At its next Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung will announce its next-gen smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch 5 series, which should be slated for August 2022. The Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic launched in 2021 as the first smartwatches powered by Wear OS 3. Almost a year later, they are still the only smartwatches running the new OS. However, Google did say eligible smartwatches will begin to receive the update by "mid to second half of 2022."
Samsung's temporary exclusivity to Wear OS 3 stems from its part in developing the software, and it has paid off. There may be a shift in sales when the new operating system becomes available to other brands later this year. Additionally, Samsung will face off with Google's first smartwatch, the Pixel Watch, which is due out in a couple of months.
Samsung will be following up the Galaxy Watch 4 with a successor that will launch as the Galaxy Watch 5, but for the more expensive Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, it will not be succeeded by a Galaxy Watch 5 Classic but a Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. There have been unconfirmed rumors about the name change, but an official confirmation came following the release of a beta update for the Samsung Health app. Spotted by 9to5Google, the beta app adds support for two new watches, which are named "Galaxy Watch5" and "Galaxy Watch5 Pro," thus confirming Samsung has indeed dropped the "Classic" nomenclature. There is no explanation yet as to why there is a name change, but a plausible explanation is that "pro" better explains that one watch is superior to another, unlike "Classic," which might be interpreted to simply mean a variant with a different design.
A Beloved Feature Will Not Return
Besides the name change, Samsung will also be dropping a popular feature from its smartwatch. According to a leak, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will not have a physical rotating bezel. The feature first appeared on the Galaxy Gear S2 series and then the Galaxy Gear S3 series and Galaxy Watch. However, it skipped the Galaxy Watch Active and the Galaxy Watch Active 2 before making a return on the Galaxy Watch 3 and then the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. For the models without a physical rotating bezel, such as the Galaxy Watch 4, Samsung added a digital bezel which is not as great as a physical one. This isn't surprising as there is a limit to which a digital experience can replace a physical one. With Samsung ditching the physical rotating bezel, it is expected that the Galaxy Watch 5 series will have a digital bezel which hopefully is better than previous iterations.
The Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic Galaxy are available in multiple sizes, but that might not be the case for both of their successors. While the Galaxy Watch 5 has been reported to be available in two sizes, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will be available in one size. In addition, the two new watches will pack bigger batteries than the 2021 models, with the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro having the largest battery capacity. To further distinguish the Pro from the standard version, it has also been reported that it will be made of titanium, and its dial will be protected by sapphire glass. Both materials are stronger than steel and Gorilla Glass, respectively. In terms of health features, Samsung should carry over all of the Galaxy Watch 4 series features, albeit with significant improvements for more accurate tracking.
There should be new additions, too, such as a temperature sensor for taking skin temperature, a feature that is available on smartwatches such as the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro. Samsung will also ship both phones with Wear OS 3 but with a new One UI for Watch skin that should bring new features and improvements. Furthermore, it is expected that Samsung will sell the Galaxy Watch 5 series in both Bluetooth and LTE versions. While there is no info about pricing, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will likely cost more than the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic based on the extra features and premium build.
Source: 9to5Google