Doesn't even last a marathon: That was pretty much the most devastating verdict you could make about a sports watch years ago.

Luckily those times are over.

They all manage three or four hours with GPS recording and continuous heart rate measurement.

Harder test procedures are now announced.

We left the house at 10 a.m. for a road bike ride and rode in the Taunus for seven hours, including a lot of altitude and a few breaks.

Michael Spehr

Editor in the "Technology and Engine" department.

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During this time, the Apple Watch Series 7 in the 45-millimeter case and the new Galaxy Watch 5 Pro with the "biggest battery in a Samsung smartwatch" had to compete against each other.

Samsung won the battery test with ease: After seven hours, 40 percent of the battery capacity was used up, while the Apple Watch had approved more than 60 percent.

We tested the most expensive and most durable variant of the new Galaxy Watch 5 intensively and took a look at its two smaller siblings, the Watch 5 with a height of 40 millimeters and the Watch 5 without Pro with a height of 44 millimeters.

Like the Apple Watch, all three belong more in the smartwatch category, they are generalists with push notifications from the cell phone, with navigation and a number of health functions.

They only work in conjunction with an Android cell phone, and best of all with a Samsung smartphone, because then advanced health functions such as ECG and blood pressure measurement are available.

All three are protected against dust and water and have a high-quality and scratch-resistant sapphire cover glass.

The two basic models come in an aluminum housing, which, like the Apple Watch, no longer looks cheap.

The Pro version uses high-quality titanium as the case material, which is significantly more scratch-resistant.

The display is an AMOLED display with high brightness and crisp colors.

As with the Apple Watch, an always-on mode can be activated, but this reduces the battery life.

The display of the 40 mm version has a resolution of 396 x 396 pixels, the two larger ones offer 450 x 450 pixels.

The watch runs on Google's Wear OS operating system, which, unlike previous models, now runs smoothly and allows apps to be installed later.

However, Samsung packs its own interface over the core of Google, and so initially the payment system Google Pay was not available, only Samsung Pay.

The problem is now solved.

The rotating bezel of the previous version is missing

If you install the watch with a Samsung smartphone, you have three apps, Galaxy Wearable, Samsung Health and Samsung Health Monitor, on your device to adjust the watch settings, read activities or switch between different watch faces.

There are plenty of the latter, but they are not as lovingly and finely drawn as those of the Apple Watch.

This also applies to the watch's overall user interface, which represents robust home cooking, not upscale cuisine.

You use the two side buttons or swipe your finger over the display.

The rotating bezel of the previous version is missing.