Apple Watch Series 2

Introduction

After 18 months of the first release of the Apple Watch Series 1, were we actually waiting for a second Apple Watch, especially after being disappointed at the first release? I think not. Nevertheless, Apple can still surprise us and here the Californian firm is doing right way this time.

At the first look at the new Apple, is looks strictly identical to the first one. However, several internal updates were made to this new version. Simply by giving what the first Watch (or Series 1, as it should be called now) desperately needed: a Bigger battery, a much higher maximum brightness, more power, a standalone GPS and finally certified waterproofing (W50M)! With these new cards in hand, Apple will attempt even more to make its new Watch a bridge between the beginner or moderate sportsman and the smartphone user who wants to add an accessory to his wrist without having to address a brand of sport. And as our duty to give you the right information, we took the time to test the watch in depth for you. That’s why it’s been a month since we wear an Apple Watch Series 2 every day. So, are the connected watches interesting enough in 2017 to purchase? That’s what we’re going to see.

The physical specs:

With its Watch Series 2, Apple seems to want to correct the flaws of the previous model, while playing the cautious card of an unchanged exterior design. The rectangular case with rounded edges is therefore not refined, as one would have hoped, but its design and shape are always irreproachable.

The Series 2 introduces an Oled touch screen at brightness 1000 cd / m². Since the new slab is much brighter, it facilitates reading and checking notifications in full sun. On the size and definition, no changes have been made; the size remains 1.5 inches with 272 x 340 pixels on the 38 mm and 1.7 inches in 312 x 390 pixels on the 42 mm. The digital crown and the side button are always on the menu, as is the dual-drive heart rate monitor on the back of the case, while the energy recharge is carried out once again by induction.

Apple also reviewed its speakers and microphone. This improvement will actually enhance comfort for its users. The second micro perforation on the left side of the watch will ensure a better sound capture when making a call or when calling Siri, which will be very convenient for anyone who Dictates messages by car, for example.

Performance:

The Series 2 also inaugurates a mobile home chip, the S2 (S1 on the first watch), announced 50% more efficient and more performant.

As for general ergonomics and usage, it is worth highlighting the efforts made by Apple since the first watch. This coming primarily from watchOS 3 and it is, therefore, observable on The Series 1. The accelerometer is much better handled on the hour consultation, with a small wrist movement that can display the dial, with no pronounced movement. That said; the navigation in the device takes a little more sense. Of course, the digital crown still refuses to validate a selection when we press it – it is still as aberrant from our point of view – but the main button finally makes sense by displaying the shortcuts Functions and apps.

An implacable logic that had escaped Apple on the first version is the waterproofness. Series1 was only resistant to splashing. And because this is the main novelty, at least the most conspicuous, it’s worth mentioning that the new watch is supposedly waterproof up to 50 meters. Whether at sea, in the shower, at the pool, the Watch Series 2 has never shown any signs of reluctance. Prepared for immersion, the Watch also switches to inactive screen mode (no interaction possible, except informative for the dial on a wrist movement) during an aquatic activity. To exit this mode, turn the crown out of the water (the watch detects it) enough to fill a circle of water displayed on the screen. The latter then unlocks and the communication loudspeaker automatically resonates with 5 pulses to remove any liquid residue from the structure. Simple, smart and avoids any fear of soaking a system of this kind in water just as much as this guarantees Apple the integrity of the product.

Autonomy:

For some reason, Apple prefers not communicating on the battery capacity of its watch. However, we can speculate today on what contains this watch. We already know that Apple designed a bigger version, even if only by the thickness of the case, but also that the small 38 mm model incorporates a battery of 273 mAh, versus 205 mAh on the first Apple Watch. One can imagine that the battery of the 42-mm Watch Series 2 is with a capacity slightly higher than 300 mAh. That’s what proposes certain references on the Wear sector, like Motorola 360 Sport of Motorola, also the Gear S2 – waiting for the 3rd shortly – from Samsung under Tizen.

When it comes to the endurance of the Watch Series 2, we cannot write that Apple spoils us with a fabulous revolution on this point, since the autonomy of both watches is almost identical. It should also be concluded that here the most prominent battery comes, above all, to cash-in the use of GPS, the performance of the S2 chip and the high brightness of the screen. If the first Watch suffered from the glaring lack of optimization of watchOS 1, switching to Watch 2.0 then 3.0, it has consolidated its operating time to almost two full days. It is relatively the same observation concerning the Series 2 but the endurance will fall to almost 1 day and a half in case we use the fitness app.

Conclusion:

Most connected watches are like ornamental jewelry but look like toys, promise mounts and wonders but end up being annoying notification machines, claim to accompany the sportsmen but are content to randomly count the steps – and especially, seduce technophiles but accumulate many technological defects: bad battery, horrible interface, slow software…

When it comes to the new Apple version of the smartwatch, it is an iteration on the model of the first watch, with a slight difference of a 1mm of thickness. But it actually promises pretty much better things than the original. Everything is better thought-out, especially thanks to the contribution of the watchOS 3 which is more logical in its operations. The Series 2 is totally detached by its S2 chip which gives it an ideal power, its sealing that increases the field of possibilities and a GPS that makes it more autonomous. There are still a few points that need to be reviewed, such as the autonomy and the digital crown which does not take its full measure. But the Apple Watch Series 2 are now uplifting the level of requirements that can be placed in this type of product.

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In short, Apple has finally found a nice way to do luxurious smartwatches. Even though, the premium connected watch sells much less than what the manufacturers have imagined. We expect an emergence of this new generation of watches for what it has to offer. It could perhaps reconcile us with the genre since its promises seem much more realistic and feasible than those advanced by the first series.