
Apple Unveils the Apple Watch Series 2 - chrisked
https://techcrunch.com/2016/09/07/apple-unveils-the-apple-watch-series-2/
======
grandalf
While I love gadgets, the idea of wearing something on my wrist whose sole
purpose is to interrupt me with notifications (most of which I would not want)
and that offers an extremely bright display is pretty much the last gadget I'd
want.

Even with the new color temperature adjustments on the iPhone, looking at the
screen in the dark is quite unpleasant.

I would much prefer an e-ink smart watch.

~~~
jamesjyu
You can customize the notifications. The biggest value I've found for the
watch is that I take out my iPhone less, and actually spend less time looking
at notifications.

~~~
dr_
Agreed. I find it useful to answer, and many times reject, phone calls.

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sulam
By adding GPS it seems like they're really doubling down on the ~1 day battery
life, which is really annoying. And keep in mind it's not actually a full day
if you _use_ the thing. For instance I was trying to compare a Fitbit Charge
HR and the Apple Watch in terms of how they tracked my heart rate over a hike
a couple months ago. It was an 8 mile loop with some good elevation gain --
took me maybe 4 hours. The Apple Watch died 3/4 of the way through the hike
despite being fully charged that morning. The Charge HR has lasted 3 and 4 day
trips to the Sierras with room to spare, and it's always capturing heart rate,
whereas the Apple Watch is really only doing that when I tell it to.

~~~
iLoch
That's awful. I'm a Charge HR owner and I was considering the Nike Apple Watch
(it looks so cool!) but if what you say about the battery life is true than
the Apple Watch is completely off the table.

~~~
sulam
So you _can_ wear it on a hike, you just can't record the whole exercise. The
Apple Watch samples your heart rate every 5 minutes or so normally. If you
start recording an exercise, it samples much more frequently and also seems to
do more communication with your phone. The end result is that any exercise
that lasts a long time (hours) will drain the battery fiercely.

------
51Cards
I bought an LG G Watch when they first launched 2+ years ago and used it for a
year every day. I tried the Moto 360 (great looks, awful battery), and LG
Urbane, and now I think I have come full circle. I'm using a Pebble Time
daily, and waiting for my Pebble Time 2 to arrive.

The gadget appeal has worn off but I still enjoy the functional benefits which
(to me) Pebble has hit the sweet spot. A vibe motor you can feel, 8-10 days of
battery life, a screen that's good under all conditions (especially sunshine),
water proof, tactile buttons to interact with it, great voice translation, not
too bulky, etc. Sure it's not as fancy but it just does the critical things I
want it to do. The Time 2 fixes a couple desires (heart rate and larger
screen) and that should be about it. I think I've found the smart watch I am
going to enjoy living with.

Edit: have to add that GPS would be nice too but I am willing to not have it
for the battery life.

~~~
sk8ingdom
Has anyone developed GPS for the Pebble? A quick google search reveals this
Kickstarter [1], but is anyone aware of something more mature or a future
Pebble design which will include it.

I'm into trail running and backpacking so battery life and GPS are the two
most important features to me.

[1] [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/655382546/pal-strap-
gps...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/655382546/pal-strap-gps-and-
extended-battery-strap-for-pebbl)

~~~
valine
Pebble core comes to mind:
[http://help.getpebble.com/customer/en/portal/articles/243992...](http://help.getpebble.com/customer/en/portal/articles/2439926-pebble-
core?b_id=8309)

~~~
sk8ingdom
Nice, I didn't realize they were working on that--I'll have to do some feature
comparisons, but this seems like it might be a better fit.

------
throwanem
Also a Pokemon Go app for it, which is probably going to blow the top off
sales unless people start getting bored with the game any time soon. (Totally
scientific analysis of my fellow light rail commuters suggests this is not
likely!)

~~~
simonsarris
Peak Pokemon Go was back in mid July:

[https://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=pokemon%20go](https://www.google.com/trends/explore?q=pokemon%20go)

~~~
smacktoward
Hey, Apple missed peak U2 by 25 years. At least they're getting closer!

------
AceJohnny2
But does the screen stay on?

I used to have one of the first-gen Android Wear watches, an LG one. I really
liked how it acted as an extension of my phone, it was particularly useful for
voice queries (Google still beats the pants off Siri), and directions. But the
best feature was that even when sleeping, the LCD screen would still show the
time in black-and-white and with the backlight off. It still lasted a full
day.

Apple seems to have gone in a different direction, emphasizing the Watch as a
fashionable fitness tracker. I don't care as much for the fitness tracking
aspect: I'm not an athlete, and GPS tracking on my phone is usually enough to
get a rough estimate of things I do. I also don't do workouts for the numbers,
which Apple seems to be touting.

Overall, they seem to have prioritized many other energy-draining features
over doing the most basic thing I expect from a wrist-mounted device:
displaying information. I've had an Apple Watch for almost a year, and its
finickiness about turning on or off the display is by far my biggest
annoyance.

------
return0
I don't think the HN crowd is a fan of watches in general, and this doesnt
seem like it will be the exception. The question is if in general people are
going to buy this thing.

