The Apple Watch Series 4, which came out a year ago, was a major improvement over prior models of the Apple Watch. That model of the watch added significant new features such as a larger screen with more of the screen used to display graphics and significant speed increases that made the watch much more usable, plus other useful features like the EKG monitor. It was such an improvement that I didn’t expect Apple to update the Apple Watch at all this year. The only significant feature that I could see Apple adding was the ability to have a watch face always displayed on the watch, but folks have been asking for that since the very first Apple Watch, and while the feature seemed inevitable, there were no rumors or other indications that Apple was anywhere close to adding that long-requested feature.
Well surprise, surprise. This week, Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 5, and the marquee new feature is a display that is always on. It’s nice to see that Apple hasn’t lost the ability to surprise and delight its customers. Here are some thoughts on this new feature as well as the other changes.
I want to wake up with an Apple Watch that never sleeps
Ever since the Apple Watch first came out in 2015, that device preserved battery power by having the display turn off when you were not using the watch. And it is pretty aggressive about it. Often, I am still looking at something on the screen when it goes black, and then I need to tap the screen to see it again.
Moreover, using an Apple Watch since 2015 has always meant that you have to move your wrist to let the watch know that it should turn on. Sometimes this just means raising your wrist, which works fine. But often my arm is already resting on a desk, and just turning my wrist slightly isn’t enough to turn on the watch. I need to jerk my wrist to get it to turn on — and often that doesn’t work the first time — or I need to tap the screen. This is only a minor annoyance, but if you are like me and look at your watch many dozens of time a day to check the time, see a notification, etc., those multiple minor annoyance can add up.
Moreover, sometimes you are in a situation in which the need to turn on the screen prevents you from using the watch at all. I’m often in a meeting with another person when I want to quickly see the time, but tapping the screen, raising my wrist, or jerking my wrist are all obvious actions that convey to the other person that I’m no longer paying attention. To avoid being perceived as rude, I’m unable to find out what time it is. Having a display that is always on would solve this; I could just quickly glance at the watch face without moving any part of my body other than my eyeballs.
So how is Apple keeping the display on without ruining battery life? Apple has done a number of things to make this feature possible. First, Apple has a brand new display and new computing technology behind the display that allows the watch to switch from a 60Hz refresh rate when you are actively using the watch (the screen is refreshed 60 times each second) all the way down to 1Hz when you are not using it (the screen updates only once each second). Apple hasn’t touted any other advantage of the new S5 chip in the Series 5 Apple Watch, so I don’t know if it makes the watch faster or better in any other way other than the always-on display.
Second, the Apple Watch dims when it isn’t being used — bright enough to be seen, but not as bright as when you are actively using the watch.
Third, the Apple Watch will modify what is on the screen, reducing some of the unnecessary elements (such as a moving second hand) so that only the essentials of the watch face that you are using are on the screen. After all, the OLED screen on an Apple Watch completely turns off pixels when they are black, so by keeping only a small portion of the screen some color other than black, minimal power is used. Click here to see an animation from Apple showing what this looks like.
I’ll need to try it to see how well it works, but I love that Apple has worked so hard to make this feature possible. If this feature works well, it has the potential to be a very major improvement to the Apple Watch.
Compass
Although far less significant, another new feature of the Series 5 Apple Watch is that it now has a built-in compass, just like the iPhone.
Unless you are a Boy Scout, you probably won’t spend much time using the Compass app itself, but this feature makes the Maps app and similar apps more useful because your watch knows which direction you are facing.
International Emergency Calling
If you hold down the button on the side of your watch for a while, an Apple Watch can call 9-1-1 in the United States. And if the watch detects that you have fallen and you can’t get up or are in an accident, the Apple Watch can even call 9-1-1 on its own. The Series 5 model adds the ability to call a 9-1-1 type service around the world, so your Apple Watch can help you stay safe even when you are traveling around the globe.
New materials
Since the very first Apple Watch, you have been able to purchase a model with a case made of aluminum or stainless steel. Aluminum is lighter and less expensive, but I’ve always liked the look of stainless steel. This year, Apple adds two more materials: white ceramic, a material that Apple has offered in the past with the Apple Watch, and titanium, a material that is new to the Apple Watch but has long been an option for many traditional watches. And you can get different colors of the three of those materials. Aluminum comes in silver, gold, or space gray; stainless steel comes in regular, gold, or space black; and titanium comes in normal or space black.
Here is what the titanium looks like:
There are different prices for each material. For example, if you want a 44mm Apple Watch with cellular, the price is $529 for aluminum, $699 for stainless steel, $799 for titanium, and $1,299 for white ceramic.
If you get the aluminum model, you can save $100 if you opt for the version that doesn’t have cellular. For the other three materials, Apple only sells models with cellular. And if the smaller 40mm size is better for your wrist, you can save money by getting the 40mm version instead of the 44mm version: $30 less for aluminum and $50 less for the other three materials.
I’ll be curious to see what the titanium model looks and feels like. Apple says that it is lighter than stainless steel but twice as strong.
I have seen the white ceramic before; I was at a business dinner years ago and an attorney from New York was wearing the white ceramic model with a white sport band on her wrist, and it looked very fashionable. I don’t see myself ever paying the higher cost for the ceramic model, but it is really nice.
Mix and match
Another change this year is that you choose almost any band when you purchase an Apple Watch. In the past, if you opted to get a Sport Band (one of Apple’s cheapest bands), you could often only choose between white and black even though Apple sells many other colors. This year, Apple is letting you select almost any band that it sells to match with the body and color that you select. On the Apple Website, Apple calls this option “create your own style.” If you walk into an Apple Store, a sales assistant will help you to select each item individually.
I say “almost” any band because the Hermès bands can only be purchased with the stainless steel body and the Nike bands can only be purchased with the aluminum body.
Conclusion
The original Apple Watch was a breakthrough but had lots of compromises. As new models have been released over the past four years, Apple has addressed many of the major complaints. This year’s addition of the always-on display addresses one of the last major complaints about the Apple Watch. I’ve ordered one of the new models (Apple is taking pre-orders now, and the Series 5 Apple Watch will be available on September 20), and I look forward to putting this new feature through its paces to see how well it works. I’ll let you know.