Swim-proof Apple Watch Series 2 with built-in GPS gets official

Apple has officially unveiled its second generation smartwatch dubbed as Apple Watch Series 2. The design of the new watch is very similar to its predecessor with the square customizable watchface that shows time and displays notifications and also includes the digital crown for scrolling and zooming.

However, the major change is the new water-resistant shell, which makes the Apple Watch 2 swimproof up to 50 meters. It  has a built-in GPS chip, which allows the watch to track activities like running and walking on its own, without the need of phone. The new watch can also count laps, track average lap pace and auto-detect swimming stroke type to accurately measure calories burned.

The hardware has also received a bump with an upgraded processor called S2. The Series 2 has a dual-core processor, and Apple claims it to be 50 percent faster than its predecessor, with 2x the graphics performance, thanks to the new GPU. The new display also gets 50 percent more brighter and can get up to 1,000 nits, which makes it easy to read the display when outdoors.

The Apple Watch Series 2 runs on WatchOS 3 with improved performance SOS alerts, handwritten replies to messages, and simpler way to launch favorite apps instantly, from the watch face or the new Dock, which displays latest information already updated in the background.

The new watch also gets a new white ceramic variant in addition to aluminum and stainless steel, and it will be available with all current bands. The ceramic variant is said to be four times stronger than the aluminum steel model.

The Apple Watch Series 2 prices start at $369, while the new Apple Watch Ceramic edition Edition starts at $1249. It will be up for pre-order starting September 9 and will be available on September 16 (U.S). The original Apple Watch will be rebranded as Apple Watch Series 1 and will get an upgraded Series 2 processor, but will be sold for a reduced price of $270.

There's also a Nike+ version with a lightweight aluminum build and a redesigned band made of stretchable material priced at $369, and will be available late October.