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Faster Apple Watch 2 With GPS, Barometer, Larger Battery, and Same Thickness to Launch Later This Year

Hopefully they are able to retail it at the price it was when introduced (I doubt they'll match the reduced pricing).

FaceTime on the Watch is like touch screens on a laptop. It's awkward to do but most people like the functionality and end up doing it anyway.

I think FaceTime and WiFi, along with the other changes, would make it a viable upgrade for some current Watch owners otherwise it seems like a refinement update.
 
Mac 128 said:
But the $100 price difference won't confuse them.

Apple needs to drop the price of the Watch to draw in more customers, and prime them for the flagship model once they're hooked. And why make them pay for features they don't use, like GPS and the barometer? Leave those features for the customers who already know how great the watch is and are looking for more utility ...
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With all respect these arguments are farfetched. Why not releaze an iPhone without camera then? So people won't pay for the feature they don't use. The lineup should have just the latest generation with all the features.
 
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sw1tcher said:
I can guarantee it won't have a god.
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Heretic!!!


In the beginning Siri created the query and the database. And the communication was without form, and void; and bitless was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Siri moved upon the electrons of the electricity.

The First Day: Communication

And Siri said, Let there be communication: and there was communication. And Siri saw the communication, that it was good: and Siri divided the text from the talk. And Siri called the text messages, and the talk she called phone call. And the evening and the morning were the first day spent starring at a screen.

The Second Day: Data

And Siri said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the bits, and let it divide the data from the data. And Siri made the firmament, and divided the data which were in the phone from the data which were on the Internet: and it was so. And Siri called the firmament firmware. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

....And so on and so forth... 8)
 
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Relentless Power said:
Why are you calling the Watch lame? Has Apple confirmed anything? Or are you just bashing the Watch because you have not heard any rumors based off health sensors as you stated? Enjoy your 'Jump' to Android.
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I probably will enjoy my jump :) Judging by it's diminishing market share in China and India, and no growth in North America, many others are following. Maybe you are ok with mediocracy, but I'm not. And these rumors have been quite accurate when we are very close to launch.

You are right that we will have to wait till September, I know I am. After 15+ years of being a loyal Apple customer, I'm trying to give Apple a chance but it really feels like Tim is Apple's Ballmer. MS had it's most profitable year under Ballmer, before he ran it to the ground. By all counts Tim is doing the same...
 
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GPS is the thing I really want. I'll upgrade if this is true. LTE would be a nice addition or at least voice calling just so I can work out without bringing a phone. (And I realize I CAN currently do that but I like having a phone on me.)
 
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Mactendo said:
First generation should be discontinued, it just confuses people.
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Having two iterations of a Smart Watch confuses people? So..how does two iterations of the iPhone 6 configure then, with the iPhone 7 around the corner? Will this confuse/and or fragment customers as well?

Apple will not discontinue the First Gen Apple Watch, it would be discounted at minimum.
 
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delegagtor said:
I still don't understand the point of a $649 accessory for a $649 phone. I guess I'm not the target demographic.
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At the accessory level they've given us a sub $300 device. That's not nothing, but it's also less than half of your quoted price.bcases, which range from actual protection to completely aesthetic can sell for upwards of $50, and people see value in that, too.

Beyond that price we start getting into accessory melded with style. It becomes a piece of jewelry. If I had to guess, the vast majority of these sold are the base sport model. People who want to spend more can. And the sky is almost literally the limit.

I haven't purchased a watch yet myself, because I felt they were feature poor for the price, but with gps and a barometer I finally have a sport watch in what I assume will be a slightly higher than sport watch range, but with much more functionality than said sport watch (to be fair I don't expect it to perform like a dedicated Garmin, but in also not an okympian, sad to say).

Anyway, if you feel that it's nothing more than an accessory to your phone, then absolutely, you're not the target audience. part of me thought I'd never get an Apple Watch because I felt like, after releasing a "sport" phone that wasn't any sportier than any other model, they didn't truly care about any of the features those into sport tracking cared about.
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Relentless Power said:
Having two iterations of a Smart Watch confuses people? So..how does two iterations of the iPhone 6 configure then, with the iPhone 7 around the corner? Will this confuse/and or fragment customers as well?

Apple will not discontinue the First Gen Apple Watch, it would be discounted at minimum.
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I think it may conceivably become confusing when one gains GPS but sacrifices cellular radio. The other gains the cellular radio but not the GPS. By the sound of it we will have 3(?) watches. Each in 2 sizes?

I couldn't say for sure. I don't know that people completely oblivious to tech are buying these watches. Not yet. Smartphones have had time to get ubiquitous. "Everyone and their mom has one". Not so with watches. But if Apple hopes for that to be the case in sure they'll be pushing for simplicity.
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cult hero said:
GPS is the thing I really want. I'll upgrade if this is true. LTE would be a nice addition or at least voice calling just so I can work out without bringing a phone. (And I realize I CAN currently do that but I like having a phone on me.)
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This watch could potentially get me to drop my 6s plus for an SE and just take that with me on all workouts.

Right now I do use the plus for s lot of videos generally before bed, so who knows.

I'd love the option of GPS and LTE, but it also makes me wonder how a data plan would be handled. Would I have another phone number? From a usability standpoint during runs, an all in one device would certainly be nice too. If I had to pick one of probably go GPS over the LTE thiugh.
 
