Apple SmartWatch Series 2

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Apple SmartWatch series 2 is explicitly positioned as a sports watch by the company. Particularly the second series brings the built-in GPS radio for distance tracking on walks, runs, bike rides and swims. This time, it’s also water resistant, safe for submersion in up to 50 meters of water.

If you liked the idea of an Apple SmartWatch in its previous version, this new version is faster, has a brighter display and it’s a lot better for outdoor sports. Apple SmartWatch Series 2 is a bit similar to its previous one. Series 2 has come with new features, updated design, and improved performance which includes in itself, a faster chip, software update, and longer battery life, there’s certainly plenty of reasons to be excited about and makes the watch easier to use. Even then, the first version will continue to be sold at a lower price and is getting upgraded with the same firmware and dual-core processor. The Series 2’s distinguishing features are mostly about fitness.

Design :

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The Series 2 is almost identical to the original for all purposes. The new models are nine-tenths of a millimeter taller, allowing them to accommodate bigger batteries, says Apple. The screen size of this series is the same (38mm and 42mm) which means the respective bands will fit either generation of the device.

The watch is available in the same accomplishments as before, except that an all-white ceramic model has replaced last year’s 18-karat gold model as Apple’s highest-end “Edition” offering. Most of us like to go with the aluminum version, which comes in gold, rose gold, silver, and space gray, or the stainless-steel model, which is offered in two colors.

The Series 2 screen is more than twice as bright than the previous version, with an option to go up to 1,000 units. But so long as you have auto-brightness turned on, you’re unlikely to see the panel get that bright on its own, not unless it’s really bright outside. It still looks like you have a computer strapped to your wrist, but I find it’s small enough that it blends in with most outfits.

Water Proof :

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One of our drawbacks of last year’s Apple SmartWatch was that you couldn’t take it near water. The original device was splash proof and can survive the odd drop of rain, but you have to take it off before getting into the pool. This was an upset for people who wished to know the time when they’re swimming or tracking waterborne activities. So came the Apple Watch Series 2 with a supporting feature as it’s fully resistant up to 50 meters and can even be used in the sea.

There’s also a little trick that confirms you that no liquid halts inside the device once back on dry land. The speakers on one of the sides of the watch require air to produce sound. However, the speaker in Apple Watch 2 has been redesigned to use the vibration of sound to expel water that gets into the speaker area.

At the start of a swim workout, Apple SmartWatch Series 2 enables the auto-locks of the display to prevent accidental screen touches from the water. Upon completion, rotating the Digital Crown disables auto-lock and also triggers the speaker to pump out any water that may have got inside.

Anyhow, as the tests proved, a normal day at the beach won’t harm the device.

GPS and Fitness :

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Another major imperfection of the first Apple Watch was its fitness capabilities. While it was able to monitor your daily activity levels and workouts, it needed your iPhone to help out in measuring speed and distance. But now Apple has solved this issue and given its refreshed watch with built-in GPS. This means you can go for a run without your phone.

Once an activity is finished, all the data stored on the watch is instantly beamed to the Activity app on your iPhone.

While running the test, the Apple Watch Series 2 monitored the distance and calories burnt accurately and it certainly makes the device a far more useful as a fitness tool.

Speed and Display :

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With a new processor inside, Apple evaluates that their updated watch is now 50 percent faster than its previous effort. You certainly notice scrolling through apps and emails brings a much smoother experience. Apple Watch Series 2 loads everything with a high speed and you can clearly notice the difference when you place both the versions alongside.

One of its other improvements is the display as it has doubled its brightness than before. This means it won’t be a problem to tell the time in the midday sunshine. Sadly, Apple hasn’t included an always-on display so as to compromise its 18-hour battery life even further. Whereas some other smartwatch makers have included this always-on technology and, in this case, it does make a difference.

You can switch it on by a quick tap or roll of the Digital Crown instead of simply staring at the display but this isn’t easy when your hand is full with shopping.

Performance and Battery Life :

The Series 2 feels fast because watch OS 3 itself is faster and efficient, also the second-generation watch’s new, faster “S2” chip is responsible. Apple says the dual-core CPU inside can deliver up to a 50 percent performance gain, while the GPU is up to twice as fast as on last year’s watch.

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The Series 2 is materially faster than the original. Apps load quickly, it’s easy to swipe left into second screens, and the background updates have been super-helpful. You can sometimes notice some lag when scrolling up and down; maybe that’s something Apple can address in next year’s software update. Even so, watchOS 3 and the Series 2 in particular, are vast improvements when it comes to abrupt speed and efficiency.

Though Apple says the Series 2 watches are slightly taller to accommodate a larger battery, the company lists the battery life as the same for the 38mm and 42mm models that can last up to 18 hours. I used the watch intermittently, checking in occasionally to peek at my Activity Rings and dismiss those incessant “Stand” reminders. You still need to charge the watch once a day, but that will never be a problem for anyone. Instead of letting it tied to your wrist, it can rest on its magnetic charging disc overnight.

The battery life here is at least decent. And with GPS being constantly activated, the watch can last through five hours, says Apple. Having done some testing, it is believed that it’s actually a conservative estimate. After two hours and fifteen minutes run with auto-pause and without heart-rate monitoring, the battery charge was down to 78 percent. That would have been plenty to last through the rest of the day and into the evening, and then it would be easy enough to recharge while at home by the end of the day.

As a Sports Watch :

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The first Apple Watch wasn’t so good in distance tracking. Though the GPS radio doesn’t need to go through a calibration process, the built-in accelerometer does get smarter over time.

In fact, Apple doesn’t recommend attempting an indoor run before logging at least 20 minutes of outdoor running. Because the watch takes some time to learn your arm swing. This might come in handy during some of your outdoor runs too: If you happen to lose your GPS signal, the accelerometer can help, but it’ll have an easier time doing that if it knows your movements.

Indeed, when the Series 2 is tested alongside a Garmin Forerunner 225, the distance gap was often very narrow. The problem is, even a seemingly insignificant distance gap can transform into a big difference in pace. In the case of a 3.35-mile route, Garmin said the pace was 10:20 mile while Apple claimed 10:12. Here, Garmin did a better job estimating distance covered, So sometimes it is trusted more in accordance with its pace calculation too.

That pace gap grew whenever I walked. On one workout where I did walk/run intervals, the Apple SmartWatch Series 2 and the Garmin Forerunner 225 were off by 0.11 miles over roughly two hours and 15 minutes, or nine seconds on pace. The discrepancies widened further when I did these walk/run intervals on shorter routes. In an approximately 42-minute workout, the two watches were 0.09 miles off, resulting in a whopping 17-second difference in the average pace. Throughout, Apple consistently told that I ran farther and faster than I actually did.


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