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Michael Kors' Sofie 2.0 smartwatch is about more than just fashion

Heart rate monitoring, NFC payments and GPS are all present.

Michael Kors

When Fossil's Michael Kors label unveiled the first Sofie smartwatch, it had eye-catching looks... and not much else. You can't say the same for the just-unveiled Sofie 2.0, at least. Michael Kors has updated the wristwear with the same posh-looking exterior, but much more functionality under the hood. It now has heart rate monitoring, NFC payments, GPS tracking and the latest version of Wear OS. Much like a few other Fossil upgrades in recent months, the Sofie 2.0 is now far more functional.

The company hasn't detailed pricing, but it does plan to deliver Sofie 2.0 in the summer in silver, gold, pink and pink/silver hybrid shades. You might want to think carefully about getting one, though. Michael Kors' new wearable will ship with the old Snapdragon Wear 2100 inside rather than the 3100. You'll miss out on the enhanced ambient mode and potential battery life gains of the newer technology. And while the activity additions will be useful, this probably isn't a smartwatch you want to wear to the gym -- not if you're still expecting it to look good at a social function.