Last year’s Apple Watch Series 4 represented a somewhat big change in the Apple Watch lineup. It came with a slightly modified design where it offered a larger display. If you were hoping for design changes for the Apple Watch this year, you might be disappointed, but it doesn’t mean that the Apple Watch Series 5 isn’t a substantial update.
According to Apple’s announcement, they have (finally) brought an always-on display to the watch. For those unfamiliar with the Apple Watch, in the past, the Apple Watch’s display would automatically turn itself off when the user’s wrist was lowered. This meant that if you wanted to see the display, you’d have to raise your wrist, but with an always-on display, Apple has done away with that need.
Apple claims that the new Apple Watch Series 5 will use an LTPO display that can refresh dynamically, where it can go up to a 60Hz refresh rate or as low as 1Hz. This is said to help with power efficiency. Speaking of efficiency, Apple is boasting that the Series 5 and its always-on display will still be able to manage an 18-hour battery life, same as its predecessor.
We would have preferred a longer battery life but we suppose at least it didn’t go down. There will be a bunch of new watch faces designed specifically for the new always-on display. There are also some new UI changes that have also been optimized for the new display. In addition to the hardware changes, Apple has also introduced a new compass app, an app which would have seemed like an obvious feature from the get-go, but we suppose better late than never.
As per earlier rumors, it has been confirmed that the Apple Watch Series 5 will come in new titanium and ceramic cases in addition to the current aluminum and stainless steel models. The Apple Watch with GPS will be priced starting at $399, while the version with cellular will retail for $499. They are available for pre-order starting today and will be available in-store come 20th September.
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