Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 vs Fitbit Sense 2 – Which is Better?

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In August 2022, Samsung released the Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, and in September, Fitbit released the Fitbit Versa 4, Sense 2 and Inspire 3. While the Galaxy Watch 5 succeeds Galaxy Watch 4, Fitbit Sense 2 succeeds the Fitbit Sense. Both watches come with newer features, although, Google has ditched music options for the Sense 2 and Versa 4. In this article, we’ll take a look at the differences between the Galaxy Watch 5 and Sense 2 to help you decide on which is the right watch for you.

In a nutshell, the Galaxy Watch 5 is clearly a better smartwatch than the Sense 2. It has a higher storage capacity with support for multiple music options. It also has more health-tracking features, a better interface, and better ways to manage notifications. The Sense 2 only beats the Galaxy Watch 5 on battery life. Just like other Fitbit fans, I’m disappointed Google removed music options on the Sense 2 and Versa 4 but kept those on the Pixel Watch. It’s clearly misfiring, people will still buy Pixel Watch even if the Sense 2 and Versa 4 have rich music options.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 vs Fitbit Sense 2 – Full Specifications Comparison

 
 
Product Info
Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 (44mm) Full Specifications

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 (44mm) Full Specifications, Features, Price

Fitbit Sense 2 Full Specifications

Fitbit Sense 2 Full Specifications, Features and Price

Price $217.10 $249.95
ABOUT DEVICE ABOUT DEVICE ABOUT DEVICE
Device name Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 (44mm) Fitbit Sense 2
Device type Fitness/Classic smartwatch Fitness/Sport smartwatch
Gender Unisex Unisex
Release date August 2022 September, 2022
Predecessor Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Fitbit Sense
Successor
Versions Bluetooth/WiFi only, LTE
BODY BODY BODY
Dimension 44.4 x 43.3 x 9.8 mm 40.4 x 40.4 x 11.2 mm
Weight 33.5g (excluding straps) 37.64g
Shape Circular Square
Case material Armor Aluminum Aluminum
Strap material Silicone Silicone
Bezel material Armor Aluminum Stainless steel
Strap size 20 mm 140 – 180mm (small), 180 -220mm (big)
Interchangeable strap 20mm, Yes Yes
Screen protection Sapphire glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Water resistance Yes, 5ATM Yes, 5ATM
Durability test MIL-STD-810G
Swim-proof Yes, recommended Yes, recommended
Color Blue, Graphite black, Silver Graphite/grey band, Platinum/lunar-white band, Soft-gold/blue-mist band
DISPLAY DISPLAY DISPLAY
Display size 1.4 inches 1.58 inches
Display type Super AMOLED, Full color AMOLED
Display resolution 450 x 450 300 x 300 pixels
Pixel density 454.5 PPI 268.5 PPI
Always on Yes Yes
Custom watch face Yes Yes
Input type 2 Physical buttons, Digital rotating bezel, Touchscreen 1 Physical button, Touchscreen
CONNECTIVITY CONNECTIVITY CONNECTIVITY
Bluetooth Bluetooth v5.0 Bluetooth v5.0
Bluetooth calling Yes Yes
GPS A-GPS/GLONASS/Beidou/Galileo GLONASS, GPS
NFC Yes Yes
Wi-Fi Yes Yes
MEMORY MEMORY MEMORY
RAM 1.5GB
ROM 16GB 4GB
Memory card slot No No
CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY
Technology None None
SIM type None None
Band No
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
Reply to Notifications - Yes (preset replies)
MEDIA MEDIA MEDIA
Audio mp3/mp4 mp3/mp4
Bluetooth music Yes
Loudspeaker Yes Yes
Microphone Yes Yes
Camera No No
Radio No No
SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS
Sensor(s) BIA sensor EDA sensor, Vibration motor
ACTIVITY TRACKING ACTIVITY TRACKING ACTIVITY TRACKING
Blood oxygen Yes Yes
Blood Pressure Yes No
Calories Yes Yes
Distance Yes Yes
ECG tracking Yes Yes
Heart rate monitoring Yes Yes
Sleep tracking Yes Yes
Steps Yes Yes
Floors climbed Yes No
Stress Yes Yes
Fall detection Yes No
Menstrual cycle No Yes
VO2 Max Yes Yes
Swim-tracking Yes Yes
Underwater heart rate tracking No
On-screen workout Yes Yes
Sport modes 90 40
BATTERY BATTERY BATTERY
Battery type Non-removable Li-ion battery non-removable Lithium-polymer
Battery capacity 410mAh
Battery life Up to 50hrs Regular: 6 Days+
Charging type Charging dock, WPC based wireless charging USB charging
Charging time 30min-1hr 30min-1hr
Solar charging No No
PLATFORM PLATFORM PLATFORM
Chipset Exynos W920
CPU 1.18GHz Dual-core (Cortex-A55)
GPU Mali™-G68 MP2
Operating system Wear OS 3.5 Fitbit OS
MISC MISC MISC
Companion app Samsung Galaxy Wearable app Fitbit App
Compatibility Android 6.0+, RAM 1.5GB+ Android OS 8.0+, iOS 14.0+
Payment system Google Pay, Samsung Pay Fitbit Pay, Google Pay
Voice command Google Assistant, Yes, Bixby Yes, Alexa
Find my phone Yes Yes
Box content Charger, Manual, Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, Straps Charger, Fitbit Sense 2, Manual, Straps

Galaxy Watch 5 vs Sense 2 – Features Discussed

Design

Starting with the design, one would appreciate the improved compactness and portability of both the Sense 2 and Galaxy Watch 5. These are some of the most compact and comfortable to wear smartwatches. You wouldn’t feel any need to remove any of these two even if you decide to wear it all day long. I wear my Versa 3 for days without removing it. The Galaxy Watch 5 is however slimmer than the Sense 2. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Watch 5 comes in 40mm and 44mm sizes.

