Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro Unboxing & Hands-on: RM1,899 Premium Smartwatch

Samsung’s smartwatches have consistently been some of the best options in the Android space, so the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro certainly has big shoes to fill. This particular model is a brand new entry to the lineup, offering a number of features that were not found on the Korean company’s previous smartwatches.

But that also comes with a premium: retailing at RM1,899, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is not exactly affordable. But for that kind of money, it does feel like a capable, sophisticated smartwatch, and this is our unboxing and quick hands-on of Samsung’s most premium watch to date.

The packaging of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is very minimalist. Inside the long box is the smartwatch itself, along with the magnetic charger and user manual. Unfortunately, a charging brick is not provided in the box, so you’ll have to find a USB-C charger to recharge the watch.

Unlike the standard Watch 5, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro uses a magnetic clasp Samsung dubs D-Buckle Sport Band. The initial setup can be quite tricky – I had to refer to the user manual to figure out how it works – but once it’s set up, I love how convenient it is to put on and remove the watch.

Now let’s talk specifications. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro features an Exynos W920 processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a sapphire crystal display, and the ability to measure body temperature. That sensor is used to improve the smartwatch’s sleeping tracking feature; I’ll definitely put this to the test in the full review.

Other specifications of the Watch 5 Pro include a 1.4-inch 450 x 450 circular Super AMOLED display, a generous 590mAh battery (the biggest battery found in a Samsung wearable), a titanium case, as well as GPX support, which allows the smartwatch to track hiking and cycling routes.

Design wise, I do like how the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro looks, even though it’s quite a sizeable smartwatch with a thick, chunky case. It sits on my wrist relatively well, but it may look out of place on a smaller wrist. If you’re concerned about the size of the watch, consider trying it out at a Samsung store first.

Of course, the large size of the Watch 5 Pro does offer a number of advantages, including excellent battery life. I’ve been using the watch for a while now, and it does seem to be quite long-lasting. I can get about three days’ worth of use before needing to charge it up, which is great for a smartwatch of this calibre.

It’s worth noting that I also enabled the always on display to get this level of battery life. I’ll see how its battery life holds up in the final review.

Speaking of which, the display of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is unsurprisingly bright and vibrant; as we’ve come to expect from Samsung. The display is still very legible under bright sunlight, and the always on display looks good as well. I also like the smooth surface of the sapphire crystal cover.

What I’m not too fond of is the touch-sensitive bezel of the Watch 5 Pro. While it works….relatively well, it’s still not as precise or as satisfying to use as a physical rotating bezel, which was found on the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. Needless to say, I’m a little disappointed by this omission.

Making a return on the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the very useful body composition analysis. By using the Samsung BioActive Sensor on the back of the watch, the sensor can give me interesting data such as my skeletal muscle, fat mass, body fat percentage, BMI, and even my body water percentage.

These data are useful as a guideline for health tracking, and it’s convenient that I can get these stats from the Watch 5 Pro itself instead of a dedicated measuring device. Even if this is not a diagnostic tool, I still find it useful to track my health goals.

And then there’s the aforementioned GPX feature of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. It can track cycling and hiking routes complete with turn-by-turn navigation, but this is assuming you have a GPX file ready to go. Otherwise, you’ll have to complete a cycling or hiking route first and download it as a GPX file through the Samsung Health app.

I haven’t had the chance to try out the Watch 5 Pro’s GPX feature yet – I’m not a very outdoorsy person – but I’ll certainly give it a shot when I can. Obviously, the GPX support is meant to appeal to outdoor enthusiasts.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is through and through a premium smartwatch. It looks great, it has long battery life (so far), and the GPX feature – aside from the bigger battery – is its big differentiator over the standard Galaxy Watch 5.

Now, you do have to pay quite a bit more for the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro (RM1,899 versus RM1,099), but for folks that want a long-lasting smartwatch with GPX support, it may just be worth the price premium. If you’re still on the fence about getting the Watch 5 Pro or the regular model, stay tuned for our full review of the former.