I’ve been waiting a while to test a smartwatch that didn’t putter out after one day. The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 is a fashionable watch for everyday use and doubles as a fitness accessory, but in my tests, I was most impressed by the longevity. The Active2 lasted several days on a charge, which means no cable clutter or daily charging rituals.
True to its name, I decided to get active during my test. I used a rowing machine in the morning, went for long hikes, and even practiced some yoga (I’ll get to that later). There are 39 different activity modes, including one that’s perfect for the aforementioned rowing. The watch tracks your heart-rate, movements, and provides rich details like calories burned and total workout time.
The display on this watch is second-to-none (yes, that’s a dig at the Apple Watch). During my tests, the bright and colorful watch face made it easy to glance at the time; the Active2 shows you more than the time, though. The default watch-face also shows the current temp, my total steps for the day, and the date. There’s even a summary that also showed my max heart-rate which is honestly extremely helpful for all workouts. I was able to throttle back my rowing a bit during a second workout and still felt good about myself.
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The watch I tested is all black but Samsung also offers a silver and gold version with matching bands. It fit comfortably and is not too heavy to wear all day and even through the night (especially since it can also track your sleep). I used the Active2 on a run in light snow and was still able to see the screen. (It’s water-resistant up to 50 meters.)
There are perks galore here. You can answer phone calls using the watch. You can control your music; there’s even a breathing and relaxation mode. I may have used that when I attempted some yoga in my office, but please don’t let anyone know.
So why consider this model? I’m not a fan of any smartwatch that requires a daily charge. They are super annoying. I usually prefer Fossil hybrid smartwatches that use a normal replaceable battery because they last all year. Yet, the Active2 impressed me because it still chimed and dinged with notifications, tracked my workouts, and looked colorful and crisp, but it also lasted several days before I had to charge it up again. That’s quite brilliant.
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