The Apple Watch Extremely 2 has an extra-bright show and S9 chip

Apple’s premium smartwatch is getting its first main improve. Throughout its annual fall occasion on Tuesday, the corporate confirmed off the $799 Apple Watch Extremely 2, the primary replace for the high-end watch meant for excessive athletes and others with extra specialised fitness-tracking wants.

As anticipated, the second-gen machine will preserve the identical 49-millimeter type issue as the unique, however nonetheless gives some vital upgrades. Notably, the Extremely 2 comes with a brand new extra-bright 3,000 nit show — up from 2,000 nits within the authentic Extremely — to make the display simpler to learn in diverse gentle situations. In darker settings, the show can dim right down to a single nit of brightness. Night time mode can even now activate mechanically because of the watch’s ambient gentle sensor.

The Extremely 2 might be among the many first watches to get Apple’s new S9 chip, which can energy the brand new “double faucet” gesture, and upgraded Siri performance. As with the brand new Apple Watch Collection 9, the gesture permits wearers to reply calls, snooze alarms and carry out different duties by shortly pinching their thumb and forefinger collectively.

Like the unique Extremely, the second-gen machine guarantees longer battery life than its smaller Collection 9 counterpart. Based on Apple, the Extremely 2 will prime out at 36 hours of battery life on one cost, however can last as long as 72 hours in low-power mode. That’s a slight enchancment over final 12 months’s mannequin, which may go 60 hours in low-power mode and 36 hours on one cost.

When the Extremely launched final 12 months, one in all its standout options was its depth-tracking skills meant for scuba divers and different underwater actions. Now, the onboard Depth app has been upgraded to mechanically save previous dives so you’ll be able to monitor depth historical past instantly from the watch or get extra detailed stats within the iPhone app.

Information junkies and excessive athletes can even benefit from a brand new “Modular Extremely” watch face that makes use of the bigger, brighter show to cram probably the most problems the corporate has ever placed on a single watch show. The Extremely 2 may also get the identical software program upgrades because the Collection 9, because of watchOS 10. Among the many upgrades are new biking workout-tracking options and new, extra highly effective widgets, in addition to an upgraded compass app.

Apple famous it switched to 95 p.c recycled supplies within the Extremely 2, a part of a broader push to minimize the environmental influence of its merchandise. The corporate claims the Extremely 2 is “carbon impartial” when paired with the corporate’s new Alpine Loop or Path Loop band.

The Apple Watch Extremely 2 is offered now for pre-order, and can ship on September 22. Within the meantime, make sure you take a look at some early impressions of each the Extremely 2 and the Collection 9 from Engadget’s Deputy Evaluations Editor, Cherlynn Low, who lined Tuesday’s occasion in Cupertino.

Comply with the entire information stay from Apple’s ‘Wonderlust’ occasion proper right here.