Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 review

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Competitively priced
• Comfortable design
• Solid activity tracking
• Tons of features

Cons

• Erratic battery life
• Non-Samsung phones lose features
• Awkward digital bezel
• Very similar to Watch 4

Our Verdict

The Galaxy Watch 5 is a well-priced Android smartwatch option that works best with Samsung phones but loses blood pressure and ECG features on other Android phones. It’s a solid option but there’s little market competition, and the digital bezel and battery life disappoint.

Because the Apple Watch only works with iPhones, we often expect smartwatches designed for Android phones to work with every Android phone.

It is unfair to expect Samsung, an Android phone manufacturer, to make smartwatches that work seamlessly with every other brand of Android phone. But if any company can manage it besides Google, it’s Samsung – especially as the Galaxy Watch line now runs Google’s Wear OS 3 software.

That’s why it’s a little disappointing that the Galaxy Watch 5 only works to its full extent with Samsung Galaxy phones. It holds back key features – that undoubtedly push the price of the watch up – from working with other Android phones, lessening its wider appeal.

But if you have a Samsung phone, this is the default smartwatch choice, with a slick design, great notification and health features, and clever integration with Samsung earbuds and smart home tech. It stands out, but largely because it has no real competition. Other Wear OS devices are slow and outdated, dedicated sports watches don’t have smartwatch smarts, and even the best Fitbits aren’t as advanced.

Starting at $279.99/£269/$299, the Watch 5 is very competitively priced, has very good software, and is stuffed with tech.

Design & build

The Galaxy Watch 5 is a very good-looking smartwatch, even if it is a dead ringer for 2021’s Galaxy Watch 4. If you own that watch, you probably won’t be looking to upgrade for the look factor, but I’m pleased Samsung has rigidly stuck to making attractive circular watches.

I reviewed the smallest 40mm Watch 5 though you can also get it in 44mm. It was the pink gold version that you can only get if you go small, and it’s a great size with the look and feel of a slightly chunky Swatch watch.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

There’s also a graphite or silver option in both sizes, and a sapphire (blue) version for the larger.

The straps are well thought out and curve down to hug the wrist where they connect to the black body of the watch, whose curved ends you can see. The pink gold brushed aluminium goes up both left and right edges of the black inner display, looking and feeling every bit as premium as you’d hope.

A matt silicone strap is included matching the colour of your choice, and it is comfortable next to the skin and grippy enough to not let the watch slip around when sweaty from exercise. There is a traditional buckle fastening but with a tuck-in slot for the strap end.

It’s comfortable enough to wear all day though I still found it – as I do most full-on smartwatches – too bulky to want to wear at night for sleep tracking. Then again, it’s way slimmer than the chunky 45mm Galaxy Watch 5 Pro (see below photo).

The 45mm Watch 5 Pro (left) next to the 40mm Watch 5

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Display & audio

The screen on the 40mm is a 1.2in OLED (44mm has a 1.4in) that looks superb thanks to Samsung’s decision to base the entire operating system on a black background. It means colours stand out against the deep black that blends into the touch-sensitive ring around the outside of the display.

That’s there to act as a digital bezel, like on the Watch 4, rather than the physical rotating bezel once found on older Galaxy Watches. I was a huge fan of the latter when I bought a Galaxy Gear S2 back in 2015, as Samsung’s wrist-based OS was designed around circles. The bezel let you quickly twist to select apps and move through the tiled information screens rather than swiping with a finger on the display (which you could also do).

The same logic and OS design applies to the Watch 5 but using a touch-sensitive bezel to do these actions is less intuitive. My finger covered the screen half the time, so I was flicking through menus without being able to see where I was. At least the haptic feedback is nice.

I also found the bezel unresponsive, only kicking in a second after I had started swiping on it, meaning the menus flicked too fast and several options past where I wanted. It’s not a precise tool, and I reverted to swiping directly on the screen instead and ended up annoyed the display wasn’t larger because of the blank touch ring around it.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

All this aside, the screen is very good with superb brightness to quickly glance at the time with its always-on setting. During workouts, a flick of the wrist shows your current metrics, and I found it easy to read in direct sunlight.

Given this is a smartwatch, audio takes a backseat, but there is a speaker in the Watch 5 for taking calls, talking to a voice assistant, and listening to spoken stats when using the workout modes. I discovered the latter on my first run with the watch and I’m not a fan. I swiftly turned it off, preferring to check out stats on the screen and in the Samsung Health app later.

Software & features

The Watch 4 was the first Galaxy Watch series to run on Google’s Wear OS 3 rather than Samsung’s previously used Tizen software, and the Watch 5 continues down that path. It means the underlying software is Wear OS 3, the latest version that is only available otherwise on the Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic, and the niche $1,290/£1,105 Mont Blanc Summit 3 fashion smartwatch.

Everything on the Watch 5 continues to look and feel very Samsung-y thanks to One UI 4.5, the company’s flavour of Wear OS 3. This is no bad thing as Samsung has refined the user interface very nicely. It’s very intuitive to have a watch face as the home screen with notifications sitting to the left via a swipe to the right, and tiles of apps to the right with a left swipe. Basically, Wear OS is the Android smartwatch gold standard right now.

You can customise which apps you want sitting there with as many or as few as you want. A swipe up from the home screen sends you into a tiny wee app drawer with icons for Samsung’s apps and any available third-party ones.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Third-party apps for the Watch are thin on the ground but I was excited to use Spotify’s Galaxy app that promised offline downloads of playlists to the watch so I could listen via Bluetooth earbuds on a run and leave my phone at home. This flat-out did not work, with the watch refusing to download anything. This is Spotify’s fault, but it points to the lack of polish on the few third-party apps available.

You’re mostly living in Samsung’s apps here, but it’s great to see Google muscling in and allowing me to download and use Google Assistant and Google Wallet rather than Bixby or Samsung Pay. Rejoice!

Otherwise, I predominantly used Samsung Health. By default, the Watch 5 is set up to be a fitness tool, with the first tiles on the right menu a summary of daily activity, and then shortcuts to workout recording modes. This all works great if you have Samsung Health installed on your Android phone, but bear in mind the Watch 5 doesn’t work at all with iPhones.

I paired the Watch 5 to my Google Pixel 6a, expecting a watch running Google’s WearOS to run no problem. Largely it does, thanks to Samsung’s adoption of Google Messages, so SMS came through fine, as did notifications from all apps including third-party ones such as WhatsApp, even though it has no on-watch app itself.

Disappointingly, flagship Watch 5 features including blood pressure and electrocardiogram (ECG) are restricted to only work on Samsung Galaxy phones because they require you to install Samsung Health Monitor – an app only available on the Galaxy Store, an app store you cannot run on other brands of Android phone.

This is annoying, and not something Samsung openly advertises. These features push up the price of the watch as they require advanced sensors, but are completely unusable to Google, Oppo, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Sony, and other Android phones.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Also bear in mind that the ECG and blood pressure functionality only works, even if you have a Samsung phone, in countries where it has been approved by the local health authority.

Setting up on a Pixel also prompted me to install quite a few Android plug-ins to get it working. It’s a far from simple setup that could stump the less techy out there.

But if you are reading this, you probably have a Samsung phone. When paired with a Galaxy S21 Ultra the setup was better and all apps were available. One thing worth noting is the Samsung Health app can’t be set up unless your phone has a SIM card in it.

There are also solid do not disturb and bedtime modes you can tailor to mirror your phone’s settings, as well as a theatre mode to silence tones and turn off the screen, and a battery saver mode for when juice runs low. Notably, Samsung also includes accessibility features like a colour correction mode to help those with limited eyesight better read the small display.

Fitness & tracking

The Watch 5 excels at basic fitness tracking with its built-in GPS allowing for tracked runs, walks, and cycles, and other modes such as swimming, treadmill running, and a running coach mode.

Tapping go on a run initiates a clear screen with duration, distance, and pace, with pause and end options to the left and an audio control screen to the right. It’s a bit fiddly to change tracks from the watch when on a run, but it’s possible. I found the screen less responsive when my hands were sweaty during exercise.

GPS locks onto a signal impressively fast and the best thing about the Watch 5 is it keeps out of your way (once you’ve turned off the in-run audio updates). Viewing workout data in Samsung Health is clear and interesting, but the Watch doesn’t coach you into an exercise routine like sports watches from Polar or Garmin do. This is a simpler data collection deal, though wear it to be for a week and you get simple sleep coaching tips.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

If you can bear to wear the watch at night, Samsung’s sleep tracking is decent, accurately recording sleep patterns and wake-ups. You can even have it tap into your phone’s microphone to record your snoring, which you can pinpoint to the minute and even listen back to.

