Apple watchOS 2 hitting your wrist on 16 September

Cupertino reveals the launch details for the next-gen Apple Watch software
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Apple has revealed that watchOS 2 - the next-generation operating system for Apple Watch - will be available on 16 September.

Apple boss Tim Cook kicked off the Cupertino giant's big September event by stating Apple Watch satisfaction levels were at 97%. He also said the Watch was following "an incredible pace of innovation."

Back in May, at Apple's big WWDC developer conference, the company revealed that native apps will be arriving on the Apple Watch with watchOS 2. There are already more than 10,000 apps available for the Apple Watch.

Our top picks: The best Apple Watch apps

Previously, Apple Watch apps were simply UI extensions of iPhone apps but the new platform moves the App Logic directly to the Watch. This means standalone apps that work independently of iOS devices.

These apps can operate on their own, tapping into known Wi-Fi networks and developers have access to the likes of HealthKit, hardware like the accelerometer and controls like Digital Crown.

Apple showed off Facebook Messenger, GoPro, AirStrip and iTranslate working natively on the Apple Watch at the San Francisco event.

Read this: Apple watchOS 2 in detail

WatchOS 2 also adds a wealth of new users including Photo face, Photo Album face and TimeLapse face; all of which allow you to customise your smartwatch's watch face with your own images.

Complications have also been revamped, adding extra widgets to the Watch's face and a new function, called TimeTravel, lets you rotate through your day with the Digital Crown – seeing things like the temperature and appointments change as the day goes on.

Another neat new feature is the Nightstand mode, for when the Watch is charging. With a landscape display, it looks a lot like an alarm clock. The Apple Watch's physical buttons even act as snooze and off buttons.

We'll be bringing you hands on impressions of watchOS 2 very soon.


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Paul Lamkin

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Wareable Media Group co-CEO Paul launched Wareable with James Stables in 2014, after working for a variety of the UK's biggest and best consumer tech publications including Pocket-lint, Forbes, Electric Pig, Tech Digest, What Laptop, T3 and has been a judge for the TechRadar Awards. 

Prior to founding Wareable, and subsequently The Ambient, he was the senior editor of MSN Tech and has written for a range of publications.


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