Apple Watch Series 2 [review]

New Apple Watch is faster, brighter, water-resistant, GPS-equipped and almost perfect.

It's been a while coming. The constantly evolving iPhone and iPad line-up has taught us to expect Apple products to be updated on a yearly basis, but the first-gen Apple Watch was on the market for 16 months before Apple delivered its successor. And here it is: the Apple Watch Series 2, which attempts the classic second-gen tech product trick of correcting everything that went wrong with the original, retaining everything that went right, and expanding its appeal from early adopters to the elusive mainstream.
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The Apple Watch Series 2, Apple's new flagship wearable, takes the niche-popularity Apple Watch and adds much-needed features such as GPS; improves and ratifies its waterproofing capabilities; and ups the processor clock speed so that (in concert with the streamlined watchOS 3 software) the device should be noticeably faster in use.
In our Apple Watch Series 2 review, we look at how the new Apple Watch Series 2 performs and compares to its predecessor, and to the Apple Watch Series 1 (a cheaper and more minor update, unveiled at the same time as the Series 2, which replaces, and is closer in design and feature set to, the original watch, but does get an upgraded processor).
We review and rate the Apple Watch Series 2's design, build quality, new (and old) features, general performance, tech specs and value for money - all in the name of helping you to decide whether to buy a new Apple Watch Series 2 (or Series 1), and whether it's worth upgrading from a first-gen Apple Watch.

Apple Watch Series 2 : Design & build quality :

Depending on the model, colour finish and watch strap you plump for, you may not be able to tell the difference between the Series 2 and the original Apple Watch.
There are new colour options and straps (and the Apple Watch Edition now comes in fairly extravagant ceramic rather than extremely extravagant gold), but the exterior chassis design is essentially the same - just very slightly thicker (a barely noticeable 11.4mm vs 10.5mm). Most of this extra thickness seems to have gone into the screen, on which more soon.

Apple Watch first-gen (left) and Apple Watch Series 2 (right). The Series 2 doesn't feel thicker, but you notice the extra millimetre when you look at them side by side with no straps.

It's a strong and attractive design, in our opinion, albeit one that divided opinion at launch and continues to do so. Many people prefer the traditional aesthetics of a round watch face (such as the Guess Connect semi-smartwatch), although a rounded-corner rectangle is more practical for text display purposes… and more Apple, of course.
The minimalist design includes just two discreet hardware controls: a small rotatable dial that can also be pressed (called the Digital Crown), and the Side Button. These are both on the same side of the device. We found that the Digital Crown got a bit sticky over 16 months of sweaty and often fitness-focused everyday wear - of late we often tap it and accidentally activate Siri, which is supposed to respond to a long press. It's clearly too early to say whether the Series 2's improved waterproofing will make it more resistant to this kind of thing, but we hope so. More on that, too, in a moment.

Back to those new colour options… There are new straps from Hermes, and we were impressed by the looks and design of the new ceramic Apple Watch Edition (below). This beautiful enclosure will set you back a cool £1,249 for the 38mm version, but on the plus side you do get what can only be described as a 'solid block of unicorn horn' on your wrist. The off-white sport band that comes with it might not feel quite 'premium' enough to reflect the price of the watch, but aesthetically it's a decent fit for the overall look of the ceramic Apple Watch Edition.

Given the different straps and material available for the Apple Watch Series 1 and 2, there's really something for everyone: which is important when you're talking about something as personal as a watch. The Apple Watch still comes in a 38 or 42mm version, this size referring to the height of the body rather than a diagonal measure of the screen. See which size best fits you in our Apple Watch buying guide 2016.

