I personally like not having the watchface display at all times and prefer the display to be off when not in use.
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My observations on Always-on Series 5 vs Series 6
- Thread starter bbates123
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Each to their own. I’m the opposite. S2 was my first blank-face watch since the late 1970’s LED watches. As happy as I was with my S4, the AOD of the S5 was a must-buy for me.
You’ll be happy to know that a blank face S5 or S6 is just a setting away.
Yes she’s very excited! I’m going to swap over tomorrow for her. She’s never had one so she’s very happy! Yeah I definitely understand your point about upgrading. I’ll be happy she will now have one and I’ll get a nice little upgrade. Plus I’ll be able to check out this new graphite color!
Same. I don’t care what the watch face is doing when I’m not looking at it, and I hated the way the AOD would blur out all apps except the watch face when I wasn’t looking at it. It takes longer for that to unblur and show updated data than my series 4 did to snap on the display. Turned it off after a couple hours when I first got my 6 and perfectly happy to pretend the feature never existed.
Hmmm, AOD doesn’t seem to work as i thought. So AOD would blur out the complications in dim mode so that you only see the time. To see the complications, is to go from blur to sharp, but it happens slowly compared to flicking wrist in a S4 and getting a crisp screen. In S4 you give a good flick and you’ll see everything on watchface. If fkivk too gently then the screen stayed
I went from a S4 SBSS to a new S6 Graphite SS today and immediately noticed the watch dimming more aggressively even when outdoors and in the dark making it harder for me to see. At home under normal house lights, I noticed that the screen seem to dim quicker and the AOD seems to stay on longer. Like you mentioned, it doesn't appear broken but that it's Apple's effort to maximize battery life.
The S4 being off can afford to light up the OLED pixels more when you turn your wrist or raise it but AOD appears to draw more power as long as the watch is on so something had to give.
Agree! AOD makes the AW feel like a real watch for the first time and I had gone 4 years from an S0 to a S4 with blank faces unless I actively turned or raised my wrist. It is such a handy feature and it allows me to see the time whether I'm at my computer, driving or in a meeting where it would not be kosher to actively raise my wrist to check the time in front of management...back when we still had in person meetings.
I think he explained this but just to let you know, the battery life in the S5 and the S6 are nearly identical.
Yes, I have. I returned my Series 6 Graphite as I just didn't care for the color and already have a S5 in Space Black that I'll sell and I wanted to get something different and the graphite is really close to the black. I did order the S6 in Stainless as I will post some photos when it comes in on Monday to see if there is a noticeable difference. Could be that maybe I had one that wasn't working correctly.
You can set it that way if you prefer... I upgraded from a 4 and do LOVE the AOD. Still getting a full day of battery which will improve as I look at and fiddle with it a bit less. Bigger upgrade for me was moving to SS with the Sapphire crystal. Hate a scratched watch face...
What complications are you finding blurred out?
I've never seen that on any watchface I've used.
For me it gets tough in direct sunlight with sunglasses on, particularly at an angle.
Exactly my thoughts. I’m guessing Series 7 is a new design.
To the OP, thanks for the comparison. As an Series 5 user, would be nice to have a bit brighter outdoors which is where all my workouts are.
After putting my watch on at around 6:45am, logging a workout of 30 - 45 mins, and taking my watch off around 9pm, I’m usually still at 50-55% on my 44mm Series 5. And I’ve had it exactly one year today, so the battery has sone wear and AoD is left on always. I am impressed with how good the battery life is. It’s 2 days still.
I can see the S6 being really useful in California or Australia etc. with all that bright sunshine.
However, here in Northern Europe we live ina state of perpetual gloom so the S5 is no doubt fine for us!
However, here in Northern Europe we live ina state of perpetual gloom so the S5 is no doubt fine for us!
For me, the health features are very important, so adding the SpO2 sensor was enough of a change to pull the trigger from the Series 5.
Ditto. S3 to S4 was a big upgrade simply due to the larger screen size. Everything since then has been minor and not worth the spend IMHO.I think I'll wait until next year to upgrade my S4, when I expect we'll see a bigger difference. I mean, I started with an S0, and waited until S4 to upgrade, so I think S4->S7 is about right
But the increased outdoor brightness is compelling... The reason I didn't get S5 is because it was too dim for me to read in direct light when "always on."
So much of this is a matter of opinion and a function of how impactful the $$$ outlay is to the individual.
For me, the S2 (and S3 and S4) were the only watches I've owned with blank black displays since my late 1970's LED wristwatch. I disliked the blank inactive screen.
Thus, while a minor thing for many, the Series5 AOD was a big change to me and thus a no-brainer purchase.
Series 6 is certainly incremental. I've one on order. Not sure I can really point to a singular reason - GPS & HRM appear to be improved per DCRainmaker's initial take, bright AOD outside in sunlight may solve an annoyance I have with the S5. Worth the $$$? Not sure I can really justify it from a quantitative standpoint, and that's okay.