So far we’ve been covering developments on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and we’ve given you all the “dirt” we have on Apple new product. But the real star of the Apple product launch this September could be the Apple Watch 2. With a brand spanking new operating system – WatchOS 3 – and rumors that it could come with its own GPS hardware and software, things are getting even more exciting as we approach take-off.
What We Know So Far…
Here are some of the things we’ve been able to dig up on Apple Watch 2:
Thousands of Apple Watch Apps
If you already have an Apple Watch, you’ll love to know that there are currently over 3,500 Watch apps just for you. Primarily focused on health and wellness tracking, they also have a ton of productivity apps such as schedule and calendar notifications, Music (of course), Apple Maps, Passbook (where you can access your passwords without pulling out your phone), Apple Pay (so you can pay on the go), weather, photo previews and much more.
Apple is also opening up to third-party developers, which is why the choice of apps has exploded from the 100 or so apps that came with the original Apple Watch, to the thousands now available on App Store – and counting.
Up to Five Models May Be Available
Word has it that Apple will launch multiple variants across a wide price range. The base model will have its other cousins present as well – Apple Watch Edition and Apple Watch Sports – along with one more that’s being kept ultra-secret. Could that be the one with the GPS capability, or is that going to be standard across all models. We’re thinking it’s the latter.
Runs on WatchOS 3 – Here’s What’s New
Up to 7 Times Faster than Apple WatchOS 2!
Yes, the Apple Watch 2 will run on the much faster WatchOS 3 that is said to be able to open most apps up to 7 times faster. When you’re on the go, this is exactly what you’ll be looking for – and Apple has delivered on that. They’re calling it Instant Apps, and it will basically run your apps in the background so you can access them much faster. Apple promises that the data on these apps will be up-to-date as soon as you open them. Let’s see if they can really deliver on this front.
New Custom Watch Faces
This is essentially an esthetic feature that adds to the visual appeal of Apple Watch 2. Choose from a variety of new faces including the Activity watch face and the ever-popular Minnie Mouse from Disney.
Control Center Overhaul
Apple Watch 2 will have a fresh-looking control center that you can access by swiping up on the clock face screen. Some cool features include the ability to ping your watch or even locate your watch from your phone using Find my Phone.
New Dock
This is one of the most exciting upgrades to the Watch operating system. Dock essentially shows you the most used apps as well as ones you recently accessed.
Improved Activity and Motion Prompters
Apple Watch 2 with WatchOS 3 is heavily focused on health and wellness, but this time around you’ll be able to share your activities with your contacts, as well as see how they’re faring with their own activity schedules. This brings an important social element to the health initiatives that Apple is trying to promote.
It even features specific health prompters for the disabled, including wheelchair-specific fitness tracking.
Remote Camera
You’ll soon be able to use your Apple Watch 2 as a remote camera viewfinder for your connected iPhone. Not sure how many people will find it useful, but it will allow you to take selfies with your rear camera – could be a huge thing, in fact. Also useful for timed shots.
The New Breathe App
This is probably the best stress-buster we’ve seen yet come out of Apple. The app has several short breathing exercises you can do through the day to keep stress at bay. With options extending up to 5 minutes, the app will give you a summary of your heartbeat during that time so you can visually see how these breathing exercises are helping you.
Digital Crown Button could open specific apps
We’re still unclear if Apple will push any updates for the digital crown button on the side of the Apple Watch, but if they did it would probably be a short-cut that you can pre-set to open up certain apps that you use regularly. The digital crown button is one of Apple’s finest achievements, and is the first of its kind in the world.
GPS Connectivity
This one is still a rumor, but Nike recently spilled the beans on the Apple Watch 2’s GPS capability. Before it was pulled from the App Store, Nike+Run Club had this in their changelog:
“Leave your phone at home and run free with Apple Watch.”
That can only mean one thing – that the Apple Watch 2 will be able to work independently of your iPhone. That’s only possible if it has GPS connectivity on its own. It might be wishful thinking but we feel that this would represent the biggest upgrade on the new WatchOS.
The launch of Apple Watch 2 is now just a few short weeks away, so we’ll work our butts off to bring you all the latest news about the watch and the operating system in the days to come.
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