PROS
- Bright, beautiful screen
- Great fitness tracking
- GPS makes it more versatile
- Solid battery life
- Snappy performance
CONS
- Expensive
- Looks the same as previous version
KEY FEATURES
- 38mm or 42mm case
- Built-in GPS
- 50m water-resistance
- Heart rate sensor
- 1,000 nits OLED screen
- Manufacturer: Apple
- Review Price: £369.00
WHAT IS THE APPLE WATCH 2?
The Apple Watch 2 (or Apple Watch Series 2 to give it its official title) is the second version of the most successful smartwatch around.
The original Apple Watch was Apple’s first draft at a wearable, and plenty bought into the promise of a phone on your wrist. At TrustedReviews we liked the look of it, but struggled to understand its purpose: It had health and fitness elements, but they were limited, and it didn't offer water-resistance. In addition, the watchOS software was tricky to use, glitchy, and just didn’t do much. Interesting third-party apps were lacking too.
There are clear parallels to be drawn between the Apple Watch and the very first iPhone that was released almost a decade ago, which evolved into a superb product.
While the iPhone 7 didn’t meet our high expectations of it, the Apple Watch 2 has. All our concerns about the original have been addressed: watchOS 3 is now intuitive and useful; there are plenty of compatible apps; and the Apple Watch 2 is now properly water-resistant.Owning an Apple Watch finally makes sense – especially if you’re the outdoorsy, fitness type.
In the end, we loved the Apple Watch 2 so much, we awarded it our coveted TrustedReviews Wearable of the Year Award for 2016. Keep reading to find out just why it deserved such a fantastic accolade.
Related: Best Smartwatch
APPLE WATCH 2 – DESIGN
The Apple Watch Series 2 looks almost identical to the original, and I don’t mind that at all. This remains my favourite smartwatch when it comes to looks, particularly since it isn't as chunky as rival watches. It helps that I prefer square watches; those who prefer round ones might not be as kind.
The Watch 2 is a fraction thicker than the previous Watch, but not enough that you’d notice without seeing the two next to each other. The square screen with rounded glass edges make it simple to swipe up, down, left and right from the edge to provide additional shortcuts, and the rotating Digital Crown still works well as a method of zooming in and out, and general navigation.
The button just beneath the Digital Crown has been re-appropriated from a useless shortcut to contacts and on/off switch to a much more engaging way to scroll through the new apps dock (more details to follow).
You can opt for either the stainless steel or, slightly cheaper, aluminium chassis, and one of two sizes: 38mm and 42mm. The Series 2 is available in a range of colours: Gold, Rose Gold, Space Grey and Silver. This time there’s no expensive gold-plated model.
Instead, Apple has created a beautiful white ceramic smartwatch. The ceramic cast is treated at length at high temperature before it's polished smooth. Not only does it look super-attractive, it’s four times tougher than the stainless steel model.
Standing out from the crowd does come at a price, though. The ceramic Apple Watch Edition costs more than three times as much as the standard versions – the 38mm one setting you back a cool £1,249.
Suffice to say, it isn't necessary to spend such an amount for an Apple Watch that’s "tough". I’ve dropped my aluminium Apple Watch on several occasions and regularly whack it against door frames; it doesn’t have a single scratch on the screen or body.
The headline feature for the Apple Watch 2 is water-resistance. Not only will it survive a brief dunk in the bath, it's now fit for the sea. Apple claims it can withstand up to 50m of water – although we wouldn't advise that you go scuba-diving with it just yet. It’s meant to survive the rigours of arms swinging through water, as opposed to being plunged into the depths.
An Apple representative explained to TrustedReviews that the Apple Watch 2 is fit for swimming in a pool for as long as you want, but can also deal with seawater. It was tested on hundreds of swimmers before release, and it provides accurate exercise readings as well as surviving the wet stuff without any bother.
The screen locks when under water and so won't be usable, but it will continue to track activity. Once out of the water, the Apple Watch Series 2 performs a little party piece to rid the water from its speaker grilles: it plays sound at various volumes and frequencies to expel liquid like a clam.
There's a plethora of straps available for the Series 2 – with an even bigger selection on offer than before – and they're the best way of making an Apple Watch "yours". As well as the relationship with luxury brand Hermès, Apple has also joined forces with Nike to launch the Apple Watch Nike+. This comes with a special strap, whose compression-moulded perforations make it more breathable – ideal for athletes – along with some exclusive Nike watch faces and apps pre-installed.
Related: Apple Watch tips and tricks
For those who intend to swim regularly with the Apple Watch 2 I'd recommend a Sports strap, rather than the metal or nylon straps. The Sports strap doesn’t retain any water, so you won't be left with a damp wrist all day after a brief plunge.