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Zedcars said:
I don't understand. Firstly, this is only a rumour. But secondly, where does it say anything about less waterproofing?

It says the AW2 will have superior waterproofing, and the AW1 will receive the same processor and water-proofing upgrades.
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Where are you getting this inferior water-proofing info from?
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They're saying the upgraded first gen Apple Watch will. It hbe superior water proofing like the second gen. It will only have the same water proofing that it already has. That's what we're taking about. I think you just read the article and comments incorrectly.
 
Sefstah said:
Buuuut... besides reading your heart rate, can't your iPhone do all of this already??!
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That is one way to look at it, but then the current watch would also be considered as nothing more than a glorified heart rate monitor.

GPS and barometer makes this watch and actual sport and fitness watch now. Before we had it in name, now we have it in functionality. Many distance runners or bikers (or insert sport here) want to rely on a watch to do it all and might not bring a phone. Or those they do might bring an emergency only flip phone.

If I go for much longer than an hour I don't like to track via GPS because I'm afraid my battery will get worn down and if I need the phone I'll be stuck without the ability to call for help.

Ideally we get all of this and LTE and some miraculous battery life allowing me to keep the phone at home, but I think that's probably not reasonable.
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Appleaker said:
Hopefully they are able to retail it at the price it was when introduced (I doubt they'll match the reduced pricing).

FaceTime on the Watch is like touch screens on a laptop. It's awkward to do but most people like the functionality and end up doing it anyway.

I think FaceTime and WiFi, along with the other changes, would make it a viable upgrade for some current Watch owners otherwise it seems like a refinement update.
Click to expand...
If they're wanting to capture the market I can't imagine it being MORE expensive. I can see them working with carriers to allow for interest free financing (tmobile already does this) or opt for in house financing.

If they matched the reduced pricing though I think this would be nearly impossible to keep on shelves. I don't know how feasible that is from a profit point.
 
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iA724 said:
They're saying the upgraded first gen Apple Watch will. It hbe superior water proofing like the second gen. It will only have the same water proofing that it already has. That's what we're taking about. I think you just read the article and comments incorrectly.
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From the article:
"The analyst also predicted that upgraded first-generation Apple Watch models will debut in the second half of 2016 with the same processor and waterproofing upgrades, but likely without the Apple Watch 2's most significant additions like a GPS and barometer."

He's saying AW1 will get water-proofing and processor upgrades. I think you read it incorrectly.
 
I am a guaranteed day 1 purchaser :) my Apple Watch is fabulous, use it every day, all day. Any improvements are hugely welcomed as it is nice to see the product grow. I wonder what it will be like in the same time frame that the iPhone has had :eek:
 
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Spendlove said:
I am a guaranteed day 1 purchaser :) my Apple Watch is fabulous, use it every day, all day. Any improvements are hugely welcomed as it is nice to see the product grow. I wonder what it will be like in the same time frame that the iPhone has had :eek:
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The Watch will at least an upgraded Processir/S2 Chip and hopefully battery improvements to make room for GPS. I agree any changes are welcomed.
 
bopajuice said:
Same stuff different day. Apple has fallen so far behind it's pathetic. Just another update.
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At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
 
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lordofthereef said:
That is one way to look at it, but then the current watch would also be considered as nothing more than a glorified heart rate monitor.

GPS and barometer makes this watch and actual sport and fitness watch now. Before we had it in name, now we have it in functionality. Many distance runners or bikers (or insert sport here) want to rely on a watch to do it all and might not bring a phone. Or those they do might bring an emergency only flip phone.

If I go for much longer than an hour I don't like to track via GPS because I'm afraid my battery will get worn down and if I need the phone I'll be stuck without the ability to call for help.

Ideally we get all of this and LTE and some miraculous battery life allowing me to keep the phone at home, but I think that's probably not reasonable.
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If they're wanting to capture the market I can't imagine it being MORE expensive. I can see them working with carriers to allow for interest free financing (tmobile already does this) or opt for in house financing.

If they matched the reduced pricing though I think this would be nearly impossible to keep on shelves. I don't know how feasible that is from a profit point.
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Yeah it should be easy for them to sell it at the introduced price because it won't b a major change. The only reason it could go over is because they want to retain their margins, similar to what happened with the iPad mini 2 compared to the 1, but I guess that is a very different scenario.
 
Would love for the watch to be a stand-alone unit without having to relay on constantly needing your phone with you. I'm hoping GPS and a larger built-in internal would hold this for me.
 
Love it when keep the form factor. Makes my current watch not look old for at least another year :cool:
 
Sounds like a decent upgrade. I'm happy with the design. A faster processor is really the only thing I see myself looking forward to.

I'm telling you right now smart watches are the next big thing. With the additions watchOS 3 has brought to the table I see a bright future for the Apple Watch.
 
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Dammit Cubs said:
Who is this guy "KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo"? I feel like all he does is scratch his ass and then write a "research note" to the public.
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Yet, his ass must be accurate somehow, as he correctly predicted basically everything hardware related in the last couple of years.
 
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The best benefits for me would be if AW2 can be used standalone (without iPhone nearby) to communicate and control the HomeKit accessories (ex. Unlocking the door, etc).
 
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