My observations on Always-on Series 5 vs Series 6

[Donnation]

I refuse to believe their 2.5x claim. I’ve owned S5 and S6 and there is very little difference outdoors too.

Yeah I don't see it either. I've looked at both and they look exactly the same to me. The photo at the beginning of this thread is more about the angles of the watches on the Op's wrist, giving the perception that one is brighter, or the brightness levels of the watches could be different. I know there is some discussion on what the human eye can perceive but that doesn't really interest me. Apple claims its brighter outdoors so I would expect it to be brighter outdoors. If its not perceptible to the human eye then to me, its not brighter.

 

[Denzo]

If I didn't have an apple watch already I would pick the S6 over the S5. But I have an S4 and I'm content. Nothing different enough to upgrade. Hope the S6 people enjoy the extra brightness.

 

[the future]

The S6 AOD is very obviously brighter outdoors. If yours isn‘t, it‘s broken.

 

[bbates123]

Yeah I don't see it either. I've looked at both and they look exactly the same to me. The photo at the beginning of this thread is more about the angles of the watches on the Op's wrist, giving the perception that one is brighter, or the brightness levels of the watches could be different. I know there is some discussion on what the human eye can perceive but that doesn't really interest me. Apple claims its brighter outdoors so I would expect it to be brighter outdoors. If its not perceptible to the human eye then to me, its not brighter.

It's not the angle at all. See my Part 2 post.

 

[bbates123]

Posted in another thread but here it is again. My wife's Series 5 on the left, my Series 6 on the right. The Series 6 is clearly twice as bright.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Posted in another thread but here it is again. My wife's Series 5 on the left, my Series 6 on the right. The Series 6 is clearly twice as bright.

View attachment 960283

I assume this is with the display on idle?
Not that I’m going to debate which is better because both clearly have very good displays regardless of brightness when you’re not looking at it.

 

[Apple_Robert]

If I didn't have an apple watch already I would pick the S6 over the S5. But I have an S4 and I'm content. Nothing different enough to upgrade. Hope the S6 people enjoy the extra brightness.

I can’t see what you wrote because I am holding my watch up to the side of the monitor, and the brightness is blinding me.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Posted in another thread but here it is again. My wife's Series 5 on the left, my Series 6 on the right. The Series 6 is clearly twice as bright.

View attachment 960283

The pink band looks good on you.

 

[bbates123]

I assume this is with the display on idle?
Not that I’m going to debate which is better because both clearly have very good displays regardless of brightness when you’re not looking at it.

Yes, both at idle.
[automerge]1601245002[/automerge]

The pink band looks good on you.

I kind of thought so too.

 

[Donnation]

I wonder if this is dependent on the face you are using. Meaning that if you are using a particular face with a lot of color then you will notice a difference. I noticed OP you used the same face in both photos. I don't ever use that face but when I get my new S6 tomorrow I'll do a test on some other faces against my S5 and post some photos of them to see if there is any difference.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Yes, both idle.

Cool. This appears to be one of the smaller improvements between models then and not one that would convince most to upgrade.

 

[taneff]

Something everyone has to keep in mind, ionX Aluminium glass has a better visibility. Sapphire makes the screen dull, way more reflections. There are good comparisons with Garmin watches, you can see a difference. So maybe some people, like me, went from aluminium to SS/Titan and here the brighter screen doesn't make that big of a difference in comparison, but it is very important and sapphire screens do look more dull and here it is even more important to making it brighter outside.

Garmin watches have a way worse display than AW, that is why I would never buy a Sapphire Garmin again, visibility is really really bad compared.

Apple Watch Sapphire vs Glass Display Shoot-Out

www.displaymate.com

Sapphire vs Gorilla Glass - contrast/brightness/reflections - fēnix 6 Series - Wearables - Garmin Forums

A dedicated community for Garmin users to ask questions, provide answers, and share feedback.

forums.garmin.com

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Something everyone has to keep in mind, ionX Aluminium glass has a better visibility. Sapphire makes the screen dull, way more reflections. There are good comparisons with Garmin watches, you can see a difference. So maybe some people, like me, went from aluminium to SS/Titan and here the brighter screen doesn't make that big of a difference in comparison, but it is very important and sapphire screens do look more dull and here it is even more important to making it brighter outside.

Garmin watches have a way worth display than AW, that is why I would never buy a Sapphire Garmin again, visibility is really really bad compared.

Apple Watch Sapphire vs Glass Display Shoot-Out

www.displaymate.com

Sapphire vs Gorilla Glass - contrast/brightness/reflections - fēnix 6 Series - Wearables - Garmin Forums

A dedicated community for Garmin users to ask questions, provide answers, and share feedback.

forums.garmin.com

A very interesting article and I suppose logically it makes a lot of sense if you understand the material properties of both materials. Thanks for sharing.

 

[deeddawg]

Something everyone has to keep in mind, ionX Aluminium glass has a better visibility. Sapphire makes the screen dull, way more reflections. There are good comparisons with Garmin watches, you can see a difference. So maybe some people, like me, went from aluminium to SS/Titan and here the brighter screen doesn't make that big of a difference in comparison, but it is very important and sapphire screens do look more dull and here it is even more important to making it brighter outside.