The watch can measure your body composition and you can also indulge in breathing exercises and log your stress on the watch, but to be honest, I was most enamoured with the Watch 5 when it stayed out of my way and recorded my activity. The weather, calendar, and notification functions all work very well, and the fitness tracking is on call for when you need it. I really like the auto-workout detection, which works flawlessly.

Specs & performance

The Galaxy Watch 5 comes in either Bluetooth or Bluetooth and 4G versions and has the exact same Exynos W920 processor as the Watch 4. This isn’t a bad thing as it performs well, but it further highlights how little has changed year on year.

One new thing is an infrared temperature sensor on the bottom along with the heart rate sensor, but Samsung is cagey on what it actually does. The company claims it helps with sleep tracking, but otherwise there are no immediate benefits.

The watch feels responsive, but I found it sluggish to respond to the touch bezel. I had no issues using the display to navigate around and recording exercise or viewing notifications was instantaneous. It seems like 1.5GB RAM is still enough for a smartwatch. There’s 7.5GB of available memory for apps and music downloads, which no one should fill in a hurry.

The full repertoire of sensors is an accelerometer, barometer, bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor, electrical heart sensor, gyro sensor, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor, and optical heart rate sensor. This is a very solid selection for the asking price, but again, you need to be using the watch with a Samsung phone to get full access to all of them.

Battery & charging

Battery life on the Watch 5 could and should be better. The 40mm has a 284mAh cell and the 44mm has 410mAh (both larger than the Watch 4’s) and Samsung claims both can get 40 hours of usage on a single charge.

This is misleading, as you’d have to have basically every useful feature turned off on the Watch 5 and not use it for tracking to get anywhere near that figure. I had to charge every night or the following morning without fail.

One day when I took it off the charger at 7.30am and went on a half-hour run with GPS, the watch was still on 80% at 3pm. This was very good, but I rarely saw similar longevity.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

I’d mostly end the day on about 15% to 20% charge, with the battery ebbing away faster the longer my GPS run and if I had the always-on display turned on. Using apps like Spotify, even without downloads to the watch, and Google Assistant, drain the battery considerably.

One day the Watch 5 died on me when out and about, the worst thing a smartwatch can do. I can hack having to charge the thing after a hard day out, but if it can’t last one normal day then it’s harder to recommend. If you want better battery, you should get the 44mm.

It takes about half an hour to charge 30% to 40% with the fast-charging capability, but Samsung doesn’t include a charger in the box, only the charging puck USB-C cable. It’s a quick way to top up if you want to use it for sleep tracking, but a full recharge will take nearly an hour and a half, so if you do use it for that, you might not have time to fully charge in the morning.

Price & availability

The 40mm Galaxy Watch 5 reviewed here is the Bluetooth-only version and costs $279/£269/€299, with a Bluetooth and 4G model selling for $329/£319/€349.

A 44mm Bluetooth version costs $309/£289/€329 or $359/£339/€419 for a 4G model.

You can buy it in the UK from Samsung and Amazon, from Samsung and Best Buy in the US, and from Samsung in France, Spain, and other European countries.

Check out where else you can buy it in our where to buy article specifically for the Watch 5.

This puts the cheapest Galaxy Watch 5 in pricing touching distance of the Apple Watch SE, which costs $279/£249/€299, but you might not want to base what phone you have on what smartwatch you buy.

If you want a smartwatch that works with any Android phone and does not sacrifice any features according to brand, the Fitbit Versa 3 is a good shout at $229/£199/€199.95. Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra runs an older version of WearOS and costs more than the Watch 5.

If it’s a pure fitness tracking watch you’re after, you could spend less on the $199.95/£169.50/€199.90 Polar Pacer, but you lose practically all smartwatch features.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is a great Android smartwatch running the latest WearOS 3 and is the best choice if you have a Samsung phone. It’s also a solid option if you have any other modern Android phone, but not if you are set on recording your blood pressure or ECG, as these sensors only work with Galaxy phones.

The digital bezel is slow to the point of wanting to not use it, and battery life is disappointing on the 40mm model. But the software is fluid and it’s packed with features, making the Watch 5 the top Android smartwatch choice – but only by default as there’s still so little competition.

Specs

• 1.2in 396×396 (40mm) or 1.4in 450×450 (44mm) circular AMOLED always-on display
• Gorilla Glass DX+
• 1.18GHz dual-core Exynos W920 5nm processor
• 1.5GB RAM
• 16GB ROM
• Wear OS Powered by Samsung
• One UI Watch
• Bluetooth 5.2
• NFC
• GPS
• Wi-Fi
• 4G LTE (optional)
• Microphone
• Speaker
• Knox security
• Optical heart rate sensor (PPG)
• Electrical heart sensor (ECG)
• Bioelectrical impedance analysis sensor (BIA)
• Blood oxygen tracking
• AFib irregular heartbeat detection
• Sleep tracking
• Snore detection
• Body composition analysis
• Guided workouts
• Bixby Voice
• Gesture controls
• Stainless steel casing
• 5ATM swim-proof
• IP68-certified dust/water resistance
• MIL-STD-810G tested
• Wireless charging
• 247mAh (40mm) or 361mAh battery (44mm)
• 39.3 x 40.4 x 9.8mm (40mm) or 43.3 x 44.4 x 9.8mm (44mm)
• 27.8g (40mm) or 33.5g (44mm)
• Colours: Graphite, silver, pink gold, sapphire
• Compatible with Android 6.0 or higher (devices require more than 1.5GB RAM)

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Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro review

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Incredibly durable build
• Multi-day battery life
• Impressively in-depth tracking
• Features for hiking and cycling

Cons

• Track back and navigation aren’t compatible with running and walking
• Big, bulky design
• No rotating bezel

Our Verdict

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is a durable smartwatch that can take on the great outdoors, with a 90% stronger display, long battery life and unique outdoor-focused features. However, it’s bulky, certain fitness features are locked to those with a Samsung phone and it’s much more expensive than the standard Watch 5, so be sure you’ll make the most of the additional features on offer.

Announced alongside the Galaxy Watch 5 and Samsung’s latest foldables, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro represents the most advanced Samsung smartwatch to date. Sporting a premium design similar to that of traditional wristwatches, the Pro smartwatch offers impressive durability with a titanium case and a display 90% stronger than the previous-gen wearable and unique features tailored to outdoor exercise.

While it’s Pro in name, this is essentially a rugged Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 that delivers a largely no-compromise smartwatch experience for the great outdoors.

Design & build

• Premium design with impressive durability
• 45mm casing means it can be quite bulky on the wrist
• Samsung D-band is great after initial setup

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro may be the spiritual successor to last year’s Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, but there are plenty of differences between the two – including one big change that current fans of the series may mourn.

The Watch 5 Pro does away with the rotating bezel, a staple of the Galaxy Watch collection since its early days. In its place, you’re left with a software-based touchscreen bezel activated by running your finger around the raised inner edges of the watch.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

While the functionality is the same as ever, the experience isn’t quite as fluid, especially as my finger now partially covers the display when swiping around the edge. I much prefer the rotating bezel that I could adjust from the outside of the display area, always giving me a full view of what’s on the screen.

One saving grace is that Samsung is planning to keep the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic on sale for a little longer for those that simply can’t do without the rotating bezel.

It’s not all bad news though; an unexpected upside of the raised bezel is a better-protected display, defending the screen from knocks and scrapes as I go about my daily life.

Moving beyond the bezel controversy, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has a markedly more toned-down, premium look than its fashion-focused sibling. That starts with an upgraded casing, utilising titanium in place of Samsung’s Armor Aluminium, along with a larger 1.4in AMOLED display and a raised metallic edge that gives it a notable thickness.

In fact, it measures in at slightly over 15mm thick – thicker than the claimed 10.5mm from Samsung – when combining the casing and the suite of sensors on the bottom, and I’ve found it to be quite noticeable on the wrist.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

That’s compounded by the fact it’s only available in a single 45mm case, which even for my fairly large wrists felt a bit bulky at times, and a gap between the strap and my wrist due to the angle that the lugs connect makes it all the more noticeable. Simply put, if you’ve got skinny wrists, you’ll probably find the Watch 5 Pro too hefty for daily use.

Durability has been a particular focus for Samsung with the Watch 5 range and the Pro model in particular. The AMOLED display of the Pro model is protected by a sapphire crystal glass lens that Samsung claims is 90% more durable than the Galaxy Watch 4, an upgrade even compared to the 60% improvement from the standard Galaxy Watch 5.

While I didn’t go out of my way to damage the display of my review sample, Samsung did provide a hands-on demo that let me test the scratch resistance of the display, and it was impressive to say the least.

