G-Shock GWM5610U - Did Casio Ruin a Classic? 

A little insight: the reason why Casio is abandoning el backlight on most models is pretty sensible: it has a limited lifespan, and it lowers display clarity. The el backlight uses a film, that’s either in front or behind the digits, depending on the model, and it’s not completely transparent, lowering contrast in both cases. This model in particular already suffers in the clarity department because of the solar panel, which is a continuous sheet of glass (it goes over the display, even where there’s no panel), so reducing the number of layers between the surface and the screen is a positive.

It’s objectively false to call the led backlight a “downgrade”. You can rightly say you don’t prefer it, but the fact is that the led has a longer operating life and a lower energy consumption than the el light. Additionally, the new backlight lets you determine the length of illumination, which the old module did not allow.

I agree about the Illuminator backlight being better than LED, but for me, it’s a small price to pay because the newer version is better then the old in every other way

I actually am a huge fan of the new LED, overall the 5610U fixed almost every gripe I had about the previous 5610 that made it not worth me wearing. Thanks to the updated module the 5610U is now my everyday watch. The only thing I wish they had changed was the alarm, the single multifunction alarm like the 5600E has would be far more practical to me than 5 alarms and a snooze.

The electro luminescense was changed because over the long term, the backlight burns out, whereas the LED doesn't. This can be seen as an upgrade.

One of the reasons I bought this watch was for that classic ‘80’s design, but the solar and atomic time sync won me over.

I agree the EL looks better. However, the transistor makes a high pitch noise, drains the battery much quicker, has more environmental cost with the powder layer of zinc sulphide with copper, and it can burn out quicker(3k-5k hours as opposed to 50k-70k hours with LED). I think LED when done well, is the way to go.

I just picked up a 5610 and I was actually disappointed that it didn't have the full Electroluminescent. Like you, I really like the full EL of my 5600.

I own both versions. Changing the date format from month/day to day/month is a HUGE improvement for me😅 Just loved then soooo much❤😊

I know lot of people have already mentioned this in the comments. But casio have improved the whole "tough" character of this watch by moving to the LED light. There is a GW-5000 which has a metal core and screw back, if you want even more toughness but that watch is 3x the price of gw-m5610u which is not worth it for me. The resin core is tough enough to be ran over by a tank and waterproof to the same amount, you don't really need anything more than a gw-m5610u. I am saying this as the gw-m5610u is quite cheap, the gw-m5610u is the best square g shock currently. I wouldn't be comfortable throwing around the other costlier squares like gw-5000u, gmw series watches, etc.

The duration of the back light was a big gripe for me but with the new model you can choose from 2 light on duration settings. Living in the UK, the date format option is a bonus too.

Here in the UK, the price of the 5600E is about 80GBP, the 5610u I got for 95GBP, so it was a no brainer really. I'm very pleased with it, finding the LED light functional and the radio synch and solar mean totally maintenance free. The similarity in appearance to the original is great, too.

Yes, I find this backlight “upgrade” to be a bummer. Having grown up on Timex watches, I like the Indiglo lighting. I was disappointed that they removed that smooth, soft lighting from the newer version.

It is a functional update, the LED is less aggressive on the battery. which will extend its useful life by using it fully.

EL is an outdated technology, it looks visually better and that's it. In any case, I support the LED update. We don't use lighting to admire how beautiful it is, but to see information in the dark. In the end, I guess the engineers at CASIO know better than we do

I owned it since one month and absolutely love it. I'm very glad of the retros style with the red label, mustard letters and blue water resist info. Maybe I will prefer a fade in/out light to be less agressive on dark environments. Previous to this i had purchased a gw-b5600 that was a pain in the ass, a very poor legible inverted display, a totally useless bluetooth connection with a crappy app. This is absolutely the best valie/price squared.

No. It’s basically perfect now. Has the same light as the Rangeman, it’s much more efficient and won’t wear out like an el backlight. And then different date formats alongside current time in the stopwatch and timer mode? We’re talking about one of the greatest watches ever made hands down, and the old one was already a contender for that!

• Adjustable 1.5 or 3 second afterglow for light (versus 1.5 second non-adjustable afterglow on module 3159) - Important to me; • Current time display in stopwatch and countdown timer mode - Important to me. Finally they eliminated this nonsense, which was not present even in the simple classic DW-5600. • 24-hour countdown timer is settable in units of seconds and not only hours and minutes - Important to me. Finally they eliminated this nonsense, which was not present even in the simple classic DW-5600. • Adjustable date format (M.DD or DD.M) and adjustable day of week language (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian) - Important to me (I'm not an English speaker). • Quick return to timekeeping mode by holding down Mode (C) button for more than 1 second - good to have. • Home city time and world time display swap in world time mode by pressing the top two buttons (A and B) at the same time; • 5 world time settings (48 cities), 31 time zones, the additional 2 time zones are for the cities of Fernando de Noronha (-2) and Kathmandu (+5.75). For me it is much more important that the backlight can now last 3 seconds. I have no problem with the backlight itself, especially since LED is more long-lasting, does not lose brightness over time like EL, and consumes less power. I can only complain about the display, which has one of the worst viewing angles of any G-Shocks (the same in the old 5610 version).

