, more storage, and finally, faster charging. Health tracking also steps up a level, and although the Classic moniker has been mothballed, the Watch 5 Pro looks and feels like it's able to step up to the mantle.

In terms of hardware, both watches are powered by the Exynos W920 processor, the very same chip that provided the grunt for the Galaxy Watch 4 series. Time will tell if the W920 is able to match up to Qualcomm's brand new Snapdragon W5+ chipset, but for the moment let's give Samsung's silicon the benefit of the doubt. The chip is accompanied by 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage, the latter should provide a little more room to store a selection of your favorite songs locally. You'll find the same BioActive Sensor present, as well as WiFi, Bluetooth 5.2, a temperature sensor makes its debut, and there's also 5ATM water resistance for good measure. Charging is 30% quicker than on the Watch 4 and the Watch 5 is able to achieve 8 hours of sleep tracking time on an 8 minute charge.

Both models sport Sapphire Crystal displays which add an outer layer which is 60% harder and should increase resistance to bumps and scratches. The new temperature sensor helps you keep track of your own temperature, helping you determine if you are running a fever or feeling ill. The BioHealth Sensor takes care of the following functions:

What's the difference?

Well, the Galaxy Watch 5 comes in a couple of sizes with the 40mm model having a 284mAh battery and the 44mm unit sporting a 410mAh battery. The Watch 5 Pro on the other hand, only comes in 45mm size and has a larger 590mAh battery which is 60% larger than the Galaxy Watch 4's unit. As the smaller device, the Watch 5 sports a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED display while the 44mm Watch 5 and the 45mm Watch 5 Pro both feature a 1.4-inch Super AMOLED panel with 450 x 450 resolution.

The Watch 5 has an Armor Aluminum case and the Watch 5 Pro goes a step further with its case being made from Titanium. The Pro also comes with a D-buckle strap which Samsung says will bring a “rugged durability with a slick and clean fit”. I'm not sure about that, but it should at least make it more difficult for the watch to slip off your wrist.

Samsung is also letting users share their workouts or hiking routes from the Galaxy 5 Pro thanks to the inclusion of GPX support.

Finally, there are different colorway options with the Watch 5 Pro being available in Black or Gray Titanium with either black or gray straps. The Watch 5 is a little more colorful though, as you can see from the case options below:

The Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro are already up for pre-order with pricing as follows: