Leaker says Galaxy Watch 5 could be the "ugliest" smartwatch of the year
The forthcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 series may not be very aesthetically pleasing, per known leaker Ice Universe.
Samsung looks set to ditch the Classic variant, and with it the iconic physical rotating bezel, and replace it with a premium Pro variant which the company has suggested will take design cues from the sporty Galaxy Watch 4.
Ice has icily declared that the Galaxy Watch 5 series has become "uglier" and thinks it might be the ugliest watch range of 2022. That's quite a statement, especially considering that the Galaxy Watch 4 line was well received by consumers and they are amongst the best watches around.
The regular Galaxy Watch 4 is available in 40mm and 44mm sizes and per rumors, its successor will come in 40mm and 42mm variants, whereas there will only be one option for the Pro model.
The exact size hasn't leaked, but given that it's expected to have a 60 percent bigger battery than the largest variant of the Classic 4 (572mAh vs 361mAh), it's safe to assume that it will grow considerably in size unless of course Samsung's next chip has become ultra-efficient or the next version of Wear OS 3 is very well optimized. For reference, the bigger Watch 4 Classic is 46mm.
Galaxy Watch 5: "ugly" with no rotating bezels?
Rough visualization of the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
Ice had previously indicated that the Watch 5 Pro would have very big bezels, and today he has reiterated that the watch will have very wide bezels and also appears to suggest that its design will not be a seamless.
Ice has also posted a visual to give us an idea of what the Watch 5 Pro will look like and it seems to have slightly thicker bezels than the Watch 4.
The leaker also believes the design gap between Samsung's smartwatches and Apple's wearables will grow. The Watch Series 7 has a square design and comes in 41mm and 45mm sizes. It has very tiny bezels and maximizes display real estate better than Samsung watches. The next iteration is expected to get a flat-edged redesign.
Ice has gone as far as to say that you shouldn't buy the Watch 5. So, is the Watch 5 series really going to be that bad? Ice has taken an extreme view and while the design may be a letdown for some, we shouldn't write off Samsung's next smartwatches just yet.
Firstly, the Galaxy Watch 4 and 4 Classic, were the third and fourth most popular smartwatches, respectively, in Q1, so Samsung surely seems to know a thing or two about making watches.
Secondly, even though the Pro is not expected to have a rotating bezel, it still sounds like an interesting watch, given it's rumored to have a premium build. On top of that, the next watches are also expected to get a new thermometer feature, which will complement a host of other health-related features already available.
Still, Ice is an industry veteran, so let's just hope the watches will not be as bad as he is predicting. I guess we will find out on August 10, which is when the next Unpacked event is expected to take place.
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