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My observations on Always-on Series 5 vs Series 6

It's nice to have an altimeter. There are some hills on my walk, and now I know all about them. Also, I do have a Pulse Oximeter (It generally gives me a higher reading), but it's nice to have another device which will validate that. And the watch gave me a 100 when I sat down to get a reading right after a hard workout, so ... no artificial ceiling.
 
For a lot of people here, the technology has not caught up to the forum expectation of new or expected upgraded features. I think people need to keep that in mind when ordering or considering such. Often times, people place false expectations on Apple and the watch and when their failed from the start expectation isn’t met, said people blame Apple which isn’t right.

Educate yourself and then make an informed decision. Don’t get caught up in the forum buy hype. Only you can decide if spending money on a new upgrade is worth it. Don’t expect strangers on the forum to make the decision for you. They aren’t paying your bills.
 
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Trik said:
The battery life is pretty dramatically different there... judging by the step count, you put them both on your wrist at ~ the same time. Do you think the 28% difference in battery life is based on the slightly larger battery (no force touch component) and general battery health?
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The battery is only 3% larger so I doubt it makes much of a difference.
 
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Trik said:
The battery life is pretty dramatically different there... judging by the step count, you put them both on your wrist at ~ the same time. Do you think the 28% difference in battery life is based on the slightly larger battery (no force touch component) and general battery health?
Click to expand...

The battery life and step count is a little misleading. I got the S6 in the afternoon after I was done walking...the battery on the S6 was how it came out of the box and for some reason my steps weren't syncing between the two.
 
Great idea posting a side by side photo. I definitely noticed a difference in bright sunlight.
 
UGH!!! Just picked up the new Apple Watch 6 (Silver Stainless. 44mm) and it has the same annoying screen brightness (or rather *dim*ness) issue that made me return the 5 and stick with my 4!





In dark environments the ambient light sensor is too aggressive and makes the screen too dark. In a side-by-side with the 4 it is *noticeably* dimmer! The 4 is perfect but for the 5/6, this is problematic for people such as me who wear glasses need that extra brightness to be able to read it if you're outside in the dusk, or in a dark environment like watching TV with the lights off or sitting in a movie theater because it ramps down too low.





The screen is more than capable of the brightness too because again, just like with the 5, in daylight, it really is bright. You can see this yourself! Just shine your iPhone's flashlight at your watch face and you'll see it turn practically blinding.





This was clearly a choice by Apple to implement because again, the hardware can easily handle it, and considering they never addressed it last round, I'm not optimistic this is even on their radar to address.





Also, since I've been asked this a few times, yes, the brightness in settings is turned all the way up, and yes, I am comparing the 'active' brighness (i.e. you're tapping on and interacting with the screen), not the 'always-on' brightness which is more of a 'stand-by' mode.





I even tried disabling the 'always on' screen to make it mimic the 4 exactly. Same result. The 4 is brighter. The 5 and 6 are too dim!!





I know why they did this... to eeek out as much battery life as possible. But that's just it... let *me* decide if I want to sacrifice battery life for brightness. I have never ran out of battery and usually end the day with around ~40% so I would happily give some of that up for more brightness because without it, I can't *read* half the text, even with my glasses on!





Come on Apple... you're supposed to be great around accessibility. You dropped the ball here... twice! Give us a firmware setting to make it not be so aggressive in dimming it!





If it wasn't for the pulse-oximeter in it, this may have been sent right back just like the 5. I'm gonna give it a few days and see how annoyed I am with it before I decide.





Anyone else seeing this too? Again, against a 5 it's identical. Against a 4 it's blatantly obvious. It's not a subtle difference.
 
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Relentless Power said:
I’ve said it Many times over, I don’t think Apple expects any S5 owners to upgrade to the S6, as a matter fact, it probably be rather foolish unless you were upgrading to a new casing option from aluminum to titanium for example. But otherwise, your point about the ‘brighter display‘, there’s nothing more inconvenient when you can’t read your Apple Watch display in natural sunlight, but with the new ‘tweaked increased brightness‘ outside makes a difference, it certainly enhances the experience with the Apple Watch, especially when you can’t see the display in certain Lighting conditions.
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I’m upgrading from my AW5 SB SS to the Graphite SS, mainly so my wife can have an AW. So she will be inheriting mine and I’ll be getting new 🤪 lol.
 
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tommyboy9996 said:
I’m upgrading from my AW5 SB SS to the Graphite SS, mainly so my wife can have an AW. So she will be inheriting mine and I’ll be getting new 🤪 lol.
Click to expand...

Thats very nice...but a totally different scenario though from my post you quoted. You’re giving your watch to your wife, versus you just upgrading from a S5 to S6 for XYZ reasons. I’m assuming your wife has never had an Apple Watch, so you would have a substantial reason to give her your older watch versus you upgrading ‘just because.’ (If that makes sense.)
 
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Benz63amg said:
Not even once have I thought the screen wasn’t bright enough when looking at my series 4 Apple Watch outdoors
Click to expand...

Series4 is just going to be a blank black square when compared to the S5 and S6 Always-on-Displays that are showing when the watches are in standby.

When awake/active, all three are rated the same 1000nits brightness
 
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Thank You for the comparison. I am upgrading from My 44mm Seiko Aviation Pilot Watch That I've had for 10 Years.
I sold my TAG Watch collection of 6 Watches and I still Have 3 New Seiko's to sell. I get my 6 in Blue on Oct. 2
I have a SS Black Watch Band already for only $29. on Ebay. Nice Model to start with. Now I want 2 day battery life.
And Thinner.
 
My experience has been that it makes sense to upgrade every other versions (such as 2 > 4 or 3 > 5). To years isn't long enough to justify the expense, and you can justify paying the money to get four years' worth of use out of your current model.
 
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