We discuss the latest Apple Watch 2 rumours, including the new Apple Watch 2 UK release date and possible features. Plus: How to watch live video of Apple's launch event on 21 March, and our Apple Watch event live blog

When will the Apple Watch 2 launch in the UK? What Apple Watch announcements did Apple make at the 21 March event?

When Apple announced its much-anticipated Apple Watch back in September 2014, people got very excited about the concept of an Apple-designed smartwatch. Fast-forward to today: the Apple Watch has been on sale for a year and people are wondering about the next-generation Apple Watch 2.

When will the Apple Watch 2 launch, and what new features can we expect? It didn't get a mention at Apple's 21 March launch event, but the Apple Watch did get some love as we explain below. In this article, we round up all the rumours we've heard regarding the yet-unannounced Apple Watch 2. Also, we list the features and tech specs we're hoping Apple will include in the second Apple Watch - particularly an ARM Cortex A32 processor - and why they're essential to improving users' experience. 

Read next: Apple Watch buying guide | How to write apps for the Apple Watch | The 25 best Apple Watch apps | Apple Watch accessories round-up | Apple Watch straps round-up | Apple rumours and predictions for 2016 | iPad mini 5 rumours

This article is split into the following sections:

Apple March event: Apple launches new Apple Watch straps at 21 March event

Although the Apple Watch 2 didn't get a mention at Apple's March 2016 event, the smartwatch didn't go entirely unnoticed. Apple announced that the Apple Watch was the number one selling smartwatch in the world, and that people loved the fact that changing the strap changed the look of the watch. With that being said, Apple announced a flurry of new Apple Watch bands including £39 nylon bands available in seven colours, some of which can be seen below. 

Along with the new line of Apple Watch straps, Apple also announced a number of new colour options for the sports and leather collections, as well as a black variant of the hugely popular Milanese loop. The Apple Watch range also received a price drop, with the Apple Watch Sport now starting at £259 for the 38mm variation and £299 for the 42mm. 

Apple Watch 2 UK release date rumours: When will the Apple Watch 2 be announced?

Although there is no solid release date for the second-generation Apple Watch 2, we now expect it to be announced in September 2016 or if we're lucky, at WWDC 2016 in June. We had hoped that we would get our first glimpse at the second-generation Apple Watch at the March 2016 event, but instead Apple used it to show off new Watch straps as a 'Spring' collection, and surprised us with an Apple Watch price drop. We also saw a new Phone SE and a 9.7in iPad Pro.

You can find out more about the new Apple Watch straps and pricing in our Apple Watch buying guide, or continue reading for all of the Apple Watch 2 rumours we've seen so far.

Another rumour regarding the release date of the Apple Watch 2 comes from China - more specifically, the chairman of Quanta, Barry Lam. Quanta manufactured the first-generation Apple Watch, and we expect it'll also be the manufacturer of the second-generation device, so when the chairman announced a general release date window at an investors meeting, people paid attention.

According to reports, Lam claims that we'll be seeing limited stock of the Apple Watch 2 near the end of Q2 2016, with more stock becoming available in Q3 2016. Based on this, it looks like the Apple Watch 2 will have a possible June 2016 release date, which falls in line with the analyst claims above.

Apple Watch 2 rumours: Design and build

We've got an idea of when to expect the Apple Watch 2, then. But what will it look like?

Apple Watch 2 design rumours: New design(s)

Apple is said to be exploring more variations of the Apple Watch, beyond the Sports, Steel and Edition tiers available with the first-gen Apple Watch. It's said that the company is planning to introduce new models that should sit between the most expensive steel Apple Watch (£949) and the cheapest Apple Watch Edition (£8,000).

The gap between the top of the middle price band and the bottom of the top price band has always looked rather wide, and Apple seems to be looking to attract customers willing to pay between £1,000 and £8,000 for an Apple Watch: which is potentially quite a lot of people.

However, it's unsure as to how the new tiers will differ from current models. It's been suggested that the new tier could feature more advanced bands or new materials including tungsten, palladium, titanium or even platinum.

See also: Complete Guide to Apple Watch

Apple Watch 2 design rumours: Multi-function bands

Along with updating the body of the Apple Watch in its second-generation device, it looks like Apple may be introducing a new multi-function band alongside it. As first spotted by AppleInsider, Apple recently filed an interesting patent by the name of "Magnetic Wristband", and details a magnetic wristband for the Apple Watch that offers additional functionality.

According to the patent, the magnetic wristband will, obviously, feature a set of magnets embedded into it, allowing the two sides to join together. For consumers, this means that when worn, the magnets would hold the Apple Watch in place (much like Apple's Milanese Loop) - but it's when the watch is taken off that the new band comes into its own.

The strap could be wrapped around the watch, which would suspend the screen in the middle of the straps, ideal for protection when being stored or transported. As well as offering additional protection, the strap could also double up as a stand (ideal for Apple's nightstand mode) as it's been designed to roll up behind the Watch, propping it up.

