Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
The fresh Apple Watch Series 2 takes the main complaints about the attractive but flawed original Apple Watch – slow cognitive operation , lack of GPS , modified water resistance , forgetful stamp battery life – and solves or at least improves them consistently . Having dispatch in - depth stamp battery tests – it really is noticeably good in this regard than its forerunner , even compared to when that machine was new – and spent more time with the Series 2 , we now feel that , given the quality of the design and OS and the legion improvements on the first - gen example , the price is justified , and the Series 2 is suitable of a rare Macworld five - star topology rating . If you ’re into seaworthiness tracking with a sprinkle of notifications and superb integrating with the iPhone , this is a near - arrant choice . The Apple Watch Series 2 is a great wearable , and the only one we ’ve seen that feels like it has any hazard at all of bring wearables into the mainstream .
The Apple Watch 2 was a while number . The constantly evolvingiPhoneandiPadline - up has taught us to require Apple products to be updated on a annual basis , but the first - gen Apple Watch was on the market place for 16 month before Apple delivered its successor . And here it is : theApple Watch Series 2 , which attempts the classic 2d - gen technical school ware trick of discipline everything that went wrong with the original , retain everything that went in good order , and expanding its charm from former adopter to the tough mainstream .
The Apple Watch Series 2 , Apple ’s new flagship wearable , takes the corner - popularity Apple Watch and adds much - needed features such as GPS ; better and ratifies its waterproofing capability ; and ups the processor clock speed so that ( in concert with the streamlinedwatchOS 3software ) the equipment should be noticeably faster in use of goods and services .
In our Apple Watch 2 revue , we look at how the new Apple Watch Series 2 performs and compares to its predecessor , and to the Apple Watch Series 1 ( a cheaper and more underage update unveiled at the same clip as the Series 2 : it replaces the original watch and is almost identical to it , but does get an promote S1P dual - core central processing unit , as compared to the original ’s S1 undivided - core fleck ) .
We go over and rate the Apple Watch Series 2 ’s design , build quality , new ( and old ) features , worldwide performance , tech specs and economic value for money – all in the name of serve you to resolve whether to buy a fresh Apple Watch Series 2 ( or Series 1 ) , and whether it ’s worth upgrading from a first - gen Apple Watch .
Apple Watch History
This Apple Watch has since been replaced with a newer manakin , and you’re able to find tie to all our Apple Watch retrospect below . Do note that we ’re expecting to seeApple Watch Series 10 , Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3rd generation , runningwatchOS 11 , set up in September 2024 at the company’sGlowtime event(seehow to watch the September event ) . If you ’re in the market for a new Apple Watch , see ourApple Watch buying guidebook , round - up of thebest Apple Watch spate , and advice on whether you shouldbuy Apple Watch now or hold off . You might also be concerned in what othernew Apple productsare coming this year , and when is thenext Apple event .
Apple Watch 2: Design & build quality
Depending on the manikin , colour goal and watch strap you plump for , you may not be able-bodied to tell the divergence between the Series 2 and the original Apple Watch .
There are young colour options and shoulder strap ( and the Apple Watch Edition now come infairly overweening ceramicrather than extremely profligate gold ) , but the exterior chassis blueprint is essentially the same – just very slightly thicker ( a barely noticeable 11.4 mm vs 10.5 mm ) . Most of this superfluous heaviness seems to have go into the screen , on which more soon .
Apple Watch first - gen ( left ) and Apple Watch Series 2 ( right ) . The Series 2 does n’t palpate thicker , but you discover the extra millimetre when you look at them side by side with no strap
It ’s a strong and attractive design , in our public opinion , albeit one that divided opinion at launching and uphold to do so . Many people prefer the traditional aesthetic of a circular ticker face ( such as theGuess Connect semi - smartwatch ) , although a rounded - turning point rectangle is more hardheaded for schoolbook display purposes … and more Apple , of class .
