I received my G5 and it seems to be working just as well as the old receiver and G4. When you set up the G5 mobile app all you need to do is scan the barcode on the transmitter box with your iPhone and it is automatically paired. The app is also more customizable than the old receiver. You can pick 400 or 300 as your graph scale for example. You can also pick different alarm sounds. Nice touch. Calibrating is so much easier now because you can just enter the value instead of have to count up from 120. Just makes things faster.
However, it has no Apple Watch capability. I’m using the Follow app for the Apple Watch and I am not pleased with it at all. It’s slower than the Share app (now replaced with the G5 app). And the screens keep switching back and forth between the summary screen and the graph screen. See pics below.
Also, there are gaps in the Follow app - even though there are no gaps in G5 app. See below.
I have no idea why the G5 does not have a watch app. I’m really disappointed and hope they release one soon. It’s the only reason I bought an apple watch.
Anthony - good review. I spoke to a Dexcom rep I know and they are working on G5 App. I actually don’t have an issue using the follow app, all my info is there. Big picture though I agree, we need the G5 Apple Watch app.
I don’t think anything will change, they will just make the G5 app compatible with the Apple Watch (which it currently isn’t). I have the hope that they will make an AW G5 version which is native to the AW.
Sounds that the G4 by now is the better solution with xDrip for
Android users. So much features and supporting many smartwatches.
I hope that xDrip app will support the G5 in future. We will see …
@anon85331563, thanks for the review. Based on what you say, I think I may hold back on this upgrade as I like the current G4 Apple Watch functionality. I’m used to toting around the Dex receiver so I don’t value the simplicity of one less device as much as others.
I do like the idea of salvaging some of that precious screen real estate by chopping off the 300-400 space that is useless to me. In fact, I’d like the ability for the user to zoom. I don’t often go over 200.
Great point! I never thought of that - but at the same time I’m sure they had to provide the FDA with the “fully-functional” G5 app. So, maybe the watch capability was never part of that FDA submission.
Any idea what the range is? Do you or would you get a notification on your phone that the transmitter is out of range? We use it to monitor my son during basketball and are worried that we might not have enough range for it to be useful.
Well, one way to look at this is that you have “volunteered” to pay a great deal more for a “monitor” (i.e. iPhone) with a much higher resolution touch screen, better speakers, and a very sophisticated processor and operating system when compared to the monitor Dexcom provides with its sensors.
Having better hardware allows them to do more.
Of course, the truly encouraging thing is that Dexcom did do more.
Hey Terry - just my opinion but the Follow App is just as functional for me. Plus you do get Haptic feedback on the watch from the G5 App itself during a High or Low Glucose alert.
I agree with Mike about the G5 alerts on the watch. It’s a little confusing, even for a techie like me, but even though the G5 doesn’t have an app on the watch you can still get alerts on the watch for highs and lows.
I was comparing the Follow app to the Share app on the watch and felt the Share app worked a lot better because it didn’t have to connect to the cloud, etc.
So, when I get to my 70 low threshold or my 120 high threshold, the G5 App will tap my wrist on my Apple Watch. Am I understanding things clearly here? If that is indeed true, that is a big incentive for me to jump when I’m eligible in November.
Forgot to mention that the G5 transmitter is fatter. For those using the Dex about a year ago its the same size as what the G4 transmitter used to be before they slimmed it down. Not a huge deal, but I did notice it.
I have not noticed any change in signal range. It’s not better, but its not worse either. I did leave my phone about 20ft away the first night and it did lose a signal, so I now keep my phone on my nightstand while I sleep.
It terms of battery draw, I noticed this morning that my phone was at 95%. It was 100% lasts night and not plugged in over night. So, it only used 5% battery in 10 hours or so.