Apple Watch 2 rumours: Features and spec

That's what we think the next Apple Watch will look like. But we'll talk next about the inside of the Apple Watch 2: what changes can we expect to its tech specs, and what new features will it offer?

Apple Watch 2 rumours: Why the Apple Watch 2 needs an ARM Cortex A32 processor

ARM has revealed a brand new design for an ultra-tiny CPU built specifically for wearables like the Apple Watch and we want the ARM Cortex A32 in the next-generation Apple Watch 2.

ARM processors have long formed the heart of Apple's iOS devices, even though it builds its own SoCs, or systems-on-a-chip, under the A and S banners. So it's no stretch to see this new chip's timing being perfect for an Apple Watch upgrade, and it could solve many of the Apple Watch problems we're having.

Inside the ARM Cortex A32

First and foremost, the A32 promises better battery life, with faster performance and lower power usage. It's up to 25 percent quicker than the current ARM offering, and it achieves this while reducing power consumptions.

"The Cortex-A32 delivers 25% more efficiency (performance per mW) than the Cortex-A7 in the same process node. Cortex-A32 delivers this efficiency through a combination of both performance improvements and power reduction," says ARM.

The Cortex-A32 processor incorporates new power management features compared to Cortex-A7 and Cortex-A5 processors, thereby providing more capabilities for embedded applications that require minimal idle power consumption.

The new ARM Cortex A32 looks set to solve many of our gripes with the Apple Watch. It's faster, so apps and the interface can respond more quickly.

The ARM Cortex A32 has better power management so the Apple Watch may have a longer battery life (or be less quick to shut off the screen).

The new chip also offers better media playback functionality which may improve the Apple Watch's audio and video playback ability.

New Apple Watch chip could be 32-bit powerhouse

The new ARM A32 uses the new ARMv8-A architecture but in a 32-bit only environment. This 32-bit environment is critical because a 64-bit processor draws too much power for the Apple Watch, and the newer ARMv8 architecture enables the device to be more efficient.

The current CPU in the Apple Watch (branded the S1 but designated "APL0778") uses the older ARMv7 architecture with a PowerVR SG543 graphics processing unit.

ARMv8 has so far been limited to power-hungry 64-bit processors, like the ARM A35, the type that sits inside the iPhone 6s and iPad Pro. The new Cortex A32 is largely an ARM A35 with a 32-bit architecture.

ABI Research has the best analysis of what's currently inside the Apple Watch.

The new ARM Cortex A32 is designed for wearables, like the Apple Watch, as well as the upcoming Internet of Things (iOT) and small microcontroller boards like the Raspberry Pi.

ARM says: "[ARM Cortex A32] is suitable to use in a range of embedded markets that require higher performance than a microcontroller, or have the need for a rich OS such as Linux, Android or Windows."

The new ARM Cortex A32 is designed to scale down to an incredibly small footprint. The smallest configuration of the Cortex-A32 processor occupies less than 0.25x0.25 mm and consumes less than 4mW at 100MHz in 28nm.

On the other hand, a larger Quad-Core configuration is available running at 1 GHz, matching the kind of desktop-class power found in mobile phones and Raspberry Pi devices.

According to ARM, the Cortex A32 offers these benefits:

ARMv8-A (AArch32) instruction set

Enhanced floating point performance

Substantially faster software encryption

Enhanced media performance

"The ARM Cortex-A32 processor is the smallest, lowest-power ARMv8-A application processor designed to bring efficiency and architectural improvements The Cortex-A32 is based on an 8-stage in-order pipeline that has been extensively optimised to implement the 32-bit instruction set of the ARMv8-A architecture profile in the smallest possible die area while significantly reducing dynamic power consumption compared to the current leader, the Cortex-A7 processor.

Apple Watch 2 rumours: FaceTime camera

According to sources, Apple is planning to add a FaceTime video camera to the second-generation Apple Watch, which will enable users to make and receive FaceTime calls via their wrists. The new FaceTime camera is said to be integrated into the top bezel of the Apple Watch 2, though we're not too sure how many people would actively FaceTime via a Watch.

Apple is already working on using the Apple Watch for FaceTime, as the recently released watchOS 2 brings support for FaceTime audio calls. Does that indicate that it'll soon move onto video calls?

9To5Mac does note, though, that Apple trials many prototypes of its products before settling on the final one, so the FaceTime camera might not make it into the final model that makes its way into stores.

Most recently, in January 2016, reports have surfaced claiming that the upcoming Apple Watch 2 may feature the much-rumoured front-facing FaceTime camera, but not much else. As first noted by Tech Crunch, citing several sources, it appears that the Apple Watch 2 may not be a complete redesign with major changes to its design and features, and may be more of an 'S' update similar to the iPhone refresh cycle. It's also claimed that Apple is still unsure of the Apple Watch refresh cycle, as its more of a companion for your smartphone rather than a standalone device (for now, anyway).

