Brian White, of Wall Street firm Drexel Hamilton, reports the Apple Watch 2 could debut much sooner than originally anticipated. Instead of releasing alongside the iPhone 7 in the fall, the next-generation Apple Watch could be announced as early as June. White’s sources also believe the Apple Watch 2 will be 20-40 percent thinner than the original.
“We walked away with the sense that the Apple Watch refresh will not occur in September with the iPhone 7, but is more likely to occur within the next 2-3 months, and thus we believe an unveiling at WWDC in June makes sense. We believe Apple Watch 2 could be 20-40% thinner than the current Apple Watch,” the analyst’s report states via MacRumors.
Not much is known about the Apple Watch 2’s possible features. MacRumors reported that earlier rumors suggest the smartwatch will get a FaceTime camera, upgraded wifi capabilities, and gesture prompts.
If White’s predictions are true, Apple may announce the new Apple Watch at WWDC in San Francisco in the June 13-17 date range. White also backs reliable KGI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s early predictions that the iPhone 7 Plus will get a dual lens camera system.
The two-camera system, if implemented, will completely change the functionality of the iPhone camera because both lenses can be used simultaneously. For example, one lens zooming in and the other out at the same time. Apple will show both shots on a split-screen within the Camera App. When you are in the midst of capturing photo or video, you’ll have the option to tap the screen to zoom in with one of the lenses. The iPhone can store both sequences separately, or merge them together. The feature will even work with Slo-Mo videos. Since the camera won’t be zooming in digitally via software, the zoomed image will have much higher quality than iPhone 6s.
