Apple Watch Series 5 Review: Always-on makes all the difference

It’s tough to tell the difference between the Apple Watch Series 5 and the previous generation Series 4 from the outside, at least depending on which finish you pick. Like before, there are 40mm and 44mm versions, to suit different wrist sizes. Aluminum can be had in silver, gold, and space gray, while stainless steel comes in gold, silver, and space black.

New with the Series 5 are Titanium and Ceramic cases. The former is available in natural brushed or space black, but it’s really the weight change which is most dramatic: it honestly feels like you’re wearing a replica mock-up on your wrist, it’s so light. White ceramic will be arriving this fall, and skews to the other end of the scale: dense and gleaming, it’s like a piece of furniture from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

You pay handsomely for the titanium and ceramic models. An aluminum Apple Watch Series 5 starts at $399 for 40mm or $429 for 44mm, with cellular $100 on top; the stainless steel is $699 for the 40mm and $749 for the 44mm, though cellular is standard. If you want the titanium Series 5, however, that’ll be $799 for the 40mm and $849 for the 44mm, with cellular standard, while the ceramic is a hefty $1,299 for 40mm and $1,349 for 44mm, with cellular standard.

Altogether that’s eighteen different materials and finishes across the different sizes. While that may seem like a lot, there’s a solid argument that a smartwatch is just as much about jewelry as it is functionality. Apple is embracing that this time around with the Apple Watch Studio.

Until now, the Apple Watch has been packaged with a default strap. That made logistics easier from Apple’s side, but it did mean that – if you had your heart set on a different band – you’d have to buy that separately. Now, Apple allows you to mix and match: the aluminum and stainless steel models come with a choice of a Sport Band or a Sport Loop, while the titanium and ceramic come with a choice of Sport Loop.

As for durability, I inadvertently put that to the test when I dropped the Apple Watch when trying – pre-coffee – to fasten the strap. Despite the most affordable model using Gorilla glass rather than sapphire glass like the stainless steel models and up, and the watch falling face-down on a wooden floor from chest height, it survived without a scratch. Unsurprisingly, when I actually got it on my wrist, I had an elevated heart rate.