Have you noticed your G-shock square auto light glitches? Review

This GWM-5610 is a feature-rich forum favorite with a very good outward appearance out of the bag to match its reputation for reliability and usability. I longed for one and finally gave in, thinking it could complement my collection as a thinner, better looking, no-hands alternative to my also-feature-rich GAW. As purchased, the Matte black 5610 is quite nice, even if light touch can make scuffs, temporarily. Other minor first look critiques: digits are smaller than those on my other standard comparitor, the AE-1200. Also the viewing angles on the 5610 are only a hair better than the Royale, which was disappointing, because the 5610 is ultimately significantly less readable. To start out about function, at the intersection with aesthetics, the backlight is full display but slightly uneven and the crystal or LCD display has some slightly distracting refraction going on. To be fair, that's offset by the refraction also showing over the solar panel and iconic red rounded-square line which just adds to the beauty and 3-dimensionality.

In terms of weight, its not bad, but when wearing is odd, somehow much worse than the bulkier GAW 100. THE 5610 is like a tiny brick on a thin strap, which would be fine, except the strap should be better, either softer or more flexible but grippy. Maybe this contributed to my issue with the auto light.

Unfortunately, the 5610 as received had several problems, maybe by design, maybe due to damage or defect, including 2 functionally and one that just looks like packaging damage, and, of course I ended up returning it. These concerns are: tough buttons, a stained case back, and glitchy auto light activation angles. The 4 buttons are slightly harder to press than they should be, being both recessed and a bit more stiff than needed. Then, there is a black stain on the etched titanium case back, possibly from scraping the cheap plastic stand it was sent on-- yes, it was given the same packaging as the F91W. Finally, and worst of all for me, the auto illumination only works at awkward angles. This was completely unlike my chunky GAW, which lights up when flipping the wrist up in a normal way. From reading reviews and checking videos, it is unclear whether this is a common problem that can be repaired or if its a bad design that cannot. I won't be finding out first hand.

Sum up: I really wanted a thinner, digital-only version of my GAW 100 but did not get it. Value for money was not good enough.