That’s backed up by the upgraded titanium casing on the Pro model, which should be able to take a knock or two, and an official MIL-STD-810G durability rating. With water-focused exercise tracking on offer, it should come as no surprise that it offers both IP68 water resistance and 5ATM pressure resistance too.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

In place of the standard silicone strap you’ll find on the Galaxy Watch 5, the Pro model sports Samsung’s new D-buckle band. It aids the premium look of the watch overall while providing a more snug, secure fit. It’s also much easier to put on than most competitors, utilising magnets and a clasp system.   

The initial setup can be fiddly and time-consuming as you have to thread the strap in, lock it into place and then put it on the wrist to see how comfortable it is, but it’s only something you’ll need to do once.

Once properly snug on your wrist, it’s as easy as snapping the magnetic clasp into place – a much more refined and elegant experience than counting buttons on a strap, and more closely matching its traditional, analogue brethren.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is also compatible with standard 20mm watch straps for those that want more variety, but I suspect most will be happy with Samsung’s new premium strap system.

Like most ‘Pro’ wearables, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is rather limited when it comes to colour options, available in Black Titanium or Gray Titanium with a matching D-buckle. Looks like you’ll have to rely on that bright, vivid 455ppi AMOLED display to inject some much-needed colour onto your wrist.

Health & fitness tracking

• BioActive sensor provides in-depth fitness tracking
• Some features exclusive to Samsung phone users
• Turn-by-turn navigation and track back are great for hiking

Design isn’t the only differentiator between the Galaxy Watch 5 and its Pro sibling; the Watch 5 Pro also has a particular focus on outdoor exercise, including running, cycling and hiking. That durable design makes more sense now, right?

As with the Galaxy Watch 4 range, the Pro wearable sports Samsung’s BioActive sensor – a bevvy of sensors that can measure fairly standard metrics like heart rate, blood oxygen, stress and sleep monitoring alongside more advanced metrics like body composition, electrical heart signal and blood pressure.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

It really does provide unique insight, particularly when it comes to body composition measurements which can provide accurate metrics on water weight, skeletal muscle and body fat levels. It’s not medical-grade like most consumer-focused electronics, but it provides a handy way to track fitness progress over time.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

The sensor is bigger this time around, which Samsung claims provides a greater area of contact for the sensor and thus more accurate results, and that does line up with my experience with the watch. There aren’t any data oddities in either my general fitness tracking or workout-specific exercises, matching the likes of the Apple Watch Series 7 in most aspects.

Before I get any further, it’s worth pointing out that not all health and fitness tracking capabilities are available to everyone. Both the ECG and blood pressure functionality are tied to Samsung phones as you need the Samsung-only Healthy Monitor app to use them.

The latter isn’t a particular issue for most as blood pressure monitoring isn’t currently available in the US, and it still requires calibration from a blood pressure cuff every 28 days in regions where it is active, so it’s far from a stress-free way of monitoring blood pressure.

Still, the fact two key features remain unavailable to those without a Samsung smartphone will sting.

As with previous Samsung wearables, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will monitor your day-to-day fitness with active calorie burn, steps taken and hours of movement, along with handy prompts to keep you active.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Sleep tracking is particularly impressive too, with custom sleep coaching programs available after wearing the watch to bed for 7 consecutive nights that aim to improve the length and quality of your sleep. It seems accurate when it comes to tracking the various stages of sleep, though this is particularly hard to confirm without the use of head-mounted sensors.

Lewis Painter / Foundry

That’s all standard stuff for Samsung wearables, but one new feature exclusive to the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the ability to import GPX files, allowing you to create and import custom routes for exercise. It’ll then use turn-by-turn navigation to direct you during your exercise – it’ll come through your headphones if you’re listening to music on a paired phone – and an on-screen map to show your current progress.

It’s no doubt a great addition for those that like to explore when exercising, but at launch, it’s exclusive to hiking and cycling, not running, walking or any other outdoor sport – and as a jogger, that’s a little disappointing.

There’s also Track Back, another handy feature that’ll record your walk or hike using GPS and guide you back to your starting location if required. It’s not of much use to me taking a stroll in my local area, but for those that like to hike in the great outdoors, it can be a valuable addition.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

While on the subject of GPS, the exercise tracking is impressively accurate. Even on built-up city streets lined with trees, the Watch 5 Pro established a GPS signal within a few seconds and accurately tracked my entire jog.

Looking back on the breakdown of the workout on the Samsung Health app provided not only in-depth metrics on the run that athletes will no doubt make use of, but a GPS heatmap that seemed to follow my path exactly, giving me peace of mind that my total distance and pace measurements were accurate.

Features & software

• Runs Wear OS 3 with Samsung OneUI tweaks
• One of the best wearable experiences around
• No real difference to Galaxy Watch 4 offering

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro joins its predecessors in the exclusive Wear OS 3 club, with only a select few non-Samsung wearables upgrading to Google’s latest wearable OS.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Utilising the best of Wear OS 3 and Samsung’s intuitive UI tweaks, the software experience is impressive; apps load instantly, the various menus and gestures are responsive to the touch, and the extensive Google Play Store library at your fingertips offers the best selection of apps not made by Apple.

The selection of apps provides a greater overall experience, with wearable counterparts for popular apps like Spotify and Google Wallet that can genuinely be helpful in day-to-day life.

It also enables you to swap out Samsung-designed apps for Google counterparts if you so choose – a particular perk considering Samsung doesn’t officially support data synchronisation with Google Fit services, and Samsung Pay still doesn’t offer the same wide support for banks as Google Wallet.

Though Galaxy Watch 4 owners had to put up with Samsung’s Bixby virtual assistant at launch, the company integrated Google Assistant support back in May, and the Watch 5 Pro comes with the choice of Bixby or Google Assistant out of the box – but the Samsung Pay button shortcut still can’t be replaced by its Google Wallet counterpart.

As with fitness tracking, only Samsung Galaxy smartphone users will get the full benefit of the Watch 5 Pro, with features like the ability to control Samsung SmartThings devices, remotely activate the camera shutter and use Samsung’s fun AR emoji watch faces not available to non-Samsung users.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

However, key functions like downloading standalone apps, actionable notifications, making calls on the wrist, digital payment support and onboard music storage are available with any connected Android smartphone – you’ll just need to download additional apps like Samsung Accessory Service to get things moving.

Essentially, Wear OS 3 with Samsung’s various UI tweaks offers one of the most capable Android wearable experiences on the market. However, that was all just as true with the Galaxy Watch 4.

In fact, with both models sporting the same Exynos W920 chipset, there isn’t any difference in day-to-day performance either. There are new watchfaces and complications to showcase, but overall, there isn’t a lot of change here compared to the Galaxy Watch 4 range.

Battery life

• Biggest battery in a Samsung wearable yet
• Can comfortably last two days on a charge, 3 at a push
• Faster charging provides 45% in 30 minutes

With the biggest battery of any Galaxy Watch to date at 590mAh, I had big hopes for the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro’s longevity – especially with claims from Samsung that it can reportedly last up to 80 hours, or just over three days, on a single charge, and up to 20 hours using GPS.

Samsung’s prediction is largely on the money, but not if you want to enable optional features like all-day heart rate and Sp02 monitoring, the always-on display and stress tracking. The more you decide to run in the background, the more of a hit there is to battery life.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

So, while the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro can last days on end with a single charge, you’ll have to sacrifice data to do so. That seems like an odd move when one of its strongest points is collecting and collating all your health data.

After a bit of experimentation, I found a configuration that allowed for all-day heart rate and Sp02 monitoring, but it came at the expense of an always-on display and stress tracking, features I felt I could live without.

With those power-hungry features disabled, I could comfortably squeeze around two and a half days out of the Watch 5 Pro before it’d need a top-up, and that’s much better than the 276mAh battery of the 40mm Galaxy Watch 5. It is worth noting that extended use of the GPS during workouts will have a knock-on effect on overall battery life though.

When it does need a top-up, the magnetic contact charger can deliver up to 8 hours of use from just 8 minutes of charging and 45% in 30 minutes, though I found a full charge will still take close to 90 minutes. That’s an improvement on the two-hour mark of its predecessor, but it’s still fairly standard in 2022.

Price & availability

With a Pro moniker, it should come as no surprise that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is a pricy wearable, with a price tag of $449/£429 For the Bluetooth version and $499/£479 for an LTE-connected variant putting it comfortably in Apple Watch territory – though compared to some outdoor-focused wearables from companies like Garmin, it’s still attractively priced.

It is $170/£210 more than the standard 40mm Galaxy Watch 5 though, so if you aren’t too focused on the improved durability and outdoor exercise-specific features, you could save yourself a tidy sum.

If you’re tempted, you can buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro now via Samsung and retailers like Best Buy in the US and Amazon in the UK.

