Apple has announced its newly updated smartwatch, the Apple Watch at the company’s keynote event at San Francisco earlier. The new Apple Watch, known as the Apple Watch Series 2, comes with a slew of improvements, with a couple of them being more notable than the rest. The newly named watch means that the previous generation Apple Watch will be known as the Apple Watch Series 1.
Lengthy names aside, aesthetically, the Apple Watch Series 2 looks pretty much alike its older sibling. You probably can’t tell both apart from a distance. It sports the same square faced design with a digital crown on the side for navigating the watch display. What’s new is that the Apple Watch is now water resistant up to 50 metres, making it swimproof. The display is also much brighter now, 50% brighter than its predecessor, according to Apple.
Underneath the hood, Apple has introduced a new S2 chip. The chip is said to be 50% faster when it comes to processing power compared to the original Apple Watch. Apart from that, graphics perfomance has also doubled with a new GPU as well. With the new processing package, along with the new watchOS 3 which Apple previewed a couple of months back, the Apple Watch Series 2 is expected to offer snappier performance and better graphics.
Another useful addition is the built-in GPS in the Apple Watch Series 2. The built-in GPS allows the watch to map itself without the iPhone, meaning that the GPS can guide your navigation when you’re out for your daily run without bringing your iPhone along. The onboard GPS also means that it can accurately track your distance covered.
With the new Apple Watch, comes a new ceramic model which is white in color. Apart from that, are the usual aluminium and stainless steel cases seen on the previous generation Apple Watch. Apple has also teamed up with Nike for a Nike+ version of the Apple Watch Series 2. The other good news is the Apple Watch Series 1 will be powered by the same S2 chip in the Series 2. The Apple Watch Series 2 will start at $369 (RM1,493.66), the same goes for the Nike+ version whereas the upgraded Apple Watch Series 1 receives a price cut, making it $269 (RM1,088.87)