The usefulness of a rotating bezel on a smartwatch like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 or Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is very different from that of a traditional mechanical watch. On a mechanical watch, for example, divers would traditionally use the bezel to help track how much air they had left in their tanks. It's pretty safe to say this isn't the same on a modern smartwatch.

But rotating bezels have their uses as proved in the past by Samsung. The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic had a rotating bezel, used, if required, to navigate through the watch's user interface. The regular Galaxy Watch 4, however, skipped this and went for a touch-sensitive bezel. Now that the Galaxy Watch 5 series is here, which way has Samsung gone?

No more rotating bezel

The rotating bezel is no more. Both the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro have a touch-sensitive bezel instead. The key point is that the functionality is retained. A rotating bezel perhaps looks better, and there's a lot to be said for actual physical, tactile feedback, but it's gone. But the utility has at least been retained, though there remains divided opinion on the execution. And the two watches are now brought more into alignment. You still get two physical buttons, though, so it's not an entirely touch-only interface.

The Galaxy Watch 5 series has a lot of great features, though. Since moving to Wear OS, you'll now get access to key Google apps and services out of the box, including YouTube Music and Maps. Sleep tracking has been much improved, and fans of outdoor activities will love the Watch 5 Pro. It's covered in Sapphire Glass and encased in Titanium, making it incredibly durable. The Watch 5 Pro is also IP68 and MIL-STD-810H rated.

Both watches are available with LTE connectivity for phone-free operation, and both have a range of fitness features built-in. They even look pretty good, too!