IMHO the new back light is fine and the update for the date configuration is great. It's a great update on the classic square.

EL has a lifespan significantly shorter than LED. EL to LED is more a sidegrade than upgrade/downgrade depending on your preference whether the saturated lights coming from the sides bothers you or not. UV adds to the degradation of EL films. I can see why Casio made this decision to replace EL with LED since they're supposed to be "Tough". My heavily used GW-7900's EL is dimmer than my 5610 even on new batteries. It's funny to think that tough solars came with EL.

I'm one of the few who prefer led light to background light and I like the color too. I have watches with green and amber light and this white bluish one is better for me.

I belong to the camp who likes the old EL light. Have anyone seen the black negative display version gw-m5610u-1B? How does the led light looks like? Does it also shine a bright spot from the side, making an uneven look ? I really want to get the negative display but held back when I read about EL being replaced

defeats the whole purpose of the watch going from EL to LED. Its supposed to be a retro classic sticking to its roots with that smooth cool blue green, sad they changed away from EL

The original also has the auto illumination feature, but I would imagine the new version draws less power. It also let's you view the current time when using the stopwatch, and it has 5 world time selections. I prefer the blue-green EL over the white LED on the new one, and the new features don't really improve the watch by that much. Both are great options.

The fact that you can see the current time in chronometer/ countdown modes with the updated module make it an upgrade.

To save you some time, no, they didn’t ruin it. They improved it. You’re welcome. Here are upgrades in detail: * Bright white LED backlight * Adjustable 1.5 or 3 second afterglow for light * Current time display in stopwatch and countdown timer mode * 24-hour countdown timer is settable in units of seconds and not only hours and minutes * Adjustable date format (M.DD or DD.M) and adjustable day of week language (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian) * Quick return to timekeeping mode by holding down Mode (C) button for more than 1 second * Home city time and world time display swap in world time mode by pressing the top two buttons (A and B) at the same time * 5 world time settings (48 cities), 31 time zones, the additional 2 time zones are for the cities of Fernando de Noronha (-2) and Kathmandu (+5.75)

I know the feeling you're describing. I have a 5610 from a couple years back with the EL lighting, and I enjoy it. I upgraded to a GMW-B5000 because I liked the all steel case, but it's got a similar white LED lighting instead of the previous blue lume- far from a deal breaker, just a nitpick.

A complete overreaction. The U model is far superior to its predecessor in every single category.

The EL switch to LED is a reasonable trade off, even if you’re not happy with the LED. Yes, it doesn’t look as even when lit, but what you lose in unevenness, you gain in more energy saving function , which is a preference for me. It definitely shouldn’t be a deal breaker for anyone, in my opinion. I keep the auto light function turned off. The novelty wore off for me in under a week. When it unintentionally goes off, it just becomes annoying, especially considering the energy waste.

Your mentioned downgrade is actually a huge upgrade: The lifetime of the EL blacklight is 5000 h. The lifetime of the LED is 50 000 h. Also it uses less energy and the light is brighter. The funcationallty of the world time makes also a huge difference.

Todo lo contrario. El led tiene mejor vejez respecto a los paneles electroiluminados, gastan menos baterias y ademas le da un mejor contraste a los numeros con respecto a la pantalla cuando la luz no esta encendida. Sin mencionar el cambio de modulo en el nuevo modelo, el cual es mucho mas completo

Get over it. It's a watch with a light so you can see the time....Some guys can really nitpick and nag over about anything.....Give it away, keep your old one,,,get new old one.....sell the new one ffs man...

I have the U and i love it! It’s such a worthy upgrade to the 5610

The differences between the two modules aren't enough to matter. I happen to like the green light a little more, but if something happened to my watch I would probably just "upgrade" to the U version. I don't care about the additional U features, though and none are compelling enough for me to spend $100 on a new watch.

For me 1987 g shock is the best because it was my first one.

Electro is old, this watch is the best G Shock - it is cheap, doesn’t look like a huge toy, has solar and automatic setting so it is perfect!

I'm glad to own the "old" GWM5610

The update version is an upgrade for most people, having the dual time display on solar, longer backlight, dd:m option, etc... Its fair that the backlight changing is a difference, but thats subjective, worse for some people better for others

Going to be honest, I like the led better. And the 3 second light timer is a win.