We cover where to buy the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 range in more detail separately for those interested, and to see how it compares to the competition, take a look at our selection of the best smartwatches.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the most advanced wearable in Samsung’s collection, offering the same combination of in-depth health and fitness tracking metrics including body composition as its standard sibling along with outdoor exercise-focused features like track back and turn-by-turn navigation, a larger display and much improved multi-day battery life.

There’s also the impressive durability to consider, with a display 90% stronger than the Galaxy Watch 4 series, the ability to survive a dunk in the sea and a titanium case that can take a knock or two. It’s certainly more robust than the stylish Galaxy Watch 5, though this does also mean that it’s larger and bulkier, with a single 45mm casing option that looked big even on my fairly large wrists.

The catch is that it’s a lot more expensive than the standard Galaxy Watch 5, and a big increase on even the premium last-gen Watch 4 Classic, which makes it hard to recommend for everyone. But, if you’re an avid cyclist or hiker that’ll get the most out of the extra functionality on offer, the Galaxy Watch 5 could be the perfect premium wearable.  

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Sony PlayStation 5 review

At a Glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• 4K@60fps gameplay
• Minimal loading screens
• DualSense controller

Cons

• The console is huge
• Limited storage space
• No PS5 launch exclusives

Our Verdict

Sony’s PS5 is exciting enough, providing solid 4K@60fps gameplay on AAA titles, without the truly next-gen DualSense controller thrown into the mix. Combined, the PS5 is a huge step forward for console gamers, and game performance will only get better as time goes on. 

Updated 25 August 2022: Amended to reflect a price increase for both PS5 consoles in the UK, Europe, and select other markets.

Sony’s PlayStation 5 is one of the most exciting products to hit the market in recent years, and not just because of its in-your-face futuristic design and larger than life dimensions. The PS4 is a great console that served us well over the past seven years, but let’s be honest, the gap between PC and console performance has been growing larger of late.

That’s all set to change with the PS5, offering 4K@60fps gameplay without breaking a sweat, along with incredibly fast loading times via a custom-built SSD, a new controller with industry-leading technology, and a flurry of PS5-compatible games to play.

It’s a direct competitor to Microsoft’s flagship Xbox Series X, and while the consoles are similar in some respects, the two companies have taken two different directions when it comes to next-gen gaming.

Get comfy, and let me explain.

Design and build

It’s safe to say that nobody was expecting the PS5 to look the way it does – but is that really a bad thing? The ostentatious, futuristic look of the new console demands your attention, and the size of the thing means you’ve got no choice but to put it on display for all to see. It’s taking peacocking to another level, looking more like a console concept you’d find on YouTube than an actual product, but hey, it’s 2022. Are we really surprised at this point?

If you thought the Xbox Series X was big, wait until you see the PS5 in real life. It measures in at around 390 x 104 x 260mm and weighs 4.5kg, meaning that it’ll likely be too big for some TV units, although the ability to use it in both horizontal and landscape orientation does help you find the right place for the mammoth console in your entertainment setup.

It’s not a case of simply placing it down like you’d expect – the tall design and curved edges of the console make it unbalanced, and if you’re standing it vertically, there’s a chance you’ll block the air intake. To remedy this, you’ll find a stand shipped alongside the console that clips into place in a horizontal position or screws into place in a vertical position to help keep the console secure.

It is a bit of a pain initially, but it’s something you’ll likely only do once, and it’s probably something that’ll be fixed by the inevitable slimline PS5 in a few years’ time. 

It’s the small details that really complement the overall design of the PS5. The soft LED glow along the inner edges of the console to indicate its various states (blue when turning on, white when in use and orange when in rest mode) has made a return, and there’s a slightly longer power button on the front alongside a shorter eject button this time around, meaning you’ll no longer eject a disc when trying to turn off the console – something I’ve done too many times to count on the PS4.

In terms of ports, you’ll find both USB-C and USB-A ports on the front, alongside the 4K Blu-ray player (on the standard edition anyway) while the back sports a further two USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, an Ethernet port and a power port. The good news is that there aren’t any proprietary ports in use on the next-gen console, which should make finding replacement cables a doddle, and the inclusion of a USB-C port should offer more futureproofing than the competing Xbox range.

You may, like me, love the design of the PS5, or you might hate it. To some extent, it doesn’t really matter – as long as you’ve got a space big enough for the console to fit with adequate airflow. It’s what’s inside the console that counts, and Sony definitely has that covered. 

Specs & performance

Inside the PS5 you’ll find a custom AMD RDNA 2 GPU capable of rendering 4K gameplay at 120 frames per second and even 8K@60fps in the future according to Sony – though there’s no 8K support just yet. That’s paired with an octa-core AMD Zen2-based CPU with a 3.5GHz clock speed. Throw 16GB of GDDR6 and the PS5’s super-fast NVMe SSD and you’ve got a hugely powerful next-gen machine more than capable of providing a high-end gaming experience.

Though 8K gaming sounds exciting, it’s not the focus of the PS5 – not yet, anyway. For most, it’ll be the appeal of being able to play games at a constant 4K@60fps or, if you’ve got a HDMI 2.1-compatible TV, 4K@120fps. My TV caps out at 4K@60fps and I’ve not yet had the chance to experience 120fps, so that’s what I’ll focus on here.

The good news is that solid 60fps performance is achievable on most launch games – I’ve had a mostly smooth 4K@60fps experience on graphically demanding games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, with the latter actually offering 120fps on capable TVs. Those coming from both the standard PS4 and PS4 Pro will be wowed by what’s on offer here, not only in terms of the increased resolution but HDR support, more particle effects, higher resolution textures and ray-tracing support that makes games look truly next-level.

It’s something I’ve yet to get over despite playing the console constantly for some time now. The visual upgrade is instantly noticeable, especially if you’re re-playing a title like Ghost of Tsushima that was originally available for PS4. Loading screens are non-existent, movement feels fluid and responsive, and the upgraded lighting effects have a knock-on effect on the overall look of next-gen games.

The performance isn’t always flawless though, and like with the PS4 Pro, some games will make you choose between frame rate and resolution. Take Spider-Man: Miles Morales for example; you can choose to either run the game at 4K with high-end visuals enabled or run it at 1080p with advanced effects disabled to hit the 60fps target. Even games designed for the PS5, like the Demons Souls remake, sometimes struggles to maintain a consistent 4K@60fps, with advanced fire physics causing a slow-down for some players.

The most exciting part is that these games aren’t designed around the PS5 specs – they were designed for the PS4 and have been enhanced by next-gen performance.

Much like with the PS4, as time goes on, developers will learn to fully utilise the hardware on offer. You wouldn’t have expected a visual masterpiece like Red Dead Redemption 2 running on the PS4 judging by the quality of games at its launch back in 2013, and it’s likely we’ll look back on launch titles in a few times and see they only scratched the surface of what’s possible. It’s going to be an exciting few years for console gamers, that’s for sure.   

The only real quarrel I have is the super-fast SSD storage – it’s 825GB on paper, which is already less than the 1TB SSD of the Xbox Series X, but that translates to around 667GB of usable storage once the operating system has been installed. It’s enough for a few PS5 games, but you’ll likely find yourself having to clear out older games within a few months – especially if you play huge games like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War with its 133GB install.

There is a second NVMe SSD slot hidden beneath the faceplate of the PS5 that’s ready to use – the problem is that SSDs capable enough of delivering the high SSD read-write speeds required to power the PS5 experience are very expensive.

You’ve got the option of hooking up an external SSD or HDD, but there’s a catch – you can only store and run PS4 games on external storage. That’s a stark difference from the Xbox Series X, which lets you at least store unused Series X on external storage. That’ll be fine for some, but as time goes on and more PS5 games become available, it’ll become more of an inconvenience. The only silver lining is that PS4 games stored on an external SSD will benefit from the same loading times as if they were stored directly on the console.

That all sounds like a bit of a headache, but the payoff is certainly worth it: the loading times on the console are non-existent. You can boot from a cold start and be playing Spider Man: Miles Morales within around 45 seconds, and you can be playing the latest Assassin’s Creed title within 25 seconds of opening the app. That’s a noticeable difference from the one-to-two-minute loading screens I was used to seeing at the end of the PS4/Xbox One generation, and the best part is that even unsupported PS4 games will benefit from the improved loading screens.

It’s limited to improved loading speeds for now, but the real benefits of the SSD will be in how future games fully utilise the faster read/write speeds. It could mean the end of narrow corridors, annoying door animations and long lift rides currently utilised to hide loading screens in open world games, and it means games can be much grander in scale too.

There is a caveat to this though; like with the true improvements to graphical performance, it likely won’t happen while games are also being released on PS4, as it’ll be near impossible to support the older HHD of the last-gen console on a game designed around SSD performance – not without a lot of work, anyway.

