Computer Shopper - UK (2020-01)

ISSUE383|COMPUTERSHOPPER|JANUARY2020 43

SPECIFICATIONS

EVENBYAPPLE’Sconservative standards,
the Apple WatchSeries 5isasmall update.
Besides extra storage space,amagnetic
compass and an upgraded altimeter,the
biggest change between this and the Series 4
(Shopper371) is the always-on display.
When you’re not looking directly at the
watch, the displaydimsand thedata shown
on complications and during workouts
refreshes more slowly.Turn your wrist, and it
brightens instantly.However,for now,this
feature only works on the main watch face
and Apple’s Workout app.With other apps,
the displayblurs andasimple digital time is
shown when not in use.
The design is otherwise largely unchanged,
with no difference in weight between the
GPS-only and GPS+Cellular variants. The
aluminium watch weighs 30.8g forthe 40mm
model without astrap,and 36.5g forthe
44mm, with both measuring 10.7mm thick –
slightly slimmer than the 11.4mm Apple Watch
Series 3, but no different to the Series 4. As
before,the newWatch can also only pair with
iPhones; Android support remains missing.

PATHFINDER’S KEEPERS
If you ever use the Apple Watchtonavigate
your wayaround town, the new compass
should prove avery useful addition. Instead of
the simple blue dot showing your position in
the Maps app,you can now
see which direction you’re
facing, making following
routes much easier.
Apple has also tweaked ittts
Health smartphone app to
be better at showing
useful information at a
glance,with anew
summary section of your
day, andhighlightsof
your recent activity,
including recent
workouts. It would be
nice to see some of this
data make its wayonto
the Watchitself; it would
be great to be able to
view recent workouts in
detail from your wrist.
When it comes to
sports tracking, you can pickkk
from basically any app you
want to use on the Watchitself.
Strava,Nike+ Run Club,
Endomondo and many moreeeare

APPLEWatchSeries5

★★★★★

£399•www.apple.com/uk

VERDICT

TheAppleWatchSeries5isthebest
smartwatchoutthere,ifonlyforiPhoneusers

SMARTWATCH

all there,which is

one of the great

strengths of Apple

compared to its

rivals. However,

since the always-on

screen is only

available in the native

Workouts app,that’s

the one most people will

use,and it’s farfrom peeerfect.

The GPS tracking, in particular,

is where the Workout aaapp stumbles,

with corners being ‘smoooothed’ and

sections of runs being mmmiiisssssseeedddeeennntttiiirrreeelllyyyaaattt

times. Indeed, during one 30km run that

included only six turns, the Watchcut 0.8km

from the totaldistance.

However,wefound that this happened

only when the Watchwas piggybacking off

our smartphone’s GPS. When we turned off

Bluetooth, or leftthe phonebehind, the

Watch’sdistance readings matched up well

with aGarmin running watch linked to a

calibrated footpod. The heart-ratemonitor is

also extremely accurate, logging readings

within abeat or two of achest strap.

Another complaint is that the Workout

app still won’t interface with other apps such

as Strava natively.You can get around this

through the use of athird-party app such as

RRRuuunnnGGGaaappp,,,wwwhich you have to payfor,

but you rrreally shouldn’t need to.

LOOK NO HANDS

Howevvver,the always-onscreen

works well, dimming and

reeeducing the amount of

iiinfoshown when you’re

not looking directly at

it –the workout

duration doesn’t show

milliseconds, for

example.This is amajor

improvement, because

during exercise it’s not

always easy to turn and

hold the screen in place

forasecond to wake it

up.Whether you’re

running, cycling or

hhholding aplank position,

beiiing able to glance at the

screennnfrom any angle is a

major plllus.

Appleeehas expanded its

health-tracking features with

watchOS 6byadding in both menstrual

health tracking and anoise monitor. The latter

is useful in showing the decibel level of the

environment you’re in, and whether it poses

arisk to your hearing. Youcan also access

adedicated App Store directly from the

Watchitself,although it’s generally easier

to search and browse with asmartphone’s

larger screen and keyboard.

The Apple Watch5has the same 64-bit

dual-core processor as the Series 4–although

confusingly,it’s been renamed as an S5 chip

–and it’s brilliantly smooth and fast to use at

all times. Switching between apps is snappy,

and even when tracking arun with music

playing from the Watch, therewas no lag

when jumping between apps.

LONG STORYSHORT

Battery life, unfortunately,takes ahit, most

probably because of the always-on display.

Both the Series 4and Series 5claim 18 hours

of use,but we foundthe newer model drains

faster: at the end of aday we’d usually end

up with 40-50% charge leftonthe Series 4,

but only 30-35% on the Series 5. Nightly

recharges are anecessity,which is

unfortunateconsidering how many

smartwatches can go fordaysatatime.

At least this battery lifedrop is in service

of abetter user experience.Apple might not

have made sweeping changes to the Series 5,

but it has made some genuine improvements

to what was already agreat blueprint.

NickHarris-Fry

PEDOMETERYes•HEART-RATEMONITORYes•DISPLAY

SIZE1.78in•RESOLUTION448x368•OSSUPPORTiOS•

BATTERYLIFE18hours•WARRANTYOneyearRTB•

DETAILSwww.apple.com/uk•PARTCODEAppleWatch

Series5