Apple Watch Series 5 - The New Wearable Benchmark?

Apple Watch Series 5

- Kenny Yeo

Apple Watch Series 5 is the latest version of Apple’s smartwatch and while it is largely similar to last year’s model, the small updates that it has affect the product in very profound ways.

To begin, the case design and dimensions hasn’t changed, and neither has the size of the display. However, the display now stays on permanently and Apple calls this the AlwaysOn Retina display. This was achieved using an LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) OLED display with special controllers and light sensors so that refresh rates can be adjusted from as high as 60Hz to as low as 1Hz.

The always-on display is a big deal because it now means you can glance at your watch to tell the time without having to do that exaggerated raise your wrist to your face action. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s exceptionally handy if you are in a situation like a long boring meeting with important people or if you are doing something particularly challenging like the Taraksvasana yoga pose.

When the display does go to sleep, it doesn’t just show a generic watch face like some other smartwatches. It actually shows a dimmed version of the watch face you selected and customised. The second hand also goes away so that it reduces the need to update the display. Some of your complications (like Date and Activity) will still show but some others that require constant updating (like the new Noise and Compass app) will go to sleep.