- I'm Andru Edwards, and you're watching "Gear Live."
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Earlier this week, Apple didn't just announce
the brand-new smartphones
in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro,
but they also announced a brand-new Apple Watch.
If you've been wondering if you should upgrade
the Apple Watch you already own
or if you're thinking about buying an Apple Watch
for the first time, in this video,
I share the five things you need to know
before picking up an Apple Watch Series 5.
What's going on, Tech Squad?
Andru Edwards here,
editor-in-chief at GearLive.com, and as I mentioned,
today we are talking about
the brand-new Apple Watch Series 5.
The Apple Watch has been one of my favorite devices
over the past several years, specifically because,
as I always say, I'm a big fan of tech.
I like cool tech as much as the next guy.
However, when you can use technology
to greatly improve someone's life
in a way that doesn't only make the technology cool,
that is really what shows the potential
of what this world is doing with technology.
And I don't think any company, especially in the tech space,
has done as much as Apple
to use the tech that they're working on
to legitimately make lives better,
and in many cases, save lives as well.
Now I was able to get some hands-on time
with the Apple Watch Series 5 at Apple's Fall 2019 event
in Cupertino at the Steve Jobs Theater.
And after hearing everything
Apple had to say about the watch,
I think there are five essential things
that you need to know when making your purchasing decision.
By the way, if you haven't seen it,
be sure check out my first hands-on look
at the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.
I will leave a link to that down in the description below.
And be sure to hit that Subscribe button
and bell notification icon
if you want to stay up-to-date on all future videos.
Now let's jump in to the Apple Watch Series 5,
the five things you need to know,
starting with what may be the single best update
in my opinion to the Apple Watch,
and that is the Always-On display.
This one is huge and it solves what has been my biggest
and pretty much only complaint about the Apple Watch
since the very first Apple Watch about four years ago.
The fact that I always needed to do the wrist raise motion
in order to see the time,
which obviously isn't a big deal every time
or most of the time,
but there are times when you just can't do
this type of motion but you do want to see the information
that your Apple Watch would display if the screen was on.
Now with the Series 5, that is a thing of the past.
The Apple Watch Series 5 gets a new display
that allows the time and other important info
from your configurations to remain visible at all times
whether you raise your wrist or not.
All of the different watch faces have been optimized
for the new display, with each one basically getting
two different versions of the watch face.
There's an active mode when you do the wrist raise,
and there's a passive mode that isn't as bright
and isn't as information-dense, but is always on.
In order to preserve battery life,
Apple used a low-temperature polysilicone and oxide display,
aka LTPO, an ultra-low-power display driver,
an ambient light sensor,
and an efficient power management integrated circuit,
all working together to allow for a display
that stays on all day while the Apple Watch maintains
its 18-hour all-day battery life that it's been known for.
Again, I know that feature may not be the biggest deal
to some, and I'm sure there's some people out there
wondering why I can't just raise my wrist
to take a look at the time.
But like I said, it was a minor annoyance,
and now that annoyance is gone.
Thank you, Apple.
Moving on to the next major thing you need to know
about the Apple Watch Series 5,
it now has a built-in compass.
That's right, Apple has built a compass
into the Apple Watch Series 5,
which apps can use to improve navigation features.
For example, when in Maps,
you can now see the direction you're facing
right in the app,
or when using third-party apps like Night Sky,
the compass helps the watch show you the constellations
that are above you as you move your watch around.
Fitness apps can also tap into the compass,
giving you elevation details,
and there's even a new dedicated Compass app
that allows you to see information like the heading,
latitude, longitude, and your current elevation as well.
So the compass isn't just meant for use by the Compass app.
It's used by any app that wants to tap into the compass
to provide you relevant information or features.
Okay, up next, following up on the Apple Watch's
use of technology to improve your life,
any cellular Apple Watch Series 5
can now tap into international emergency calling.
So for added personal safety
while you're traveling outside the country,
if you get into a situation
where you need to call emergency services,
your cellular Apple Watch Series 5
will be able to connect you to those services
right from your wrist.
