Smartwatches Have Arrived: Sony’s SmartWatch 2 Is Put To The Test

SmartWatches are the new “It” thing. Of course, wristbands that functioned as more than just a watch is not really new—we’ve all seen one or two timepieces not only fully capable of telling time in maybe twelve different countries, capable of being set to alarm, measure our walking distance, heart-rates, number of steps taken, and so on into infinity. These are usually the kinds of things bought by the truly wealthy or health buffs who want to know what their pulse rate is with every exercise they do.

All the rest of the more complex processes and features are usually done and found in our smartphones that not only lets us communicate through cell but also through VoIP (get more information about VOIP). It does other things like convert currency, identify a song just by listening to it, and take photos. As they are, they are pretty sufficient and we’re all just started getting used to them, but now there’s a new “smart” product: manufacturers decided to go full sci-fi and imbue wristwatches with the same “smart” capabilities as a smartphone does.

Sony’s SmartWatch to take on Pebble and Metawatch

Recently, the crowdsourced smartwatch Kickstarter called Pebble had received a great deal of acclaim and funding, and was generally considered a success. Pebble had presented itself as a stylish, customizable watch which had a digital touch screen that worked the same way as a smartphone’s touchscreen would. You would be able to customize the watch’s display and watchface, and use apps through it. Apps could be fitness apps, sports apps, and even get social media or email notifications.

Other smartwatches started cropping up (the first of them was actually found as a potential design from Apple’s line of products), and now Sony has decided to not be left out of the SmartWatch 2 is being taken to new heights.

How It Stacks up to the Competition

Now that reviewers have gotten their hands on it, it looks like the Sony SmartWatch has its own pros and cons. For example, the SmartWatch 2 runs on an Android platform. This would be expected, after all—most Sony products do this—but it’s a bit of a disadvantage since the two other well-known SmartWatch names, Pebble and MetaWatch, are capable of handling not just Android apps but iOS apps as well. And since iOS apps are traditionally more superior to their Android counterparts, this could well be a disadvantage for Sony’s new product.

Another big question is battery life. Everyone is used to having a watch that really only gets a battery installed once and it’ll run on without a problem. But those had been ordinary clockwork watches or even digital watches that wouldn’t be demanding so much energy because it lacks complex processes. If smartwatches are to really make a footing in the market, they would have to have impressive battery times that won’t require users perpetually having to charge them. We usually already have enough to charge, what with smartphones, tablets, and laptops everywhere.

According to the specifications of the highest-ranked smartwatches right now, Pebble and MetaWatch have multi-day lifespans, which is really very impressive (even Apple products don’t last for days on end if you have apps running on them nearly full time). Pebble lasts for over a whole week, and MetaWatch lasts for nearly an entire week for a single charge.  Sony’s claim on the SmartWatch 2 is that it has even longer battery times than any other smartwatch in the market. However, from the specs they released, Sony’s watch can only last 5-6 days with low usage, and even less (at 3-4 days) with typical use of apps.

Overall, would you want a watch that does things your smartphone already does? Will the small screen not hinder you from having the rather sci-fi-esque feel of having a computer on your wrist?