Second generation Wear smartwatch gets some welcome new features
Misfit has officially announced the Vapor 2, the sequel to its sporty smartwatch that comes packing Google’s Wear OS.
Like its predecessor, which was dogged by delays, the new Vapor is aimed at sports lovers. Hopefully a host of new features should go some way to addressing some of the biggest gripes we had with the first iteration.
Wareable verdict: Misfit Vapor 2 review
Firstly, the Vapor 2 is now available in 41mm and 46mm sizes, which means it should be a better fit for those with slimmer wrists. The original was only available in a 44mm case option. There’s now eight different color options and the bands are interchangeable too when you want to mix it up. It’s still slapped with the same waterproofing so you can take it for a swim as well.
On the tracking front, we do now get built-in GPS, which was initially promised on the original Vapor. Misfit then opted instead to include connected GPS (using your phone’s GPS). So it’s definitely good to see this here this time. There’s still a heart rate sensor that Misfit says has been improved on the one featured on the original. That said, having tried the HR tech on other fourth generation Fossil Group smartwatches already, we hope it makes a bigger impression than it did on the likes of the Fossil Q Explorist HR and the Michael Kors Access Runway.
It’s still packing a fully round AMOLED touchscreen display with a slightly improved 328 ppi resolution. In the power department it’s packing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor so not the new, more efficient 3100 processor that the chipset maker announced recently. Battery life is a day so no improvements there.
The Vapor 2 will of course run on the latest version of Wear OS and is compatible with Android and iOS smartphones bringing all the usual features. That includes notification support, the ability to download apps directly from the watch, using Google Assistant and access to the revamped Google Fit. The addition of NFC means you now also have Google Pay to enable contactless payments.
The Misfit Vapor 2 is priced at , so it remains one of the more affordable Wear options available. We hope to have our hands on one to find out if Misfit has come up with a more desirable smartwatch than its first one.