Now the cool thing about that is it'll work
regardless of where you bought your Apple Watch.
So whether you bought it in the USA,
Canada, Europe, Asia, whatever,
if you buy a Apple Watch Series 5,
this feature works regardless of where you bought it.
And secondly and more importantly,
it'll work even if you have not activated a cellular plan
on your cellular Apple Watch.
If you have a cellular Apple Watch
and even if you don't pay for a plan for it,
international emergency calling will work for you.
In fact, the feature even works in conjunction
with Apple Watch's fall detection.
So if you take a hard fall and remain motionless
for about a minute, the Apple Watch Series 5
will then contact emergency services for you
even if you're out of the country.
All right, next up for Apple Watch Series 5,
the fourth feature you need to know about
is that we have new case materials this year.
That's right, on the heels of the titanium Apple Card,
the company continues its use of titanium
with two new Titanium Apple Watch Edition models.
When I picked these up in the hands-on area,
it was striking how great they looked
and also how light they were
compared to my stainless steel Hermes Apple Watch Series 4.
And if you want to go with titanium,
you have two different colors.
As I mentioned, there is the brushed, natural
titanium finish with a custom-engineered surface
that allows it to maintain its color and resist staining,
and there is also this Space Black titanium model,
which uses a diamond-like coating
to give a super stealth look to that titanium casing.
Now if titanium and metal isn't your thing,
this year also celebrates the return, the glorious return,
of the white ceramic Apple Watch casing.
Now as a lot of you know,
I had a white ceramic Apple Watch Series 2
and I had a white ceramic Apple Watch Series 3,
and I was super bummed, I was dejected,
I was saddened, I almost felt betrayed
when the Apple Watch Series 4 was announced
without that ceramic option.
So I'm super happy to see that the ceramic has returned
here with the Series 5.
And last on the list for the things you need to know
about the Apple Watch Series 5 before making your purchase
is that Apple has heard loud and clear
the cries from a lot of Apple Watch customers,
and their response is they're now letting you customize
your entire Apple Watch before you make the purchase.
This is called Apple Watch Studio.
So now for the first time,
you can order the exact Apple Watch that you want
in the exact casing material that you want
with the exact band that you want.
When purchasing a Series 5 either in a physical Apple Store,
the Apple Store app, or Apple.com,
you can now pick your perfect case and band combination,
rather than having to choose from the more limited
and specific combinations that Apple chooses for you,
which is how it's been
since the launch of the original Apple Watch.
So there you have it.
Those are the five things you need to know
about the Apple Watch Series 5.
And I'm sure you're wondering,
we're gonna get the question in the comments somewhere,
which Apple Watch did I order?
Now I took a poll on Twitter 'cause I was having a hard time
in making the decision between white ceramic and titanium.
Both look excellent.
Both look striking.
As I've said, I've owned the two white ceramic Apple Watches
and love them to death.
But I made the decision this time to go with something
that I've never had before,
which none of us had ever had before.
I went with a Space Black titanium Apple Watch.
So I'm gonna give that a try.
I'm gonna see how it looks.
I'm sure I'm gonna enjoy how much lighter it is
than the stainless steel Series 4 that I have now.
But all in all, you cannot go wrong
if you pick an Apple Watch edition model.
They all look amazing.
You can pre-order the Apple Watch Series 5 right now,
and the Apple Watch Studio is available right now as well.
So if you want to pick the Apple Watch casing
and pick the specific band, you can do that right now.
And the watches will be available on September 20th.
The GPS-only version starts at $399.
And if you want a cellular model, that will start at $499.
Let me know in the comments below
if you plan on picking up an Apple Watch Series 5,
or are you happy with a previous generation Apple Watch
that you already have.
Let me know in the comments.
I'll meet you there for further discussion.
Don't forget, I have a video on the new iPhone 11
and iPhone 11 Pro and I have more videos coming
on everything that Apple announced at the event,
including upcoming reviews on all the hardware.
Until next time, thank you so much for watching.
As always, guys, I appreciate your support.
I'm Andru Edwards, and I will catch you in the next video.
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