New Apple Watch colors, bands and a Hermes partnership; watchOS 2 shipping Sept. 16

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Apple Watch Gold

Photo: Apple

Apple just announced a pair of gold finishes for the Apple Watch; new wristbands in a line of fall colors; new bands from the fashion house Hermes; and that watchOS 2 will ship Sept. 16.

At its special press event in San Francisco, Apple executive Jeff Williams showed off new gold and rose gold finishes for the Apple Watch Sport. The new colors are available immediately for both the 38mm and 42mm watches. Pricing of the new watches remains the same as the current ones.

Apple has also teamed up with luxury brand Hermes, which has created three new leather bands for the Apple Watch. One is a double band that wraps twice around the wearer’s wrist. There’s also a virtual Hermes watch face to match the hands. No pricing or shipping dates were announced.

There’s a new “fall collection” of Sport Bands in a wide range of colors, including a Product Red band.

Williams said the final version of watchOS 2 will be available to Watch owners on Sept. 16. It’s currently in beta. Among other things, Version 2 will add native apps, which are far more responsive and capable. An impressive demo onstage showed a pregnancy-monitoring medical app that could distinguish between the mother’s and the baby’s heartbeats.

UPDATE: An Apple press release ways the Hermes watches will range in price from $1,100 for the 38 mm stainless steel case with the Single Tour wristband; $1,250 for the 38 mm stainless steel case with the Double Tour; and $1,500 for the 42 mm stainless steel case with the Cuff.

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