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Home / Hot Stuff / Wearables / The Apple Watch Series 5 has an always-on Retina display

The Apple Watch Series 5 has an always-on Retina display

But it doesn’t come at the expense of battery life

We love the Apple Watch Series 4. Not only is it comfortably the best smartwatch, but it can quite literally save your life. Series 5 isn’t quite such a dramatic upgrade, but its always-on display does make it easier to stealthily check how much longer you have to sit in a boring meeting. Watch faces and complications are designed to compliment the new display, so everything you need is at a glance. You’d be forgiven for worrying that battery life – hardly the Watch’s biggest strength as it is – will take a hit, but Apple assures us that it will still last ‘all day’. Series 5 also gains a built-in compass, as well as the ability to make emergency international calls. Running on watchOS 6, which brings new watch faces and improved activity tracking among other new features, it’s hard to see Apple’s wearable getting knocked off its perch anytime soon. It will be available in the traditional aluminum and stainless steel variants, with ceramic and titanium cases also available. Prices for the GPS-only model start at £399.

Profile image of Matt Tate Matt Tate Contributor

About

I'm fascinated by all things tech, but if you were going to leave me on a desert island, I'd probably ask for my Nintendo Switch, a drone, and a pair of noise-cancelling cans to block out the relentless seagull racket. When I'm not on Stuff duty you'll probably find me subscribing to too many podcasts, playing too many video games, or telling anyone who will listen that Spurs are going to win a trophy this season.

Areas of expertise

Video games, VR, smartwatches, headphones, smart speakers, bizarre Kickstarter campaigns