Introducing The Apple Watch Series 2

By Harlan Chapman-Green

So the company that makes the smart watch basically everyone was waiting for, be it to love and buy one or call it a flop, shunt it and laugh at those who did buy one. Like it or not, Apple sold more watches than pretty much everyone with the exception of Rolex over the course of the first model’s run, so you can hate on the product but you can’t deny the results. While I myself never actually bought one due to my chronic case of thinking more of Samsung phones than iPhones (no flame wars please) I still respected the amount of choices you could get, and with the exception of the aforementioned Korean company, they do make the best smart watches.

While I’m sure you’re aware by now that Apple isn’t exactly planning on taking on Switzerland, I still can’t get over the numbers. They sold more watches than Omega and the Fossil group did, that’s a heck of a lot. These things aren’t exactly built badly as well, and now Apple is stepping up with a few key developments. The first being there’s now a definite water resistance rating of 50m, the biggest problem is of course, the touch screen wouldn’t be much use under water but I’m sure Apple is going to figure it out. Another feature is a new white ceramic case option, not only being lightweight and super scratch resistant, but also a testament to Apple’s ability to mass produce such a delicate material, like how Omega did with for mechanical sports watches with the Dark Side of the Moon. I should point out though that the ceramic case will only be available for the Apple Watch Edition.

What’s one of the biggest changes they’ve made to the entire lineup? Getting rid of the silly gold models. It’s okay to make a high end watch out of precious metals but smartwatches? Thankfully if you’re into gold then you can still get a golden Apple Watch which is actually made of aluminium and given the golden treatment like the outgoing iPhone 6 series and its successors. As for the case sizes they still remain the same at the feminine 38mm and the surprisingly petite 42mm, it would’ve been nice to see a larger case size which not only shows Apple is aware of the watch market but also for the extra screen real estate.

There’s still a plethora of interchangeable straps, bands or bracelets depending on your choice of watch and colour. Even the black Apple Watch in stainless steel gets a milanese loop bracelet option if that’s your sort of thing, I know I’d prefer the polished steel version myself.

New to the range is the Apple Watch Nike edition which takes on a more sporting and active edge and as such incorporates a whole host of exercise tracking features. Although you could just get any of the Apple Watches and do this, the Nike edition comes with a two tone coloured rubber strap made with a bright yellow insert depending on which one you decide to go for. The Nike edition is also able to make use of the built in GPS sensor as well to track how far you’ve come.

It seems the new Apple Watch range is finally hotting up and with some requirements now met we can definitely see how you could get more practicality out of it than before. The exterior design hasn’t changed much, which is a testament to how well Apple has done this but you can always swap out the looks thanks to the easily interchangeable straps. For more info, please visit apple.com