Michael Kors Access Lexington 2 review: Sleek form, average software
MSRP $350.00
“The Michael Kors Lexington 2 is a stylish smartwatch let down by Wear OS.”
Avg
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Modern, branded design
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Support for Google Pay
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Heart rate monitor
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Built-in GPS
Against
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Wear OS isn’t great
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Poor battery life
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Expensive
It may have a shiny, sleek exterior and an impressive-sounding name, but underneath the Michael Kors Access Lexington 2 is just another Wear OS smartwatch. Google’s smartwatch platform has struggled since its inception five years ago, and little has been done to improve the experience. Manufacturers like Samsung have abandoned the platform and even Google doesn’t seem to want to make a Wear OS smartwatch.
Wear OS has survived because fashion brands have adopted it, releasing smartwatches that have exactly the same features but come wrapped in different stylish exteriors that make you want to wear them.
The Fossil group, which has multiple lines of Wear OS smartwatches (including licensed devices from brands like Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Diesel), is good at making good-looking watches, but it can’t do much about their lack of smarts.
Great, chunky and stylish
The last smartwatch I wore by choice was the Fossil Q Explorist and the Michael Kors Access Lexington 2 has a lot in common with it. At first glance it has a fairly similar chunky, generic design, but the Lexington 2 is more refined and elegant. The raised bezel around the watch face is finely sculpted, and the crown is textured to match, along with an engraved MK logo.
The other two buttons on this 44mm case are smooth, but the crown and bezel give it a bit of distinctiveness and shine. The belt is elegant and has a buckle with the name Michael Kors. There is another branded bracelet in the box, in case you want to switch to a notched strap.
Simon Hill / Digital trends
My unit is the silver stainless steel version, but there are also gold, rose gold and tri-color finishes that combine all three. You also have more expensive options with flashy diamonds. I prefer a plain, unobtrusive look, so my choice is silver. I find it goes well with casual outfits, but it’s also flashy enough to pair with a suit for the office or a night out on the town. It’s a standard, classic design, but that also means it doesn’t stand out or have a clear identity; you wouldn’t really know it was a Michael Kors watch if all the logos didn’t remind you.
The 1.28-inch AMOLED screen has a resolution of 328 pixels per inch, which makes it nice and sharp. It’s perfectly readable indoors, but brightness is limited, so you’ll need to shield the screen to see it in direct sunlight.
Wear OS is just not good
While I appreciate the looks of the Lexington 2, I was most interested to see what difference 1GB of RAM and the latest Snapdragon Wear 3100 processor could make against the last generation of Wear OS smartwatches, which were hampered by an older Qualcomm processor and half the RAM.
If only Google could bring the smoothness and smarts of its smartphone software to my wrist. Every time I use Wear OS, I’m surprised by how disappointing it is. While it’s undoubtedly improved compared to earlier versions, it’s still nowhere near Apple’s WatchOS, and has even been surpassed by Samsung’s proprietary Tizen wearable OS.
Simon Hill / Digital trends
During setup, the watch failed to connect several times, then suddenly worked without explanation. I decided to dive into the Play Store, which you can do on your wrist, and see what apps were on offer. Unfortunately, Lexington 2 had other ideas, preferring to hang indefinitely on the loading screen and then return me to the dial as if nothing had happened. This has happened a few times in the last few weeks, and while it usually worked correctly the next time, it’s frustrating to schedule at first, and often.
After pairing the watch with your phone, you can use the mobile app to select watch faces, decide which notifications to go through, place tiles, and adjust a few other bits. You can also touch and hold the watch screen to change its faces, but it’s easier and much faster to do it on your phone. Pressing the crown opens your list of apps, with the ones you’ve used most recently at the top. By default, the top button launches a menu that asks you to set up various watch face configurations and add your social media accounts. The bottom button is set to open Google Fit.
Most of your navigation is done by swiping the screen. If you opt for the always-on watch face, you’ll need to tap the screen to bring it to life before you start sliding; just raising your wrist won’t enable the touchscreen, it’ll just light it up. Swipe from top to bottom for quick settings and a convenient shortcut to the entire settings menu. Swipe up from the bottom to get notifications of incoming alerts or fitness goals. From left to right, it gives you Google Assistant. From right to left, your tiles open up, showing your Google Fit stats for the day, the weather forecast, and your calendar events; you can add and remove any tiles you want.
