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Apple Technology

Apple Watch Series 5 Has An Always-On Display, Comes In Titanium or Ceramic Finishes (theverge.com) 68

Posted by BeauHD from the new-and-shiny dept.
Before launching the new iPhones today, Apple announced the next-gen Apple Watch Series 5, featuring an always-on display, compass, emergency calling for international countries, and recycled aluminum or titanium finishes. It starts at $399 for the GPS model and $499 for the cellular connected version. The Verge reports: Apple says the Series 5 watch maintains the prior model's 18-hour battery life, even with the new always-on screen, thanks to a new low-temperature polysilicone and oxide display and low-power display driver. Watchfaces and workouts have been redesigned to take advantage of the new display option. The screen will be in a low-brightness mode until you move your wrist, where it will switch to full brightness in a similar fashion to how the current model turns on when your wrist is moved. In addition to the new always-on display feature, the Apple Watch Series 5 is now available in a recycled aluminum or titanium finishes. The stainless steel and ceramic options from prior models are also available. Apple says this is the widest number of finishes ever for the Apple Watch. You can order one starting today and they will be in stores starting on September 20th.
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Apple Watch Series 5 Has An Always-On Display, Comes In Titanium or Ceramic Finishes More

Apple Watch Series 5 Has An Always-On Display, Comes In Titanium or Ceramic Finishes

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  • The always-on display is a bit more complex than "low-brightness mode".

    • Polysilicone? Did they give it double Ds?
      Perhaps they meant polysilicon.

  • 18 hours ??? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Alain Williams ( 2972 ) <addw@phcomp.co.uk> on Tuesday September 10, 2019 @07:13PM (#59179030) Homepage

    How useless is that ? Just think of all the times when you are away/doing-something and you won't be able to find a charging point.

    • Yeah, my crappy Versa has a four day battery life and helps me track sleep.

      • Yeah, my crappy Versa has a four day battery life and helps me track sleep.

        And as you say, it's "Crappy".

        This isn't.

    • Re:18 hours ??? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Tuesday September 10, 2019 @07:28PM (#59179082)

      How useless is that ? Just think of all the times when you are away/doing-something and you won't be able to find a charging point.

      Well... if you have a regular 24 hour sleep/wake cycle, this leaves 6 hours when you should be sleeping for 8 hours. Presumably the watch will be charging during that time. I, however, often stay up longer than 24 hours, and routinely longer than 18 hours, so I would have to be sans watch during some of my uptime, making this watch not "useless" but certainly problematic.

      Thankfully, I haven't worn a watch in about 35 years (I'm 56) and the one I have is a self-winding one. More to the point, who needs a watch anymore? The time can be found just about anywhere... I get that "smart watches" are really more an extension of your cell phone, but don't get needing one over simply using your cell phone, especially given the limitations of the device.

      • Some, including the Apple watch, can detect severe heartbeat problems and warn you/others. That's a damn nice feature. Apple watch also has a fall detection system; very nice if you are a caregiver.

        • Apple watch also has a fall detection system; very nice if you are a caregiver.

          Can it detect Winter, Spring and Summer too? :-)

        • Some, including the Apple watch, can detect severe heartbeat problems and warn you/others. That's a damn nice feature. Apple watch also has a fall detection system; very nice if you are a caregiver.

          I don't want to live a more connected lifestyle. Especially not my vital signs.

          • Some, including the Apple watch, can detect severe heartbeat problems and warn you/others. That's a damn nice feature. Apple watch also has a fall detection system; very nice if you are a caregiver.

            I don't want to live a more connected lifestyle. Especially not my vital signs.

            Say that when you have a loved-one (or yourself) with a heart-condition.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

              Some, including the Apple watch, can detect severe heartbeat problems and warn you/others. That's a damn nice feature. Apple watch also has a fall detection system; very nice if you are a caregiver.

              I don't want to live a more connected lifestyle. Especially not my vital signs.

              Say that when you have a loved-one (or yourself) with a heart-condition.

