The Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 is the successor to the Galaxy Watch that was released in 2018. It’s slightly slimmer, more compact, and comes with more health tracking features. On the other hand, the Apple Watch 5 which is succeeded by the Apple Watch Series 6 is also an outstanding smartwatch. It spots a very compact and stylish design, and as well as equipped with a lot of features. Both watches share a lot of similarities in common, and in this guide, we’re looking at which is a better smartwatch between the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs Apple Watch Series 5 to help you make a more informed decision.
Both the Galaxy Watch 3 and Watch 5 come in two sizes. The Galaxy Watch 3 comes in 41 and 45mm while the Watch 5 comes in 40mm and 44mm. And each of these sizes is available in Bluetooth and cellular models. The Cellular model of both Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 3 come with an eSim that enables cellular connectivity – in other words, a standalone smartwatch that can make and receive calls independent of a smartphone.
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs Apple Watch Series 5: Specifications Compared
| Product Info |
 Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 (45mm) (LTE) Full Specifications, Features and Price |
 Apple Watch Series 5 (44mm) (Cellular) Specifications, Features and Price |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $172.88 | - |
| ABOUT DEVICE | ABOUT DEVICE | ABOUT DEVICE |
| Device name | Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 (45mm) (LTE) | (Cellular), (Discontinued), Apple Watch Series 5 |
| Device type | Fitness/Classic/Standalone smartwatch | Standalone/Fitness smartwatch |
| Gender | Men | Unisex |
| Release date | August, 2020 | September, 2019 |
| Predecessor | Samsung Galaxy Watch | Apple Watch Series 4 |
| Successor | — | Apple Watch Series 6 |
| Versions | Bluetooth, LTE, Titanium | Apple Watch Hermès, Apple Watch Nike+ |
| BODY | BODY | BODY |
| Dimension | 46.2 x 45 x 11.1 mm | 44 x 38 x 10.7 mm |
| Weight | 53.8g (excluding straps) | 47.8g (GPS + Cellular) |
| Shape | Circular | Rectangular |
| Case material | Stainless steel 316L | Aluminum, Ceramic/Sapphire crystal back, Stainless steel, Titanium |
| Strap material | Leather | Elastomer |
| Bezel material | Stainless steel 316L | Bezeless, Sapphire glass |
| Strap size | 22 mm | 24mm |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla glass DX+ | Sapphire glass |
| Water resistance | Yes, 5ATM | Yes, 5ATM |
| Durability test | MIL-STD-810G | — |
| Swim-proof | Yes, recommended | Yes |
| Color | Mystic bronze, Mystic silver | Gold, Gray, Silver |
| DISPLAY | DISPLAY | DISPLAY |
| Display size | 1.4 inches | 1.78 inch |
| Display type | Super AMOLED, Full color | 1000nit, OLED |
| Display resolution | 360 x 360 pixel | 448 x 368 pixels |
| Pixel density | 364 ppi | — |
| Always on | Yes | Yes |
| Custom watch face | Yes | Yes |
| Input type | 2 Physical buttons, Physical rotating bezel, Touchscreen | 1 Physical button, Digital crown, Touchscreen |
| CONNECTIVITY | CONNECTIVITY | CONNECTIVITY |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth v5.0 | Bluetooth v5.0 |
| Bluetooth calling | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Galileo, Yes, GPS/GLONASS/BEIDOU | GLONASS, GPS |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
| MEMORY | MEMORY | MEMORY |
| RAM | 1GB | 0.768GB |
| ROM | 8GB | 32GB |
| Memory card slot | No | No |
| CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY | CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY | CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY |
| Technology | GSM / HSPA / LTE | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| SIM type | e-SIM | e-SIM |
| Band | — | — |
| NOTIFICATIONS | NOTIFICATIONS | NOTIFICATIONS |
| SMS alert | Yes | Yes |
| Calls alert | Yes | Yes |
| Email alert | Yes | Yes |
| Event reminder | Yes | Yes |
| Third-party apps alert | Yes | Yes |
| MEDIA | MEDIA | MEDIA |
| Audio | mp3/mp4 | mp3/mp4 |
| Bluetooth music | Yes | Yes |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | Yes |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | No | No |
| Radio | No | No |
| SENSORS | SENSORS | SENSORS |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Altimeter | Yes | Yes |
| Ambient light | Yes | Yes |
| Barometer | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | No | Yes |
| ECG | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| HRM | Yes | Yes |
| Pulse oximeter (SpO2) | Yes | No |