Simon Hill / Digital trends
The touchscreen was often unresponsive, but I couldn’t figure out if it was the screen or the software that caused all the lags and missed taps. I’m glad you can scroll by turning the crown because trying to swipe to read email, especially with the spotty touch experience, is quite difficult. The Lexington 2 should have enough power to run, but I found that apps were often slow to load and too many things just didn’t work the first time I tried them.
There aren’t many apps for Wear OS; the app store is mostly occupied by watch faces, messaging clients or music apps. Google’s Keep is handy for viewing shopping lists on my wrist, and it’s nice to be able to check Google Maps this way. I love that I can control the music from my watch or pause a podcast to open the door.
Google Pay is very convenient to carry on your hand, especially when paying for public transport where it’s always crowded and you want to be quick. It’s nice to have Google Assistant on your wrist and you can use the “Ok Google” command if you turn it on, but it’s a bit slower than Google Assistant on your phone and the speaker isn’t very loud. You can receive or make calls from the Lexington 2, which are routed through your phone, but the sound quality isn’t great so I haven’t done that much.
Complete hardware
The Access Lexington 2 is a full-featured smartwatch, except for the shortcomings of Wear OS. You’ve got NFC for Google Pay, built-in GPS, a microphone and speaker for Google Assistant, a heart rate monitor, and water resistance up to 30 meters, so you can swim with it. The only thing missing here is LTE support, which would allow the watch to be a standalone device, allowing you to leave your phone at home.
For casual exercisers like me, the Lexington 2 ticks all the boxes. Google Fit is very simple, it gives you a target for active minutes and “heart points”. Many Lexington 2 watch faces also display your step count for the day, so it’s easy to keep track if you’re aiming for the standard 10,000.
Simon Hill / Digital trends
If you’re willing to share your data with Google, you can also get calorie burn estimates and distance traveled statistics. There are also some guided breathing exercises that can be helpful if you’re feeling stressed and want to take a few minutes to relax. The heart rate monitor seems to be pretty accurate, but if you decide to use it for 24-hour tracking, you’ll notice an impact on battery life.
There are plenty of pre-installed apps on the Michael Kors Access Lexington 2 including Cardiogram, Nike Run Club and Spotify. Fortunately, the watch comes with a rather generous 8GB of storage.
All-day battery life
Simon Hill / Digital trends
The Lexington 2 is rated for up to 36 hours of battery life, but I never got close to that with regular use. If you plan on using features like GPS and heart rate monitoring, or if you get a decent number of notifications in a day, you’ll need to charge the watch every night. However, the watch has some battery modes that help it extend its battery life compared to other non-Fossil Wear OS watches. If I barely use it, turn off most notifications, and don’t have the heart rate monitor autostart every now and then, then the Lexington 2 could get closer to two days.
It recharges quite quickly, so if you forget overnight, you can get a useful amount of charge in the morning. I managed to charge about 30% in 30 minutes.
Price, availability and warranty
You can purchase the Michael Kors Access Lexington 2 directly from the Michael Kors website for $350. If you prefer a flashier option with crystals placed on the center band of the watch band, it will cost you $395 – $425 if you want the entire watch to be covered. It comes with a two-year warranty which provides that the covered component will be repaired or the watch will be replaced free of charge with the same or comparable product if it is found to be defective in material or workmanship during normal use.
Our opinion
The Michael Kors Access Lexington 2 is another in the line of Wear OS smartwatches. It has a classic, modern design and is packed with features, but it’s relatively expensive and Wear OS lets it down. When it works, it’s great to have Google services on your wrist, but too often little things inexplicably don’t work or require multiple tries; it’s frustrating.
Are there alternatives?
If you’re an iPhone user looking for more than a watch with notifications and Google services, do yourself a favor and get the latest Apple Watch — it’s better in every way, even though it starts at $400. If you have an Android phone, then the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 is a better option for a smartwatch experience, offering deeper fitness tracking features, more third-party app integrations, and a better overall user experience for $280.
We have a bunch of other suggestions that will suit different people in our roundup of the best smartwatches.
How long will it last?
With water resistance up to 30 meters and durable stainless steel construction, this smartwatch should last you for several years; after which the life of the battery can be significantly reduced. Another concern is the software. The Lexington 2 should continue to receive software updates for a while, but it’s not clear for how long.
Should you buy one?
Yes, if you’re a fan of Wear OS, the Lexington Access 2 puts it in a stylish package.
Editor’s recommendations
Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn