Apple revamped its famous Apple Watch range in September 2020, launching the new Apple Watch Series 6. The Apple Watch Series 6 replaced the Apple Watch Series 5, which was announced in September 2019, as the company's flagship wearable.
For a price starting at $399, the Apple Watch Series 6 includes a range of convincing upgrades to last year's Series 5, offering a new S6 processor, an U1 ultra-wideband chip, and blood oxygen monitoring.
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Although Apple has now discontinued the Apple Watch Series 5, it continues to be available at several third-party resellers. You may be wondering whether upgrading from Series 5 to Series 6 is worthwhile, or considering whether the lower-cost Series 5 is a worthy introduction to the Apple Watch rather than Series 6. You may also be using an older Apple Watch and want to update, but you can't decide whether to purchase a Series 5 or a Series 6.
Because several main features are shared by these two models, including design, ECG functionality, and an always-on display, it might not be instantly apparent which model is better for you. Is the slightly older model with less characteristics worth buying to save money? Our guide will help you answer the question as to which of these two models of Apple Watch is better for you.
Comparing the Apple Watch Series 5 and the Apple Watch Series 6
Similarities
- 40mm or 44mm case
- Always-On Retina LTPO OLED display, 1000 nits
- GPS and GPS + Cellular models
- 64-bit dual-core processor; W3 wireless chip
- Digital Crown with haptic feedback
- An electronic heart sensor and an optical heart sensor of the second generation
- Notifications of high and low heart rate, abnormal heart rhythm warning, and app ECG
- International emergency calling, Emergency SOS, and fall detection
- Noise monitoring
- Up to 50 metres of water resistance; "swimproof"
- LTE and UMTS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0
- GPS/GNSS, compass, and altimeter
- Speaker 50 percent louder; built-in microphone
- 32GB capacity
- 18-hour "all-day" battery life
- Family Configuration Supports
The breakdown by Apple reveals that the two models share an vast amount of characteristics. Even so, there are a range of major variations that are worth noting between the Apple Watch Series 5 and the Apple Watch Series 6, such as the always-on altimeter and the tracking of blood oxygen.
Differences
- Always-on display
- S5 SiP with a dual-core 64-bit processor
- 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
- Barometric altimeter
- Up to 2.5 times brighter always-on display
- S6 SiP with a dual-core 64-bit processorU1 chip (ultra-wideband)
- 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi
- Blood oxygen sensor
- Always-on altimeter
- For some workouts, better battery life, quicker charging
For a closer look at both of these things, read on to see what exactly each of the new models of Apple Watch have to offer.
Displays
A Retina LTPO OLED monitor comes with both the Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch Series 6. The main distinction, however, is that when your wrist is lowered, the Series 6 has an always-on monitor that is two and a half times brighter outdoors than the Series 5. While the maximum brightness of both displays is the same at 1,000 nits, the always-on display of the Apple Watch Series 6 will look significantly brighter outdoors and at a glance during day-to-day use.
Other than this aspect, the high-resolution Retina displays between the two models themselves are the same. If you find like you need to see the face of your watch in the clearest way at all times without raising your wrist, the view of the Apple Watch Series 5 will be more than sufficient for your needs.
S6 vs. S5 Processor
In the Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch Series 6, all processors are 64-bit dual-core chips. The newer S6 processors in the iPhone 11 are based on the A13 Bionic, and are up to 20% faster than the previous S5 processors. Apple claims that this enables apps to start 20% quicker, while retaining the same 18-hour battery life "all-day."
According to Apple, the Apple Watch Series 5's S5 dual-core processor still "delivers extremely fast performance." The S5 is up to two times quicker than the Series 3 Apple Watch. Apple is, in fact, so confident in the S5 processor's capability and performance that it included the chip in the new Apple Watch SE.
As it debuted in the Apple Watch Series 5, the S5 was already a competent processor, and the S6 simply provides a more refined chip. Unless you desperately need the fastest possible app launch speeds, the slight performance improvements of the S6 chip do not seem to be sufficient to justify having the Apple Watch Series 6 over the Apple Watch Series 5. The Apple Watch Series 5's S5 processor will be suitably fast and powerful for the vast majority of users.
U1 Ultra-Wideband Chip
The U1 ultra-wideband chip is only used in the 'Apple Watch Series 6.' Apple says the U1 on Apple Watch would "allow new experiences, such as next-generation digital car keys, to be enabled by short-range wireless locations," but what else the chip could offer is still unclear.
With far greater precision than Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi, the distance between two devices that endorse ultra-wideband can be determined precisely by measuring the time it takes for a radio wave to travel between the two devices.
While Apple has been gradually introducing the chip on its latest devices, significant new features have yet to be unlocked. So far, Apple has only used the technology in iOS 13 to power a directional AirDrop feature, but in the future it has proposed more exciting use cases. This indicates that the features of the U1 on Apple Watch Series 6 could be extended well.
