Apple is planning to launch Apple Watch 2 in 2016 with new features including a front facing video camera and expanded Wi-Fi capabilities. One of the shortcomings in the first generation of Apple Watch is its dependence on the iPhone to do anything and the company is working to somewhat solve this problem by announcing that native third party apps will be coming later this year. There is not much to do with the current hardware, but Apple is trying to do whatever is possible with it.

The display panel to be used in the Apple Watch 2 will be supplied exclusively by LG Display (LGD). The new display panel is said to be made from the plastic organic light emitting diodes (P-OLED) which offers higher resolution than the LCD and the use of plastic instead of glass makes the screen flexible.

The new front facing FaceTime video camera reportedly to be added to the Apple Watch 2 will let users to make and receive FaceTime calls on the watch. Apple earlier declared at WWDC that Watch OS 2 will have a FaceTime Audio feature for Wi-Fi-based calling and empowers Apple Watch users to answer FaceTime video calls through a paired iPhone.

To make the Apple Watch 2 somewhat independent of the iPhone, Apple is planning to integrate a new and dynamic wireless chipset into the watch. However, Apple Watch 2 will require an iPhone for major tasks such as software upgrades and the synchronization of media files, but basic tasks such as text messaging, emailing and receiving weather data could be done without iPhone assistance. Find my Watch feature will also be enabled in the new Wi-Fi chip as Apple will be using Wi-Fi router triangulation technology instead of GPS to track lost or stolen Apple Watches.

Apple Watch 2 is likely to have the same battery life as the previous version as Apple claims that according to the market research conducted most customers are satisfied with the battery life of the first generation of Apple Watch.