It’s not the most exciting year for the Apple Watch. At least, not in the way that we’ve come to expect new Apple gadgets to be exciting.

While last year’s Series 4 delivered a ton of big and small upgrades, the list of headline-worthy updates this year is notably short. In fact, except for one major change — yes, I’m talking about the new, always-on display — Series 5 is almost identical to last year’s Apple Watch.

That’s not a criticism of Series 5. And, to be clear, the display upgrade is both significant and overdue. But coming off a year that saw Apple upgrade nearly all of the watch’s hardware and add full-on electrocardiograms, this year’s Apple Watch might seem a bit underwhelming.

After wearing one for a few weeks, though, Series 5 definitely doesn’t feel underwhelming. Between the new always-on display and watchOS 6, Apple’s newest watch is still easily the best smartwatch around.

The Series 5 looks identical to last year’s Series 4. Yes, the display has changed (more on that later), but the watch itself is still pretty much the same. The base-level $399 Series 5 comes in three different aluminum finishes: space gray, silver, and gold. If you want something a little more flashy, you can opt for stainless steel (in space gray, silver, or gold), or Apple Watch Edition, which is making a comeback after taking a year off with Series 4. This includes two new titanium finishes (space black or titanium, both starting at $799), and the $1,299 white ceramic, last seen with the Series 3.

Apple tends to change up the exact cases and styles year-to-year based on demand. And though I suspect the new Apple Watch Edition models are still too pricey for many buyers, it’s nice to see greater variety.

Another notable change is that Apple is finally allowing Watch buyers to mix and match band styles and finishes. Previously, if you opted to buy a cheaper, aluminum Apple Watch, you could only choose a sport band. If you wanted, say, a leather band or Milanese loop, you had to buy the pricier band separately or look for a third-party equivalent.

That’s now changing. With Series 5, Apple is introducing “Apple Watch Studio*,”(opens in a new tab) which means you can choose any style band to go with your Apple Watch — except for the Nike and Hermes accessories, which are still exclusive to their respective watches.

It’s not the biggest change, but it’s one that made me utter a sigh of relief. Apple’s bizarre limitation on watch bands has always felt a bit ridiculous.

(*Note that if you want to mix and match bands and styles, you need to go to the Apple Watch Studio portal, which is separate from the main ordering page for Series 5.)

Okay, let’s talk about the display. That Apple is finally, finally, finally supporting “always-on” displays is one of the biggest changes to the Apple Watch ever. But it’s also one that a lot of people might underestimate. This has been on a lot of people’s wish lists (including mine) since the very first Apple Watch, but if the Apple Watch is the only smartwatch you’ve ever used, you probably don’t know what you’re missing.

Apple had to make some serious upgrades to its display tech in order to make always-on possible. The new low-temperature polysilicon and oxide display (LTPO) is able to use less power because it can adapt to your surroundings and current activity.

Practically, that means the days of walking around with a blank, dark screen are over. The display is always illuminated whether or not you move your wrist or tap on its screen. 

With the always-on, each watch face has an “active” version of the display, when it’s fully illuminated, and an ambient one, when it’s slightly dimmed. Exactly how much each watch face changes varies. More minimalist watch faces, like the new numerals face, simply get dimmer, while ones that have a second hand, like the infograph face, dim and lose the second hand.

For me, the best thing about always-on is you no longer need to make an exaggerated wrist flip just to check the time. When I’m sitting at my desk, I can glance down or subtly turn my wrist without having to physically raise my arm. Yes, this also makes it easier to discreetly check the time while you’re sitting in a meeting, but it’s not really about just being too lazy to lift your arm or saving face so you don’t seem rude. It actually makes the Apple Watch more useful.

I’ve tested dozens of smartwatches and activity trackers over years, and it’s always bothered me that the Apple Watch — one of the best and most expensive smartwatches you can buy — cannot always tell you the time, which is after all the most basic function of any watch. 

The benefits are even more clear when you’re using an app that can take advantage of the always-on display, which unfortunately is limited to Apple’s own Workout app for now. If you’re running on the treadmill, or lifting weights at the gym, you can always see where you’re at without having to twist your arm around. I really hope Apple makes this available to third-party developers at some point, because it’s really a shame other exercise apps can’t do the same, though concerns about battery life likely played a role in this decision.

