The Apple Watch Series 5 isn’t your average smartwatch.

Last year, Apple had garnered almost half of all the sales of smartwatches with Fitbit, Garmin, and other watch retailers filling up the other half.

But it’s not revenue that makes Apple stand out- the company constantly strives for quality features and they live up to their promises.

It is no different with its newly released Apple Watch Series 5. Priced at $399, the 5th series of smartwatches has cool features, some which Apple claims to be life-saving.

What caught our eye was the always-on display, that only dims light when the watch is not in use.

But hey! It is not a new feature after all, right? Releases like the Samsung Galaxy Watch, Google Wear, and Fitbit Versa 2, came with always-on displays.

But what makes it so popular? Well, you’ll have to scroll on for the next couple of minutes as we unravel all the nitties Apple equipped in this small gadget.

Outlook

The Series 5 doesn’t look different from its immediate predecessor.

A thin 10.7mm case, weighing under 40 grams depending on the size options (40mm or 44m).

Most features like the Digital Crown button still remain where they were.

The watch still has replaceable bands so you can still swap in a new Apple Watch band whenever you want.

And unlike many smart watches, it doesn’t get caught up in your shirt.

It still comes with a separate disc charger, so iPhone lovers you’ll still have to wait for a one for all cable.

The rest of the exterior is mirrored from the Series 4.

New Adjustments

If you’ve ever owned any of the previous Apple Watch Series, you know how it can be irritating to tap the screen every time you need to check the time.

Looks like Apple heard your woes and The Series 5 was their perfect solution.

It has a screen that will always be on even when not in use.

Due to battery life, the smart watch dims light when idle and restricts a couple of features until you wake it up.

This feature is made possible by raise detection, low-power display driver, LTPO technology, and a better power management hardware.

Also, when in low power, the watch automatically drops a few features to ensure its always on.

It is still important to note the always-on feature only works when you’re actually wearing the smart watch.

Apple Watch is known to have one of the best navigation features and with its new Series 5, movement is even easier.

The watch now has a built-in compass that not only adds accuracy when moving around, but also give you a sense of direction.

The compass comes in handy when integrated with maps during navigation. This can be quite useful to hikers and outdoor explorers.

Since the compass feature is magnet sensitive, you’d have to avoid straps like Milanese Loop so that you don’t mess up the compass.

The watch face isn’t quite different from previous models although there are a couple of tweaks to the new Series 5 watch.

The solar dial is an exclusive Series 5 feature that shows the sunset and sunrise in line with the sun’s position and the duration of day and night.

The California face looks like a classy watch and packs less information.

However, if you’re an info junkie, then go for the Meridian face which displays quite a handful of information.

Performance Review

The Series 5 is driven by the same processor as its predecessor (Watch Series 4) although you may find it a little faster while operating.

It’s a bit self-sufficient in terms of operation as the watch is equipped with watchOS 6.

You may have to use an iPhone for features like syncing and updating, but generally the watch works on its own.

Digging deeper into the watch’s features, you’ll find a new interesting app- Noise app.

It is an advanced ‘noise meter’ that reads the decibel levels of your surroundings.

Apart from just taking readings, the application alerts you whenever you’re exposed to loud noise and records everything.

So, at the end of the day you’ll know exactly how much noise you were exposed to.

Apple’s Smart Watches are mostly fitness trackers and having features like the Noise app echoes their focus to user safety.

In line with that, it still has a health tracker, calories counter, and movement monitoring.

It is also waterproof and still measures accurately even while swimming.

Series 5 also came important to the feminine community with its menstrual cycle feature.

The watch can actually alert you for safe days and also allows you to add both physical and emotional symptoms if need be.

Siri is also available and can even give you a website snapshot if needed.

I don’t know how useful that might be considering the screen’s size, but it’s still a cool feature.

The Battery Debate

The series 4 had a very solid battery life, some saying it could last more than a day after heavy use.

However, with the always-on display added to the Series 5, debates about battery life were inevitably flying around.

So, does it really hold charge?

At the moment no. Though Apple boasts of an 18-hour battery lifetime, a busy day with the Series 5 doesn’t say the same thing.

If you answer calls frequently, listen to music, then you’d have to reach out for a charger at least once a day.

Even when the always-on display is turned off, heavy usage will still drain the Watch 5 battery life.

It’s a crucial feature developers at Apple need to seriously work on.

Verdict

As we earlier stated, Apple is always looking to be the forerunner of technology and its seen from advancements in each of their releases.

Even though the smart watch comes with a heavy price tag, the tech giant has slashed prices of previous versions like Apple Smart Watch Series 3.

Apple may miss a few things here and there, which may be accessible on other brands like Garmin or Fitbit, but they are still an overall leader in smart watches.