realme Watch 2 Review VS realme Watch – How much they differ?

September last year, I shared with you my Unboxing and Review of the first version of the realme Watch which proved to be a decent option for someone looking to get their hands on a relatively affordable smartwatch with substantial features that aids with one’s digital lifestyle. Then just a couple of months after that, I reviewed the realme Watch S that features a more familiar design and form factor of a normal analog watch while also offering the most common modern technologies of a smartwatch. Fast forward to today, realme just released yet another iteration of the realme Watch series with the realme Watch 2 Pro and the realme Watch 2. We’re taking a look at the latter and see how much it differs from the first version. Spoiler alert: It does offer a bit more for less of the price of its predecessor.

MY EARLY BREAKDOWN

Pros: Improved design, More sports modes, Larger Battery life, Still relatively inexpensive

Cons: Proprieatary charging base

SPECIFICATIONS

WHAT’S IN THE PACKAGE

The packaging is no surprise from realme with a familiar yellow box with an image preview in front, some of its key features on the sides, and the specific variant information at the back.

We also have here at the back the contact details and address of realme and more technical information such as the NTC information, serial number, and certifications.

Upon opening the box, the first thing you’ll notice is the realme Watch 2 itself and a small accessory box.

All in all, inside the box, we have the warranty card, the user guide, the proprietary charging dock, and the realme Watch 2 itself.

FULL REVIEW

Design, Construction, and Parts Overview

Right out of the box, the realme Watch 2 offers a familiar look and feel but the unit itself looks slightly taller than its predecessor. However, the display panel itself is basically the same with a 1.4″ 320×320 resolution and pixel density of 323 PPI. The subtle realme logo at the bottom of the display is now gone on the realme Watch 2 which makes the display somehow cleaner in terms of design language.

Another key difference of the realme Watch 2 from its predecessor is that it now has a wider 22mm strap compared to the 20mm strap of the realme Watch. 

It is also longer in terms of the adjustment range with up to 220mm. Both versions feature removable straps.

To be exact, the realme watch measures around 36.5 x 11.8 x256mm while the realme Watch 2 measures around 35.7 x 12.2 x 257.6mm (W*H*L). The size improvement of the realme Watch 2 is mainly because of the larger battery which is now 315mAh compared to the 160mAh of the realme Watch.

In terms of navigation, both versions feature the same side navigation button and touch gestures.

Another notable difference is that the realme Watch 2 has a rather huge “Dare to Leap” slogan on the strap that matches the design on the recently launched raelme 8 series smartphones.

Looking underneath, at first glance, the sensors and charging pins seem fairly similar but in fact, the only thing both versions have in common is the layout of these sensors and pins. The sensors actually look very different between the two versions. 

The charging pins, size and the charging base itself are quite different.  And thinking about it, now that realme has released a bunch of smartwatches, I realized, they should’ve considered standardizing their charging base design and come up with a single one that should be compatible with the rest of their smartwatches. Or at least, just make them wireless charging to make it more universal.

Set-Up Process and realme Link App

Setting up the realme Watch is pretty straightforward, just power on the unit by pressing the side button, 

Download the realme link app, create an account if you haven’t already and scan the QR code to bind the realme Watch 2 to your smartphone.

What I like about the realme link app is that it offers a sort of one-stop app or a gateway for all the realme devices available like their smart bands, smartwatches, true wireless stereo earphones, security camera, and other AIoT devices.

After binding the realme Watch 2 it’s always a good idea to update the device to get the most out of its features.

The realme Watch 2 has 6 pre-installed watch faces but you can also choose up to more than 100 watch faces via the realme link app.

Navigation and Features

Although the layout of the interfaces of both the realme Watch and Watch 2 are different, they are essentially the same including how you navigate through the UI.

From the home screen, swiping to the right reveals the most common settings and in a way, it is fairly similar to the dropdown notification bar on a smartphone. Here you can enable night mode, raise to wake up, brightness levels, power-saving mode, and settings. We also have here the Bluetooth icon, battery level with exact percentage, and the date.

From the home screen, swiping downwards reveals the quick notifications. You can set which app will show notifications here via the realme link app. At least for this model of their smartwatch, there’s no option to directly reply to the messages from the realme Watch 2.

From the home screen, swiping to left reveals the stat counter,

Another swipe to the left reveals the hear rate monitor,

Next is the weather, 

And lastly, the music player.

Now, from the home screen, swiping upwards reveals the app drawer where you have the activity, heart rate monitor, oxygen monitor,

Sleep tracker, Workout modes, Workout records,

Alarms, Weather, Stopwatch,

Timer, Music Control, Camera Remote, Meditation,

Find my phone, realme link and settings.

You can also choose to set the layout of the icons either in a list view or grid view.

Going back to the Workout feature, unlike the first version realme Watch with only 14 sports modes, the new realme Watch 2 now has up to 90 different sports modes. However, only up to 10 can be set on the watch itself. You can set this up via the realme link app.

Battery Life

As I’ve pointed out earlier, in terms of battery, the realme Watch 2 now has a 315mAh battery compared to the 160mAh battery of the realme Watch. So that is from 7-9 days on the realme Watch to up to 12 days on the realme Watch 2.

VERDICT

Aside from the differences I mentioned above, everything else is pretty much identical with both versions of the realme Watch (Square series). The good thing here is that, at least at the time of this writing, the price of the realme Watch 2 is cheaper than the old realme Watch making your decision fairly easy at this point. All in all, if you’re looking for a decent smart watch that offers the basic features such as heart rate monitor, oxygen level monitor, physical activity tracking, smartphone notifications and all the bare essentials with a now better battery, the realme Watch 2 is a very attractive option.

By the way, aside from the realme Watch 2 and Watch 2 Pro, realme also launched the realme Buds Wireless 2 Neo and the realme Motion Activated Night Light.

Availability and Price

realme Watch 2
SRP P2,990
P1,000 off/P1,990 for a limited time offer on Lazada & Shopee on July 7 only

realme Watch 2 Pro
SRP P4,490
P1,000 OFF/P3,490 for a limited time offer on Lazada & Shopee, July 7 only

realme Buds Wireless 2 Neo
SRP P1,490
P500 off/P990 for a limited time offer on Lazada & Shopee on July 7 only

realme Night Light
SRP P590
P200 off/P390 for a limited time offer on Lazada & Shopee on July 7 only

realme Watch 2

Php 2990

4.6

Design

4.0/5

Construction

5.0/5

Features

4.0/5

Performance

5.0/5

Price

5.0/5

Pros

• Improved design
• More sports modes
• Larger Battery life
• Still relatively inexpensive

Cons

• Proprieatary charging base

Buy it at Lazada

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Marvin Gabriel

The Broll who always got your back online!