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# Quick Take on the new Apple Watches
- URL: https://birchtree.me/blog/quick-take-on-the-new-apple-watches/
- Published: 2016-09-09T03:26:50.000Z
- Updated: 2016-09-09T03:26:50.000Z
- Author: Matt Birchler
- Tags: Links, #Import 2023-06-01 22:41, #Import 2025-03-29 19:29

My buddy [Michael Rockwell](https://twitter.com/mdrockwell?ref=birchtree.me) wrote up [a great recap](http://initialcharge.net/2016/09/apple-fall-event-16/?ref=birchtree.me) of yesterday's Apple event:

> Apple doesn’t need to convince every existing Apple Watch owner to upgrade, they just need to continue iterating and expand the Apple Watch’s appeal. I think the water proofing improvements and GPS will do that. They’re clearly positioning the Watch more as a fitness device — between swimming and being able to map your route while running — and I think that’s the right move. 

(You knew I was going to quote the Apple Watch part, didn't you?)

I agree entirely that Apple made the right changes to get the most bang for their buck with the new Apple Watch Series 1 + 2\. The processor is way faster[1](#fn-2275-1), GPS is a huge addition, waterproofing is big, and the new price point of the Series 1 line is more aggressive than I expected.

All of these decisions make a marked improvement in important ways. The $269 entry level price point makes it $80 cheaper to get an Apple Watch, which is kin of amazing. The addition of GPS makes this appeal a lot more to runners, while the additional water resistance makes this a device you'll feel safe wearing in more situations. And a faster processor is of course going to make everything just run a little more smoothly.

I still want to see Apple add always on watch faces, an LTE data connection, and massive speed improvements, but those can come next year or the year after. I think Apple will draw in more real people with the things they added this week than just about anything else they could have added.

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1. We'll see exactly how much faster in practice. [↩](#fnref-2275-1)