Monday, April 25, 2016

WSJ: Apple Watch 2 will have cellular radios meaning no need for your iPhone to be with you


In its report Monday which details the first full year of Apple Watch sales, the Wall Street Journal newspaper has revealed a previously unknown tidbit pertaining to a second-generation Apple Watch. According to the publication’s sources, the Apple Watch 2 will feature cellular-network connectivity and a faster processor.

Although the Apple Watch can connect to Wi-Fi networks you have previously joined on your iPhone, the Cupertino company is reportedly aware that its wearable device suffers from limited usefulness because it cannot connect to cellular networks on its own and requires an iPhone for network connectivity when there are no known Wi-Fi networks around. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment to the WSJ.

If the publication’s sources in the know are to be trusted, then the Apple Watch 2 might come in Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + Cellular editions, like iPads. It’s also possible that Apple won’t make such a distinction and will instead sell one version of the Apple Watch 2.

I’m also curious to learn if Apple will implement the traditional Nano-SIM card tray on the Apple Watch 2 or use the new embedded eSIM standard, which the company helped develop, that doesn’t require a physical SIM card at all.

Previous reports asserted that the Apple Watch refresh includes a tiny 2mm-long front-facing camera for making and receiving FaceTime calls on the wrist. The device should be thinner than the current models and have the same square display with unchanged resolution.

Samsung, along with other overseas manufacturers like Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, have reportedly secured component orders for the Apple Watch 2, which one analyst believes could be up to forty percent thinner and debut at Apple’s annual developers conference this summer.

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