I wore the Layers Anarc 2 for seven days, and I spent most of them looking for something to complain about.
That’s not drama. The first Anarc got a rough ride online, so I half expected the sequel to hand me a reason to roll my eyes. I never tried the original, so I can’t tell you what changed. I can tell you what happened on my wrist: the watch went on at 100%, and a week later it still had 35% left.
Layers sent me this unit for review. It was free. The opinions are mine.
Is the Layers Anarc 2 worth buying?
Yes, at Rs 6,999, if you want a big AMOLED screen, a smooth interface and battery that lasts. In my week of testing it ran 7 days with 35% left and continuous heart rate switched on. The trade-offs are single-band GPS, an IP68 rating instead of 5ATM, and no round-dial option.
Layers Anarc 2 specs at a glance
| Spec | Layers Anarc 2 |
|---|---|
| Price in India | Rs 6,999 |
| Display | 1.85-inch AMOLED, 390 x 450, 322 PPI |
| Refresh rate | 60Hz |
| Peak brightness | 700 nits, auto brightness |
| Always-on display | Yes, including workout AOD |
| Frame / strap | Aluminium frame, liquid silicone strap |
| Back case | IML plastic |
| Weight | 56 g (Smartprix listing) |
| Water and dust rating | IP68 |
| Chipset / memory | HiSilicon / 256MB |
| Operating system | Nexora OS (Layers custom interface) |
| Battery | 350mAh |
| Claimed battery life | 7 days normal, 14 days power saving, 2 days with AOD |
| Charging | Pogo-pin dock, USB-C cable |
| Bluetooth | 5.2 |
| GPS | Built-in, single band (L1) |
| Health sensors | Heart rate, SpO2, stress, sleep, women’s health |
| Motion sensor | 3-axis (per Layers spec sheet) |
| Calling | Bluetooth calling with mic and speaker |
| Music | On-watch storage |
| AI features | Layers AI (voice assistant, beta), Canvas AI watch faces (beta) |
| Phone support | Android 9+ and iOS 13+ |
Design, build and comfort
The Anarc 2 is a rectangle with cut corners, the octagon look Layers likes. I usually prefer round watches, so I walked in a little biased. The bigger screen won me over anyway. It has noticeably more display area than the Realme Watch S5 and CMF Watch 3 Pro, which makes it easier to read and harder to mis-tap.
The frame is aluminium. Layers says it’s 20% lighter than the Anarc 1, and on my wrist it never felt heavy. On paper it’s actually the heaviest of the group: 56 g against 51 g for the CMF Watch 3 Pro and about 49.6 g for the Realme Watch S5. I didn’t feel the difference, and not once in the week did I want to take it off. That’s my comfort test, and it passed.
The strap is skin friendly and left no marks after a week. I don’t love the design, though. It looks good and then fights you every time you put it on.
The charger is a pogo-pin dock with a USB-C cable. It’s easy to use. My only worry is that the hold might loosen with time, so a slightly firmer grip would have been nice.
Display and Nexora OS
The 1.85-inch AMOLED panel hits 700 nits, and sunlight didn’t give me trouble outdoors. There’s an always-on display with its own settings, cover-to-sleep, raise-to-wake and auto brightness. That last one matters. Layers’ own spec sheet shows the original Anarc without it.
Software is where I was most curious, and honestly it’s the part that won me over. Nexora OS is Layers’ custom skin. It reminds me of Amazfit’s interface, which I like on budget watches, and I’d say it’s just as good here. It’s colourful, easy to customise, and the cards are simple to reach. Icons and text sit at the right size, widgets are big, so accidental touches basically don’t happen. Animations are smooth too.
The crown isn’t a dummy either. It works, you can customise it, and I caught myself fiddling with it for fun. Performance feels quick. I didn’t see lag once on the 60Hz screen.
Watch faces lean modern and trendy, with plenty of animated options. Canvas AI can generate a face from a prompt. I tried it, it works, and I didn’t spend long on it because I don’t think it’s essential.
And the bugs? I haven’t noticed one, big or small, in a week of use.
Battery life, the real reason to look at this watch
Budget Android-based smartwatches usually give 2 to 3 days. Non-Android budget watches I’ve used tend to land around 3 to 4. Layers claims 7 days of normal use, 14 in power saving mode and 2 with the always-on display.
I charged it to 100% and started using it with continuous heart rate monitoring switched on. Seven days later it had 35% left. My guess is it would’ve shown around 50% with heart rate monitoring off, but that’s a guess, not a test. Either way, it’s fitness-band territory.
Auto brightness, cover-to-sleep and raise-to-wake probably help. I hope the numbers hold up over the coming months.
One catch: the Layers app drains my phone’s battery faster than I’d like. It needs some optimisation.
Fitness tracking and GPS
Steps and calories looked fairly accurate. Nothing in this price range is perfect, but the data felt trustworthy.
For heart rate, I wore it next to a watch with a medical-grade sensor and compared. The Anarc 2 held up well. SpO2, stress and women’s health tracking are all there. Sleep tracking worked fine except for one day that looked off, and I suspect I wore it too loose that night. Everything syncs properly to the app, which gives detailed reports and looks refined.
