Sep 08 - 4min readApple Watch Series 2: All You Need To KnowBy Borne

Before we begin this blog we would first like to say a few words about the headphone jack which has served us well for, well, a while

According to TechCrunch, the jack was invented to help telephone operators to make connections on their switchboards way back in the 1870s.

We racked our brains for another piece of tech that we have used for that long (it’s more fun than using Google), and we couldn’t actually come up with anything. So, RIP headphone jack. We love you and you will be missed.

Anyway, amidst the recent headphone jack scandal, people seem to be overlooking another Apple product. It’s something no one I know uses, owns or actually likes but Apple are persevering despite their recent sales plummet. I am of course, talking about the Apple Watch, and it’s updated version – The Apple Watch Series 2 (can we all just agree to call it the Apple Watch 2?)

Here’s a couple of snazzy Apple Watch upgrades to help numb your headphone jack pain…

Pokémon GO

We’ll start with the most important news. The popular game Pokémon GO will be available on Apple Watch Series 2 (here’s why it’s so popular).

Yes, you heard correctly. Pokémon GO will be available, and we’re all very excited. The watch will display how far the player needs to walk to hatch an egg, the points required to reach the next level and information about the user’s fitness. The user won’t have to look at their smartphone to see when a Pokémon appears or when a Pokéstop is nearby, they can simply glance at their watch, and this is a feature which we genuinely believe will save lives.

Water resistant

The new Apple Watch will be waterproof. The watch will survive up to 50 metres underwater and can be used to track the calories burned whilst swimming, alongside personal health and sports stats. There will be two workout programmes available for swimmers who have until now been cruelly neglected in the fitness tech world.

The new model will have a speaker that can eject any water that gets into the speaker grill. This comes alongside the fantastic news that the new iPhone 7 is water resistant up to 1m deep so yippee! It’s a win, win. High fives all round.

50% faster

It seems we constantly complain about the battery life of, well, every Apple product we have ever owned but our cries always seem to fall on deaf ears. It seems now Apple have actually listened to user feedback instead of just doing what they want (removing the headphone jack, for example).

The biggest complaint about the first series of Apple Watch was the speed and Apple are onto it. This upgrade will work a whopping 50% faster than the old version and will have twice the graphics performance.

Brighter screen

The screen will have a brightness of 1,000nits, which will make the watch a lot easier to read, especially in the sunlight. That’s really all there is to say on the matter.

Built-in GPS

The Apple Watch Series 2 will have built in GPS which is great for those of us whose sense of direction is somewhat…lacking. This in built GPS will help runners, hikers, cyclists and anyone who’s lost.

Users hoping for GSM radio (through which the watch can connect to mobile phone networks) will be disappointed, as the new version will still rely on a Bluetooth or a Wi-Fi signal. We doubt they’ll be separating the two anytime soon as it’s a sure fire way to make sure people can’t own an Apple Watch and a Samsung phone at the same time.

Option of buying in ceramic

An interesting update to the Apple Watch Series 2 is that they are available in a new ceramic material. This case is four times stronger than stainless steel, so for the ‘droppers’ amongst us, this might be a better option. It comes in white and, according to MacWorld, looks like ‘it was carved from a solid block of unicorn horn’. We love it already.

The ceramic option starts at $1249 for the 38mm version, although rumour has it Apple will throw in a unicorn for free. Compared to the solid gold Apple Watch Edition models which cost between $10,000 and $17,000 when they launched in 2015, this new watch is an absolute bargain.

Partnership with Nike

The tech giants have also partnered with kings of the fitness world, Nike, to create Apple Watch Nike+. This is a separate model catered towards fitness enthusiasts. It prompts you to exercise, allows you to connect with your friends and also join the Nike Running Club.

And so far feedback for this Apple and Nike combo seems positive, although time will tell and there’s always a chance we’ll end up despising it. The watch displays running stats like pace, distance, calories burned and heart rate on a single screen, meaning no swiping is involved whatsoever, a blessing for those of us who can’t miss a second on our quest to become the next Mo Farrah.

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