Apple Watch Series 5 review The Complete Smart Health Watch Test

Said like that, the performance is ready to smile, especially from the master stallion of connected watches, indisputable reference in terms of ergonomics, functional and application richness, and especially sales. Yet, it is the manifestation of a steady gradual progress.Read this Apple Watch Series 5 reviews.

Always on … like a real watch

Until now the Watch had a screen completely off or on for a handful of seconds. The magic operated thanks to a sharp wrist stroke and more or less ample which particularly solicited his gyroscope. We had done it and the lack – not having the time displayed permanently – was paradoxically not one.

We can therefore consider the arrival of the screen always on in two ways. On the one hand, seeing the watch half empty, and telling yourself that it took five models to make the Watch the equal of the most ridiculous wristwatch and does not bring much. On the other hand, consider that this screen always lit will remove the main point of friction in the use of the watch on a daily basis and thus ensure that all the benefits it brings are there at your fingertips. It is a fluidification of uses, a service rendered, a gain of comfort. The symbol of a milestone in the evolution of the Watch, which is now mature enough in its form factor and technical basis to refine the details, improve what seems superfluous.

Technological Tip and Visual Thinking

Capitalizing on its LTPO OLED slab technology – introduced last year and exclusive to the Watch – and adding better control of power consumption, Apple has managed to vary not only the brightness of the display but also the frequency of its refreshment from 1 to 60 Hz.

Precision in the management of energy resources needed for display that are summarily manifested by two states, one passive, at any time, and the other asset, when you request the Watch. In passive mode, the screen is less illuminated and the display adopts a kind of dark mode. A darker interface and also more legible with lower lighting. Complications are found, but all the most mobile elements that consume the most energy are suspended. Thus, a stopwatch will display only the change of seconds and not the tenths and hundredths. Similarly an analog dial will save the second hand. Most of the information is there, visible even in direct sunlight. If you want more, turn your wrist, and the magic works.Only downside when you notice a notification to view, it has the reflex to slide his finger from the top of the screen. If it is in passive mode, nothing will happen. It must first be activated and then interact with the interface. No doubt it is a question of habit. This is in any case a good reason to choose a watch face that varies a lot from one state to another so as not to be wrong.

Just for your eyes…

We can not speak for everyone, but this week spent in the company of the Series 5 was more comfortable and less subject to micro-agitations caused by the lack of reaction of the Watch despite a perfect wrist movement . We rediscover the pleasure of having everything in front of us all the time, what other smartwatches already offer, it must be said.

But once again, Apple does it in its own way, with care and attention to detail. The permanent display exposes some of your information through complications, small graphical elements that serve both to create a shortcut to call your spouse or to launch an application that you often use. You do not necessarily want everyone to see your next appointment or the favorite contact that appears in a complication. It is possible to ensure that this information is displayed only in active mode, when the screen is fully lit, and therefore likely to be reserved for your eyes only.

Always on, but for how long?

If Apple has gone to so much trouble to optimize the consumption of its screen is that it is usually the largest energy budget of a mobile device. Nevertheless, it is necessary to ask the question of the impact of this mode always on autonomy.

Over the course of our short week of use we have seen at the end of the day a lower percentage of battery less than the Series 4. Depending on the uses of the day – call management, sports activities (or types of activities: running, biking, swimming, etc.), streaming music, messaging interactions, etc., we found a variation of 5 to 15% of the amount of energy remaining when removing the Watch to recharge by compared to our habits.

Take several examples. After a very sedentary day and a classic use, the Series 5 battery showed a little less than 40%. In the same configuration, the Watch Series 4 won with about 50%. As soon as you increase the amount of physical activity you have in the day, the remaining battery difference can go up to 15% in favor of Series 4.

Ultimately, during our week, the most active days systematically left the Watch Series 5 in reserve mode – activatable as soon as the 20% threshold is reached. On the other hand, we have never been short, even at times it has taken little.

Of course, we do not talk about a day where we cumulate long sports outings and forget the iPhone, which requires 4G connection intensively. In this case, none of the Watch can do without recharging before bedtime …

The impact of thealways on So seems real even if it also depends a lot on your uses. On the other hand, the promise to keep the whole day (7h-23h) is held in cases of “reasonable” use. But you had not thought of the Series 5 for your next Iron Man, were you?

Anyway, punctually or permanently, it is possible to disable the permanent display. You will lose in comfort what you will gain in autonomy grappillée. On this subject, if we are happy that the loss is not greater, we can only regret that this generation is not synonymous with big gain in this area. To be honest, with around 23 hours of average autonomy, we have never been closer to the 18h announced by Apple, which is very little. Will the next step be to not have to charge the Watch every night?

A compass, for many uses

The other novelty of the Series 5 is a … compass. Once again we can keep a smile, however, this tiny novelty could have many uses in terms when the developers of applications will use it. For the moment, it will allow you not to go in the wrong direction out of the subway, for example. In Plans, a more or less wide “cone of confidence” shows the direction you are turning. A new reason to leave the iPhone at home. Beware, however, Apple says that watch bracelets that use a magnet to close, such as the Milanese loop for example, can produce interference, which will affect the accuracy of the compass.

