Display Comparison - 5 v 5S, Sapphire v Glass

At the moment I've got a 5 Sapphire and a 5S non-Sapphire, so I thought I take a couple of photos to show the display difference in terms of resolution and clarity before one of them goes back.

I've posted the photos here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/64vnksruik27pyh/AAATdyH7CaqeDkiIuQvxUE7Ta?dl=0

Only quick shots, but hopefully enough to illustrate the similarities/differences.

I've not labelled the photos, but the ones with the black bezel are the f5, the silver bezel the f5S

Resolution-wise, I'd say you'd be hard-pressed to notice any difference - the 0.1" difference in display size isn't really go to make the difference between being able to read something or not, and the lower pixel count doesn't seem to be evident - the increased number of colours over the f3 probably helps here.

What is quite surprising is how clear the standard glass is compared to the sapphire. When you see the sapphire on its own, you don't notice anything, but up against the glass you realise just how much less transparent the sapphire is. In real life it still appears clearer than the photos, you don't see the almost tinted effect that the photo shows, but what you do notice is just how much dimmer the sapphire display is compared to the glass one (all these photos were taken without the backlight on)

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

What about bezel protection ? I'm seeing a lot of F3HR pics with pretty beat up bezels :-(

My bezel is good and scratched up. Don't wear yours while you lift weights, that's where a lot of the damage came from, and to be honest the watch isn't especially useful for this. I wear mine all day every day, so it's been subject to the elements.

A scratch on the glass would bother me, on the bezel, it's not such a big deal at all. It doesn't get in the way of seeing the info the watch is showing you. If the glass was scratched and you couldn't read your pace, that would be a problem.

You can see some minor, cosmetic damage along the bottom of the bezel. This is an F3HR.

0 chong67 over 8 years ago

Went to BB store and saw the Gear S3. WOW, the screen is nice. No where near the 5 on graphic and screen.

Is it comparing apple to apple?

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Went to BB store and saw the Gear S3. WOW, the screen is nice. No where near the 5 on graphic and screen.

Is it comparing apple to apple?

Not even close. The Gear S3 and Apple Watch and other "smart watches" have 1 day battery life, GPS life of perhaps 5 hours, and tend to have minimal and simple fitness tracking. The Fenix 5 has 4 week standby life, 24 hour GPS life, and the most sophisticated sport and fitness tracking on earth. The screen on the Gear 3 and Apple Watch burns battery life like no tomorrow, the Garmin screen compromise is a big part of the reason the battery life is so great.

0 gchris7 over 8 years ago

Went to BB store and saw the Gear S3. WOW, the screen is nice. No where near the 5 on graphic and screen.

Is it comparing apple to apple?

This kind of display is completely pointless for a smart sport watch. Its not like you are going to watch an HD movie or play games on it.
Real Always-on , outdoor visibility and a battery efficient display is a must have for sport watch. The gear s3 doesn't have all that, but of course its not really a sport watch either.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Still love my Fenix 5 Sapphire :)

https://flic.kr/p/S2RZdY

0 Teriemer over 8 years ago

Still love my Fenix 5 Sapphire :)

https://flic.kr/p/S2RZdY

I absolutely agree. It's a very fine watch. And honestly said, colors are bright and clear in daily life with sapphire version.

However I'm still debating on whether 5S is more appropriate for me with my skinny wrist (C ref = 16,5 cm / 6,5"). I have one on pre-order, but I think I'll stay with F5.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Lots of interesting perspectives, opinions and 'facts' in this thread :)

My first post here, and my Fenix 5 will be here on Thursday so I haven't seen it in person yet, but until then, a few things with regards to this debate of the optical qualities of mineral glass vs. sapphire:

For all practical purposes, there are no real world difference between sapphire (corundum) vs hardened mineral glass when it comes to their optical properties
If we want to get into the minutiae, there are some differences between the two:
Corundum has a both a higher index of refraction as well as a higher Abbe number than mineral glass. What does this mean? A higher index of refraction (how much a substance bends, or changes the direction of light, as it passes through said substance), means more reflections will come off of the surface, which can detract from perceived image quality. This is why opticians recommend anti-reflective coatings for eyeglasses with high index lenses in particular. Corundum has a higher Abbe number, which means lower dispersion as light passes through the substance, leading to less chromatic aberration (color fringing), which increases image quality

The tl;dr is that from an optical perspective, there's no difference, which is why sapphire is universally preferred over mineral glass in the realm of high end watches, due to its hardness advantage. That being said, all watch crystals, whether sapphire or mineral, greatly, greatly benefit from anti-reflective coating, even if it's just one surface, especially for outdoors applications, like in the case here. Based on the pictures I've seen so far, it doesn't appear that Garmin has chosen to equip any of the Fenix line with an AR coating. At the high end of the Fenix 5 line, it's a bit disappointing that Garmin didn't include an AR coating in this price range.

0 chong67 over 8 years ago

Any idea if Sapphire is better than Gorilla glass made by 3M? Gorilla glass is used in smartphone.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Any idea if Sapphire is better than Gorilla glass made by 3M? Gorilla glass is used in smartphone.

Gorilla Glass is made by Corning, not 3M.

Depending on which iteration you're talking about (or versions from competitors like Schott and others), sapphire is harder and much, much more scratch resistant, but also more likely to shatter on direct impact.

0 HermoT over 8 years ago

Gorilla Glass is made by Corning, not 3M.

Anyone else noticed the coincidence here?

@donkeykong88 responding to gorilla related matters :D