If you’re an Android user that’s looking for an easy way to track your health and fitness data but can’t decide which smartwatch to go for, then you’ve come to the right place.
We’ve compared the four-star Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro to the four-star Galaxy Watch 7 here, so you can decide whether a Pro moniker really makes a difference.
Keep reading to learn more about which of the best smartwatches comes up trump when comparing the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro vs Galaxy Watch 7.
Pricing and availability
Although the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is the older of the two, and it is more likely to see deals across retailers, it has a higher RRP of £429/$449.99 for its 45mm model.
The Galaxy Watch 7 has a cheaper starting RRP of £289/$299.99 for the 40mm option which creeps up to £319/$329.99 for the 44mm.
Design and screen
- The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and Watch 7 share a similar design with a Super AMOLED screen
- The Watch 5 Pro comes in one 45mm size while the Watch 7 comes in a choice of 40mm or 44mm
- Both sport a 5ATM and IP68 rating
In general, Samsung hasn’t made many major shifts in recent years with the design of its Galaxy Watches (or Galaxy smartphones for that matter), so the newer Galaxy Watch 7 bears a resemblance to the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, despite launching two years after.
However, look closer and you’ll spot a few differences. While the Watch 5 Pro has a titanium bezel, the Watch 7 is instead made from aluminium, although both screens have a sapphire crystal layer to protect them from scratches.
Both watches also have side-facing and tactile physical controls which makes it easy to pause or stop workouts, and neither have the physical rotating bezel that was seen on the earlier Galaxy Watch series and allowed you to to switch between screens without needing to use the touchscreen.
In its place on both Galaxy Watches is a digital bezel which lets you physically scroll across the screen. This is a real shame on both fronts, as it lacks the satisfying feel of the physical bezel. Not only that, but it can be difficult to manoeuvre when your hands are wet.
Finally, the two Galaxy Watches boast a 5ATM and IP68 rating too, so they’re dust-tight and water resistant.
Winner: Galaxy Watch 7 Pro
Tracking and features
- The Galaxy Watch 7 has dual-frequency GPS
- Both use Samsung Health Monitor app to track temperature, sleep and health metrics
- Watch 5 Pro has turn-by-turn GPS navigation
Naturally as Samsung smartwatches, both the Watch 5 Pro and Watch 7 run on the OneUI skin with WearOS. The use of Wear OS allows you to download third party apps, such as Strava and Spotify, although keep in mind that some services don’t have optimised apps.
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is fitted with a BioActive sensor which measures data regarding your body fat, skeletal muscle, body temperature and more. Similarly, the Watch 7 also comes packed with a new and improved BioActive sensor for accurate health tracking, from workouts to taking ECGs and monitoring your blood pressure.
Although the Watch 7’s BioActive sensor is improved from its previous generations, it’s worth noting that the Watch 5 Pro was still impressive with its tracking ability and we found no major discrepancies with its results.
Otherwise, both watches benefit from exclusive features which are unlocked when used with a compatible Galaxy smartphone, such as voice-to-text summaries and sleep apnea risk detection. There’s also the new Energy Score which offers you a physical score based on how well you’ve rested, your activity level and health rating.
While the Watch 5 Pro has turn-by-turn route navigation which allows you to run or cycle a route without needing to look at your watch, it can be quite tiresome to set this up. In order to use this, you need to go into a third party app on a computer, create the map file there and then transfer it to the Watch.
Winner: Galaxy Watch 7
Battery life
- The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has a larger 590mAh battery
- You can expect two day’s worth of regular use with the Watch 5 Pro or around 1.6 days with the Watch 7
- The Watch 7 charges faster than the Watch 5 Pro
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro boasts a larger 590mAh cell compared to the Watch 7’s 425mAh so, unsurprisingly, the former offers a slightly longer battery life. With regular use, we found the Watch 5 Pro could last for two days before needing a top up.
The Watch 7 doesn’t fall too far behind, as regular use offered around 1.6 days of battery which keeps it in line with Samsung’s claims. Just note that turning the always-on display for both smartwatches will see the battery drop faster.
Neither Galaxy Watch is particularly impressive when it comes to charging. While the Watch 5 Pro took one hour and 22 minutes to reach 0-100%, the Watch 7 needed just over an hour.
Winner: Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
Final verdict
Although the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro has a slightly better battery life, it doesn’t boast enough exclusive features to make it a more worthy option compared to the Galaxy Watch 7. As the Galaxy Watch 7 is slightly cheaper, comes in two sizes and boasts the same sensors and tracking capabilities then we’d recommend that over the Watch 5 Pro.
If you’re still not sure which smartwatch to opt for, have a look at our best smartwatches guide.
