Massive Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 leak suggests it could beat the Apple Watch 8
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Samsung’s second big launch of 2022 is just around the corner, with the company holding an event on August 10 at which we’re expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 line – and those watches are shaping up to be real highlights of the show.
At this point there’s not much we don’t know about the wearables, assuming the recent leaks we’ve seen are accurate, and a massive new leak has just emerged on WinFuture (opens in new tab), consisting of almost a complete specs list, along with supposedly official marketing pictures.
The biggest news in this leaked info is the battery capacities, with the 40mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 apparently having a 284mAh battery, the 44mAh model said to have a 410mAh battery, and the 45mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro apparently getting an enormous 590mAh battery.
Those capacities would be higher than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 line’s battery capacities, and also higher than previous leaks have suggested. They would apparently allow for 50 hours of life in the standard models and up to 80 hours in the case of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, which would be even better than the three days of life we’d previously heard it could manage.
Other leaked specs include mention of a 1.19-inch 396 x 396 AMOLED display on the 40mm model and a larger 1.36-inch 450 x 450 AMOLED screen on the other two, with sapphire glass used for the screen on all three versions.
They also all apparently charge wirelessly at 10W, and all use the Exynos W920 chipset that we’ve previously seen in the Galaxy Watch 4. That’s said to be paired with up to 16GB of storage, plus GPS, NFC, and – in the case of cellular models – an eSIM.
We have dimensions too, with the standard Galaxy Watch 5 models apparently both being 9.8mm thick, and coming in at 28.7g for the 40mm model and 33.5g for the 44mm one. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro meanwhile is said to be 10.5mm thick and 46.5g. All that extra weight is likely because of the bigger battery.
We’ve included some leaked images of the wearables above – more of them can be seen on WinFuture’s site, but they don’t show much that we haven’t seen before. The main takeaway is that none of the models seem to have a rotating bezel, which is a shame. Indeed, the Watch 5 Pro looks much the same as the standard versions, but it apparently has a titanium body.
There’s also a new sensor visible on the rear of these wearables, which the site speculates may be for measuring body temperature.
Finally, we have possible pricing, with the 40mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 apparently costing €299, the 44mm model priced at €329, and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro retailing for €469. That’s for the Bluetooth-only models, with cellular versions apparently costing €40-€50 more.
For reference, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 started at €269 for a 40mm model, rising to €299 for a 44mm one, and between €369 and €399 for the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, depending on the size.
So the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 line is seemingly going to be more expensive. Price conversions are never exact, but if these euro prices are accurate then you can expect to pay a bit more than the $249.99 / £249 / AU$399 that the Watch 4 started at for a Watch 5, and more than the $349 / £349 / AU$549 than the Watch 4 Classic started at for the Watch 5 Pro.
Analysis: even with these prices, the Galaxy Watch 5 line could have the Apple Watch 8 beat
The Galaxy Watch line is typically the main rival to the Apple Watch, and this year it could provide even tougher competition than usual.
While we don’t know anything for sure about either the Watch 5 or the Apple Watch 8 yet, leaks suggest that Apple’s upcoming wearable will be at least as expensive, even taking into account the rumored price rises for Samsung’s watches mentioned above.
With Samsung’s wearables possibly offering drastically improved battery life they could have the Apple Watch 8 beat in that department; and, outside of a possible new Apple Watch 8 Rugged Edition, it doesn’t sound like Apple’s upcoming wearables will offer too many upgrades. They might have a body temperature sensor, but then so might Samsung’s watches.
The choice as ever will mostly come down to your preferred operating system – and if you have an Android phone then the Apple Watch 8 won’t be an option at all. But just looking at the rumored specs and pricing, it’s likely that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 line will match or beat the best Apple watches.