The Apple Watch 2 has emerged from the laboratory and is now ready for pre-order, with many Apple Watch fans anxiously awaiting its arrival in retail stores and online. The Apple Watch 2 Series was announced on Wednesday, and you have until Friday to go ahead with your pre-order.
Just as a refresher for interested buyers: the Apple Watch 2 Series is designed to provide more of the things that athletes (fitness runners) and swimmers would appreciate, with 50-meter water resistance and a speaker that collects the water then filters it out after swims, swim workouts that let you record your laps and so forth, a 2nd-gen. display that's twice as bright as the first-generation Apple Watch (can go up to 1000 nits of brightness), and built-in GPS for runners to keep track of their exercise, distance, and location.
WatchOS 3 comes pre-loaded onto Apple's latest wearable, bringing SOS messages for those close contacts on your contacts list in the event of an emergency, instant app launches, an app dock for all your favorite apps, as well as a new relaxation app called "Breathe" that helps you relax, control your breathing, and calm down throughout the day so as to better fight stress. And of course, don't forget that the Apple Watch 2 Series can now help you participate in the Pokemon Go craze.
The Apple Watch 2 Series starts at $369, which is up $20 from the first-generation launch retail price ($349), and the first-generation Apple Watch has now been discounted by $80 to $269 as a result. The Watch 2 Series will go on sale officially in Apple Stores on Friday, September 16th, the same day as the launch of the company's latest smartphones, the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus. Pre-orders will start shipping on September 30th for the 38mm case Apple Watch 2; if you pre-order the 42mm models, expect to wait an additional 2-3 weeks before they arrive.
If you're ready to dive in (and get the Watch 2; don't put the first-gen. in the pool just yet), head on over to Apple.com. Here's an Apple Watch 2 gallery for those who can never get enough photos of their favorite gadgets.