Both Sense 2 and Galaxy Watch 5 have an aluminum build paired with silicone bands that are interchangeable, and you get to choose from a variety of colors.

The screen differs, the Galaxy Watch 5 has a premium sapphire glass screen while the Sense 2 has a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen. Both screen types are very durable, although the Sapphire glass is highly resistant to scratch.

The Sense 2 is easy to operate with a single physical button and a touch-sensitive screen while the Galaxy Watch 5 is also easy to navigate with 2 physical buttons and a touchscreen display. Fitbit replaced the haptic button with a physical button and on the other hand, the Galaxy Watch 5 has a digital rotating bezel that can be turned off and turned on.

Both watches are rated 5ATM which signifies a 50-meter waterproof rating. In other words, it’s very safe to wear any of these two while swimming.

So in terms of design, both Sense 2 and Galaxy Watch 5 have remarkable designs. Although, the Galaxy Watch 5 has a better design.

Display

Both the Galaxy Watch 5 and Sense 2 spot an AMOLED display with 1.4 inches and 1.58 inches display size respectively. The 40mm unit of the Galaxy Watch 5 has a 1.2 inches display.

Both watches have customizable watch faces with options to choose from loads of available watch faces in the respective app stores.

Fitbit has improved the operating system which results in a redefined interface that’s easier to use. Similarly, Samsung’s One UI 4.1 graces the screen of Galaxy Watch 5. It brings significant improvements in accessibility. In terms of display, the Galaxy Watch 5 has a more colorful display and richer interface than the Sense 2.

Health Tracking

The Sense 2 is the most advanced health tracker from Fitbit. It features all the basics as well as advanced health tracking features like ECG, stress, and skin temperature measurements. The Galaxy Watch 5 also features ECG, stress, and skin temperature measurement which was newly added. However, the Galaxy Watch 5 features blood pressure measurement, and incidental fall detection and has more preloaded sports modes. The Galaxy Watch 5 also features body composition measurement that allows the watch to measure your skeletal muscle.

You get 40 sports modes on Sense 2, it’s up to 90 with Galaxy Watch 5.

Beyond the slight differences, both watches will track your sleep, heart rate, calories, floors climbed, and steps. There is also an inbuilt GPS in both watches that enable tracking for outdoor workout activities like your routes, locations, and pace.

Making and Receiving Calls

The Galaxy Watch 5 and Sense 2 are equipped with both a microphone and a speaker. This enables you to make and receive calls directly from any of these two.

Before now, the Sense and Versa 3 despite having a speaker and microphone weren’t able to make calls, they can only receive calls. Fitbit has fixed that with Sense 2 and Versa 4.

Note that the Galaxy Watch 5 LTE model is equipped with an eSIM that enables it to make and receive calls without connecting to a phone. The Bluetooth model of Galaxy Watch 5 and Sense 2 need your phone nearby to make and receive calls.

Media and Productivity

The Galaxy Watch 5 comes with a 16GB storage capacity while the Sense 2 probably has significant storage. However, there is no support for any music option on Sense 2 and Versa 4. Fitbit had removed the ability to add personal music on Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 leaving only Deezer and Pandora. Now the company has completely removed music options. You can’t even control Spotify on your phone.

Meanwhile, Galaxy Watch 5 will allow you to effortlessly add your personal music to the watch. It will also allow you to add music using Spotify or YouTube Music.

Managing Notifications

With the Sense 2 or Galaxy Watch 5, you can manage messages and calls you receive on your phone. Each of these two will allow you to also reply to messages with your voice, emojis, or preset replies.

Though, the Galaxy Watch 5 features a QWERTY keyboard that allows you to simply type that reply. It offers better support for replying to messages.

Battery Life

Battery life is one factor that has plagued not just Wear OS watches but also Apple watches. Samsung has however improved battery life with Galaxy Watch 5, you can get up to 50hrs. This is a far cry from the Sense 2 which boasts up to 6 days of battery life.

Price

The prices are quite very similar and competitive. The 40mm Bluetooth Galaxy Watch 5 retails for $280, it’s $300 for the 44mm unit. Meanwhile, the Sense 2 retails for $300.

Galaxy Watch 5 or Sense 2 – Which is Better?

Considering that both Sense 2 and Galaxy Watch 5 cost the same amount, yet the latter has far more features, it’s clearly a landslide victory for the Galaxy Watch 5.

The Galaxy Watch 5 for me is a far better smartwatch than the Sense 2. It has higher storage with support for multiple music options. It also has more health-tracking features.

However, if you want a smartwatch that can go multiple days from a single charge, the Sense 2 is a decent choice.