Apple Watch 2 review: get moving and ditch the phone
The Apple Watch Series 2 is here - water resistant, built in GPS, brighter and faster. Ed Baig takes it for a spin on land and a dip in the pool to test of some of its newest features. USA TODAY
NEW YORK—The new Apple Watch ticks closer to being the techie timepiece it was always clocked up to be.
You can swim with it now. It has built-in GPS. You can get more done without your phone.
I’ve been wearing the latest model, Apple Watch Series 2, for a week, and like it a lot, though the vastly improved watchOS 3 software also comes to the original Apple Watch.
I’m not suggesting Series 2 is perfect, or for everybody. For one thing, there’s the not-so-slim starting price of $369 for a 38mm case or $399 for 42mm.
The good news is that you can now get a more powerful version of the first generation Apple Watch for $269 or $299 (for 38mm or 42mm sizes), a viable option if you don’t need a phone to swim with. Now dubbed Series 1, the first-gen models gain the same dual-core processor that's in its more expensive sibling.
Most importantly, both Series 1 and Series 2 watches benefit from the watchOS 3 software update, which makes the watch easier to use and navigate.
Still, the latest watch is especially appealing to runners or cyclists who want to leave their iPhones behind, while still relying on GPS to map their routes.
Here are my observations:
*Stuck on squares. The new watches are dead ringers for their predecessors, with Apple sticking with a square watch case design. Both the old and new models have identical digital crown and side buttons. The removable watch bands for the original Apple Watch fit on Series 2 and vice versa, making it easy to dress the watch up or dress it down. I got to briefly try on the perforated Nike + Sport Band version at a launch event last week, but the Nike version comes later and Apple did not supply one for review.
Series 2 watches boast a display that Apple claims is two times brighter than before. I had to squint, but was able to make out the display in direct sun.
*It’s still about glances. Using the original watch, I came to appreciate the notifications (for messages, headlines, etc.) that arrive on my wrist so that I can determine right then and there whether they require my immediate attention. Ditto on Series 2.
*Swimming. As the first Apple models that you can swim with, down to a depth of 50 meters, I swam a few laps in a friends’ pool. I showered with the watch too. It kept on functioning as advertised.
Apple says you’re good to go in saltwater or a chlorinated pool and there are two types of swim workouts inside the Watch's Workout app. In the pool swim workout, you first tell the watch the length of the pool. It can then measure laps, your average pace, active calories and other parameters, shown in a companion Activity app on the iPhone. (You can share these and other workouts through the app.)
All this is synced up after your swim, since the presumption is you’re not going to take the phone in the water--even the new iPhone 7. GPS is turned off during a pool swim workout.
The second water-related workout involves an “open water swim” and this time GPS is tracking you. The caveat: since GPS doesn’t work when the watch is underwater, you’ll get a more accurate reading of distance and route mapping if you’re using a freestyle stroke.
Apple suggests that you could wear the watch kayaking or surfing, but not while engaging in high speed activities such as jet skiing or waterskiing.
The watch auto-locks when you begin a swim workout, lest you inadvertently have the water press against the screen and send a text to your boss.
And when the swim workout is over, Apple has a clever way to expel the excess water—you turn the digital crown, and the speaker inside the Watch audibly vibrates, spitting out moisture.
*Calling Dick Tracy. Making or receiving calls (via the iPhone in your pocket) on the first watch was not a great experience. But now the speakerphone is louder, permitting a more palatable conversation.
*Battery life. The battery on Series 2 lasts about a day and a half, same as before. While I’ve gotten into the habit of charging the watch on a daily basis, I wish Apple had managed a longer lasting battery. Fortunately, charge time is zippy: up to about 80% in an hour-and-a-half.
*Apple Pay. Apple Pay was a breeze on the first timepiece and is a breeze on the latest model. You double-tap the side button on the watch to display a replica of your stored credit card and hold the watch near the merchant’s reader to complete the transaction.
*Most improvements come with watchOS 3. The latest software is the real star of the show.
You have more ways to respond to messages, from canned replies to scribbling letters on the screen and watching the watch convert them into text.
A few new watch face options arrive with watchOS 3—Minnie Mouse joins Mickey, for example, with another face showing off the colorful “activity” rings that represent your levels of exercise.
It’s now much simpler to change watch faces too; all you do is swipe from one to the next. Too bad Apple hasn't let third party developers produce their own watch faces.
One of the my favorite navigational features comes with the new dock. You can park favorite apps there, making them easier to find and faster to launch.
The first Apple Watch periodically reminds you to get off your fanny and stand up. Now, there’s a Breathe app that prompts you to do deep-breathing exercises from time to time—you follow a simple animation while inhaling and exhaling.
If despite all this wellness activity you find yourself experiencing a health emergency, you might take advantage of another new feature, maybe the most critical of all. Press and hold the side button on the watch and you can summon local help via SOS.
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