The Samsung Galaxy Watch lineup is an incredible family of wearables, but is it worth upgrading from the Watch 5 to the newer Watch 6? Let’s find out!
When it comes to wearables, Samsung has some of the best products on the market. And if you’ve been following our coverage of the incredible Galaxy Watch Series, you’ll know just how crazy we were about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. But now that the Galaxy Watch 6 has arrived, is it worth upgrading the wrist accessory you’ve come to know and love?
There are important features and other criteria to consider, and to make things easier, we’ve put together this side-by-side comparison of the Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 5 models to help you decide.Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Galaxy Watch 5: specsSamsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Galaxy Watch 5: design
At first glance, the Galaxy Watch 5 and its successor look identical. The round metallic chassis with beautifully curved arms, the familiar sports band look, and the biosensing array all have been carried over from the previous generation to the next.
But there are a couple of differences here. First, the bezels are slimmer, which allowed Samsung to fit a slightly bigger display without having to adjust the chassis size. Second, there’s a new gold color option on the table for the Galaxy Watch 6.
However, the choices are more limited this time around. You can only pick between graphite, silver, and gold colors for the Galaxy Watch 6, and which ones you can get will depend on how flexible you are on size; silver is only available on the 40mm Watch 6 this year, while the new gold is exclusive to the smaller 40mm version. The Galaxy Watch 5 is available in graphite and silver finishes in both sizes, plus sapphire on the 44mm version and pink gold on the 40mm Watch 5.
Samsung hasn’t added any secret sauce to the durability of the Galaxy Watch 6 as it retains the MIL-STD-810H ruggedness level of its predecessor. The build is once again IP68-certified with 5ATM water resistance, while the material of choice — armor aluminum for the case — has been used once again.
Samsung says its latest smartwatch can survive immersion up to 50 meters for a peak duration of 10 minutes underwater — or up to 30 minutes if the depth doesn’t exceed the 1.5-meter mark. On the customizability side of things, Samsung is introducing new bands, including a fresh fabric band style. Combined with the classic model, Samsung is touting over 700 watch case and band style combinations. Both watches also use standard 20mm band sizes.
The company has another trick up its sleeve this year with a new “one-click” design for its bands. This makes it nearly effortless to swap out your band with a different one when you want to change things up. The attachment system is part of the bands, rather than the watch, so the new one-click bands can still be used with older Galaxy Watch models (and older bands can be attached to the Galaxy Watch 6). The band included with the Galaxy Watch 6 naturally uses the new design, but you won’t need a Galaxy Watch 6 to take advantage of the new one-click mechanism.
Both watches have incredibly similar designs across the board, so we’re calling this one a tie.
Winner: TieSamsung Galaxy Watch 6 vs. Galaxy Watch 5: display
The Galaxy Watch 6, just like its predecessor, comes in two sizes: 40mm and 44mm. But thanks to slimmer bezels, the active display area has gone up by up to 20%. And with it, the screen resolution as well.
The 44mm trim of the Galaxy Watch 6 offers a 1.5-inch display with a higher 480 x 480-pixel resolution, while the Galaxy Watch 5 uses a smaller 1.4-inch AMOLED screen with a lower resolution of 450 x 450 pixels.
Moving to the 40mm version, you get a 1.3-inch (432 x 432-pixel) OLED display on the Galaxy Watch 6. On the other hand, the Galaxy Watch 5’s 40mm variant has a smaller 1.2-inch (396 x 396-pixel) screen. Samsung continues to use sapphire glass for protection across both generations.
But there’s one crucial upgrade. The brightness on Galaxy Watch 6 goes all the way up to 2,000 nits, double that of the Galaxy Watch 5.
