Apple kicked off its Apple Watch part of the keynote by bragging that Apple is now the number two watch brand, outselling some popular brands like Longines, Omega, Fossil, and only trailing behind Rolex. While this all sounds sweet, bear in mind that the Apple Watch is less expensive than most of those brands and these are all proper watches, without that "smart" prefix.
Courtesy of Engadget.com
Jeff Williams from Apple also did a short preview of the watchOS 3, which we saw back in June at WWDC, bringing a new user interface, fitness activity sharing, the new 911 feature and more. Apparently and judging by the applause from the audience at the event, the big update is the announcement that Pokemon Go is coming to the Apple Watch sometime later this year.
As expected, Apple has unveiled the Watch Series 2, which has been completely redesigned, it reckons. Apple will offer a couple of different versions of the Watch Series 2, with aluminum, stainless steel and ceramic cases, as well as plenty of wristband options.
The new Apple Watch Series 2 is now swim-proof, which means it is water resistant at up to 50 meters, which is an industry standard for watches, apparently.
The Apple Watch Series 2 also has a better display, which should be twice as bright than the first generation and it even has a specification update, featuring the new S2 SoC with dual-core CPU, which is up to 50 percent faster, and comes with a shiny new GPU, offering twice the graphics performance.
Courtesy of Engadget.com
It also comes with a built-in GPS that is touted to offer more precise tracking and will come with watchOS 3.
The Watch Series 2 will be available in standard Apple and Nike versions, both priced at US $369. The Nike version comes in October while the Apple version is likely to be ready for pre-order on September 9th with the first shipping on September 16th.
Apple is also keeping the original Series 1 Apple Watch, which will get a fancy new S2 SoC and will be priced at US $269. The watchOS 3 will launch on September 13th.
The new Apple Watch Series 2 is now listed on Apple's site as well.
Courtesy of Engadget.com