GPS is built in but single band. It’s slower to lock than I’d like, and accurate once it does. I tested it on a walk. I haven’t run or cycled with it, so keep that in mind. The CMF Watch 3 Pro has dual-band L1 + L5 GPS, which should do better between tall buildings. If you’re a serious runner, that matters.
Calls, AI and the extras
The microphone is good. I could take calls and dial numbers from the wrist, and the built-in speaker is fine. Notifications arrived properly every time, with no hiccups.
You can store music on the watch, so yoga or a walk without your phone is possible. Layers also says you can connect wireless earbuds directly to the watch. That didn’t work when I tried it. It may just need a restart, but I didn’t dig deeper, so I can’t tell you whether it’s a bug or a one-off.
Layers AI is a voice assistant with live internet access. I couldn’t find out which model runs behind it. It works, I don’t need it much, and I think plenty of people will use it more than I do.
What about the Anarc 1 drama?
I didn’t use the first Anarc, so I won’t pretend to know its bugs. From what I’ve read, it launched with complaints about glitches and syncing, and some analysts alleged that its companion app was derived from an existing Chinese app. A privacy policy that named a Tencent entity also made the rounds (Candid.Technology, The Tech Outlook). These are allegations from those outlets, not something I verified.
My own take, as a developer: most budget smartwatch brands build on firmware and SDKs supplied by a chip or hardware maker, then add their own OS skin on top. Building firmware from scratch takes years and a lot of money. Parts for most electronics come from China, and that’s true well beyond India. I don’t see that as the scandal.
The mistake was the marketing, which gave an “everything in-house” feeling. Layers seems to have taken a safer approach this time, and I think that’s the right call. Layers says it assembles the Anarc 2 in India and built Nexora OS as a new interface.
Data is a separate question. I haven’t inspected the app’s network traffic, so I can’t tell you where your data goes.
Anarc 2 vs CMF Watch 3 Pro vs Realme Watch S5 vs Amazfit Bip 6
All four sit around Rs 7,000 to 9,000 now. The numbers below come from spec sheets and launch coverage, not my own testing of the rivals.
| Spec | Layers Anarc 2 | CMF Watch 3 Pro | Realme Watch S5 | Amazfit Bip 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price in India | Rs 6,999 | Rs 7,999 list | Rs 7,999 list | Rs 7,999 to 8,999 listed |
| Display | 1.85-inch AMOLED | 1.43-inch AMOLED | 1.43-inch AMOLED | 1.97-inch AMOLED |
| Shape | Rectangle | Round | Round | Rectangle |
| GPS | Single band | Dual band L1 + L5 | Built-in, 5 GNSS | Built-in, offline maps |
| Water rating | IP68 | IP68 | 5ATM | 50 m rated |
| Claimed battery | 7 days | 13 days | 16 days (20 in smart mode) | Not verified |
| Weight | 56 g | 51 g | 49.6 g | Not verified |
| My tested battery | 7 days, 35% left | Not tested | Not tested | Not tested |
On paper, the Anarc 2 doesn’t win every row. CMF takes GPS, Realme takes water resistance and claimed battery, and Amazfit has the biggest screen. Where the Anarc 2 pulls ahead for me is real-world battery, the interface and the screen size, plus the lowest price of the four. Those claimed numbers for rivals are the brands’ own, so my 7-day result is the only tested figure in the table.
Price in India
The Layers Anarc 2 launched at Rs 6,999 on 22 September 2026, and Smartprix lists Amazon as the lowest price. When the first Anarc came out, it felt overpriced to me. Today the CMF Watch 3 Pro and Realme Watch S5 list at Rs 7,999 and the Amazfit Bip 6 sits between Rs 7,999 and Rs 8,999, so prices across the segment have moved up. At Rs 6,999, the Anarc 2 now feels fairly priced. Check the current price before you buy, since it changes.
Who should buy it, and who should skip it
Buy it if you don’t want to spend on an Apple Watch or a premium Android watch, you need solid basic fitness tracking, you care about a nice interface and a comfortable fit, and battery life matters to you.
Skip it if you run seriously and want dual-band GPS (look at the CMF Watch 3 Pro), you swim (look at the Realme Watch S5 with 5ATM), or you want a round watch.
FAQ
Is the Layers Anarc 2 worth buying?
Yes, at Rs 6,999 it’s good value if you want a big AMOLED screen, a smooth interface and a long-lasting battery. I’d skip it for serious running or swimming.
Layers claims 7 days of normal use. In my testing it lasted 7 days and still had 35% left, with continuous heart rate monitoring on. Layers also quotes 14 days in power saving mode and 2 days with the always-on display.
Yes, it has built-in single-band GPS. In my walk test it was slow to lock but accurate. The CMF Watch 3 Pro uses dual-band GPS, which is better for runners.
It has an IP68 rating, so it handles rain, sweat and splashes. I wouldn’t swim with it. For swimming, a 5ATM watch like the Realme Watch S5 is a better fit.
Yes. Per the Smartprix listing it supports Android 9 and above and iOS 13 and above.
Anarc 2 has the bigger screen, a lower price and, in my test, better real-world battery than its claim. CMF has dual-band GPS and a round dial. Pick the Anarc 2 for daily use and the CMF for running.
