Rumours earlier this year suggested that the upcoming Apple Watch 2 would come with cellular connectivity. Bloomberg today reports that Apple was indeed trying to make its next-generation smartwatch less dependent on the smartphone but “hit roadblocks in making major changes that would connect its Watch to cellular networks and make it less dependent on the iPhone.” It now looks like the feature may not come to the Apple Watch until next year at the earliest.
Apple went as far as to have discussions with a number of mobile phone carriers in the U.S. and Europe to support the new smartwatch. Even as these meetings took place, Apple warned that these new cellular models might not be ready this year. One source added that that even an aggressive schedule would not have seen them launch until December at the earliest.
Apple’s biggest hurdle is that current cellular chipsets are too power hungry, reducing battery life to the point where it would limit user appeal. Apple is now reportedly looking into lower-power cellular data chips for future smartwatches.
The report adds that the new Apple Watch will come with a number of improvements to its health tracking capabilities such as a new app to track breathing and watch faces displaying activity statistics. It will also come with built-in GPS for improved location tracking. A recent KGI report also predicted that the new Apple Watch would come with GPS connectivity.
Apple is expected to unveil one or even perhaps two new Apple Watch models in early September. Will we see it announce an Apple Watch 1S alongside the new Apple Watch 2?
Source : Bloomberg