Sleek Apple Watch 2 concept inspires hope for the future

If Cupertino is looking for some ideas for its next wearable, this slick Apple Watch 2 concept would be a good place to start.

The mock-up comes from designer Eric Huismann, and he has some cool ideas for how the future of Apple’s smartwatches could look and behave. Along with some nice cosmetic changes, Huismann’s version of the device also boasts some of the features that didn’t make it into the first wave.

The first thing we notice about this concept is how Huismann has rounded down the edges to give the gadget a lower profile on your wrist. We really like this idea, and if Apple is married to the square-watch thing, we hope that the company will go for something similar. This one has us looking at our own Apple Watches and noticing, as if for the first time, how boxy they are.

Huismann’s Apple Watch 2 also has a 1.2-megapixel camera so that you can make Facetime calls and take really oddly angled selfies, thus ushering in the wristbound future that we all thought we were getting when people first started making computers that you strap to your arm. This sounds like something Apple would actually do, so things aren’t too out there yet.

Things get a little less likely when we look at Huismann’s band. He suggests more colors and materials, and that’s definitely going to happen, but he also includes blood-pressure and body-temperature sensors in the pin of the Sports band. Apple was talking about blood pressure in the early days of the Watch talk, but it didn’t make it into the final product.

What makes these sensors (as designed) even less likely, however, is that they would be exclusive to Sports bands, which are supposed to be the cheaper, entry-level option, and more integrated tech would only make them more expensive. Apple wouldn’t be able to use the same version with the classic buckle strap, for example, and that would split the market. Probably not the smartest idea.

And because it’s a concept that doesn’t have to actually work, this design may not even be possible to execute while keeping the watch affordable. But we suppose that’s part of why we like things like this: They let us dream a little.

While we’re at it, let’s design an Apple Watch that changes color to complement our clothes. And also it shoots lasers.

Huismann’s final major suggestion is that Apple add a new size option, introducing a 45mm face to go alongside the extant 38- and 42mm choices. We aren’t sure how well the huge size would go over, but we had similar concerns about the iPhone 6 Plus, and those have done just fine. Maybe this Apple Watch 2 Plus could introduce a new version of the phablet. We think it should be called a phatch, or maybe a whone.