The minimalist plan includes just two discreet hardware ascendency : a small rotatable telephone dial that can also be pressed ( called the Digital Crown ) , and the Side Button . These are both on the same side of the equipment . We found that the Digital Crown cause a fleck steamy over 16 months of sweaty and often fittingness - focused everyday wear – of recently we often bug it and accidentally activate Siri , which is supposed to answer to a farseeing military press . It ’s understandably too other to say whether the Series 2 ’s improved waterproofing will make it more resistant to this kind of thing , but we trust so . More on that , too , in a moment .
Given the unlike straps and material available for the Apple Watch Series 1 and 2 , there ’s really something for everyone : which is significant when you ’re talking about something as personal as a watch . The Apple Watch still comes in a 38 or 42 millimeter version , this size referring to the height of the body rather than a diagonal measure of the screen . See which size of it full fit you in ourApple Watch buying usher .
Waterproofing
Whereas the first - gen Apple Watch was body of water - resistant to a depth of 1 meter for 30 minutes , a rating of IPX7 under IEC banner 60529 ( on the side it may have beenconsiderably more rainproof than this ) , the Apple Watch Series 2 has a water - resistance rating of 50 metres under ISO criterion 22810:2010 . In other words , we ’ve gone from wearing it in the shower – it ’s an undeniable luxury being able to see the time and know how long until we have to get out – to wearing it while swimming , and to keep this fact Apple has impart two swimming selection to the Workout app .
Partly this improved water supply ohmic resistance is achieve by the use of stronger glue and more gasket , as reveal iniFixit ’s teardown . And partially it ’s achieved with a clever newfangled feature that ‘ spits ’ water out of the loudspeaker system pit after the spotter take it back to juiceless farming .
A new Water Lock feature stops the touchscreen being activated underwater ( or in the shower – we ’ve often observe creepy , finger - like tendril of warm urine changing the ticker look , opening apps etc ) . Water Lock is access manually by press out the ‘ drib ’ icon in Control Centre , but will be grow on mechanically when you start one of those swim procedure in Workout .
After you get out of the water / shower you rotate the Digital Crown : this ferment off Water Lock and plays a noise from the speakers in such a fashion that the vibration exhaust liquid from the speaker cavity . This bit is quite fun .
Despite the improved water - resistance credentials , Apple is still quite cautious about the aquatic activities it recommends : soapy water , steam , scuba dive and water skiing are all discouraged . you’re able to read about the various Apple Watches ’ watery attribute here : How to dry a lactating Apple Watch , and how rainproof is my Apple Watch ?
Apple Watch 2: Features
go out away waterproofing – sort of a novel feature , but really an aspect of physical design – there ’s one main fresh lineament . And that is …
GPS fitness tracking
Fitness tracking was a huge aspect of the first - gen Apple Watch ’s appeal , but it was stymied in this to a certain extent by its want of GPS : this meant that run could be tracked only by approximation .
( There were workarounds . If you buy the farm out running with the Apple Watch and a paired iPhone , the watch would piggyback on the phone ’s GPS and reach an accurate measurement that way . Better still , while doing this it would learn about your step length , which meant that next clip you went out without the phone the estimation would be noticeably right . But it was still inaccurate by the standards of serious runner . For more on this , seeHow to make the Apple Watch a more precise fittingness tracker . )
Well , that gap has now been fulfill and the Series 2 has built - in GPS , so it can be considered a genuine standalone physical fitness tracker . This means you could go for a runnel or cycle ride and educe exact data from your workouts .
Ready for the fitness tests ! you’re able to see that the first - gen Apple Watch ( allow for ) and Apple Watch Series 2 ( right ) look virtually identical if you go for the same color conclusion
We ’ve observed noticeably improved truth when tracking runs with the Series 2 . Doing electrical circuit round a trail that Google Maps reckons is a kilometer in circuit , the Series 2 gave serial reports of 940 m , 960 m and 960 m – and these were done at deliberately inconsistent amphetamine , a trick which always used to stump the first - gen watch and its stride estimation . The road to and from the track , which the map puts at about 1.5 kilometre , was report as 1.54 km on the way there and 1.53 km on the way back , again recorded at different speeds . The Apple Watch 2 ’s tracking is certainly uniform .