There are crucial questions revolving around noise and heat, two of the biggest complaints of the PS4 – especially in the latter days of the console where game devs were really pushing the seven-year-old tech to its limits. My PS4 Pro sounded like a jet taking off when playing games like The Last of Us Part 2 and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and as you’d imagine, became quite annoying after a while.

Thankfully, that’s not the case this time around – and it’s thanks in part to the wild design of the console. You see, the design promotes great airflow, which in conjunction with new fan technology – that Sony says it’ll continue to improve via OTA software updates – help keep the console cool in the most strenuous gaming sessions. It does still get warm, but it won’t turn your room into an oven like the PS4 did at times.

It is near-silent too, thankfully, but there is a quiet buzz when playing games. It’s related to the fan system as far as I can tell, noticed primarily when playing graphically intense games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. It’s not always a problem though; it’s basically inaudible when using the console to watch Netflix, and it’s a similar story when I exit to the PS5’s home menu too. It’s not a loud noise and it pales in comparison to the noise generated by the PS4, but it can be a little distracting if you’re gaming at low volume.

DualSense controller

The sheer performance of the console aside, it’s the new DualSense controller that gets me most excited about the future of gaming – and it’s the reason to buy a PS5 over the Xbox Series X in my opinion.

Let’s start with the design; it’s slightly larger and heavier than the DualShock 4 controller, thanks mainly to the larger handles that give it a similar shape to Microsoft’s Xbox One controller – albeit without the asynchronous analogue stick layout.

The front panel is made from a soft-touch matte plastic that feels nice in the hand, while the rear features a more textured finish comprised of tiny PlayStation icon symbols. It’s a nice touch that gamers will appreciate, although on the flip side, I’ve noticed that the Sony logo is ever so slightly off-centre, so it’s not perfect. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it, so apologies in advance!

The touchpad has made a return on the DualSense controller, remaining in its central position above the analogue sticks, although there are changes to the surrounding area.

While the light bar it was initially built into the rear and eventually the trackpad of the DualShock 4, it now surrounds the front-facing trackpad, providing a nice colourful outline that’s easier to notice out of the corner of your eye. Most importantly, you’ll no longer get the annoying light bar reflection in your TV when gaming in the dark, and I think that’s something we can all appreciate. There are also taller Options and Create buttons this time around, making them much easier to locate and press.

There’s a built-in speaker, just like with the DualShock 4, but what’s new is the accompanying microphone. It’s used primarily for group chat situations, with the noise-cancelling tech working well in my tests, only picking up my voice and not my TV audio despite not lifting the controller near to my mouth. It’ll also speed up text-based chat, as you’re now able to dictate messages using speech-to-text software.

There’s a new mute button built into the controller that’ll mute the built-in mic or your headset mic depending on what’s being used, and a quick press-and-hold will mute the system altogether – handy for shouting responses to friends and family through the locked door while you raid your way across England or obliterate enemies on the battlefield.

Overall, the controller feels good in the hand, but it’s beneath the surface of the DualSense that things really begin to get interesting.

Haptic feedback is one of two crucial advanced technologies introduced in the DualSense controller, providing what can only be described as high-definition vibration effects that really can trick the brain. The haptic motors are able to convey texture, as showcased in Astro’s Playroom, with a different feeling depending on the surface Astro is walking on, and they can help convey the distribution of weight from left to right in the hand too, making an Astro demo where you put robots ‘inside’ the controller and roll them around particularly mind-blowing.

Haptic feedback is great, but it’s the adaptive triggers that truly steal the show on the DualSense controller. It’s an entirely new concept and something not offered by any other console or platform right now, and if developers fully embrace the technology, it could create a new standard in game controllers.

The idea is that the controller can essentially create tension as you push down on the rear triggers, conveying a sense of tension when drawing back the strings of a bow in Astro’s Playroom and a short, sharp release when firing weapons in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. There’s a particularly memorable demo in Astro’s Playroom where the triggers actually kicked back as I pressed down to (accurately) simulate the feeling of the jet thrusters I was controlling.

Astro’s Playroom is a game I keep going back to, and that’s essentially because it’s a showcase of what the new controller can do – and I fully recommend giving it a go when you get the console.

The downside is that third-party support is fairly limited right now – there’s different trigger feedback depending on the weapons you use in the latest Call of Duty, and that’s a great addition, but that’s the only good use of it I’ve seen from a third-party title thus far. Not even Sony’s own Spider-Man: Miles Morales makes use of the trigger system, which doesn’t bode well for the future of the tech.

But, it’s early days, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that developers begin to experiment and build new gameplay experiences around the new adaptive triggers and haptic feedback because they really are game-changing technologies that provide a new level of immersion in games. I’ll never go back to Call of Duty on any other platform again!

The only complaint is that, at 1m, the provided USB-A to USB-C charging cable is just too short for me. The good news is that third-party manufacturers have already stepped up to the plate, with Snakebyte offering a braided 2m-long Charge&Data USB-A to USB-C cable for £17.99 in the UK, for example.

Software

Just like the hardware, the UI of the PS5 is a total redesign when compared to its predecessor – and that comes with quite a steep learning curve, but it’s well worth it. Pressing and holding the PlayStation button this time around will take you to the Home screen while short-pressing the button brings up Sony’s new Control Centre menu, for example, and that’s the complete opposite to the PS4 system.

Many of these small changes make sense, making the Control Centre faster to access in this specific case, but it’ll take some time to unlearn old habits.

Speaking of Control Centre, it’s probably the highlight feature of the PS5 UI. Accessible at any time with the press of the PlayStation button, it’ll appear as an overlay in whichever game or app you’ve currently got loaded. From there you’re able to access system controls, recently opened apps and games, your incoming notifications, downloads, messages, voice chats and more without leaving the game window, making for a much more streamlined process than with the PS4.

Even what some would call advanced features, like adjusting the audio balance between party chat and in-game audio or controlling Spotify playback, can be done without closing the game window.

Most importantly, accessing the Control Centre brings up a line of contextual activity cards that provide not only trophy progress, hints and other in-game content but tutorials, recently captured clips, live broadcasts and most importantly, shortcuts to play specific game modes – where available, anyway.

Support isn’t widespread right now, but bringing up the Control Centre in Astro’s Playroom will give you a list of current collectable progress while Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales lets you jump straight into side quests and Devil May Cry 5 takes you directly to secret missions, bypassing the various loading and menu screens you’d usually navigate through. It’s a slick experience free of obstruction, and it’s something I really hope future PS5 titles fully utilise.

The new Home screen is reminiscent of the PS4 UI, but it’s much cleaner this time around, free of folders and other organisations present on the older system.

You’ll see your nine most recently used games listed on the Home screen itself, with the rest hidden within your Game Library. Selecting a game icon will display a bunch of activity cards related to that game, providing shortcuts to specific content, along with information on what your friends are currently doing in-game with shortcuts to join them where necessary.

It’s also where you’ll find news on the latest patches and updates, new DLC trailers and in-game content, perfect for keeping up on post-launch content on games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Dying Light 2.

Games and media apps are now displayed separately on the Home screen, easily toggled via the controls in the top-left or simply by pressing L1 and R1. It helps keep your Home screen more organised and allows you to focus on what you’re interested in doing at that specific moment, be it gaming or watching a movie. The only real crossover app right now is Spotify, which can be used whilst playing games on the PS5 or as a standalone app.

You’ll find apps for many popular streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ available to download, and you’ll even find UK-focused services like BBC iPlayer on the platform.

The media section is also where you’ll be able to play your 4K UHD Blu-rays – if you opted for the standard PS5 instead of the Digital variant, anyway.

Price & availability

The PS5 is a premium console, coming in at $499/£479/€549 for the standard console and a discounted $399/£389/€449 for the discless Digital Edition. In the UK and Europe that’s actually £30/€50 more than it cost at launch, following an August 2022 price increase, though for the moment the US price has remained the same.

Despite that, it’s arguably great value when you compare it to a gaming PC – especially one that outputs 4K@60fps gameplay. It’s around the same as the Xbox Series X and Microsoft’s option doesn’t offer anything close to the DualSense, although there are benefits to be had from the competing console.

The real problem, as it was at launch, is finding one. You can try your luck at GAME, Currys PC World and others in the UK and Best Buy in the US, but your best bet is to keep an eye on where to buy a PS5 in the UK as we keep track of stock.

If you’re unsure of which to buy, take a look at PS5 vs PS5 Digital Edition and PS5 vs Xbox Series X for more information.

Verdict

The PS5 is an incredible next-gen console that has gamers excited for a number of reasons.

