Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Rumors: Will It Have Better Battery Life?

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z-fold 4 aren’t the only Samsung devices we expect from the company next Unpacked event on August 10. It is also probably the successor to the galaxy watch 4 could be revealed. Rumor has it that it will be called the Galaxy Watch 5, but the upcoming smartwatch may be the latest version of the Carry OS software That Samsung and Google created together.

But if the rumors are true, the Galaxy Watch 5 could fix a major flaw: battery life. One of the most recent Galaxy Watch 5 leaks also claims to give a detailed look at the watch’s design.

I also hope that Samsung is more fully committed to Google’s software and services. The Galaxy Watch 4 currently feels trapped between the Google and Samsung ecosystems, as my colleague Scott Stein wrote his review. That watch finally got the Google Assistant Google services among others, but it took several months after launch for these to appear.

Samsung hasn’t said a word about plans for its next smartwatch, though the company typically introduces new wearables in August. We do expect new foldable phones to be announced. To encourage people to reserve their phones early, from July 19 to August 10, Samsung offers an extensive list of discounts based on various bundles, from up to $200 off for those who pre-order a Galaxy phone, watch and buttons to a minimum of $30 for Galaxy buttons only. While this may be a hint of what’s coming with Unpacked, the savings may apply to older Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Buds models.

Here’s our best guess at what Samsung is up to, based on leaks and the company’s past launches.

A possible announcement from August

Only Samsung knows when the next Galaxy Watch will arrive. But the company has a history of launching new wearables in August alongside other new products. For example the galaxy watch 4 debuted in August last year, while the galaxy watch 3 arrived in August 2020. Samsung has already launched a series of new gadgets in 2022, from the Galaxy S22 line up to the cheaper one Galaxy S21 FEnew ones laptops and tablets. The one thing we haven’t heard about yet are smartwatches, so there’s a chance Samsung is saving this for its quintessential August Unpacked event.

A faster charger

The Galaxy Watch 5 may come with a faster 10W charger, compared to the 5W charger that came with previous Samsung watches. An image of an alleged 10W Galaxy Watch 5 charger appeared on the SnoopyTech Twitter account on August 1 (h/t BGR), and reportedly it can reach a 45% charge in 30 minutes.

Faster charging has become a highlight on several smartwatches, including on the Apple Watch Series 7 and the Fossil Gen 6. This is of particular importance as watches have also become sleep-tracking tools, and earlier this year Samsung debuted its Sleep Animals System for assessing sleep quality while wearing the Galaxy Watch 4.

A bigger battery than the Galaxy Watch 4

One of the downsides of the Galaxy Watch 4 is its relatively short battery life, which usually lasts between one and two days. There’s a chance this will change with the Galaxy Watch 5. Tech blog Sam Mobile claims it has found a legal filing indicating the 40-millimeter size of the Galaxy Watch 5 will have a slightly higher battery capacity than the Galaxy Watch 4. Samsung declined to comment on the report.

Longer battery life would make the Galaxy Watch 5 a better sleep tracker, as you may not need to charge it every night. It would also help Samsung catch up Fitbit in that regard, since it Feeling and Versa 3 watches can last for several days on a single charge. Battery life was one of the Galaxy Watch 4’s biggest shortcomings while testing CNET, so an improvement would be a welcome change.

It might be able to measure your temperature

The Galaxy Watch 4 can already monitor statistics such as your body composition, blood oxygen level and heart rate. Samsung could further its health aspirations by adding the ability to measure body temperature to the Galaxy Watch 5, according to the Korean news channel ETNews. The report does not provide many details, except that Samsung has “invented a technology that can measure body temperature as accurately as possible”. Samsung declined to comment on ETNews’ report.

But TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is known for making predictions about Apple products, has questioned this development. He suggested that “algorithm limitations” could prevent Samsung from bringing this feature to the Galaxy Watch 5.

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Samsung is also facing this challenge. Contrary to previous media reports, I think the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 in 2H22 may not support body temperature measurement due to algorithm limitations.

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) May 1, 2022

Temperature measurement is not new to wearables. Ouras wellness ring of the same name can measure the temperature of your finger to help detect changes in your body. Fitbit devices like the Sense and Versa 3 can also detect temperature.

If Samsung adds temperature sensors to its next smartwatch, it would be another sign that wearables have become comprehensive health and wellness devices. Metrics such as blood oxygen saturation readings are now relatively common on wearables from Apple, Fitbit, Samsung and Garmin.

Samsung could ditch the classic model

The Galaxy Watch 4 comes in Standard and Classic versions, but that could change with the Galaxy Watch 5. Samsung is launching the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro instead, according to Sam Mobile. The regular Galaxy Watch 5 will reportedly come in two sizes, while the Pro version may be limited to one size. It’s also unclear whether Samsung would bring the rotating bezel from the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic to the Galaxy Watch 5 or 5 Pro, the report said. While the blog didn’t share additional details on what to expect from the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro specifically, it’s possible the new branding could indicate a major update that’s more than just a refresh.

Prominent leaker Evan Blass also suggested that Samsung’s next watch will come in a standard and “pro” model. He referred to the new watches as the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro when he shared what he believes to be official renderings of the device on the tech blog. 91Mobiles.

A similar design to the Galaxy Watch 4

The Galaxy Watch 5 is expected to have a circular design similar to the Galaxy Watch 4, according to Blass and Blass leaks. 91Mobiles. Blass said the Pro model will be available in titanium black or gray, while Samsung will reportedly offer a wider range of colors for the standard version. The 91Mobiles leak shows the alleged Galaxy Watch 5 Pro in black and titanium gray and the alleged Watch 5 in white, blue and black.

It will probably run Wear OS

Samsung has not yet revealed any details about its next smartwatch. But as the Galaxy Watch 4 continues wear operating system, it seems likely that his successor will do the same. Google and Samsung have teamed up to develop the new Wear OS, meaning Samsung is likely committed to using that software for its future smartwatches. Sam Mobile’s report also said the watch will have a new version of One UI, Samsung’s modified version of Google’s watch software.

Samsung was the first to launch a smartwatch that runs on Google’s new Wear OS. But the landscape will soon become more competitive with the new Wear OS expected on watches from other companies such as: TicWatch, Fossil and Google’s Fitbit brand. Google’s Pixel Watch is also coming this fall.

What we want from the Galaxy Watch 5

Extended battery life and new health tracking features are always appreciated. But what we really want from the Galaxy Watch 5 is software that makes it more fully part of Google’s ecosystem. The Galaxy Watch 4 feels torn between Google and Samsung. Yes, it has the Google Play app store and other Google apps. But the installation process and health tracking are still largely dependent on Samsung’s apps.

The company addresses that to some extent by: Bring Google Assistant to his watch. But we hope to see closer Google integration in the next release, making the Galaxy Watch 5 truly feel like the ultimate Android smartwatch.

To learn more, check out all the rumors we’ve heard about the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4. Plus, the best smartwatches you can buy this year.