Chris Velazco / Engadget
While Apple says that most people who buy one of its smart watches are new, most of our user reviewers had experience with other brands or older versions of the Apple Watch. Series 1 owner Michael waited five years to update and said he couldn’t be happier with the decision. He noted that “the addition of cellular connectivity in Series 3, the larger display and Series 4 ECG, combined with the Series 5 always-on display finally brought all the pieces together into one watch.” Similarly, Mary said that “she went from Series 3 to Series 5 and I am not disappointed. The 3 has enough to make it easy to sell and put towards 5. ”
Kyuu was more reserved, saying the watch was much lighter than Samsung’s alternatives and that “the basics are fine, and that says a lot after the number of smartwatches I’ve used.” However, Jeff was not impressed: he had Series 2 and it was updated, but it changed again after two months “because the monitoring of the AW5 heart rate is much worse. The AW2 measurements match my Polaris chest strap well, and the AW5 can’t read my heart rate most of the time. “
Chris Velazco / Engadget
When it comes to battery life, Dana found out that she met the 18-hour claim. It got up to 21 hours, while our mobile editor Chris Velazco did it for 24 hours on one occasion. The consensus among our users was less positive. Kyuu said the battery life was poor and that spending the day “was not a fact.” He noted that “it is a double problem because the standard charger sometimes cannot fully charge it and can leave it at only 40 percent.” Jody said he wished the battery life would be better, as “I’ve hardly ever run out of charge before bed, although I’ve gotten close several times.” And Michael claimed that the battery life of his 5 Series was impressive, although he did not detail how long it lasted or what he was using the watch for.
Other hardware notes: Mary was the only one to mention the always-on display, which she loved for the ability to quickly check the time. Michael mentioned the 64-bit processor and said its responsiveness “makes comments and app launches feel more like you’re using the latest iPhone, not something as small and weak as a watch.” Kyuu expressed her opinion on the strap, declaring it very comfortable.
Chris Velazco / Engadget
When it came to the software side of the device, there were more positives than negatives. Kyuu liked “daily tasks, notifications and monitoring of health work as promised.” He also had positive experiences with Apple Pay, saying that “Making payments is very easy and now I pay almost everything with the watch, it is reliable and fast.” He also found the health monitoring to be “clear and easy to use,” but was disappointed that “training detection is also unreliable.” He could have walked for hours before realizing he could be walking. I have to remember to use it manually, a minor inconvenience. “Meanwhile, Mary, who loved Audible’s ability to listen to books in her Series 5, said that what really convinced her to buy it was the drop alert, as it has spilled several times.
Kyuu and Jeff were the only ones to point out serious drawbacks. Jeff declared Series 5 to be a “disappointing update”, while Kyuu felt the emphasis on all icons and no text was a disadvantage. “I often end up launching several applications in a row until I find the one I need. The icons are somewhat logical, but not perfect. Maybe they make more sense to someone who’s been in the Apple zone longer. ”
Chris Velazco / Engadget
However, Kyuu also said that the watch “mostly does what was promised.” Jody said that for its uses, the watch works very well. Michael was more effusive in stating that “the initial promise of what the Apple Watch could be finally came true with the 5 Series” and “improvements make the new Apple Watch feel like a whole new device, not just an upgrade. “
