Everything You Need to Know About the New Apple Watch 2

After a play for Nintendo nostalgia, and before announcing the iPhone Headphone Apocalypse of 2016 and other iPhone 7 and 7 Plus features, Tim Cook & Co. revealed the new details of the latest version of the Apple Watch to come out of Cupertino. Here's everything you need to know about the Apple Watch Series 2.

As expected, it's more powerful

The new watch comes with a brighter display than the old, sporting a backlight of 1,000 nits according to Apple's live stream. (Nits are a gross-sounding unit of measurement describing the luminance of an object, and one nit equals one candela per square meter.) That's twice as bright as the last Apple Watch. What's more, it comes with a powerful dual-core processor and watchOS 3, the watch's latest operating system. That'll help you run more apps for longer.

You can swim with this sucker

That's right, the new Apple Watch is water-resistant for up to 50 meters, which makes it perfect for swimmers. If you're curious, here's how 50 meters might stack up against other water-resistant watches (and the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus also offer improved water resistance). This is part of Apple's new effort to prioritize the watch's fitness applications. Speaking of which...

It's got a built-in GPS

That means -- crucially -- that you can go for a run with it without taking your iPhone along for the ride. This is a total game-changer if you like to track your runs. This was a huge sticking point in the watch's first generation. Why use something you couldn't untether? Apple's fixed that, and it also syncs up with other Apple Health data too, as well as more information gathered from your workout.

That's right, Pokémon trainers, the game that took over the summer is coming to your wrist, making it easier than ever to catch 'em all. You won't be able to look at a full map, but you will be able to tell how many calories you burned. (See? Fitness!)

Apple Watch Edition ceramic
Apple Watch Edition | Apple

Its special edition is stronger than steel, but it'll cost you 

In addition to the new Watch Series 2, and the older Series 1, Apple will also add the "Apple Watch Edition" to its lineup, which will come in scratch-resistant ceramic with a pearl-white finish. Apple boasts that it will be four times stronger than the stainless steel of the other watches in the lineup. Unfortunately its price tag reflects the luxe treatment. Here's a full breakdown of all the watches in Apple's lineup, with pricing and release dates:

  • Apple Watch Series 1, $269 -- available Friday, September 9th
  • Apple Watch Series 2, $369 -- available Friday, September 9th
  • Apple Watch Edition, $1,249 -- available Friday, September 9th
  • Apple Watch Nike+, $369 -- available Friday, September 9th
  • Apple Watch Hermès, $1,149 -- available Friday, September 23rd

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Eric Vilas-Boas has never touched an Apple Watch in his life, but damn that ceramic does look smooth. Follow him on Twitter.