Apple Watch series 5 Review
Apple Watch series 5 Review

23 Things To Know About Apple Watch Series 5

April 9, 2020
by Arunyuvaraj
14 min read
1,357 Comments

In its September 2019 event, Apple has not only launched the iPhone11 series of phones but they have also launched a brand new Apple watch series 5. Apple has offered us it with a great smartwatch experience and a great health and fitness experience married together into a single watch. With this edition, Apple showcased that it is miles ahead of the competition. But is it better than the previous version? People are looking for Apple Watch series 5 vs 4, confused about their buying decisions and many are searching for features-wise comparison. We are here with 23 things you have to know about Apple Watch series 5. 

Things that have made Apple watch series 5 great:

1. Always-ON Display

The one feature that Android smart watches had for years which was lacking in the Apple watch was Always-ON display. Yes it was missing, and now it is not. Finally we have the Always-ON display feature in the Apple watch series 5. Now you will be able to see the time and the watchface always; it would be at a lower brightness though and you have to tilt or tap on the screen to make it bright.  

Speaking about the technicalities, there are 2 different modes, a high power mode when you are looking at the device and a low power mode when you are not looking at the device or when the device is inactive. In the inactive mode, you can actually see the device but it will act differently so the things like animations turned off and the display gets dimmer due to the refresh rate becoming 1 hz from 60 hz when it was active. 

Apple Watch series 5 comes with an Always-ON display

Always-ON is active when it is on your wrist  or when it is on a watch face or workout mode apart from when it is charging. If you remove the watch and keep it on the table without charging, the display is not active. So long story short, the Always-ON applies only to tell the time and to see the complications but in a dimmer mode. 

This is one of the biggest selling points for the Apple Watch Series 5 but, is it worth all the hype? The answer is a BIG YESSS. You don’t have to do a crazy arm twist action to see the time in front of your client or friend and embarrass the other person. But as a matter of fact, it is not the big new flagship feature that is a reason to upgrade if you already have the Apple watch series 4. If you have any older version than series 4, technology has a lot to offer and get this Apple Watch Series 5. It feels like a nice additional feature but not a flagship feature though. 

2. Battery Life

Speaking about the Always-ON display, most of the tech aspirants are worried about the battery life but Apple announced that the device will offer you a maximum of 18 hrs battery. Apple addresses the issue by confirming that the 296 mAH battery will improve with constant updates which is happening regularly. Most of us should be okay if you get used to charging your device every night. 

Since Apple has already ditched the native sleep activity monitoring(but you can download a third party app), it is obvious that the device can rest for sometime on the beautiful circle charging dock. One more thing is that when we switch OFF the Always-ON display, the battery life is almost similar to the series 4, taking us to a 1.5-day battery life. The whole point is, if you want the Always-ON display, you have to charge it every night. 

In order to get the maximum hours of battery backup, you can tweak some notifications into DND mode or silent mode. But however you have optimised your device, when you have switched on other features like Cellular or GPS enabled, tracking your workouts and airpods connected for music,  your battery will not last longer than 4 hrs. 

3. LTPO Display

Unlike the android or other smartwatches that have Always-ON displays which use 60 hz display refresh rate, Apple uses LTPO display to get the same. What it does is it adjusts the 60 hz refresh rate to 1 hz whenever it is not in usage. This LTPO display with a new ambient light sensor, and improved power management helps Apple watch series 5 to maintain the same 18 hr battery life like the series 4 which is amazing.  

4. Play Music 

You can listen to your music whenever you want in a single tap. You don’t have to lift your phone out of the pocket or you don’t need airpods for that matter. Connecting to a headphone  to listen to music with the Apple watch series 5 is very simple so that you can use any wireless bluetooth headphone to pair with Apple watch series 5 whereas Airpods or Airpods Pro does it in the best possible way. It helps when you are typing in your laptop PC, working out in the gym or editing your youtube videos, all you have to do is:- Hey Siri, Play Hey Jude from the Beatles. 

When you are out for a short run, you can listen to music with the help of an entry level Apple watch and an Airpod or a bluetooth headset without your iPhone. You just have to go to Apple Watch App in your iPhone and go to music and add your favourite playlists and albums and that’s it. This works with a little bit of storage on the watch itself and that takes us to the next feature. 