Apple Watch Series 2 : Waterproofing :

 

Whereas the first-gen Apple Watch was water-resistant to a depth of 1 metre for 30 minutes, a rating of IPX7 under IEC standard 60529 (unofficially it may have been considerably more waterproof than this), the Apple Watch Series 2 has a water-resistance rating of 50 metres under ISO standard 22810:2010. In other words, we've gone from wearing it in the shower - it's an undeniable luxury being able to see the time and know how long until we have to get out - to wearing it while swimming, and to celebrate this fact Apple has added two swimming options to the Workout app.
Partly this improved water resistance is achieved by the use of stronger glue and more gaskets, as revealed in iFixit's teardown. And partly it's achieved with a clever new feature that 'spits' water out of the speaker cavity after the watch makes it back to dry land.
A new Water Lock feature stops the touchscreen being activated underwater (or in the shower - we've often noticed creepy, finger-like tendrils of warm water changing the watch face, opening apps etc). Water Lock is accessed manually by pressing the 'drop' icon in Control Centre, but will be turned on automatically when you start one of those swimming routines in Workout.
After you get out of the water/shower you rotate the Digital Crown: this turns off Water Lock and plays a noise from the speakers in such a way that the vibration ejects liquid from the speaker cavity. This bit is quite fun.

Despite the improved water resistance credentials, Apple is still quite cautious about the aquatic activities it recommends: soapy water, steam, scuba diving and water skiing are all discouraged. You can read about the various Apple Watches' watery attributes here.

Apple Watch Series 2 : Features :

 

Leaving aside waterproofing - sort of a new feature, but really an aspect of physical design - there's one main new feature. And that is…

GPS (and other fitness tracking elements)

 

Fitness tracking was a huge aspect of the first-gen Apple Watch's appeal, but it was stymied in this to a certain extent by its lack of GPS: this meant that runs could be tracked only by approximation.
(There were workarounds. If you went out running with the Apple Watch and a paired iPhone, the watch would piggyback on the phone's GPS and reach an accurate measurement that way. Better still, while doing this it would learn about your stride length, which meant that next time you went out without the phone the estimation would be noticeably better. But it was still inaccurate by the standards of serious runners. For more on this, see How to make the Apple Watch a more accurate fitness tracker.)
Well, that gap has now been filled and the Series 2 has built-in GPS, so it can be considered a genuine standalone fitness tracker. This means you can go for a run or cycle ride and extract accurate data from your workouts.

 

Ready for the fitness tests! You can see that the first-gen Apple Watch (left) and Series 2 (right) look virtually identical if you go for the same colour finish

We've observed noticeably improved accuracy when tracking runs with the Series 2. Doing circuits round a track that Google Maps reckons is a kilometre in circumference, the Series 2 gave successive reports of 940m, 960m and 960m - and these were done at deliberately inconsistent speeds, a trick which always used to stump the first-gen watch and its stride estimation. The route to and from the track, which the map puts at about 1.5km, was reported as 1.54km on the way there and 1.53km on the way back, again recorded at different speeds. It's certainly consistent.
For comparison with the first-gen, GPS-free Apple Watch, we went out again the next night and did three more laps. This time the Series 2 was even more consistent - 960m, 960m and 960m - while the first-gen watch, which had received a respectable amount of stride-learning training, reported 880m, 900m and 910m - fairly consistent in its own right (standard deviation of the data sets are listed below), but quite clearly tending to underreport the distance. If you didn't train the first-gen with an iPhone it would be far less accurate than that; if you spent more time training it, you could probably improve things a little, but not by much.

It's actually quite characteristic that the first-gen watch's estimated distance went up each time - this is part of the nature of stride estimation. I am not a strong runner and I tend to get slower, and take shorter strides (and therefore more per kilometre), as the night wears on; this confuses the watch. We've found that it tends to provide a decent estimation of distance over the course of a lengthy run, by averaging things out, but for mid-run speed/progress checks, particularly if you're not very good at maintaining a consistent speed, it's often off by a fair margin.
Having GPS has a secondary benefit, and this is the ability to track runs on a map. If you open an Apple Watch 2-tracked workout from within the Activity app, you'll see a little map thumbnail at the bottom; tap this and you'll be shown a fullscreen map of the route you took.

