Review: Apple Watch Series 2 – same looks, slightly better performance

When Apple unveiled its Watch in 2014, it was after months of anticipation. And while the Apple device got some good reviews, there were still some people holding back, anticipating the second generation would bring a much-improved device.

In a way, it has. There has been no change to the design of the watch, apart from the dropping of its Gold Edition version in favour of a much more attainable – though still eye-wateringly expensive – ceramic option.

The review model provided by Apple was a rose gold 38mm watch with a nylon band. It looks similar enough to the last generation, with the heart-rate monitor on the rear of the watch, and a touch-sensitive colour screen. The digital crown is back again to help you navigate the options on the watch. Side by side, you’d find it difficult to pick out the new generation device.

Rather, the changes to Apple Watch Series 2 are on the inside. A faster chip, faster graphics processing, added GPS and a waterproof rating make the Series 2 the obvious choice if you’re a newcomer to Apple’s wearable.

It’s still an Apple exclusive, so if you’re an Android phone user, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Because it’s now water-resistant, you can take it swimming, and Apple has added new activity options to reflect that. I’m not a swimmer, but I gather that if you were, the ability to track your pool and open water workouts is a welcome one. It uses the accelerometer to track laps, distance and calories, but not the GPS function, and it also warns that the heart rate function may not work accurately in the water.

Water droplet

When you’ve had the watch in water, there’s only one thing you need to do: eject it from the speaker. Swipe up on the watch face and you get the usual menu that allows you to put the watch into do not disturb mode, set it to silent, see what battery life you have left and ping your iPhone if it’s gone awol. There’s a new addition: the water droplet. Press this and you’ll be prompted to turn the digital crown to clear water from the watch’s small speaker. It plays a sound that will forcibly expel any droplets. It’s kind of fascinating.

It’s not the only thing Apple has added. Breathe, which is for meditation and stress relief, prompts you to take a minute or two out to follow its guided meditation. That’s a Watch OS3 thing rather than a Series 2 creation, though, so owners of the original Watch can also get it when they update their software.

So is the series 2 version faster? Yes, but it’s still not as speedy as you might like. Apps still take their time to load, though some are better than others and it’s a marked improvement from the first generation of the watch. If you are expecting a massive shift in speed, you might find this falls short of the mark. But, side by side with the original watch, it definitely performs better.

Officially, battery life is still the same. But I found that the Series 2 Watch lasted a bit longer than its predecessor. Perhaps it was down to the quicker-loading apps; perhaps I just didn’t fiddle with it as much during the day. But I got a little more than a day’s use out of it on several occasions without the dreaded “battery reserve power” notification popping up. With the original, I struggled to get to the end of the day.

You still can’t really use it for sleep tracking, though – not unless you want to remove it partway through the day to charge it.

The good:

Two things make the Apple Watch Series 2 a good move if you have yet to make the move into wearables: the built-in GPS and its water resistance. It makes the device far more versatile and means you aren’t always tethered to your phone.

The not so good:

There’s little difference in design, so if you weren’t a fan of the original version, there isn’t much to tempt you here. There’s also the price to take into account, which is a significant investment for something that may end up being replaced in a year’s time.

The rest:

Although the new hardware means better performance, you may still notice a bit of lag on the Watch apps. It’s definitely improved over its predecessor, though.

The verdict:

If you have yet to make the jump into Apple Watch, the Series 2 is the place to start.