Galaxy Watch 5 Leak Teases Significantly Faster Charging Times
Although Apple may have the lion's share of the smartwatch market, Samsung comes in second place, which is impressive considering it used its in-house wearable platform for years. The Galaxy Watch 4 changed the narrative by embracing Google's Wear OS, potentially making Samsung the biggest Wear OS vendor. Thankfully, it seems Samsung hasn't changed directions again — at least not yet — and will continue using Wear OS for its next smartwatch model. The Galaxy Watch 5 series is proving to be quite interesting based on some consistent leaks, and it could set the standard for non-luxury Wear OS smartwatches, as well. This latest tidbit raises the bar even higher, claiming the upcoming Galaxy Watch model could also have one of the fastest charging times in the wearables market.
Samsung has introduced many unique features and ideas to the smartwatch market; for example, it actually used a modified but full-blown version of Android on the very first Galaxy Gear at a time when its peers were just adopting Android Wear. The company likewise introduced a rotary bezel control in place of a typical crown, a feature that remains unique to Samsung's smartwatches but could also be endangered. It was also one of the first to utilize reverse wireless charging to top up smartwatches instead of just other phones.
The Galaxy Watch 5 set to debut in a few days is expected to bring a few minor improvements to the roster, and its most significant one is reportedly enhancements to its battery life, both in capacity and in charging speed, and Samsung will supposedly change a few standard conventions to achieve that.
Fast charging on a small scale
Tipster SnoopyTech claims that the Galaxy Watch 5 series will be able to get from zero to 45% charge in just 30 minutes. Given how charging times slow down at higher percentages, we could be looking at a little over an hour for a full charge. That's still plenty fast considering how long it usually takes for smartwatches to charge, but that may just be the tip of the iceberg.
These alleged higher charging figures are thanks to two anticipated important changes. One is the use of a faster 10W charger, which is a jump from the standard 5W charger that Samsung has been offering for a while now. There's also the alleged switch to a more efficient and faster USB-C connection, something that is still rare among smartwatches. This potentially means you'll be able to charge your Galaxy Watch 5 from your phone without having to use the slower Wireless Powershare feature.
The one caveat to this leak is that the Galaxy Watch 5 is expected to have a significantly larger battery, as well. The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, in particular, has been rumored to carry a 572mAh battery, up from the Galaxy Watch 4 model's 361mAh battery capacity. That might not be the same for the other models, but that could also affect the charging speed. Either way, the Galaxy Watch 5 is shaping up to be the Wear OS smartwatch to keep an eye on, at least until the Pixel Watch finally arrives.