Apple Watch Series 2 review: For iPhone users, this is just up your street

As the name suggests, the Apple Watch Series 2 is the company's second attempt at a smartwatch. Visibly, it's hard to tell the Series 2 apart from the first one. It's still the same size (38 and 42mm) and shape and all older bands will continue to work. To make sure you're looking at a Series 2, look underneath the watch where you'll see the words: WR-50M, GPS & Watch Series 2.

So what's different? The obvious changes are the addition of GPS (great for running, outdoor exercises) and enhanced water resistance (up to a depth of 50 metres -which means you can take it for a swim, and also track your swim workout). It still has a speaker in it, so it's interesting how the engineers actually used the speaker diaphragm (a series of sounds at a particular frequency) to expel water from the speaker enclosure after the Watch has been for a swim.

The not so obvious improvements include a faster dual core processor (which means much faster interactions) and a brighter display (1,000 units) for better outdoor visibility . This is almost twice as bright as before and it is still an amoled, which means it offers deep blacks and vibrant colour.


The features and specifications. (Image: BCCL)

The battery life has seen a noticeable improvement, despite the faster processor and addition of GPS. The first Watch would last a day or two at best. With the Series 2, we are regularly getting 2 days of battery life without powering off. This can stretch to a full third day with light use.

Apple has also updated the Series 1 with the new dual core processor of the Series 2 and it has WatchOS 3 which works great -though for GPS, brighter display and water resistance, you will still have to go for Series 2. It's improved in every way that matters. If you're an iPhone user, the Watch is the only smatwatch you should get.