Skagen Falster 2 in the Review: good design and a weak point

The Smartwatch Falster 2 now has a heart rate sensor and GPS on board. We explain what we like and why we still expected more.

Design & scope of delivery

At first glance, the new Skagen smartwatch can hardly be distinguished from the previous Falster model (Review report). The visible changes are minimal. Instead of a leather strap, the watch has a sporty-looking silicone strap. One advantage of the material selection: The Skagen sits tighter on the wrist, which not least benefits the reliability of the newly added heart rate sensor. The 20-millimeter bracelet is equipped with a quick-change clasp, already known from Fossil watches.

Compared to other smartwatches, the watch is pleasantly small and unobtrusive. The metal housing is of high quality and has a diameter of 40 millimeters. We like the minimalist and very modern design. In addition to the touch display, a crown that can be rotated in both directions and two programmable push buttons are available for operation.

The Falster 2 comes to the customer together with a magnetic USB charger. The charging process is not wireless, but via two small spring contacts. If you wear the watch frequently, you have to clean the underside regularly, otherwise contamination and contact problems will result. A suitable USB power supply is not included in the scope of delivery.

Furnishing

The extensive equipment of the watch includes barometer, NFC, WLAN, Bluetooth, light and motion sensor. For example, payments with Google's Pay payment system are possible via NFC. Unlike the previous model, GPS and heart rate sensor are now also available. These two innovations also make the Skagen interesting for athletes. The watch now records important data even without a connection to the smartphone. Another innovation is the increased water resistance, which now also allows the watch to be left on the wrist while swimming. However, the Falster 2 is not suitable for diving.

The watch has a microphone; a loudspeaker is not installed. Although it is not suitable as a mobile hands-free device, it is, for example, able to understand and implement spoken commands for the Google Assistant. This works reliably in the Review – at least in a quiet environment.

A Qualcomm MSM8909w Snapdragon Wear 2100 with 4 × 1.2 GHz and 512 MB RAM ensures smooth operation of Wear OS. The round 1.2-inch AMOLED display has a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels. The display is crisp and sharp and the brightness is sufficient even on bright sunny days. The internal 4 GB memory is large enough to install numerous apps and skins. The pre-installed dials, like the watch itself, are kept very simple. If you want it to be more colorful and fancy, you can add your own skins and customize them according to your own ideas.

In order to work as energy-saving as possible, the watch only shows a graphically stripped and darkened surface when not in use, despite always on. In contrast to LCDs, OLED displays only require luminous pixels, which saves electricity. As soon as you move your wrist to look at the watch, the display switches to normal brightness and also shows, for example, pedometer and second hand. To further relieve the battery, we only switch on the display in the Review when in use.

The touch-sensitive dial reacts reliably. In conjunction with the two programmable buttons and the rotating crown, it enables convenient operation – even for beginners.

The battery is, despite the better equipment, identical to the previous model. The only new feature is the quick charge mode, which charges the watch to over 90 percent after one hour. According to the manufacturer, the 300 mAh capacity should last for 24 hours. In the Review, the Falster 2 has to be smart health connected to the charger again after around 22.5 hours – even though we don't put a lot of strain on the watch and only activate the dial when needed. If you activate the display always-on function, you have to expect an even shorter battery life. This is a devastating result – especially when looking at the Samsung Galaxy Watch (Review report). With comparable use and equipment, this lasts for four to five days. We expected the new generation of Falster to do at least slightly better than the previous model.

software

The current Wear OS version is logically structured and easy to use. The two programmable buttons on the Falster 2 simplify operation and offer real added value compared to watches without an additional button.

The control of Samsung's smartwatch operating system works a bit more intuitively, but Wear OS does an excellent job. This is not least due to the huge selection of apps available. Whether email, SMS, Threema, Facebook or Skype – the Wear OS masters all common messenger services. The battery level of the smartphone or calls are also reliably shown on the dial. Triggering the smartphone camera works just as well as controlling Spotify & Co. The Falster 2 is compatible with Android smartphones from Android 4.4, but not to Android One. iPhones work from iOS 9.3, but are far from being able to exploit the full potential of Wear OS. This is due to the lack of interfaces to Apple devices.

variants

The Skagen Falster 2 is available in black, silver, gray and rose gold. In addition to the silicone bracelet we tested, Milanese and leather bracelets are also available.

Falster 2 black – silicone

Falster 2 silver – Milanese

Falster 2 silver – leather

Falster 2 rose gold – Milanese

Conclusion

The Skagen Falster 2 convinces with very good equipment and successful design. Thanks to GPS and heart rate sensor, the second version of the watch can now also be used as a fitness tracker.

The only drawback of the Falster 2 is the short battery life. While other watches only need to be charged twice a week, the Skagen doesn't even last for 24 hours. If you take off the watch while sleeping and are looking for a fashionable smartwatch for your Android smartphone, you can simply load it at night and strike without hesitation.

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