| Thermometer | No | App, No |
| Other sensors | — | — |
| ACTIVITY TRACKING | ACTIVITY TRACKING | ACTIVITY TRACKING |
| Blood oxygen | Yes | No |
| Blood Pressure | Yes | No |
| Calories | Yes | Yes |
| Distance | Yes | Yes |
| ECG tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Heart rate monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep tracking | Yes | (Third-party app), Yes |
| Steps | Yes | Yes |
| Floors climbed | Yes | Yes |
| Stress | Yes | Yes |
| Incidental fall detection | Yes | Yes |
| Menstrual cycle | Yes | Yes |
| VO2 Max | Yes | Yes |
| Swim-tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Underwater heart rate tracking | — | No |
| On-screen workout | No | No |
| Sport modes | 90 | Yes |
| BATTERY | BATTERY | BATTERY |
| Battery type | Non-removable Li-ion battery | Non-removable Li-ion battery |
| Battery capacity | 340mAh | — |
| Battery life | Regular: 2 days | Regular: up to 18hrs |
| Charging type | Charging dock, WPC based wireless charging | Charging dock |
| Charging time | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours |
| Solar charging | No | No |
| PLATFORM | PLATFORM | PLATFORM |
| Chipset | Exynos 9110 | Apple S5 chip (64bits) |
| CPU | Dual core 1.15GHz | Dual core |
| GPU | Mali™-T720 MP1 | — |
| Operating system | Tizen 5.5 | WatchOS 6 |
| MISC | MISC | MISC |
| Companion app | Samsung Health App | Apple Watch App |
| Compatibility | Android 5.0+ & RAM 1.5GB+, iPhone 5+ and iOS 9.0+ | iOS 12.0+ |
| Payment system | Samsung Pay | Apple Pay |
| Interchangeable strap | 22 mm, Yes | 24mm, Yes |
| Voice command | Yes, Bixby | Yes, Siri |
| Find my phone | Yes | Yes |
| Box content | Charger, Manual, Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 (LTE), Straps | Apple Watch Series 5, Charger, Manual, Straps |
| Price | $172.88 |
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs Apple Watch Series 5 Features Compared
High-end and Sophisticated Designs
Apple Watch 5 is slimmer, more compact, and weighs less than Galaxy Watch 3. It also has a larger 1.78 inches wider display compared to 1.4 inches of Galaxy Watch 3. You can get Watch 5 in stainless steel, aluminum, ceramics and titanium, while Galaxy Watch 3 is available in stainless steel and titanium materials.
Different technologies powers the display of each of these two. While AMOLED powers the 1.4 inches display of Galaxy Watch 3, LTPO OLED does for Watch 5. Both smartwatches allow you to navigate via touchscreen supported by physical buttons, but while there’s a physical rotating bezel on Galaxy Watch 3, Watch 5 has a rotating crown that does the same thing as the physical rotating bezel of the Galaxy Watch 3. In other words, both smartwatches are very easy to navigate.
Comprehensive and Advanced Health Trackers
When it comes to health tracking, both the Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 3 are well equipped to track your daily activities comprehensively. Each of these two can track your heart rate, calories, stress, blood oxygen, sleep, and menstrual cycle for women. Both watches also come with preloaded sports modes to choose from and feature inbuilt GPS that allows you to track outdoor activities. Although the Galaxy Watch 3 has more preloaded sports modes.
Both watches will allow you take an ECG directly from your wrist, however, the Galaxy Watch 3 features blood pressure measurement not present in Watch 5.
There’s a compass in Watch 5 for position orientation not present in Galaxy Watch 3. Both smartwatches feature incidental fall detection and emergency SOS that allows you to get help promptly. While the Bluetooth/GPS units of the Galaxy Watch 3 and Watch 5 need your phone to start a call, their respective cellular units don’t need your phone to start a call.
Galaxy Watch 3 can track your sleep comprehensively in all four stages unlike Watch 5 relies that only tracks your total duration of sleep.
Galaxy Watch 3 Has a Longer Battery Life Than Watch 5
Galaxy Watch 3 has a longer battery life than Watch 5. While you can get up to 2 days of battery life with Galaxy Watch 3, Watch 5 can last up to 18 hours.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 vs Apple Watch Series 5 – Which is Better?
Both Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 3 are two of the best smartwatches with some of the most sophisticated designs, advanced UI, sound performance, and comprehensive health tracking. It’s a hard call to make between these two.
Bottom line: Galaxy Watch 3 is the best smartwatch for Android users, while Watch 5 remains the best for iPhone users.