5. Storage Capacity

The Apple watch series 5 has a storage capacity of 32 GB to perform such small tasks like playing the music independently without the help of iPhone. This is some serious storage capacity when you compare this with the 8 gb in series 0, 1,2,3 or 16 gb in series 4 or even the 64 GB storage capacity that comes with the iPhone11 pro max base variant(Seriously Apple!!)

6. Be in the Ecosystem 

One of the big things is that you can unlock your Mac automatically. Couple of other examples include: Controlling your iPhone camera which is very useful when you have a big group of people to capture, set the iPhone on a tripod or lean it up against a rock or something and come into the picture and you hit the shutter. It is just super convenient. Another thing is that you can use it as a remote for the Apple TV which most of us don’t but it is amazing that we have such a nifty feature. If you have Apple Pay in your country, you don’t have to lift your iPhone at all as the Apple watch series 5 comes with NFC compatibility just like the series 4. It has tons of other ecosystem benefits and pairs with any Apple device seamlessly. 

7. Compass 

This is a tiny new chip that is inside the apple watch series 5 that lets you see the direction you are facing relevant to the magnetic north. The advantages here are: 

1. You can see the direction you are facing in the maps app rather than a dot.

2. If you are lost and if you didn’t have the cellular signal to access the maps or in any kind of emergency situation, you can tap on this compass app to reach your place of intention. 

Yeah, kinda funny isn’t it? We know that there are some people who know how to use it and will have to use it on a day to day routine like those adventurers in the woods or if you are super into the backcountry stuff like wildlife trekking, for those this compass feature will be very useful. Otherwise it is not much of a use for any of us living indoors though. One area where the presence of compass shines is that it helps to show the exact direction you are facing when you navigate. 

8. Digital crown

Digital crown offers a greater sense of control; It is not only useful when you are changing the menus and selecting items but it is also useful under different conditions like playing music, and browsing through apps.

9. Cellular Coverage 

If you are visiting a different country, then you are not entitled to use the cellular calling facility because it is restricted to the country only from where you have bought it from.  Long story short, there is no roaming facility for the Apple Watch series 5. 

10. International SOS

Anyhow, you can make use of the emergency calling service or the international SOS calls which is a welcome addition not only for the Apple Watch but for any smartwatch that is in the market. So if you are in an emergency situation in a different country and there is no internet coverage or your local cellular is not working, you can always make use of this awesome feature called International emergency calling or SOS calls. (Bond! James Bond!!!)

11. W3 Chip

Apple watch series 5 uses the same W3 chip that was used in the series 4 as well for the bluetooth and wi-fi connectivity.  This chipset is responsible for the connectivity within the ecosystem and also other intended devices. To make it much more transparent about the functionality, Apple didn’t stick with an older chip but it did with a better chip as it comes with bluetooth 5.0 capability.

12. S5 Processor

Apple watch series 5 is powered by the 64 bit dual-core S5 processor which is 2 times faster than the series 3 chipset. When compared to the S4 chipset in series 4, the only improvement here is the addition of the compass as an integrated chip within the SOC and then the LTPO display controller. 

13. WatchOS 6.0 

This runs the watch smoothly and it lets everything perform in a less buggier fashion. It allows you to download apps directly from the app store without any middleman(iPhone). We have a lot of welcoming apps like calculator, all new reminders and much more  in Apple watch. SIRI is there to help you send a message or start a workout in a very responsive  manner. 

14. Apple Watch series 5 Colors and Editions 

Apple watch series 5 is one area, you will see a lot of options to customise your device which is very “unlike Apple” where they offer one important thing to their customers in plenty: Choice. This shows Apple’s approach and it’s acceptance towards every individuals’ sense of taste. 

Speaking about the editions this year, apart from the usual aluminum and stainless steel editions, Apple have introduced the all new Titanium edition and reintroduced the Ceramic edition that was discontinued after the series 3. The following options are the steps in selecting a brand new Apple watch series 5. 

