The competition needs to watch out: Apple Watch Series 5 does so much more than just tell the time

The Apple Watch Series 5 has been officially revealed, and it looks like the smartest smartwatch yet. Powered by a 64-bit dual-core S5 processor, the Series 5 can take advantage of Apple’s watchOS 6.0. Apparently, there’s 32 GB of storage available with the latest addition to the Watch family as well, and it has a new built-in compass to prevent wearers from getting lost.

The Apple Watch Series 5 is bristling with features that are actually quite useful. The above-mentioned Always-On display is a new addition to the series and streamlines the basic function of telling the time. Along with that, there is a Noise app that can measure the surrounding sound levels and determine if the environment is potentially too loud for a user’s ears or not.

Unsurprisingly, there is an ECG app to measure a user’s heart rate, and the Apple Watch Series 5 also has the ability to call international emergency services if that heart rate gets worryingly low (in supported countries and only on the GPS + Cellular model). Of course, there are fitness tracker apps on-board (Cycle Tracking, Activity rings, etc.), and the Series 5 is also capable of streaming songs taken from Apple’s 50-million-file strong Music library. All a user has to do to request a particular song is just ask Siri.

With Apple Pay and the App Store also both available to wearers of the Series 5 smartwatch, there seems to be nothing for users to want for. There’s even a generous selection of designs to choose from, with alternate bands, cases, and colors made available for shoppers. The basic 40 mm model costs from US$399 (GPS only) or US$499 (GPS + Cellular). The larger 44 mm variant costs US$429 and US$529, respectively.

Apple has put on an impressive spread indeed when it comes to purchasing the ideal Series 5. As mentioned, users can choose between the two sizes and connectivity options. But there are also four band styles to pick from: sport band, sport loop, leather, and stainless steel, and four case materials: aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, and ceramic. Buyers who want a luxury variant can even plump for the Hermès-branded Series 5 that can cost up to US$1,399.

With the upcoming release of the newest smartwatch in the line, it seems the Series 4 iteration will be discontinued, while the Series 3 watch will receive some appropriate price cuts. The Apple Watch Series 5 is currently available for pre-order and should start shipping on September 20.