~~~
ericzawo
I don't know, I own 4 watches of varying functions/prices. Those who love
horology treat it like car nuts -- it's less about practicality and
advancements and more about the sentiment behind it. I'd take my 21 jewel
seiko SKX007 over any smartwatch any day of the week. To me, and many other
watch lovers, the Apple Watch really is just a watch by name only.

~~~
wlesieutre
Welcome to being a weird niche market that nobody else cares about it. While
you're here, try a fountain pen! They're great!

(no, really)

------
maxharris
I know this is old hat, but I'm just not interested until they make one with a
round face. And I say this as a very dedicated Apple-using person (three
current Macs in front of me, iPhone 6S in my pocket, internet served over a
Time Capsule, an iPad floating around here somewhere...)

~~~
dchuk
How do you propose they do that without forcing every single app to be
redesigned to work on a round screen rather than rectangular?

~~~
alangpierce
On Android smartwatches, you're expected to develop for both square and round
screens:
[https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/ui/layouts....](https://developer.android.com/training/wearables/ui/layouts.html)

It would certainly be additional work for developers, but there's precedent
for it.

------
newman314
When the Apple Watch was first announced, there were rumors of the watch being
able to measure blood glucose. That was exciting news.

So it was disappointing to find out that this was not true. (while writing
this comment, I dug around and it seems that there is now Glucowise that will
supposedly ship this year).

I believe that Apple Watch has the potential to become a life changing device
for many and I look forward to the day that bloodless blood sugar monitoring
is a feature for the Watch.

~~~
cududa
The new rumor is that sensors like blood glucose and pulse Ox is going to be a
separate device - so FDA regulations wouldn't impede the rollout of the core
Apple Watch

~~~
newman314
Do you have a link to this?

~~~
escap
[https://9to5mac.com/2016/08/09/apple-health-and-fitness-
hard...](https://9to5mac.com/2016/08/09/apple-health-and-fitness-hardware/)

------
therobot24
I've had a pebble (which was chewed up by my dog), fitbit (literally fell
apart - fitbits have the worst quality IMO), and a microsoft band 2.

The Band 2 has most of these functions (except water proof - it's just water
resistant), and while i enjoy it, i find the bulkiness and battery life (have
to charge every day or every other day) tiring. I was hoping the apple watch
would focus more on battery than adding new features like GPS, so if a Band 3
isn't released with a better battery i'll probably revert to a new pebble.

~~~
brlewis
Fitbit Charge HR and previous had manufacturing quality issues. Blaze and Alta
are "benefiting from lower warranty costs due to their inherent design and the
improved manufacturing processes we have implemented this year. We expect this
trend to also apply to other new products we will be introducing heading into
the holidays"

[http://seekingalpha.com/article/3995113-fitbits-fit-ceo-
jame...](http://seekingalpha.com/article/3995113-fitbits-fit-ceo-james-
park-q2-2016-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single)

------
nharada
Any word on battery life?

~~~
rch
a watch that needs a battery? yawn.

E: I expected downvotes, but I'm actually kind of serious. It shouldn't be
impossible to get a small but interesting amount of tech incorporated into an
automatic watch.

~~~
k-mcgrady
I didn't down vote you but this comment is like someone complaining that their
iPhone only gets 36 hours battery life when their Nokia 3210 got them through
a couple of weeks. I'm not sure if you've used an Apple Watch but battery life
just isn't a concern at all. You take it off at night, put it on the magnetic
charger next to your bed and put it back on in the morning. Unless you want
sleep tracking there's no need to wear it at night and the battery easily gets
through an entire day with 20-30% charge left. In other words there's a reason
they didn't seem to even mention battery in this keynote - people have found
it's not really an issue. Of course there are extreme use cases where it is
(what if I go camping for a few days) but these hold true for an electronic
device.

