Along with three new iPhones and a new iPad, Apple also unveiled its newest smartwatch at its launch event. As expected, the company’s new smartwatch is called the Apple Watch Series 5, and the biggest upgrade it brings forth is the Always-On Retina display. Its design remains the same, but it gets additional features, including a faster processor, customizable watch faces, and improved location tracking.
The Apple Watch Series 5 comes in Wi-Fi only and LTE variants, similar to its predecessor. It still features GPS, heart rate monitor, and ECG. The watch comes preloaded with watchOS 6.
Apple Watch Series 5 price in India, launch date
The Apple Watch Series 5 will be launched in India with a starting price of INR 40,990, and that’s for the Wi-Fi only variant. The price for the Wi-Fi + LTE variant will start at INR 49,990 in the country. The smartwatch will be available in a bunch of colors, including Brushed Titanium, Brushed Space Black, Gold, Silver, Space Grey, Space Black, Titanium, and White Ceramic.
The watch will be available for purchase starting September 20. Hermes and Nike+ edition of the Apple Watch Series 5 will be available starting September 20 and October 4.
The Cupertino-based brand has discontinued the Apple Watch Series 4, but it will continue selling the Apple Watch Series 3 at lower prices. The Apple Watch Series 3 will be available in India with a starting price of INR 20,990 for the Wi-Fi only variant, while the price will be INR 29,990 for the Wi-Fi + LTE variant.
Apple Watch Series 5 features & specifications
The Apple Watch has a design that’s exactly similar to that of last year’s watch from the company. There is a 1.78-inch LTPO OLED screen (448×368 pixels), which helps with the device’s new Always-On Retina display mode. This mode shows the watch face all the time, even when it is in the sleep state. This is similar to many Wear OS and Tizen-based smartwatches in the market The company has worked on the ambient light sensor, refresh rate (variable from 1Hz to 60Hz depending on the need), display driver, and power management IC to make Always On Display happen without affecting battery life too much. The screen, which can go as bright as 1000 nits, is covered by Sapphire Crystal glass and it supports 3D Touch.
The body of the base variant of the phone is made using Series 7000 aluminum, and it is water-resistant for up to 50 meters. You can get higher-priced variants if you desire the watch with stainless steel or titanium cases. Thanks to Apple Studio, customers in some markets can mix and match cases with watch bands that they like. The company has also implemented a way in which changing a watch band also automatically changes the watch face. The new titanium case option comes in two finishes: natural silver and space black. The stainless steel case will be available in Gold, Silver, and Space Black colorways, while the aluminum case of the watch will be available in Gold, Silver, and Space Grey. The Apple Watch Series 5 will be available in Hermes and Nike+ editions as well, and both of them get new color variants.
In terms of software, the Apple Watch Series 5 will run watchOS 6 out of the box. The Apple Watch Series 3 and the Apple Watch 4 will receive the watchOS 6 stable updates on September 19, while older watches (Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple Watch Series 2) will receive software updates later this fall. Upon detecting a fall, the watch can dial emergency numbers anywhere in the world. With watchOS 6, you get access to hundreds of new watch faces and customizations, Noise app, live radio, female menstrual cycle tracking, standalone App Store, enhanced Siri, Activity Trends, Animoji Stickers, and many more features.
In terms of hardware, the Apple Watch Series 5 uses the all-new S5 chipset which has two 64-bit CPU cores and a PowerVR GPU. There is no mention of RAM but the storage space has been bumped up from 16GB in previous versions of the smartwatch to 32GB in the new watch.
All Apple Watch Series 5 devices will feature an accelerometer, barometer, compass, gyro sensor, heart-rate monitor, and ECG (electrocardiogram). Connectivity features include Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, Wi-Fi b/g/n, and NFC. The LTE variant has an eSIM and it can connect to 4G networks for an active data connection even when it is not connected to an iPhone. The NFC chip is used for making Apple Pay payments at compatible PoS (Point of Sale) machines.
The 292mAh battery can be last 18 hours on a single charge, complete with the Always On Display mode. If the Always On Display mode is turned off, the watch can easily last two days. It can be wirelessly charged using a bundled Qi wireless charger.