In addition, the Series 5 features a barometric altimeter, which indicates the altitude difference during a walk or a race, or simply the altitude at which you are, with the help of Wi-Fi and / or cartographic data. Once again, we are far from the revolution, but we know that Apple likes to advance by technological stratum. A minor novelty may be essential later. Do not judge anything at a time when location in buildings is an increasingly important issue.

Your health will make noise

Since Series 2, Apple has fully assumed its goals in terms of well-being and health. This year, with the Series 5, Apple is attacking two new pillars. The first is the audition. The Series 5 is able to warn you when you are in a noisy environment for a long time. Not being particularly practical, it is a good way to become aware of what is inflicted on his ears. Nevertheless, we slip a flat and a regret. The first is that simply showering with your Watch may result in a noise alert. Not because you listen to music too loud but because the water probably hits the microphones and leads them to believe that there is a lot of ambient noise.

Side regret, we note that the Watch is not able to warn us when our AirPods or other Bluetooth headsets we inflict too many decibels – even as it emits music or can control the volume produced by the iPhone …With AirPods, which isolate very badly from the outside, it is common to have to push the volume to listen to a song or podcast in a subway train, for example. If the health of our ears is important, why not think to alert us?

The second pillar is not sleep, as suggested by some rumors but the monitoring of menstrual cycles. Data is entered from the iPhone Health app (date of last period, usual duration of rules and cycle, etc.) and then receives indications about the Watch to announce the rules or predict fertility periods, etc. . The interface is clear and the planning is easy to understand. This could make life easier for many women.

Always in the heart …

Of course, we always find the second generation heart sensor, which reacts more precisely to the variations of your heart when you do fractional for example. In this area, the Watch does not have much to blush from the competition of sports watches. The ECG, the electrocardiogram is of course always in the game, even if it is very unlikely that you will ever need it.

And of course, for those who have not already opted for Nike Run Club, Runtastic, or Stravia, watchOS has an app dedicated to sports, from running to swimming, cycling or hiking. If you do not find your account in the activities already identified and then benefit from dedicated algorithms to measure your effort, you can still find your happiness among a long list of more generic activities.

With the help of watchOS 6, it’s also possible to track over a longer period of time your efforts to complete your three daily rings: lift number, calories burned and exercise minutes per day. According to all logic, you must lend yourself assiduously to this gamification of your daily life to find its interest. Nevertheless, the data collected by Health are sufficiently varied to deserve a regular look. You will find your VO2max, for example, or your progress during your workouts.

For older users, the most concerned or the most travelers, the Watch Series 5 of course continues to detect falls but it also expands the potential of international emergency calls. Thus, if you fall or feel unwell, you can, by pressing the button on the side of the Watch to warn both your referring contact but also the local relief in more than 150 countries.

And a new OS, watchOS 6

The Series 5 obviously benefits from new features introduced with watchOS 6, the new version of Apple’s operating system for its watch. We note the arrival of Audiobooks, the appearance of a calculator or dictaphone in addition to the app Compass, exclusive to the Series 5.

But watchOS 6 also introduces a major novelty that aims to cut a little more the umbilical cord that connects the Watch to the iPhone since its beginnings in 2015. It is now possible to download an application directly to the connected watch through an application App Store dedicated. Since there is no Touch ID or Face ID on the Watch, you will need to enter your password manually during the first purchase, either by writing it on the Watch screen or by using a keyboard. … that will appear on your iPhone. Fortunately the following purchases are validated by pressing twice on the side button of the Watch. Anyway, the arrival of the download kiosk has a positive effect on the Series 5: it doubles the onboard storage capacity. You can now count on 32 GB and not only 16 GB to store your favorite applications or music tracks.

Switch to Watch Series 5?

The Watch Series 5 has killed its elder Series 4. Like it, the Series 5 comes in two sizes, 40 and 44 mm with a larger screen than the Series 3 (38 and 42 mm), still sold from from 229 euros. These boxes are themselves available equipped with a GPS or a GPS and a cellular module (3G / 4G). Finally, they are available in four materials: aluminum and stainless steel, for the most common versions as well as ceramic (back) and titanium (a novelty) for the Watch Edition. The watches are no longer considered luxury products, but the latter two materials are extremely expensive and upscale. Titanium has the advantage of being both stronger and lighter than steel.To help you in this labyrinth of options, Apple has set up a Watch Studio on its website and in the Apple Store, which allows you to try and choose everything from case to bracelet.

However, it may be good to have some ideas of the prices charged. The lowest-priced Series 5 is sold at 449 dollars for the aluminum model, the first price in steel is set at 749 dollars – 799 dollars for the tested version, while the titanium watch is available from 849 euros … Always not scared? Count 1349 dollars for the ceramic finish. Not luxurious, but not cheap.

Nevertheless, the Watch Studio will not help you to know if the Series 5 is for you. If you own the Series 4, we would strongly advise you to pass your turn. Except that one of the novelties of the Series 5 is the panacea for you. If you own the Series 3, you can start thinking about going the extra mile, especially if having a larger screen and more information is important to you. But perhaps you could wait another year before moving on to an update. This Series 5 is a very nice fine tuning of the model that did not make you crack last year. And if you’re equipped with the Series 1 or 2, you should appreciate the solid gain in performance provided by the S5 chip, given to be identical to the S4, integrated in the Series 4.

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