See also: Apple Watch accessories round-up

Apple Watch 2 rumours: Variety of health sensors

In an interview with The Telegraph, Tim Cook hinted that the company may make a medically approved device, but it wouldn't be the Apple watch. Cook explained that the disruption that FDA accreditation would cause to the product release cycle, which ultimately put him off having the Apple Watch vetted for full-blown health use. Although with this being said, it hasn't completely put him off the idea of building a product for use in the medical world:

"We don't want to put the watch through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) process. I wouldn't mind putting something adjacent to the watch through it, but not the watch, because it would hold us back from innovating too much, the cycles are too long. But you can begin to envision other things that might be adjacent to it - maybe an app, maybe something else."

Ahead of its official launch, there was a lot of talk regarding the Apple's wearable and specifically, that it'd be loaded with health sensors. So far that's not proven to be the case, with heart-rate and activity tracking offering a standard level of fitness tracking, but nothing more. Even though Cook has stated that it'd be a different device, is this just a way of throwing us off the scent of the upcoming Apple Watch 2? It looks like it could come with a full suite of health sensors, which is something we'd welcome.

Following the interview, a number of Apple job listings have come to light and with them, a look at what Apple may be currently working on. In December 2015 and January 2016, Apple posted two listings looking for biomedical engineers with a background in "medical, health, wellness and/or fitness sensors, devices and applications". Although there is no mention of the Apple Watch in the listings, it's widely assumed that the roles are related to the listing for a fitness software engineering manager, which went up in November and is specifically for the Apple Watch.

BuzzFeed News also reported that over the last three months, Apple has stolen employees from all over the medical field. An example given by the news outlet is Anne Shelchuk, who has a doctorate in biomedical engineering. Shelchuk left the ultrasound software company ZONARE Medical Systems back in November to work with Apple's health technology team, according to her LinkedIn. Along with Shelchuk, Apple has reportedly snapped up medical engineer Craig Slyfield, system design engineer Nathan Clark, who has a patent for a device that separates cells, Jay Mung, who worked on sensor algorithms for Medtronic's continuous glucose monitoring systems and Jennifer Hillier, a former exercise physiologist at the University of California.

Apple Watch 2 rumours: Less reliance on iPhone

Apple plans for the second-gen Apple Watch to have more functionality when it's separated from an iPhone, and has apparently named the project "tether-less" internally. As it stands, the Apple Watch can only support activity tracking, music playback and mobile payments without a paired iPhone, with many other features including text messaging, emailing and using third-party apps impossible without an iPhone for the Apple Watch to communicate with. The release of watchOS 2 brought the ability for third-party apps to run natively on the Watch, but the apps still require an iPhone to send and receive data.

However, the with the Apple Watch 2, Apple is reportedly looking to make it more capable when your iPhone isn't connected, simply by adding a new wireless chipset into the wearable. What difference will this make to the Apple Watch experience? While it probably won't be able to handle data-heavy requests (such as software updates), other tasks could be handled without the assistance of an iPhone.

The new wireless chipset should also enable a heavily requested "Find my Watch" feature similar to "Find my iPhone" which is said to utilise Wi-Fi router triangulation technology, as opposed to GPS.

Apple Watch 2 rumours: Battery life

There was great speculation about the battery life of the Apple Watch on the run up to its (second) announcement. Apple put this worry to bed, claiming that the Apple Watch has an "all day battery life" but would still have to be charged each night, much like the iPhone. The issue with "all day battery life" is that you have to charge it almost every evening, which isn't always possible.

Looking at rivals like the Pebble Time Steel, which has a pretty amazing battery life of around 10 days, it makes the Apple Watch battery seem a bit disappointing. Yes, the Pebble Time Steel uses a less power hungry display, but even a five-day Apple Watch battery life would be better than having to charge it every night.

It also opens up more functionality in the Apple Watch, mainly with regards to sleep tracking. With a longer battery life, users could wear the Apple Watch to bed and get accurate stats about their sleep - information that's pretty popular, judging by the success of apps like Sleep Cycle.

According to a rumour picked up by gforgames, Apple is working with LG and Samsung to produce thinner OLED displays for the second generation Apple Watch to accommodate a larger battery. The larger battery should provide the Apple Watch 2 with a longer battery life, though the report doesn't specify just how long it might last. The report also claims that the Apple Watch 2 will bring no real changes to the screen size, resolution or overall design of the watch, with Apple not jumping onto the round smartwatch display bandwagon anytime soon.

Read next: How to improve the Apple Watch's battery life and Best Apple Watch charging docks

Apple March event live blog: Latest Apple Watch news Apple Watch 2 poll

Those are the only rumours we've seen so far about the Apple Watch 2's features, but we'll update this article when more emerge. However, we do have a number of features on our Apple Watch 2 wishlist, as listed on the next page.