Apple Watch Series 5: The best smartwatch around? Only if you do not value battery life

The Apple Watch Series 5 is a triumph of design, with its exquisite craftsmanship being something for which many other OEMs strive. The series has a few imitators too, particularly the latest attempts by Huami and Xiaomi. However, after five generations, does the Apple Watch represent the cutting in smartwatches?

Our time with the Watch Series 5 would suggest not. While the device is more versatile than any of its contemporaries, the competition has upped its game in many areas. The Watch Series 5 has always lacked the fitness tracker capabilities of Garmin smartwatches, but they have had the edge on looks, at least in our opinion. Garmin has been slowly addressing this aesthetic gap though, as demonstrated by the Vivoactive 4/4S series.

Moreover, the Watch Series 5 cannot compete with the battery life that devices like the Huami Amazfit Verge Lite offer. While you must try hard to go two days between charges with the former, the latter can last up to three weeks before it exhausts its battery.

One of the main things that the Watch Series 5 has on its side is apps. Tens of thousands of apps. No other smartwatch can compete with Apple's offering here, not even those powered by Google's Wear OS. The Apple Watch also offers greater integration within Apple's ecosystem, which may be essential for those who already own an iPhone, Mac and iPad.

Ultimately, the latest Apple Watch is a fantastic and accomplished smartwatch, but it does not offer the cutting edge in technology nor the best value for money. Please see our Apple Watch Series 5 review for our full thoughts on the device and our time with it.