Watches have come a long way. Once, they were simply timepieces we wore on our wrists, but now we are in the smartwatch age, which puts technology at our fingertips. And one of the leading models is the Samsung Galaxy.
In this article, we’ll discuss Samsung’s latest watch along with some of its previous models. From humble beginnings, Galaxy watch technology is here to stay.
The Newest Galaxy Watch
The newest Galaxy watch is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. Fans of Galaxy watches will be pleased with this latest addition to the Samsung line that does much more than merely keeping time. It’s similar to the Galaxy Watch 4 but has enough changes and upgrades to keep smartwatch fans interested. With its sporty and stylish design, you can wear it anywhere. It’s great for hiking and exercising but still holds its own at a business meeting. Let’s dive in and discuss what Galaxy’s latest watch can do.
The Outside
The Galaxy Watch 5 maintains the look of its previous release. One of the most noticeable changes is the disappearance of the rotating bezel. This was a much-loved feature of the Galaxy Watch 4, but the removal of the bezel makes the watch slightly slimmer, which may benefit some.
Galaxy has reshaped the curvature on the bottom of the watch as well. This might seem like an unusual design change, but there’s a reason. The reshaping of the watch’s bottom is to ensure there’s more surface-to-skin contact which will improve the accuracy of its biometric sensor. We’ll go into more detail on that later in this article.
The Galaxy 5 is water resistant up to 5ATM. This means it can withstand not only rain and snow but the pressure of diving down to depths as deep as 50 meters (164 feet). This makes it a great choice for those active in the great outdoors. It can withstand much of what the elements can throw at it, so there’s no need to worry about damaging it while camping, hiking, swimming, or diving.
The Galaxy 5 has also changed its display material. The new display is made from sapphire crystal glass, which Samsung claims is 60% stronger than previous models, making it much more scratch resistant.
It’s available in four colors. You can choose between graphite, pink gold, silver, and sapphire. The watch comes complete with a silicone strap. If it’s not to your liking, Samsung offers many different interchangeable bands.
The Inside
Samsung has made notable changes not only to its outward appearance but also to its functionality. One of the more exciting upgrades is the new temperature analysis sensor. This new sensor works independently from its BioActive sensor. Unfortunately, this skin-temperature reader isn’t functional at the time of release. Samsung states it’ll be operational “in the near future.” The most likely hold-up is Samsung waiting to get regulatory approval. The skin-temperature reader will be used to assist in tracking sleep patterns and also to detect changes in skin temperature trends.
The Galaxy 5 is powered by Wear OS, similar to Samsung’s previous watches. Its base is Google’s smartwatch software, but it’s layered with many of Samsung’s apps. This smartwatch easily syncs and pairs with other Samsung devices. It runs many Google services, including but not limited to Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Assistant.
For battery dependability, this watch is a pro. Longer battery life is an improvement worth noting. The Galaxy 5 will run about 10 hours longer than the Galaxy 4. With a full charge, this smartwatch will last approximately 50 hours, giving the user plenty of time between charges. Also noteworthy is that the Galaxy 5 charges about twice as fast as its predecessor. Samsung boasts that from a fully discharged battery to 100% takes just a little under 2 hours. It also uses a new charger, a USB-C. This means it can now pull more power from an outlet resulting in faster charging times.
What would a smartwatch be without a fitness tracking feature? There are 90 exercises that you can monitor, but you’ll need to manually set them for tracking. You’ll have access to your heart rate, calories burned, respiratory rate, and other physical health monitoring features. The Galaxy 5 comes with a Sleep Coaching feature for those interested in monitoring their sleeping habits. After just seven days of use, you’ll acquire enough data for a sleep profile. Here’s a list of what the Galaxy 5 can monitor:
- Blood oxygen
- Skin temperature
- Body fat
- Body water
- Heart rate
- Stress level
- Skeletal muscle
- Basal metabolic rate
- Sleep time
- Step count
- Snoring
Unfortunately, this newer model has no changes to the amount of available RAM or storage. Like the Galaxy 4, it has 1.5 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. However, this still packs enough room to load extra apps, and you’ll have adequate storage for photos and audio files.
Conclusion
Although fairly similar to the Galaxy 4, the Galaxy 5 is still a step up. It’s a good choice for those with a Galaxy 3 or lower or for someone new to the line of Galaxy smartwatches. The new display constructed of durable scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass was a much-needed upgrade to excite those more active users. Once the new temperature analysis sensor is functional, it may make this new model more desirable to new users. Faster charging and a longer-lasting battery are always good things. While the Galaxy 5 has some interesting new features, overall, it’s still only a slight improvement over the Galaxy 4.
Previous Watch Models
Samsung released its first smartwatch in September 2013, the Samsung Galaxy Gear. With the release of that smartwatch, the company would begin designing and upgrading a long line of smartwatch products. This early model boasted 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of storage space. By today’s standards, it had very limited abilities and for full functionality, it required pairing with a user’s smartphone.
It did, however, allow users to forward phone calls from their smartphone to the early-model smartwatch, which was unique at the time. It had a camera app that allowed the user to take photos or record videos no longer than 15 seconds in length. It also could load some Android apps, but its small screen and inability to connect directly to the internet made them mostly unusable.
Although initially shunned by many due to its many critics, this humble smartwatch opened the doors to making this type of technology more accepted despite its limited capabilities at the time. Samsung would quickly advance and design much more desirable smartwatches.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 2
Released in September 2019, the Galaxy Watch 2 was referred to as the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2. This early smartphone came in two sizes, either 40mm or 44mm. There were two options for connectivity formats, LTE or Bluetooth. Available colors were silver, black, or gold. The LTE version also functioned as a standalone phone that allowed users to make calls, text, and stream music without the need to be paired with a smartphone.
The Galaxy 2 was the first Samsung smartphone to move away from Tizen OS and would run using Wear OS, a Google-based operating system. It had two sensors: the electro-optical sensor was used for heart rate monitoring and its electrocardiogram sensor monitored heart rate. Available RAM was 0.768 GB and had 4 GB of storage.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
The Galaxy Watch 3 was first released in August 2020 and received well as a significant upgrade to the former model. Slightly larger than the Galaxy 2, it came in two sizes, 41mm and 45mm. The 41mm model was available in two colors: mystic bronze and silver. The 45mm was available in either mystic black or mystic silver.
This model was the first in the Galaxy smartwatch line that featured a fully rotatable bezel and a watch face made of Corning Gorilla Glass DX. It had 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage.
Move Over, The Galaxy 5 Is Here
Although not as big of an upgrade over the Galaxy 4 as some would have hoped, there are still enough new features to boast about. Faster charging and a longer-lasting battery are some of its major improvements. Its new sapphire crystal glass display is 60% stronger than previous models and is highly scratch-resistant. Once the skin temperature sensor is functional, that’ll be another important upgrade.
Have you wondered what the newest Galaxy watch is? Did this article supply you with the details you were looking for? Let us know in the comments section below.
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