review with features, price and specifications

The Montblanc Summit 2+ starts with the promise of being a luxury watch with Wear OS. Wearing it is wearing more than 1,000 euros on your wrist, a luxury price for a smartwatch. And it feels like one, at least as far as the outward aspect is concerned. The interior, as we will see, is already another song.

Talking about Montblanc implies approaching one of the luxury firms specialized in writing instruments, also watches and other items of superior quality (and price). With a tradition that lasts for more than a century, the company faces the third generation of smart watches with a smartwatch that continues to use Wear OS as an operating system. And we have tested it.

Montblanc Summit 2+ datasheet

There is no doubt: the design and construction are luxurious

The ‘luxury’ label has not only been put by us, the brand itself rates its smartwatches in this way. This exclusive spirit is evident in every detail of the Montblanc Summit 2+, from its impressive packaging to the stainless steel case that constitutes the soul of the watch. And there are no half measures: the care taken in construction, design and materials are very rare in the field of smart watches.

Despite the fact that the Montblanc Summit range represents the brand’s commitment to the smartwatch market, and that it is already on the third model, the exterior appearance of all of them is inspired by a ‘classic mechanics’ model: the Montblanc 1858. The brand wanted to keep its spirit intact while adapting the ‘brain’ of the watch to the new times: the Montblanc Summit 2+ aspires to be the perfect conjunction between past and present.

Beyond what the brand wants with its product, the Montblanc Summit 2+ feels luxurious on the wrist, just as it is. Its stainless steel construction exudes hardness, also the sapphire crystal that covers the screen. It’s heavy (a lot), big (quite a lot) and thick (maybe too much), three characteristics that take you away from the smallest wrists. It also offers a certain sporty character, a character that is reinforced by the choice of material for the strap: rubber. There are more materials available, it depends on the model.

The strap allows a precise fit to the wrist. And the closure is firm and secure

The strap adjusts to the wrist perfectly since it allows to vary the distance very precisely. In addition, the closure is firm and gives security: he doesn’t let go even while doing intense sports.

Underneath the Montblanc Summit 2+ is resin to facilitate the work of optical heart rate sensors. The pin connector with which the watch is recharged by contact is also appreciated: it is firmly attached to the base thanks to magnetism. This base not only serves to charge, it also allows its use as a desktop stand. Very useful to leave it on the nightstand while charging.

Montblanc’s signature white star sits on the iconic crown

The watch exudes luxury for every millimeter, especially on the right side: the buttons are located there. The Montblanc Summit 2+ can only be used with the touch screen, but having physical buttons makes it easier and more complete. Especially for the crown: highlighted with the white star of Montblanc (the only physical sign of the brand), it allows you to move around the menus when you rotate it. The other buttons can be programmed to perform a multitude of direct actions.

Hardware isn’t that fancy, at least in the processor

We already said that in design and materials there is no discussion: the Montblanc Summit 2+ is far above what is usual in a smartwatch. Now, the opposite happens when we analyze the hardware of the watch: having a Snapdragon 3100 collides head-on with the more than 1,000 euros that the Summit 2+ costs. This processor has more than a year and a half on the market and already at the time left serious performance doubts. It is something that you notice as soon as you turn it on for the first time.

Before we get into performance let’s dive right into the screen. The 1.28-inch AMOLED panel included looks great and matches the size of the device. 390 x 390 pixels of resolution that offer great clarity for all the elements that appear on the screen. Touch control is level, but in terms of maximum brightness falls a little short when viewing content outdoors, especially now that it is summer. Plus, auto brightness tends to be less than lighting requires, a detail that often forces you to guess what’s on screen.

Let’s go back to the processor. Montblanc relies on the Snapdragon 3100, a 28nm processor that denotes its age on paper and in practice as well. Said Snapdragon does not offer a very efficient performance since Summit 2+ can get very hot during processes like app updates or startup settings. It is also slowed down in speed: sometimes it takes more than a second to open the settings when the crown button is pressed, for example. These are performance details that should not be found in a luxury watch.

Viewing the screen outdoors can be tricky

The rest of the hardware doesn’t go so badly: 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage are enough for most uses, at least until the music library is filled with too many audio files. The Montblanc Summit 2+ offers NFC and mobile payments thanks to Google Pay (they work very well), includes compatibility with mobile networks (only with an Orange eSIM and as long as the Multi SIM service is available), has Bluetooth, GPS and also offers compatibility with WiFi networks. One of the great advantages is that it can work independently, without the phone nearby. Its use in this way is as expected.

Too fair battery that does not last two days

The charging base is very useful to use the smartwatch as an alarm clock

Performance is the Achilles heel of the Montblanc Summit 2+, but the battery is not far behind. Despite the fact that the capacity of this component is large in comparative terms (with 435 mAh that should give a good number despite the dimensions of the screen), the truth is that it can disappoint before the end of the day. This using the watch in the normal way, because as it is used to record sports exercises with GPS a charge may be required before the end of the day.

