What I’m Looking for in the Apple Watch 2

It has been 17 months since Apple announced the Apple Watch at their keynote in Cupertino. I’ve owned my Apple Watch for 8 months now, and I still use health tracking, notifications and information-rich watch faces every day. Eventually Apple will announce an Apple Watch 2, and when they do, there are three things in particular I hope to see.

1. Smarter notifications: Notifications is one of the best features of the Apple Watch, but I expect it to be improved in the Apple Watch 2. If I interact with a notification on my phone, I shouldn’t need to clear the same notification from my watch and vice versa. If I’m walking, I shouldn’t be notified to stand up. Notifications need to be smarter.

2. Faster Hardware: Siri works really well on the Apple Watch. It’s perfect for setting a timer, playing a song, dictating a message or asking a quick question. But Siri can be super slow, and Siri isn't the only thing that's slow. I rarely open any apps on my Apple Watch because it's just too slow to be worth it. Faster hardware will do a lot to fix this problem.

3. Additional Health Tracking: This one isn't a must, but I think additional health tracking is the right direction for Apple to take. We'll eventually be wearing devices that track nearly everything about our bodies and provide doctors with the data to keep us well. Briley Kenney over at SmartWatches.org put it nicely.

Just imagine testing your sodium or blood sugar levels with a watch. What if smartwatches could monitor steps or motion and alert the proper folks in the event of an emergency – like when something happens to an elderly person in care? Devices could be better equipped to test even respiratory rates, heart rate variablity and much more.

The Apple Watch is a great product. It quickly became an integral part of my routine, and I'm excited to see how it is improved in version 2. What are you looking for in the Apple Watch 2? Is there anything in particular that you hope to see?

Timothy Buck