Since the U1 chip currently has very few instances of use, purely because of it, it is not worth getting the Apple Watch Series 6. However, if you intend to hold your Apple Watch for several years, the U1 chip will probably make it a much more future-proof model because of the high probability that more features will come to it in the coming years.
Health Monitoring
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The Apple Watch Series 6 includes blood oxygen tracking, a brand new health monitoring feature on the Apple Watch that has never been used before. The function measures the oxygen saturation of the blood of the user, so that they can understand their overall fitness and well-being better. Oxygen saturation, also referred to as SpO2, reflects the percentage of oxygen transported from the lungs to the rest of the body by red blood cells, which shows how efficiently this oxygenated blood is distributed throughout the body.
The Apple Watch Series 6 has a blood oxygen sensor with an array of four green, red, and infrared LED clusters on its rear. They measure light reflected back from blood, and can determine the saturation of blood oxygen between 70 and 100 percent using an advanced custom algorithm.
Using the Blood Oxygen app, on-demand measurements can be made, and periodic background measurements are also taken, including during sleep. In the Health app, all information is available, and the user is able to monitor patterns over time and see how their level of blood oxygen changes.
However, with the Apple Watch Series 6, the Apple Watch Series 5 shares a significant range of health tracking features. There is an electrical heart monitor for taking electrocardiograms, or ECGs, in both versions. They have electrodes and an electronic heart rate monitor on the rear installed into the Digital Crown. Users press the Digital Crown with the ECG app and obtain a heart rhythm classification after 30 seconds. It will decide if the heart is beating in a regular rhythm or whether sign there are signs of Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), a heart condition that may lead to major health complications. All recordings, their associated classifications, and any noted symptoms are stored in the Health app in a PDF that can be shared with physicians.
Both models also have an optical heart rate monitoring sensor which can provide high and low heart rate and irregular heart rhythm alerts. Emergency SOS, fall detection, and noise control can also be performed by them.
The key health-focused appeal of the newer model is blood oxygen monitoring in the Apple Watch Series 6. You should certainly consider the Apple Watch Series 6 if you think that blood oxygen monitoring is important to you. The Apple Watch Series 5 also has a multitude of health tracking features, including ECG, if this advanced health feature is less of a priority for you.
Battery
The two Apple Watch models maintain what Apple calls a "all-day" battery life of approximately 18 hours.
However, Apple Watch Series 6 provides quicker charging, completing a complete charge in less than one and a half hours, and enhanced battery life to monitor such workouts, such as indoor and outdoor runs. The Apple Watch Series 5 loads, by contrast, in less than two and a half hours.
Since the battery life of both models is almost the same, the Series 6 is possibly not worth favouring purely on the basis of quicker charging and slightly better battery use during specific activities. Instead, the battery and charging enhancements of the Series 6 remain an example of how the system provides a number of minor improvements over the Series 5 Apple Watch.
Design
Other Apple Watch Options
For $279, Apple also offers the Apple Watch SE. This model has less features than the Series 5 Apple Watch, but with many of the aspects that have made the Apple Watch so popular over the years, it offers a lower-cost alternative.
Take a look at our handy Apple Watch Series
6 vs. Apple Watch SE buyer's guide for a
more detailed rundown of the Apple Watch
Series 6 versus the Apple Watch SE.
Final Thoughts
Compared to the previous Series 5 model,
the Apple Watch Series 6 is a fairly minor
upgrade, offering new features such as blood
oxygen monitoring, S6 and U1 processors,
and an always-on altimeter. The Apple Watch
Series 6 will be the model of choice for those
who want the most out of their wearables,
with its enhanced always-on display,
advanced health tracking functionality, and
variety of colours and finishes. If you are
particularly interested in health monitoring, or
just like a specific new colour,the Apple Watch
Series 6 will be the best model for you.
Alternatively, the Apple Watch Series 5
remains an option worth exploring if you are
on a budget and are not especially drawn to
the additional features of the Series 6. It
shares with the newer model several
characteristics, such as the ability to take
ECGs. It should be recalled, however, that
Series 5 is now over a year old and that
software updates will possibly not be
provided for as long as Series 6. Only if the
Series 6 is out of your price range do you
consider the older Series 5.
The latest Apple Watch SE should also take
your decision into account, as it provides
many of the same Series 5 features (and a
few of the Series 6) at a reduced price.
For users who already have an Apple Watch
Series 5, the Series 6 probably does not offer
enough to warrant upgrading unless you
regularly update your watch hardware every
year or you particularly want the blood
oxygen monitoring feature. For those who
have an Apple Series 4 or older, or those who
are new to Apple Watch entirely, the Apple
Watch Series 6 is a terrific option with plenty
of features. Most importantly, as Apple's
newest flagship wearable, customers who buy
the Apple Watch Series won't be excluded
from anything Apple Watch has to offer.
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