Little more than a day of autonomy with minimal use, screen off and an activity of 20 minutes

On average it has lasted a little more than a day and only when we have not used it excessively due to sedentary work (with the screen off; with it always on it can run out before the end of the day). From going out to do sports with the watch the energy expenditure multiplies: the Montblanc Summit 2+ usually consumes 20% of battery every half hour of exercise (screen on, constant heart rate reading and GPS activated). If the watch is used as a sports companion, a charge will be required before night

The connection to the socket is made with a base that Montblanc has designed so that it can be used as a table stand. When it comes to charging, the time it takes to fully revive the Montblanc Summit 2+ slightly over two hours (from 0 to 100%). With about 20 minutes of charge it usually has enough for some hours of life, always with a low use.

Serves as a sports support, but you miss more software

Like all smartwatches, the Montblanc Summit 2+ can become that device with which to go out for sports or, simply, count daily activity automatically. In this sense, the watch records steps, calories, distance traveled and heart rate, all thanks to Google Fit. This implies that you have to activate it with your Google account, all that data will be registered there.

Montblanc adds its own apps to the list of sports options. The main one is Workout Coach, a wrist trainer that records outdoor sports training and only for race-related training (no bike, for example). Workout Coach initially tests the user to establish their fitness. And it will encourage sports to improve this way. Yes, all data stays on the clock: nothing to export training, see the routes carried out on the mobile or compare with other services or friends to see how the practices are doing. This is a penalty.

Workout Coach training app

Apart from the coach, the Montblanc Summit 2+ incorporates the usual stopwatch, timer, alarm clock and a toolkit named ‘Toolbox’ that, despite leaving the strictly sports field, it allows us to know the altitude, travel speed, atmospheric pressure and heart rate.

Thanks to the barometer and GPS the watch calculates the altitude quite accurately

Beyond Workout Coach and sports accessories, you have to trust Google Fit or other sports applications that can be downloaded to the watch (Strava or Endomondo, for example). To this lack of proprietary software, it is added that there is no way to record the dream: The Montblanc Summit 2+ lacks this record. Again, you have to download apps (Sleep as Android, for example).

Regarding the reliability of the sensors, the heart rate reading suffers from a certain lack at low pulsations (does not usually exceed 10% deviation compared to watches such as Apple Watch Series 4 or Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2); halfway through the reading is accurate enough; and with a high frequency of beats it also tends to count less. In terms of GPS, sometimes it costs you to catch coverage, but is accurate enough when you have found it. We have not seen any loss of registration on the routes taken.

Wear OS, for good and bad

The Google operating system has been with us since March 2014 and, during that stretch to this day, it has undergone various revisions and even a name change. With Wear OS it seemed that Google was putting more effort into evolving its platform for smart watches, but the truth is that it has something abandoned. Unfortunately, this is something that weighs heavily on the Montblanc Summit 2+.

The watch maintains Wear OS in its latest version (2.17) with its ‘stock’ or default appearance. Montblanc does not add a custom layer on top of Wear OSIt does offer its own applications. We have already seen Workout Coach or Toolbox, but it also has an application to alleviate jet lag on trips (Timeshifter) and another to receive recommendations on the countries where the owner of the watch lands. And that’s it, the rest of the software is the usual one of a Wear OS. Of course, the Montblanc Summit 2+ includes various High quality and original watch faces or Watch Faces from the luxury brand.

The interface is slowed down by the Snapdragon 2100: as we said, there are times when lag is noticeable, especially when changing applications. Wear OS keeps the design somewhat sober, especially in menus or when entering the unlock PIN. It offers mobile payments thanks to Google Pay and also works independently when an eSIM is connected to it. In standalone mode you receive notifications just as if you were connected to the phone via Bluetooth, this is very positive.

Montblanc Summit 2+, Xataka’s opinion

It is a pity that the hardware is not in keeping with the exquisiteness of the packaging: the Montblanc Summit 2+ is an indisputable luxury watch on the outside, but on the inside it is just another Wear OS. The processor leaves something to be desired, the performance is fair and the battery consumption is not up to par. By cons, having eSIM compatibility, even if it is limited (only with Orange and Multi SIM service), It is an addition that suits you very well, just like being able to make mobile payments.

From left to right: Montbanc Summit 2+, Apple Watch Series 4 and Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2

On the wrist it weighs and feels very robust. Maintains water resistance, has a strap that fits perfectly to the wrist, crown allows rotary movement between menus (pity that Montblanc has not placed vibration when turning it, it misses a haptic response), it has a microphone and also a speaker (Google Assistant is very good), it allows you to carry the music collection on the watch (8 GB is more that baggy for a good playlist) and programmable physical buttons allow setting shortcuts. To pay with Google Pay, for example.

The Montblanc Summit 2+ will be available through Orange from August 3, also in some specialized centers, such as El Corte Inglés and Montblanc’s own stores. Its price is 1,190 euros or 39 euros per month for 24 months.

The terminal has been loaned for testing by Montblanc and Orange. Can inquire our policy of relationships with enterprises.