• 

  Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro

  Beefy battery

  Large and in charge

  The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro was Samsung's 2022 flagship smartwatch. It's made of premium materials like titanium, and features snappy performance, a huge, high-quality display, and marathon battery life that can be measured in days, not hours. Though it retails for a pricey $450, it's regularly available for less. If you want great battery life and outdoors-focused features, the Watch 5 Pro is a great option.

  Pros

  • Easy two-day battery life
  • Premium materials
  • Designed for outdoor use

  Cons

  • High MSRP
  • Only comes in one (large) size
  • No performance gains vs. Watch 4 series

  $450 at Amazon

• 

  Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic

  Last-gen bargain

  High-end performance for less

  The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic has almost everything that makes the Watch 5 Pro great, with similar styling, performance, and software. The Watch 4 Classic's bezel also rotates, and you can use it to navigate the UI. Its battery life isn't as strong as the Watch 5 Pro's though, and its case is made of stainless steel instead of titanium. If you're alright with those trade-offs, the 4 Classic is still a good buy if you find it discounted.

  Pros

  • Same great performance as Watch 5 Pro
  • More affordable
  • Clicky rotating bezel

  Cons

  • Getting harder to find at retail
  • Battery life could be better

  $380 at Amazon

Even though the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classic has been released, deals can still be found on older Samsung smartwatches that will save you a few dollars.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro might be a year old, but it still boasts impressive specs like a titanium case, sapphire crystal glass over its display, and a positively massive battery. If you want to save even more, you can find great deals on the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, which is still supported and running well. They're both great smartwatches, but which is right for you?

Price, availability, and specs

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro comes in one size — 45mm — and can be found for as little as $279 on Amazon. While the LTE version typically goes for more, it's still less than what it was on release. Samsung's site is still a little bit pricey, so I would shop around for the best deal from retailers who still have stock.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is on sale through Amazon for as little as $190 for the 42mm version or $250 if you want the larger 46mm diameter. With Amazon renewed, the prices drop even further to under $120 for both versions — an incredible discount from the original MSRP. If you do a little digging, it's possible to find phenomenal deals on both watches.

• 	Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro	Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic
  Display	1.36" (450 x 450), 330PPI Always-on AMOLED display	60Hz OLED, 1.2" 396x396 (42mm) or 1.4"450x450 (46mm)
  CPU	Exynos W920 (Dualcore, 5nm)	Exynos W920
  RAM	1.5GB	1.5GB
  Storage	16GB	16GB
  Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.2 / Wi-Fi 2.4GHz & 5GHz / GPS / NFC / LTE	NFC, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, LTE (optional)
  Durability	MIL-STD-810H	IP68 certified, MIL-STD-810G compliant
  Health sensors	Heart Rate Monitor, BIA, Continuous SpO2	Heart rate, EKG, bioelectrical impedance
  Price	$450	From $350
  Weight	46.5g	46.5g (42mm), 52g (46mm)

Design and fit

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro looks a lot like the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. They have the same basic shape, and they're both styled to look more like conventional watches than their less-expensive Galaxy Watch counterparts. But the high-end Galaxy Watch 5 option is indeed premium, with a titanium case and a sapphire crystal display cover — each an upgrade over the Watch 4 Classic's stainless steel and glass.

The most noticeable hardware change between the two is the loss of the rotating bezel, which Samsung brought back for the Watch 6 Classic but was not featured on the 5 Pro. The 5 Pro does differentiate itself from the base Watch 5 with its styling, materials, and comparatively enormous battery, plus outdoor sports-themed watch faces and activity tracking features for hiking and cycling. Still, it's a shame to see one of Samsung's most unique and playful wearable flourishes go missing.

While the older Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is available in two sizes at 42 and 46mm, the Watch 5 Pro is only available at 45mm, roughly the same size as the larger 4 Classic. If you're a fan of smaller watches, the 42mm Watch 4 Classic should probably be your go-to.

The Watch 5 Pro comes in black or gray, similar to the 4 Classic, which is available in black or silver. Annoyingly, the base-model Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 5 are available in more colors than their pricier cousins.

Software

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic both run Samsung's customized version of Wear OS 3.5, which takes design cues from Samsung's older Tizen-powered wearables; you can see the influence in places like the Watch 4 and 5's app drawer and menus. The general software experience on each watch is identical.

Samsung has said starting with the Galaxy Watch 4 series, watches will receive "up to four years" of software updates. That language is a little wiggly — up to four could technically mean one, two, or three — but we're assuming it means the Watch 4 Classic will receive software updates into 2025, and the Watch 5 Pro will get updates into 2026.

Health and fitness

Both the Watch 5 Pro and the Watch 4 Classic track various health metrics like heart rate, blood oxygen (SpO2) levels, body fat (as estimated by bioelectrical impedance), steps, and other physical activity with all of these data points stored on the Samsung Health app.

Either watch can track numerous exercise types, but the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has additional features for outdoorsy types, including GPX mapping for cycling and hiking — though, curiously, not for running. While both watches perform admirably in general fitness tracking, we weren't especially impressed with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro as a Garmin-type extreme outdoor activity tracker. If that's what you're after, consider a dedicated fitness tracker.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro (as well as the smaller Galaxy Watch 5) features a skin temperature sensor that, at launch, didn't do anything but has since been activated and will be able to use skin temperature readings to help track menstrual cycles. The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic has no skin temperature sensor, so it won't get this feature.

Battery life

For most people, battery life will be the biggest differentiator between the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro features a comparatively massive 590mAh battery that, in our review, saw the watch through two full days of continuous wear without recharging.

Meanwhile, the smaller 42mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic can make it a little while over 24 hours, and the larger 46mm version should comfortably last about 36 hours. None of these figures quite live up to Samsung's claimed battery life — it says 72 hours for the 5 Pro and 40 for the Watch 4 Classic — but the 5 Pro is still the clear winner here.

Which is right for you?

Despite being a couple of years old, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic still looks great and runs well. The Watch 5 Pro's upgrades such as more premium materials (titanium and sapphire crystal are very high-end) and a bigger battery are impressive. Still, you're not missing out on much by choosing the Watch 4 Classic. Unless you absolutely need your smartwatch to last as long as possible, spending the extra money you spend might not directly translate to a significantly better experience.

Set on keeping your Watch 4 Classic? There are plenty of great band alternatives for the Watch 4 series to freshen it up until you find a great deal on a Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.

Already got a Watch 4 Classic and considering an upgrade? The Galaxy Watch 5 series was more about refinement than flashy new features, so if you're happy with what you've got now, know that you aren't missing much by sticking with your existing watch. The Watch 5 Pro may become an attractive option if you lose or break your Watch 4 Classic, but it's not a sensible upgrade for most people.