We show you a comparison between the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 6, showing the difference between the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5/6 and the features of each.
Samsung is still convinced and sure that it is up to the competition with Apple, not only in the field of phones but also in the field of smart watches. Samsung continues to try its luck with the Galaxy Watch, hoping to attract more buyers to WearOS. Here is the difference between the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, and what new developments the company has provided in the new generation of its smart watch.
Comparison between Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
The company introduced the new generation of its Galaxy Watch 6 smartwatches during the Galaxy Unpacked June 2023 conference, and the event was filled with a large number of new devices. But we will try to focus only on the Galaxy Watch 6 especially since it came with an amazing number of upgrades.
Also read: Best Samsung watch apps Galaxy Watch
There may not be noticeable differences in the overall design of the watch, but under the hood, there are several pleasant surprises worth mentioning.
The classic style of the watch grabs all the limelight thanks to the iconic rotating bezel feature that we missed last year in the Galaxy Watch 5 watches.
As for the basic version of the Galaxy Watch 6, it has some nice additions and touches of its own, and it comes at a price that is much cheaper than the classic version. The screen has become larger, the frames are thinner, the screen has a higher pixel density, a more powerful processor chip inside, more RAM, more battery capacity, and many other things.
All of these are accompanied by some amazing additions in terms of general health and fitness in terms of software support. But the only question that baffles many minds is:
“Is the Galaxy Watch 6 worth upgrading after the Galaxy Watch 5?”
To answer this question in detail, we decided to discuss with you, through this guide, a comparison between the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 6, to explain the most prominent advantages, disadvantages, and specifications of each of them separately.
The difference is in terms of design
At first glance, you might think that the Galaxy Watch 6 is completely identical to the Galaxy Watch 5, and this is a fact. Where Samsung kept the round metal structure and elegant sports strap.
But there are many differences that are not easily apparent to the eye. For example, the bezels are getting thinner, which allowed Samsung to increase the diagonal of the screen on the Galaxy Watch 6, and this extra screen space is very welcome.
Most importantly, the screen has become larger without affecting the size of the case itself, but the size of the case is exactly the same without a noticeable change. The Galaxy Watch 6 also comes in a new color, which is gold.
Despite the new color, the color options are very limited as you can only choose between gold, silver and graphite. Compared to the Galaxy Watch 5, there were more color options including rose gold, silver, graphite, and sapphire. In any case, one additional color may not be a major obstacle, and Samsung seems to have noticed that this color is not in high demand, so it decided to get rid of it.
In terms of durability standards, Samsung has maintained the military-grade MIL-STD-810H standard, which makes it a watch that can withstand rugged use and handle decently in harsh environments.
The Galaxy Watch 6 comes with an IP68 standard with 5ATM water resistance, and the body is protected inside a strong metal case made of high-quality raw aluminum.
According to Samsung's statement during the announcement of the watch, the Galaxy Watch 6 is supposed to withstand water immersion at a depth of 50 meters for a maximum period of 10 minutes exactly.
However, the watch can survive submersion in water for up to 30 minutes at a depth of only 1.5 metres. Samsung provides a wide range of straps, which may number up to 700, with the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, including the Fabric Band. However, both watches use 20mm bands.
So, a quick guide to comparing the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 5 in terms of design, it's hard to find tangible differences.
Comparison of screen specifications on Samsung Watch 5 and Samsung Watch 6
Both the Galaxy Watch5 and its successor come in identical standard sizes that include 40mm and 44mm. However, thanks to the design improvements and thinner bezels of the new model, the screen-to-body area has increased by 20% over the Galaxy Watch6 ensuring a better viewing area. More importantly, the display resolution has also improved.
The 44 mm model provides a 1.5-inch screen with a resolution of 480 x 480 pixels, and compared to the Galaxy Watch 5, we will find that the latter had a 1.4-inch screen with a resolution of 450 x 450 pixels. So, we are talking about an additional 60 pixels in favor of the new version.
As for the 40 mm model, it is equipped with a 1.3-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 432 x 432 pixels on the Galaxy Watch 6 version. As for the Galaxy Watch 5 version, the same size, it contains a 1.2-inch screen with a resolution of 396 x 396 pixels.
On both versions, Samsung has used sapphire glass to protect the smart watch screens. But the most prominent dividing point in favor of the Galaxy Watch 6 screen is represented by the peak brightness rates, as the screen brightness rates reach 2000 lumens, and these rates are almost double the brightness rates on the Galaxy Watch 5 watch.
Higher brightness levels will make it easier to use the watch in broad daylight and outdoors in the sun, and it will be easier to see and interact with content outside without having to stare at the screen.
According to Samsung, it is clear that it has been able to improve the characteristics of gestures on the new version so that it is easy for users to set more shortcuts that enable them to access applications and services faster and more easily.
So, in terms of the screen, the Galaxy Watch 6 is worth the upgrade thanks to its larger display area and higher brightness ratings.
Compare the main specifications of both watches
Not only has Samsung upgraded the Galaxy Watch6 with a more powerful processing chip, but it has also made sure to provide more RAM to enhance task performance adequately.
The Galaxy Watch 6 is powered by an Exynos W930 dual-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz. As for the previous version of the watch, it was powered by the Exynos W920 dual-core processor, clocked at 1.18 GHz.
