Apple Logo
The Apple logo is pictured at a retail store in the Marina neighborhood in San Francisco, California April 23, 2014. Reuters

The Apple Watch is currently on sale through some U.S. retailers for Black Friday 2015. Word is the Cupertino company is already working on the Apple Watch 2 smartwatch and it’s likely to release soon. Hence, it’s good a decision to wait for the arrival of Apple Watch 2 with new features.

Early release speculated

Even though Apple isn’t talking about a successor model for the original Apple Watch, the buzz indicates the arrival of the Apple Watch 2 is few months away, the International Business Times reported. Early speculation claims the upcoming Watch won’t depend on the iPhone for carrying out various tasks such as monitoring heart rates and making payments through Apple Pay.

Less reliance on iPhone

The Apple Watch 2 will pair with known Wi-Fi hotspots through an improved tetherless Wi-Fi chip, 9 to 5 Mac reported. It means the upcoming smartwatch won’t rely on the iPhone to show fitness information.

FaceTime camera for video calling

The original Apple Watch doesn’t have a camera but the Apple Watch 2 might be equipped with a FaceTime camera. Users will also be able to make video calls when using the camera. Since the first generation Apple Watch lets users make FaceTime voice calls, the newer smartwatch will likely make video calls possible.

Thinner OLED display

Apple is likely to release the Apple Watch 2 with a slimmer display. The Cupertino company is said to be working with LG and Samsung to produce slimmer OLED screens. The inclusion of thinner displays will free up more space for more internal components.

Good battery performance with new features

According to Apple, the battery of the Apple Watch can last for around 18 hours of general use. Its reserve mode enables the Apple Watch to automatically disable certain features to extend battery life. The thinner display may allow Apple to include a larger battery on the device. The newer features expected to be available on the Watch 2 will let it deliver similar battery performance as the first generation model.

As for the Apple Watch 2 release date, this is expected between April and June. There is no official confirmation about this, however.

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