The Watch 2 is Realme’s new entry smartwatch that can be an alternative to the popular Mi Watch Lite, Amazfit Bip U and Huawei Band 6. Like competitors, Realme Watch 2 brings a variety of features for you to monitor your health and fitness. They promise to deliver 90 training modes, the device can track your heartbeat, oxygen saturation in the blood, night’s sleep and more.
The Realme Watch S, the company’s first smart watch launched in Brazil, did not please me for several problems, but is the Watch 2 a good bet? I’ve had the opportunity to test the gadget in recent weeks and share my impressions in this review.
Ethics Notice
Tecnoblog is an independent journalistic vehicle that has helped people make their next purchasing decision since 2005. Our analyses are not intended to be advertising, so they highlight the positive and negative points of each product. No company has paid, reviewed or had early access to this content.
The Watch 2 was provided by Realme on loan and will be returned to the company after testing. For more information, visit tecnoblog.net/etica.
Design and screen
In the disclosure images it may not seem —and they’re wrong—but Realme Watch 2 is a watch with a basic look and features inexpensive materials that reinforce this feature. There is plastic everywhere and on the sides it is shiny, which helps to give an enhanced appearance. The smartwatch case only brings a physical button, whose drive is not at all smooth and the noise it makes when it is tightened soon caught my attention. It’s a curious detail that I’ve expected to find on a basic device like this.
For those who suffer from adaptation when wearing a watch for the first time, I believe that the Realme Watch 2 should not cause discomfort because the device is extremely light and comfortable. Compared to the first Realme Watch, this new version got a little heavier, going from 31 to 38 grams. Still, I reinforce that the current watch has not promoted discomforts and the same goes for the 22 mm silicone strap. The other good news is that it has IP68 certification, protection that gives good relief to the clumsy.
The Watch 2 screen is good, but i didn’t like it 100% for two reasons. The company opted for an unusual layout and added thick edges that hurt the look; the panel is also not OLED, which automatically intrigues me, since smartbands already deliver a superior display. In numbers, the smartwatch has a 1.4-inch LCD IPS panel with 320 x 320 pixel resolution.
Even with these two negative points, this screen has some highlights. The brightness is intense, the visualization under sunlight is good and the setting also pleases. Compared to The Realme Watch S, the Watch 2 has a better display, but it would be even better without the edges. Who knows in the next generation?
Health resources and fitness tracking
Realme sells the Watch 2 with the promise of delivering 90 training modes. But when turning on the device for the first time you will find only ten options: indoor and outdoor running, walking, treadmill, bike, strength training, football, track cycling, yoga and cricket. Why just these? The company explains in fine print that other modes should appear after updates. It remains to be known when these updates will arrive.
In health resources, the device has a sensor to monitor heart rate, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) and can analyze the quality of your sleep. The BPM reader can be configured to follow up every five, ten, twenty, or thirty minutes. During my tests, the sensor proved reliable and, most of the time, the numbers were in line with those presented by the Apple Watch Series 6, which I like to use for comparison, since it proves very accurate.
The oximeter, a feature that is increasingly present in smart watches and smartbands, also performed well. And at various times when I tested the measurement, I didn’t notice inconsistent numbers and they were again hitting the Apple Watch.