              Yeah, that's one question I'm going to have to ask my cardiologist. It looks nice, though I think my condition wouldn't benefit from it. Things like AFib and such

            • Say that when you have a loved-one (or yourself) with a heart-condition.

              Okay, I will tell a loved one with a heart condition that I, myself, do not want to wear a device that monitors my heart.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Cyberax ( 705495 )

        Well... if you have a regular 24 hour sleep/wake cycle, this leaves 6 hours when you should be sleeping for 8 hours.

        Unless you're traveling or maybe just working a long shift.

        • I travel extensively for work. Somehow I figured out a system where I bring a little bag on trips with spare clothes, some toiletries, and a few charging cables for things like a watch, my phone, etc. To be fair I don’t really work out of an office anymore, but I bet those things still have outlets.

      • Re:18 hours ??? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by damnbunni ( 1215350 ) on Tuesday September 10, 2019 @07:48PM (#59179146) Journal

        I use a Pebble Time, which lasts well over a week on a charge. (With an always-on screen, at that.) It tracks sleep patterns, which it wouldn't be able to do if I had to take it off to charge every night.

        I originally got it on sale cheap and wasn't sure what use it would be, but now not having it drives me nuts. Especially since my phone is on the large side, and usually in my bag or on my desk, not my pocket.

        It's a lot more convenient to just look at my wrist to get the time, or see what that text message was, or dismiss a call instead of pulling out my phone to do it. Being able to respond to texts from the watch is useful, too.

        • This makes me miss my Google Glass. When working properly it was just an eyeball move to see/dismiss new messages or get the time. While it was clunky, it was version 1... I'm so pissed they stopped working on it for consumers!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by _merlin ( 160982 )

        I definitely wouldn't want to go diving without a watch, and when running or cycling it's far more convenient to be able to glance at my wrist than fish my phone out. Seiko Kinetic is great - the benefits of a quartz watch with the battery being charged by normal wrist movement.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by antdude ( 79039 )

        Everywhere? Ha. I don't even like pulling my iPhone 4S just to check the date and time. I can look at my wrist with an old school Casio Data Bank 150 watch for the quick glance.

      • "who needs a watch anymore?"

        Using a SmartWatch to keep time is like using a smart phone to make phone calls. Sure that's a valuable function, but your're wasting your money if that's the only use you get from it.

    • Re:18 hours ??? (Score:4, Informative)

      by elohssa ( 317266 ) on Tuesday September 10, 2019 @08:15PM (#59179198)

      I have a series 4. I generally only charge it while I shower and dress. Unless you go without electricity for days at a time, battery life is not an issue.

    • I will be curious to hear from the early adopters what kind of battery life they actually get with the Series 5. In my experience, Apple's battery life estimates have turned out to be extremely conservative.

      I've got a Series 1 Apple Watch - it's just about three years old now. I generally put it on early (6:30-7:00am on workdays; somewhat later on weekends) and take it off some time after midnight. When I do put it on the charger, typically it's still got about 50% charge left - and that's a three-year-old

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by I4ko ( 695382 )

        Still pretty laughable.

        My Suunto - with always on color display, with always on backlight and all time heart rate is being charged once a week. When I go on a 7 day business trip I don't carry the charge cable - I charge it before I leave and after I come back. I can even track a 2-3 hour hike every day with medium GPS+GLONASS accuracy (1 sample per second, location chips powered 50% of the time.)

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Guspaz ( 556486 )

          The Suunto 5 is rated for 40 hours of battery life. The Apple Watch is rated for 18 hours of battery life. Both obviously last longer than their rated capacity. I get around two and a half days of real-world usage out of my Apple Watch.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by I4ko ( 695382 )

            Suunto Spartan series

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Guspaz ( 556486 )

              That watch would appear to cost 2-3x as much as an Apple Watch, and is roughly 1.5x thicker and weighs 1.5x as much. It also achieves its full battery life by disabling a bunch of features. It's not clear to me exactly which features are disabled for which modes. The advertised 14-day battery life is supposedly achieved in "time-only" mode. This sounds analogous to the Apple Watch's "Power Reserve" mode (where the Apple Watch shuts off all functionality except showing the time), which I'd estimate should ne

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by I4ko ( 695382 )

                That watch costs about half the apple watch! You can get it for $330 on promotions and those are available very often.Last time I checked the apple watch starts at $430.
                Most of time I run it will all features enabled (gps tracking is separte) and it still is good for 7 to 10 days. The pedometer, sleep analyzer, temperature and barometric pressure sensors are running all the time for example. As is backlight if you set it so. Bluetooth also runs alls the time except when you select airplane mode, which I don

    • How useless is that ? Just think of all the times when you are away/doing-something and you won't be able to find a charging point.