For comparability with the first - gen , GPS - detached Apple Watch , we went out again the next night with both lookout on the same wrist and did three more laps . This time the Series 2 was even more consistent – 960 chiliad all three time – while the first - gen watch , which had received a respectable amount of stride - read education , reported 880 m , 900 m and 910 m. Fairly coherent in its own right ( standard deviation of the data sets are listed below ) , but quite clearly lean to underreport the distance .
If you did n’t take aim the first - gen with an iPhone it would be far less precise than that ; if you spent more metre direct it , you could probably improve things a picayune , but not by much .
It ’s actually quite characteristic that the first - gen watch ’s calculate distance went up each time – this is part of the nature of stride estimation . I am not a strong moon-curser and I tend to get slow , and take shorter tread ( and therefore more per kilometer ) , as the dark wears on ; this confuses the watch . We ’ve found that it tends to put up a decent estimate of distance over the course of a extended run , by averaging thing out , but for mid - run stop number / advance substantiation , particularly if you ’re not very dependable at maintaining a consistent speed , it ’s often off by a fair margin .
Having GPS has a petty benefit , and this is the power to track runs on a map . If you open an Apple Watch 2 - tracked workout from within the Activity app , you ’ll see a trivial map thumbnail at the bottom ; tap this and you ’ll be show a fullscreen map of the route you took .
GPS malfunction
One last word on the GPS front : we must account that on one occasion ( out of many ) we went for a streamlet with the Apple Watch Series 2 and GPS simply did n’t work out . This was hard to acknowledge immediately , because there is n’t any kind of onscreen ikon to show that your movement is being tracked in this elbow room – it normally just quetch in mechanically . So we only bit by bit agnize that accuracy was tough than normal , and increasingly suspected that something was up with the GPS . At the end of the run , certain enough , there was no map on the exercising account .
We do n’t bonk if the GPS could n’t get a signal on that day – although it was the usual itinerary in a fairly built - up area , and we ’ve not had any other issues with it before or since . And ab initio we wondered if something had got confused because we ’d furbish up that view from a backup made from a ( GPS - liberal ) first - gen Apple Watch , and that it might have been somehow overthrow the GPS with the elder vigil ’s make unnecessary stride calibration data point – but again , the problem was fix by the next twenty-four hours , with no user intervention . It may just have been one of those things , and it should be said that the feature has proved unco authentic on the whole .
We got in touch with Apple to see if it ’s an issue they ’re cognizant of , but the company ( as is generally its policy ) declined to offer an official command . We ’d welcome suggestions from readers as to what may have bechance .
Other health & fitness apps
Also on the seaworthiness front , the Apple Watch features a good kitchen range of pre - installed apps : Activity , which cross calories sunburn , exercise minutes and hours in which you ’ve stood up for at least a minute;Workout , which tailors fitness tracking to a mountain range of specific sporting activity ; the ego - explanatory Heart Rate ; andBreathe(below ) , which help with heedfulness and may serve with relaxation although your gas mileage may alter .
All four of these apps are also install on the first - gen Apple Watch and Apple Watch Series 1 , although Breathe was fresh with watchOS 3 .
Apple Watch 2: Screen
The Apple Watch Series 2 has an OLED display that is more than twice as bright as the screen on the original watch , consort to Apple ( up from 450 nit to 1000 nit ) – and surely enough , it ’s a lot easier to make out what ’s on the filmdom in gay condition . In fact , subjectively the covert feels sharp , although the screen door resolution is actually unaltered .
Be warned that indirectsunlight , you may still obtain yourself struggle to intelligibly see what ’s on the show – this is the nature of the technology .
The ( aluminium body ) standard Apple Watch Series 2 has a cover made of Ion - X strengthened glass ; the unsullied steelHermès version of the Apple Watch Series 2and theceramic Edition modelboth have substantial sapphire glass blind .
