Apple Watch 2 release dates and details slipping through cracks
One year on from the first release of the very first Apple Watch and some slightly more solid rumors have just begun to appear. While we've been hearing conjecture on the next model just about as long as we've been able to try the first Apple Watch on, this week we're having a look at the details we're sensing are close enough to the mark to speak of. Remember, as always – it's not 100% confirmed until Apple says it, but given the relative predictability of release schedules in the company's past several years, there are some bits we can glean.
There are several features we can safely assume are on the way for the second-generation Apple Watch, the first of which is Wi-Fi. While we're not confident Apple will release an Apple Watch that needs no smartphone at all, we can fairly easily believe in a device that'll act similar to Android Wear devices released in the past few weeks.
That means Wi-Fi connectivity, but a requirement for the iPhone each Apple Watch is connected to to be connected to the web as well. This will require some mighty confidence in both devices for Apple – but they've got the phone connected well enough already, so it's only a matter of making certain the Wi-Fi chip in the watch is up to snuff.
Apple Watch Review: Controversially Compelling
This week Best Buy is sending the first Apple Watch off with a minor bang – cutting $100 off the price of several models, making the device less expensive than it's ever been before. This does not mean that the Apple Watch hasn't sold well – it means, like with each year's release of the iPhone and iPad, stores are lowering their prices to sell off stock in anticipation of the next generation.
That notion isn't something you'll hear confirmed by any company, but the repeat of this set of events year after year is self-indicative.
The look of the Apple Watch 2 won't differ greatly. The device is still so new, we wouldn't be entirely unsurprised if Apple just replaced the first version in stores with a second, improved wave, not unlike what they do with MacBooks and iMacs.
Like a totem of singularity, the Apple Watch may very keep its name even stricter than the iPhone and iPad.
The display will stay largely the same – as will the battery. With an improved processor under the hood, the battery life can therefor improve from generation to generation, to Apple's favor.
The reveal of the new Apple Watch will very likely take place in March. Apple went so far as to show off the first Apple Watch first at an event in November of 2014, then host a second event for the launch in March of 2015 – just as much planning for the release date schedule for the future will have gone into the thinking there as requirements for release due to supply issues.
There may be additional tiers of release – new materials, price points between the standard models and the "Edition" edition, but for now we're concentrating on the basics.