      In reality thaty said the kept the battery life the same, which means more lthan 18 hours...

      In reality I have had the watch go nearly two full workdays before.

      It's not like your phone is going to be going much longer so if there's really a time you are somewhere more than 18 hours without a plug you can just use one of a million USB charging bricks.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by I4ko ( 695382 )

        2 days is idiotic. If I turn off the always on backlight on my Suunto and don't record gps tracks it makes 15 days easy with 17% battery to spare. If I put it in battery saver mode it does to almost 20 days. ...

        • I'm glad you enjoy your more limited watch, but two days is not ididic at all for most people. As someone mentioned, you can just charge it while you shower and dress and that's pretty much enough even if you do not charge it overnight. Even though I COULD wear the Apple Watch in the shower why would you?

    • LOL, 18 hours. How you going to track sleep, your heart rate/EKG if it isn't on your wrist. My Samsung G3 frontier, gets 3-4 days battery life, tracks sleep, heart rate (no, it doesn't do the ekg). And it didn't cost anywhere near the price of the apple watch. AND it has a ROUND dial.
      • Apple does not always do EKG either. They give a notification if the conventional heart rate sensor sees a rate that is atypical for your current activity level and prompts you to run one. It is convenient since you touch the crown with a finger on your other hand, but it will not help you if you are asleep.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Jaegs ( 645749 )

      Hi! Apple Watch 3 owner, here. I simply charge my watch while getting ready in the morning--about a 45 minutes or so--and that's almost always enough time to top it off for use through the entire day, including workouts and sleep tracking.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Guspaz ( 556486 )

      In the real world, I get 2.5 days of battery life out of my Apple Watch Series 2, and could stretch it to 3 by using low-power mode for the third day. Considering that I charge my watch/phone every night, that is plenty of battery life. It even allows me to forget to charge my watch up to two nights in a row. I have never once ran out of battery on my watch after three years of use.

  • I'm looking at smart watches, just do not like a square watch body...

  • The screen will be in a low-brightness mode until you move your wrist, where it will switch to full brightness in a similar fashion to how the current model turns on when your wrist is moved.

    Okay, I don't have one of these and haven't seen one, but what do they actually mean, 'cause I "move my wrist" all the time. Seems like this would then be on (or at full brightness) all the time ...

    • It means move your wrist into a position that the watch thinks is a position in which you are looking at it. I don't have one either (don't want one), but from what I've observed, the watch is pretty good at this.
      • (apple watch wearer here) Kind of.... as long as you wear your watch the way that apple thinks you should. My main request would be to be able to turn *off* the touch sensitivity of the screen. I activate it all the time unknowingly and seem to always end up accidentally changing my carefully customized face to the Micky Mouse watch face :) I also find that when listening to music (by far the best feature of the watch) if I clasp my hands behind me (good for my old back) I end up changing the song, or ch

    • Re:"move your wrist"? (Score:4, Funny)

      by sexconker ( 1179573 ) on Tuesday September 10, 2019 @07:50PM (#59179156)

      Okay, I don't have one of these and haven't seen one, but what do they actually mean, 'cause I "move my wrist" all the time.

      Good news. You'll stop caring about the display brightness as soon as you go blind from all that wrist action.

  • I like Apple (Score:5, Informative)

    by Ryzilynt ( 3492885 ) on Tuesday September 10, 2019 @07:52PM (#59179160)

    I had the original watch when it first came out. I broke it by smashing the face into a steel girder , it was a freak accident. I haven't even discussed a replacement with the wife since. She also has an apple watch, wears it every day still , series 1.

