Here is my final assessment of Braun Series 5. I also have a Philips Arcitec RQ1095 so I am comparing the two shavers:
Performance: Both shavers give a pretty good shave, however Braun’s ActiveLift technology is fantastic, it shaves flat lying hair under the chin really well. Philips fails miserably in this respect. Just based on this I would recommend Braun over Philips.
Skin Irritation: Neither of the shavers irritate my skin, however Philips is much more smoother on the skin. Its round flat shaving head results in the shaver gliding much more effortlessly over the skin, and you can shave in all directions. Philips is more comfortable to shave with
Quality: Braun feels ‘plasticy’ whereas Philips feels more solid. You can see more metal and it might be even slightly heavier. While Philips feels more solid, in practice both shavers could be just as durable.
Cleaning: Philips is much more convenient to clean manually. For automatic cleaning Braun is much much faster, it takes a few minutes compared with over an hour that Philips takes. However the Philips cleaning unit is far more high tech, it’s a pleasure to watch it in action! However we don't buy shavers to watch it clean itself!
Trimmer: Braun’s trimmer is more convenient and accurate to use.
Battery Life: Brauns battery life is about 40 minutes compared with about 80 minutes for Philips. 40 minutes is still a long time. Assuming you take 2 minutes per shave, that’s charging every 20 days instead of 40 days. Not a big issue.
Comfort: Braun vibrates a bit, at times it is uncomfortable to hold and use. Philips is very smooth.
Overall Impressions: Braun looks and feels less impressive compared with Philips, however they both give a good close shave. However based on performance I would prefer Braun because of its very impressive ActiveLift technology.