Trust me the LED light on the 5610U will grow on you, I really like the new led light it feels futuristic and hits the eyes nicely.

The old model Electroluminescence will fail in time while the new led will be more durable lasting longer.

I think the new white led light sips less energy than the old tech so it makes the watch more efficient. Also, it supposedly allows the digits to be more crisp. I just wish it was amber like the Casio Royale. I love those amber LEDs

They gave us the option to lengthen the afterglow time but took away the green light. I'm glad I snatched the non U model

Purchased mine in 2012 love it

I had/have three of them and would have bought the U if I hadn't bought the GW-5000U. The new model is such an big improvement with date format, day of the week in German and shown time in count down and stop watch mode. The light is different sure. But maybe it doesn't drain the battery as much as the EL does. I could never use the auto illumination because the battery could never be charged quick enough.

I also prefer the EL to the New LED light. So what if it dims, at least its uniformed. It may dim but not to the point you eyes can't see the time on the watch. The U is pretty kool also. I sure they are both great. lighting is just a preference.

i prefer the new light. the interface and having the time on the screens is a HUGE improvement. You're entitled to your opinion but seems rather overdramatic to me.

I have both EL and LED g-shocks. The LED is much brighter and has 3s duration (vs 1.5s EL) so I often use it as a lantern when I don't want to turn the lights on.

I've had issues with the battery runtime on a very cheap solar powered Casio watch (AL-190), but never with a G-Shock. Either the solar cell or the module is more efficiant, but they charge up quickly and can run for a long time without getting much light. Same goes for the Citizen Eco-Drive, those too work very well and for a long period of time without much light. Especially on a very water resistant watch I would want to avoid opening it up if at all possible. So I do like solar charging on these.

I have a G-Shock GW-M600A and the new 5610 model you have. Both are solar/atomic. The M600A has electroluminescence and like you said the new (upgraded) 5610 has an LED light. I prefer the LED. It's brighter. If you look at the full functions and settings between the old 5610 and the new one, you'll see there are some upgrades. I think one is light duration. Before it had no choice for light duration and you only had 1.5 sec of lume. Now you can choose 1 or 3 sec. There are other differences too.

It's a shame about the EL backlight loss but they fixed my main gripe with the 5610 - Now you can actually see the current time (in the date window) when using the countdown timer. EL backlights have a shelf life and severely dim over the years so the LED, while uglier should last longer too. Still, I'm bummed to hear Amazon misrepresented the product on the website.

The LED has a much better lifespan than EL. EL has tendency to dim over the years

I prefer the led light, the updated version is a greeeat watch. Good video.

The alarm is very low on noise than other models...

Removing EL is a terrible move, i agree. I was about to get this watch until i noticed this change, now i'm looking into other G-Shocks (that aren't 200 USD) and it's hard to find something as good as this for the price

The backlight is not a problem as long as it's readable.

The biggest thing I have noticed about the 5610 and the 5610U is the terrible viewing angles. Driving, typing, sitting on the couch anything where I would normally just glance down to read the time, now I need to really turn my wrist to see the face straight on. This is not the case on the 5600e. Terrible.

Actually if you want the real retro vibe led is the way to go, EL Backlight i think came in the 90´s, as for the 80´s there were only led lit and not as clear as it is today

The gw-b5600 have 4 corner LED it look more uniform, but still that EL is still pretty nice.

I like more EL ilumination but i have bought the new model "U"

Look at the original from the 80s…..it’s just the same with the light source from the left, except that was much more noticeable and of course the new LED is a thousand times more reliable than the tiny incandescent. Nothing to complain about here at all!

I just ordered the 5601-1 from Amazon and was concerned that it would NOT be the new upgraded version. The features they have added far outweigh the difference in the backlight. Plus it sounds as though the LED is more efficient and will last longer.

I got a 5610 from Amazon and was immediately disappointed. It felt very small on my wrist and the display looked horrible. I sent it back the same day.

The LED is poorly implemented in this model and doesn't diffuse the light well. There are G Shocks with better LED backlighting such as the full metal squares and I kinda prefer those LEDs to EL. Nice fade in/out and very even. But the LED in this one and the GW5000U sucks. Casio went cheap on the implementation. If they're going to "upgrade" at least make it better. EL lifespan may be shorter but it's already long enough. I've got 20+ year old G Shocks and the EL is fine.

I have a gw5610. wanted to get the 5000 for a while. I check back and see that they've released an updated version which fixes the date issue i have with the 5610, but the led is a bummer. The new gw-5000u with an EL backlight would have literally been the perfect watch for me. Shame 🙁

Dude, the Bluetooth with Multiband 6 ad Tough Solar models are awesome. Great timekeepers and always tough. Always on time, all the time.