As well as providing solid 4K@60fps gameplay and a lightning-fast loading experience, the PS5 takes graphics to a new level with high-quality textures, improved particle effects and real-time ray tracing technology. It’s a noticeable improvement on the PS4 in just about every way, although the overly-large dimensions and in-your-face design of the console may put some off – especially if you can’t find a space big enough to fit the console into.

But while the improved performance is a great selling point, it’s the DualSense controller that has the most potential. The improved haptic feedback and adaptive triggers are quite literally game-changing technologies, as showcased in Astro’s Playroom, but it all rides on how developers choose to utilise the new tech going forward.

It’s not the perfect console, with limited internal storage that can’t be expanded at launch, and while the console is quiet, there is an annoying hum produced during more intense gameplay experiences, but these are relatively minor problems with a largely improved next-gen console that PlayStation gamers will be happy with. The real challenge will be finding one anytime soon.

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Reseña de los Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro

Los Galaxy Buds 2 de Samsung son un excelente par de verdaderos auriculares inalámbricos relativamente asequibles, completos con cancelación activa de ruido (ANC), carga inalámbrica y excelente sonido. Sin embargo, eso dejó a Samsung con un problema: qué hacer para que la actualización Pro de este año se destaque.

Los Galaxy Buds 2 Pro responden a esa pregunta con sutilezas de nicho como audio de 24 bits y de 360 ​​grados, características que se ven bien en la caja, pero es probable que los usuarios principales no las usen mucho.

Los Buds 2 Pro aún tienen una excelente calidad de audio y un ajuste cómodo, este último en particular mucho mejor que los Pros de primera generación, pero para la mayoría de las personas, los Buds 2 normales serán la mejor compra.

diseño y construcción

• Ajuste compacto y cómodo.
• Controles táctiles sensibles
• Resistencia al agua IPX7

Los Buds 2 Pro se ven cómodamente como una pieza con el resto de la gama Galaxy Buds. Disponibles en grafito, blanco o morado, estos son simples auriculares redondos con un acabado de plástico mate, una gran mejora con respecto al material brillante que Samsung ha usado en la mayoría de sus otros auriculares.

Estos son livianos y compactos, diseñados para acomodarse dentro de su oído con un perfil bajo. Eso los hace sutiles cuando estás fuera de casa, y también evita el riesgo de golpear un auricular o atraparlo en la correa de una bolsa.

La desventaja de ese diseño compacto es que es casi imposible ajustarlos sin presionar los controles táctiles, que cubren todo el borde exterior de cada botón. Este ha sido el caso básicamente para todos los Galaxy Buds hasta ahora, y Samsung aún tiene que encontrar una solución, pero el resultado es que cualquier intento de ajustar el ajuste termina pausando su música o omitiendo una pista, e incluso jugando con tu cabello puede hacer lo mismo.

La buena noticia es que, a diferencia de los Buds Pro anteriores, estos se ajustan bastante cómodamente. Los Buds 2 Pro son más livianos y un poco más pequeños que sus predecesores, y entre las tres opciones de punta de silicona pude encontrar un ajuste que funciona para mí.

La aplicación gratuita Galaxy Wearable también incluye una 'prueba de ajuste', que usa los micrófonos de los botones para verificar si hay fugas de sonido y le permite saber si está usando los botones correctamente o no. Obtenga el ajuste correcto la primera vez, y los controles táctiles demasiado sensibles deberían ser un problema menor.

Un aspecto definitivamente positivo es que los Buds 2 Pro tienen una clasificación IPX7, lo que significa una buena resistencia al agua (pero sin protección contra el polvo). Eso no es lo más difícil, los gustos de Jabra Elite 7 Pro también protegen contra el polvo, con IP57, pero todavía está en el extremo superior para los auriculares. Sin embargo, tenga en cuenta que esto es solo para los auriculares, y el estuche de transporte es no a salvo de salpicaduras.

Hablando del estuche, tiene la familiar forma cuadrada de Samsung. Es delgado, compacto y la bisagra magnética se siente segura, por lo que no hay mucho de qué quejarse aquí.

especificaciones y sonido

• Sonido cálido y completo
• Potente ANC
• Audio de 24 bits, pero con límites

Gracias a la ayuda de su marca de audio interna AKG, Samsung nunca ha tenido problemas para asegurarse de que los Galaxy Buds suenen bien, y los Buds 2 Pro no son una excepción.

Comencemos con la experiencia de audio central antes de pasar a las campanas y silbatos. Estos son los Galaxy Buds con mejor sonido hasta el momento, con un perfil sonoro cálido y equilibrado que se adapta a casi todo lo que he lanzado.

Hay suficiente bajo para conducir house o hip hop como el nuevo álbum de Beyoncé, pero sin perder la claridad y la apertura necesarias en los registros más altos para una tarifa más pop como Beach House de Carly Rae Jepsen. Por supuesto, esto no ofrece el tipo de escenario de sonido amplio y expansivo que ofrecen las latas para colocar sobre las orejas, pero para los brotes no se puede hacer mucho mejor.

La nueva característica principal de este año es la introducción de soporte para audio de 24 bits, una tasa de bits más alta que el estándar de la industria de 16 bits. Sin embargo, hay advertencias: al menos por ahora, esto solo funciona con un teléfono Samsung Galaxy compatible con One UI 4 o posterior, y además necesita una fuente de audio de 24 bits; para la transmisión, eso significa Tidal o Apple Music, pero no Spotify.

El soporte de 24 bits de Samsung es cortesía de su propio Samsung Seamless Hi-Fi Codec (SSC), aunque AAC y SBC son compatibles con él, aunque no hay soporte para aptX HD, LDAC o LHDC.

Fui escéptico, no esperaba que los cogollos de este tamaño fueran capaces de capitalizar la resolución y los detalles adicionales de todos modos. Al pasar de mi Spotify habitual al servicio de transmisión de alta resolución Qobuz, debo admitir que me sorprendió: hay una marcada diferencia en detalle y profundidad, un nivel de claridad que falta en las fuentes de 16 bits.

Sin embargo, todavía es sutil, y sospecho que la mayoría de las personas no encontrarán una diferencia suficiente aquí para que el costo adicional valga la pena. Los audiófilos que ya poseen un teléfono Samsung deberían ver algún beneficio, pero la mejora del audio no es suficiente para justificar que la mayoría de las personas tomen auriculares nuevos, un teléfono nuevo y cambien su servicio de transmisión.

Hay menos aros por los que pasar para el audio 360 de los botones, lo que crea un escenario de sonido envolvente virtual, incluido el soporte para contenido Dolby Atmos.

La configuración predeterminada aquí suena genial, agrega profundidad y una sensación de espacio a las pistas, aunque para la música probablemente querrás desactivar la función opcional de seguimiento de la cabeza, que corta la música dentro y fuera de cada oído a medida que mueves la cabeza. bien cuando estás viendo una película, te distrae cuando solo estás girando la cabeza en el autobús y tus canciones siguen moviéndose.

Por supuesto, como con cualquier auricular de alta gama en estos días, los Buds 2 Pro también incluyen ANC. Esto también es excelente, ya que bloquea la mayoría de los ruidos exteriores siempre que tenga el ajuste correcto.

Samsung llama a esto 'ANC inteligente', pero es lo mismo que Sony llama 'hablar para chatear'. Eso significa que si los botones detectan que estás hablando, usando una combinación de micrófonos y sensores para los movimientos de la mandíbula, automáticamente cambian al modo de ambiente transparente, amplificando el ruido exterior y bajando el volumen de tu música para que puedas mantener una conversación cómodamente.

Esa práctica función compensa de alguna manera el hecho de que la implementación de la detección en el oído por parte de Samsung sigue siendo extraña. Si bien la mayoría de los auriculares de botón equivalentes pausarán la música cuando se los quite, estos solo se detendrán una vez que los quite. ambas cosas y requieren un toque manual para reanudar la reproducción una vez que vuelvan a entrar. Sin duda, algunos preferirán eso, por supuesto, pero desearía que hubiera una opción para pausar la reproducción cuando saco un botón, sigue siendo mi instinto cuando lo necesito. habla con alguien.

Batería y carga

• 4-5 horas de batería en los botones
• Hasta 18 horas con el estuche
• Carga inalámbrica o USB-C

La duración de la batería es probablemente el gran punto débil de los Buds 2 Pro. No está mal, pero ciertamente no es genial, y los cogollos rivales lo hacen mucho mejor.

Samsung promete cinco horas de tiempo de escucha con el ANC activo, pero descubrí que duraron un poco más de cuatro horas antes de empacarlo. Eso no es lo suficientemente cerca para durar un día completo o un vuelo largo con una sola carga, lo que será limitante para alguno.

