Image: Apple · source
Apple Watch Series 5
The screen finally stays on, with a built-in compass.
Overview
Series 5 kept the Series 4 body but made one change everyone noticed: the display no longer turned off. A low-temperature LTPO panel could drop its refresh rate to one hertz, so the time and complications remained visible all day without ruining battery life.
A magnetometer provided a compass, and international emergency calling let the cellular models reach local services in more than 150 countries. The S5 chip was close to the S4 in speed, but it enabled the new display behaviour.
Apple expanded the materials as well. Titanium and ceramic joined aluminium and steel, and the Apple Watch Studio let buyers mix cases and bands online. Storage doubled to 32 GB on the premium metals.
Why it mattered
Made the always-on display standard on Apple Watch, a feature that every later flagship model kept.
At a glance
- Announced
- September 10, 2019
- Released
- September 20, 2019
- Discontinued
- September 15, 2020
- Launch price
- $399
- Chip / processor
- Apple S5
- Display
- 1.57" / 1.78"
- Storage
- 32GB
- Status
- Discontinued
Highlights
- Always-on LTPO display
- Built-in compass
- International emergency calling
- Titanium and ceramic cases
- Apple Watch Studio launched
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Display
- Case sizes
- 40 mm and 44 mm
- Type
- Always-On LTPO OLED Retina
- Brightness
- 1,000 nits
- Resolution
- 324 x 394 (40 mm), 368 x 448 (44 mm)
Chip
- Chip
- Apple S5 64-bit dual-core
Memory
- Storage
- 32GB
Health
- Sensors
- Electrical heart sensor (ECG), optical heart sensor, compass, barometric altimeter, accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor
Battery
- Battery life
- Up to 18 hours
Connectivity
- Cellular
- Optional LTE and UMTS with eSIM
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz)
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 5.0
- GPS
- GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS
Design
- Materials
- Aluminium, stainless steel, titanium, ceramic
- Water resistance
- 50 metres
- Dimensions
- 40 x 34 x 10.7 mm (40 mm); 44 x 38 x 10.7 mm (44 mm)
Software
- Launch OS
- watchOS 6
- Maximum OS
- watchOS 10
