Macworld - USA (2019-12-B)

82 MACWORLD DECEMBER 2019

FEATURE REVIEW: APPLE WATCH SERIES 5

need to take the bulky puck charger with
me. And even throughout a normal day, it
was always on my mind, unlike the Fitbit
Versa 2, which can last for days.
Slight adjustments easily added hours
to Apple’s estimates, but nothing
compared to its peers. All things being
relatively equal (notifications and
continuous heart rate on, a 20-minute
workout, automatic sleep tracking, and
various other apps in typical use), I was
able to push the battery to a full 24 hours
of straight use, either by turning the
always-on display off, or by leaving it on
and turning off raise to wake. When I used
it in the default settings—with always-on
and raise to wake active—I got around 20
hours of use. Even with all of the display

features turned off, I only got to 36 hours

of battery life, far less than what Fitbit and

Samsung watches deliver.

But nowhere is the Apple Watch’s

battery life more aggravating than while

sleeping. Apple doesn’t offer native sleep

tracking on the Apple Watch, a feature I

assume is coming with Series 6. Much like

the always-on display, Apple isn’t going to

deliver half-baked sleep tracking, nor is it

going to help third-party developers

deliver a good experience.

I used Sleep++ (go.macworld.com/

seep), and it did an okay job, but it’s

nowhere near as accurate or

comprehensive as Fitbit’s Sleep Stages.

The watch quit twice during my sleep

because I didn’t check the battery level.

And when I forgot to turn on Do Not

Disturb and Theater Mode, the watch

woke me up in the middle of the night. So,

while you are able to use the Series 5

Apple Watch to track your sleep, but if

that’s your main reason for buying it, you

might want to look at the Versa 2 instead.

HAVE APP STORE, WILL

TRAVEL

If sleep tracking isn’t important, however, the

Apple Watch Series 5 is basically the perfect

smartwatch. Along with the fall detection and

ECG sensor that came with the Series 4

watch, WatchOS 6 introduces several new

apps and watch faces that add to the

The Apple Watch Series 5 (bottom) is slightly
thinner than the Series 3 but has the same
battery life.