A solar watch should not be limited to a 1.5 sec light. Should be 3 sec min and actually lit when pushed.

A bunch of objective upgrades vs a subjective "downgrade" = a better watch

Excellent review; it's interesting to hear about the new "GWM5610U" model.

The new 5610 is much better, I can live with the LED light.

Solar power is meh to me. I’ve collected many g shocks throughout the years and only once did I change the battery; and it was a model that was known to have dead batteries anyway.

Love the led over the old light. It doubles as a little light if you are in pitch black to help you see. Also the time view on the stopwatch and timer make this a perfect square. I would love to have seen one more page with sun rise and set times (and maybe tide to somehow, but I have gulfman, gulfmaster, rangeman and frogman for those things but I do love the square).

I purchased mine from Amazon about 3 months ago, and my caseback says 5610U with all the same features of the original. So I must have the second generation and you must have the third

I liked the El-Backlight appearence too, but it is no less ledgible with the Power Saving LED that stays on longer. All in all, its a tradeoff I will gladly take for the new features and longer light on period. Now if they could just locate that LED behind the display. An expensive and superior solution would be an OLED display, but that is a price doubler at a minimum. Starts looking like a smartwatch then, losing its 80s appeal and OLEDs currently are not as tough.

For me the light feature begins and ends on one thing.. Can I see the time in low light or none.. If the answer is yes colour or direction of the light = I don't care, a tad nit picky of you dude the watch is awesome..

For me that i work in a office it's better to have european date format. US date format was a problem for me

LED lasts much longer. Electroluminescent has a half life which is not a battery thing. It'll fade with time no matter what. Your main argument is technologically flawed.

I like everything about the 5610u better (including the backlight). I guess it’s a matter of preference, but the new feature of allowing you to see current time in different modes is very good. I have ~15 g-shocks (including 2 rangeman and 3 5610s). The new 5610u gets used more than all of the others combined.

Interesting. On the plus side, the LCD should be clearer for not having the electroluminescence.

The led backlight is supposed to have 10x the life of el backlight

I like this new one. Im gonna pick one up when my old model ones break

I have a 5600 with EL, and few years later, it starts to fails, but my GWN with LED it's waaaay more bright and las longer. I think the only bad thing with the 5600 models are the small buttons, which are almost impossible to press them with gloves.

Thanks for the video. And "no", is the correct answer. :)

I want the old lighting with the new technology :( but, ill settle for the new lighting it theres no other way.

White light will save power.

The EL backlight will burnout overtime ... like my 9300 mudman lcd its not sharp as it used to be ... Casio moving into the right direction

On new model you can choose 3 sec light duration vs 1 sec which is an upgrade for me.

Light last longer an this model i like it.

This elektric green is amazing but it fades out or give up after some years. So I had old watches without backlight out of this reason. The LED does not look as good but last longer. So it is not as nice but hold up longer.... So it is a pro and a con at the same time I guess.

LED is fine by me.

Thanks for the info. I picked up the DW5600E on black Friday , it was only $35 usd, it's still selling for $39 now. I think the solar toughs or the Citizen eco-drives etc... are more or less a gimmick . The solar batteries can go bad too and it's very cheap and easy to just change out the regular batteries especially on a Casio. I much prefer the old EL light too... but that auto light up feature is pretty cool I must admit, and you got it at a great price.

Actually after some time I got behind the LED, especially since the EL will apparently degrade faster over time than the LED. I hope to get even more time out of my watch and this is in line with that goal.

It is Dissapointing they did Not make timer with Repetitions option 😔. We have 2023 allready.

I have the original. For me this is downgrade not update...

Curious that most people don’t realise that (YYYY)-MM-DD is the standard date order for much (if not all) of East Asia, including Japan. (Also it’s the preferred date order for all things IT because it’s the most logical there)

I was about to buy the gw5610u-1 and wanted to see a review and found out about the green backlight one (gw5610-1) and now I want only this one but in can't find it without it being overpriced😅

I have two 5610's in my collection and I am quite happy with the ones I have. The upgrades are fine with the new version but not really much use to me personally. I will stick with the ones I have. The backliight for me on the new version seems to be a downgrade to me imo and they should have kept the EL of the original 5610's.

Well I'm with you in this case! I have a big collection of G-shocks! I got to say I love the old A El illumination! In my rangeman model also this uneven led illumination... So ugly.. Way too much light just in one corner... Not good! . But all green light screen is so beautifull! Also meet in my G-9300-1ER! And belive me the A El light will live more than you, not a problem! Personally I love the old retro Casio style. So it's a matter of choice! 3:09 say it all! 💪. Cheers.

I will swap mine for yours anyway, I’m in the uk and the date format is the only thing I would love to change on my watch

I love this new updated model