This is roughly the same arrangement as on the first - gen Apple Watch , which had Ion - X on its Sport modelling ( which bear witness reassuringly sturdy and pretty scratch - resistant over a year and a half of use ) and sapphire on the costlier monetary standard and Edition models . The Apple Watch Series 1 is only available with Ion - X glass .
All Apple Watch models have Force Touch screens . depend on the app program , pressing the screen slightly more firmly will generally do a different function to pressing it usually : a force - press on the notifications dropdown brings up the option to clear all notifications , for instance . Oddly , Apple has removed the force - touch pick from the Workout app ; this used to be how you ended a workout , but this is now accessed by swiping from left to right , even though no new function has been mapped to the force - military press for that covert .
( This is , it must be said , somewhat characteristic of the Apple Watch interface . Quite often it ’s not clear which of several command method are required to perform a peculiar mapping . After you ’ve done something once or twice it becomes second nature , but the watch is less successful than the iPhone or iPad at communicating to you precisely how to do something first clock time . Then again , this is true of almost all wearables , and watchOS is in reality far more visceral than most . )
Apple Watch Series 2 screen specs
Apple Watch 2: Performance & speed tests
The processors in the Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 have been elevate to the S1P and S2 CPUs severally . Both are dual - core processors that pop the question 50 percent debauched speeds over the S1 ( the individual - core processor found in the 2015 Apple Watch ) . The GPU that cover the optic display on the Apple Watch has also received a cost increase : it ’s twice as tight as its harbinger .
This healthy boost in speed is a pleasing addition , but we finger watchOS 3 greatly contributes to the substance abuser experience being observably quicker : our first - gen Apple Watch , updated to feature watchOS 3 , has also got speedy . WatchOS 3is available on all Apple watches as a barren upgrade , but is admit out of the loge in the Series 1 and Series 2 models .
We did a quick comparability with our one-time first - gen Apple Watch by loading up a few of the more ordinarily used apps to see if the Series 2 was noticeably fast :
As you may see , the Series 2 gets the app started a few seconds faster in each case , although the first - gen watch maintains a decent stop number thanks to the improvements of watchOS 3 .
Also bear in mind that this is an passing unscientific test : with no bench mark apps available for the Apple Watch the skilful we can give you is a immanent judgment of port speed . And the Apple Watch Series 2 doesfeelfaster than its herald .
We also essay power both watch off and then starting them up again , to see which would take longer to get rifle . You ’ll see that the Series 2 is quick to go a retentive clip before the first - gen watch – it pass the passcode concealment at 1:29 in the following video , whereas the older model does n’t get there until 2:13 .
Read next : Best Apple Watch apps|Best Apple Watch games
Apple Watch 2: Tech specs
To give an theme of the differences between the various models , here are the technical school spectacles of every Apple Watch .
Apple Watch Series 2 specs (38/42mm)
For equivalence , here are the specs of the Apple Watch Series 1 , which launched at the same clock time as the Series 2 .
Apple Watch Series 1 specs (38/42mm)
in conclusion , here are the specs of the original Apple Watch . You ’ll note that it ’s largely identical to the specs of the Series 1 , but it features an older single - inwardness C.P.U. ( and also comes in somewhat unlike colour options ) .
First-gen Apple Watch specs (38/42mm)
Apple Watch 2: Battery life
While the spectacles quote above peg them at the same ‘ up to 18 hour ’ shape for battery liveliness , our tests show that the Series 2 has a far good electric battery life than the first - gen Apple Watch .
We lead off with a forgetful - term comparison test . We took a Series 2 and a first - gen Apple Watch off their chargers at noon ; eight hours later , using both devices for the same tasks throughout the good afternoon and other evening , the Series 2 was on 86 percent and the first - gen on 69 percent . That ’s a bighearted disruption to have opened up so quickly – although yield in mind that this is after the latter going through 16 calendar month of bombardment wearable , so a comparison between box - fresh samples would be closer .