Good reminder. There's a distinct difference between the two materials, particularly in outdoor visibility. When comparing Series5 to Series6 it is important to note if one is comparing across different watch crystal materials as well. It's been a while since I had the Aluminum/Ion-X model, but do remember it being more transmissive and also seemed to show less reflection in outdoors. Wouldn't go back to it from SS, but the difference is real.

Garmin watches have a way worse display than AW, that is why I would never buy a Sapphire Garmin again, visibility is really really bad compared.

Yep. Haven't looked in a couple years, but as recently as the Fenix3 / FR235, the Garmin transflective LCD displays were trash relative to the AW display. So much so that I felt Garmin's marketing materials showing vibrant saturated color displays was blatantly misleading. Maybe that's changed since then, but it certainly was true then for the watches I owned.

 

[MacKid1983]

Even for many S4 owners it's not worth it, especially if the battery is holding up well.

I was an s4 owner, def worth the upgrade always on display, much faster processor and better battery life.

 

[MisterSavage]

I was an s4 owner, def worth the upgrade always on display, much faster processor and better battery life.

Agreed. I never for one second regretted upgrading from an S4.

 

[Luba]

Good reminder. There's a distinct difference between the two materials, particularly in outdoor visibility. When comparing Series5 to Series6 it is important to note if one is comparing across different watch crystal materials as well. It's been a while since I had the Aluminum/Ion-X model, but do remember it being more transmissive and also seemed to show less reflection in outdoors. Wouldn't go back to it from SS, but the difference is real.

I used to feel that way about not going back to aluminum because I felt that Ion glass scratched relatively easily, plus they way Apple used to color their aluminum was too lumpy or "orange peel" for me, but this year the lumps look finer and smaller! Anybody else thinks the "paint" on the aluminum is smoother compared to S4? I wasn't in the market for the S5, so maybe Apple had already improved their aluminum painting/coloring process with S5.

 

[deeddawg]

I used to feel that way about not going back to aluminum because I felt that Ion glass scratched relatively easily, plus they way Apple used to color their aluminum was too lumpy or "orange peel" for me, but this year the lumps look finer and smaller! Anybody else thinks the "paint" on the aluminum is smoother compared to S4? I wasn't in the market for the S5, so maybe Apple had already improved their aluminum painting/coloring process with S5.

I don’t recall ever scratching the screen.

My issue was that I tended to whack the watch into the door frame or something else, dinging the anodized aluminum. Then I spent months seeing the damage every time I looked at the watch. I get that that does not bother some folks, but it bothered me enough that I feel the DLC coated watches are worth it to me.

 

[radamo]

I was an s4 owner, def worth the upgrade always on display, much faster processor and better battery life.

I was an S4 owner also and agree with most of this... but the battery life is not quite as good as my S4. BUT certainly enough to get through a full day of use. Even when using the Apple Watch for a round of golf with GPS location tracking fully active for 5 hours.

 

[CarolG]

Get this 6!! I’m upgrading from a 4

This is my fifth Apple Watch. Loving the S6! And the Product Red Watch after having four gold watches. Battery life seems even better.

 

[CarolG]

I don’t recall ever scratching the screen.

My issue was that I tended to whack the water into the door frame or something else, dinging the anodized aluminum. Then I spent months seeing the damage every time I looked at the watch. I get that that does not bother some folks, but it bothered me enough that I feel the DLC coated watches are worth it to me.

This is my 5th AW, always aluminum since I like to upgrade often. The insides of the AW are the same in the cheapest watch vs the most expensive models. I have never had scratches or dents in the frame or on the screen.

 

[deeddawg]

I have never had scratches or dents in the frame or on the screen.

I am by far not the most graceful, so it's entirely possible others may not suffer from my tendency to whack my watch into random stuff. Nor may folks be as finicky about disliking seeing nicks / dings to the casing. ... yet those are my afflictions, and I don't expect others to be the same.

 

[44267547]

This is my 5th AW, always aluminum since I like to upgrade often. The insides of the AW are the same in the cheapest watch vs the most expensive models. I have never had scratches or dents in the frame or on the screen.

All true. My biggest gripe with the aluminum Model, was it was to light weight, where I do prefer the substantiality of the stainless. The Ion-X Glass didn’t Impress me, but I also think I’m fairly particular over most, so the majorly of consumers probably wouldn’t care one way or the over a scratch.

 

[Luba]

I am by far not the most graceful, so it's entirely possible others may not suffer from my tendency to whack my watch into random stuff. Nor may folks be as finicky about disliking seeing nicks / dings to the casing. ... yet those are my afflictions, and I don't expect others to be the same.

IMO, I'm more careful than average, but all it took was one little whack while reaching for something in a store and my aluminum was dented. I rationalized getting steel because it allowed me be more care free and nothing has happened to my steel and sapphire AWs with much more substantial whacks.

 

[deeddawg]

IMO, I'm more careful than average, but all it took was one little whack while reaching for something in a store and my aluminum was dented. I rationalized getting steel because it allowed me be more care free and nothing has happened to my steel and sapphire AWs with much more substantial whacks.

Same here. For me the added cost is worth it for qualitative reasons rather than quantitative reasons. I’d never fault others for choosing aluminum if that’s what works for them. It's certainly the more economical choice.