~~~
sulam
It really is an issue for me when it comes to anything fitness-related.
Recording exercises drains it fast, and I am willing to bet that the GPS is
the same story as heart rate -- it will probably sample every 5 minutes or so
when you're not exercising and then bump up the frequency when you are. Which
means it still can't be used to capture anything over a couple hours.

------
protomyth
I do wonder what the plan is for the big spenders with the gold phones?

~~~
pille
3rd paragraph FTA:

> As for the really expensive Apple Watch Edition, it seems like Apple is
> killing the product. The company probably wanted a flagship model to show
> that it was serious about fashion. But now that the Galeries Lafayette,
> Colette and Hermès sell the Apple Watch, Apple can focus on mass-market
> watches.

~~~
protomyth
I just gotta wonder what the reaction of all the celebs will be, as Apple
tends to listen and covet them. I was expecting a special upgrade given the
cost. I guess its another Mac anniversary edition.

~~~
pavlov
How many units of Apple Watch Edition could have been sold -- I'd imagine it
must be less than 10,000? Upgrading that amount of watches to the new
motherboard (with the improved SOC) which fits in the same case doesn't seem
like a major operation.

IIRC, those watches were sold with a private consultation at an Apple Store...
So Apple could be privately inviting those buyers to get their watches
upgraded, and it would give Apple an opportunity to connect with these high-
spenders again and sell them some more stuff.

~~~
TheOtherHobbes
Probably less than 1,000. I expect quite a few were given away.

For the people who bought them, the price was likely pocket money to them, so
they'll shrug and move on.

I'm surprised there was no effort to make the design sleeker. Visually Watch
is a bit of a clunker, and not quite in keeping with the usual Apple
aesthetic.

~~~
favorited
That's what I think, too.

I'd imagine that, if price were at all a factor, you didn't buy an Edition.

------
themihai
The only feature I was waiting for is still missing: SIM card.

------
bdcravens
I hope it's really much faster. I use 2FA often, but found that the time it
took to process and give me a code was longer than the time it would take to
unlock my phone and generate the code there.

------
kstenerud
I'll buy one when it's solar powered like my current watch.

------
guilamu
Mark my words : Won't sell more than the first one.

------
jbmorgado
Still same unusable battery.

------
biot
By "swim up to 50 meters" does this mean you can only do a single lap of a
swimming pool, or is this a measure of diving depth?

~~~
usaphp
Diving depth, below that the pressure will force the water into the watch.

~~~
manarth
Diving depth - ish.

That 50m is _static_ pressure. Don't expect to actually dive to 50m and have
your Apple Watch survive.

The reality of "50m waterproof" is that if you swim with it (pools, maybe a
few meters below the surface), most of the time it'll be OK.

~~~
agumonkey
I've read that the depth thing is also double edged, in that some device
aren't sealed enough at 0m and benefit from having a bit of pressure around to
tighten things. So a 50m certified thing can leak in if washed under your
bathroom tap.

ps: I'm really dubious about the post swim clean idea, I hope they took
minerals and chemical floating (chlorine and whatnot) in their simulation,
otherwise that speaker membrane will come with free sound effects over time.

~~~
EpicEng
>So a 50m certified thing can leak in if washed under your bathroom tap.

Perhaps for a very cheap watch, but if you're a diver you're not using a cheap
50m watch anyhow.

------
bowmessage
Love the Freudian slip: "You’ll be able to swipe on Pokéstops, see nearby
Pokémon in a watch complication"

~~~
jsmthrowaway
What's Freudian about that? Am I missing it?

------
webXL
Just got the Gear S2. Apple needs to switch to OLED and add Always-On display
before I go back. Twisting my wrist several times just to see the time was
extremely annoying.

~~~
rayiner
The Apple Watch does use OLED.

~~~
webXL
Well, no wonder why battery life isn't significantly better on the s2! I just
love that feature.

------
welder
________Apple vs Pebble __ __ __ __

Battery: 1 day vs 9 days

Price: $365 vs $169

Android Support: No vs Yes

[https://www.pebble.com/](https://www.pebble.com/)

Edit: Original comment below for nicky0

Charge my watch every night? No thank you, I'm buying a Pebble.

Pay $365 for a watch? No thank you, I'm buying a Pebble for $169.

Android support? Don't think so, I'm buying a Pebble.

[https://www.pebble.com/](https://www.pebble.com/)

~~~
nicky0
Enjoy your pebble, dude.

Edit: You just completely edited your comment. The old one was more amusing.

~~~
welder
I actually already have one, and I enjoy it.

~~~
nicky0
I suspected as much :) They look cool.

I'm a Garmin guy.

