As the digital world continues to become part of our everyday lives, having a smart band or a smart watch gives us easier access to things on our phone. This can range from checking notifications, keeping up with our fitness, and even locating our smartphone should it be misplaced.
Enter realme’s newest addition to its wearables with the realme Watch S2. How does it handle all these tasks and provide more accessibility? Let’s find out.
Table of Contents
Design and Construction
The realme Watch S2 we have here for review comes with a silicone wrist strap, but a steel wrist strap is also available. The watch is 22mm and feels a bit lighter than the TOZO S5 Smart Watch and the Apple Watch SE 2nd Generation which is a 44mm watch.
You get a 2.8D large curved surface with a stainless steel textured body. It has an IP68 rating for dust & water resistance and fingerprint smudge resistance.
Though I have a small wrist, the watch doesn’t move much around nor does it flip to the other side of my arm, so kudos to that. With my time with the watch, I have yet to see any fingerprint smudges on the screen or around the watch so I can vouch for that too.
The watch has two buttons on the right side: one knob button on top while the bottom is a flat button. The top knob takes you to the menu of the device while the lower button is a shortcut to the Exercise app in the watch.
Overall, it is a clean and minimalistic watch with a premium finish that both men and women can showcase their style with. I also want to point out that the Watch S2’s straps are removable so users can customize the strap provided that it can fit a 22mm watch.
Display and Audio
With the realme Watch S2, you get a 1.43-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a 466 x 466 resolution, 326 PPI and 600 nits brightness. It also has a 72% screen-to-body ratio and around 50Hz – 60Hz refresh rate.
Navigating around the watch is smooth and I never had a problem with how bright it is. Whether I’m indoors and most especially outdoors, the Watch S2 is able to provide decent brightness in any scenario you are in.
A nifty feature that this watch has is that you can answer phone calls and talk through the watch. This only applies to phone numbers and not third party apps like Messenger or Viber so no, you can’t use the watch to answer calls there.
The volume is quite loud for something that’s on your wrist so as long as it isn’t too noisy around you, you would most likely hear whoever you’re on call with. It also comes with a ringtone that can be silenced if you don’t want to hear it.
How’s the mic audio? Well, I was told by colleagues that they are able to hear me provided that I was talking to the watch as if I were an agent in one of those spy movies.
This means my hand has to be near my face and the watch’s right side is closer to my mouth (which I assume is where the microphone is). They also agree that I’m very audible only if there is little to no noise around me.
Another thing to point out is that you can actually store some of your local music in your phone to the realme Watch S2. You can choose to let the music play out through the speakers or use your Bluetooth earphones that are connected to your phone.
I probably won’t use the local music option for the watch as it drains the battery a bit more and I’d prefer to use a music streaming service like Spotify or YouTube Music. It is nice to know that the feature exists nonetheless.
OS, Apps and UI
The realme is on the company’s proprietary OS on version 3.3.0.31 as of writing this article. The watch is very responsive, registering each swipe done on the screen.
The companion app for the watch is the realme Link app which is used for other wearables and appliances that realme offers. There are times where the watch will tell me that it is not connected to my phone.
<imgsrc=”https://www.yugatech.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/realme-Watch-S2-link-App.jpg” alt=”Realme Watch S2 Link App” width=”720″ height=”480″ />
However, it still is able to get notifications from it and reply to messages too. This is also noting that the realme Link app is running in the background of my device without me exiting it so that’s something to note.
There are over 110+ Sport Modes with running and stretching guidelines, a heart rate, stress level, and blood oxygen monitoring, and 24-hour sleep and activity monitoring. It also can remind you if you are sitting too long and hydration checks to remind you to drink water.
There is most like an activity or workout exercise that you do which is spotted in this watch so this is a good everyday companion to have around you.
I really appreciated the hydration monitoring as I do often forget to drink whenever I am engaged in work or any other activity so kudos to the realme Watch S2 for that.
Connectivity and Battery Life
The realme Watch S2 comes with Bluetooth, but with no exact version specified. No NFC, GPS, and IR Blaster are seen here too.
Running the realme Watch S2 is a 380mAh battery. realme states that the Watch S2 can last for at least twenty (20) days, but its standard mode battery life will only go for up to fourteen (14) days and I can vouch for that. With all that I do with the watch, it took thirteen (13) days for the watch to finally need to be plugged.
I didn’t have to wait too long for it to charge either as it got around 15% of its battery charged within 10 minutes. It took an hour for the watch to go up to 100%.
Final Thoughts and Pricing
The realme Watch S2 is a great entry to smartwatches for anyone who is considering buying one. You get notified of your applications almost the same time as your phone gets the ping and you don’t have to wait too long for the Watch S2 to charge.
Even with some slight problems with the app, it is a good watch for its price.
Speaking of price, in the Philippines, the realme Watch S2 has an SRP of PHP 3,999 for the silicone straps, while the steel version has an SRP tag of PHP 4,499. There is a first-selling offer that will occur on September 4 – 10 that will sell the watch for:
realme Watch S2 silicone wrist strap:
- PHP 2,999 – realme TikTok Shop
- PHP 3,299 – realme Shopee and Lazada Store
realme Watch S2 steel wrist strap:
- PHP 3,499 – realme TikTok Shop
- PHP 3,699 – realme Shopee and Lazada Store
What we LIKED:
* Display + Smooth display navigation
* Fast notifications
* Battery life
What we LIKED LESS:
* Microphone and speakers on watch are not loud for outdoor use
* realme Link App acts weird in times
