Apple Watch Series 9 (45 mm, GPS, aluminium) / Samsung Galaxy Watch5 (40 mm, Bluetooth)

Apple Watch Series 9 (45 mm, GPS, aluminium): 45 mm aluminium case, GPS model; Pink, Midnight, Starlight, Silver and (PRODUCT)RED. The 41 mm, GPS + Cellular and stainless steel (sapphire crystal) versions differ in size and materials.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 (40 mm, Bluetooth): The 40 mm aluminium Bluetooth version of the Galaxy Watch5, in Graphite, Pink Gold and Silver. The 44 mm version has a larger screen and battery; the titanium Galaxy Watch5 Pro is a separate model.

SpecificationApple Watch Series 9 (45 mm, GPS, aluminium)Samsung Galaxy Watch5 (40 mm, Bluetooth)
Release year20232022
DisplayAlways-On Retina LTPO OLED; up to 2000 nits, as low as 1 nit; 326 ppi

LTPO is a panel technology that can lower the refresh rate dramatically, letting the display stay dimly on when the wrist is down. The 1-nit minimum avoids glare in a dark room.

Apple
1.2-inch (30.4 mm) Super AMOLED, 396 × 396 pixels; full-colour Always On Display; sapphire crystal

Sapphire crystal is a glass material that strongly resists scratching. The 44 mm version has a 1.4-inch, 450 × 450 screen.

Samsung
ChipS9 SiP; 64-bit dual-core processor, 4-core Neural Engine Apple—
Storage64 GB Apple—
ControlsDigital Crown with haptic feedback, side button, double tap gesture

Double tap lets you answer notifications or calls by tapping the thumb and index finger of the watch hand together twice, without touching the screen.

Apple
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Health sensorsElectrical heart sensor, third-generation optical heart sensor, temperature sensing

The electrical sensor is for ECG recordings; the optical sensor measures pulse with light. Temperature sensing tracks overnight changes in wrist temperature.

Apple
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Blood Oxygen (US)On watches sold in the US without the feature, a redesigned version arrives with iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1; the reading is calculated on iPhone

The watch collects sensor data, the paired iPhone calculates the value and shows it in the Health app. Watches bought outside the US are not affected.

Apple
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Other sensorsCompass, always-on altimeter, high-g accelerometer, high dynamic range gyroscope, ambient light sensor Apple—
LocationL1 GPS, GNSS, Galileo and BeiDou

It is a single-frequency (L1) receiver; drift in cities can be more likely than with dual-frequency watches.

Apple
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WirelessWi-Fi 4 (802.11n), Bluetooth 5.3, second-generation Ultra Wideband

Ultra Wideband lets you locate an iPhone 15-family phone with Precision Finding showing direction and distance; availability varies by region.

Apple
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Battery and chargingUp to 18 hours normal use, up to 36 hours in Low Power Mode; fast charge to about 80% in 45 minutes

Fast charging requires Apple’s fast-charging cable and a suitable adapter.

Apple
284 mAh (typical); faster WPC-based wireless charging

WPC is the body behind the Qi wireless charging standard. The 44 mm version has a 410 mAh battery.

Samsung
Durability50 m water resistant (ISO 22810:2010); IP6X dust resistant; Ion-X front glass

Suitable for swimming. Ion-X is the strengthened glass used on aluminium cases; steel cases use sapphire crystal.

Apple
5ATM + IP68; MIL-STD-810H

5ATM suits shallow-water activities such as swimming, not diving.

Samsung
Size and weight45 × 38 × 10.7 mm; 38.7 g; fits 140–245 mm wrists Apple39.3 × 40.4 × 9.8 mm; 28.7 g (without strap) Samsung
CompatibilityiPhone XS or later with iOS 17 or later

It cannot be used with Android phones.

Apple
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Case and colours—Armor Aluminum case with Sport Band; Graphite, Pink Gold, Silver Samsung
Processor—Exynos W920, dual-core 1.18 GHz Samsung
Memory and storage—1.5 GB RAM; 16 GB internal storage Samsung
Software—At launch Wear OS Powered by Samsung (Wear OS 3.5) with One UI Watch 4.5

The watch works with phones running Android 8.0 or later with more than 1.5 GB of RAM; it cannot be used with an iPhone.

Samsung
Sensors—Samsung BioActive Sensor (optical heart rate, electrical heart signal, bioelectrical impedance analysis); temperature sensor; accelerometer, barometer, gyro, geomagnetic and light sensors

The electrical heart signal is used for ECG and bioelectrical impedance for body composition estimates; availability of these features varies by country.

Samsung
Connectivity—Bluetooth 5.2; Wi‑Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4 + 5 GHz; NFC; GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo

This version has no LTE; the LTE version is sold separately.

Samsung