Mike Wuerthele
Repair mavens iFixit have torn apart the new Apple Watch Series 5, and have detailed not just a larger battery, but the teardown has also shown an improved ambient light sensor on an x-ray image of the device.
The battery is 1.4% larger than in the Apple Watch Series 4, giving just a bit more life in that regard. The battery has grown to 296 mAh versus the 291.8 mAh model in the Apple Watch Series 4. However, iFixit says that the extended battery life in the Apple Watch Series 5 has more to do with the LTPO screen than the increase in battery capacity.
The X-ray itself doesn't show much about the improved ambient light sensor. The same x-ray shows the improved power management chip, as well. Not immediately evident is any mechanism or sensor for the compass functionality.
Apple has slightly redesigned the layout of the watch, and has modified some connectors versus previous models. As a result, even though the S5 system-in-package chip in the Apple Watch Series 5 is the same other than the flash storage, parts are not interchangeable between generations.
Apple Watch Series 5 components - photo courtesy iFixitThe repair venue has given the Apple Watch Series 5 a reparability score of 6 out of 10, with 10 being the easiest fix.
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10 Comments
Can anyone speak to their real-world experience to the battery life on the Series 5 compared with other models....
First thing that comes to my mind when looking at the components.....Moore’s Law"
It's already been published that the ambient light sensor is an improved low power device to allow it to run continuously to support the new always on display. The new display system consists of three main parts, all new: the display panel itself, the ambient light sensor, and low power driver hardware.