Apple Watch Series 5 review: Always-on display, health features make it worth a try

However, you need to own an iPhone to use an Apple Watch Series 5 since this watch doesn’t pair with Android devices.
Apple Watch Series 5 review: Always-on display, health features make it worth a try
Apple Watch Series 5 review: Always-on display, health features make it worth a try

2018 was probably the most significant year for the Apple Watch. Last year’s Series 4 reimagined the design, knocking off the bezels and expanding the screen size. Almost ever since Apple launched the first Apple Watch in 2015, it has built an unassailable lead in this category. Each year it keeps adding a couple of key features that consolidate this position. This year’s tweak might well be its most useful update of the Apple watch ever.

Let’s first talk of skeuomorphic design, one of Apple’s early guiding design principles. Think of the early versions of iOS where the calendar or notes app resemble real-world counterparts or the haptic crown on the Apple watch where you can hear each click as you scroll down menus. But there’s one basic thing that the Apple Watch still didn’t do – display the time. You needed to perfect that wrist shake to activate the display each time you needed to glance at the time - awkward when you’re in a meeting. Not anymore; Apple adds an always-on display to the Apple Watch Series 5 and it’s more ground-breaking than you think.

Battery life was the obvious stumbling block that held back Apple and other smartwatch manufacturers. Apple has been talking up its new LTPO (low-temperature polysilicon and oxide) display and a bunch of technologies that can reduce the refresh rate from 60Hz to 1Hz when the watch is in idle state. Every watch face has been optimised to keep up - the screen dims when your wrist is down and returns to full brightness with a raise or a tap. In effect you get an always-on display that almost delivered the same battery life as the Apple Watch 4 in our tests.

It still means that you have to charge your Apple Watch every day and lug that charger when you travel, especially if you use your device to keep track of gym workouts or runs.  The new compass feature is a handy addition to the Watch 5 if you need navigation help during a run or trek – just like your phone, a tiny cone on your display shows you which direction you’re heading.

ECG was one of the key talking points of the Apple Watch 4. That feature – you can take an electrocardiogram right from your wrist in 30 seconds, is now available in India for both the Series 5 and 4. This year’s Watch OS 6 update also adds a new Cycle tracking app that allows users to log daily information about their menstrual cycles. Apple still hasn’t added sleep tracking to the Apple Watch, a feature many competing devices offer. It’s the same with watch faces, where you are restricted to Apple’s custom watch faces; you can’t add watch faces from third party apps.

So, should you get the Apple Watch 5? Well, first you need to own an iPhone, this watch doesn’t pair with Android devices. If you already own an Apple Watch 4, you could skip this update even though the always-on display is incredibly useful. But whether you’re an iPhone user looking for your first smartwatch or own one of Apple’s first three generation watches, then there’s nothing quite like it. Apple has stretched the lead over the competition in the smartwatch category; yet again.

Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS) starts at Rs 40,900 and Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS + Cellular) starts at Rs 49,900. 

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