Gadgetory

if there's anything that could be said about the new Apple watch series to right off the bat it's that this is probably what the first Apple watch should have been from the hardware components to the new software the new Apple watch series - feels like both a legitimate fitness tracker and something that could be a useful platform for apps and actually that's how Apple has prioritized this new gadget it is really focused on health and fitness while the idea of Apple watch being a computer on your wrist has really faded into the background so your next inevitable question might be should I buy the Apple watch series - or if I invest it in the first one should I upgrade that's all going to depend a lot on your personal use case like whether you're looking for an exercise tracker or whether you just like the idea of having iMessage and uber on your wrist but I can tell you this much as a fitness tracker it feels like it has finally arrived the series two comes in three models they all have the same internals just different external materials there is also a Nike branded version of the sport watch which will have a built-in Nike running app and of course as with any Apple watch you're going to have to have an iPhone to use this thing it looks almost identical to the first Apple watch the display is brighter in fact Apple says it's the brightest display it has ever made and if you compare the two closely you can tell that the series 2 is just a tiny bit thicker because of its bigger battery but let's talk about something more interesting the speakers they now include a mechanism that wait for it expels water because the Apple watch series 2 is water resistant up to 50 meters now when you go into the workout options in the watch you'll see that there's a pool swim option and an open water option when you start one of those workout options the watch automatically locks the touch screen display and then in order to exit the workout you twist the digital crown on the side of the watch and it actually makes this little noise comes out of the speakers and expels water it is admittedly a strange and kind of brilliant way to get water out of a consumer electronic device more important than the water resistance is the addition of GPS now if you go running or cycling or do anything outdoors with Apple watch series 2 and you don't have your phone with you it will do location tracking through GPS and then it will show you a map of your activity after the fact in the activity app on iPhone I tested the GPS on this going on my normal running cycling and walking routes without my iPhone and it pretty much gave you the same exact distances that I would get if I was just using my smartphone or if I was using another GPS equipped running watch a few things to know though the watch doesn't tell you when it's searching for GPS like other GPS watches do you just have to start an outdoor workout and assume that it's working also you're going to get five hours of continuous usage with GPS and Apple watch - that's it and finally if you do happen to bring your iPhone with you when you're doing a workout outdoors the watch is going to default to the iPhone for GPS rather than the watch for battery conservation otherwise the daily activity tracking and the exercise tracking are pretty much the exact same as they were on the first Apple watch the optical heart rate sensors are the exact same heart rate sensors one cool new feature is now if you're doing an other workout using the workout app you can later on identify it as something specific like yoga or strength training oh and the watch now has a breathe app that reminds you when to breathe which is all part of this growing trend around mindfulness although to be honest I didn't use it much this week maybe because I'm just not very chill all of this data will be synced with the activity app on iPhone and the most important new feature there is social sharing which honestly Apple is behind on and is a testament to the value of what other companies like Fitbit have been doing for years you can set it up so that you get a ping when a friend finishes workout provided of course they are also wearing an Apple watch and you can send them encouraging messages so what about the non Fitness stuff the everyday stuff B do I really need a SmartWatch stuff the first Apple watch suffered from slow to load apps and require too many taps and swipes and interactions to get anything done this one feels much easier to use part of this improvement is due to the new dual core processor and the watch but a bigger part of it is the new software watch OS 3 which is actually available on all Apple watches not just the new one now when you swipe up from the bottom of the watch you have a mini control center right there you can change watch faces just by swiping from edge to edge and then if you press this physical side button it brings you to an app dock which is basically a shortcut to apps the Apple watch still isn't perfect though I mean the display doesn't wake up every time I raise my wrist which gets real annoying real fast also even though the display is much brighter it's still not super easy to see in direct sunlight and then there's battery life bigger battery definitely needs better battery life on this than the last one I mean now I can get through an entire day use GPS for an hour and by 9 o'clock at night I still have around 20% left but it's still a charge everyday kind of watch which is one of my least favorite parts about it so should you get an Apple watch series too well if you already have an iPhone and you really want GPS and waterproofing and you have at least three hundred and sixty-nine dollars to spend then go for it I mean serious athletes who are looking for things like a highly visible display and hours and hours of GPS tracking and a multi sport mode need not apply but I still think in general this is a big step up in terms of fitness tracking ok so health and fitness aside the Apple watch series too has improved simply as a piece of wearable technology I mean is this as essential as your smartphone no and it may never be it's also not a replacement for your smartphone but if you're already buying into the Apple ecosystem and you feel like you need a SmartWatch then Apple has improved upon this in a lot of the right places I tested the new Apple watch by going on my normal Pokemon go routes swimming in the bathtub holding my breath till it told me to breathe and it was