Samsung Galaxy Watch 5: The Most Recent News And Rumors

This year, Samsung will likely release a new flagship smartwatch that can compete with the next Apple Watch and maybe even Google’s long-awaited Pixel Watch, but we won’t get into that just yet. Samsung’s new smartwatch will follow the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic.

These smartwatches came out in the summer of 2021, replacing the Galaxy Watch 3, which was a year old. It could be fair that the company has a regular schedule for putting out new products. Y’know, like a watch. At this early stage, not much is known, but we’ve put together what we’ve heard so far and what we expect to attend before the Galaxy Watch 5 comes out in 2022.

Release Date Of The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

We can be sure that the Galaxy Watch 5 will come out in August because of that regular timing we discussed. That’s when Samsung said the Watch 4 would come out in 2021 and the Watch 3 would come out in 2020, so we’d guess the same thing will happen this time.

South Korean site The Elec said in November that the Watch would come out in the second half of 2022, which backs up this estimate. It will be engaging to see if Samsung holds a product launch incident for the Galaxy Watch 5 or stay with the online-only reveals that have become the norm during the pandemic.

Price Of The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

When it came out, the Galaxy Watch 4 had a starting price of £249, while the Watch 4 Classic, which cost £349, was billed as a more high-end wearable. As of January 2022, the first is still the same, but Samsung has lowered the price of the second to £269 for the 42mm model and $289 for the 46mm model.

If you add 4G connectivity to the Watch 4 Classic, the price goes up to £309 and £329, depending on the size. We don’t know how much the Galaxy Watch 5 will cost, but based on past behavior, we expect Samsung to announce two models, each with two sizes and accessible with or without 4G.

It will be interesting to perceive if Samsung brings back the £100 price difference between the Watch and the Watch Classic. The recent $80 price cut for the Classic proposes it hasn’t sold as well as Samsung had hoped.

Design And Hardware Of The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

We still have more than six months until the Galaxy Watch 5 is expected to come out, so there isn’t much to discuss here. We know the wearable won’t have a screen that can be stretched out or a camera.

Recently, these two features have been in the news because they were mentioned in a Samsung patent application. And yes, there are sketches of a “rollable smartwatch with a camera” in the filing. But tech companies always draw patents like this, and many of the ideas never come to life. Those who come to life do so years after the first sketch, not a year. 

So, no, we don’t think this year’s Samsung smartwatch will have a screen that rolls up or a camera. Instead, we expect only minor changes to how the Galaxy Watch looks. While a thinner design would be excellent, we would be happy if the 2021 model kept the same thickness but had longer battery life.

Software And Features Of The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

The Galaxy Watch 4 from last year was the first to have a software made by both Google and Samsung. It was still called Wear OS, which is what Google’s operating system for smartwatches has been called for years, but the words “powered by Samsung” were added to the end.

This made Wear OS feel more like an operating system that Samsung made themselves. We think this will continue with the Galaxy Watch 5, with Samsung’s influence on the OS becoming even more vital.

For the following watches, we expect to see a lot of changes to the software, from how the operating system looks to how the apps work. New health and fitness features are likely, and it would be nice to have better workout controls.

Most importantly, we hope Samsung stops preventing people with phones that Samsung doesn’t make from using the Watch’s most important features. Apple Watch only works with iPhones, so it makes sense that iPhone users wouldn’t be invited to the party. We don’t like that Samsung doesn’t let other Android users use the ECG and blood pressure apps on the Galaxy Watch 4.

We hope this changes with the Galaxy Watch 5, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung kept going in this direction. Lastly, we hope that the battery life will get better. With the Galaxy Watch 4, Samsung cut the estimated battery life from two days for the Watch 3 to 40 hours.

Our review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 found that the actual number is closer to 24 hours or less when the Watch is used more often. It would be great if the Galaxy Watch 5 could return to its old self and keep track of time for 48 hours again.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Specifications