Sony were one of the first manufacturers to try to crack into the smart watch craze, and now they’re back with their second generation watch – the Sony SmartWatch 2 – before Apple, Google, LG or Samsung have had a chance to get to their first releases.
The original Sony SmartWatch was one of the best looking options on the market, but was a bit too expensive and its software wasn’t the easiest to use. The new SmartWatch 2 looks to fix both of those complaints, with a lower price point, more powerful hardware and cleaner software.
So let’s look at the hardware side of the equation first. Here we’re seeing an enlarged 1.6-inch square display, at a more dense 220 x 176 pixel resolution. The larger display fits into pretty much the same space as the original watch’s, thanks to a much thinner bezel here. Below the screen, we’ve got a trio of Android-standard buttons (back, home, menu) which should make things a bit easier to control.
The new SmartWatch also boasts IP-57 water resistance (the same as the Xperia Z, but not as good as the IP-58 we saw on the recently announced Xperia Z Ultra phablet). The SmartWatch 2 also gets the longest battery life of any smart watch on the market, and swaps the proprietary cable on last year’s model for a standard micro USB one. Finally, the original rubber wristband is now stainless steel, although any 24 mm watch strap can be used in its place.
So it looks pretty good on the hardware side of things, but what of the software? Well, usability definitely looks to be improved here – for example, NFC capabilities allow the watch to pair with NFC-capable Android phones with a tap, no ugly setup process required. The new home buttons (as we mentioned earlier) also provide an interface that’s much closer to stock Android. It’s also compatible with many more Android phones than its predecessor, although support for other OSs like iOS and Windows Phone isn’t included.
The SmartWatch 2 should be available in September for the same price as the original or lower. With forthcoming watches from Google, Microsoft and Apple to look out for, Sony will be looking to get in before the rest of the big players. I guess now all there is to do is see how successful they can be with the SmartWatch 2.