Apple today showed off the next generation of Apple Watch, the smartwatch that it first brought to market back in March of 2015.
At first glance the new Watch, called the Series 2, looks almost exactly like the original Apple Watch. But it has some new sport-focused features both under the hood and within its software. Basically, Apple is doubling down on health and fitness; aside from briefly showing a ceramic model and new Hermès watch band, today's presentation was less about aesthetics and more about capabilities.
First, the new Apple Watch has built-in GPS. It's also "swimproof," or water resistant up to 50 meters, which means it will track swim activity. And Apple has even rolled out a new Nike-themed watch, aimed at runners. This one has a perforated watch band and a couple of Nike watchfaces, as well as short cuts to the Nike running app; otherwise, it's the same Series 2 Watch.
Apple has also said that the Series 2 will get the same battery life as the previous model — 18 hours — despite the addition of GPS. There's no big secret around it or magic trick Apple is trying to pull off; the battery in this one is simply bigger
The new Sport watch starts at $369, and will ship next week. The original Apple Watch is getting both an update and a price cut: it will sell for $269, but includes a faster processor.
You can see from the photos below that there are some physical differences, though you really have to look closely. The new Apple Watch Series 2 is about a millimeter thicker than last year's model. Also, it has two speaker ports, which is all part of a mechanism that expels water from the Watch. And the optical heart rate sensors have a white ring around them that wasn't there on last year's model. (For comparison's sake: last year's Watch is the one with the yellow band in the pics below; all other Watches are new ones.)
We'll have more impressions shortly, as well as a full review, but for now, check out the pics below.
