Product Review: Mashimane impressed with battery life of new Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro
As the 2022 season draws to a close, many runners will already be finalising their racing plans for the new year. After the 2020 and 2021 seasons were thrown into a tailspin by the Covid-19 enforced lockdowns, many races returned this year albeit not on their traditional dates. But with the Comrades Marathon looking set to by run in June again, this means the 2023 South African race calendar will more close resemble pre-Covid times. Plans and the associated the purchasing of running gear can then be made on the basis of a predictable calendar.
And for those who have penciled in the ultras and multi-day stage races on their calendars, Nontuthuko Mashimane is suggesting that they give the latest piece of wearable running technology a try. Mashimane who has tackled everything from Comrades to overseas marathons like Berlin and Dubai to trail race like the Karkloof 100 miler says she was pleasantly surprised with what the company that is known better for TV's and cellphones have on offer in the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
" 2014 I started running, doing half marathons and then in 2015 I did my first Comrades and it was the most wonderful experience ever and I've never looked back," she told #TheTopRunner. "I've been an ultra-distance runner since then doing trail runs. I've done the UTCT and I've done Karkloof 100 miler as well as three-day stage races. Running has been part of my life in such a bug way," said the woman from Pietermaritzburg who is a nutritionist and an ethnomedicine practitioner by trade.
Given her extensive running experience, the Hollywoodbets Athletic Club athlete was excited when she got the opportunity to try out the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro at the recent Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. As someone who often runs for days on end, she was most interested in how the battery would perform and whether it would last for the entire 42,2km race.
"Running a 10km or a 21km is different to running long distance. That battery power is so important. I know when I did my 100 miler - that was one critical feature that I had to make sure I have on my watch. I was so very impressed with the battery. When I looked at the percentage used during the race, it was amazing that I only used a little bit of battery so it tells me that it does live up to four days. And I actually had conversations with my family, so I can run and talk to them with the earbuds," she explained.
But perhaps most impressive about the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is that if the Samsung phone used in concert with the watch sports an eSim as made available by the network carrier, then you can simply run with the watch and leave your phone at home while still having access to your messages and calls via the watch. Speak to your network about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and the options for eSim functionality.