“The true value of a smartwatch may still be up for debate, but what’s undeniable is that people see practical value in connected fitness devices. With the Apple Watch Series 2, Apple has decided to embrace that,” Valentina Palladino writes for Ars Technica. “The second-generation model of the company’s smartwatch builds upon the foundations of the original by adding a built-in GPS, water-resistant design, and swim tracking abilities. It runs watchOS 3 as well, which adds to the fitness features while boosting the performance of the watch and fine-tuning some of those smartwatch characteristics.”
“The Apple Watch Series 2 gives the Apple Watch a sense of purpose it didn’t have last year — it’s a fitness device that also happens to do some other smartwatch-y things. The hardware improvements combined with the refined nature of watchOS 3 make the watch a solid contender for the activity tracker that lives on your wrist,” Palladino writes. “But the Series 2 is still an optional device, and a lot of people will opt not to buy it because the base model costs just shy of $400 (at $269 the newly tweaked Series 1 is more affordable, but also takes a big step down as a fitness device by losing swim tracking and the GPS). ”
Palladino writes, “Overall, using the Series 2 as a fitness device is a great experience with very few hiccups.”
Read more in the full review here.
MacDailyNews Take: All consumer electronics are optional. Yes, even iPhones. Even – gasp! – Macs! In fact, for a healthy human being, all electronics are optional. (We apologize profusely for our sacrilege, even though the entirety of human history prior to 1920 or so proves it.)
Palladino makes another mistake in her review, characterizing the price of a product. Sorry, but that’s not the job of the reviewer. One person’s “expensive” is another’s “peanuts.” Just report the price and the reader can decide whether it’s affordable for them or not; the reviewer’s personal financial situation is meaningless when it comes to price.
We plan to upgrade our Apple Watch units every time a new one is available because it’s not just a ““watch” or a “fitness device,” not by a long shot, it’s a personal computer on your wrist when understood and used properly.
SEE ALSO:
Mossberg reviews Apple’s watchOS 3: Quicker, easier, and more useful – September 21, 2016
CNET reviews Apple Watch Series 2: ‘The smooth wrist companion it was always meant to be’ – September 14, 2016
WSJ reviews Apple Watch Series 2: ‘Apple Watch finds its purpose in life’ – September 14, 2016
The Verge reviews Apple Watch Series 2: There’s something effortlessly cool about it – September 14, 2016
Apple Watch Series 2: Apple refocuses its smartwatch – September 12, 2016
Upgraded from Watch1 to Watch2. I am not a “power Watch” user but the AW1 usually ended the day with 25% battery remaining. Now with AW2 and the same useage I put it in the charger with 70-75% remaining which I find phenominal…..
Am I missing something about the AW2? Haven’t seen much commentary about the great battery life?!
watchOS 3 on the WATCH SPORT has a problem with the Workout app ending each time you go away and return. It also spontaneously ended in the middle of my walk yesterday.
AW2 only makes sense if you do outdoor activities without your iPhone around. In such conditions the battery life of AW2 is barely passable, not phenomenal.
(And it is not Apple’s fault as there is no way to bypass the laws of physics that indicate that GPS/GLONASS chip consumes a lot of electric power.)
If you are not around the water and not doing outdoor activities without your iPhone, then AW2 does not really make much sense. You could have easily bought the updated AW1 that cheaper, just as fast as AW2, and yet thinner and lighter.
To be fair, AW2 also has much brighter screen. So if you are outdoors a lot, then buying AW2 makes sense.
To reviewer: If $400 is a lot of money, you need a new job.
Or, like me, you can get it free with your Perk TV points.😜😱😝
Or, a life, kids, mortgage, etc. But hey, just keep being a dick.