Apple Watch Series 2 review: serious fitness tracker with GPS, better performance, but display not visible in direct sunlight, software glitches remain
A GPS sensor and better water resistance make the new Apple Watch a serious fitness tracker — Let's call it what it is: a fitness tracker.
Context & Ripple Effects
A week after Apple debuted the Series 2 with swimproof water resistance and built-in GPS, The Verge's review delivers the verdict: this is finally a serious fitness tracker, not just a phone companion. That closes the loop on the original 2015 model's performance problems with apps and location services — the faster SoC addresses part of that complaint, though glitches persist.
The competitive frame matters too: Samsung's $179 Gear Fit 2 had already put built-in GPS in a cheap band months earlier, so Apple is playing catch-up on the exact feature that defines the category it now claims.
First-order effects
- Apple repositions the Watch's identity from luxury accessory to fitness tracker, putting it head-to-head with dedicated bands like the Gear Fit 2 on GPS and water resistance rather than with fashion watches on style.
- Buyers get a clearer trade-off sheet: real GPS and 50-meter water resistance, but a display that fails in direct sunlight — a genuine defect for an outdoor running device.
Second-order effects
- Samsung and Fitbit lose their GPS-as-differentiator advantage and must compete on price and battery life instead, since the $179 band can no longer claim features the Apple Watch lacks.
- Android Wear rivals like LG answer by pushing workout apps to run directly on the watch, turning on-watch app independence into the next battleground after hardware sensors.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — Series 4 adding health-tracking depth and the Ultra chasing durability — the smartwatch consolidates the fitness-tracker market around full-featured platforms, leaving single-purpose bands as a budget niche.
- Recurring complaints about displays and software across generations suggest Apple's iteration cadence fixes hardware gaps faster than software polish, making reliability the durable differentiator rather than any single sensor.
The trend: Smartwatches are absorbing the fitness-tracker category feature by feature, with built-in GPS and water resistance becoming table stakes rather than premium differentiators.