  1. Choose one of the 2 size options : 40 mm or 44 mm
  2. Choose a material out of 4 options : Aluminum, Stainless Steel, Titanium, Ceramic
  3. Choose a color: 

             Silver,Space Gray & Gold – Aluminum

             Silver, Space Black & Gold – Stainless Steel

             Natural Black & Space Black – Titanium 

             White – Ceramic

  1. And then, you have the multiple band options with different materials and colors without mentioning the tons of third party bands for Apple Watch Series 5.  
  2. This year we also get a Special Apple Watch Series 5 Nike edition with unique watchfaces which also starts at the same lowest base price.  
  3. We also have a dark companion here in the form of a Hermes Apple watch Edition. 
Apple watch series 5 Nike Edition starts at $399 in the US and Rs.40,990 in India
15. Titanium Edition

This is the newest material case added to the Apple watch series 5 which is here for some specific reasons. While titanium is not only lighter than stainless steel but it is also stronger which makes it a perfect blended mid-variant between the aluminum and the stainless steel  model. 

16. Ceramic Edition

Ceramic is the most durable of all the materials which is actually 4 times stronger than stainless steel. The gorgeous looking Ceramic edition happens to be the costliest of all the editions of this year, with the base price topping that of iPhone 11 Pro Max. 

17. Thickness

Speaking about the case materials brings us to the discussion of the thickness of every edition and the obvious answer here is the Ceramic case. Ceramic cases come with 11 mm as thickness when compared to the 10.7 mm of thickness of the other materials if that matters to you. 

18. Apple Watch Studio

You can customise your Apple Watch with any case and any band that you like and it is not going to be like the olden days where you can only make use of the prefabricated pairs. Now you can use any band for any case and you can style up your wrist in the way you like to which is a huge welcome addition speaking about the variety it can offer to the lineup.  

19. What’s in the Box

When you order an Apple watch, you will get 2 boxes inside the main box. One box will contain all the tech inside like the Apple watch series 5 case, a 1-metre magnetic charging cable which looks beautiful, and a 5W USB power adapter while the straps are present in the other box. 

20. Life Saving Features

Apple Watch series 5 can be awarded as the gadget of the century only for its life saving features.  like Heart rate tracking, ECG(monitored in a separate Health APP), Fall detection sensor and Fitness activity tracker. 

Heart Rate Tracking – It can track your high, low and irregular heartbeat readings with the heart rate monitor. It also has the FDA approved ECG which is in the news for saving many individuals. 

Fall detection sensor – Detects if you fall down either on the floor or even on a cliff for that matter, comes with the ability to call emergency services which has already proved its mettle among the public. 

Sound Detection – This watch gives you an alert when the environment is too noisy and it also has a decibel metre so you can measure the sound level of something like power tools. If you are working in a loud environment, this is going to be really helpful.

32G – Apple watch series 5 can bear a force of up to 32G applied on it. For instance, you can even wear it for a ride in a fighter jet(if you have one though).

Air Quality Alert – This watch can measure the pollution level in the air which will make you choose or avoid any environment. 

And on and on and on; we can make a complete list of Apple Watch series 5 features alone as a single post. If you want an article about the latest and greatest Apple Watch series 5 features, comment below and we will do the hard part just for you. 

21. Water Resistance

Apple Watch series 5 is water resistant for up to 50m into the water. Apart from being a usual workout assistant, this can be your ultimate swimming companion. Activate the “water lock” function and jump into a swimming pool. It automatically recognizes your stroke style, measures your sets, tracks calories burnt, distance and overall pace and much more. Once you step out of the water, turn the digital crown to unlock and eject water. Voila!

22. Apple Watch series 5 price in India 

The cheapest Apple watch series 5 model to go for is the Aluminum 40 mm edition, and, of course, the Ceramic edition is the costliest,  the base price of which is above the iPhone11 pro max’s starting price. 

Wifi only, 40 mm – Rs. 40,900, 44mm – Rs. 43,900

Wifi + LTE, 40 mm – Rs. 49,900, 44mm – Rs. 52,900

23. Who should be buying the Apple watch series 5?

If you already own an Apple series 4, there is not enough difference for you to upgrade here apart from the always-ON display, compass and the storage capacity. But if you are someone who wants the latest of the devices in your shelf, you can either pull the trigger to buy this or even trade-in your older version, that’s up to you. 

What about if you have a series 3 watch, is there enough difference for you to upgrade? Yes, it is worth upgrading because you will get a lot of new sensors like EKG, a better screen and speed really matters. 

About the author

Arunyuvaraj

I'm Arunyuvaraj, a techno freak, fascinated about the world of science. I would love to share my knowledge about new gadgets, tech products and automobiles with my friends. Through this blog, I aspire to help more friends.

View all posts

1,357 Comments