Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro vs. Galaxy Watch 4 Classic: Old school meets modern minimalism
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Large and in charge
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro was Samsung’s 2022 flagship smartwatch. It’s made of premium materials like titanium, and features snappy performance, a huge, high-quality display, and marathon battery life that can be measured in days, not hours. Though it retails for a pricey $450, it’s regularly available for less. If you want great battery life and outdoors-focused features, the Watch 5 Pro is a great option.
High-end performance for less
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic has almost everything that makes the Watch 5 Pro great, with similar styling, performance, and software. The Watch 4 Classic’s bezel also rotates, and you can use it to navigate the UI. Its battery life isn’t as strong as the Watch 5 Pro’s though, and its case is made of stainless steel instead of titanium. If you’re alright with those trade-offs, the 4 Classic is still a good buy if you find it discounted.
Even though the SamsungGalaxy Watch 6 Classichas been released, deals can still be found on older Samsung smartwatches that will save you a few dollars.
TheGalaxy Watch 5 Promight be a year old, but it still boasts impressive specs like a titanium case, sapphire crystal glass over its display, and a positively massive battery. If you want to save even more, it’s possible to find great deals on theGalaxy Watch 4 Classic, which is still supported and running well. They’re bothgreat smartwatches, but which is right for you?
Price, availability, and specs
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro comes in one size — 45mm — and can be found for as little as $279 on Amazon. While the LTE version typically goes for more, it’s still less than what it was on release. Samsung’s site is still a little bit pricey, so I would shop around for the best deal from retailers who still have stock.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is on sale through Amazon for as little as $190 for the 42mm version or $250 if you want the larger 46mm diameter. With Amazon renewed, the prices drop even further to under $120 for both versions — an incredible discount from the original MSRP. If you do a little digging, it’s possible to find phenomenal deals on both watches.
Design and fit
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro looks alotlike the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. They have the same basic shape, and they’re both styled to look more like conventional watches than their less-expensive Galaxy Watch counterparts. But the high-end Galaxy Watch 5 option is indeed premium, with a titanium case and a sapphire crystal display cover — each an upgrade over the Watch 4 Classic’s stainless steel and glass.
The most noticeable hardware change between the two is the loss of the rotating bezel, which Samsung brought back for the Watch 6 Classic but was not featured on the 5 Pro. The 5 Pro does differentiate itself from the base Watch 5 with its styling, materials, and comparatively enormous battery, plus outdoor sports-themed watch faces and activity tracking features for hiking and cycling. Still, it’s a shame to see one of Samsung’s most unique and playful wearable flourishes go missing.
While the older Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is available in two sizes at 42 and 46mm, the Watch 5 Pro is only available at 45mm, roughly the same size as the larger 4 Classic. If you’re a fan of smaller watches, the 42mm Watch 4 Classic should probably be your go-to.
The Watch 5 Pro comes in black or gray, similar to the 4 Classic, which is available in black or silver. Annoyingly, the base-model Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 5 are available in more colors than their pricier cousins.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic both run Samsung’s customized version of Wear OS 3.5, which takes design cues from Samsung’s older Tizen-powered wearables; you can see the influence in places like the Watch 4 and 5’s app drawer and menus. The general software experience on each watch is identical.
Samsung has saidstarting with the Galaxy Watch 4 series, watches will receive “up to four years” of software updates. That language is a little wiggly —up to fourcould technically mean one, two, or three — but we’re assuming it means the Watch 4 Classic will receive software updates into 2025, and the Watch 5 Pro will get updates into 2026.
Health and fitness
Both the Watch 5 Pro and the Watch 4 Classic track various health metrics like heart rate, blood oxygen (SpO2) levels, body fat (as estimated by bioelectrical impedance), steps, and other physical activity with all of these data points stored on the Samsung Health app.
Either watch can track numerous exercise types, but the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has additional features for outdoorsy types, including GPX mapping for cycling and hiking — though, curiously, not for running. While both watches perform admirably in general fitness tracking, we weren’t especially impressed with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro as a Garmin-type extreme outdoor activity tracker. If that’s what you’re after, consider adedicated fitness tracker.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro (as well as the smaller Galaxy Watch 5) features a skin temperature sensor that, at launch, didn’t do anything but has since been activated andwill be able to use skin temperature readings to help track menstrual cycles. The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic has no skin temperature sensor, so it won’t get this feature.
Battery life
For most people, battery life will be the biggest differentiator between the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro features a comparatively massive 590mAh battery that, in our review, saw the watch through two full days of continuous wear without recharging.
Meanwhile, the smaller 42mm Galaxy Watch 4 Classic can make it a little while over 24 hours, and the larger 46mm version should comfortably last about 36 hours. None of these figures quite live up to Samsung’s claimed battery life — it says 72 hours for the 5 Pro and 40 for the Watch 4 Classic — but the 5 Pro is still the clear winner here.
Which is right for you?
Despite being a couple of years old, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic still looks great and runs well. The Watch 5 Pro’s upgrades such as more premium materials (titanium and sapphire crystal are very high-end) and a bigger battery are impressive. Still, you’re not missing out on much by choosing the Watch 4 Classic. Unless you absolutelyneedyour smartwatch to last as long as possible, spending the extra money you spend might not directly translate to a significantly better experience.
Set on keeping your Watch 4 Classic? There are plenty ofgreat band alternatives for the Watch 4 seriesto freshen it up until you find a great deal on aGalaxy Watch 6 Classic.
The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic might’ve been a premium price when it first launched two years ago, but these days it’s not rare to see it for $200 or so. If you can live with charging once a day or so, the Classic is an easy money-saving alternative to the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro or newer Galaxy Watch 6 Classic.
Already got a Watch 4 Classic and considering an upgrade? The Galaxy Watch 5 series was more about refinement than flashy new features, so if you’re happy with what you’ve got now, know that you aren’t missing much by sticking with your existing watch. The Watch 5 Pro may become an attractive option if you lose or break your Watch 4 Classic, but it’s not a sensible upgrade for most people.
Even with the release of the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is still one of the best smartwatches on the market today, with excellent battery life, sturdy construction, and fast performance. But unless you specifically want the 5 Pro’s outdoor sports features, or you’re averse to charging your watch daily, the Watch 4 Classic might be a better deal for you.
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