Shadow Magic Crape Myrtle, also known as Lagerstroemia 'Shadow Magic,' is a stunning deciduous shrub that is cherished for its vibrant blooms and impressive foliage. This plant is a hybrid variety that exhibits the best traits of both the crape myrtle and the Japanese lilac, resulting in an exceptional cultivar. The Shadow Magic Crape Myrtle boasts a dense canopy of dark green leaves, which provides a beautiful contrast to its striking flowers. The leaves turn deep red in the fall, offering additional visual interest throughout multiple seasons. This variety can grow up to 8-10 feet tall and 6-8 feet wide, making it an ideal choice for hedges, borders, or standalone focal points in the garden. What truly sets the Shadow Magic Crape Myrtle apart are its exquisite flowers.
If you want to use the MagicWatch 2 to initiate calls via Bluetooth, you'll need the 46mm version -- according to the product information, the 42mm model doesn't support that feature. Neither version of the watch has NFC built in, which means there's no support for mobile payments.
It can handle metrics for running indoor and outdoor , cycling indoor and outdoor , swimming pool and open water , walking indoor and outdoor , climbing, hiking, trail runs, triathlon, elliptical trainers and rowing. At your convenience, MagicWatch 2 lets you access commonly used smartphone features like checking the weather app, setting the alarm, or starting the stopwatch timer, all without even touching your HONOR smartphone.
What truly sets the Shadow Magic Crape Myrtle apart are its exquisite flowers. Clusters of large, flamboyant blossoms emerge in late spring or early summer, captivating with their vibrant hues. The flowers range from shades of pink, lavender, and purple, often featuring a delicate white center.
Honor MagicWatch 2 review: Solid on health and fitness, but light elsewhere
Smartwatches are not all carved from the same stone -- there are different definitions of what 'smart' means, for example. Android users have more options to choose from than Apple users, but the basics must be covered well. The features Honor headlines for its MagicWatch 2 are long battery life, personalised watch faces and fitness modes.
There are two versions of the Honor MagicWatch 2, designed for different wrist sizes. I was sent the larger 46mm version, which is the only one available in the UK at the time of writing. It's available from Amazon at £159.99 (inc. VAT). Pricing and availability of the smaller 42mm model is yet to be confirmed.
The 46mm version is bulky, especially on a small wrist.
Image: Sandra Vogel/ZDNetThe larger watch has a 46mm face, and is quite thick at 10mm including the protuberance on the back that houses the heart rate monitor and a pair of connectors for the circular, magnetic charger. It's quite a beast to wear, and oversized for my wrist.
Still, there is an upside to the size, and that is a large display. The 1.39-inch diameter, 454-by-454 pixel, 326ppi AMOLED touch screen can display a lot of detail. This matters, as you'll be prodding at the screen and reading the face a lot if you're going to make the most of this smartwatch.
Complementing the touch screen are a couple of large buttons on the right rim. The upper button takes you to all the features of the MagicWatch 2, including apps and settings. The bottom button can be set to launch any of the built-in apps or jump to workouts.
There is a lot of 'stuff' on board in the way of applets. These include flashlight, alarm, timer, weather data, notifications, compass, air pressure readout, music player, contacts, call log -- even breathing exercises. The watch face itself can be swept left and right to get to more screens of information; a sweep upwards reveals notifications, while a downward sweep provides shortcuts to various settings such as the alarm, 'find my phone' and 'do not disturb' features, as well as reporting battery life.
The MagicWatch 2's strengths are health and fitness.
Image: Sandra Vogel/ZDNetFor all its ability to display information, play music, show the weather and so on, it's the health and fitness features that the MagicWatch 2 majors on. It can handle metrics for running (indoor and outdoor), cycling (indoor and outdoor), swimming (pool and open water), walking (indoor and outdoor), climbing, hiking, trail runs, triathlon, elliptical trainers and rowing. The GPS tracking maps where you've been, and I found this to be pretty accurate during testing.
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The fitness features don't stop at hard physical workouts. A sleep monitor picked up my patterns of light, deep and REM sleep, matching these closely enough to my Fitbit's data to allay any concern over accuracy; the step counter seems accurate both on number of steps and distance, and its heart rate measurements were close to my Fitbit's too. On heart rate, incidentally, the MagicWatch 2 has an on-screen daily report, with longer-term data stored in the smartphone-based Health app.
