The two reigning smartwatch dynasties clash head-on
The Apple Watch Series 8 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 are two of the best smartwatches around at the moment. They aren’t pure fitness specialists like the Garmin Forerunner 265, and neither are imposingly pricey enough to be off-putting.
Which is better? The Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 line seems a better deal for the raw hardware you get for your money. But the Apple Watch Series 8 is a more complete-feeling watch, and offers more avenues for exploration beyond the preinstalled software.
However, before we dig deeper there’s one important part to note: your watch of choice will likely depend on your phone of choice. You need an iPhone to set up an Apple Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 does not support iPhones, creating an unusually black-and-white situation here. While you can use Samsung watches with pretty much any smartphone, they really shine when paired with Samsung Galaxy models.
Whether you’re thinking of switching from one side of the aisle to the other, or you’re ready to upgrade and not sure what watch and phone to buy, we’ve got you covered. We’re now going to break down this comparison into key elements including design, smart features, fitness tracking and battery life. Let’s get started. Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Price and availability
The Apple Watch Series 8 is significantly more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. It costs $399 / £419 / AU$629 for the 41mm model, $429 / £449 / AU$679 for the 45mm one. Prices can go a lot higher too is you want a stainless steel casing or a lavish strap.
You’ll pay $279 / £269 / AU$499 for the 40mm Galaxy Watch 5, and $369 / £289 / AU$549 for the 44mm one. That’s a price disparity of up to $120 / £160, comparing like-for-like.
Apple does provide a cheaper alternative in the Watch SE, which costs $249-279 / £249-299 / AU$399-479 depending on size — much closer to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 than the full Series 8.
Higher up in each range you can buy the $799/£849 AU$1299 Apple Watch Ultra and $449 / £429 / AU$799 Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. But they are really entirely separate watches, and I won’t dive into them in full here.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy Watch 5Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 vs Apple Watch Series 8: Design and display
The Apple Watch Series 8 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 have different styles, but both offer a choice of a smaller version, or a larger one. In the Samsung line-up, their faces are 40mm and 44mm wide, while the Apple’s Watch Series 8 is either 41mm or 45mm. However, when referring to Apple Watch sizes, you’re referring to the height of the case, rather than the largest point. The Apple Watch Series 8’s larger model is not 45mm wide, but instead around 38mm.
Things are a bit simpler over in Samsung town, because the Galaxy Watch 5 face is round. Apple Watches are, and always have, been “squircle” rectangles with rounded corners.
Which looks better? The Apple Watch is certainly more iconic, and has smaller bezels. They’re impressively tiny in the Series 8. The basic Apple Watch uses “Ion-X” chemically strengthened glass on its front, aluminium for its casing, and there’s glass over the heart rate monitor on the back.
Samsung, on the other hand, uses aluminium for the Galaxy Watch 5 casing and Sapphire crystal for its screen, which is stronger than the Apple Watch’s glass. Tech testing legend JerryRigEverything even tested the Galaxy Watch 5 against the top-tier Apple Watch Ultra, and found the Samsung less susceptible to scratches. That is mighty impressive, considering how affordable the standard Galaxy Watch 5 is. However, their water resistance is matched at 5ATM/50M. This is good enough for normal surface-level swimming pool swimming but not for diving, because that 50M rating does not factor in the additional pressure of movement: Apple says you “shouldn’t use models other than Apple Watch Ultra for diving, water skiing, or other activities involving submersion below shallow depth or high-velocity water.
