Apple Watch Series 2 is water resistant and has Pokemon Go

Apple today unveiled its second attempt at a smartwatch, one that’s water resistant and has Pokemon Go.

An Apple Watch with Nike Plus. Picture: AP

Apple today unveiled its second attempt at a smartwatch, one that’s water resistant and tracks swimming. To many however, the big watch news was Pokemon Go on Apple Watch.

Named Watch Series 2, it was unveiled by Apple’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams who said it was water resistant to 50 metres. Apple had developed seals and adhesives to render the watch water resistant - the quandary was Watch’s speaker that required an air intake and couldn’t be sealed.

That was addressed with new speaker technology that uses the speaker mechanism to eject water, he said.

Apple says it built a simulator to test the effect of swimming on the new Watch over years. It analysed more than 700 different body types and abilities, took blood samples to measure lactic acid production, to create an algorithm to record swimming metrics.

There were two workouts: full swim and open water swim with lap counts and records of calories burned. “We think swimmers are going to absolutely love this,” Mr Williams said, adding that the watch learns from its wearer and gets more accurate over time.

The S2 watch has a dual core processor that Apple says is up to 50pc faster than on the original watch, a new GPU with twice the graphic performance. Mr Williams cited the astronomy app Night Sky 4 as now able to operate efficiently on Watch. People could use their watch to reference details of the stars they see overhead.

The other big feature of Watch Series 2 is built in GPS for walking and running. At the end of a workout an activity map shows your route and speed.

Apple showed an app ViewRanger which displays hiking routes which can operate off line on Apple Watch. It shows views of where you’re going and destination information. You can check your position and get back on track if you’re lost. It adds walking to the watch’s activity statistics.

The biggest news was the advent of Pokemon Go on Apple Watch. John Hanke, founder and CEO of Niantic appeared on stage and said Pokemon Go had now been downloaded more than 500 million times and trainers had walked 4.6 billion kilometres playing the game.

Trainers can tracks their activity and catch Pokemon on the watch at the same time. The watch version of the app will be available later this month.

Apple introduced a ceramic version of Apple Watch which adds to stainless steel and aluminium models already available.

Apple also unveiled new premium Hermes leather watchbands for iPhone 7. One style includes two buckles.

Apple and Nike unveiled a Nike branded version called Watch Nike + with distinctive Nike watchbands in four colours and a Nike branded app focused on running. Trevor Edwards, president of Nike, said its app would invite people from around the world to take part in runs on Sundays. The feature was entitled “Just Do It Sundays”.

Apple also is updating its original Apple Watch with its faster processor, although it won’t be water resistant and won’t have GPS. That configuration will be called Watch Series 1.

In Australia Watch Series 2 and Watch Nike + will start at $529; Watch Series 1 will cost from $399. Series 1 and 2 watches can be preordered from Friday and will go on sale on September 16. Apple Watch Hermes starts at $1779 and will be available in Australia from September 23. Watch Nike + will be available in late October.

Chris Griffith attended Apple’s launch in San Francisco courtesy of Apple.