Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro are the toughest Samsung smartwatches yet

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 boasts a durable new design, new colours, and health features (Image: SAMSUNG)

The Galaxy Watch 5, announced during Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event today, arrives with a number of useful upgrades compared to its predecessor. There are also two screen sizes available – 40mm and 44mm – as well as a new Galaxy Watch 5 Pro variant. Samsung has ensured the minimalist design and colour options perfectly match with the other devices announced during its Galaxy Unpacked event, including the , and .

Samsung says the materials used with the new smartwatch are 60% stronger than before, which should be reassuring for those who use the fitness tracking features on mountain bike rides, snowboarding, surfing, and cross-country running where dings and dents are almost inevitable.

Even if you’re only planning to wear the Galaxy Watch day-to-day that improved durability will come in handy as it’s all-too-easy to catch the glass screen of the Galaxy Watch on a door frame, blindly knock it off the bedside table in the morning, or scuff it against a wall. Or maybe we’re just clumsier than most…

Not only is the Galaxy Watch 5 stronger, but Samsung has also enabled 30% faster charging. That means less time in the charging cradle, which will be most useful for those who want to wear the Galaxy Watch 5 throughout the day and track sleep and heart-rate throughout the night.

The 40mm Galaxy Watch 5 boasts a 284mAh battery, while the larger 44mm screen size packs a larger 410mAh cell.

samsung galaxy watch 5

Google worked closely with Samsung to ensure its hands-free assistant and apps work seamlessly (Image: SAMSUNG)

Elsewhere, Galaxy Watch 5 boasts a number of new fitness tracking capabilities, including help determining how much time your body needs to recover after exercise. This is an important step to ensure that you’re not damaging your muscles when working out consistently.

Samsung has also added Snore Detection to the sleep tracking functionality, so you’ll be able to know whether your restless night or parched mouth is caused by snoring. Over time, the Galaxy Watch 5 will offer advice to improve the quality of your sleep, including reducing the disturbances caused by snoring.

Improvements to body tracking, ECG, and blood pressure tracking have also been made in the new hardware, Samsung says. This is partly due to the larger size of the Galaxy Watch 5, which offers an increased surface area with more direct contact with your skin. As a result, the Galaxy Watch 5 should be more accurate than previous smartwatches from the South Korean firm.