ALWAYS-ON DISPLAY
Though identical in design to the Series 4,
Apple took the opportunity with the Apple
Watch Series 5 to introduce an all-new always-
on display, using a lower power (LTPO) OLED
screen that lasts the whole day. To allow for
the new always-on display, Apple introduced
a bunch of new watch face options which
offer users the ability to see the time and their
complications, and these faces are optimized
to preserve battery life, intelligently dimming
when moving the wrist down using an ambient
light sensor on the front face of the watch. Of
course, this new technology can be disabled
permanently or temporarily if required, which is
useful in settings such as movie theaters where
you would not want a glaring white screen.
Always-on displays aren’t new in the
smartwatch industry, with Samsung
introducing the feature on its Galaxy Watch
and some Gear watches several years ago.
They introduced the technology to show a
permanent clock, like a real watch, although
warn on their user manuals that “using the
Always-On feature will increase battery
consumption significantly.” Apple’s new
technology, on the other hand, has no effect
on battery life, with Apple Watch Series 5 still
offering an “all-day” 18-hour battery life, the
same as previous models. What’s more, Apple’s
always-on display allows users to stay up to
date with their activities, with Apple Watch
automatically showing constant workout
information on your display when it detects
you’re taking part in a workout, further
incentivizing users to push themselves.