Speaking of battery life, Apple says the Series 5 has the same “all day” 18-hour battery life as last year’s Series 4, and that’s mostly held up in my testing. Most days I’m able to make it through the whole day without the battery getting down to critical levels, but there’s no way it will last through the night if you forget to charge.

Some reviewers said they managed to squeeze in a few extra hours by disabling the always-on display, but I can’t see myself bothering to do this unless I was really desperate to eke out a few more hours.

That’s because the Apple Watch’s battery life overall is still decent, but not great. Even if you can get another hour or two by disabling always-on, you’ll still have to charge your Apple Watch every single night, just like every other Apple Watch before it. I don’t love that, but I’ve more or less accepted it at this point. And to me, having a better display all day is worth giving up a couple extra hours when I’m more likely to be home and near my charger anyway.

Many hoped this would be the year Apple would add native sleep tracking to the Apple Watch (following the company’s acquisition(opens in a new tab) of sleep tracking startup Beddit in 2017) which would have likely required more significant battery improvements. While that remains a big question mark, Apple did deliver a few updates on the health side.

First, a native watch app for logging and tracking menstrual cycles. Apple’s Health app has had cycle tracking functionality for years, but this has been missing from the Apple Watch, despite the popularity of third-party period tracking apps.

With Apple’s Cycle Tracking app, you can keep tabs on where you’re at in your cycle, log symptoms like cramping, and get personalized predictions about when your next period is likely to start. It’s nothing new if you’ve used other period tracking apps, but it’s nice to see Apple acknowledging the health of roughly half the population in a meaningful way. (And, if you don’t need or want cycle tracking, you can now remove some of Apple’s pre-loaded apps from your watch.)

Also on the health side is a new Noise app, which can keep tabs on the noise levels of your surroundings and warn you if you’re risking potential hearing loss. So far in my testing I haven’t been anywhere loud enough to trigger any warnings, but I can see how it could be particularly useful for people who frequently work in loud environments.

For example, on a recent flight I could see that the noise levels hovered around 75-80DB, which, according to the Noise app, isn’t an unsafe level on its own, but could be potentially damaging with long term exposure.

Apple added a magnetometer so the Series 5 can double as a magnetic compass, something that’s been common in analog watches for years. In other years, this would have gone under the radar. But in a year with few major updates, a compass app is a big deal.

The app itself is… fine. In addition to the actual compass dial, you can see your current elevation, exact GPS coordinates, and a few other metrics I imagine would be most useful to geocachers or someone who is lost in the woods.

The main reason why the compass matters, though, is because other apps can also be positionally aware. Maps, for example, can point you in the exact direction you need to walk. A hiking app can guide you on your route. Yelp can point you to the closest pizza joint. A stargazing app can tell you where to look to see specific constellations. 

Speaking of apps, it’s also worth mentioning that watchOS 6 adds a dedicated App Store app for the first time. This is nice because you can install a watch app without being forced to install its iPhone counterpart. At the same time, navigating the wrist version of the App Store is just not that great.

There are curated lists of apps you might want to try, but it’s difficult to really browse, downloads are slow, and the whole process just feels a little clunky. 

If you’ve made it this far and you’re still wondering whether or not you should get a Series 5, the answer really depends on what your current setup is. For most people, a compass app and an always-on display aren’t, on their own, make or break features.

If that’s you, and you bought a Series 4 last year, then there’s very little reason to upgrade again this time around. If you have a Series 3 or older, though, the improvements are much more noticeable. The Series 5 will be noticeably speedier, and the new display will feel like a more dramatic improvement. (You might also appreciate having more variation in finishes and band styles.)

The fact that the Apple Watch seems boring this year is also a testament to just how much Apple has perfected it over the last several years. Yes, the battery life could still be better, and I will never stop wanting third-party watch faces, but the Apple Watch is still hands down the best smartwatch around, and Series 5 delivers more than enough improvements to keep that title.