Apple Watch Series 5 Outperforms More Than 20 Smartwatches In Consumer Reports' Tests

Another one of Apple's products has been hailed the best in its category, outperforming other devices in its class.

After announcing that the iPhone 11 Pro Max bested all other smartphones in terms of overall performance and battery life, Consumer Reports now announced that another one of Apple's devices –the Apple Watch Series 5– is the best among other smartwatches available in the market today.

The Apple Watch Series 5 may not have new features worthy of Steve Job's “one more thing,” but it does bring enough improvements over the Series 4 to make it the best smartwatch money can buy at the moment. It did this by doing what the Series 4 models did best “a little better,” and by adding a few more features not found in its predecessor.

Consumer Reports tested the base Series 5 model in aluminum and the more expensive stainless steel version. Here's why it ranked the Apple Watch Series 5 as the best among more than 20 other smartwatches that it rated:

Heart rate and step monitoring

Consumer Reports tested the Series 5's ability to accurately count a person's steps and monitor their heart rate, and found that it performed slightly better than the top-rated Series 4 in terms of step counting. The Series 5 Stainless Steel version got an Excellent rating in heart rate monitoring while the aluminum version only got a Very Good rating.

Durability and Water Resistance

Both models were subjected to scratch and water resistance tests and came out unscathed. Both received Very Good ratings on the scratch test that involved using picks on the screen. They were also able to withstand underwater pressure when dropped at a depth of up to 50 meters. Users won't need to worry about using them anywhere.

Ease of Use

Both Series 5 models were given an Excellent rating for their ease of use. Both models were very easy to operate and were easy to pair with a phone. It also said its easy to read what the displays show regardless of whether there's bright or low light.

Consumer Reports said that despite the Excellent rating, not everyone is capable of buying the Apple Watch Series 5 because it is expensive. Those who can't afford to get a Series 5 model can buy an older one and upgrade it to WatchOS 6 instead to enjoy most of the new features.

Those who don't need the Series 4 and 5's ECG and fall detection features can choose to buy a Series 3 model instead. At $200, it still offers a few features such as heart rate monitoring, step counting, and also provides smart coaching for workouts.