Por supuesto, obtienes más vida una vez que tomas en cuenta el estuche, que junto con los botones deberían ofrecer hasta 18 horas de batería. Eso es respetable, pero algunos auriculares ofrecen 40 horas o más, y personalmente preferiría un estuche de carga un poco más grande a cambio de una mejor batería.

Sin embargo, la carga es decente, con USB-C y carga inalámbrica disponibles.

Conectividad y funciones inteligentes

• Último estándar de Bluetooth
• Personalización en la aplicación Galaxy Wearable
• Soporte iOS limitado

Los Buds 2 Pro se emparejan con su teléfono a través del último estándar Bluetooth 5.3, que es parte de lo que impulsa las funciones de audio mejoradas.

También es pan comido conectarlos, con ventanas emergentes casi instantáneas que ofrecen emparejar los auriculares con un teléfono Samsung o una computadora portátil con Windows, aunque otros dispositivos serán un poco más manuales.

Todos los usuarios de Android pueden instalar la aplicación Galaxy Wearable, que les permite personalizar algunos controles, activar y desactivar la configuración y gestionar las actualizaciones de firmware para los auriculares.

Aquí es donde puede activar o desactivar el audio 360 y el seguimiento de la cabeza, ajustar el ecualizador, configurar (o desactivar) Bixby y más. Incluso puede activar una configuración para recibir recordatorios para estirar el cuello si los botones detectan una mala postura, pero esto me pareció tan irritante como cabría esperar.

Una desventaja es que esta aplicación no está disponible en iOS, por lo que los propietarios de Apple se perderán muchas de las funciones de los auriculares. Todavía puede emparejar Buds 2 Pro con un iPhone a través de Bluetooth y usarlos bien, simplemente no puede acceder a sus funciones más avanzadas. Por supuesto, lo mismo sería cierto en la otra dirección con los AirPods Pro, por lo que es difícil criticar demasiado a Samsung aquí.

Precio y disponibilidad

Los Galaxy Buds 2 Pro están disponibles para reservar ahora, antes de salir oficialmente a la venta a partir del viernes 26 de agosto.

Te costarán $ 229 / £ 219 / € 229, socavando ligeramente los AirPods Pro, pero ciertamente en el mismo estadio.

Sin embargo, eso es costoso para los verdaderos auriculares inalámbricos, especialmente con equipos como Nothing Ear (1) ahora disponibles con ANC y carga inalámbrica desde solo $ 99 / £ 99 / € 99. Incluso los Galaxy Buds 2, muy similares, con un precio oficial de $ 149 / £ 139 / € 149, a menudo caen por debajo de la línea de cien en estos días.

La mayoría estaría perfectamente feliz con uno de esos pares más baratos, y ahora más que nunca, los Buds 2 Pro solo deberían ser una consideración para los audiófilos deseosos de aprovechar al máximo el sonido de 24 bits sobre la marcha, aunque si ese es su objetivo, es no es una mala relación calidad-precio en absoluto.

Consulte nuestra clasificación de los mejores auriculares inalámbricos verdaderos para obtener más opciones, o los mejores auriculares inalámbricos económicos si prefiere gastar menos.

Veredicto

Dejando a un lado el precio, los Galaxy Buds 2 Pro son los mejores auriculares de Samsung hasta el momento. Un diseño cómodo, un tamaño compacto y un audio excelente los convierten en un ganador, y la duración media de la batería es la única decepción real.

Con el audio de 24 bits limitado a los usuarios de teléfonos Samsung y fuentes de audio compatibles, la propuesta de valor aquí puede no tener sentido a menos que ya esté enganchado a ellos.

Eso es especialmente cierto con los Galaxy Buds 2 de precio competitivo de Samsung que ya están disponibles: si no está preocupado por el sonido de alta resolución, las otras actualizaciones probablemente no sean suficientes para justificar pagar el doble para convertirse en Pro.

Especificaciones

• Auriculares inalámbricos
• Altavoz dinámico de 2 vías
• Cancelación de ruido activa
• Controles táctiles
• Acelerómetro, Proximidad, Hall, Toque, Detección de encendido/apagado del oído
• Bluetooth 5.3
• Resistencia al agua IPX7
• Estuche de carga con USB-C y carga inalámbrica
• Auricular: batería de 5 horas / Estuche de carga: batería de 18 horas
• Grafito, Blanco, Morado Bora

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 review

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c9OATz2Oow[/embed]

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Fast, flagship performance
• Impressive battery life
• Great main camera
• Fun design

Cons

• Durability still a doubt
• 25W charging is sluggish
• No telephoto

Our Verdict

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 doesn’t change a lot, but improvements to battery life and camera performance address the main flaws of last year’s model and should help convince anyone on the fence. I still have my doubts about durability, but right now foldables don’t get better than this.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3 marked a massive step forwards for the company’s foldable line. It was a revolution in design, practicality, and pricing that took the compact folding phone from niche tech nerd fantasy to a mainstream proposition.

12 months on, it’s fair to say Samsung hasn’t got the same scale of upgrade up its sleeve again. Perhaps understandably, the Z Flip 4 is a comparatively minor upgrade, more iteration than revolution.

That’s not to be critical though: I gave the Z Flip 3 a glowing review last year, and the Flip 4 is quite simply even better. Most importantly, while Samsung’s upgrades are few, they’re also focussed, and the company has improved both the battery life and camera – two of the only areas where the last Flip fell behind.

Design & build

• Slightly streamlined design
• Improved durability
• Long-term longevity still in doubt

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: the Z Flip 4 looks an awful lot like the Z Flip 3.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Samsung has stuck incredibly close to last year’s excellent design, so you once again get a compact phone that folds into a small square, with a two-tone finish on the outside to partly mask the outer cover display.

There have been some changes. The main body of the phone is now matt, rather than glossy, and its edges have been subtly squared off. The cover display is essentially unchanged, but the camera lenses now protrude from the body a little more.

The matt finish now coats four standard colours: Bora Purple, Blue, Pink Gold, and Graphite. There are more options in Samsung’s returning ‘Bespoke Edition’ tool, available exclusively through its online store, which lets you choose from a range of frame and body colours to build your own custom Flip.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Bigger changes can be found in the hinge. This is now smaller and more subtle, which has in turn made the display crease a little less noticeable – though it’s still hard to miss. Samsung hasn’t yet caught up to rivals like the Huawei P50 Pocket, which can fold completely shut – the Z Flip 4 still leaves a slight gap when closed.

Durability is apparently slightly improved thanks to tougher Gorilla Glass Victus+ coating the body. The phone once again has an IPX8 rating (for water but not dust protection) and its frame is built from toughed ‘Armour Aluminium’ – for what it’s worth, I once dropped my Z Flip 3 right on the hinge from height, and said aluminium was tough enough to protect it from harm.

What I can’t speak to is the durability of the hinge. Samsung says that the Z Flip 4’s hinge has been tested to survive over 200,000 folds – enough that even with 100 folds a day it would still last for over five years.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The company said the same last year though, and anecdotally I’ve heard of multiple cases of Z Flip 3 phones that developed cracks and splits on the display along the hinge, in one case ruining the screen entirely.

Has this flaw been fixed? Maybe. I can’t really test that in a week with the phone – and for what it’s worth, a year on my Z Flip 3 is still fine. Maybe this will be too. But no matter what figures Samsung throws out, remember that by buying a foldable you’re still taking a bit of a gamble on the phone breaking early.

Displays & audio

• 6.7in, 120Hz AMOLED main display
• 1.9in cover display for notifications & shortcuts
• Decent stereo speakers

The twin displays are one area Samsung where has essentially changed nothing, aside from the aforementioned hinge improvements and a few new software tricks for the outer cover display.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

The main screen is a 6.7in, 120Hz AMOLED. Samsung reps told me that this is technically a different panel to last year, but that the improvements are primarily for power efficiency, rather than display quality.

6.7in means that as compact as the Z Flip 4 is when folded, it is a certified Big Phone when it’s open – albeit one that’s thinner and lighter than almost any other phone with the same size screen.

The screen is bright and punchy, though I think it’s fair to say that you could find better display quality in similarly priced slab phones. There’s not much in it though, and as long as you can live with the crease I can’t imagine many people will find much to fault here.

The 1.9in cover display is a little more divisive. I love this dinky display, which hides away in the design when not in use, and offers just enough space for a few simple controls the rest of the time.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

You can set up a compact always-on-display with the time and other info, check notifications (and even send some basic message replies), control music playback, set timers and more. New additions this year include speed dial controls for up to three contacts, smart home controls through Samsung’s SmartThings system, and the ability to set custom images, gifs, and even videos on the screen.

I know some find this screen a little too compact. It’s smaller than the one found on Motorola’s Razr 2022, though for my money that screen looks like an ugly halfway house, almost phone-filling but not quite. Samsung’s version may be small, but at least it’s intentionally so, and suits the Z Flip 4’s sleek design.

