Apple Watch 2 Review Roundup: The Good, The Bad And The In-Between

The Apple Watch 2 reviews are finally in, and here’s what everyone’s pointing out about the Cupertino giant’s new smartwatch — the good, the bad and the in-between.

The Good

USA Today’s Edward C. Baig recognizes the upside of the wearable’s ISO standard 22810:2010 water resistance rating, saying owners can now swim with it. He even shared that he swam with his Apple Watch 2 in a friend’s pool and even showered with the device still strapped on to his wrist and “it kept on functioning as advertised.” The new Apple Watch can go deep for up to 50 meters of saltwater and chlorinated pool, and Baig says the Workout app of the smartwatch would work well in both a pool swim workout and an “open water swim” thanks to the GPS tracking technology.

The Verge’s Lauren Good says the addition of the GPS into the device has turned it into a sport watch, adding that the GPS immediately looks for a signal once the owner has launched the Workout app. Goode also admires the accuracy of the tracking system when she did some walking, running and cycling with it. And because it has a tracking system of its own, she says she did not have to bring along her iPhone.

The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern acknowledges the other upgrades that make the user experience all worth it. She says the brighter screen will make it easier for users to see the display when outside. Stern also likes the fact that on days where she didn’t use the GPS tracking technology, the larger battery inside the device was greatly felt as she would go to bed with nearly 40 percent of the battery left. Finally, Stern praised the new dual-core processor of the smartwatch by regarding it as a “huge improvement” compared to last year’s device.

The Bad

CNET’s Scott Stein notes that the Apple Watch 2 is a bit thicker than its predecessor and the bigger form factor is what contributes to its heavier state. The heavier weight of the new Apple smartwatch is said to be very obvious when one holds the successor and the predecessor side by side. Stein also claims that though the larger battery is intended to make the device work longer, using GPS is what limits the wearable’s longevity.

Daring Fireball’s John Gruber claims that he still prefers using the mechanical watch for the very reason that Apple has yet to release a smartwatch with an always-on display. Because this feature is still absent on the Apple Watch 2, he says users would be compelled to turning the display on every time there’s a need to glance to check the time. Gruber also does not like the fact that Apple added the feature to send doodles, emojis and heartbeats to the side button as it turned out to be a huge distraction, adding that the best way to send something via the Apple Watch 2 is through Siri and not manually encoding things into the device.

The In-Between

CNET’s Scott Stein also points out in his review that the new OS, watchOS 3, is a great upgrade, to the user experience the Apple Watch 2 provides. However, this free upgrade is reaching owners of Apple Watch devices as well, and he says that this just means consumers do not need to buy anything new with watchOS 3 around.

Mashable’s Lance Ulanoff says that he is actually disappointed by the fact that the Apple Watch 2 comes with a price tag that’s not under $200 -- at least for the entry-level model. But we say that this is already expected from Apple, because the tech giant likes to replace its older devices with new ones without altering their pricing.