Also on the fitness front, the Apple Watch features a good range of pre-installed apps: Activity, which tracks calories burned, exercise minutes and hours in which you've stood up for at least a minute; Workout, which tailors fitness tracking to a range of specific sporting activities; the self-explanatory Heart Rate; and Breathe, which helps with mindfulness and may assist with relaxation although your mileage may vary. All four of these apps are also installed on the first-gen Apple Watch and Apple Watch Series 1, although Breathe was new with watchOS 3.

Apple Watch Series 2: Screen :

 

The Apple Watch Series 2 has an AMOLED display that is twice as bright as the screen on the original watch, according to Apple - and sure enough, it's a lot easier to make out what's on the screen in sunny conditions. In fact, subjectively the screen feels sharper, although the screen resolution is actually unchanged.
Be warned that in direct sunlight, you may still find yourself struggling to clearly see what's on the display - this is the nature of the technology.
Every model of the Series 2 is protected by sapphire glass, which is stronger than the Ion-X glass used on last year's Apple Watch Sport model (the other models of the first-gen Apple Watch had sapphire glass). All Series 2 watches have a sapphire glass, making it a more durable option in the long run.

Screen specs :

 

• 38mm model: 1.34-inch 272×340 screen at 326 pixels per inch (ppi)
• 42mm model: 1.53-inch 312×340 screen at 326ppi

   

   Apple Watch Series 2: Performance :

   

  The processors in the Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 have been upgraded to the S1P and S2 CPUs respectively. Both are dual-core processors that offer 50 percent faster speeds over the S1 (the single-core processor found in the 2015 Apple Watch). The GPU that handles the visual display on the Apple Watch has also received a boost: it's twice as fast as its predecessor.
  This healthy boost in speed is a pleasing addition, but we feel watchOS 3 greatly contributes to the user experience being noticeably quicker: our first-gen Apple Watch, updated to feature watchOS 3, has also got speedier. WatchOS 3 is available on all Apple watches as a free upgrade, but comes out of the box in the Series 1 and Series 2 models.
  

   

  Apple Watch 2 : Tech specs :

   

  Here are the specs of the new watches:
  

  Apple Watch Series 2 specs (38/42mm)

• Colours: Gold, Rose Gold, Silver, Space Grey Aluminium case and Space Black, Silver Stainless Steel case and Ceramic
• S2 Dual-core processor
• GPS
• Height: 38.6/42.5mm
• Width: 33.3mm/36.4mm
• Depth: 11.4mm
• Case weight: 28.2/34.2g 
• Retina display with Force Touch (2x brighter than original)
• Digital Crown
• Heart rate sensor
• WiFi 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Up to 18hrs battery life
• Water-resistance rating of 50 metres under ISO standard 22810:2010

Specs of the original Apple Watch (the Series 1 is largely identical to the specs below, but it features a S1P dual-core processor and the new colour options - excluding Ceramic):

First-gen Apple Watch specs (38/42mm)

 

• Colours: Stainless Steel, Space Black Stainless Steel
• S1 processor
• Height: 38.6/42.5mm
• Width: 33.3mm/36.4mm
• Depth: 10.5mm
• Retina display with Force Touch
• Digital Crown
• Heart rate sensor
• WiFi 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Up to 18hrs battery life
• Water-resistance rated under IEC standard 60529 IPX7: a depth of 1 metre for 30 minutes 

 

Apple Watch Series 2 : Battery life :

 

We're still testing battery life, but (while the specs quoted above peg them at the same 'up to 18 hours' figure) it's starting to look like the Series 2 performs better in this regard than its predecessor. 
We started with a short-term comparison test. We took a Series 2 and a first-gen Apple Watch off their chargers at noon and eight hours later, using both devices for the same tasks throughout the afternoon and early evening, the Series 2 was on 86 percent and the first-gen on 69 percent (although bear in mind that this is after the latter going through 16 months of battery wear).
The Series 2 can manage two days of use between charging fairly comfortably, something that we struggled to achieve with the first-gen Apple Watch even when it was brand-new. We're currently seeing if it can manage three, and will update once we know more.
Is the S2 a more power-efficient chip than the S1? Maybe - and remember it has a brighter screen to power too. Impressive stuff.