If you want to use the MagicWatch 2 to initiate calls via Bluetooth, you'll need the 46mm version -- according to the product information, the 42mm model doesn't support that feature. Neither version of the watch has NFC built in, which means there's no support for mobile payments.
It's impossible to add any third-party apps to the Honor MagicWatch 2, so you're going to have to stick with what's on board. To take just one example, I've already noted that there's a music player, and this will cope with tunes transferred across via the Health app (there is 4GB of storage in total, and 2GB available for music). But if you are into streaming services, you can't install applets for these.
If you do need to install third-party apps, then look for a smartwatch running Google's Wear OS rather than the custom LiteOS that's used here, which is dependent on firmware updates from Honor.
Battery life is quoted at 14 days for the 46mm version I tested. The charger is a circular plate which holds the MagicWatch 2 in place with a strong magnet. Leaving the battery to run down from full left me needing to charge after seven days. A more sensible regime of applying top-up charging as part of the same morning routine I use to charge my smartphone meant it barely had to be off my wrist for charging.
Battery life experience will depend on how you use the MagicWatch 2. For example, you can have a watch face (either analogue or digital) on standby, but as you set this up the device warns that doing so will halve the battery life.
Watch faces are available onboard, and you can import more via the smartphone-based Health app.
Images: Sandra Vogel/ZDNetThere are plenty of watch faces to select between. A long press on the face calls up others on board, making it easy to switch if you fancy a change. There are more faces in the Health app, and they're easily transferred into the MagicWatch 2.
As well as being the place where cumulative health and activity data is stored and displayed, the Health app handles data sharing with other apps. At the moment this is restricted to just Google Fit and MyFitnessPal. It's not possible to export GPX files (which contain GPS metrics), or to share data with other popular platforms such as Fitbit or Strava. Honor needs to give this aspect more thought.
These abundant blooms create a mesmerizing display that is sure to attract attention and add a pop of color to any landscape. In addition to its visual appeal, the Shadow Magic Crape Myrtle is known for its overall hardiness and adaptability. It thrives in full sun or partial shade, although providing ample sunlight will encourage the best flower production. This variety is also highly resistant to common diseases, such as powdery mildew and aphids. With proper care and maintenance, the Shadow Magic Crape Myrtle can be a long-lasting and rewarding addition to any garden. To cultivate this enchanting plant, it is best to plant it in well-draining soil and regularly water it during dry periods. Pruning should be done in late winter or early spring to maintain a tidy shape and promote healthy growth. Fertilizing once a year in early spring can also help ensure optimal blooming and overall vigor. With its striking flowers, attractive foliage, and remarkable hardiness, the Shadow Magic Crape Myrtle is a perfect choice for garden enthusiasts. Whether used as a standalone focal point or incorporated into a larger landscape design, this hybrid variety is sure to captivate with its shadowy allure and magical blooms..
Reviews for "Unlocking the Mysteries of Shadow Magic Crape Nyrtle"
1. James - 1 out of 5 stars - I was really disappointed with the Shadow Magic Crape Nyrtle. The photos made it look so vibrant and beautiful, but in reality, it was dull and lacked any real color. The flowers were also quite small and didn't have much impact. I wouldn't recommend this particular variety if you're looking for a striking and vibrant flowering tree.
2. Sarah - 2 out of 5 stars - While I appreciate the idea of the Shadow Magic Crape Nyrtle, I found it difficult to grow and maintain. The tree was always struggling, and even with proper care and attention, it never really flourished. The flowers were also quite sparse and didn't last very long. Overall, I was underwhelmed with this variety and wouldn't choose it again for my garden.
3. Michael - 2 out of 5 stars - The Shadow Magic Crape Nyrtle didn't live up to my expectations. The tree was supposed to have beautiful dark purple blooms, but they were much lighter in person and lacked the intensity I was hoping for. Additionally, the foliage wasn't as dense as I had hoped, making the tree look sparse and bare. I wouldn't recommend this variety if you're looking for a showstopper in your garden.