The Series 2 can manage two Clarence Shepard Day Jr. of utilisation between charge fair comfortably , something that we struggled to achieve with the first - gen Apple Watch even when it was brand - newfangled . If you missed a Nox ’s charging with the first - gen ( perhaps you were stay somewhere overnight and forgot to wad the charger ) , you had to grit your teeth , power down for the night and expend the watch as little as possible … and it would generally give up the ghost late on the second Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , preferably after you ’d close your Activity hoop and kept the stripe going .
In a new mental test , we charged the Series 2 overnight and took it off the charger at 7 am as usual . At the end of the 2nd daytime – with no peculiar maintenance taken to give suck the bombardment – the Series 2 was on 22 percent . The third morning , at 7 am , it was on 14 percent , and it eventually ran out of electric charge just after 1 pm on the third day . That ’s unprecedented in our experience with Apple wearable , and is a good campaign by the touchstone ofany fully fledged smartwatchwith a colour screen .
Is the S2 a more ability - efficient chip than the S1 and S1P ? Maybe – and think back it has a brighter screen to superpower too . Impressive stuff .
Apple Watch 2: UK prices
Apple Watch pricing has been controversial ever since the launch of the original model , and particularly of its mega - price yellow - gold and rose - gold Edition model ( something we talk about here : Why Apple Watch pricing makes everyone so angry ) .
One Macworld readergot in touch recentlyto point out what he feels are unjust discrepancies between the pricing tiers of iPhones and Apple Watches in the US , EU and UK ( read more on thatin a Reddit thread here ) , and it ’s true that the currency variation , repercussions from Brexit etc seem to have affected the price of the Apple Watch in the UK more than other Apple product . It ’s also rightful that the Apple Watch Series 2 is one of the costliest smartwatches out there .
But our plus touch about this product , the caliber of its design and group O and its many tending advance on the original Apple Watch are such that we believe the toll to be justified – at least for the entryway - level theoretical account . The Ceramic picket , economic as it now seems compare to some of the old gold models , remains a wildly expensive option , and one that should be of interest only to Macworld ’s wealthiest readers .
The Apple Watch Series 2 initiate from £ 369and goes up to£1,249 for the Apple Watch Edition(that ’s the ceramic model – there ’s no longer a gold option ) .
You will also rule aApple Watch Nike+version that is based on the Series 2 model , but is aimed at runners with its athletics - look band . The Nike+ base model isalso priced at £ 369 .
TheApple Watch Hermèscontinues with its line of the Series 2 lookout – prices commence at £ 1,149 . Although , if you ’re concerned in the Hermès band , you ’ll be better off buying aSeries 2 ( 38 mm ) watch for £ 369 , buying thestrap seprately for £ 299 , resulting in a £ 668 price tag . Unless you ’re looking to receive the exclusive Hermès sport band , catch aspect and scratch at the back , we would intimate buy the watch and trounce separately .
The Apple Watch Series 1 replaces the old 2015 translation , where price protrude at £ 269 . The Series 1 comes with a new threefold - core S1P central processor , a 50 percent improvement over the original S1 single - nucleus central processing unit discover in the 2015 Apple Watch .
For more information on getting the best price on your Apple Watch , seeBest cheap Apple Watch deal UK .
Apple Watch 2: Which Apple Watch model should you buy?
Before we give our final finding of fact on the Apple Watch Series 2 , get ’s briefly peach about which model of Apple Watch is expert for you , depending on personal preferences , lifestyle and requirements . ( We babble about this in more depth in ourApple Watch buying guide . )
We ’ll say right away that the Apple Watch Series 2 improves markedly on the original watch , and provides a more viable smartwatch for those concerned in seaworthiness . However , if you ’re not using your lookout man for physical exercise , the Series 1 and its quick processor is a sleazy option you should consider seriously .
To facilitate you decide which manakin to go for , we ’ve put together a small guide suggest which watch to purchase . Remember that you’re able to still buy the original 2015 Apple Watch for acheaper price through retailers ( such as eBay)and you ’ve buzz off the option to write £ 100 on a Series 1 watch rather than a Series 2 exemplar .
If you currently own a 2015 Apple Watch:
If you don’t currently own an Apple Watch:
take next : Apple Watch vs Apple Watch 2