As for audio, the phone packs a pair of stereo speakers, but no headphone jack. The speakers are solid, but unremarkable – they’ll do the job for a spot of music or some gaming, but won’t replace your Bluetooth speaker any time soon.

Specs & features

• Flagship Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip
• Only 8GB RAM
• Up to 512GB storage

Samsung has equipped the Z Flip 4 with the absolute latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 – essentially giving this phone a year and a half’s worth of performance upgrades on last year’s Flip 3, which used the Snapdragon 888.

It’s arguably let down very slightly by being limited to only 8GB of RAM, and the form factor also limits how much cooling can be crammed in. That means the phone runs a little hot during more demanding tasks, and performance lags a bit behind the fastest 8+ Gen 1 phones, but this isn’t exactly a device aimed at power users.

For typical day-to-day use the Z Flip 4 is pretty much flawless, and only the most demanding of gamers will find cause for complaint on performance.

128GB and 256GB storage options return, joined by a new 512GB tier – you may want to consider one of the higher options, only because there’s no expandable microSD card option. It’s also worth noting that if you want to use Samsung’s Bespoke option to customise the design, you’ll be limited to the 256GB model.

Connectivity and other specs are as you’d expect. 5G is supported, including mmWave in the US, along with NFC, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.2.

Face unlock is available using the single selfie camera, or you can use your fingerprint, with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner in the power button, rather than built into the display.

Battery & charging

• Massively improved battery life
• Comfortably lasts a full day
• Slightly sluggish 25W charging

Battery life was the main reason not to buy last year’s Z Flip 3. The phone struggled to last a full day, and the battery anxiety was real.

Samsung has significantly improved the situation this year, and while the Z Flip 4 is far from the best battery phones around, thanks to a combination of a bigger battery and a more power-efficient chip it’s now good enough that I don’t think the battery should put anybody off.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

I’ve been using the phone for almost two weeks, and most days go to bed with 30-40% charge left in the phone – a pretty comfortable buffer. I only struggled once, on a day visiting Kew’s Royal Botanical Gardens, when the phone dropped to single digits around 9pm, but only after hours of photos, filming, and social media, which any phone would struggle with.

Charging has been improved too, though still lags a little in the market. The phone can now charge at up to 25W – up from 15W last year – but remember that Samsung doesn’t include a charger in the box. I tried charging the phone with two different third-party chargers, restoring 36% of battery in half an hour with one, and 48% of battery in the same time with the other.

That’s slow compared to super-fast charging phones, but in reality is probably nippy enough for most people. It helps that Qi wireless charging is also available – this is even slower, but has an obvious convenience factor.

Camera & video

• Great main camera
• Ultrawide but no telephoto
• Decent selfie camera – or use the main lens

If the battery was the Flip 3’s biggest flaw, the cameras were a close second. Samsung hasn’t done as much to fix these, but has shored up the weakest point and certainly made this set-up stronger than it used to be.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

There are three cameras here: a pair of 12Mp rear cameras (one main, one ultrawide) and a 10Mp selfie camera in a punch-hole on the inner display. There’s no telephoto option at all here, which is arguably its biggest weakness – though it would be remiss of me not to point out that neither the Pixel 6 or iPhone 13 feature a telephoto either.

The only real change from the Flip 3 is to the main camera, which features a new, larger image sensor, capable of catching more light. That may sound like a small change, but the results are transformative. Even in bright daylight this camera is head-and-shoulders above last year’s, and in low light the difference is even more stark, though you’ll see a gap in quality between the Flip 4 and top photography phones.

Samsung’s colour tuning is bright and perhaps a touch over-saturated, but the punchy, vibrant photos really are a pleasure. Capture speed seems improved too – while the Z Flip 3 sometimes struggled with fast-moving animals or children, I spent an afternoon in a cat café with the Flip 4 and never had a problem.

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The ultrawide impresses for the most part too, though there’s no hardware upgrade here. There’s a drop in detail, and it won’t compete with the main lens (or rival phones) in tougher lighting, but for the most part it gets the job done.

The 10Mp selfie camera isn’t bad either, but you might actually prefer to use the main cameras. With the phone closed you can use the cover display as a preview screen for selfies or video captured from either of the rear lenses – upgraded this year to add in the option for portrait mode, or to see the image preview in the correct aspect ratio (albeit with severe letterboxing!).

This is one of the ways the Z Flip 4 has a photographic edge despite the comparatively limited hardware. The other is that the flexible screen makes this an optimal phone for recording video (up to 4K@60fps), as you can prop it up almost anywhere. I love that for recording sets in the gym to check my form, but I suspect Samsung really has the TikTok crowd in mind.

Software & updates

• Ships with Android 12
• Four years of OS updates guaranteed

The Z Flip 4 ships with Android 12, running Samsung’s One UI 4.1 on top.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

One UI isn’t my absolute favourite Android skin out there, but it’s one of the better ones. You’ll have to put up with quite a few pre-installed apps (some Samsung, some the likes of LinkedIn or Microsoft Teams) and what can be a rigid, inflexible UI, but the perk is that this is about as easy to use as Android ever gets.

You’ll also get the full benefits of Android 12, including the Material You UI customisation and comprehensive privacy features, and extra software tricks if you link your phone to other Samsung gear like headphones, smartwatches, or smart home tech.

There are also software adaptations for the foldable. I’ve mentioned a few already for the cover display and camera, but another key one is Flex mode, which lets you move an app’s display content to one half of the display when it’s partially folded, with extra controls on the other. Some apps, like the camera, have custom controls, but an optional experimental setting lets you enable this for any app, giving you options like screenshotting, brightness & volume controls, and even turning the bottom half of the screen into an erstwhile trackpad for the app.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Samsung is also the Android market leader on updates. Flagships like the Z Flip 4 are promised four Android version updates, starting with this year’s Android 13, and five years of security patches. To be frank, that means I suspect this phone will still be getting software updates long after the hinge or display give out.

Price & availability

The Z Flip 4 is available to pre-order now, and goes on sale officially on Friday 26 August.

At a starting price of $999/£999/€1,099 this is the same price as before in the US, but actually £50/€50 more expensive in the UK and Europe – which stings a little after the Z Flip 3’s price cut, though is actually below current inflation. Here’s the full pricing:

• 128GB: $999/£999/€1,099
• 256GB: $1,059/£1,059/€1,159
• 256GB Bespoke Edition: $1,139/£1,099/€1,199
• 512GB: $1,179/£1,199/€1,279

Price for price and spec for spec the Z Flip 4 still isn’t really great value – you can get similar specs for a few hundred less elsewhere, or much more powerful cameras and hardware for the same price.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

Still, that’s comparing to phones that don’t fold. This is still affordable for a foldable, and owners will have to be open to paying a little extra for the form factor. The price premium feels appropriate, but make sure you’re comfortable with the added risk of repair or replacement costs if your hinge develops issues.

For more alternatives, check out our rankings of the best phones and best Android phones to see what else is out there, or the best Samsung Galaxy phones for more options from the Korean company.

Verdict

The Z Flip 4 isn’t a perfect phone, and it’s unlikely to win over any haters. But it’s undoubtedly the best foldable on the global market right now (perhaps that’s not saying much though), and should convert anyone who was on the fence about last year’s model.

The areas where the phone excels – sheer specs, a snazzy foldable design, and smart software that makes the most of the hardware – are enough to make it a worthy rival to any other flagship out there.

The previous phone’s two key flaws – the short battery life and basic camera – have been addressed, if not entirely fixed. Both are now good enough where they previously weren’t, removing the main reasons to hesitate over picking up a Flip.

Durability remains my only real concern, not least because it’s the one thing I can’t test for myself. I can’t guarantee that the Z Flip 4 will last as long as other devices, that it won’t break before you’re otherwise ready to upgrade. But if that’s a bet you’re willing to take, this is a phone worth taking a gamble on.

Specs

• Android 12 with One UI
• 6.7in Full HD+ (2640×1080) foldable 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X with HDR10+ support
• 1.9in Super AMOLED (260×512) cover screen
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 octa-core processor
• 8GB RAM
• 128/256/512GB internal storage
• 12Mp, f/1.8, OIS rear camera + 12Mp ultra wide, f/2.2
• 10Mp, f/2.4 front camera
• Side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• 2D face recognition
• Wi-Fi 6
• Bluetooth 5.2
• GPS
• NFC
• 4G LTE
• IPX8
• USB-C
• 3700mAh non-removable battery
• 25W wired charging
• Wireless charging
• Unfolded: 165.2x 71.9 x 6.9mm
• Folded: 84.9 x 71.9 x 17.1-15.9mm
• 187g

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