    The 18 hour battery life has been around since the beginning. It's usually just fine. As for not having a charging port near you, well, that applies to just about everything. If the battery gets too low it switches to "reserve" mode and you can still see the time. Apparently the advancements in battery tech have all gone directly into more consumption i.e. faster processor , bigger screen etc. If you had the original watch functionality with today's battery I would guess you could get 3 or more days out of it.

    When you turn your wrist towards your face or when you lift your arm toward your face is when the display activates, or on this newer version i guess it brightens.

    The series 5 with cellular and a set of air pods could effectively replace your phone for most day to day requirements.

    You can also load a crap ton directly to internal storage , songs, pod casts, photos. etc.

    Running , in the rain , listening to your favorite playlist bluetoothed to your airpods, while monitoring heart rate, tracking your run, and taking a phone call all without a phone, is where this watch shines.

    • >"When you turn your wrist towards your face or when you lift your arm toward your face is when the display activates, or on this newer version i guess it brightens."

      Yep. Same thing I had on my Moto 360.1 in 2015. And I had always-on display will full-day battery on my Moto 360.2 in 2016, and retain in my year-old Samsung Gear S3 Classic.

      I love having the always-on display. And since all my smart watches are round, and have analog faces that are well-done, everyone thinks they are "real" watches.

      • >"When you turn your wrist towards your face or when you lift your arm toward your face is when the display activates, or on this newer version i guess it brightens."

        Yep. Same thing I had on my Moto 360.1 in 2015. And I had always-on display will full-day battery on my Moto 360.2 in 2016, and retain in my year-old Samsung Gear S3 Classic.

        I love having the always-on display. And since all my smart watches are round, and have analog faces that are well-done, everyone thinks they are "real" watches.

        /golf clap

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by _merlin ( 160982 )

      As for not having a charging port near you, well, that applies to just about everything.

      Not my trusty Seiko Kinetic SCUBA - all the benefits of a quartz watch, but the battery charges from normal wrist movement. Plus I can go diving and surfing with it. It's pretty tough so I don't have to worry about breaking it too much, but even if i do, it's not ridiculously expensive to replace.

  • I used to have a watch with a battery that would last around 50,000 hours, but I got rid of that watch because replacing the battery every 5-6 years was too inconvenient. Now I have a watch with a solar panel that charges the battery and lasts basically forever.

    18 hours for a watch? The only way that is acceptable is to redefine what a watch is, which is what Apple has done with the use cases for the watch and the marketing for the watch. It's only a watch in name and marketing, but it's really a miniatu

  • The last thing I want is another screen on my wrist. Ugh. And they're ugly as hell. And, in case your phone doesn't do it enough, these manage to send back even MORE personal data back to Big Brother.

    I like my regular watch, thanks.

  • Sat behind a lady a few months ago in a movie theatre and every time she moved her arm her fucking watch would light up like a bright spot light. Cell phone usage is bad enough in theatres now we have to put up with this shit too?

  • My iWatch 3 has gone 2 days. 18 hours is bare minimum for me, and a significant drop from my current model.

    • No it’s not a drop. Your watch is also advertised as having the 18 hour battery. Apple is always conservative, because frankly nobody complains if you over deliver but peo0le sure do it you fall a bit short.

  • I had the original Apple watch when it launched, only because my wife decided to stay up that night and get in on the initial frenzy of orders to get me one as an anniversary gift. I wore that one for years, feeling guilty about reselling it and upgrading since it had the sentimental value and all. But by the time the third generation of watches were released, I decided it had to go. The newer ones were SO much faster and more capable.

    This third gen. watch has been fine for my needs, all in all. I bought

    • That's strange. I got the charging glitch with my old S0, but never with my current S3.

      I agree that the always-on will be good, as long as I can still go 1-2 days without charging.

  • So instead of adding more battery life they come out with lower power display but turn it on always? Like nobody asked for that. They just want more battery life. What is wrong with these companies. Put a slightly bigger battery in and lower display power usage. Nobody cares about always on display.

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