Also read: How to use the Galaxy Watch to make phone calls
The RAM has also been boosted and its capacity has been upgraded from 1.5GB to 2GB on the Galaxy Watch 6. Samsung has also added support for Bluetooth 5.3 instead of the standard 5.2 on the Galaxy Watch 5.
But all internal sensors remain the same without any significant change. This means that you will get a temperature sensor, accelerometer, barometer, geomagnetic sensor, gyroscope, and ambient light sensor.
Also, the Samsung BioActive sensor was used, which is responsible for monitoring human health, including heart rate, measuring cardiac electrical signals, and bioelectrical resistance.
Yes, there is no sensor upgrade on the watch, but when we think about the new processing chip and the larger amount of RAM, we will find it very tempting.
Battery differences on the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 6
One of the most significant upgrades to the Galaxy Watch 6 is the battery capacity - at least that's what it looks like on the spec sheet. For example, the 284mAh battery on the 40mm model of the Galaxy Watch 5 has been replaced by a 300mAh battery on the 40mm model of the Galaxy Watch 6. As for the other 44mm model, the battery capacity has been upgraded from 410mAh to 425 mAh.
Apart from the increase in battery capacity, Samsung confirmed that the new battery capacity is capable of giving users up to 40 hours of continuous operation while disabling the AoD display feature.
However, if the AoD feature is activated, this period may be reduced to only 30 hours. Unfortunately, the operating time does not look very promising compared to the operating period on the Galaxy Watch 5 hours. It is clear that the one responsible for the power drain is the new processor and the larger screen.
For example, while the Galaxy Watch5 had geolocation, always-on display, and always-on LTE enabled, we were getting barely a day of continuous playback.
Also, it seems that there are no improvements in charging speed indicators on the watch, and the Galaxy Watch 6 is still based on the WPC wireless charging standard. This means that you need a wireless charging pad because even the Samsung Galaxy S Ultra will not be able to charge the Galaxy Watch 6 wirelessly.
So, in a nutshell, despite the larger battery capacity on the Galaxy Watch 6, Samsung was unable to improve the battery life on the new watch compared to the battery life on the previous version. Perhaps the faster processor and larger screen are to blame here.
The difference between the Samsung Watch 5/6 in terms of health and fitness monitoring capabilities
The lack of any new sensors probably doesn't necessarily mean the Galaxy Watch 6 doesn't have many nice new features in terms of general health monitoring capabilities.
Of course, the Galaxy Watch supports sleep monitoring, fall detection, heart rate, temperature monitoring, stress level assessment, blood oxygen saturation analysis, sweat loss measurement, ECG measurement, blood pressure monitoring, and more.
The Galaxy Watch 6 is able to detect an irregular heartbeat which is an interesting feature as it could be a sign of a serious heart condition that requires immediate medical intervention.
Thanks to the Thermo Check sensor, this watch is able to measure the temperature of your food and the temperature of the water pool via infrared rays without the need for the watch to touch the surface of the water or food.
The impressive new additions to the Galaxy Watch6 are that it is now able to better monitor sleep status, analyze periods of wakefulness, deep sleep engagement, total sleep cycle, and physical recovery.
Every morning you'll get messages and alerts showing you how well you slept the night before, and in addition to a host of improvements to the Sleep Couching feature that provides detailed reports and advice to users on how to improve their sleep patterns each night.
In terms of fitness features, there is a new custom heart rate measurement feature that allows the user to determine the intensity of the exercise level according to their physical fitness before starting the exercise.
The Track Run feature also helps to keep a comprehensive record of the user's jogging and running exercises. Although all of these features look very promising, but in fact most of them – if not all of them – will also be available in the Galaxy Watch 5 with the upcoming updates.
The difference between Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 in terms of price
The Galaxy Watch 5 measures 40 mm without a cellular connection at a starting price of $ 280, while the price of the LTE cellular version is $ 330.
As for the Galaxy Watch 6, we are required to pay $ 300 only for the 40 mm Bluetooth version. While the LTE model will set you back $350.
The Galaxy Watch 5 is available in the market, while the Galaxy Watch 6 is only available for pre-order, with sales starting on August 11th.
Also read: Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 - What is the difference between the classic and traditional version?
Conclusion
To be honest with you, there seem to be no tangible changes outwardly between the Galaxy Watch5 and Galaxy Watch6. But there are still many great upgrades in the gut of the new watch.
Apart from the larger screen that is expected to give you a better visual experience, and apart from the higher brightness rates that will help to see the content better in the open air, but the internal hardware and hardware of the Galaxy Watch 6 definitely deserves a mention.
The Exynos W930 processor and the larger RAM will allow for much better multitasking and make the user experience more responsive and smooth.
The larger battery capacity and Samsung's promises of improved battery life are a logical step in the right direction. There are many software-based modes that can improve the user's lifestyle and physical fitness, including sleep monitoring and many new related features.
So, if you're on the budget and ready to take in the newcomer, upgrading to the Galaxy Watch6 is definitely worth the upgrade thanks to the larger screen, higher brightness, and faster hardware. But if your budget isn't quite there at the moment, rest assured you'll be fine with the Galaxy Watch 5.
